Shure SRH1840 and SRH1440 Unveiled! - Page 115

I've owned the SRH1440 and SRH1840, and I liked them both. Had no idea they "distorted" so much.

 

Then again, so did the K550, but I liked that headphone too!

Maybe measurements have nothing to do with headphone enjoyment. Wow, what if that were so!!

This deserves to be +1'd.

And I think unfortunately this simple reality is forgotten when people start breaking out the charts. The only place I think measurements can be used prescriptively is the "I want a lot of isolation" threads - as long as we don't care about anything else, that's very easily observed and we can make all sorts of suggestions from it.

 

Wow, so if an opinion does not match yours, it's a bad one?

Yes.

 

Anax thinks I have bad taste in liking the W3000ANV. But I don't care.

Edited by purrin - 9/8/12 at 7:44am

Just to throw in a bit more fuel in the fire, when listening to live performances, we are also listening to a fair amount of distortion, both harmonic (which often adds "character") and intermodulation (which is most often unpleasant) The only way to totally eliminate this distortion is to listen to monophonic sine wave tones.

With instruments of various types playing music that is not all even octaves, the harmonics of all these instruments combine to provide more "distortion" than probably the worst-measuring headphones. Most of use do, however, enjoy live music regardless of the fact that it contains distortion.

I might also add that many "audiophiles" have spent BIG bucks on esoteric tube amps so that they can enjoy the second harmonic distortion that give them that beloved "tube sound".

Please note that I am not defending or criticizing any particular headphone here. I am simply playing the advocate!

Lol! +1.

This also. I don't get why distortion is some sort of badge of honor - sure you can characterize specific kinds of distortion, but without a real preference study, how do you know if they're doing anything for you? And then if we say okay tubes have "good" distortion, does that mean massively distorting transducers is going to do the same thing?

I'm not really taking a side here, but I agree with anax's argument on a logical level.

 

how bad does the SQ on the DT880 compared to the 1440? , which DT880 that you use for doing the comparison?

I can see how the Shures are going down the path that the HD650s have of becoming polarizing cans. Either you like em or you hate em. This is also proving by popular opinion that graphs, measurements and logical theory gets thrown out the window when subjectiveness is called into play while evaluating gear. Neither is right or wrong. At the very least, I hope we don't devolve into a hydrogenaudio state where objectivity is the ONLY rationale explanation on sound quality and everyone else's "opinions" mean squat. Please don't let it get to this point.

There's no doubt the 1440 are bright and lean cans, but the hyperbole being expressed here is ridiculous. Although, I can imagine myself likely having the same reaction on some days of the week. Hence, my distaste for impressions not based on long-term ownership. You need a few days at the very least to begin to make a coherent stable assessment. One that isn't likely to change after some time of listening.

 

Mood, time of day, physiologic variation (circadian rhythm) all affect sound perception, not to mention your baseline moulded by what you've become accustomed to. For example, an HD650 owner would probably throw the SRH940 at the wall the first time he hears them. The HD800, HE6, K701, or SRH1440, SRH1840 owner would probably not have the same reaction. It takes a few days for you to adjust, and then one's impression can very easily change.

 

These are only a few of the numerous factors that emphasize the importance of *time* and experience with headphones/audio equipment in general. Nothing compares to owning the item. 1 day impressions mean very little, especially if you have little experience to begin with. Hopefully, people realize this when appraising reviews and comments made on Head-Fi...

BTW, I personally found the 1440 too hot for my tastes ultimately, but If one builds a synergistic system around them, they can sound quite good (esp for their price).  I ended up keeping the 1840 instead, which I think are the best in their price range still. Yes, the bass is a little slow and lean, no they're not as hyper-detailed as the HD800s, no they don't have the body/slam of the LCD-2/3 or even the HE6, but they sound balanced, forgiving, open and don't commit any major offences. I find them to be a jack of all trades headphone, one that I'd pick over the T1 or HD650. Actually, speaking of the HD650, the 1840 feel like a natural upgrade from them (except in some areas of bass, for reasons mentioned earlier).