[410622]

I am in the market for an upgrade to the Shure SRH-840 headphones for critical listening for mixing/mastering—music production.

I currently use mine with 940 pads—an upgrade I highly recommend as it improves comfort without changing sound signature—and I really enjoy the sound signature and presentation. What I'm looking for primarily is cleaner and lower bass extension. Second would be the highs, though I think they are almost perfect for me; just a little bit hairy sometimes. Overall resolution improvement would be welcomed too.

My budget is $300–400, used or new, open or closed (or anywhere between). Slight preference to closed. Amp is a Micca Origen, though I may consider upgrading (possibly one of the DROP THX amps).

I was looking at the Beyerdynamic DT1990, Shure SRH-1540, Neumann NDH20, Hifiman Sundara, and very curious about the new Audix A150 and the Blue Mix-Fi.

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!

 

[Kammerat Rebekka]

For mixing/mastering I would pick a Sennheiser over any of your candidates. The HD600 is still the closest you’re going to get to an honest look into the/your music
For closedback you’re definitely on the right track with the SRH1540. Another candidate is the K371.
Best of luck!

 

[410622]

Thanks for the input! I've tried the K371 and it was very hit and miss for me. Some songs sounded phenomenal and others were very uncomfortable. I believe there are a few, very narrow resonant frequencies in the upper-midrange that they need address.

 

[grwgergergg]

Thanks for the input! I've tried the K371 and it was very hit and miss for me. Some songs sounded phenomenal and others were very uncomfortable. I believe there are a few, very narrow resonant frequencies in the upper-midrange that they need address.

Seems like a lot of your "upgrades" youre interested in are nothing more than expensive failures. id be careful. you were smart enough to see the flaws in the k371 yet seem to be completely ignoring the flaws in the more expensive headphones you listed.

 

[410622]

Seems like a lot of your "upgrades" youre interested in are nothing more than expensive failures. id be careful. you were smart enough to see the flaws in the k371 yet seem to be completely ignoring the flaws in the more expensive headphones you listed.

Interesting comment. I don't have any hands-on experience with the 'phones I'm considering, and that list is based off of my research, many positive reviews, and some personal recommendations from industry professionals.

If you have personal experience with them and would like to highlight those aforementioned flaws, I'm all ears

 

[ThanatosVI]

I never heard the shure srh840 so I can't comment on how much of an upgrade it is, but I have a Shure SRH1540 in excellent condition for sale.

 

[Malevolent]

Seems like a lot of your "upgrades" youre interested in are nothing more than expensive failures. id be careful. you were smart enough to see the flaws in the k371 yet seem to be completely ignoring the flaws in the more expensive headphones you listed.

What's wrong with the list of headphones that @psblend mentioned in the original post? Sure, they each have an innate foible or two; but then again, which headphones are free of issues, right?

 

[michael4321]

If you come from a SRH-840 and want better bass extension and slightly less highs, then you should try a Beyerdynamic DT1350. If you have seal , the DT1350 is matching your criteria. However the comfort is different, because it is a very light headphone.

I had 2 SRH-840 and had to gave up on the Shure model. The hinges, which are mounting the ear-cups to the headband, broke within 1 year. I used Brainwavz HM5 pleather angled pads to improve the base and put in some custom filtering behind the pad to lower the high frequencies.

The problem with your description is that your are using the 940 earpads on the 840 and it did not change the sound for you ? I experimented with 940, 1540, 1840, M50x and HM5 earpads. The 940 earpads are Velour (yes more comfortable, less sweat) but the sound changed for me. The bass did sound sound less present and the highs were to sharp (similar to m50x). I absolutely have no idea what advice to give here, because my experience was completely different.

Generally the DT1990 is a great headphone. I only listened to it 3 times. The bass extension is great, but not as good as on the 1770. The highs are quite a bit more extended compared to the 840. From my experience the Tesla drivers react very good to equalizer. However Beyerdynamic impress in the first hour of listening. Living with a Beyer headphone is different topic in terms of comfort and sound. After a 2 hour movie session, a Beyerdynamic is a complete different experience from 15-30min test in store.

 

[410622]

Thanks @michael4321. I will look into those Beyers you mentioned. Also appreciate the shared experience with the 1990!

For me, I'm not bothered with the highs in the 840, I just think they could perform better with transients. The actual level of highs is very favorable to me.

The 940 pads may have reduced the bass, but it was a negligible difference, so I kept them. The treble was unaffected for me they are genuine Shure replacements for the 940 and quite shallow compared to Brainwavz, for example.

 

[410622]

@michael4321, I just A/B'd the pads and the 940 pads and I can confirm your experience and do agree—to an extent. Sounds like maybe a 1dB shelf on both ends. I've heard this level of difference particularly in low end just with different haircuts or how the headphones might be sitting on your head any given day (and how long).

For the highs, the distortion or "hairiness" that I hear on certain songs is not on the uppermost end, it's 10kHz -is. The 940 pads do increase the overall amplitude of the high end, but they don't seem to increase the level of distortion to my ears. I feel like they actually open up the upper highs, which is almost a "win some, lose some" scenario for me.

 

[410622]

I've got a Shure SHR-1540, Neumann NDH20 and Audeze LCD-1 on the way. I will post my impressions as compared to the SRH-840 when I have time to compare!

 

[410622]

I compared each headphone to my existing SHR-840 set. Here's what I found…

Shure SHR-1540
The treble is quite a bit lower, but it's not muffled.
Bass hump is the same, but bass feels raised because it extends lower.
The vocals separate from the mix better.
The lower "texture" in the treble and enhanced soundstage really produce a natural imaging. The sound is very three-dimensional.
Comfort is on point! I can see the complaints about the headband, but could be easily solved with some Dekoni Nuggets.
Did not like: Even with EQ, the treble never really gets as detailed as I'd like it.
Bottom Line: If I had to have a closed-back set, these would be the winners. I think they would produce very good mixes, despite what they seem to lack in detail retrieval.

Neumann NDH20
The treble is again reduced but the bass is "wider." These win for low-end extension—though, it is seal-dependent.
Vocals are slightly more forward than the 840, but not like the 1540. It's moving toward a HD600 vocal presentation.
There is more depth to the imaging than the 840, but it's much less three-dimensional than the 1540 and feels somewhat artificial.
Soundstage may be a bit more narrow than the 840.
Did not like: Comfort. The weight isn't so bad, but the earpads are not for me. If these had oval earcups and 1540-type earpads, it would be a tremendous improvement.
Bottom Line: Good technical performers (freq. response and dyn. range), but the just don't do it for me.

Audeze LCD-1
The treble extension is excellent—higher and cleaner than the 840.
Can be a bit of an artificial treble sound but very easily EQ'd. These headphones perform very well with EQ across the board.
Imaging is phenomenal. There's a very natural decay to it.
These manage to hold all of the texture of an incredibly dense mix (e.g. Devin Townsend's Deconstruction) AND musical separation between the instruments.
The "center" signal is stronger than the other headphones—feels closer to speakers.
When listening to orchestra, the 840 sounds like I'm at the back of the room while the LCD-1 sounds like I'm in the middle of the room.
Comfort is second to no headphone I've ever worn—awesome.
Did not like: These are not my favorite EQ profile. They're also quite "dainty," which is a good and bad thing. I don't plan on tossing them around.
Bottom Line: These win for me!

My only hesitation in keeping the LCD-1 is to wait and save for the LCD-X! Very impressed by Audeze.

I highly recommend Rogue Amoeba SoundSource for Mac and ToneBoosters Morphit! These are very useful tools for headphone listening.
Audeze Reveal is also excellent if you have Audeze headphones.