Significant upgrade from SRH940?

[sofastreamer]

Hi there,
 
i dumbwise sold my customized srh940s and need something that can fill the hole it has left. so if i do buy a new headphone it should have at least the qualitys of the shure but should be better soundwise also.
 
what i am looking for:
 
- even more details than the shure, which seems to be quite difficult to find, as the shure is known as a detail monster
- open sounding in a closed can. the shure did that remarkably well, but maybe it can get better
- deep reaching bass. i hate midbass humps and i hate bass, that is not able to play notes down to 20hz even more. the shure was ok in that regard, but i hope for a even flatter response all the way down (it does not mean that i am looking for an overemphasized bass!)
- comfort: as i am getting older, i do find comfort more and more important. as i am searching for closed cans only and i want to wear them during summertime, velour pads would be nice to have.
- soundstage: i am not so much into soundstage width, but i need depth as far as the horizon. pin point imaging and layering of musics for and background are my main needs.
 
all that packed into a somewhat portable or at least outside wearable (isolation does matter) headphone would be heaven and i would pay up to 700 $ for that.
 
please do not recommend fostex mods. i read a whole lot of reviews of maddogs and the likes and came to the conclusion, that they will not fit my needs.

 

[tdockweiler]

Koss Pro DJ 100 with a good transparent dac/amp like the Magni/Modi or the O2/ODAC.
Even an E9 would work.
 
They're not as good without all this..
 
When I had the SRH-940 I felt they didn't do anything better than my DJ100 and KRKs so I kept those. I do like the SRH-940 though.
 
You can use Pearstone/Auray Velour pads on the DJ100 too.

 

[sofastreamer]

no way. i had the koss and it is nowhere near the shure

 

[tdockweiler]

Quote:

no way. i had the koss and it is nowhere near the shure

 
That's too bad. Hope you had it well amped and with a good DAC or else it's not anywhere near it's best.
I just can't honestly say the SRH-940 is any better to my ears. It actually sounded more muffled than the DJ100 and KRKs as well. Not as smooth sounding.
I would also say it's comparable in sound to the M50. SRH-940 is better than the K550 at least..
 
How about the SRH-840? It's cheaper and does have a mid-bass hump, but it's not that bad of one.

 

[sofastreamer]

as i said, i hate midbass and i already had the srh840 too. it is not an upgrade to the srh940. i am leaning towards t70 although it does not get too good reviews.

 

[ZARIM]

The Beyerdynamic T70 willbe great upgrade and it sound wide open, crisp, clear, highly detailed in mids, highs with deep rich bass.

 

[sofastreamer]

when i read the review of malveux, it seems to have a very shy bass departement

 

[Redbeard65]

I bought a pair to T70 (250ohm) when my SRH940 broke for the second time. I ended up sending the T70 back and just waiting for the 940s to come back from Shure.
The T70 had quite a bit less sub bass than the 940 unless I pushed the cups fairly hard against my head. I did not think they had any more details than the 940 but they did have more overall treble.
It seems that it should be possible to do better than the 940 but I have not found anything that is closed that I like better. Like you, I need closed cans since I use them mostly at work.
 
Good luck on your search, I'll be watching this thread to see what comes up.

 

[Ndumagr8]

I wanted to help, coz I was in the same boat as you...the SRH940's have a reputation for breaking but heard that they were amazing for female vocals. After a bit of research I came up with some unorthodox/underated upgrade options that are good :
 Audio Technica A1000x/A2000x : are very picky about how you amp them, though they can be driven straight from an iPod. Not a lot has been written about them other than Currawong's A1000x review and a Headfonia review, and a large headfi A2000x thread.
Their freq response is dead flat from the presence range of 7K to 30Hz similar to the Sony CD900ST, they are analytical and present music in a very natural way, have spiked treble like the DT880, that's why they might need something like a warm sounding amp like the Portatube and to be more musical, though I dunno if they're indeed only musical with a tube amp, maybe Currawong might chime in on this.
They have really jumped in price this year, maybe because they're very few monitor cans btw £300 and £400 that are a real upgrade to the DT880 and K701, that don't need an amp, though in reality they're highest potential is with a high quality amp.
Kenwood KH K1000: Enough reviews about these,real bassy and portable.
Sony CD900ST: More of a sidegrade to the SRH940's, amazing for vocals, is a monitor can, very popular in Japan.
Beyerdynamic DT48: Some have equaled it to Stax resolution in a dynamic can, but be careful, they're reaaaally flat, revealing and some myt say boring,so much so they're akin to taking really hot water and rye bread for breakfast, just like Stax will mercilessly reveal your source, beware..listen first before buying.
Koss ESP950:  supposed SR007 killer for quarter the price, should be in your budget at $679+shipping, they're many views in the ESP950 thread in the Highend sub forum.
Some orthodox/normally recommended options:
Beyerdynamic T70p: they're basically like the T70, but the Beyer engineers tuned them for more bass for outdoor use, as would be expected, while the T70 is lighter in bass for home use not recommended for bassheads, as they are neutral in bass,though gel pads from Beyer shop help immensely with bass, good job on these Beyer engineers, this is my prefered sound sig.
Audiotechnica ES10: Enough reviews on these, bassy portables.
Audiotechnica W1000x: Enough reviews on these.
Hifiman HE500: Enough reviews on these.
Hifiman HE400: They're freq resp, scares me, I bought a headphone once, ignoring the really bassy frequency response and got bit,but I guess that's why you have eq. I'm sure they're great and bassy & good for D&B, but I hope the next Hifiman will compete with the Paradox, they're few neutral warmish orthos other than the BMF mod and the Paradox.
...OK, I think that's enough longwindedness, if I continue you're gonna ask where the hardcover is.
I recommend the ESP950 and the T70p and T70 with gel pads for desktop use with neutral tube amp like a LD IV SE or hybrid like Lyr,Bravo or Project Sunrise...good luck.

 

[Graphicism]

Denon D7000 and Sony MDR-CD3000 would be a significant closed upgrade, both are no longer in production so you're looking used. The Fostex TH900 is also well regarded however quite expensive.