Shure SRH440 Impression

[Judge Buff]

ROTFLMAO...

 

[pasoleati]

Speaking of these phones and drums. Someone said that they don´t reproduce drums realistically. Well, I am just listening to a Mercury Living Presence recording of the Members of Eastman Wind Ensemble playing some marching tunes from the era of US War of Independence. This music is very "drum heavy" and to me the SRH440 reproduces these drums very, very well and realistically. Bass drum is also very well presented.

 

[Merdril]

On the day that I learned of the SRH440's capability, the song I first listened to was the instrumental version of "Passion." The climax of the song includes, well, all instruments of the orchestra, and I was blown away by the drums, the trumpets, the flutes, basically everything. Then, I put on the XB700, and I was nuked away by the power of the drums, blown away by the trumpets, and not much else. The SRH440 don't do bad in reproducing drums, but the difference between it and the XB700 is similar to sitting front row in a symphony performance and sitting a few feet away from the drum ensemble. I hope that clears up what I meant.

And what was your comment about Judge Buff ???

 

[BryanP]

I have to agree. The timbre of different basses/drums do sound a bit artificial at times. This is in comparison with the bass of the RE0s however, which has really great timbre representations across the spectrum. When I listen to some Led Zeppelin songs, I can tell some of the drums being pounded on by Bonham's hands sound very artificial. Sounds soft and lean without any real textures IMO. On the RE0s, I can actually hear his hands pounding on the drums and it sounds VERY natural compared to the 440.

 

[Judge Buff]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Merdril /img/forum/go_quote.gif And what was your comment about Judge Buff ???

Well... I had two thoughts after reading the last page or so of posts:

1. What does an unnatural drum sound like, because I've never heard one on my 440s?

2. Some of you folks need to get out of the house a little more... or get dates.

When people have the inclination to sit around and analyze drum sounds between headphones, it may be time to talk to other people... in person that is, not over an internet connection or texting.

 

[Merdril]

LOL. I would love to follow your advice, but the homework never ends

.

 

[kikkomang]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Judge Buff /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well... I had two thoughts after reading the last page or so of posts: When people have the inclination to sit around and analyze drum sounds between headphones, it may be time to talk to other people... in person that is, not over an internet connection or texting.

hey what is this forum about?

its about headphones

and in this forum we debate qualities of headphones

you should not be making judgments when you are here posting on this forum yourself

 

[pasoleati]

Shouldn´t we actually take the original recording and its quality into equation. BryanP mentioned Led Zeppelin. As far as I know, rock music from that period was not necessarily recorded with best possible equipment. On the other hand, the Mercury Living Presence recordings I mentioned were audiophile stuff back then and still are.

 

[Merdril]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pasoleati /img/forum/go_quote.gif Shouldn´t we actually take the original recording and its quality into equation. BryanP mentioned Led Zeppelin. As far as I know, rock music from that period was not necessarily recorded with best possible equipment. On the other hand, the Mercury Living Presence recordings I mentioned were audiophile stuff back then and still are.

Which is why a lot of the stuff I compare headphones on are Susumu Hirasawa's works. Most of his work is done directly on an Amiga, so in a lossless format you get high quality recordings. "Shizuku Ippai no Kioku", the song I was talking about with the parade drums, is done by Susumu Hirasawa.

 

[pasoleati]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Merdril /img/forum/go_quote.gif ...Most of his work is done directly on an Amiga, so in a lossless format you get high quality recordings. "Shizuku Ippai no Kioku", the song I was talking about with the parade drums, is done by Susumu Hirasawa.

So do you mean that his music is actually electronic music? Or are the drums actual live drums? If the latter, where was it recorded? On what equipment?

 

[Judge Buff]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kikkomang /img/forum/go_quote.gif hey what is this forum about? its about headphones and in this forum we debate qualities of headphones you should not be making judgments when you are here posting on this forum yourself

I obviously hit a nerve for you. Sorry.

I made a joke. You are making judgments.

Merdril interpreted it as I intended, and he is the one who asked the question of me.

But my initial point still remains: I have not heard an unnatural drum sound with my 440s. What "comes out" of the phones is too dependent on the rest of the system and other factors to make sense of statements that single-out one class of instruments from all others and lays the blame for any perceived deficits on the phones themselves. That could be more of a head cold, not necessarily head-fi...

But once again, when I start trying to analyze the subjective differences between how a particular drum sounds in a particular song between headphones, it'll be time for me to drink the "kool-aid."

 

[Merdril]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pasoleati /img/forum/go_quote.gif So do you mean that his music is actually electronic music? Or are the drums actual live drums? If the latter, where was it recorded? On what equipment?

I would love to answer your question, but of that I'm not sure (his website doesn't detail that and the only interview with him I could find is about his work in Berserk). He actually does electropop and electronic music, which are distinct genres by the nature of instruments used. I know one of his songs, "Forces" is done pretty much completely on the Amiga with himself as vocals, and this song would fall under electronic rather than electropop. In that song, the XB700 of course does a better job in replicating the "drums" than the SRH440. You can easily tell that the drums are real life drums, but they have a distinct sound quality of drums in that they sound across multiple frequencies including the "bang" and down to the roll. But I think regardless of the quality of the song, the XB700 will do better than the SRH440 when it comes to bass. I know that's stating the obvious, but that pretty much answers that initial question of how the SRH440 does in drums. The SRH440 performs well, but in comparison to the XB700 (and maybe other headphones) which is of a similar price, it's performance in drums is lackluster.

 

[12345142]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Judge Buff /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well... I had two thoughts after reading the last page or so of posts: 1. What does an unnatural drum sound like, because I've never heard one on my 440s? 2. Some of you folks need to get out of the house a little more... or get dates. When people have the inclination to sit around and analyze drum sounds between headphones, it may be time to talk to other people... in person that is, not over an internet connection or texting.

Yeah, just let me finish watching the new fan-subbed episode...ROTFLMAO indeed.

I think what's trying to be conveyed through the word 'naturalness,' in terms of drums, would be the impact and depth of them. I'd like to use my ER6s (anemic bass, superb detail) and Turbines (huge bass) as a drastic comparison. The former is quite thin-sounding, whereas the latter provides, for lack of better/actual words, the 'boom,' 'pop' and 'ba-dum' of the drums. Weezer's 'Everybody Get Dangerous,' ~3:48-50 on the toms is a prime example. I'll tentatively say that I didn't listen to the other music quoted, but I think this is what everybody is getting at.

 

[Judge Buff]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 12345142 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yeah, just let me finish watching the new fan-subbed episode...ROTFLMAO indeed. I think what's trying to be conveyed through the word 'naturalness,' in terms of drums, would be the impact and depth of them. I'd like to use my ER6s (anemic bass, superb detail) and Turbines (huge bass) as a drastic comparison. The former is quite thin-sounding, whereas the latter provides, for lack of better/actual words, the 'boom,' 'pop' and 'ba-dum' of the drums. Weezer's 'Everybody Get Dangerous,' ~3:48-50 on the toms is a prime example. I'll tentatively say that I didn't listen to the other music quoted, but I think this is what everybody is getting at.

I still haven't heard a drum sound that falls into any category that I would consider "unnatural" out of my 440s. Then again I wouldn't consider my 440s to be audiophile-quality headphones, either. They cost less than my best IEMs and my best IEMs are budget-fi.

Snare drums sound like proper snares. Timpani sound like proper kettle drums and percussion instruments in general sound much better than they should considering the pittance I have invested in my little music system. But then again, my little headphone amp has a tube in it (right now) that pumps out great precise bass and has awesome precision across the audio spectrum. The ECC88 only cost me $8 and it's in a $42 amp.

The 440s are a great, all-round, <$100 headphone. But it is just one link in the chain... Ba-dum , rim-shot!

 

[Merdril]

Just finished listening to "Honey Honey feat. AYUSE KOZUE" by SEAMO. I can honestly say I enjoyed the song, but the Creative DAC is not able to put out the amount of bass I want. My next purchase will probably be a BB cMoy and then a hardware equalizer. My quest for bass continues once again...