[Mark Up]

Samson Z55 with Brainwavz HM5 pads (pleather, do not use the Sheepskin) has similar bass and soundstage, a bit less peaky but still detailed treble, vs. stock SRH-1540. With NVX XRE100S pads, which is what I use on the Z55 now, it has less sub bass, but even better mids. The best mids I've heard on a closed back besides the Senn HD820. I'm not kidding. I now have an ideal pair to go with a 1540 for an alternative sound. Not as comfortable as the 1540 (more clamp - slightly less earcup extension, but bearable) and my 1540, with Denon 7100 pads, have more sub bass and stereo separation to its benefit.

 

[taxidrivr]

Does anyone know of a more budget minded duplicate/alternative with a similar sound sig as the 1540's? Mine are tucked away somewhere in storage and looking for a cheap-ish pair to have in the meanwhile

 

[manueljenkin]

Does anyone know of a more budget minded duplicate/alternative with a similar sound sig as the 1540's? Mine are tucked away somewhere in storage and looking for a cheap-ish pair to have in the meanwhile

Can't think of anything that sounds particularly like srh1540. Part of the reason is that srh1540 sounds very different out of different sources and especially different at different listening volumes. If you're looking for cleanliness on a budget, try creative aurvana live. They're pretty good for the price. You might also want to check the Samson z55 which markup has posted. I personally haven't heard it so can't comment. Audio technical m60x also apparently good (I have a fried whom I trust can vouch for it).

If you have tried focal clear/elear and liked its sound signature, try the Sennheiser urbanite xl. They sound like a mini variant of those. You should be able to find them for under a 100$.

Hope I helped

Thanks and Regards
Manuel Jenkin.

 

[Mark Up]

Does anyone know of a more budget minded duplicate/alternative with a similar sound sig as the 1540's? Mine are tucked away somewhere in storage and looking for a cheap-ish pair to have in the meanwhile

Yeah, for $99, with $20 Brainwavz HM5 pads (Pleather, not Sheepskin or Velour or Hybrid) they sound closer to SRH-1540 than anything in their price range; except the highs are a touch smoother (though just as detailed) and they have more clamp as well.

 

[taxidrivr]

Yeah, for $99, with $20 Brainwavz HM5 pads (Pleather, not Sheepskin or Velour or Hybrid) they sound closer to SRH-1540 than anything in their price range; except the highs are a touch smoother (though just as detailed) and they have more clamp as well.

which set are you referring to?

 

[Mark Up]

which set are you referring to?

Samson Z55 with Brainwavz HM5 pads (pleather, do not use the Sheepskin) has similar bass and soundstage, a bit less peaky but still detailed treble, vs. stock SRH-1540. With NVX XRE100S pads, which is what I use on the Z55 now, it has less sub bass, but even better mids. The best mids I've heard on a closed back besides the Senn HD820. I'm not kidding. I now have an ideal pair to go with a 1540 for an alternative sound. Not as comfortable as the 1540 (more clamp - slightly less earcup extension, but bearable) and my 1540, with Denon 7100 pads, have more sub bass and stereo separation to its benefit.

 

[dakanao]

I own the l300. Most electrostats are overrated. The perceived clarity is an aberration. PM me if you want to learn more.

I can simulate l300 on any decent dynamic driver. I'm just keeping the l300 to measure and prove my point.

I'd say, that if you want to outresolve srh1540 key to key, you'll probably have to start looking at the class of hd800. Even he500 doesn't outresolve them key to key even though I prefer them overall.

I've heard LCD2F and lcd2c (non fazor). LCD2F didn't have anything good. Lcd2c was amazing for stuff like piano key strokes. They had something great in the lower range. Micro dynamics were very blurred but macro dynamics and were amazing. But they weren't that detailed in mids or treble (but that's not what you look for either).

I own a thx00. The only thing they do good is bass amplitude. The srh1540 runs circles around the thx00 for everything else including bass resolution. Thx00 bass just can't keep up with real bass instruments with quick bass notes (less number of cycles at each frequency point).

At this moment, I'm looking to get a he6 or hd800. I don't think I can find anything cheaper than those that'll outresolve srh1540. I'm also getting a hd700 and beyer t1 right now before he6/hd800 with the hope I can find something cheaper that'll outresolve srh1540. Let me hope that they outresolve my boi and save me some money for the time being. I want to upgrade straight to raal sr1a when I have the money

Just a disclaimer : I code test tones for headphones (I'm preparing a new set of test bench and analyser for measuring headphones), I do some science analysis on audio/image and while amateur, I can do mimicry, sing and play a few instruments. Not bragging, but just a bit of a notification that I know what I'm listening to.

List of headphones I own
1. Srh1540
2. Vsonic gr07
3. Sony cd1700 rev1 with cd3000 drivers.
4. Fostex thx00
5. Akg k240 sextett
6. Stax l300 with its 3100 system (I've also heard it on kgsshv)
7. Sennheiser urbanite
8. Sennheiser hd598
9. Kiss porta pro
10. My hd425 vintage is on its way

Of the ones I have srh1540 >>> gr07 in terms of resolution. Rest all are significantly lower resolution (need to check once hd425 comes, I have high hopes for that thing). In the rest of headphones, cd1700 is the one I actually enjoy a lot.

Ordered hd700, dt1350 and etymotic er4b.

List of stuff I've heard and I'm mostly underwhelmed with (I've heard them on multiple amps)
1. Hd600 .. meh. The most phase incoherent, midringy headphone I've heard outside of my hd598. Just rounds off stereo panning artefacts of speaker recordings. If that's what pleases people, please buy something good and invest in a good crossfeed. The experience will be much more engaging.
2. Hd650 kiss modded.. phase incoherent, sloppy bass but fortunately no midring.
3. Lcd2fazor. No clue why they sounded so bad. Imo LCD2C >> thx00 > Lawton modded d2000 >> LCD2F. Maybe the unit I heard was borked. Or fazor is just a bad meme.
4. Beyerdynamic t5p (what kind of nonsese is this headphone, or the unit I heard was borked). Was disappointing being a guy who's into beyers vintage stuff like dt48.
5. L300
6. L300 le
7. Sr009. Much better than l300. But can easily be simulated on a hd800.

Things I've heard and have impressed me
1. Hifiman he500 fuzzor modded
2. Shure srh940. If it were not for the crap build quailty, I'd be having one now. >80% of the resolution of srh1540 for 60% of the price. One of my friends who tests dac interpolation filters and some other stuff uses a srh840, I need to listen to them sometime. At this point you can call me a shure shill, but I don't think I'll like any of their iems, save for the crazy expensive kse1200. Also I own a couple of presonus mics and lewitt mics (if I were a shure shill I'd be raging up with shure mics).
3. I listened only for a short time but I felt hd800 and focal clear had very well defined tone edges (read dynamics/transients). Need to listen to them again. hd820 was a bit polarizing. Had amazing treble and dynamics, mids were off. I fiddled around wiht the fit and when I got them to sound coherent, isolation fell flat. Didn't know what to say.

List of headphones I'm interested to listen to.

1. Hd800
2. Mysphere 3.2
3. Raal sr1a
4. Focal utopia
5. Hifiman he6
6. Stax sr007 mk1
7. Beyerdynamic dt48a (yes, that headphone). If you've got any offer, please pm me.

200% sure they'll outresolve my srh1540 by a mile. That's not even a question at all. My intention is to get a better headphone. I keep a very open mind and try to listen to gear so I can buy something that will make my work better. The only difference is I don't fall for the hype or fakeness (it's easy to fake so many things). At the moment I'm a little monetarily constrained hence I'm trying my best to try inexpensive stuff like t1 and hd700 which I have some hope they'll outresolve my thing.

Hope I had some clarity in what I'm conveying.

Have you heard Beyerdynamic DT 150 or DT 250 - 250 ohm? Those also have insane resolution.

I could recommend Sennheiser HD 540 Gold as well for resolution.

 

[manueljenkin]

Have you heard Beyerdynamic DT 150 or DT 250 - 250 ohm? Those also have insane resolution.

I could recommend Sennheiser HD 540 Gold as well for resolution.

Could you explain that with a bit more context? I'm interested in DT 150/250. My friend owns a DT250 and sine. Afaik DT250 shares drivers with DT770 but different damping material. The difference is big though. Seems like the one sided cable hole is enough to introduce channel imbalance artefacts. At that point, I'd be a little cautious about comments on resolution since such kind of stuff can happen when the driver is not able to hold resonance properly (which will ultimately mean lower resolution, but can create a perceived sense of cleanliness since our brain interprets smooth tone as clean). Regardless, it's very very wrong to judge something without listening, but current intuitions are not giving me much hope. I'm just unable to find a pair nearby to try as well.

I got a HD425 vintage (rarer than HD540), should arrive soon, so I can comment on whether it's good or not. I've heard the HD540's cousin, the HD250 Linear mk 2, and it sounded like a slightly lower fidelity SRH940 with almost same tone and issues but much much better build quality (SRH940 is built to break lol). I like the hd250, but it isn't something I'd pay more than 200$ for. Let me know if you've heard HD250 and if you can compar ethem to hd540.

I might get to listen to a Kaldas RR1 soon (the indian estat). That guy kind of knows what he's doing and is targeting vintage stax lambdas like l404 le and stuff like that. Vintage staxes are apparently actually good and not the capacitive lag fake detail junk like the modern Sr009 and, the one I own, L300. So pretty excited about that headphone.

would like to know what you think of stuff like Srh840, m60x, pioneer hrm6, etc. Any good alternatives in 200$ range. The amp I own is topping nx4 dsd and I might switch to either fiio q5 or ifi idsd micro bl soon. Also my apogee groove is arriving in a weeks time for high impedance high sensitivity stuff like HD800.

 

[dakanao]

Could you explain that with a bit more context? I'm interested in DT 150/250. My friend owns a DT250 and sine. Afaik DT250 shares drivers with DT770 but different damping material. The difference is big though. Seems like the one sided cable hole is enough to introduce channel imbalance artefacts. At that point, I'd be a little cautious about comments on resolution since such kind of stuff can happen when the driver is not able to hold resonance properly (which will ultimately mean lower resolution, but can create a perceived sense of cleanliness since our brain interprets smooth tone as clean). Regardless, it's very very wrong to judge something without listening, but current intuitions are not giving me much hope. I'm just unable to find a pair nearby to try as well.

I got a HD425 vintage (rarer than HD540), should arrive soon, so I can comment on whether it's good or not. I've heard the HD540's cousin, the HD250 Linear mk 2, and it sounded like a slightly lower fidelity SRH940 with almost same tone and issues but much much better build quality (SRH940 is built to break lol). I like the hd250, but it isn't something I'd pay more than 200$ for. Let me know if you've heard HD250 and if you can compar ethem to hd540.

I might get to listen to a Kaldas RR1 soon (the indian estat). That guy kind of knows what he's doing and is targeting vintage stax lambdas like l404 le and stuff like that. Vintage staxes are apparently actually good and not the capacitive lag fake detail junk like the modern Sr009 and, the one I own, L300. So pretty excited about that headphone.

would like to know what you think of stuff like Srh840, m60x, pioneer hrm6, etc. Any good alternatives in 200$ range. The amp I own is topping nx4 dsd and I might switch to either fiio q5 or ifi idsd micro bl soon. Also my apogee groove is arriving in a weeks time for high impedance high sensitivity stuff like HD800.

I don't have issues with channel imbalance artifacts with my DT 150, and the DT 250 when I had it (sold it because I didn't like the coiled cable, it dragged down the headphone too much on my head, but that was before I knew that someone was making lighter custom cables for those headphones). I now have the Mogami 2893 mini star quad cable installed on my DT 150, and I feel it has made it slightly more clean/controlled as compared to the stock cable, but ofcourse with such claims your mileage may vary. The Mogami cable is way lighter than stock, and so I'm really happy with it.

I actually think the HD 540 Gold is more transparent to the source than both Beyers, but lacks bass impact to be neutral. DT 150 with stock pads, is too bass heavy and a bit boomy in the bass, but with DT-100 velours installed, it becomes a lot more neutral. I haven't heard the HD 250, so can't comment on that.

As for DT-250 vs DT-150, the DT-250 - 250 ohm (haven't heard the 80 ohm) is a bit more refined/controlled, smoother with better timbre. DT-150, with both pads, has a ''bigger'' sound, meaning instruments, vocals etc. all have a bigger presence, due to the bigger pads. Sound signature between the 2 (with DT-100 velours installed on my DT-150) would be pretty much the same.

Out of those headphones, I have heard the SRH 840. And the DT 150/250 are better in every category no doubt. Separation, imaging, resolution, definition etc, the Shure was a bit harsh/unrefined somewhere in the lower treble/upper mids, and sounds more plasticky in timbre as compared to DT 150/250 (or HD 540 Gold).

 

[Shane D]

Well, I have joined the gang. I have been curious about these for a long time. I saw a pair on Kijii (Canada's version of Craigslist) and they had been there for at least a month. I just sold a speaker dock and a 2.1 computer sound system, so I had a bit of cash on me. He was asking $349.00 and I offered him $300.00. He said yes and I ran across town to try them out. Very impressive to me out of my ZX300. I got home and put them in my chain:
ZX300 to SMSL SU-8 DAC to Burson Fun-Classic amp (Loki on bypass initially).
Sounds great! Very clear and sounds very full for a closed headphone.

Nice companion to the 99 Classic. Better resolution, but less bass than the 99. There is no wrong, just two kinds of right.


The second pair of pads and second cable are brand new. The pads and cable being used have no marks, stains, etc. They look perfect to me. No outer case included, but the hard carry case is included.


Great deal for $300.00 in Canuck bucks!

Shane D

 

[trellus]

Well, I have joined the gang. I have been curious about these for a long time. I saw a pair on Kijii (Canada's version of Craigslist) and they had been there for at least a month. I just sold a speaker dock and a 2.1 computer sound system, so I had a bit of cash on me. He was asking $349.00 and I offered him $300.00. He said yes and I ran across town to try them out. Very impressive to me out of my ZX300. I got home and put them in my chain:
ZX300 to SMSL SU-8 DAC to Burson Fun-Classic amp (Loki on bypass initially).
Sounds great! Very clear and sounds very full for a closed headphone.

Nice companion to the 99 Classic. Better resolution, but less bass than the 99. There is no wrong, just two kinds of right.


The second pair of pads and second cable are brand new. The pads and cable being used have no marks, stains, etc. They look perfect to me. No outer case included, but the hard carry case is included.


Great deal for $300.00 in Canuck bucks!

Shane D

Welcome to the club! They are without a doubt my most comfortable closed headphones with a refined sound, nicely warm without being muddy, IMO.

EDIT: Also, one of my favorite looking headphones. Love the look!

 

[Shane D]

Welcome to the club! They are without a doubt my most comfortable closed headphones with a refined sound, nicely warm without being muddy, IMO.

EDIT: Also, one of my favorite looking headphones. Love the look!

I hadn't thought about the looks, but they are cooler than I thought. Great isolation too.

Shane D

 

[Shane D]

I couldn't resist using my Loki for more than one day. The 1540 need Very little.


Shane D

 

[trellus]

I couldn't resist using my Loki for more than one day. The 1540 need Very little.


Shane D

I'm a little surprised at your first knob there, but that's what a Loki is for -- to dial in the flavor you like.

 

[Shane D]

I'm a little surprised at your first knob there, but that's what a Loki is for -- to dial in the flavor you like.

This is the least EQ that I use on anything. A little bit of added bass and a little bit of added mid range. These are addictive. Should have tried these a few years ago.

I can see these being good "all rounders" like the 99 Classics.

Shane D