[mjlee181]

  from my experience yes - though the initial harshness was easily 'cured' by turning down the volume to a gentler level. after a day, things started to change, even non-audiophile friends of mine started asking how much is the 1540 after trying them on - before the 1540, they almost always just tell me i'm crazy to be spending too much on cans.  I still do find it better on gentler volume levels.
 
Been driving it with ifi dsd + ifi itube + ifi ican.  There was noticeable (for the better) change with the itube buffer specially when set to +6db.  I could tolerate the bass to a higher volume level - unfortunately, it doesnt seem to cope well with a lot of strong dubstep records i throw at it.  But then again i dont really listen much to dubstep music - i just wanted to hear how it will deal with the strong and ever-changing bass of the genre.   
 
with vocals (mostly female) and instrumentals i like it very much - smooth and detailed. Although as i have said in some other threads, it sounds somewhat 'airy' for me for a closed back headphone - maybe because of the pads - which might as well be why sound leakage is bad at slightly above volume levels.   Now that I think about it, at volume levels where sound leakage is minimal but volume is just enough - the 1540 sounded most enjoyable for me. 

and also, the carbon fiber is just too cool

hey there, i noticed ur signature u mentioned u have iDSD, is it good? currently i feed my srh1540 from pc -> schiit audio vali -> srh1540, currently looking for a fairly priced and good dac at the moment, so how do u connect it? is it usb from pc to iDSD then RCA to desktop amp?

 

[rptlead]

 
hey there, i noticed ur signature u mentioned u have iDSD, is it good? currently i feed my srh1540 from pc -> schiit audio vali -> srh1540, currently looking for a fairly priced and good dac at the moment, so how do u connect it? is it usb from pc to iDSD then RCA to desktop amp?

for the short period that i've had it, yes. it drives all of my headphones alone well sans the hd800 (ok this is not my hd800 yet - a loaner from a friend but mine's arriving tomorrow).  Transparent and has decent punch for it's size.  The battery life is decent but it can be improved I think.  And yes, It's usb to iDsD then RCA interconnect to the amp - it has 3.5 mini jack output, but i only use it when it's by itself on a mobile setup such us my C&C portable amp.
 
If your pc doesnt have really clean USB power output, I suggest turning the iDSD first before plugging it in so it will use internal battery power.  It sounded more veiled running on usb power from my mac book pro - and the mid-bass isn't as good when running with battery power. It may be my long audioquest cinnamon usb cable at fault there.  But like I said, on battery power, it is a whole lot different ballgame. It is that apparent to me that I decided to buy iUSB as well so that i wont have to worry about running out of clean power when plugged.

It is the best bang for the buck out of all the ifi products IMHO given you can use it for a low impedance mobile setup as well - yeah the amp section is decent enough to be usable, but i dont think the amp section will replace your vali. I dont own the vali but i've listened to it for a few minutes from a store.  If you get the iDSD, let me know how it pairs with the vali on the 1540.  if you love it, i may pull the trigger on the vali although i have the iCAN which is another little wonder on its own. 

 

[mjlee181]

  for the short period that i've had it, yes. it drives all of my headphones alone well sans the hd800 (ok this is not my hd800 yet - a loaner from a friend but mine's arriving tomorrow).  Transparent and has decent punch for it's size.  The battery life is decent but it can be improved I think.  And yes, It's usb to iDsD then RCA interconnect to the amp - it has 3.5 mini jack output, but i only use it when it's by itself on a mobile setup such us my C&C portable amp.
 
If your pc doesnt have really clean USB power output, I suggest turning the iDSD first before plugging it in so it will use internal battery power.  It sounded more veiled running on usb power from my mac book pro - and the mid-bass isn't as good when running with battery power. It may be my long audioquest cinnamon usb cable at fault there.  But like I said, on battery power, it is a whole lot different ballgame. It is that apparent to me that I decided to buy iUSB as well so that i wont have to worry about running out of clean power when plugged.

It is the best bang for the buck out of all the ifi products IMHO given you can use it for a low impedance mobile setup as well - yeah the amp section is decent enough to be usable, but i dont think the amp section will replace your vali. I dont own the vali but i've listened to it for a few minutes from a store.  If you get the iDSD, let me know how it pairs with the vali on the 1540.  if you love it, i may pull the trigger on the vali although i have the iCAN which is another little wonder on its own. 

hi, thanks for the input, but most probably not going to buy it so soon because overspent on audiophile stuff in the past 1 month

 

[doctorjazz]

 
Does anyone have trouble with the fixed angle of the ear cups/pads?  I tried the SRH1540 at a meet and loved the sound, and the pads were the nicest I have ever tried... but like the V-Moda M-100, the ear cup angle is fixed.

Looking down at the top of someones's head:

 |    |

is how the feel to me, when what I really want is something closer to this:


/    \


Do I just have a strangely shaped head, or do some of you have the same issue and have solved it by bending the frame slightly inward towards the front side of the ear cups?  Just wondering.  I find it hard to get used to because I am consistently bugged by the uneven pressure towards the back of my head rather than the balanced pressure I feel with my ATH-ESW9 or HD-700 which both have pivots that allow the ear cups to angle in to match my ears and/or head and thus feel balanced and less fatiguing for longer listening sessions.

Not takers on this???  Just one more attempt to get some feedback from those of you using this headphone...

I think I have the same issue, the fit is odd (just went through the 1st 8 pages of the thread, don't think I have the time or patience to go through the whole 25, sorry if this gets covered later). I have a small head, ears must be somewhat unusual as well, because I'm always struggling with fit, Iem's tend not to fit me well on the left, had fit issuess with the Mikros 90. The poor fit often results in loss of bass, the way it does on iem's when they don't seal well. I've read everywhere how the bass is just fantastic on the Shures, and it is anemic when I listen. If I hold the cups/pads against my head, it comes back. I think the back of the cup doesn't fit flush against my head, ruining the seal. Are there other pads someone has tried that might help here? I'd ask if anyone else had a similar experience, but Greggo seems the closest to my experience. I've bent them a bit, the upper part that the headband slides through starts to irritate my head, and I hate to deform them too much. Any ideas? Thanks

 

[kimvictor]

I think I have the same issue, the fit is odd (just went through the 1st 8 pages of the thread, don't think I have the time or patience to go through the whole 25, sorry if this gets covered later). I have a small head, ears must be somewhat unusual as well, because I'm always struggling with fit, Iem's tend not to fit me well on the left, had fit issuess with the Mikros 90. The poor fit often results in loss of bass, the way it does on iem's when they don't seal well. I've read everywhere how the bass is just fantastic on the Shures, and it is anemic when I listen. If I hold the cups/pads against my head, it comes back. I think the back of the cup doesn't fit flush against my head, ruining the seal. Are there other pads someone has tried that might help here? I'd ask if anyone else had a similar experience, but Greggo seems the closest to my experience. I've bent them a bit, the upper part that the headband slides through starts to irritate my head, and I hate to deform them too much. Any ideas? Thanks

I think the alpha pads should be thicker, so it should help for smaller pads. I think. I don't know for sure.

 

[CDWMcInSpots]

 

  Does anyone have trouble with the fixed angle of the ear cups/pads?  I tried the SRH1540 at a meet and loved the sound, and the pads were the nicest I have ever tried... but like the V-Moda M-100, the ear cup angle is fixed.
 
Looking down at the top of someones's head:
 
 |    |
 
is how the feel to me, when what I really want is something closer to this:
 
 
/    \
 
 
Do I just have a strangely shaped head, or do some of you have the same issue and have solved it by bending the frame slightly inward towards the front side of the ear cups?  Just wondering.  I find it hard to get used to because I am consistently bugged by the uneven pressure towards the back of my head rather than the balanced pressure I feel with my ATH-ESW9 or HD-700 which both have pivots that allow the ear cups to angle in to match my ears and/or head and thus feel balanced and less fatiguing for longer listening sessions.

Not takers on this???  Just one more attempt to get some feedback from those of you using this headphone...

 
I probably have it a bit the other way around:
 
Face
\    /
Back of head
 
I have experienced problems with some headphones with limited movement around the vertical axis, but Shure SRH1540 seemed fine.
 
InnerFidelity's Tyll Hertsens writes and talks about this and how to bend the headband to get a better fit in his review:
http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/cool-comfy-and-competent-shure-srh1540
 

 

[gelocks]

Yeah... they still haven't learn how to fix that with their headphones.
I don't really have problems with them, but I know lots of people do...

 

[kimvictor]

Well well. Here's by favorite SRH1540 rig.

RWAK100(not that RWA mod matters)
Carat-Topaz(via optical in)
SRH1540
 
People say carat topaz is bad when compared to modern dac/amps. I say not. Having owned one of the most competent amp/dac(uha-6s.mkii), I can say carat topaz perform at that level. It also matches 1540 well.

 

[Change is Good]

I think the alpha pads should be thicker, so it should help for smaller pads. I think. I don't know for sure.

Wow, sorry for overlooking this post. I have Alpha pads on mine, and I helps immensely with isolation and fit.

The catch, however, is getting that good fit. For my head, the angles need to placed facing upwards and the headband needs to be stretched. Its real tricky and people should be advised of so.

In the end, the ft will look as:

Dome

\ /

Chin

Edit: I have pics around here, somewhere

 

[kimvictor]

A 1540 for $350!
 
That's a good price.
http://www.head-fi.org/t/715987/srh1540

 

[Change is Good]

Blasphemy!

 

[kimvictor]

Blasphemy!

Sorry . I still love them, but I just want better.

 

[Change is Good]

I felt that way the first month I had them, until I got some Alpha pads

 

[kimvictor]

I felt that way the first month I had them, until I got some Alpha pads

Well, I'm aiming for 1k hps now. I'm also selling my RWAK100 to fund for this.

 

[Byrnie]

  Sorry . I still love them, but I just want better.

I hear you and that's why I'm saving up for the TH900's but I plan to keep the 1540s too.