[jacobmgross]

I've seen a TON of impressions of the 840's, and had some fellow head-fiers give me their impressions and recommendation, but we have agreed that there are very few good impressions out there about the 440's. They're pretty inexpensive (can be had for about $100 or less) and I'm generally a bang for your buck guy. I own Grado SR60's, Shure SCL3's (got from guitar center for $59 last year), and Shure SE-115k's (got them for like $40 and use as my kick-around pair).

I listen unamped right now. Eventually, I probably will make the move into amplification, but for the time being, I'm unamped. This is why I'm considering 440's, because the little information out there tends to support that these cans are actually not improved much by amplification.

I listen through an iPod touch, and through a Windows PC with a pretty basic Realtek High Definition audio soundcard. My library is encoded at 320kbps vbr. I listen to mostly classic and indie rock (The Beatles, The Shins, CCR, The Strokes, etc.), some electronic (Daft Punk), and have recently begun to enjoy and appreciate classical (mostly full orchestrals and some quartets, and specifically Haydn, Bach, Schuber, and Mozart.) There is very very rarely a little hip-hop in the mix, but only a select few make it onto my iPod.

So, I think that's enough description of my listening style. I'm asking if anyone who actually owns these can give me their impression. Do you like them? What's good? What's not so good? I'm really looking for impressions of the srh440, not the 840. I'm not really looking for recommendations of other cans. I am really very interested in these guys, and can't find a place near me (I live in a pretty rural area 40 miles outside Chicago) to demo them.

Thanks!

Jake

 

[cegras]

I've got a pair stuck in purolator until monday. They'll be running through a CK2III and a y1. I'll post back in a bit, I guess, or make a new thread.

 

[chews89]

Here you go:

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/shu...review-441508/

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/shu...ssions-439275/

 

[jacobmgross]

@chews: thank you! How did I miss that review when searching? Basically confirms that these are good for unamped mp3 player use.

Still, anyone who has any other impressions, I'd love to hear them.

Thanks.

 

[horribleman]

They are brilliant unamped. I'm listening to them now, and I love them.

 

[xnor]

Found them to be lacking in the lower end and maybe a bit heavy. Didn't like the heavy, one-sided, coiled cable. Isolation is good.

 

[pterodactilo]

how is soundstage?

 

[Catharsis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pterodactilo /img/forum/go_quote.gif how is soundstage?

Actually, the soundstage on the 440 is decent. I was pleasantly surprised last night when I had a lenghty listening session - for awhile I had forgotten that they were closed heaphones with good isolation (they sounded pretty open).

I would place the soundstage on par (approximately) with my DR150. I know not many people have heard the DR150, but it's open-air and the 440 are competitive. Compared to the Grados that I've owned, the 440s win no-contest, but of course that doesn't say much.

One of the reasons I went with the 440 over the M50, V6, and K271 were because of the fairly consistent positive reviews here at head-fi regarding the SRH440 soundstage.

 

[jjsoviet]

During my short experience with the 440, it's awesome when unamped. Mids and highs were smooth, and the bass, though a bit lacking, still goes deep and a bit punchy. Compared to the K518's, they sound much more accurate and detailed. Lighter and more comfortable to boot.

 

[cegras]

The bass is definitely not as punchy as Grados, but it's there when the song calls for it.

 

[cegras]

I like to post an update from some recent listening. My comparison is with the Grado SR80 (not i).

First off: there is very strong L/R separation. Much stronger than the SR80, which sort of blurs things together into a central headstage.

The bass is less punchy, and the mids are a bit recessed, which is what I liked about the Grado. However ...

If you're listening to well mastered song (not just bitrate, but well recorded) then the cans leap to life much more readily. 'Regular' recordings just don't do the trick, and with those songs, the SRH440s can get very lifeless. In general, they resolve a lot of small details much more than the SR80, which are much more forgiving make a lot of tracks sound very good.

Overall, would I get Grado, or Shure? If isolation wasn't a problem, I would probably get the Grado.

 

[Armaegis]

I currently own SR80s (not the i as well) and have been considering getting the SRH440 or Senn HD280 as I've been looking to try out some closed cans. Anyone thoughts either way?

 

[playingwithfire]

to those 440 owners that have the 840 pads, are they any deeper? I find the right side squish my ear and quite uncomfortable.

Also, what do you guys do about the unpadded headband, it wouldn't usually be a problem but the phone is pretty heavy. I'm seriously considering electric tape and foam/cotton, but was hoping that there would be more graceful solutions that don't hurt the resale value.

 

[widge34]

No the pads are identical in size. To be honest i can't tell the difference in sound. The 840 pads are slightly softer. In my opinion they are not worth swapping.

 

[venky]

Is it still worth buying these headphones considering it is only $100? If it is, I have a couple of questions.
1. I will be connecting it to my Hiby R3 pro saber. Is that enough to drive these effectively? R3 has a balanced output of 280 mw @ 32 ohms.
2. How do I change the cable to 2.5 mm balanced? I heard Shure has a locking system in the headphone and we cannot buy just any cable. Is that the case?

Appreciate the help.