[abchead]

Thanks for your review.
 
Quote:

  Sold my SRH1540 last week, it just wasn't for me.
 
I've come to the conclusion that closed headphones just don't work for me in general for any kind of music listening. Though I do own the Audio-Technica ES7, I don't use it for music listening at all, it's solely a "computer" headphone for me (DVD & streaming movies, gaming, etc). Plus it's cheap so I don't expect it to sound "great".
 
I sold the SRH1540 for a reason similar to why I also sold the Fostex TH900 previously—neither was sufficiently "open"-sounding enough and the cut-off decays in especially ambient electronica were extremely annoying to me. The TH900 aggravated me because of that, and of course the closed SRH1540 did the same for me. I think if I ever get another closed headphone it's going to be a <$300 model to replace the ES7 as a computer headphone. Just couldn't tolerate the SRH1540's lack of properly-full decays, or the TH900 for that matter for the same reason.
 
Other reasons I couldn't get into the SRH1540 included its lack of clarity, lack of treble quantity & extension, and a bass response that just sounded too intrusive. It's not the bass quantity that bothered me per se, moreso its quality. I thought it just intruded too much into the mid-bass/lower mids and made too many genres of music sound too indistinct. And I thought I'd like its bass for electronica (specifically The Crystal Method, The Prodigy, & Infected Mushroom), but it didn't do anything for me for those artists in terms of bass. I can't describe why exactly, but its bass was just boring and reminded me of the HE-400's indistinct ploppy mess. I vastly preferred the KEF M500 back when I owned those headphones, which had just the kind of bass that I like for electronica and had really good quantity & quality.
 
I just never enjoyed any type of music on the SRH1540 and I did throw every major genre that I listen to at it—classical, bluegrass/folk, electronica/trip-hop, & metal. Not that I'd call it "bad" though, I'm sure it'd be fine for other people, but I just couldn't put up with it personally.
 
Easily my biggest headphone disappointment in a long time. I'd been hoping for something more similar to the open SRH1840.
 
I was able to try the headphones on two amps btw, the HeadAmp Gilmore Lite and Garage1217 Project Ember, neither of which helped me to like the headphones. If anything I was expecting the Gilmore Lite to help fix its bass overbalance and bring out the treble, but that didn't happen.

 

[Gbemiro]

Sold my SRH1540 last week, it just wasn't for me.

I've come to the conclusion that closed headphones just don't work for me in general for any kind of music listening. Though I do own the Audio-Technica ES7, I don't use it for music listening at all, it's solely a "computer" headphone for me (DVD & streaming movies, gaming, etc). Plus it's cheap so I don't expect it to sound "great".

I sold the SRH1540 for a reason similar to why I also sold the Fostex TH900 previously—neither was sufficiently "open"-sounding enough and the cut-off decays in especially ambient electronica were extremely annoying to me. The TH900 aggravated me because of that, and of course the closed SRH1540 did the same for me. I think if I ever get another closed headphone it's going to be a <$300 model to replace the ES7 as a computer headphone. Just couldn't tolerate the SRH1540's lack of properly-full decays, or the TH900 for that matter for the same reason.

Other reasons I couldn't get into the SRH1540 included its lack of clarity, lack of treble quantity & extension, and a bass response that just sounded too intrusive. It's not the bass quantity that bothered me per se, moreso its quality. I thought it just intruded too much into the mid-bass/lower mids and made too many genres of music sound too indistinct. And I thought I'd like its bass for electronica (specifically The Crystal Method, The Prodigy, & Infected Mushroom), but it didn't do anything for me for those artists in terms of bass. I can't describe why exactly, but its bass was just boring and reminded me of the HE-400's indistinct ploppy mess. I vastly preferred the KEF M500 back when I owned those headphones, which had just the kind of bass that I like for electronica and had really good quantity & quality.

I just never enjoyed any type of music on the SRH1540 and I did throw every major genre that I listen to at it—classical, bluegrass/folk, electronica/trip-hop, & metal. Not that I'd call it "bad" though, I'm sure it'd be fine for other people, but I just couldn't put up with it personally.

Easily my biggest headphone disappointment in a long time. I'd been hoping for something more similar to the open SRH1840.

I was able to try the headphones on two amps btw, the HeadAmp Gilmore Lite and Garage1217 Project Ember, neither of which helped me to like the headphones. If anything I was expecting the Gilmore Lite to help fix its bass overbalance and bring out the treble, but that didn't happen.

Have you ever tried MrSpeakers Mad Dogs? Which other closed headphones have you found to be at least decent?

 

[Change is Good]

Sounds to me like the Mad Dog will not be to his liking either.

Maybe the Alpha Dogs will be more for his taste in music... since the 1840 was to his liking.

Still, I don't get how he was hoping the 1540 to sound more like the 1840 when Jude said otherwise in the video... and there are no comparisons, elsewhere, that I've read that would lead someone to that assumption.

Seems to me that the headphone, itself, wasn't disappointing... expectations were.

 

[Asr]

Have you ever tried MrSpeakers Mad Dogs? Which other closed headphones have you found to be at least decent?

 
I previously owned the Mad Dog 3.2 and thought it was very good (even moreso at its price) but I ultimately sold it as well, for sonic and physical reasons (it was summer when I owned them and I didn't like how "hot" the pleather earpads got). The only other recent closed headphones that I thought were very good, in a different way, were the aforementioned KEF M500.
 

Maybe the Alpha Dogs will be more for his taste in music... since the 1840 was to his liking.

Still, I don't get how he was hoping the 1540 to sound more like the 1840 when Jude said otherwise in the video... and there are no comparisons, elsewhere, that I've read that would lead someone to that assumption.

Seems to me that the headphone, itself, wasn't disappointing... expectations were.

 
I've demoed the Alpha Dog on a few occasions and found it to be very good too but doubt that I'd ever buy a pair now. As I already said, even the very-open-sounding Fostex TH900 (which is more open-sounding than the Alpha Dog) was ultimately just a bit too closed-sounding to me.
 
IIRC, a few people in this thread (who admittedly went off memory) said the 1540 was sort of comparable to the 1840 but with more bass. Sure, it'd be accurate to say that expectations were disappointing, but regardless of any comparison to any other headphones aside, I found the 1540 itself disappointing. It had the sort of sound I'd expect from <$300 headphones, not $500 headphones (given the current headphones right now that are priced right at ~$300 that I've heard from the likes of MrSpeakers, KEF, & Focal).

 

[Change is Good]

Then it is clear that these were not for you from the get go. Forgive me if anyone may have misled you to thinking these sound similar to the 1840. I own both and they ARE NOT similar at all.

If anything, you may have misunderstood when gelocks said it was like a refined 840 with more bass (which I somewhat agree with).

I owned the MDs before the 1540... and while I like them, these are more to my liking in a closed headphone. To say which is better would be subjective to preference because they are completely different as well. This is why I hate when people ask "which is better" when the two headphones have such different sound signatures. Yes they are both closed, but because of their different timbres, it will still result in a biased suggestion (which would then be very misleading).

Also, I see from that from the likings you mentioned (Alpha Dog, Mad Dog, KEF M500) is that you like a lean sounding bass... which the TH900 and 1540 are far from. Of course they're going to sound bloated and like it's bleeding into the mids, because it's not what your ears are accustomed to. Those headphones are more u-shaped and not fitting for the natural timbre you seek.

Sorry you didn't like these, and I wish I could have helped earlier. But to say these have the sound of a sub $300 is absurd. While not worth the $500 retail range, these fair quite well around $400. IMO, they are the best headphone I have tried for my taste and its purpose... hence why I still have it.

Edit: And one last thing, if the TH900 and Alpha Dog are still too closed sounding for you... then you are correct... closed headphones are not for you. Most come with pleather pads and, even if they don't, it is impossible for a closed headphone to have the kind of soundstage that an open counterpart would. Its best to give up your search because, for now, you may never find one as such.

 

[LoveKnight]

No need for LCD-XC because of this line "Soundstage is quite good for closed cans too, though not as expansive as the best open headphones, and even falling a tad short of the aforementioned TH900s"

 

[gelocks]

Then it is clear that these were not for you from the get go. Forgive me if anyone may have misled you to thinking these sound similar to the 1840. I own both and they ARE NOT similar at all.

If anything, you may have misunderstood when gelocks said it was like a refined 840 with more bass (which I somewhat agree with).

 
I believe I did say (and still can say) that the imaging on the 1540s is actually comparable to the 1840s (which was my favorite thing from those headphones!) but yeah, to me they are refined SRH840s. Whether that warrants a bump in price is up to the buyer and if he prefers a slightly bassier sound with more comfortable pads...
 

Also, I see from that from the likings you mentioned (Alpha Dog, Mad Dog, KEF M500) is that you like a lean sounding bass... which the TH900 and 1540 are far from. Of course they're going to sound bloated and like it's bleeding into the mids, because it's not what your ears are accustomed to. Those headphones are more u-shaped and not fitting for the natural timbre you seek.

Sorry you didn't like these, and I wish I could have helped earlier. But to say these have the sound of a sub $300 is absurd. While not worth the $500 retail range, these fair quite well around $400. IMO, they are the best headphone I have tried for my taste and its purpose... hence why I still have it.
 

 
I don't find the MDs nor the M500 as lean sounding in the bass department. As I said in my M500 impressions, they are like the MD on-ear brother...
 
Saying that these have a sound of a sub $300 might not be SO far away, I mean, the SRH840s can be found for less than $150... BUT, they just don't have the imaging prowess nor the better detailed mids, nor the comfortable factor, etc. 

 

[Gbemiro]

I believe I did say (and still can say) that the imaging on the 1540s is actually comparable to the 1840s (which was my favorite thing from those headphones!) but yeah, to me they are refined SRH840s. Whether that warrants a bump in price is up to the buyer and if he prefers a slightly bassier sound with more comfortable pads...


I don't find the MDs nor the M500 as lean sounding in the bass department. As I said in my M500 impressions, they are like the MD on-ear brother...

Saying that these have a sound of a sub $300 might not be SO far away, I mean, the SRH840s can be found for less than $150... BUT, they just don't have the imaging prowess nor the better detailed mids, nor the comfortable factor, etc. 

So you all agree that Mad Dogs are definitely a better deal at $300 than Shure 1540s at $500?

 

[gelocks]

So you all agree that Mad Dogs are definitely a better deal at $300 than Shure 1540s at $500?

 
I would say so. But again, it all depends on your sonic preferences. We can't pick out something for you... you should pick it out! lol
To ME, I'd be a toss up... the better imaging and stage with good mids and boosted bass of the 1540s or the more linear but more closed-in sound of the Mad Dogs... Both are very comfortable but the 1540s leak a bit and don't isolate as much like the MDs do. 

 

[Gbemiro]

I would say so. But again, it all depends on your sonic preferences. We can't pick out something for you... you should pick it out! lol
To ME, I'd be a toss up... the better imaging and stage with good mids and boosted bass of the 1540s or the more linear but more closed-in sound of the Mad Dogs... Both are very comfortable but the 1540s leak a bit and don't isolate as much like the MDs do. 

In my last comment I didn't mean which is better, just more worth their prices ($300 & $500), but I guess that's still subjective. You're right; the very best thing to do is to try both.

 

[NSign]

anyone try to replace stock cable to Moon audio Black Dragon V2 please review a bit.

 

[kimvictor]

Ordered a pair! I guess I can compare them to SRH940(own one) when they come. I loved the sound sig of srh1540 btw. Just what I wanted. Although Jude said it was like SE535, I think it's a bit close to SE846, in that there's very good bass presence. But anyways, I love both SE535(owned one) and SE846(demoed one). Or actually, it might be close to SE215(owned one) as well! Well, I guess I'm a shure fan boy. As a fan boy, I can't wait.

 

[Change is Good]

Ordered a pair! I guess I can compare them to SRH940(own one) when they come. I loved the sound sig of srh1540 btw. Just what I wanted. Although Jude said it was like SE535, I think it's a bit close to SE846, in that there's very good bass presence. But anyways, I love both SE535(owned one) and SE846(demoed one). Or actually, it might be close to SE215(owned one) as well! Well, I guess I'm a shure fan boy. As a fan boy, I can't wait.

Might want to try the extra alcantara pads on the 940s while your at it

 

[greenback]

I bought a pair of these today.
 
Listened to Some HE-500's, V-MODA 100's, and HD650's before buying them. They sound almost like HD650's but closed and a little less bass, and a bit brighter. I almost bought the HD650's but wanted a pair of higher end closed cans. I was honestly shocked when I listened to the HD650's. The bass coming out of those things for an open can, I didn't know that was possible. The 1540's are really amazing headphones though. They really are like a close to the 650 in sound signature. Definitely worth a listen if not a purchase if you like warmer sounding headphones and are looking for a detailed closed can. I'm a big fan of EDM and I am really happy with these cans. Without tweaking the EQ they are super satisfying for electronic music.

 

[Shini44]

  I bought a pair of these today.
 
Listened to Some HE-500's, V-MODA 100's, and HD650's before buying them. They sound almost like HD650's but closed and a little less bass, and a bit brighter. I almost bought the HD650's but wanted a pair of higher end closed cans. I was honestly shocked when I listened to the HD650's. The bass coming out of those things for an open can, I didn't know that was possible. The 1540's are really amazing headphones though. They really are like a close to the 650 in sound signature. Definitely worth a listen if not a purchase if you like warmer sounding headphones and are looking for a detailed closed can. I'm a big fan of EDM and I am really happy with these cans. Without tweaking the EQ they are super satisfying for electronic music.

i still think the HD650's Treble extend and give more fun that the 1540's Treble, that when paired with the right amp ofc.