I just had a chance to sit down with a Shure 440 and listen to it. What I LOVED was the sound clarity but unfortunately I did not like the lack of bass. Will an ultrasone 580 give the same level of clarity+the bass?
Can someone compare the Shure 440 to Ultrasone 580??
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cel4145
Headphoneus Supremus
If you want good clarity, I would look into the Beyerdynamic DT 770s. I think they definitely have better detail resolution than the 580s (I have not heard the Shures) with some very good bass emphasis.
Hoagie
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no issue with the recommendation for the 770s, just an additional comment. I like my 440s very much and believe they are under rated. I use mine with an Ipod and line out to an E11. The bass boost gives it every thing I need and lets me go back to a more neutral when I go to my jazz collection. The E11 is about the best $50 I spent and the combination is still less than the 770s if you have a budget concern. The amp will also serve you well as you add other headphones in the future.
Last note. I also use the amp with the 770s. Do both these headphones need an amp for the Ipod. People will differ as the Ipod can produce enough volume. I have found that both improve and tighten up the bass.. So for my ears the answer is yes they need an amp.
Last note. I also use the amp with the 770s. Do both these headphones need an amp for the Ipod. People will differ as the Ipod can produce enough volume. I have found that both improve and tighten up the bass.. So for my ears the answer is yes they need an amp.
jackwess
fabio-fi, jackwess and formula1 are all the same person.
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The 440 gives a more balanced presentation, in comparison vs the HFI-580, the ultrasone have a better bass presentation (without being bloated or boomy) and exceptional clarity. Some guys find it a little on the bright side, but it does improve once they have more burn in hours.
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I really wish I knew what "bright" meant, as that seems to be a common complaint of the 580. I am going to go to best buy and see if I can sample some headphones. Does anybody know what best buy has on display these days and what is a good one to try out? (aside from the beats).
I really wish I knew what "bright" meant, as that seems to be a common complaint of the 580. I am going to go to best buy and see if I can sample some headphones. Does anybody know what best buy has on display these days and what is a good one to try out? (aside from the beats).
I see. Generally I like warm low treble sound so I will have to try them.
zardak
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There is a simple as to resolve your quandary. The 440 is not world-class, and the Ultrasone 580 is also lacking in refinement and has weaknesses in the frequency presentation. However, the unanimous consensus everywhere is that the Shure 840 sounds better than the 440, but both the 440 and 840 lack 'perceivable' real-world bass, but their is a savour, the Shure SRH 550 DJ, it has all the same beautiful qualities of the 840 but in addition adds superb perceivable quality bass presentation, problem solved. I will be getting rid of all my headphones and keeping only the Shure SRH550, i've done all the tests here over and over and i'm adamant.
Imagine a headphone which sounds clearly superior than the Audio Technica ATH-M50 (which i have) and also clearly better than the Ultrasone 580, but also has all the qualities of the Shure 840 yet without the weaknesses of the Shure 840, and yet is cheaper than all of them. Don't make me repeat myself, i've solved your problem for you, simply buy the Shure SRH550 DJ and you will not regret it, but also will have a headphone superior to nearly all others out there, and at that price it's a no-brainer ($119), quite simply a win-win for everyone if only they would take heed to what i am saying.
I use the Shure 550 with a desktop USB DAC AMP 24bit 96khz, plus when walking portable a FiiO E12, and each time i do the A/B thang with the other headphones on the same amps the Shure 550 wins every time.
Imagine a headphone which sounds clearly superior than the Audio Technica ATH-M50 (which i have) and also clearly better than the Ultrasone 580, but also has all the qualities of the Shure 840 yet without the weaknesses of the Shure 840, and yet is cheaper than all of them. Don't make me repeat myself, i've solved your problem for you, simply buy the Shure SRH550 DJ and you will not regret it, but also will have a headphone superior to nearly all others out there, and at that price it's a no-brainer ($119), quite simply a win-win for everyone if only they would take heed to what i am saying.
I use the Shure 550 with a desktop USB DAC AMP 24bit 96khz, plus when walking portable a FiiO E12, and each time i do the A/B thang with the other headphones on the same amps the Shure 550 wins every time.
cel4145
Headphoneus Supremus
Maybe not. One of the things about the 440s is that the treble is emphasized. So compare the 440 response with the 770, and you'll see that the 770 is very similar with the bass emphasized as well, and yet the treble still has some dominance
The 550DJS have a different signature with emphasized bass from the 440s, but possibly more dominant than the treble
So it really depends on what you are looking for here. Zardak's insistence that the 550DJs are exactly what you need could easily be wrong because individual listening preferences are a big factor. You might find the 550DJ bass overwhelming of the mids and highs. Certainly more so that than the 770s would be. And of course, these graphs don't tell you anything about the detail resolution of the three headphones in comparison to each other.
disastermouse
Headphoneus Supremus
Zardak has also written pretty much the same post, with the same inflated confidence, about several OTHER headphones. In fact, it's hard to predict which new headphone he's going to say is 'the best, hands down, at any price - and you better listen to me' at any given time.
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What's the over/under on when the SRH550 will become cr@p? I'm thinking no more than 1 week.
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No worries, I'll do that for ya.
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You see, the rest of your post was great! It's when you start saying stuff like this - which you know isn't true because you've liked other headphones too (especially recently) - that you get into some murky territory.
BTW, still waiting on the Grado review...
No worries, I'll do that for ya.
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You see, the rest of your post was great! It's when you start saying stuff like this - which you know isn't true because you've liked other headphones too (especially recently) - that you get into some murky territory.
BTW, still waiting on the Grado review...
Wow he really sold those shures, I almost went and bought them were it not for everyone else chiming in
I don't know if he sold the Shures (the SRH-550DJ I mean), but he's definitely selling his HFI-580. If I had to take an educated (but ultimately unsubstantiated) guess, I'd say the SRH-550DF will be sold as soon as he gets his next pair. But that's perfectly fine, because the next pair (whatever it may be) will be the most perfect headphones on the planet. Awfully nice of him to try out all the other headphones in existence for us, and to let us know that whichever one he doesn't own at the time is sucky sucky.
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