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armaegis said:

I've got a pair of M80's and compared them to a whole host of other portables. I briefly considered buying/returning a pair of Solos, but the last time I demoed them I promised myself I wouldn't subject myself to that kind of torture ever again.
 

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If you like a good shake. Sometimes the bass loving head fi'ers here might think back and consider them again. (I won't be biased. I will speak truthth) But just thinking about the mids and highs and price.....

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shotor102 said:

This is exactly why I stated before that physical stats like FR, Harmonics, graphs and numbers don't always mean what the final sound reproduction will be like. Such is the case with these SRH940's. Clearly have low impedance, yet the difference between properly amped and straight out of a portable/unamped source is quite big. Same goes for the PS500's which are also claimed by Grado to be tuned to sound great out of portable devices, yet again, when amped... a world of difference.  Same goes for Sony XB500's low impedance when compared to the V500's similar impedance rate, yet one is loud enough to blow your brains out at 65% volume while the other barely reaches optimal listening volume at 90%  volume.
 
Though I'd still maintain, the 940's are a stellar set of headphones

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I won't pretend like I understand a lot about electronics and how they relate to audio, however you can't relate impedance directly to output volume, since you also have to account for sensitivity. A pair of headphones can have low impedance and yet low sensitivity, so it will need a powerful amp (I think this is the case of the K701). However how much the sound changes when you change the amp, without looking at the volume, does relate to the impedance, although I don't know how.
 
Also when saying something like "these sound bad whe plugged into low power amp A, but are amazing when plugged into high power amp B" doesn't exactly mean the more powerful the amp, the better those headphones play, it might just be the case that amp B is simply better (linear FR, very low distortion) than A. For example the amp on the Sansa Clip is amazing, and yet outputs very little power.

I was in an electronics store yesterday browsing through their line up of headphones (which by the way was crap, half of the row was Beats and low-end Skullcandies) when I saw some middle-aged guy walk in and start looking at the Beats. I just went up to him and asked what sort of music he listens to. He responded with country, classical, and some electro, but he needed a iPhone controller on the wire. I listed what he was getting for the price ($399) and told him to get the Skullcandy Aviators, which was the best 'phone there with the iPhone controller. Saved somebody from low-fidelity, I'm so proud of myself 
 
In other news there was a pair of Beats Pro there for $700. That's a HD650 and a half decent amp right there. On a single pair of Beats. BEATS.
 
EDIT: I talking to him about amping, and he said I should try getting tube amps. If he knew about tube amps why would he think about getting Beats? Mind = boggled.

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lizardking1 said:

I won't pretend like I understand a lot about electronics and how they relate to audio, however you can't relate impedance directly to output volume, since you also have to account for sensitivity. A pair of headphones can have low impedance and yet low sensitivity, so it will need a powerful amp (I think this is the case of the K701). However how much the sound changes when you change the amp, without looking at the volume, does relate to the impedance, although I don't know how.
 
Also when saying something like "these sound bad whe plugged into low power amp A, but are amazing when plugged into high power amp B" doesn't exactly mean the more powerful the amp, the better those headphones play, it might just be the case that amp B is simply better (linear FR, very low distortion) than A. For example the amp on the Sansa Clip is amazing, and yet outputs very little power.

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No no... I think you misunderstood my post a bit. Yes, the impedance was brought up a few times in relation to volume and output. Of course, like yourself, I won't pretend that I know how all this works exactly since I'm no engineer. However, I do know that it does correlate, and yes of course, the sensitivity does as much as well. But the general point I was making is that I tend not to rely on these numbers, the graphs, and other stats. Yes, they're a great tool to understand the potential of headphones... But... at the end of the day, the sound you hear from them and what they reproduce, how well and how loud, a lot of times tells a different story.  There is also a reason why I specifically mentioned the MDRV500DJ and the XB500.  You see, the DJ's actually have a 24ohm impedance and 105db sensitivity while the XB500's rated at 40ohm and 104 sensitivity.  So on first glance, wouldn't these stats paint a picture that the DJ's should be louder at given lower output source?  I mean 24ohms and 105... isn't that close to the ibuds stats?  Yet the Djs (tested even with proper amp, home surround, DJ mixers and a few others) still required a lot more power to get them to the optimal sound. While the XB500's, Shure SRH440 and even the 840's at 44ohms and 102db sensitivity were all pushed so much straight out of portable players, and all the same when amped when compared with those VJ500's.  Even yet, a better example, the philips Oneill Stretch, headphones that are specifically designed for portable use, and a heavy one at that, like snowboarding and physical activities, rated at 102db and 16ohm... 16... !
Yes, I had to push my iphone up 85% to get good sound out them..  And these things isolate very well on-top of this..
 
So what's my point, clearly that there is something else going behind the scenes of headphones that results in this, which clearly goes beyond what is shown on the box...   I wish I knew what it was... but I'm not sure that I ever will..
 
It's just that for me, I'd take my own hearing and the actual company's own words as to what is required for optimal listening experience as opposed to reading stats.  After all, I can't imagine how one can't be shocked to hear that Shure SRH940, Shure's highest reference grade monitors are easier to be pushed out of an ipod than Philips Stretch..   Just hearing this makes no sense, yet, there it is...
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 

My friend called me an idiot when I got my M50s for $110,and the HM5s back when they were $100. 
 
"You should have got the Beats Studios, they were only $220 on Boxing Day!"
 
smh

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rickstahful said:

My friend called me an idiot when I got my M50s for $110,and the HM5s back when they were $100. 
 
"You should have got the Beats Studios, they were only $220 on Boxing Day!"
 
smh

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OMG! $220
 

Omg, my whole house at school were like why do u want 2 ****ty headphones when u can get beats, (i bought AKG k272hd and DT770 pros for £200)..... they put them on and their faces immediately changed to shame

Someone asked me if my M50s were ludacris headphones :mad:

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slackr9527 said:

Omg, my whole house at school were like why do u want 2 ****ty headphones when u can get beats, (i bought AKG k272hd and DT770 pros for £200)..... they put them on and their faces immediately changed to shame

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Hahahaha, nice one!
 
 
While I don't get called out for not wearing beats, I do often get asked if my SRH940's are better than the Beats. In which I reply "For overall sound quality for its price? definitely. For booming bass only? Not so much."
 

EDIT: I talking to him about amping, and he said I should try getting tube amps. If he knew about tube amps why would he think about getting Beats? Mind = boggled."
 
You could be taking about me just nine months ago.  I have been into High Fidelity for 35+ years. Headphones were just not interesting to me, not when I had Altec 19s or Lowthers at home.  I just listened to sports talk on the radio when in car. Now have Lowther/2A3. I have been traveling more so IEMs are needed. I still listen to streamed music 90% of the time. I am so glad I found you head-fi'ers.

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miceblue said:

Hahahaha, nice one!
 
 
While I don't get called out for not wearing beats, I do often get asked if my SRH940's are better than the Beats. In which I reply "For overall sound quality for its price? definitely. For booming bass only? Not so much."
 

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Cool, i do have one mate who i am slowly turning round, telling him to try the M50s... 
by the way, i've heard a lot about the SRH940's... what is their strong point??
 
 

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slackr9527 said:

Cool, i do have one mate who i am slowly turning round, telling him to try the M50s... 
by the way, i've heard a lot about the SRH940's... what is their strong point??
 
 

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Keep on trying. It works after a while!
 
Studio/monitoring/refrence uses are their strong point They do rock and classical and most genre's well from what I hear and since it's a Shure with it's house sound. If you don't mind the loss of the thump but a clearer low frequency. Will do rap and hip hop as well.
 

Ahh ok thanks, might add them to the list then, (which is extending exponentially without enough cash!)
has it got a fast response?

So I just got my LCD-2 and was stoked and told a friend but he said I made a mistake and should've bought the beats instead. I just said thank you and that they were now my next pair.

SRH940's strong point is everything, but particularly upper mids and treble. Bass is great but not basshead quantity. I have not yet found a sub-$900 headphone that beats the SRH940 treble and upper mids, and I'm still looking. As a result, it sounds absolutely brilliant for brass, strings, female vocals, and video games like BF3 where you hear every detail of footsteps and bullets whizzing past and the high pitch crack of gunfire etc.
 
I like my HD650 about equally but for different reasons, but the SRH940 is more detailed and has crisp pristine highs that the HD650 simply is not capable of reproducing. The fact that the SRH940 can even compete with the HD650 (let alone beat it in treble quality) says a lot of the SRH940 price/performance IMO.
 
If you're thinking of buying it, you might hold off a week or two. The SRH1440 and SRH1840 open-back headphones are coming out soon. They should be even more improved from the SRH940 which already threatens some of the higher quality headphones in some areas at a fraction of the cost. Or you could buy my SRH940 when I upgrade to an SRH1840