[fenderbendr]

I've had my Shure srh440 headphones with 840 pads for about three years now and have served me pretty well.  The padding is starting to peel off and I just want to try something new. 
 
Although the the sound quality is pretty good, with less bass than I would like, they have worked well for me.  
 
I've never been really happy with the comfort of them, as even after 30 minutes or so they really start to hurt my ears, even with the upgraded pads.  
 
So so my budget for new headphones is $200, and I would prefer it if I didn't have to use an amp.  
 
Also, for open back cans, just how much sound leaks out at normal listening volumes?  Could people hear them from outside my room?
 
Any recommendations would be great.
 
Thanks

 

[KG Jag]

  I've had my Shure srh440 headphones with 840 pads for about three years now and have served me pretty well.  The padding is starting to peel off and I just want to try something new. 
 
Although the the sound quality is pretty good, with less bass than I would like, they have worked well for me.  
 
I've never been really happy with the comfort of them, as even after 30 minutes or so they really start to hurt my ears, even with the upgraded pads.  
 
So so my budget for new headphones is $200, and I would prefer it if I didn't have to use an amp.  
 
Also, for open back cans, just how much sound leaks out at normal listening volumes?  Could people hear them from outside my room?
 
Any recommendations would be great.
 
Thanks

 
At safe volume levels, normally others will not hear cans outside the room that you are in and that has an open door.
 
Take a look at the (open) AD 900X and (open) Sony MDR-MA900--unless you really want to jump up the bass from what you re currently getting beyond neutral.  These cans will both give you better and more bass than you current can, but they do not emphasize bass within their neutral-ish sound signature.  For more bass consider the (closed) M50X.

 

[fenderbendr]

   
At safe volume levels, normally others will not hear cans outside the room that you are in and that has an open door.
 
Take a look at the (open) AD 900X and (open) Sony MDR-MA900--unless you really want to jump up the bass from what you re currently getting beyond neutral.  These cans will both give you better and more bass than you current can, but they do not emphasize bass within their neutral-ish sound signature.  For more bass consider the (closed) M50X.

Yeah, I don't want a ton more bass, as I will need to use them for monitoring as well as normal music listening.
 
I'll check those out for sure.
 
Thanks

 

[fenderbendr]

Also, I wouldn't need a headphone amp to drive the Ad900x's, would I? I'd mostly be using a Sansa clip plus with rockbox.

 

[KG Jag]

Also, I wouldn't need a headphone amp to drive the Ad900x's, would I? I'd mostly be using a Sansa clip plus with rockbox.

Normally the 900X works well from low powered battery driven devices.  However, I can't tell you specifically about your piece of equipment, as I have no experience with it.

 

[fenderbendr]

Ok, so I received the ad900x's yesterday, and they were slightly disappointing when I put them on. Now, I'm not sure what good soundstage is supposed to sound like, but it didn't really sound too much bigger than my 3 year old srh440's. The ad900x's sounded kinda congested, with not much more bass than the srh440's.

Do they need a lot of time to break in? I mostly played flac files through them with my Sansa clip plus to start out with.

I did the rubber band mod, which helped with them staying on my ears better.

Anyone have any experience with these headphones?

 

[KG Jag]

Ok, so I received the ad900x's yesterday, and they were slightly disappointing when I put them on. Now, I'm not sure what good soundstage is supposed to sound like, but it didn't really sound too much bigger than my 3 year old srh440's. The ad900x's sounded kinda congested, with not much more bass than the srh440's.

Do they need a lot of time to break in? I mostly played flac files through them with my Sansa clip plus to start out with.

I did the rubber band mod, which helped with them staying on my ears better.

Anyone have any experience with these headphones?

 
They should sound much bigger (I have both).  Try them with another source--preferably one with a bit more power.

 

[fenderbendr]

   
They should sound much bigger (I have both).  Try them with another source--preferably one with a bit more power.

I tired them with flac files from my laptop, and there wasn't much of a difference tbh.  I thought they didn't need an amp to sound good.  I guess I'll just have to give it some time.
 
Anything else you would reccomend I try with them?  

 

[KG Jag]

 

   
They should sound much bigger (I have both).  Try them with another source--preferably one with a bit more power.

I tired them with flac files from my laptop, and there wasn't much of a difference tbh.  I thought they didn't need an amp to sound good.  I guess I'll just have to give it some time.
 
Anything else you would reccomend I try with them?  

 
They work just fine from my desktop computer.  it's only 38 Ohms with a sensitivity rating of 100 db/mW.  The Shure is 44 Ohms with a sensitivity of 105 db/mW.
 
Neither my AD 900 or 900X  benefited much (if at all from burn in).
 
Since were not hearing the same things from these cans, I am at a loss to recommend anything else.  The AD900x has a large sound stage for an open can (especially one in or near its price range).  The 440 is closed and has, at best, a so-so sound stage--for a closed can.  The SRH 940, which has a large sound stage for a closed can, does not come close to the size of the sound stage delivered by the AD 900X.  See also this about its very similar predecessor:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/634201/battle-of-the-flagships-58-headphones-compared#user_ATHAD900