[gelocks]

Hello everyone.
I'm aware there's a big thread regarding recommendations, etc. but I don't know if I would get more replies there than on a stand-alone thread... anyway...
 
My home headphones are on their last breath and I'm looking to replace those at home with the ones I use every day, Shure's SRH 440. I love my 440s. For the price they have been great. Love the mids produced by them and since I don't really love bassy headphones that much, I feel these were a great buy. So great in fact that I use them for more than 5 hours EVERY WEEK DAY (at work).
 
I have had Grados SR60's, 80's (they have been great too, but I love close back phones), Senns HD280, etc. so now I'm looking for an upgrade of the SRH440s to use while I work (i.e. every week day) while the 440s stay at home at the computer...
 
Now, budget is $300 down...
 
I noticed that Shure made these new cans as an update to the 840s. They look great, comes with 2 detachable cables, extra cups and a good-looking case. I was about to budge but:
 
1) Haven't heard anything about them (reviews!)
2) Should I instead go with the cheaper 840s?
3) Someone mentioned Ultrasone to me and their cans look great and have read good reviews...
 
I guess question is, should I stay with Shure and buy their new cans? Or are there better cans at this price range??

Thanks

 

[BotByte]

SEE: http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/557125/headphone-companies-that-blatantly-overprice-products
 
 
Stay away from Shure
 
I bought grados, sr80is and love them
Then I crossed over to the opposite end of the Sound spectrum and got Sony MDR-V6's
Now I ordered a pair of Fostex T50RP to get the mids
 
Grados for highs
Sony for Lows
Fostex for Mids.
 
Get some T50RPs and mod them, Like I'm going to do and people choose modded t50rp over $1000 headphones. They are $75 with shipping at B&H
Then get some V6's and plug them into a amp or Am/fm receiver to get full sound. $60 from amazon with free shipping and a trip over to Goodwill or a second hand thrift shop for a receiver $15 for a good Sony one. Look at my signature for details

 

[gelocks]

Well, the suggestions you are making seem to be capable ones but they definitely need amping? I would like the cans to be easily driven, I mean, I usually use Archos MP3 players (if you don't know, they already have a 'cap' on volume due to constraints in Europe), and sometimes use the company's laptop... and these new ones will be used at work...
 
Also, soundwise, have you tried Shure headphones?
Or I see that you mentioned the Grados 80s,
How do they compare to the Grados? Have you had on-hand experience?
 
Finally, those Fostex ones look pretty cheaply made... how about durability?
 
 
Thanks.

 

[Rawrbington]

There are a couple threads on here about the 940s.  They seem to be very nice. 
And to be honest, the comment about overpriced headphones has to spur from their IEMs  not their cans.
I don't see how the 440s at 80$ and the 840s at 140$ are over priced.  Perhaps he could explain that comment?
yeah and the Sony V6s to my ears are NOT as good as the 440s. 

 

[BotByte]

Quote:

There are a couple threads on here about the 940s.  They seem to be very nice. 
And to be honest, the comment about overpriced headphones has to spur from their IEMs  not their cans.
I don't see how the 440s at 80$ and the 840s at 140$ are over priced.  Perhaps he could explain that comment?
yeah and the Sony V6s to my ears are NOT as good as the 440s. 

The V6's have to be drive well to rise to their prime. Without an amp they get fuzzy and grainy. WIth one..... WOW
 
I own a pair of Sr80is and I have to say one of the greatest buys I've made
 
Shure always feel just boring to me. They really have no special sound to them.
 
See Grado are clear. Guitars, vocal, winds and strings sing on grados
Sonys look more at covering all bases but somehow end up with some Bass and muffle out guitars, but do show vocals and classical well too.
Fostex are known for their durability. Shure are actually pretty easily broken. Fostex have been making headphones for decades and there are still millions of them out there. Go to the Ortho thread and ask. They say the old ones are better, but with modded Fostex they might outdue the old.
 
 
I would say for you, get a pair of Grados, sr80i or sr60i. the difference is in the cables. If you can live without a recable for a while, get the sr80is. If you want to heavily mod them, get the sr60i.
 
Sr80I run $100 and I would say to buy a new Portable media player, Cowon or so.
 
If you have any questions, fell free to PM me anytime.

 

[macrocheesium]

So, you've got a budget of $300 and under, and you want a pair of headphones that are closed, sound good unamped, and have great mids? How would you feel about getting a $200 set of headphones and a $100 amp? Getting up to that price range there aren't too many phones that sound good unamped.
 
I've heard more that once that the SRH840 sounds almost the same as the 440, and doesn't pull ahead until amped. If you want to maintain that "440" sound signature I would just upgrade... But if you really can't use an amp this isn't a smart option. I haven't heard much about the SRH940 but I think it would be similar.
 
The first ones that comes to mind here are the Fischer Audio FA-003 and Ultrasone HFI-780. Both of them sound like what you're looking for, and are great w/o an amp and even better with one. The Ultrasone's bass might be too much for you; I have no idea. If a lot of bass bugs you I'd stay away from them. But keep in mind, it's not like the bass in poor headphones; it's a tight, clean bass and because of that you might not notice the quantity. I have Ultrasone HFI-580's and absolutely love them. The 780s however, don't have as much bass and that's why I recommended it.
 
You may or may not need a new source depending on how good your computer's sound card is. My desktop sounds better than my Cowon J3 but this isn't the case with everyone. And if you decide to get an amp, you could look at a DAC/ amplifier combo from iBasso and take care of both.

 

[Brooko]

Quote:

SEE: http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/557125/headphone-companies-that-blatantly-overprice-products
 
 
Stay away from Shure .... snip

 
Can't believe you posted this.  At $129, the Shure SRH840 are a bargain - and even at $150-170 IMO they would continue to be a very good buy.  Also - did you reread that entire link you posted?  The Shures were mentioned a couple of times - and then the posters were immediately asked to explain - which they couldn't.
 
Also:
 
 
Quote:

Shure always feel just boring to me. They really have no special sound to them.

 
Exactly which Shures did you hear?  I've looked at your profile - not a lot of cans in there.  I bought the 840's, and have heard the 440's - but I wouldn't qualify an opinion on the 440's because I only heard them for a couple of minutes demoing in a store in NY.  It's not long enough to state a qualified opinion - just long enough to tell you why I preferred them (see below).
 
Go read the very large Headphone Recommendation Thread  - look how many times guys like Armaegis recommend both the SRH 440 and 840.  Honestly - your sorts of posts really peeve me - you aren't giving advice, you're guessing.
 
OP - my brief comparison with the 440 vs the 840, I'd say the 440 was slightly more dynamic / energetic than the 840's - but I preferred the 840's.  They are a little more laid back, extremely clear, and IMO superbly balanced.  They have great mids.  I've always thought it was one of Shures strong points.  Hopefully "German Cub: - will see this post and can give you a true comparison.  He's had the entire range - SRH240, 440, 840, 940 - and he can give you impressions on all of them.  If you decide on the 840's - ring around - you can generally pick them up a lot cheaper than the posted price.
 

 

[Germancub]

Once again, I see more people talking out of orofices that aren't their mouths. Shure headphones are some of the best for the price, I have the 940's and find them to be some of the best headphones I've ever heard. They sound great without an amp and I will be posting a formal review soon. Compared to the 440's they're a definite upgrade. People with no experience with certain headphones shouldn't be posting about anything, especially speculation about them, this forum really needs a more aggressive moderator that will block posts blatantly trashing products or companies they know obviously nothing about.

To the original poster, what is it about the 440's sound where you could see improvement? I know the 440's well and have the entire line of Shure SRH headphones. If you're looking for specifics comparing the two I will be glad to help you. The areas of improvement for the 940's over 440's are the soundstage, overall refinement, bass extension, treble extension and midrange clarity. Ultrasones are also great headphones, but they tend to have a more "fun" sound as opposed to a more accurate one, having emphasized treble and bass as a rule. Thats the reason I asked you where in the 440's you could see improvement. The 840's are a smoother sounding headphone than the 440 overall, with slightly rolled off treble, a slightly improved soundstage, a little bit more mid bass and more liquid sounding mids.

 

[Brooko]

Quote:

Once again, I see more people talking out of orofices that aren't their mouths. Shure headphones are some of the best for the price, I have the 940's and find them to be some of the best headphones I've ever heard. They sound great without an amp and I will be posting a formal review soon. Compared to the 440's they're a definite upgrade. People with no experience with certain headphones shouldn't be posting about anything, especially speculation about them, this forum really needs a more aggressive moderator that will block posts blatantly trashing products or companies they know obviously nothing about.

To the original poster, what is it about the 440's sound where you could see improvement? I know the 440's well and have the entire line of Shure SRH headphones. If you're looking for specifics comparing the two I will be glad to help you. The areas of improvement for the 940's over 440's are the soundstage, overall refinement, bass extension, treble extension and midrange clarity. Ultrasones are also great headphones, but they tend to have a more "fun" sound as opposed to a more accurate one, having emphasized treble and bass as a rule. Thats the reason I asked you where in the 440's you could see improvement. The 840's are a smoother sounding headphone than the 440 overall, with slightly rolled off treble, a slightly improved soundstage, a little bit more mid bass and more liquid sounding mids.

 
Thanks man - was hoping you'd show up
 
 

 

[Germancub]

 
Thanks man - was hoping you'd show up
 
 

Quite welcome.. Always here to defend our favorite headphone brand!

What is up with people using speculation and things they blazed through in a thread as reference points and state it as fact? This forum will be on a downward spiral if this continues. I'm sorry to the OP as this is a bad impression of head-fi.

 

[Brooko]

Quote:

Quite welcome.. Always here to defend our favorite headphone brand!

What is up with people using speculation and things they blazed through in a thread as reference points and state it as fact? This forum will be on a downward spiral if this continues. I'm sorry to the OP as this is a bad impression of head-fi.

For benefit of the OP - and because I'm curious as well - would you regard the 940 as being worth twice the price (approx) as the 940?  I know the 840 can be had around the $130 mark - and the 940 around $250-260.
 
I'm torn at the moment.  I'm pretty sure my next purchase will be the HD600 or HD650 (I have to demo both again) to replace my AD700's.  I find the AT's just a little too grainy.  Are the 940's really a significant upgrade?  Worth it to change from the 840's to the 940's first?

 

[Rawrbington]

I keep getting so close to pulling the trigger and selling my 840s and ordering the 940s, but then i plug the 840s in to make sure im done with them, and this big smile comes on my stupid face and then i start destroying the air drums and i realize that i still love them A LOT
 
And since i tend to be wee bit of a bass head, i use my beyers more and more, but for a big cross section of my rock & roll, they just cant touch the 840s

 

[Brooko]

Quote:

I keep getting so close to pulling the trigger and selling my 840s and ordering the 940s, but then i plug the 840s in to make sure im done with them, and this big smile comes on my stupid face and then i start destroying the air drums and i realize that i still love them A LOT
 
And since i tend to be wee bit of a bass head, i use my beyers more and more, but for a big cross section of my rock & roll, they just cant touch the 840s

Agree - the 840's for me just tick all the boxes.  That's why I'm more inclined to upgrade my open AD700s.  If someone told me that the 840 is the last closed can I could ever have - I would not be disappointed.

 

[Germancub]

I think the SRH 940's are easily worth twice the price of the 840's, as I have said many times in the past, they are simply the best dynamic headphones ive ever heard, open or closed. I don't think anybody could be disappointed with these, unless you're a complete bass head. The bass is deep, satisfying and controlled, just not overly emphasized.

 

[gelocks]

 
Quote: BotByte

Shure always feel just boring to me. They really have no special sound to them

 
Actually, I do think Shure has a 'special' sound... at least to me.
Also, I prefer closed-back headphones, and although I really like what Grados do, the leaking out of sound in
my office will not be good!
 
 
Quote: macrocheesium

 
So, you've got a budget of $300 and under, and you want a pair of headphones that are closed, sound good unamped, and have great mids? How would you feel about getting a $200 set of headphones and a $100 amp? Getting up to that price range there aren't too many phones that sound good unamped.

 
I could get into that, I mean, if the amp will actually do a job of extending bass (just a bit!!) and provide more clarity, sure, why not!?
 
 
Quote: Germancub

To the original poster, what is it about the 440's sound where you could see improvement? I know the 440's well and have the entire line of Shure SRH headphones.

 
As I mentioned, I love my 440s. I think the mids are well defined (I listen to a lot of rock, post-hardcore, emo, punk, post-punk, hardcore, etc.) but I also started listening more electro-pop (Belanova, mexican band -- Shiny Toy Guns, etc.) and more experimental/dream rock and it seems I need a bit more bass extension for the electronica stuff and I'd say a bit of more clarity with Highs due to most vocals being female leads! (Kaskade, etc.) But I don't want extra 'coloring' just an extension...
 
So that's basically it.
 
Also, I liked the package and contents
The 940s seems like a pretty complete set, you get the case, 2 cables, extra earcups, etc.
 
 
 
P.S. Agree on the Shure's... I don't think they are overpriced and that is why I took comments with a grain of salt and asked if he had done any comparisons! Thanks for having newbies back! Nice to see that on boards like this, especially when it involves people willing to spend some $$$
 
Thanks