[dazzerfong]

  Lenin,
 
Don't listen to people who tell you there are "non-linearities" or "harmonic distortions" because these measurements are made using non-realistic means (a dummy head with uncertain coupling).
 
And I can't imagine any transducer that doesn't have "harmonic distortions" and "non-linearities".
 
You have to listen to them to determine if they sound good to you. I have headphones that cost $120 to headphones that cost $1500. They sound different, and I use them for different purposes. Is one the best? No, it depends on why I'm using them. Do I need acoustic isolation? Do I want full frequency response while loud? Do I want transparency even if I have to play the headphones softly?
 
So find somebody who has the ones you are considering and listen to them. The 1840s are at least as good as the Sennheiser 650's. I find them more comfortable, and more honestly balanced. But you need to decide. It is all taste with headphones in my opinion. Yes there are certain types that are remarkably real like the in ear shure headphones SE425 that sound amazingly truthful, but you can't use these kind of headphones in all situations. If you are monitoring during a recording session, you may need acoustic isolation in a pair you can remove quickly like the shure 940. You may want the best fidelity Shure 1840. Try each and see what you like.
 
Jerry

No, it's still a flaw. Whether you hear it or not, or if you do hear it, whether you care or not, is entirely up to the person. Measurements are measurements: they aren't unrealistic nor realistic: they simply 'are'. What InnerFidelity shows is above-average THD. Personally, I don't really hear it, so I don't particularly care for it.

Main problem about your comparison with the 1840's and 650's is that they're pretty much the polar opposite. 1840 is bright, 650 is dark. The 1840 (and less so, the 1440) are excellent for critical music applications, but for me, anything besides that, and there's much better cans to consider.

Guys is there any harmonic distortions on SRH 1440. Innerfedility graph shows distortions in the curve .

Do SRH 1440 have many harmonic distortions like depicted in the graph?

Some one told me all I couldbhear is distortions in SRH 1440 is that true ?
Is the trebble harsh in SRH1440 ?
I'm going to buy SRH 1440 ,though Im a basshead , wanna see i may love mids treble in SRH 1440 .


Can I boost the bass in SRH 1440 through an EQ or does it make bass bloated ?

Any suggestions to improve bass on SRH1440 is appreciated like through fiio amps (Fiio E07k , bass adjustments )

If you're a basshead, avoid the SRH1440/1840. It's even less bassy than the HD600 for me. If you've already purchased it, your only option is EQ-ing.
 


This is assuming that the only variable that's changed is the headphone, of course.

 

[Lenin Reddy]

Guys I bought HD650 instead .Thank you all for your support and guidance. I have no amp though but that will be a future purchase.

 

[dazzerfong]

Guys I bought HD650 instead .Thank you all for your support and guidance. I have no amp though but that will be a future purchase.

Good choice: I reckon the HD650 would be the perfect compromise (given your price range) between bass and detail. The other option would be the Phillips X2. BTW, you most definitely need an amp for this: those 300 ohms makes power transfer tricky for normal devices.

 

[Lenin Reddy]

Phillips X2s aren't available here .So went ahead with HD650 instead . could anyone suggest a budget amp (100$)

Which of the below is the best
Bravo V2
Fiio E11k2
Jds labs Cmoy
PA2V2

 

[jkorten]

Dazzerfong - be careful, the THD measurements depend on how the speaker system is loaded. The headphone is tuned to being worn on a biological system, with an ear canal, and an interactive eardrum. The measurement system is not. Therefore the reported THD according to measurements is not likely to correspond to perceived performance.

 

[dazzerfong]

  Dazzerfong - be careful, the THD measurements depend on how the speaker system is loaded. The headphone is tuned to being worn on a biological system, with an ear canal, and an interactive eardrum. The measurement system is not. Therefore the reported THD according to measurements is not likely to correspond to perceived performance.

Oh, of course not: I'm not claiming that THD is the end-all statistic to everything. But dismissing it because 'it's unrealistic' is equally folly. That being said, it's the same argument between solid-state and tube amps: tube amps will next to always have more distortion compared to solid-state, but people still prefer tube nonetheless.

 

[flipteg]

so the other day, the ear pads on my SRH1840 started bothering my ears. my skin is really sensitive to certain types of materials and i think the cover on the speaker grills on the 1840 are some sort of polyester. from time to time, it does bother the tips of my ears where they touch. the pads were getting old  since i have been using the same pair for almost 2 years now so i figured i will cut them out. it's amazing how much the sound stage improved without those grill covers!
 
i do not intend to leave them like that but i ordered the SRH1540 ear pads. i think it's made from a different material that will bother my skin less, but we'll see. as an experiment, my girlfriend has some old silk stockings that she's giving me that i can use as a cover. i just need to figure out how to attach them. 

 

[allets]

I got myself a SRH1840 just recently and I was enjoying what I was hearing but then I tried one of those Audeze style pads (which fit perfectly) and it added full body and weight to the bass... quite possibly the best mid-bass I've ever heard. Incredibly tight mid bass that brings life to the music. Incredible isn't enough, I hear almost HD600-esque highs and mids with bass like none other.
 
Listening to Augustus Pablo ‎– King Tubbys Meets Rockers Uptown on these was something else that I repeated the CD half a dozen times!
 
I'm looking to get measurements for this soon.
 
I don't think I've seen a dynamic headphone that scales so well with pad changing.

 

[flipteg]

i just got my SRH1540 ear pads to replace my 2 year old ear pads. the 1540 ear pads are definitely more firm compared to the 1840. with the 1840 ear pads, the tips of my ears touches the surface more than the 1540 ear pads.
 
does anyone know if the original SRH1840 ear pads have memory foam? how about the SRH1540 ear pads?

 

[Thunder240]

I sprang for a set of SRH1840s last month after several weeks of auditions of open headphones under $500 that are comfortable enough to use for several hours on end. No single audio/electronics store had all the candidates, unfortunately, so serious A/Bing was impossible, but I did my best to take notes to assist my recall and used the same playlist. I picked the SRH1840 over the HD600/650/700, DT880/990 (250 ohm versions), SR325/RS2, and EL-8. (The EL-8 and HD700 both exceeded my budget retail, but I figured there was a possibility I could find a used set under 500, so I ought to include them for situational awareness.) I would have liked to have included the Phillips Fidelio X2, but I couldn’t find a store near me that carried them, and I don’t really believe in ordering a set strictly to demo with the high probability of returning them opened. (Not to mention shipping charges start to add up.)
 
The SRH1840 was far and away the most comfortable on my head, and it also sounded the most natural, the closest to live listening. I listen to a number of genres, but jazz and blues are my bread and butter, and my test playlist was weighted toward them, with classical/orchestral coming in third. If there was one thing about the SRH1840’s sound that won it for me, it was the way it reproduced a piano. The tone was dead on, good weight and drive on the fortes, appropriately lush andantes, just the right amount of shimmer in the upper registers. It would be nice if they also had the EL-8’s bass, but not at the expense of that natural piano tone. And I didn’t find the EL-8 to be particularly comfortable.
 
So anyhow, I’m now the proud owner of a SRH1840, which I driving with a Lake People G103S amp on the middle gain setting, and I’m very pleased with the set up. The SRH1840 doesn’t do everything perfectly for me (e.g. hip hop, EDM) but it does quite a bit. I can understand buyers’ hesitation to spend $700 on a pair back when they were released in 2012, since they sat right between two standard price points, but at 450 I believe it’s an excellent value in the under 500 category. Regarding comparing flagship model to flagship model (which typically cost 1000+), I’m not sure it makes a lot of sense to inform purchasing decisions, unless the other flagship is merely serving as a widely understood reference point. There were some early posts to this thread that knocked the SRH1840 for being inferior to the HD800, and while that might make sense when viewing the HD800 purely as a reference point to better understand the character of the SRH1840, I can’t say I found much value in the comparison to inform my purchase. The HD800 and its flagship brethren were way beyond my budget.
 
If there is one comparison I wish I could have made but didn’t, it’d be with the X2. If anyone out there has access to both SRH1840 and X2 and cares to post a comparative review, you’d have at least one eager reader!
 
Finally, I do occasionally listen to music on my balcony straight out of my iPhone, and while I wouldn’t recommend this vice amplified listening, I find that the SRH1840 still reproduces jazz music quite nicely (some loss of detail, imaging precision, and sound stage, but no change of tonality). I actually tend to prefer this to listening unamplified to my Senn Momentums, which I originally bought for that purpose, as long as I have a quiet background and don’t need the latter’s isolation.

 

[john57]

The actual headband on the 1840 is metal or plastic? I can see that the yoke is metal.

 

[wersus]

I just want to say that I'm another very happy Shure SRH1840 owner. I can't hear any measured distortins with an amp. They sound very airy and smooth and "3D". Bass is perfect to me and they are very comfortable.

 

[superlowfi]

These Shure 1840 were the best headphone purchase I ever made. I auditioned these next to the HD 800 and I feel the Shures absolutely blew the Senns away. I think the 1840s reproduce treble incredibly well, and I think if people are being honest that isn't what most people are looking for. They are looking for warm, smoothed over treble, like the X2, and HD650, tube amps and sounds along those lines. It's a bass world and if you are into that, oversized dynamic drivers like the X2 are perfect. 
 
To me, the HD 800 felt extremely gimmicky and I think it's a function of the modern age of headphone manufacturers falling all over themselves to invent something new to try to "reinvent" hi fidelity sound. Tesla drivers, ring radiators, nano thin planar magnetic drivers. Shure in the 1840 proves that all you need for amazingly accurate hi fidelity sound is a 40 mm dynamic driver. Embarrassing. 
 
I think people take charts and graphs a little too seriously here. I think it's a function of people desperately trying to cling to some "objective" means to justify and rationalize why one headphone is better than another. The truth is, the only thing you can really do is listen and choose the headphone you like. What is the point of buying a headphone with a pretty graph if you don't like how it sounds? And similarly, what is the point of avoiding a headphone with a scary graph if it turns out to be the best headphone for your particular tastes? It seems rather silly to me.

 

[emilsoft]

I got the Shure 1840 couple of days ago. They have about 20 hours or so burn in, and there was an improvement for the better compared to fresh out of the box- bass got better and has got a good kick to it now (still neutral), there's more warmth and they sound smoother - it's a pleasant, certainly not harsh sound. 
 
I'm still uncertain if I want to keep them however. I do think they produce harmonic distortion when there's too much bass and playing at loudish volume (I did some tests with tone sweep, could hear saturation at higher volume, with a touch of placebo thanks to the THD graphs floating around) - it's subtle but i think it influences the overall sound. They distorted more easily prior to burn in, so i think it helped that the driver loosened up a bit, now it's less and at a louder volume. i highly recommend a burn in for these, with some bass heavy music at moderate levels for 30 hours or more.
 
I really can't put my finger on their sound - they are both gritty and smooth, punchy but not bassy, wet and dry, transparent but not shrill, a cross between modern and vintage high quality audio system. I'm beginning to think they are mostly reflecting the production of the individual tracks, like a chameleon. However, I do think they have bit of grungy, physical sound overall, possibly due to their flat tuning, or perhaps the distortion saturation. I have a feeling these will be great for music production; i immediately realised the bass of one of my tracks was overcooked.
 
I will give them some more time... I hope things will play out in my favour as I don't think I can find a more neutral/flat tuned headphone. Shame about the saturation... I think Shure tried to squeeze too much out of this driver with the flat tuning

 

[ubs28]

  These Shure 1840 were the best headphone purchase I ever made. I auditioned these next to the HD 800 and I feel the Shures absolutely blew the Senns away. I think the 1840s reproduce treble incredibly well, and I think if people are being honest that isn't what most people are looking for. They are looking for warm, smoothed over treble, like the X2, and HD650, tube amps and sounds along those lines. It's a bass world and if you are into that, oversized dynamic drivers like the X2 are perfect. 
 
To me, the HD 800 felt extremely gimmicky and I think it's a function of the modern age of headphone manufacturers falling all over themselves to invent something new to try to "reinvent" hi fidelity sound. Tesla drivers, ring radiators, nano thin planar magnetic drivers. Shure in the 1840 proves that all you need for amazingly accurate hi fidelity sound is a 40 mm dynamic driver. Embarrassing. 
 
I think people take charts and graphs a little too seriously here. I think it's a function of people desperately trying to cling to some "objective" means to justify and rationalize why one headphone is better than another. The truth is, the only thing you can really do is listen and choose the headphone you like. What is the point of buying a headphone with a pretty graph if you don't like how it sounds? And similarly, what is the point of avoiding a headphone with a scary graph if it turns out to be the best headphone for your particular tastes? It seems rather silly to me.

Nothing could be further from the truth. I own both and the HD800 beats the Shure SRH 1840. 
 
The HD800 definitely reinvented hi-fi sound, I still haven't heard a better headphone than it. But the Shure SRH 1840 is pretty impressive, especially considering the price.