[3602]

Eh good news everyone! After whatever I did last night, I am happy to announce that I can wear my 840's at only nine notches! Now just gotta fix the slightly stuck rorating mechanism at the right cup...

 

[Elorian]

Hello everyone- this will be my first Head-Fi post. Great info in this thread- helped me choose my first high quality headphone (SRH 840). They are currently on the truck somewhere in the great midwest and I should have them later in the week. I was initially planning on using them straight out of the HP jack on my ipod 60GB classic, but having read all 113 pages I think I may end up wanting an amp to drive them. So the question becomes: which one?

I'm hoping to glean some more wisdom from all the head-fiers here as to which amp would best suit these phones and my taste in sound and music. I really prefer a warm, rich sound to anything lean, cold or analytical, but would also like good detail and transparency. Also, strong, deep bass is important to me, but it needs to be accurate rather than bloated or boomy. I've got three amps on my current short list (thanks to Skylab for the great reviews!)- any and all input is much appreciated.

The current contenders are:

SRA P-51. My only concern is no crossfeed.

HeadAmp Pico. No crossfeed is a small concern.

Decware ZH1. My concerns are no battery charging and whether the bass would be up to par.

I'm trying to voice the system to shine on new age material (think Enya) and will also be listening to classical and some older pop/rock (America, Creedence, Alan Parsons etc).

So, what are people's opinions on the synergy of these amps with the SRH840s for those genres?

Thanks!

 

[sampson_smith]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3602 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Eh good news everyone! After whatever I did last night, I am happy to announce that I can wear my 840's at only nine notches! Now just gotta fix the slightly stuck rorating mechanism at the right cup...

Congrat's! For a second, I was a little worried for you there.

 

[PixelPusher]

Hey guys, after reading this rather long thread I've been convinced into getting a pair of 840/440 soon, but was just wondering how they compare size wise against the DT770's. Is the 840 really that much bigger and heavier than the 440 for anyone that has seen both?

 

[backtofront001]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PixelPusher /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hey guys, after reading this rather long thread I've been convinced into getting a pair of 840/440 soon, but was just wondering how they compare size wise against the DT770's. Is the 840 really that much bigger and heavier than the 440 for anyone that has seen both?

My sister has the 440's and I can tell you that the 840's are not much bigger. They are a teensy bit heavier but thats about it

 

[lc483]

The 440 and 840 are very similar in size. The bottom half is about equal, but the top half for the 840 is slightly wider due to how the headband extends a bit more horizontally. The 840 headband is also thicker.

About the weight, the 840 is slightly heavier, but IMO the headband is a little more comfortable. The 440 is lighter obviously, but the headband comfort is just an pinch behind. So IMO, it's basically an equal trade-off as far as the weight goes.

 

[eucariote]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elorian /img/forum/go_quote.gif I may end up wanting an amp to drive them. So the question becomes: which one? I'm hoping to glean some more wisdom from all the head-fiers here as to which amp would best suit these phones and my taste in sound and music. I really prefer a warm, rich sound to anything lean, cold or analytical, but would also like good detail and transparency. Also, strong, deep bass is important to me, but it needs to be accurate rather than bloated or boomy. I've got three amps on my current short list (thanks to Skylab for the great reviews!)- any and all input is much appreciated. The current contenders are: SRA P-51. My only concern is no crossfeed. HeadAmp Pico. No crossfeed is a small concern. Decware ZH1. My concerns are no battery charging and whether the bass would be up to par. I'm trying to voice the system to shine on new age material (think Enya) and will also be listening to classical and some older pop/rock (America, Creedence, Alan Parsons etc). So, what are people's opinions on the synergy of these amps with the SRH840s for those genres? Thanks!

At risk of being irrelevant, I'd recommend a desktop tube amplifier. My stereo jack improves the sound of my SRH840s slightly over my portable amp (sadly, haven't heard the ones you're asking about so I can't help you choose among those). However my tube amp with low-impedance jack improves the sound noticeably over portable and stereo amplification- the bass sound much tighter and mids are a bit sweeter. Mind you, they do sound great out portable amplifier (better than all of my 6 headphones except for maybe Grado SR225) but very high current amplification does improve things even more. Maybe that's just something to consider down the line if you want to spend more money on headphone gear

 

[Headphony]

^I'm very happy pairing the SRH840's with an iBasso D10 at work.

 

[Elorian]

Quote:

Originally Posted by eucariote /img/forum/go_quote.gif At risk of being irrelevant, I'd recommend a desktop tube amplifier.

Not irrelevant at all actually, a desktop tube amp is the other route I've been seriously considering (my 2-Ch rig consists of Revel F30s driven by a Jolida SJ502A w/ EI KT90s). I've been pouring over Skylab's reviews and rankings of tube amps and am thinking about an Audiotailor Jade (ideally I'd like a Decware CSP2, but that would involve a bit of a wait for funds and I'm not sure I want to hold off until fall

). Just wish there was an importer here in NA. Which amp are you using BTW?

 

[Elorian]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Headphony /img/forum/go_quote.gif ^I'm very happy pairing the SRH840's with an iBasso D10 at work.

Thanks for the heads-up, I'll check that one out as well.

 

[akwizeguy]

Just ordered a pair of these, now searching for a cost effective amp.
-cmoy BSG or the bass boost one
-Headroom Total Airhead
If I can find the mini3 for a good price

Can anyone comment on how synergistic these amps would pair with the srh840s?

 

[eucariote]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elorian /img/forum/go_quote.gif Which amp are you using BTW?

A Mapletree Ear+ HD. It sounds great and and can play with all of my headphones because it has a low and high impedance plug. However I haven't heard other desktop tube amps so don't take this as more than one (extremely happy) data point.

 

[Elorian]

Quote:

Originally Posted by eucariote /img/forum/go_quote.gif A Mapletree Ear+ HD. It sounds great and and can play with all of my headphones because it has a low and high impedance plug. However I haven't heard other desktop tube amps so don't take this as more than one (extremely happy) data point.

Thanks- looks like a very nice amp. I'm actually leaning towards an Audiotailor Jade at this point- anyone used this w/ the SRH840s?

And MAN do these phones improve w/ 100+ hours of burn in! Quite nice out of the box (can tell they've got a lot of potential), but its a totally different phone at 100+ hrs. Kudos to Shure for such a great product at this price! Can't wait to hear them through tubes...

 

[Das Mookid]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Headphony /img/forum/go_quote.gif ^I'm very happy pairing the SRH840's with an iBasso D10 at work.

Exact setup I use at work at well - very happy with it!

 

[3602]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sampson_smith /img/forum/go_quote.gif Congrat's! For a second, I was a little worried for you there.

Oh, yeah, no. I did return them. Absolutely awesome sound, very engaging, lively. Just the whole design is... 'wrong', I have to say.