Shure SRH440 / Audio-Technica ATH-T500 - Page 2

Quote:

Originally Posted by Miky9 

ATH-T500, how well insulate? For my purpose I need to know this information. Sound quality is probably better for these headphones.

Well seeing as how none of us has given you a definite answer on the ATH T500.... I'm gonna say none of us have it. and googling it shows that this headphone is mainly..not in the US. So i'm sorry but i can't tell you that :/

however..there is already a thread on head fi
http://www.head-fi.org/t/507802/new-audio-technica-ath-t500

on it, a headphone supremus says
"these are very comfortable. the way-too-big headband suspension for the medium sized cups actually results in a very comfy setup. decent isolation. like a dj type headphone isolation but without the squeeze!

overnight burn-in- not much change. highs mellowed a little, but could be my perception only. spent some time with these today, sound is fairly neutral for an audio technica with a little aggressiveness in the mid highs and highs. still medium sized soundstage, did some gaming, worked well in l4d2.

needs an amp. played straight from an mp3 player these are bassless and harsh"

meaning these have good isolation...but would require an amp..., also it seems that the isolation is due to very high clamping force. which some users say hurts. The 440's i would say don't isolate as well, but they don't hurt...and the burn in period is probably shorter. in this case. the ATH T500's look like a better go than the Shure's for your case since they offer everything you want. Clamp it on a tissue box for a day or two and the clamping force should go down. however, this might lessen the isolation by a bit. and, just a "for your information" it looks like the magnets on these are form Grado :) 

Overal I would say to get the ATH T500 with an FiiO E6 ($26 USD) and after some burn in and gettting used to. you will be one happy camper :)

Well they both hurt. The ATH's from the clamping force and the 440's from the pads(which are changable). after a while. you will actually get used to the clamping force(which will lessen) on the ATH's and will give you very good isolation. the 440's con is actually the lack of clampihng force. they are ultra portable and so lose the clamping force. with the bass comming in. the headphones and pads will actually shake around bc of the lack of clamping force :/
 

The ATH's look like the too buy headphone. the clamping force will be preferable after you get used to it and after it naturally lessens. teh burnin period will probably be less than the monstorous 400 hours i put into my 440's to achieve perfection(it starts down this road at about 100 hours) and the ATH will also isolate better. however, it will require an Amp. which i recommend the FiiO e6. 

i used to really praise the 440s but i had to sell them because i was afraid of putting them on my head. After only half an hour listening to them i would get a massive headache that, last time, lasted 2 days! But i have a big head and i wear glasses so all the pressure gets focused onto the two points of contact that my glasses arms touch my head.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Miky9 

I hear this first time that the AT isolate better. A wave of optimism for me. Now it's 60/40 for AT.

Amp for MP3 player? I'm not planning to connect the headphones to the MP3 player. It is not a portable model.

 

computers generally have less amping power than ipods. most of the time. it's fake...amping i guess. maybe a portable DAC. hmm the E6 can also be used with the comptuer through the 3.5mm cables that come with it.

I have an ath-t500.. well i'm still new in audio. Hope I can help here. =)

I like the sound, i tried it on the spot before buying it,much better than a sony I tried,isolation and sound wise. Although slightly bass-light at 1st. I burn-in it with pink noise for 3 nights(ard 30hr). bass improved a little and aggressive highs tamed.

Isolation is quite decent for me. I guess it's because the cups are made of metal+plastics. Used it in hostel listening to light guitar tracks on youtube and skipped a few door-knockers at night. 

The comfort was also okay. It has angled drivers and soft pleather earpads (although not thick enough for my liking) and headband(i like its 'self-adjusting' headband suspension). My ears are touching the drivers and get ache after 2hours. Easily settled by lifting the pads by stuffing cotton/felt. Its comfort is quite decent now as I can wear it for more than 5hours now! Although sometimes the headband pad will ache my skull if I wear it more than 8hours.

I am listening it using laptop 90% of the time and my handphone occasionally.
I wasn't super happy with its sound at 1st(that's why it needs amp),so I open up the cups and put blutak (modelling clay will work as well) around the back of driver unit to mass-load. Cause I tried to drive it really loud with bass test track and heard a little weird noise. I also drill another bass vent(using hot miniature screwdriver) each side and its bass increase by about 20-30%. I am satisfied with its sound now although an amp will still make it shine even more.
It's mids and highs are very clear for me(note that I didn't really hear higher end audio before, I don't even have a amp or DAC yet).

I never hear srh440 before but I hold it before(there are much more review out there you can refer than t500). It's certainly not as comfy as ath-t500 both at stock condition, but srh440 can be folded into more portable form (correct me if I am wrong). ath-t500 has to be staying in my room on the headphone hook cause there is no way I can bring it out without a proper box or case and it's not really comfortable to hang it on neck cause its cups won't lay flat. Decent noise isolation wasted.
 

Oh ya, it's clamping force is a little high for me at first. I tried clamp it on tissue box when not using it as suggested by some head-fiers.
It's works and the force is almost nonexistent now(partly because i get used to it as well). 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Miky9 

Thanks for your experience. It is very valuable for me at this moment. Still it's a big dilemma because SRH440 are also amazing headphones. And you probably know that people always give preference to what they like more. However, now looking for a clear recommendation. Shure / Audio Technica

I read carefully as you describe the ability of noise isolation. It's a pity that you haven't tried also SRH440. What's the difference? 5% or 30%? I know this is hard to say.

In addition I am afraid that the ATH-T500 have enough specific sound. Tinted.. In contrast, SRH440 should have a neutral expression of sound.

SRH440 need amp? I think not. So, another plus for Shure.

The fact is that SRH440 hurts. I haven't tried them yet but I read it. This still speaks for the AT. In the end I'll probably have to try both.

I think it's good to try them in shop still, using player and tracks that you are familiar so that any sound signature will be identified immediately.
Sound isolation wise, I guess they won't differ too much,maybe within 15%?
T500 sounds pretty neutral for me pretty much like a monitoring phone(not bassy nor too bright). It also has AT's house sound-little warm mids and highs. It does sound a little bright for me at first,and less so after 30hr (before mod). I haven't tried enough headphone to say this anyways..haha....

Just Go and try both. Whether lending from friend or something like that. They both might hurt for some,but comfy for many hours for some.
 

Please don't stress yourself too much choosing among them,anyways they are just headphones.

And have fun hunting and comparing headphones!!!