[whill]

Hi!

To answer your question, it depends on your taste. I was in the same situation as yours when i was looking for a headphones to replace my 940 which has build quality issues. However, i ended up buying the Shure 1840 which i still have (2nd headphone). If i am to be asked about the difference of 1840 to 940, to my ears the 1840 is sounding a bit forward, while 940 a bit bright and i suspect that the 1540 will be a bit warm. You cannot go wrong with the 1840 as long as you dont have a system that will sounds forward for it will make the overall sound "shouty".

Let me know if you need to clarify something.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[emilsoft]

The 1840 have too much distortion in bass.. save your money and get the HD600 or HD650, they're superior

 

[FiGuY1017]

Deleted

 

[BSOD0x]

Thanks a lot. I'm getting the 1840 as replacement directly from Shure due to the multiple times I had to replace the 940's. I'm going to use the amp/dac xduoo xd05 with Burson v5i opamp. I'll let you know how it goes. The 1840 are on their way.

Let's see how it goes.

 

[jkorten]

An update - try aftermarket silver cables with this headphone. Makes an unbelievable difference in removing sibilance and improving transient response! I bought a no name pair on ebay from China for $60 which sound amazing. There is one problem with the right channel being intermittent sometimes, unless I push the cable to the side (wedge a piece of folded paper in between the headphone shell and the wire). Will look for a replacement plug set I guess.

 

[jkorten]

  It's not defective: bass distortion is really that bad. Read here to see the distortion figures: they're fairly bad, especially around the bass area.

This is laughable. If you trust somebody's graphs more than your ears, you shouldn't audition stereo equipment at all! You should just go ahead and buy from spec sheets!
 
Remember the test set ups for these measurements do not take into account the damping characteristics of human flesh, or the various aspects of the anatomy that are all filtering what is played through headphone speakers. They only measure physical characteristics under specific conditions. They do not measure what headphones sound like or how real they sound.
 
Don't pay attention to what is published in that presentation document, which has no attribution by the way - making it immediately suspect. Pay attention to your ears. I'm a musician by avocation all my life, an audiophile, recording classical music as a hobby and I have had to train my ears to tune pianos. The Shure sounds just fine, in fact I like it better than more expensive headphones such as the T1. That is my opinion. That's all. You will have your own.

 

[dazzerfong]

This is laughable. If you trust somebody's graphs more than your ears, you shouldn't audition stereo equipment at all! You should just go ahead and buy from spec sheets!

Remember the test set ups for these measurements do not take into account the damping characteristics of human flesh, or the various aspects of the anatomy that are all filtering what is played through headphone speakers. They only measure physical characteristics under specific conditions. They do not measure what headphones sound like or how real they sound.

Don't pay attention to what is published in that presentation document, which has no attribution by the way - making it immediately suspect. Pay attention to your ears. I'm a musician by avocation all my life, an audiophile, recording classical music as a hobby and I have had to train my ears to tune pianos. The Shure sounds just fine, in fact I like it better than more expensive headphones such as the T1. That is my opinion. That's all. You will have your own.

I trust my ears. I don't trust my brains. Nor yours. Example: silver cables.

But to each their own. I would personally stop acting like I know it all, but hey, you clearly don't need to.

If we're into bragging, I'm also a concert pianist (admittedly retired now). When you tune pianos, you tune a key or two at a time, not a million instruments. Always hated that pretentiousness from 'musicians' and their false equivalency.

Is it really that hard to believe that someone has a different view to yours which is equally legitimate?

Oh, and to have full disclosure, the graphs are from Inner Fidelity. Obviously, take it as you will.

 

[jkorten]

I trust my ears. I don't trust my brains. Nor yours. Example: silver cables.

But to each their own. I would personally stop acting like I know it all, but hey, you clearly don't need to.

If we're into bragging, I'm also a concert pianist (admittedly retired now). When you tune pianos, you tune a key or two at a time, not a million instruments. Always hated that pretentiousness from 'musicians' and their false equivalency.

Is it really that hard to believe that someone has a different view to yours which is equally legitimate?

Oh, and to have full disclosure, the graphs are from Inner Fidelity. Obviously, take it as you will.

Well talk about acting like one knows it all - the companies that are dismissed in this "presentation" have all developed some of the best microphones in the industry. I've owned AKG and Shure mics in fact. They have experienced engineering staff and development capabilities that are necessary for the level of development they pursue. They are not developing crappy headphones. To have somebody come along and declare this work as worthless by posting a bunch of graphs from Inner Fidelity is acting like you know it all (yes I recognized the graphs but not the text in that presentation - which I gather you wrote).
 
I have had to tune my pianos (in a remote location) both upright and grand, all 88 keys each piano with different inharmonicities requiring different stretches to the scale. When you have spent time trying to learn how to do this - there is a lot you learn to hear that you didn't know before.
 
I definitely admit people have different views - but yours are presented with graphs and statements in such a way to connote some kind of absolute fact. When even the measurement technique is subject to question. It is as if you are judging amplifiers by their frequency response and THD figures.
 
I'm sorry you don't hear the benefit what silver can do in speaker cables, tonearm cables and interconnects. It is a stunning effect once you've done all your cabling (even AC power cords). Transparent, tonally neutral, depth and breadth of image. But really I don't think you've listened. You've probably just made up your mind.
 
There are those who also claim that 5c copper and the proper dielectric/insulation can result in great sound. I wouldn't be surprised if so. I'm not saying they are wrong.

 

[LayLay]

  I thought this was the same driver....
Anyway the airflow on the srh1440 is quite limited, and this is an obvious attempt to downgrade the sound.

 
 
I know that I'm replying to an old post, but considering the driver on the right is the 1440 driver, looking at the images it seems like the diaphragms (not sure if that's the right term) of the two are sort of "flipped", as in they're open towards the inside on the 1840 and towards the outside on the 1440. Interesting. Also interesting are the InnerFidelity measurements, in which they look very similar but the 1440 actually looks a bit better. 
 
Even though the 1440s aren't quite the looker as 1840s, they both look rugged in their own way, and the accessories are apparently identical. If I buy Shures, I'm getting the 1440s.
 
This was just me thinking out loud.

 

[whill]

Personally, the reason why i shifted away from the 1440 is because of the plastic build which i had trauma with the 940 which breaks easily and very fragile.

 

[ilmothedude]

 
Personally, the reason why i shifted away from the 1440 is because of the plastic build which i had trauma with the 940 which breaks easily and very fragile.

I personally have shifted a bit away from 1440 aswell, not really because of plastic construction even though it's annoyingly squeaky, but because the sound signature is so bright and a bit bass light. They however shine on acoustic music. I had some pleather pads for awhile on 1440, and they did some positive change in sound, calming brightness down and giving some bass weight.

 

[LayLay]

 
Personally, the reason why i shifted away from the 1440 is because of the plastic build which i had trauma with the 940 which breaks easily and very fragile.

I seem to be shifting away from them into the 1840 territory as well, despite what I blurted out.  It seems to be one of the most comfortable full sized headphones for large heads.
So expensive though... I want them to last through at least five years of daily use if I get them. I'd be very happy if they lasted 10. How is Shure with repairs after warranty, replacement drivers and all that? (in Europe) I don't expect them to be as good as Sennheiser when it comes to that, but I do wonder, since good service would make buying them easier.

 

[ilmothedude]

I ordered some Shure pleather pads to use with 1440, they probably will calm brightness a bit and add some punch to bass. Meanwhile I found old great synergies between 1440 and old Technics SL-PG490 MASH cd player headphone out. Warmer signature with some punch in bass, almost like tuned for 1440

 

[xxAMAROKxx]

Complaint to Shure SRH 1440 built quality.

I bougtht three SRH 1440 in the last days (from diferent sellers) and all of them had some quality problem. That's why I had to return them and now I'm waiting for the fourth one.

First two had badly made headband.
Third had unbalanced bass tones. (70/30 for left side)

I love the full sound of these headphones They sound so lively.... I had AKG K702, which are great and sounds similar, but these have better sound for me. I want them, but in 100% state, for so much money.

 

[xxAMAROKxx]

The fourth SRH 1440 was not all right too. Bass tones were 40/60 for right side. What a shame...