[Wiimote007]

Hm.. My dad will be the one buying these for me as a gift for christmas and for getting a few A's on my report card.. But he doesnt want to pay $145 on Amazon for the 840's....

Is there a place to get them cheaper? I'll be getting them from Canada...

Or even are there comparable cans at a lower price...? (I would prefer to get the 840's though...)

 

[dana789]

I haven't seen them cheaper than $145US. Most places charge $200.

dana789

 

[yashu]

I bought the 440s... I could not resist. I told you I gave them a very close look at the store, well, I was in another shop that carried them, but they were more expensive, but, for kicks I asked the guy if they could price match the store I bought the AKGs from... when he said yes, I picked them up.

They have been burning in, but I can give my initial impressions soon. I think the 440s would be a better choice than the 840s for lesser amps or ipods, zunes, etv, as they nedd less juice to drive. So far, the AKG 240s require the most power.

I am considering a better headphone amp. It's a nice one, meant for a studio, so rack mounts and 4 discrete headpnone amp circuits. I can even take balanced XLR cable, for those that mod for balanced. The price I was offered is hard for me to say no to. It was a Behringer and really well built. The idea was to have 4 pairs of 'phones plugged in and waiting for me and whatever mood I am in. Who knows what the holidays will bring home to me... I certainly do need a good headamp.

Anyway, I think you will like the Shures. I am still in awe of their build quality and comfort. They feel like they are a lot more than 100 dollars. As an a-side, I can tell Sony's mdr v600s are a knock off of this design, and they have the nerve to sell them in big box stores for about the same price!

Good luck man, you might just end up with more than you planned to buy.

 

[Nerd123]

Yashu, as I assume the AKG 242HD's are the same as the 240s from what I've read, are they really that much worse unamped than the Shure's? I'm using a Sony Walkman player and the AKG's quite appeal to me but I don't know if the sound of the Shure's unamped are much better. The price difference for me here in the Netherlands is very small.

 

[Wiimote007]

Okay, My FINAL question, I promise. SRH750DJ's, or SRH840's? Which one would work best for me? I'll most-likely be buying off Amazon. The cost difference doesn't matter much anymore.

 

[Wiimote007]

I really need an answer, he's going away on a business trip soon and this would be greatly appreciated.

 

[yashu]

The AKGs aren't going to enjoy being un-amped. In fact, I bought the Shures and believe, at least the 440s, can run off an ipod *maybe*, but no way on the AKGs. They are easier on any amp you use, or pre. They are perfect if you are plugging them into a headphone out on a nice home audio pre/amp/receiver, and they work alright off my E-MU 0202, they work better on the Behringer headamp. So do the Shures, as they really reach up into the HF so I am happy to dial down the trebel on the Behringer about two notches or so. I do not need to do this on the AKG240s.

Presumably, the Denons will do better here as well, and the Sony XB700s don't really need it, but I jave 4 amp sections, so... but they sound nice without any EQ. I have not really had an urge to plug in my HD555s yet, as the AKGs sound so much better than the HD555s when they some muscle behind them. Smooth as butter, is what I think I blurted out last night when I got everything hooked up. Prior, I was using a different DAC, but even with the better DAC, same thing applies. The AKGs really want a headamp, and if you just have the portable player, the Sony XBs probably sound better than anything other than PortaPros. The HD555s do alright on a portable player, as I remember from about a year ago when hurricaine Ike hit. I had time to jack around with various headphones with my walkman. (I was making mixtapes still for a while because it was the only way to capture the sound of my full range hifi in a portable).

Hope that helps. a lot of the design of the Shures seem to be toward working in a studio enrironment, or just on the road in recording/monitoring. They weigh a lot, are built well, and they handle a ton of power. The AKGs are really good hifi headphones that probably sound great in any studio, or any good headamp. Right now I am listening to them and really enjoying how far the sound extends beyond my head, as well as the clear HF. The Shures have a more neutral sound. I'd say Shures are great all rounders as they probably only need an ok headphone pre, or portable amp (booster?) to sound their best.

 

[jeanmikael]

If sound quality is really your main concern I'd recommend the Sennheiser HD555 that can easily be found under 100$US, however they're open so you'll hear people around you and they will hear what you're listening to.

I've compared them with the Shure SE310 (that are often scored high in reviews) and the HD555 has nothing to envy from the SE310. The HD555 has deep bass, good highs for the price and they're much more enjoyable to listen to. Also the frequencies around 30-50Hz can be heard as opposed to the SE310 that needs the volume to be pushed at the maximum to barely hear them. Their frequency response is 15 - 28000 Hz and they have a nominal impedance of 50 Ohm, so you can easily use them on portable source such as an iPod, but a good amplifier might be required to reveal their full potential. Classic/Rock/R&B sounds great, techno? I've never tried but probably.

I was disappointed by Shure even if the SE310 costs 300$ US , but they offer excellent sound isolation with a "good" sound quality and they are portable (you can run with them, they're small, etc.) so if you think you'll jog with your headphones, or use them in a noisy environment they might be interesting.

Overall though if sound quality is really what you are looking for I'd recommend the HD555, personally I found they were addictive. otherwise I've heard Shure is one of the brand for earbuds...

 

[XenoGears]

Through my experienced impressions I would suggest to you Three options.

Grado SR60

Sony SA-1000

Sony MDR-900HD

I would personally get the SA-1000. Bright, yes, but fairly responsive and certainly as close to reference as you can get for about 115$