[mbwilson111]

The Shure is very nice! If you wanted to try a closed back that is Really easy to drive, looks great and has nice bass you should look at the Meze 99 Classic.

I bought the 99's new and the Shure used. BOTH are keepers! Two versions of a great, fairly affordable closed back.

Shane D

Yes, both are keepers. Although I have the Meze Neo not the Classic. I am in the minority I think, preferring the Neo. My husband has the Classic and for some reason it clamps my head more than the Neo does... which distracts me from the music.

 

[Shane D]

Yes, both are keepers. Although I have the Meze Neo not the Classic. I am in the minority I think, preferring the Neo. My husband has the Classic and for some reason it clamps my head more than the Neo does... which distracts me from the music.

I find the 99's so comfortable that I can wear them endlessly. Apparently I am the only person in the world that finds my original pads comfortable.

While I have never heard the Neo's, the look of the wood on the 99's keeps me faithful.

Shane D

 

[mbwilson111]

While I have never heard the Neo's, the look of the wood on the 99's keeps me faithful.

...and for myself I wanted the black and silver

 

[Shane D]

...and for myself I wanted the black and silver

Different strokes for...

Shane D

 

[jhog]

Got the 1540s today, and very initial impressions are that they’re supremely comfortable and well built. Wonderful spacious sound, for a closed back, and great bass. I do however have an issue with that mid-bass hump, which seems to bleed into the mids, and make the can sound a bit boomy. Not my thing at all. Will an earpad switch to sheepskin make a big difference, or should I cut my losses, sell it on and keep looking? I’m tempted to try the pads, as comfort-wise and soundstage they’re exactly what I’m after.... decisions, decisions....

 

[Mark Up]

Got the 1540s today, and very initial impressions are that they’re supremely comfortable and well built. Wonderful spacious sound, for a closed back, and great bass. I do however have an issue with that mid-bass hump, which seems to bleed into the mids, and make the can sound a bit boomy. Not my thing at all. Will an earpad switch to sheepskin make a big difference, or should I cut my losses, sell it on and keep looking? I’m tempted to try the pads, as comfort-wise and soundstage they’re exactly what I’m after.... decisions, decisions....

After trying many pads, including Brainwavz, the Denon pads I mention had the best combination of smoothness and bass extension. Similar mid bass hump but a bit more sub bass that I find offset that well. I don't think pads alone will solve your problem but to lighten the bass a bit consider the NVX standard $20 pleather pads, available at SonicElectronix.com. Those pads have a greater ear space vs. the very similar styled Brainwavz HM5, and a more spacious sound, though less mid bass vs. the HM5 pads. Honestly if you want clearer mids, and less mid bass, then I recommend the Samson Z55. Only $99 new if you look around a bit, probably Amazon with a good return policy. The above pads (standard, not angled) by NVX fit those too, so you can utilize those pads if you decide not to stick with the Shure 1540. With those pads, the Samson Z55 are the most natural sounding in the mids of any closed I've heard besides the Sennheiser HD820. They make a nice alternative to my Shure 1540, with Denon pads, just the kind I linked to above, no other Denon styled pad will work besides that specific Chinese import copy on those. That bloat in the mid bass is there but there are times I want that, and the smoother highs are better for me than the stock Alcantara pad sound, that seems to have some spikes in the highs to me.

 

[jhog]

Thanks, this is really helpful. Am going to give it a few days with the “stock” sound and see if I can get on with it. There’s no doubt, this headphone does A LOT right, the imaging is really very impressive - I just don’t understand this tendency to beef up consumer headphones with a midbass hump, it creates the impression of congestion when actually there isn’t necessarily any. Ah well!

After trying many pads, including Brainwavz, the Denon pads I mention had the best combination of smoothness and bass extension. Similar mid bass hump but a bit more sub bass that I find offset that well. I don't think pads alone will solve your problem but to lighten the bass a bit consider the NVX standard $20 pleather pads, available at SonicElectronix.com. Those pads have a greater ear space vs. the very similar styled Brainwavz HM5, and a more spacious sound, though less mid bass vs. the HM5 pads. Honestly if you want clearer mids, and less mid bass, then I recommend the Samson Z55. Only $99 new if you look around a bit, probably Amazon with a good return policy. The above pads (standard, not angled) by NVX fit those too, so you can utilize those pads if you decide not to stick with the Shure 1540. With those pads, the Samson Z55 are the most natural sounding in the mids of any closed I've heard besides the Sennheiser HD820. They make a nice alternative to my Shure 1540, with Denon pads, just the kind I linked to above, no other Denon styled pad will work besides that specific Chinese import copy on those. That bloat in the mid bass is there but there are times I want that, and the smoother highs are better for me than the stock Alcantara pad sound, that seems to have some spikes in the highs to me.

 

[waveSounds]

@jhog I bought a pair of the velour 1840 pads a while back for my 1540 because I was curious. I didn't use them much because I prefer the meatier low end but they might be what you're looking for. One thing to note about these pads is that they let a lot more sound leak externally, but if you're at home it might be a non-issue. Plus, they're pretty cheap.

 

[Mark Up]

Did you just mean hd820? . God I love that thing. Is pad roll on those headphone necessary for good sound?

Yes. Stock Samson Z55 sound is good but stock pads are a bit small and fragile. The NVX Standard (non-angled) $20 pads (at SonicElectronix.com) means for $120 you get the best mids that I've heard on any closed headphone except the Senn HD820. The highs are similar to that too, but of course an HD820 has better sub bass extension and spaciousness. The Samson Z55 isn't quite as spacious sounding as the Shure 1540, and with those pads the sub bass is just enough, though not as plentiful, but the mid bas is perfect, no bloat or muddiness. That is probably a big part of why the midrange is so good, natural, lifelike. Putting on the 1540 after that, even with the improved Denon pads, you notice the midrange sits back a bit, making the sound a bit wider, and 1540 bass bump more pronounced. They compliment each other, and I also have the MassDrop / Drop Senn HD59X when I want even less bass and an open vibe.

 

[manueljenkin]

Thanks, this is really helpful. Am going to give it a few days with the “stock” sound and see if I can get on with it. There’s no doubt, this headphone does A LOT right, the imaging is really very impressive - I just don’t understand this tendency to beef up consumer headphones with a midbass hump, it creates the impression of congestion when actually there isn’t necessarily any. Ah well!

Pad roll is one way. What amp do you use btw. The sound tightens up (better impulse snap, not measured in Sine wave plots) noticeably with amping. I currently use nx4dsd and am moving up to burson fun.

To me, the srh1540 sounded like a variant of hd650 when unamped, and got much better when amped (I never was a fan of hd6x0 series, there's some overdampening or something of that sort happening there).

Srh1540 does indeed have a colouration but it's not that bad with good amping for my tastes. What I'd pick over the 1540 for tone would be the srh940. That thing sounded "correct" on a tonal comparison with music spectrogram plots. Unfortunately it is very fragile.

 

[manueljenkin]

Yes. Stock Samson Z55 sound is good but stock pads are a bit small and fragile. The NVX Standard (non-angled) $20 pads (at SonicElectronix.com) means for $120 you get the best mids that I've heard on any closed headphone except the Senn HD820. The highs are similar to that too, but of course an HD820 has better sub bass extension and spaciousness. The Samson Z55 isn't quite as spacious sounding as the Shure 1540, and with those pads the sub bass is just enough, though not as plentiful, but the mid bas is perfect, no bloat or muddiness. That is probably a big part of why the midrange is so good, natural, lifelike. Putting on the 1540 after that, even with the improved Denon pads, you notice the midrange sits back a bit, making the sound a bit wider, and 1540 bass bump more pronounced. They compliment each other, and I also have the MassDrop / Drop Senn HD59X when I want even less bass and an open vibe.

Thanks, I'll keep it around in my wishlist. I'm thinking of adding srh1840 to my collection as well. Yet to hear the 1840, but the 940 and 1540 are my most favourite of the headphones I've heard, followed by he500. I like the 940 tone more than 1540 and apparently 1840 is also closer to 940 tone.

 

[jhog]

Pad roll is one way. What amp do you use btw. The sound tightens up (better impulse snap, not measured in Sine wave plots) noticeably with amping. I currently use nx4dsd and am moving up to burson fun.

To me, the srh1540 sounded like a variant of hd650 when unamped, and got much better when amped (I never was a fan of hd6x0 series, there's some overdampening or something of that sort happening there).

Srh1540 does indeed have a colouration but it's not that bad with good amping for my tastes. What I'd pick over the 1540 for tone would be the srh940. That thing sounded "correct" on a tonal comparison with music spectrogram plots. Unfortunately it is very fragile.

I’m running it through a Vorzamp Duo, so it’s well amped. Also, having given my ears time to “burn in” - it’s not as overwhelmingly boomy as it first sounded, and I’m already much more tuned in to a lot of the stuff that’s great about the 1540, including soundstage, imaging etc. I also find a bit of eq-ing to boost the top end actually helps tone down the warmth.

I’m quite conflicted over this headphone... it’s definitely better for my needs than the Ultrasone DXP, and it sounds like lots of other ‘phones near its price class offer only marginal gains, and specifically lose out when it comes to comfort, air and soundstage, which is what I’m prioritising. The only two realistic upgrades that somewhat appeal are one of the 50trp mods (lff slant or alpha dogs or primes) or maybe an Aeon Flow Closed. Or.... live with its weaknesses, recognise I got a great deal on a very competent can, and stick with the 1540.

 

[manueljenkin]

I’m running it through a Vorzamp Duo, so it’s well amped. Also, having given my ears time to “burn in” - it’s not as overwhelmingly boomy as it first sounded, and I’m already much more tuned in to a lot of the stuff that’s great about the 1540, including soundstage, imaging etc. I also find a bit of eq-ing to boost the top end actually helps tone down the warmth.

I’m quite conflicted over this headphone... it’s definitely better for my needs than the Ultrasone DXP, and it sounds like lots of other ‘phones near its price class offer only marginal gains, and specifically lose out when it comes to comfort, air and soundstage, which is what I’m prioritising. The only two realistic upgrades that somewhat appeal are one of the 50trp mods (lff slant or alpha dogs or primes) or maybe an Aeon Flow Closed. Or.... live with its weaknesses, recognise I got a great deal on a very competent can, and stick with the 1540.

Aeons.. umm. Idk, but they seem to have tensioning issues and narrow dynamic range.

If you got back to post 1423, I'd have posted the list of headphones I have owned/auditioned and srh1540 outresolves everyone of those except srh940 (I'd have also mentioned flaws of every other headphone). Hd800 and clear were short listen sessions so can't comment much, but my hd800 is arriving in a couple of weeks time so I might be able to give inference. I remember it having a full phase reverb issue (which gives it that soundstage) and also an unnatural graveling/thickening of voices and a loss of finesse in falsettos on the hdv820. Will confirm if it remains with other amps.

I own stuff like cd1700 and there's barely 20 minutes I spend with those things. In a short matter of time I'm back to the srh1540. I'm keeping the rest of my headphones for my measurement system and once my project is done, I'll sell em all.

I'm yet to come across an instance the srh1540 sounded different from what the spectrogram of a song would say about dynamics, harshness, filtering, spatial accuracy etc. My only gripe is that it doesn't have the tone of 940. 940 has a tone that fits very well with binaural tracks. With srh1540, I kind of either bump the 7khz region by 3-5 db when listening to binaural or try to produce the 100-300hz dip of the srh940 + add an elevation between 7-9khz. Without that srh1540 has some kind of a vertical skew and a distance to shimmer.

Honest truth! I'm an engineer and I take pride in finding flaws. I've tried my best to find flaws in this headphone. I've had many a-ha moments only to see them go in vain when I actually look at the spectral inputs. Other than the tonal compensation I've mentioned, I'm yet to find an issue in this headphone. My nx4 is underdriving it below 50hz so I can't make assessments there (waiting for burson fun). Also nx4 is clipping for high dynamic range music on srh1540, which is why I'm certain these need amping power. I'm still not giving up, but so far.. I'm yet to find a flaw! Hope hd800 changes that and teaches me something new.

In fact I'm so fed up with trying for portable alternatives and ending up disappointed - koss porta pro, urbanite xl, and a recent acquisition, the dt1350. In dt1350 the vocals feel like they are in a constant pitch. Also it seems to gloss over the sound in a way that's forgiving but for a person like me it sounds highly unnatural. If the 940 had good build, I'd be having one at this moment. Such accuracy!!

I'm looking for a sine, and hopefully it'll fulfill my needs. If it doesn't, I'll give up my search for a portable alternative forever. Mezes were recommended but I don't think they are any more portable than srh1540. I want something that can fold.

 

[manueljenkin]

Is it possible to add snapshots here. I can provide you my current correction (the 940 tone) as an image. I'm trying on foobar2000 and I'm seeing artefacting currently (either the impulse response of Equalizer resolution limitation or something to do with phase), but the tone has become correct. Maybe you can try it on a better Equalizer and let me know

 

[jhog]

I did see that post, super handy.. Have you heard the old Senn HD250s? I had a pair, and let them go, and gave tingles of regret... from what I remember they had a similar soundstage to the 1540s, more recessed mids, phenomenal sub-bass but no booming mid-bass. Slightly less comfortable and a bugger to drive, but good grief they were enjoyable. If I can sell my DXPs I might pick up another pair to compare...

Aeons.. umm. Idk, but they seem to have tensioning issues and narrow dynamic range.

If you got back to post 1423, I'd have posted the list of headphones I have owned/auditioned and srh1540 outresolves everyone of those except srh940 (I'd have also mentioned flaws of every other headphone). Hd800 and clear were short listen sessions so can't comment much, but my hd800 is arriving in a couple of weeks time so I might be able to give inference. I remember it having a full phase reverb issue (which gives it that soundstage) and also an unnatural graveling/thickening of voices and a loss of finesse in falsettos on the hdv820. Will confirm if it remains with other amps.

I own stuff like cd1700 and there's barely 20 minutes I spend with those things. In a short matter of time I'm back to the srh1540. I'm keeping the rest of my headphones for my measurement system and once my project is done, I'll sell em all.

I'm yet to come across an instance the srh1540 sounded different from what the spectrogram of a song would say about dynamics, harshness, filtering, spatial accuracy etc. My only gripe is that it doesn't have the tone of 940. 940 has a tone that fits very well with binaural tracks. With srh1540, I kind of either bump the 7khz region by 3-5 db when listening to binaural or try to produce the 100-300hz dip of the srh940 + add an elevation between 7-9khz. Without that srh1540 has some kind of a vertical skew and a distance to shimmer.

In fact I'm so fed up with trying for portable alternatives and ending up disappointed - koss porta pro, urbanite xl, and a recent acquisition, the dt1350. In dt1350 the vocals feel like they are in a constant pitch. Also it seems to gloss over the sound in a way that's forgiving but for a person like me it sounds highly unnatural. If the 940 had good build, I'd be having one at this moment. Such accuracy!!