[Brooko]

Quote:

+1 on the Fiio E7. From what everyone says, the Shure monitoring line really needs the extra power to sound good. In fact, I remembering demoing a pair at a Guitar Center, and I'm wondering now if they had it hooked up to an amplifier or not... because I wasn't too impressed... but maybe I needed more time to adjust. E7 is good for headphones that aren't power-hungry. Not sure about the Shure monitoring line or how demanding they are. If it isn't enough, the E7 + E9 combo has a lot of power.
 
 
Not advised. Shure headphones are ugly, imo. The headbands are really ocward looking, and while I'm unsure about Shure's monitoring line, I have the 750Dj's and I find turning up the volume a little too high in places with a lot of background noise. I can assume the 940's would look even stranger, considering their design. Also, Shure's monitoring line require an amplifier for use, as they don't sound good at all without one. This might put you back a bit in money and portability.
 
 

Nope - they don't need an amp.  Out of my iPod Touch's headphone out - they still sound great.  The reason I use an amp with them is because 'to my ears' I get additional clarity and separation.  It's not night and day.  I'd estimate it maybe contributes an extra 5-10% to my enjoyment of them.  The extra clarity / detail is worth it to me - especially at the bargain price of the E7.  I'm interested to see if the E11 gives the same or better (once it arrives this week).
 
Saying they (SRH840) do not sound good without an amp is IMO a misrepresentation.  Can't comment on the 940's or 750DJ's though.
 
And they don't need a great deal of power either.  Using my current set-up : Touch G4 > LOD > E7 > SRH840, I'm only at about 20/60 on the E7 - and that is pretty loud.  So the E7 for me is a good match by itself.  Using FLAC ripped myself from CD's.
 
The 'ugliness' factor is a personal one.  FWIW I'd have no issue wearing the 840 or the 940 in public (it'd be worth it for the SQ).  I wouldn't be seen dead with the Beats though.  IMO they are ugly.  A lot of people think differently.  I guess I'm not as fashionable as I once was   Moot point though - for out and about in public, if you can wear them, I'd always recommend a decent IEM first.

 

[Germancub]

That's a downright misrepresentation. The 240's, 440's, 840's and 940's are not picky in the slightest bit with amps. With that said, the higher models do scale well, but saying they dont sound good unamped couldn't be further from the truth. My 940's straight out of my iPad and iPod sound better to me than any headphones I've ever owned, even properly amped.

 

[Rawrbington]

yeah.  the 840s certainly dnon't sound bad without amplification.  however they do benifit quite nicely from one.  They just get fuller and richer.  with more ummph.  and then going back to unamped from amped they sound a bit thin to me.  but still very clear and very enjoyable.

 

[iceshark]

I've always seen people complaining about the headphone's sq when unamped. I don't even amp my headphones, but they aren't exactly the same, and the only time I heard the 840's was at a Guitar Center and they just sounded boring. I figured maybe they needed an amp or eq or something. If I walked around with the 840's or 940's I'd probably be inclined to take a portable amp with me, the 10% or so difference would just be greatly missed if all I had to do was have an extra E7 hooked up. I'd do the same thing with my headphones, but I don't own one at the moment.

 

[Brooko]

Quote:

I've always seen people complaining about the headphone's sq when unamped. I don't even amp my headphones, but they aren't exactly the same, and the only time I heard the 840's was at a Guitar Center and they just sounded boring. I figured maybe they needed an amp or eq or something. If I walked around with the 840's or 940's I'd probably be inclined to take a portable amp with me, the 10% or so difference would just be greatly missed if all I had to do was have an extra E7 hooked up. I'd do the same thing with my headphones, but I don't own one at the moment.

Yeah - and in the meantime you give people misinformation.  If you don't know, ask.  Don't just assume and potentially give people here (especially newcomers) bad information by guessing - or misquoting something you thought you heard.  It doesn't help anyone.
 
Last time I was at J&R, I spent about 10 minutes with an HD650 - but I don't know enough about them to give anyone advice.  I'd need a decent amount of time with them - like days if not weeks.  I'd need my gear, my source, my music.  So if someone asks a question about the HD650's and amping - I won't try to guess, nor will I answer with what I've read or heard.  I'll wait, and someone who either owns them or used to own them will give quality advice.  That's the way it should work.
 
I've spent more than 3 months now with my 840's.  I've seen people say they benefit with an amp (me included) - but they don't NEED one.  There is a big difference.
 
Oh - and I haven't seen people complaining about the SRH 840 sq when unamped.  Quite the opposite.  Ask guys like Armaegis.  I read a lot of info on them before I bought.  Hmmmm - maybe you can link me some of those threads ...... that you've read ......

 

[iceshark]

Quote:

Yeah - and in the meantime you give people misinformation.  If you don't know, ask.  Don't just assume and potentially give people here (especially newcomers) bad information by guessing - or misquoting something you thought you heard.  It doesn't help anyone.
 
Last time I was at J&R, I spent about 10 minutes with an HD650 - but I don't know enough about them to give anyone advice.  I'd need a decent amount of time with them - like days if not weeks.  I'd need my gear, my source, my music.  So if someone asks a question about the HD650's and amping - I won't try to guess, nor will I answer with what I've read or heard.  I'll wait, and someone who either owns them or used to own them will give quality advice.  That's the way it should work.
 
I've spent more than 3 months now with my 840's.  I've seen people say they benefit with an amp (me included) - but they don't NEED one.  There is a big difference.
 
Oh - and I haven't seen people complaining about the SRH 840 sq when unamped.  Quite the opposite.  Ask guys like Armaegis.  I read a lot of info on them before I bought.  Hmmmm - maybe you can link me some of those threads ...... that you've read ......

I could try to find them, but I was looking at the 840's back when I was shopping around for my 750's. It kind of kept me away from them... but anyways, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to mislead, I just knew a bit about them from when I was looking around for a new pair of headphones and the 840's were on my list. However, my opinion on Shure's style-rating still stands.

 

 

[Germancub]

Face palm.

 

[R-Audiohead]

I'm really glad I have spent significant time with these before reviewing.  My opinions are changing slightly still, which suggests I should wait awhile longer before posting a review.
 
I'll admit they're growing on me

 

[Digital-Pride]

Quote:

I'm really glad I have spent significant time with these before reviewing.  My opinions are changing slightly still, which suggests I should wait awhile longer before posting a review.
 
I'll admit they're growing on me

Does that mean your also hearing improvements in the bass response as well?
 

 

[R-Audiohead]

Quote:

Does that mean your also hearing improvements in the bass response as well?
 

Ish.  I'm such a snob when it comes to bass... I think it is so easy to do incorrectly yet is so essential to be done properly to get the right sound.  I don't even like emphasized amounts of bass or anything, it just seems low end gets muddy and low quality before anything else with equipment (most likely power source issues, yada yada).  I always thought the bass in the Shure was high quality, quick to recover and far from loose... and that the extension was very impressive, just low impact.  I'm noticing a slight improvement in impact, which may have just meant my model took a little longer to break in than others possibly. This surprises me slightly since I've really been throwing some juice behind them with the e9.
 
Something else I noticed on occasion but I am going to need to spend more time to figure out if it wasn't a "fluke" - I noticed at times the balance of the headphone to change slightly as volume was increased.  Usually this isn't as common in headphones with my experience, since there is one driver doing the entire frequency reproduction and therefore one sensitivity.  It isn't uncommon to hear balance changes in external setups as volume changes if the system is made of separate components... mainly because each component might be more or less sensitive to the input power.
 
I am really starting to feel like the SRH-940 is a "jack of all trades" headphone at this point.  It doesn't seem to matter what I throw at it... it still performs quite well.  The soundstage is beautiful for a closed back headphone, balance is good, transitions are silky smooth, and the extension is the most impressive aspect in my opinion (both in the highs and lows).
 
These Shures are definitely growing on me and I can be kind of a tough critic sometimes

 

[iceshark]

Are you planning on doing a formal review?

 

[R-Audiohead]

Quote:

Are you planning on doing a formal review?

"Formal"?
 
I plan on doing a review similar to the ones I have already posted for the two Senn models in my signature.  One will be available for the CharterOak model sometime soon as well.

 

[maverickronin]

Tyll's got a graph up at Inner Fidelity.

 

[iceshark]

Quote:

"Formal"?
 
I plan on doing a review similar to the ones I have already posted for the two Senn models in my signature.  One will be available for the CharterOak model sometime soon as well.

I just meant as in sitting down and typing out your detailed opinions on them, as to just describing them on threads or wherever useful. I'd really like to hear more, maybe even look at your other reviews.
 

 

[complex]

 
Quote:

Tyll's got a graph up at Inner Fidelity.

Nice, I've been waiting for that. Comparison with 840:
 

 
Which pretty much perfectly sums up what I've heard so far.