[twizzleraddict]

Quote:

For the interested...
 
EarphoneSolutions.com has a coupon for 25% OFF!!!!
(bringing the SRH1840s to like $525!!!, $300 for the 1440s...)
 
Great price for a nice pair of headphones!

 
Into the Downward Spiral I go. Ordered to compare with the rest of my cans. Going to be putting one up for sale soon (need to keep to the 3 can maximum limit I've self-imposed on myself) after baking them all off against each other. Looking forward to the rest of the summer!

 

[kstuart]

Quote:

It looks like that I'm gong to recieve my pair of these beautiful cans in the middle of this week. I am very excited.
Do they even scale up with better amps?
Because now I need to buy an AMP as well, and I'm not willing to pay 1000$ on an AMP, if it is not needed.

What do you currently use (source, DAC, Amp, whatever ) ?

 

[dweaver]

It looks like that I'm gong to recieve my pair of these beautiful cans in the middle of this week. I am very excited.
Do they even scale up with better amps?
Because now I need to buy an AMP as well, and I'm not willing to pay 1000$ on an AMP, if it is not needed.

I have a $200 desktop solid state amp and a $75 tube amp and they both drive all 3 high Shures well. So you don't have to buy a $1000 amp for these.

If your receiving the 1840, I would use them with just your source to start and see what you think of their sound. If you find them a bit to flat in the midrange then look for an amp that is warm sounding, possibly a tube amp with tubes known for boosting the midrange.

If your getting the 1440 I suggest getting a neutral amp as it's more forward midrange can become to much with a tube amp. Also I actually use my 1440 with just my iPhone a lot as it is a bit easier to drive. It does benefit from an amp but sound just fine without one too.

 

[gonkulator]

Quote:

For the interested...
 
EarphoneSolutions.com has a coupon for 25% OFF!!!!
(bringing the SRH1840s to like $525!!!, $300 for the 1440s...)
 
Great price for a nice pair of headphones!

ordered, thanks for the tip

 

[voyager123]

I am using a Xonar D2X right now, but I also have an Essence One with a destroyed headphone amplifier, so I can only use it as a DAC with a headphone amp, but right now I don't have any, so I want to buy one, where I can plug the Shures.

 

[kstuart]

Quote:

I am using a Xonar D2X right now, but I also have an Essence One with a destroyed headphone amplifier, so I can only use it as a DAC with a headphone amp, but right now I don't have any, so I want to buy one, where I can plug the Shures.

One possibility:
 
http://www.headfonia.com/hrt-headstreamer-review/

 

[voyager123]

I don't need a DAC, just an AMP. Even my D2X is better than this. Also I'm seeking in much higher price range than that. If somebody uses a 700 $ headphone with 140 $ source, he doesn't take the headphone capabilities seriously. But anyway, thanks for the suggestion.
In my opinion, a headphone's cost itself is the bare minimum for both the source and for the Amp.
It's like owning and driving a Porsche with 80$ tires.

 

[dweaver]

^^ if thats how you feel about the amp you should buy what suits you best. Personally I have heard the SRH series with better amps at some local meets and aside from a few of them they just seem over kill for this headphone since it is so easily driven. Having said that I did like a couple of the amps I heard and if money is no object at some point I may buy one especially if I ever buy something that requires a good amp to properly drive the headphone like the HD800.

 

[voyager123]

The fact that they are easy to drive doesn't mean that they don't a need a good SOURCE at all.
It means that you don't need an AMP.

 

[dweaver]

Sorry I thought you were talking about amps. I use mine with my iphone 4 using 256 MP3 or better files and with my computer using a little dot Dac 1 coming from my Auzentech Forte sound card via coaxial connector. I try to use only FLAC files from my PC.

 

[the fool]

Seeing the earphone solution deal makes me want to buy srh 1440, but i already have srh 1840, what you guys think?

 

[dweaver]

The 1840 is built better than the 1440 but...

If you find the 1840's mids not pronounced enough or if you find the 1840 to not fit your head comfortably the 1440 may be at least an alternative for you. At $300 they are a steal. The 1440 also works from portable devices quite comfortably due to it's lower impedance.

 

[voyager123]

I have just recieved my 1840s. Listening to it right now out from a D2X, initial impressions are fairly positive. I will post my impressions after burn-in.

 

[kstuart]

Quote:

I don't need a DAC, just an AMP. Even my D2X is better than this. Also I'm seeking in much higher price range than that. If somebody uses a 700 $ headphone with 140 $ source, he doesn't take the headphone capabilities seriously. But anyway, thanks for the suggestion.
In my opinion, a headphone's cost itself is the bare minimum for both the source and for the Amp.
It's like owning and driving a Porsche with 80$ tires.

Actually I am willing to bet that the Headstreamer is significantly better than the D2X.   Sound cards are always subject to PC power supply issues, and more importantly jitter issues. The Headstreamer (and the Music Streamer series in general), avoid these issues by having: a) internal regulated power supply that only uses the USB power as a raw source, and b) asynchronous USB transfer which reclocks the audio stream and only uses the PC audio output as a raw source.
 
The $ comparison is silly, because the D2X cost is tied up in PC sound card parts and software that are irrelevant to analog output.  So, it is like buying for the Porsche a set of $400 wheels that are $360 worth of alloy wheels and $40 tires and thinking they are "better than the $80 tires because they cost more".
 
The Headstreamer is designed by the same guy who has designed $10,000 amplifiers at http://www.museelectronics.com/ if that makes a difference.

 

[voyager123]

Man, these are getting better and better. Indeed the bass fills in(It was too little for me on the day before yesterday, but now it's enough), the midrange also become denser, warmer. I was ready to sell them initially, because it was too lean in the midrange, and there was a fairly big peak in the upper mids.
Concise comparison between DT880 250 OHM and Shure SRH1840:
Build quality is slightly better than the DT880's, it feels solid in the hand. It is almost all metal, except for the headband which is made of plastic with some synhtetic leather(pleather) coating. I'm very surprised that it is much smaller sized headphone than the DT880. The cable itself is is very high quality, it's coating is made of some high quality rubber.
The fit is great for me, even as I have bigger ears than the avarage size.
Comfort wise these are almost on par with the DT880s, the DT880s being a bit more "breezy" for the ears, as they have larger earcups.
Headband adjustment is easier with the SRH1840s, as their headband adjusts smoother than the DT880's.
It leaks quite a bit of sound, but it's not worse than with the DT880s. Personally I don't care about sound leakage, that's why I always bought open design headphones.
So far the bass is much tighter, more textured(with a growling timbre), and extends even deeper than my old DT880's bass. But it is fuller as well.
The midrange is more pronounced, much warmer and fuller(big difference), with more resolution and air.
The highs are much smoother(big difference), less grainy, and more extended than the DT880's treble, and also much lower in quantity, causing a non-fatiguing, flowing sound.
Soundstage wise these are great. It is fairly bigger than the DT880's, but their imaging is simply more precise. Every instrument is well seperated, you can identify each instrument without making efforts.
I can hear more details, than I heard with the DT880s.
Overall I think it is well wort the difference in the price, and I can recommend this headphone wholeheartedly for everybody, who is seeking for a good all-arounder headphnoed with an open, spacious sound.
-----------------
The only problem is that now I have 10 hours on it, but it still has got a slight peak in the upper midrange, Which I'm not fond of. I hope it will disappear after burn-in.