A Shure Shootout! SRH-940 vs SRH-1440 vs SRH-1840 - Page 11

I discovered the 1840s today accidentally as I went into B&H in Manhattan hoping to try the 940s, but they only had the 1840s on display. I was blown away by the sound, and it is making me seriously reconsider my desire to buy closed cans. Even in a noisy store, directly from my iPhone, the sound was really attractive to me - it just made me want to keep listening!. I'm a classical musician, and listen mostly to opera and classical, and these just sounded "right" to my ears. So here are my questions:

1. Many of the recordings I love are historical recordings, not always recorded so well. Am I correct in assuming the 1840s will be more forgiving of less than perfect recordings than the 1440s or 940s?

2. Even from my iPhone, the 1840s sounded really musical to my ears, and most often I will use them with my iMac, iPad or IPhone, so I'm wondering what modestly priced portable amp might be suggested to bring out the real potential in the 1840s using these sources. Am I crazy to spend almost $700 on the 1840s if I'm using them this way? 

thanks!

hey would a little dot mk3 paired with my zero dac to my 1840 be a good combo ?

Quote:

Originally Posted by dweaver 

I think the 1840 may be a great choice for your music. I suggest a small tube amp or maybe the Aune DAC/tube amp. I use my headphones with my computer all the time, so your not crazy at all.

Thanks - I guess what I'm asking more specifically is (since I can't find anywhere to listen to the 940s or 1440s), because the recordings I enjoy tend to be of widely varying quality (ie. old live opera recordings to really beautifully studio recorded classical albums), am I understanding your more detailed review that the less expensive Shures can be a bit "hard edged" - to use a non-technical term - or more sibilant - than the 1840s?

Also, as I'm looking for a portable amp that I could use with my computer, or with my iPod/iPad, do you have any suggestions for modestly priced amps/dacs that pair particularly well with the 1840s that aren't tube amps (ie. truly portable).

Thanks!
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by WertherNYC 

 

Thanks - I guess what I'm asking more specifically is (since I can't find anywhere to listen to the 940s or 1440s), because the recordings I enjoy tend to be of widely varying quality (ie. old live opera recordings to really beautifully studio recorded classical albums), am I understanding your more detailed review that the less expensive Shures can be a bit "hard edged" - to use a non-technical term - or more sibilant - than the 1840s?

Also, as I'm looking for a portable amp that I could use with my computer, or with my iPod/iPad, do you have any suggestions for modestly priced amps/dacs that pair particularly well with the 1840s that aren't tube amps (ie. truly portable).

 

Thanks!
 

Yup, 1840s are "mellow-er"... 940s sometimes can indeed sound a bit harsh... (I liked them both though...) BUT, I guess I have mentioned it a few times, if you want a similar sounding can to the 1840s, you can just go with the Sennheiser HD600s (which you can buy for $300 new with warranty from razordog audio...).

Regarding amps, you wont have trouble driving either one even from a cheap FiiO... of course, you could go with JDSLabs c421, Leckerton UHA-6SMKII, etc.

Had a Shure SRH-1840 for a while and enjoyed every moment with them.

Given its nature, a pairing with the O2 amp gave an improvement in speed and neutralized its slightly laid back nature with O2's aggressiveness.

Lots have been said about it. Technically, the 1840s are pretty decent though a little short in a few areas for a flagship headphone.

very decent comparison with the top 3 shure models! If it were not for the cracking issues I keep on having with my 940's I wouldn't be searching for an alt solution......

I would like to contribute to this thread as it's helped me with deciding which Shure to purchase.

The mid-highs on the 1440s can make listening fatiguing after even a short amount of time at moderate to high volumes. 20-30 mins I'd say. (The 1440s however are great low-volume HPs). Doubling up the padding between the driver and your ear helps a bit but with a neutral-bright DAC like the Yulong D100, it's still fatiguing. The headphone pairs well with the Matrix Mini-i for jazz, blues, R&B, and such but the classicals are somewhat 'off'. The D100 shines for classical listening but with the trade-off of fatigue.

After reading about the 1840s, I wanted to achieve something similar to that sound. Laid back with detail, great soundstage, separation, and a robust bass. The double-pad doesn't achieve this for me. So the next mod was the cottonballs between the padding and velour.

I've stuffed 4 large cotton balls split into 16 even pieces per driver. It adds weight but nothing that causes discomfort. The final product is something that is pure joy to listen to. Detail, separation, increased soundstage, with a more laid back sound from stock. The bass doesn't reach deep quite like my Beyers but the thin lacking bass has now been significantly improved. Still not a bass-head phone with its capped driver, but the extra room between the driver and ear has done wonders to the low end. Great thing about this mod is it's cheap and not permanent. I'd highly recommend it to anyone finding the 1440s fatiguing and/or lacking bass.