[Zalithian]

I really wanna buy these. $600+ dollars in Korea though. Yuck.

 

[K_19]

  I really wanna buy these. $600+ dollars in Korea though. Yuck.

 
Korea's awesome place to demo variety of headphones (at least in Seoul) at but I always find that almost all of the headphones are overpriced there, by at least 20% or so margin... 

 

[Zalithian]

   
Korea's awesome place to demo variety of headphones (at least in Seoul) at but I always find that almost all of the headphones are overpriced there, by at least 20% or so margin... 

 
Yep, I live in Seoul. Been to some nice shops to demo stuff. Found out that I hate Ultrasone in general, love the SRH1540's and a few others - but the prices are insane. I miss Amazon. I mean even 500 isn't that bad. But 630,000 krw when I get paid in KRW is just ouch. The prices in Korea are just terrible. I wonder if they are any better in Japan or Thailand - two places I will be visiting soon.

 

[CyberAthlete]

If anyone is interested. I can probably ask the store from where I purchased the SRH 1540 if he can acquire more and sell them for a similar price I got mine for to members of this forum. They are authorized resellers, I checked with Shure and Shure customer service confirmed it.
 
I'll need names of people seriously interested, and willing to buy now. I know he doesn't have any more stuck at the moment but I will reach out to him to see if he will order more. Thanks!

 

[kimvictor]

  I really wanna buy these. $600+ dollars in Korea though. Yuck.

Buy them used! I sell lots of gear in Seoul. Check out Seeko's sale page. Don't do trades by shipping though. Meet the seller and try them out before you pay them.

 

[toadthedry]

Can anyone compare the Shure 1540 to the Denon AH-MM 400 as far as sound goes?
Thanks

 

[WhoIsThis]

Out of curiosity, what other mods have people done?

- Dynamat Extreme in the inner ear cups seems to be one that lessens the bass and makes it closer to a neutral phone

- Alpha Pads seems to improve the seal and lower the leakage, while improving the sound, although they may be tricky to get on (Edit: some seem to think the angle is too steep? )

Edit: Someone mentioned leatherette headbands?
These the ones in Canada?
http://www.amazon.ca/Replacement-Leatherette-Universal-Sennheiser-Beyerdynamic/dp/B00862522A


Otherwise, either these or the Alpha Dogs appears to be the best closed cans that you can get really.

 

[javahut]

No mods for me.
 
For reference, I'm used to listening through Westone W60 with an RSA Predator DAC/amp. Also, Event Opal studio monitors via direct out from RME Fireface 800. Sometimes I listen to Shure SE846, thought not nearly as often since the W60s.
 
Have to confess, when I first got the 1540 and listened to them... I thought there was no way I could handle the little bass hump. When I went back to them later, I guess my ears or something broke in to them. Listening via RME Fireface direct out, through RSA P51 Mustang... they sound great!. Yeah, I guess there's a little mid bass bump... and maybe the mids are a little recessed... and the very top end may be enhanced slightly... or that may be due to the mids being a little recessed.
 
Whatever... I have all these other IEMs and studio monitors to listen through... but I've found the 1540s to be great just as they are. Just a little different reference. They don't sound as full and direct frequency-wise as the W60s, or the Event Opals. But they definitely provide highly enjoyable audio in many ways. And they do have a very easy to discern placement of sounds in the stereo field, which I find excellent. They also have a spacial quality to the sound I don't really get with any of my other audio sources.
 
So I'm definitely keepin' 'em... and just as they are. Very fun and comfortable headphone to listen to, that's "accurate" enough for my needs and enjoyment.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

That leatherette headand won't fit. I have the 1540 and Custom One Pro here. Tried to wrap the COP headband. It won't.

 

[nicholars]

I noticed something with these headphones...  they sound a lot better when you do not EQ the bass more than about 3-4db.... These are now my non electronic music headphones and the D2000 have the electronic music. These are good with electronic music but the sound quality in the mids gets a lot worse if you EQ the bass. Actually these headphones seem to hate any sort of EQ'ing.

 

[WhoIsThis]

That leatherette headand won't fit. I have the 1540 and Custom One Pro here. Tried to wrap the COP headband. It won't.

 


Thanks for the heads up.

 

[CyberAthlete]

  I noticed something with these headphones...  they sound a lot better when you do not EQ the bass more than about 3-4db.... These are now my non electronic music headphones and the D2000 have the electronic music. These are good with electronic music but the sound quality in the mids gets a lot worse if you EQ the bass. Actually these headphones seem to hate any sort of EQ'ing.

I'll agree with you on that. The slightest bit of EQ'ing makes a huge influx in sound. I don't know why or how but even a marginal adjustment changes the sound entirely, it's almost as if the headphone is amplifying the effects of the slightest nudge on the equalizer.
 
Any way they're great as is, just spent an hour with them.
 
Off my work laptop they sounded fine, but playing through my Creative Soundblaster Z, they're a little on the bright side. Bass is fine, but the brightness goes up a notch through my headphone amp in the sound card.

 

[javahut]

FWIW, I never use eq to listen to a stereo mix... of commercial releases, or any other final mixes. if I have speakers, iems, or phones that don't sound right to me with no eq... I need to get different ones. otherwise it's just the way the artist intended it, or it's a bad mix and I probably won't be listening to it (unless I remaster it myself).

moral of the story... you shouldn't have to use eq... and you shouldn't use eq.

 

[CyberAthlete]

FWIW, I never use eq to listen to a stereo mix... of commercial releases, or any other final mixes. if I have speakers, iems, or phones that don't sound right to me with no eq... I need to get different ones. otherwise it's just the way the artist intended it, or it's a bad mix and I probably won't be listening to it (unless I remaster it myself).

moral of the story... you shouldn't have to use eq... and you shouldn't use eq.

I never use EQ. I was just testing out the claims of a member and his claims are true.
 
Also all these softwares the "improve" music or compressed MP3s are garbage. Extremely heavy EQ being applied to mask the bad input to begin with. Monster has that in their new headphones, almost every receiver, mp3 player, smartphone has some form of sound "improvement" check mark/option. From my experience they all degrade the actual recording by changing it's signature, quite heavily too.
 
Any way, the Shure SRH 1540 are going to stay. They're INSANELY comfortable. WOW!
Sound is lovely too. I have to spend 2-3 weeks with them, give them some time before writing out my impressions.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Shure 1540 doesn't like EQ because the bass is already sensitive, and prone to distorting at higher volumes. If you boost bass relative to everything else, you're just causing the bass to distort even more.