My original review was too short, coz I didn't have time to write it,
but just want to give the rating to express how much I love this headphone.
It is probably the most expansive phone I have ever purchased, (and would not be the last....
Outlook:
Simple but delicate design,
High quality metal on the frame,
MMCX connection hole suitable for most DIY or Upgrade cables,
Unbelievably light weight,
Feel almost nothing on the head,
Reasonable clamping force,
Open Can design is good for prolong usage without sweating the ears,
Extremely comfortable ear pads, like memory foam pillow on your ears.
Sound:
My Audio Setup
Foobar --> WASAPI --> Furutech Formula 2 USB cable --> Nuforce Icon HDP --> Labkable SRH1840 7N Super OCC Headphone Cable --> SRH1840
(The Cable is claimed to have been "Burn-in" by Telos Audio Design's Quantum Burning Technology (QBT), I don't wanna explain too much, interested can check it out here,
http://labkable.com/pages/QBT-%252d-%E6%B7%B1%E5%B1%A4%E9%87%8F%E5%AD%90%E7%86%9F%E5%8C%96%E6%8A%80%E8%A1%93-%7B47%7D-Quantum-Burning-Technology.html )
or
Colorfly Pocket HiFi C4 --> Labkable SRH1840 7N Super OCC Headphone Cable --> SRH1840
or
Philips DVD963SA (SACD player) --> Nuforce Icon HDP --> Labkable SRH1840 7N Super OCC Headphone Cable
Highs:
Listening to "Steven R. Rochlin THTST" 24bit 96kHz,
Track 1 "A Far Off Land" to Track 4 "Cymbal Climaxes"
The Chimes are very gentle, can feel that the highs are spreading with strong sense of direction.
The Decay is highly natural like silk fall on and slip of from skin.
The Cymbals used in the record are utterly smooth sounding.
It was kind of Edgy when I put on this SRH1840 the first day,
then I use the "Demo CD of Ultrasone" to Run the Headphone for 30 hours (for @ 5 hours, I stopped for 1 hour),
The Edgy Highs disappear.
Once I switched from Stock MMCX cable to Labkable Upgrade Cable,
Highs are more realistic, less hollow, removing the previous "Thin" feeling
(won't cause your ears to feel dull after hrs of listening)
Mids:
Listening to "Terry Snyder & The All Stars - Persuasive Percussion SACD"
Very Dense, Dynamic, Vibrant and Rich with elegant texture,
Track 3 "Misirlou"
I can feel the rigid yet elastic sound of percussion instruments running around my head,
like a bouncy ball jumping everywhere. Besides, it shows the powerful separation and instrument positioning ability of
SRH1840.
Listening to "Linn Records - kuniko plays reich" Studio Master 24bit 192kHz,
Tack 4 "Six Marimbas Counterpoint"
Kuniko is an expert and probably the best percussionist,
The energetic yet poetic and versatile Marimba performance is fully revealed through the SRH1840,
I can feel the strong (but still controlled well) resonance of the resonators.
When Kuniko plays faster and faster in this track,
the soundscape is very clear without a bit of confusion,
each resonated sound is defined and presented in high clarity and accurate manner.
Listening to "Rebecca Pidgeon - Spanish Harlem"
Every word, breath, and sound of swallowing and tongue movement can be felt.
Her voice becomes quite alive and full of emotion,
I love to listen to this song before sleeping...
Bass:
Listening to
"Ondekoza - Fugaku-Hyakkei"
"Babatunde Olatunji - Love Drum Talk"
"Deep Rumba - A Calm in the Fire of Dances"
I really don't know how to express,
I feel like I am at the front of the Performers or in the middle of them (like I am the one who is playing the drum).
The Immersive, bouncy, vigorous sound of drums make me believe that some one really playing them next to me,
Once I close my eyes, the whole scene of music is alive.
It is not artificial or enhanced, if so, it can make my ears feel tired.
The Bass is not very strong and forceful like Beyerdynamic ( I audited it but didn't own one ),
it is sort of natural but not too subtle and totally appropriate.
3D:
It is excellent and completely enjoyable to use SRH1840 to watch Blu-ray movies,
e.g. TRON
I can hear the tron's motorcycle (light bike?) thrusting across me,
and when the light's tail broken like glass and shatters all over the floor,
[you need to have seen this movie to know what I am talking about]
I can feel how far and where the "Light" falls and slides on.
e.g Ironman 2
when Ironman and War Machine fighting each other,
the sound of metal crushing and sparks of fire and explosive are extraordinarily realistic.
while Ironman rockets and circles in the sky, I can feel the sound of air jet swirling above my head.
Coz, part of my job is machinist, I handle metals and hammer or drill them a lot,
I do remember what metal sounds like.
(therefore, I love percussion...and play with hammer in the workbench at the time)
Soundstage:
Several feet by the sense of Left and Right,
A feet plus at the front or behind my head,
A feet plus up and down around my head,
Much better and solid soundstage than my Ultrasone Proline 650.
Sometimes when I listen to "Take Dake with Neptune ASIAN ROOTS",
I am confused that something in my room drops down from the shelf.
I can easily point out where the instruments are and count them at ease.
It is 4 times the soundstage of my Westone UM3XRC.
And they share the same accuracy,
but SRH1840's much wider soundstage makes everything easier to spot,
and imagine the whole scenario of music playing.
All in all,
Similar as most reviewers' comments,
SRH1840 is kind of neutral, high quality, versatile.
I believe it is (generally) the best at its price range,
Coz some people may want to have heavier bass.
With upgraded cable, proper burn-in and great AMP/DAC,
I find it is very close to some legnedary $900 over-ear headphones I audited.
[ I owned Westone UM3XRC, V-Moda M80 & LP2, Ultrasone Proline 650 ]
[ Audited, Beyerdynamic DT1350, T70P, Denon AH-D7000 ]
