[hjf]

I just got my 840's and wanted to submit a quick reaction to benefit anyone contemplating a purchase without an audition. I already have a pair of Beyerdynamic DT 911's (250 0hms) which I believe were their top-of-the line cans in 1992 when I bought them for about $300. I made a back and forth comparison with the Shure phones for about 1 hour listening to classical and jazz through my notebook, making slight adjustment for volume as required to equalize the diference in ohm efficiency.
The Shure's have a much more noticeable bass than the Beyers, but the individual notes seem accurate and can be heard on them and sometimes only felt on the Beyers, particularly at lower volume. I think accoustic jazz listeners will really go for these and the "Fender bass" guys will too.
Midrange is very clear and a solo violin with full orchestral accompanyment
is well balanced, airy, and not obscured in any way. The Shure soundstage does not seem as wide as the Beyers on classical but I would choose the former after listening to Diana Krall on "Quiet Nights".
My ears could not tell the difference between the cans on higher frequency content. Cymbals have the necessary quality of brightness and clarity. A few minutes of listening to the Saturday FM Met broadcast on the Shures indicated no syballence (sp?) with female soprano vocals.
This brief commentary is just an opinion piece and may change after further listening through my main system, but IMHO, the 840's can compete favorably with much higher price headphones as others have mentioned. Build quality seems outstanding and my first impression is to recommend them.

 

[Nirvana1000]

I hooked the 840s to my MiniBoxE+,ALO Mini^3,my Klipsch Pro Medias amplified headphone input and my Harmon Kardon AVR20(which sounded the best).They are great headphones but they do not have the type of bass rumble that i need in a full size HP.Like i said they are great in every other way.But for an extra $60 i think the Denon AH D2000s are more suited to my preferred sound.As i am more of a "bass head audiophile".

 

[Nirvana1000]

The fact that i have weighty bass presence with my M Audio Q40s and my re-terminated,chamber treated HFI-580s.It's hard to get used to the 840's strict transparency and neutral signature which is great but not for everyone.I would keep them if i had money too spare.They are very comfortable and light.And i can see why people like them. P.S.The bass definitely has got better with burn in.They are not as bass light as i thought when i first listened to them.Definitely better then Grado's low end models.

 

[pp312]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RayofPain /img/forum/go_quote.gif I try not to download anything underneath 320kbs i think my ears are dumb though im listening to a 160kbs and a 320kbs file of the same song, and can't hear the difference for the life of me. ;__;

Your ears aren't dumb, and neither are you. I can't hear the difference between 160 and 320 either, and neither I suggest can most people.

They'll insist they can though.

 

[moodyrn]

I disagree. There are some who can't hear a difference, but there are many who can. That's the reason a lot of people rip their cds to flac or some other lossless file. I can easily hear the difference between 160 and 320. I can even here the difference between 320 and lossless even thought they are very close. Everybody ears are difference. Just because you can perceive the difference don't assume most people can't.

 

[BlackStarPUA]

Quote:

Originally Posted by moodyrn /img/forum/go_quote.gif I disagree. There are some who can't hear a difference, but there are many who can. That's the reason a lot of people rip their cds to flac or some other lossless file. I can easily hear the difference between 160 and 320. I can even here the difference between 320 and lossless even thought they are very close. Everybody ears are difference. Just because you can perceive the difference don't assume most people can't.

agree, me too

 

[lh0628]

Question: Is anyone else's headband's adjustment thing really loose?

Every time I take mine off, I have to re-adjust to put back on.

 

[Nirvana1000]

I think the 840s are a better sounding headphone then the lower end Grados.They sort have their signature but more refined and warm.Sorry John.

 

[moodyrn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lh0628 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Question: Is anyone else's headband's adjustment thing really loose? Every time I take mine off, I have to re-adjust to put back on.

That's pretty much the case with all of them. One of the few minor grips I have about them. But like someone else said, at least the positions are numbered and you can all way readjust it to where you were before.

 

[electropop]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pp312 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Your ears aren't dumb, and neither are you. I can't hear the difference between 160 and 320 either, and neither I suggest can most people. They'll insist they can though.

Those bitrates suggest that you're using a computer as a source, or even as a dac. I was using an external dac (Emu 0202) through usb for a long time and seriously couldn't hear differences. Then I learned about the benefits of ASIO and downloaded Foobar on my computer. Well, now I could hear new levels of dynamics, fast paced passages weren't blurry anymore and with that setup, I couldn't listen to low bitrates anymore, at least when you had the same stuff as lossless for reference.

So, before you say anything about bitrates, be sure to check your source. The windows kmixer is a horrible little thing

 

[asrphani]

After reading so many opinions on 440's and 840's,i feel like the 840's are more close to the sennheiser house sound.Is that right? in which case i'd avoid them and get the 440's.

 

[Ra97oR]

Quote:

Originally Posted by electropop /img/forum/go_quote.gif Those bitrates suggest that you're using a computer as a source, or even as a dac. I was using an external dac (Emu 0202) through usb for a long time and seriously couldn't hear differences. Then I learned about the benefits of ASIO and downloaded Foobar on my computer. Well, now I could hear new levels of dynamics, fast paced passages weren't blurry anymore and with that setup, I couldn't listen to low bitrates anymore, at least when you had the same stuff as lossless for reference. So, before you say anything about bitrates, be sure to check your source. The windows kmixer is a horrible little thing

I believe you are using XP? If so, thats nothing wrong saying that XP Kmixer is horrible as it indeed is. But it is really improved in Vista and 7, I totally recommend 7 as your new OS if you are still on XP.

Anyway, I couldn't hear the difference from Lossless to 320 with SRH840, only able to do so with the AD1000PRM. =/

 

[electropop]

Not anymore. That incident, however, happened with XP. I've been using the 7 for about 2 months now. I really like it. However, I still think the sound-quality itself is better when run with ASIO or Wasapi than just simply use an external sound card as the OS' default soundcard. This I noticed as well after having used that function with the W7.. Marginal, but maybe I should check this again.

I've noticed the SRH840 responses well to source-variations, but not amplification, given that it's at least adequate enough to support the quality of the source

Strange for you to say so, because although I like my AD2000s more, they give me less information. Hmm.

 

[Palpatine]

I find the SRh840 analytical like many Sennheisers. I am glad I own both these and the Pro 750. These two are completely different headphones, and serve two different purposes. Great phones.

 

[Ra97oR]

Maybe the SRH840 doesn't throw everything at you like AD1000PRM and AD2000 does, I think that make it easier to listen to the details. But one thing is for sure, AD1000PRM and AD2000 is certainly faster than the SRH840.