VanCitySound
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Feb 28, 2011
- Posts
- 129
- Likes
- 25
Introduction
Further to my last thread I decided to purchase the 840 after listening to a number of cans at a local store. After auditioning several cans head to head I found the Sennheiser HD 650 to have the most appealing sound to my ears but thought that the 840s were still quite good. I was able to acquire the 840s new for an extremely good price which I could not pass up. In my last thread I stated that I would do a review of the 840s after they were burned in and I had a chance to digest them. This is the review.
Background
I am no audiophile and do not have much experience with quality headphones. However, I have owned many crappy cans throughout the years none of which are worth mentioning. Most recently I have owned the Sony MDRXB 500, the Koss PortaPro and the Pioneer SE-M390. In my opinion the Sony’s were truly terrible with overcooked bass and muddy sound. The PortaPros are okay but seem lacking in detail and depth to my ears. The Pioneers are quite good but have somewhat artificially boosted lows and highs (a smiley curved EQ).
Source
I am listening to mostly lossless music on my desktop PC through WMP and a good quality soundcard. I have a NuForce Icon uDac-2 which offers only extremely modest improvement in sound over my PC’s soundcard.
Review
The 840s are a bit heavy. Today as I write this wearing the cans I can feel that they are hefty enough to mildly irritate my sore neck (sore from a Darce Choke at BJJ this morning). With that heft comes a pretty solid feeling that speaks to an apparent quality build. When I picked these up next to all the Senns, AKGs and Gardos it felt like a brick s%#t house. They look conservative and not flashy at all. The only thing in the design that I do not like is loose wires on the sides of the cans that look like an accident waiting to happen. Overall they are reasonably comfortable and appear to be built to last.
My 840s now have about 70 hours plus on them and they sound no different from what they did with about 10 hours of burn in. The burn in seemed to mellow the highs a slight bit and perhaps sharpen the bass but really didn’t do much. The 840s sound pretty good right out of the box.
The sound is more neutral than the PortaPros and the 390s which I have compared back to back with the 840. There is more mid in the 840 and it seems to have a pretty neutral sound signature. The sound is crisp with good separation and a reasonable sound stage. The mids are pronounced but the bass is still good without being intrusive and the highs are quite present. Soundstage is okay but not great. These cans do Trance quite well. With Hip Hop, R&B and Dancehall they could use a bit more bass. With classical they are good but could benefit from more soundstage. They handle rock well but could use a bit more warmth.
Of course these things are hugely subjective and these terms mean different things to different people. Ultimately I find the 840s to be somewhat too analytical. This is probably because that is what they are designed for. They don’t allow me to become totally absorbed in the music. EQing helps the “sound” but not the “experience”. Don’t get me wrong, they sound good but perhaps a bit too cold and closed for my developing tastes. They are the best sounding cans that I have owned but not significantly so.
I think that many people would be very happy with these cans. They appear to be well made and sound-wise a good all around mid-level product that can handle many genres respectably.
Further to my last thread I decided to purchase the 840 after listening to a number of cans at a local store. After auditioning several cans head to head I found the Sennheiser HD 650 to have the most appealing sound to my ears but thought that the 840s were still quite good. I was able to acquire the 840s new for an extremely good price which I could not pass up. In my last thread I stated that I would do a review of the 840s after they were burned in and I had a chance to digest them. This is the review.
Background
I am no audiophile and do not have much experience with quality headphones. However, I have owned many crappy cans throughout the years none of which are worth mentioning. Most recently I have owned the Sony MDRXB 500, the Koss PortaPro and the Pioneer SE-M390. In my opinion the Sony’s were truly terrible with overcooked bass and muddy sound. The PortaPros are okay but seem lacking in detail and depth to my ears. The Pioneers are quite good but have somewhat artificially boosted lows and highs (a smiley curved EQ).
Source
I am listening to mostly lossless music on my desktop PC through WMP and a good quality soundcard. I have a NuForce Icon uDac-2 which offers only extremely modest improvement in sound over my PC’s soundcard.
Review
The 840s are a bit heavy. Today as I write this wearing the cans I can feel that they are hefty enough to mildly irritate my sore neck (sore from a Darce Choke at BJJ this morning). With that heft comes a pretty solid feeling that speaks to an apparent quality build. When I picked these up next to all the Senns, AKGs and Gardos it felt like a brick s%#t house. They look conservative and not flashy at all. The only thing in the design that I do not like is loose wires on the sides of the cans that look like an accident waiting to happen. Overall they are reasonably comfortable and appear to be built to last.
My 840s now have about 70 hours plus on them and they sound no different from what they did with about 10 hours of burn in. The burn in seemed to mellow the highs a slight bit and perhaps sharpen the bass but really didn’t do much. The 840s sound pretty good right out of the box.
The sound is more neutral than the PortaPros and the 390s which I have compared back to back with the 840. There is more mid in the 840 and it seems to have a pretty neutral sound signature. The sound is crisp with good separation and a reasonable sound stage. The mids are pronounced but the bass is still good without being intrusive and the highs are quite present. Soundstage is okay but not great. These cans do Trance quite well. With Hip Hop, R&B and Dancehall they could use a bit more bass. With classical they are good but could benefit from more soundstage. They handle rock well but could use a bit more warmth.
Of course these things are hugely subjective and these terms mean different things to different people. Ultimately I find the 840s to be somewhat too analytical. This is probably because that is what they are designed for. They don’t allow me to become totally absorbed in the music. EQing helps the “sound” but not the “experience”. Don’t get me wrong, they sound good but perhaps a bit too cold and closed for my developing tastes. They are the best sounding cans that I have owned but not significantly so.
I think that many people would be very happy with these cans. They appear to be well made and sound-wise a good all around mid-level product that can handle many genres respectably.
