[rarewolf]

Lqi copper is great.

I’ve heard back from LQi, and they describe their Esprit cable as “clear and neutral” and their Voda as “warm and smooth”. Were you able to listen to both? Which did you choose?

 

[dan3952]

I’d like to find a suitable 4.4mm balanced cable for my Shure SRH1540 headphones. What are you guys (and gals) using? I’m in Newfoundland Canada and having problems finding anything, but then I’m not sure what I’m looking for. That is, I had been looking for a balanced cable specifically for the Shure SRH1X40 series, and I have a feeling I could more easily find a suitably spec’d generic cable. Please advise… and thanks!

Not sure you would need the balanced cable at all, the Inner Fidelity graph for that one shows that you will need 260 mW, to get them to play at 90 db. A $99 Schiit Magni can do that. I was using a stick DAC/AMP that puts out 100 mW single ended, and 200 mW balanced, to listen to music with my Dad at Christmas, without having used balanced.

 

[dan3952]

After a few weeks of listening, here are some more observations:

1) These are fantastic cans. I am confused why they don't get more love on the forums. They are making me question whether I should keep my Focal Elegia.

2) They sound similar to the Elegia, with the main difference being the Elegia sounds more intimate, with images that are more stark and closer, and the 1540 having a bigger soundstage, with more distant images. Its images being further away, blend a bit more into the soundscaoe, so they aren't as stark.

3) I bought mine used, in perfect condition. I assumed they had been broken in, but a few hundred hours has resulted in quite a transformation (I don't think the previous owner ever used them). They now have that missing sub bass, and no longer have that fatiguing 4k edge. I now can listen to them via ASIO output without any EQ.

4) Brainwavez Sheepskin pads are a must. They are more comfortable, have better isolation, and are a smidgen richer bass through the midrange - which is amazing considering they still retain their huge soundstage.

5) These are the closest I have heard to a closed back sennheiser HD650 (maybe HD600). For that reason alone, they should be more popular. Part of me was biased against the 1540 with the notion that being as old as they are, competing cans must have made them obsolete - until I realized that no one worries about that concept with the HD650.

6) I found a dremel bit that perfectly opened up the mmcx connector housing...on one channel. On the other channel, I got greedy and increased the rpms. The plastic instantly began to liquify with the friction. I managed to fix things, and there is no functional damage. But the right side is no longer perfect. What a dumbass move. With the right dremel bit and PATIENCE, this should have been an easy mod.

7) Did I mention that these are fantastic cans - for the money and altogether?

I had even used the Shures instead of Focal Clears for classic rock, as I had found the Focal's aluminum drivers to be fatiguing and brassy. The extra detail offered by the Focals hadn't sounded very good with that type of music. Might even be returning my Audeze LCD-X 2021s and keeping the Shures. Audeze headphones all sound dark, even after their first modification for a long time.

I had paid $230 for them and had bought the sheepskin pads.

 

[Quadfather]

I’ve heard back from LQi, and they describe their Esprit cable as “clear and neutral” and their Voda as “warm and smooth”. Were you able to listen to both? Which did you choose?

I ordered the all copper warm and smooth cable.

 

[dan3952]

Hey guys new to the forum.. I own the SRH1840 and have been considering the 1540. Need a closed back for general audio production duty and vocal tracking. I'm hesitant because the connections on the 1840 cuts out sometimes. Mainly in the left side. Support told me to try the extra cable and that did work for a little while but it's starting to cut out again - not as bad, but it's still cutting out. I will send these out for warranty but was wondering if anybody is having this issue? I also noticed some of you are using aftermarket cables?
I'm trying out the AKG K371, Shure SRH840, Beyerdynamic dt 700x Pro... the 840's frequency response suits me the most but I really hate the build quality. That's why I'm considering the 1540 but the cable connections worry me.

Thanks!

I have the SRH1540s, and I would consider selling them to you. I haven't had any problems with the cable connections, and had gotten a long aftermarket cable free of charge. For your other option, I would go with the Shure SRH940 instead of the SRH840. I may buy a pair for myself due to its durability and foldability, for travel. They're supposed to be a monitoring headphone, that's brutally honest (at least, at its price point). SRH1840 and SRH1540 are supposed to roll things off a bit, and are more pleasant for extended listening. I've been using Audeze LCD-X 2021s instead, and can hear what their 106 mm drivers offer, but the SRH1540 is admirable at its price point. It's only when I listen to music that has a lot of content below 100 Hz, that I clearly prefer the Audezes; otherwise I would make do with the much cheaper Shures. AKG K371 is strong at its price point, but its a cheap monitoring headphone that's probably behind the SRH1540 in resolution. I had tried the former at Guitar Centre, and the sliding ear cups are a poorly executed design. I couldn't tighten one of them. Pads were thin, my ears were touching the fabric.

 

[dan3952]

I had my 1540s on this morning running them from a Lotoo PAW S1 while bumbling around the house and still enjoy them a lot. However, going to them straight, or soon, after a session with either my SE846 or Fostex TH900 does make me wish Shure went ahead and produced a higher end version with better resolving capabilities. Back to back the difference is pretty noticeable.

I mean they're clearly not inherently adverse to putting out models that transverse the line between the pro and audiophile segments, as seen within their iem line up. Alas, I gave up waiting for this towards the tail end of last year and went for the TH900. They're the only company I can think of that is well regarded in the headphone world that haven't come out have what could be considered (in the headfi realm) TOTL over-ears - both open and closed.

It's been evidently demonstrated for a while now that there's an appetite for these headphones, even in their primary target audience, the pro market. Who knows, maybe they are quietly working away on something in the background...

I agree, SRH1540s are very good at their price point, but most $1000+ headphones out-resolve them, and provide better imaging. I will probably be getting SRH940s for travel, as they are rugged and fold up. I have Audeze LCD-X 2021s, and would have looked at a used Fostex TH-900 mk2, but there weren't any at the time.

 

[tripey]

I have the SRH1540s, and I would consider selling them to you. I haven't had any problems with the cable connections, and had gotten a long aftermarket cable free of charge. For your other option, I would go with the Shure SRH940 instead of the SRH840. I may buy a pair for myself due to its durability and foldability, for travel. They're supposed to be a monitoring headphone, that's brutally honest (at least, at its price point). SRH1840 and SRH1540 are supposed to roll things off a bit, and are more pleasant for extended listening. I've been using Audeze LCD-X 2021s instead, and can hear what their 106 mm drivers offer, but the SRH1540 is admirable at its price point. It's only when I listen to music that has a lot of content below 100 Hz, that I clearly prefer the Audezes; otherwise I would make do with the much cheaper Shures. AKG K371 is strong at its price point, but its a cheap monitoring headphone that's probably behind the SRH1540 in resolution. I had tried the former at Guitar Centre, and the sliding ear cups are a poorly executed design. I couldn't tighten one of them. Pads were thin, my ears were touching the fabric.

I love my 1840s. I wonder how close the 1540 is to the 1840s. I just got a pair of 840a and the build quality is really nice and lighter too. They did boost the bass and the highs a little. I'm kind of disappointed but it still suits me better than the dt700pro x. I'm tempted to keep the dt700 though because it really accentuates the sibilance in my voice which makes me work harder to learn better mic technique. Out of curiosity, how much are you selling the 1540s for?

 

[dan3952]

I love my 1840s. I wonder how close the 1540 is to the 1840s. I just got a pair of 840a and the build quality is really nice and lighter too. They did boost the bass and the highs a little. I'm kind of disappointed but it still suits me better than the dt700pro x. I'm tempted to keep the dt700 though because it really accentuates the sibilance in my voice which makes me work harder to learn better mic technique. Out of curiosity, how much are you selling the 1540s for?

$220

 

[rarewolf]

I have the SRH1540s, and I would consider selling them to you. I haven't had any problems with the cable connections, and had gotten a long aftermarket cable free of charge. For your other option, I would go with the Shure SRH940 instead of the SRH840. I may buy a pair for myself due to its durability and foldability, for travel. They're supposed to be a monitoring headphone, that's brutally honest (at least, at its price point). SRH1840 and SRH1540 are supposed to roll things off a bit, and are more pleasant for extended listening. I've been using Audeze LCD-X 2021s instead, and can hear what their 106 mm drivers offer, but the SRH1540 is admirable at its price point. It's only when I listen to music that has a lot of content below 100 Hz, that I clearly prefer the Audezes; otherwise I would make do with the much cheaper Shures. AKG K371 is strong at its price point, but its a cheap monitoring headphone that's probably behind the SRH1540 in resolution. I had tried the former at Guitar Centre, and the sliding ear cups are a poorly executed design. I couldn't tighten one of them. Pads were thin, my ears were touching the fabric.

I can recommend the SRH940 headphone for sound, but not for construction. Comparing the construction of these 2 headphones, Shure used plastic instead of metal at what should’ve been known to be points of stress, and plastic breaks when stressed. I’m still using them for my critical listening, but today and for the next 2 weeks, I’ll be anticipating my SRH1540’s…

 

[rarewolf]

I’d like to know how SRH1540 users who purchased Brainwavz sheepskin pads for their SRH1540 headphones picked the correct size. As popular as SRH1540/1840 headphones are, I can only find the SRH440 at their website. The implications in previous posts here would suggest the correct size is the one that fits Brainwavz own HM5 headphones. True?

https://www.brainwavzaudio.com/products/headphone-memory-foam-earpads-sheep-skin

 

[waveSounds]

I use 'em on my 1540 and bought them from Amazon. These ones, specifically, but yep they're the same ones that are meant for the HM5.

 

[landaemon]

I love my 1840s. I wonder how close the 1540 is to the 1840s. I just got a pair of 840a and the build quality is really nice and lighter too. They did boost the bass and the highs a little. I'm kind of disappointed but it still suits me better than the dt700pro x. I'm tempted to keep the dt700 though because it really accentuates the sibilance in my voice which makes me work harder to learn better mic technique. Out of curiosity, how much are you selling the 1540s for?

Could you measure width of driver housing on 840a? I have old pair of 840s that have broken headband and new one would be 50€ quoted by Shure. No point in spending that much on headband that is definitely gonna fail again anyway, but the headband on 840a looks much nicer and sturdier. It might be worth it to buy that one instead if it would fit (which it should as the main housings seem to be pretty much same from photos).

 

[rarewolf]

I agree, SRH1540s are very good at their price point, but most $1000+ headphones out-resolve them, and provide better imaging. …

“… most $1000+…”

I’m sure there’s probably a few, but I’ve found even fewer reviews that would confirm it, let alone confirm the value point… #jussayin

 

[rarewolf]

I use 'em on my 1540 and bought them from Amazon. These ones, specifically, but yep they're the same ones that are meant for the HM5.

Thanks for the confirmation.

I’m not sure if anyone noticed, but the link I included in my query shows these are on sale right now ($24). Even the shipping is very reasonable, …even to Canada!

 

[rarewolf]

Not sure you would need the balanced cable at all, the Inner Fidelity graph for that one shows that you will need 260 mW, to get them to play at 90 db. A $99 Schiit Magni can do that. I was using a stick DAC/AMP that puts out 100 mW single ended, and 200 mW balanced, to listen to music with my Dad at Christmas, without having used balanced.

I’m of the understanding that longer cables are subject to significant noise, acquired along the distance between amp and driver. Balancng is designed to remove it, as well as provide the extra headroom and, I imagine in some cases, provide for some extra dynamic range. I guess the real question is about what Shure may have done with the included SE cable for ensuring the noise acquired is not significant.

Part of why I’m here is to learn from others because I’m far from learning these types of things first hand in Newfoundland. Although, I must say I haven’t heard much in this tread about SRH1540 Head-fiers needing to lean on balanced cables. Just anecdotally noting, from what I hear from my (broken) SRH940’s, I probably won’t need to spend the extra $$ either…

… but then… this is so much fun!