Shure Srh1440 Professional Open Back Headphones - 40mm Neodymium Drivers, Full-Range Audio With Deta
Shure SRH1440 Professional Open Back Headphones - 40mm Neodymium Drivers, Full-Range Audio with Detailed Highs and Rich Bass for Mastering and Critical Listening, Circumaural Design for Natural Sound
- 40 mm neodymium drivers deliver full-range audio with rich, controlled bass
- Open-back, circumaural design for exceptionally natural sound, wide stereo image, and increased depth of field
- Impedance optimized for direct connection to wide range of portable audio devices
- Fully adjustable, premium padded headband with steel frame and sleek, ergonomic design for hours of listening comfort
- Oxygen-free copper cable with Kevlar reinforced jacket for superior performance and durability
Brand : Shure
Category : Electronics,Headphones, Earbuds & Accessories,Amplifiers
Rating : 3.9
Price : US $274.95
Review Count : 82
SalesRank : 0
Shure SRH1440 Professional Open Back Headphones - 40mm Neodymium Drivers, Full-Range Audio with Detailed Highs and Rich Bass for Mastering and Critical Listening, Circumaural Design for Natural Sound
- The Shure SRH1440 Headphones are good headphones.They are not \"blow-you-away\" headphones that \"immerse you in an ocean of deep and rich sounds,leaving their competitors on the dust\", or other such superlative audiophile reviewer babble... no...but they are simply good, quality headphones. I found them to be acceptable. I am keeping them.Here is the back story:Earlier this week, I ordered and received the $180-more-expensive (nearly $500) Sennheiser HD 650headphones. I was impressed by their almost unanimously great reviews.I found the Sennheiser HD 650 to be totally unacceptable for two reasons:1.) The HD 650 was very uncomfortable - like a tight vice grip on my head.2.) The HD 650 has a whopping 300 ohms of impedance, which to my surprise, I discovered wastoo much impedance / resistance even for my $250 TEAC model UD-H01 D.A.C. - Headphone Amp Unit tobe able to power them beyond just a moderate volume level.So, I returned the HD 650, and instead I ordered and received the Shure SRH1440 Headphones.They were much less expensive (at $300), and much more comfortable on my head,and because their impedance is only 37 ohms... which is about ONE-TENTH of the HD 650\'s 300 ohms...I was able to power them with my TEAC model UD-HO1 Digital-Analog-Converter - Headphone Amp Unit.The Shure SRH1440 headphones have very comfortable and soft velour cloth ear pads(a better choice than genuine or fake leather, as velour cloth breathes well against your skin).They are not too tight, not too loose, very flexible and adjustable... easy to fit to your head.They produce a nice balanced sound... not too full of bass... not too full of treble...(though if you have an old-school equalizer like I do, that is easily adjustable to suit your taste anyway).I did not like that the cord is only 2.1 meters (6.9 feet) long, as I could have ideally used justan extra foot or two... but I can make that work for me. I did not like that the cord has a cheap,thin, rubber-coated, strangely \"bendy / bouncy\" quality to it, rather than being a cord that drapesdown more smoothly and uniformly, as it should. That being said... it is a very lightweight cordthat does not tangle and does not weigh you down... and both ends are gold-plated... so it is acceptable to me.It is unexpected and generous of Shure that they also provide SRH1440s buyers with a second set of cords,and a second set of velour ear-pads... so you can swap-out your cords and ear pads in a few years,when your first sets gets old, and you then have the feel of a new set of headphones... that was thoughtful.You also get a semi-rigid carrying case. You also get an adapter to convert the tiny 3.5 mm termination jack(which fits into an iPod / iPhone / iPad etc.) into a 1/4 inch classic big headphone jack such as thosefound on most home audio components, receivers, and headphone amps.In closing... I would like to point out one thing, on a related note, concerning what Ilearned this week about the required amplification of a good set of headphones:Although these Shure SRH1440 headphones, at just 37 ohms of impedance,are able to achieve a higher volume level than the Sennhesier HD 650\'s withtheir crazy-high 300 ohms of impedance... I still found that my new TEAC headphone ampwas only able to power these low-impedance Shure 1440s headphones to what I wouldcall a \"moderately loud\" listening level, if I turned the headphone amp\'s volume controlall the way up to 100%. That\'s loud enough for me... but it might not quite be loud enoughfor some people.Apparently, in order to get really good (distortion free) somewhat high volume out of good headphones,you really need to buy a high-end, very powerful headphone amp, capable of delivering morepower than my $250 headphone amp / DAC combo unit is capable of delivering.I found that discovery to be very surprising. That\'s not the fault of these headphones... but it issomething that the buyer of quality headphones should keep in mind. A powerful headphone ampis necessary to realize the full potential of quality headphones.Happy listening!
- These are marketed as studio monitors but they\'re not as revealing, as e.g. the much less costly Sony MDR-V6\'s. They also have a noticeable resonance in the lower mids that can be alleviated if you tack on the spare pads and move the drivers slightly away from your ears.
- Standard Disclaimers before I begin a short review (which I will hopefully add to, in a few days):i. Am I an audiophile - Noii. Do I possess decent hearing - S(h)ure. I completed the Philips Golden Ears challenge - which means at the very least I am not too old, and my hearing is still ok.iii. Do I understand frequency response, sampling theorem ...etc - Yes (I am an Engineer)Equipment:I listen to music straight from my phone as mp3, flac, from my Macbook Pro - again as mp3, flac, and from my Schiit Magni/Modi combo - exclusively for when I want to sit down and \"just\" listen to music - and exclusively with flac.Music Genres:I listen to Classic Rock mostly, but listen to a bit of everything including rap, hip-hop and pop. I also listen to Indian music - so yes, a lot of A R Rahman thrown in as well.I do not play musical instruments, not am I classically trained in music.Headphones I use:I have a Fidelio L1 and M1, Beyerdynamic COP and have listened to Audio Technica ATH 50 and have listened to a pair of V-Moda Crossfade LP\'s for a breif time. I have also used a whole lot of 20-50$ earphones. I like the Fidelio L1 the most - it\'s the headphone that got me introduced to the lossless music listening. All that till I tried the Shure SRH 1440.I find the COP to be extremely good for a closed back headphone. I don\'t play with the Bass port too much - just leave it in position 3 (of 4). I want to hate it compared to my Fidelio L1\'s , but haven\'t yet been able to bring myself to :) (Well, I do sound biased with a predisposition, but I just like my Fidelio L1\'s and am quite objective about their quality.)I listened to a couple of tracks on the Fidelio L1 and Shure SRH1440 - and at first, I felt like the Shure\'s had nothing more to offer compared to the L1\'s - which I was both happy and sad about. Happy for my Fidelio\'s - sad, because either I couldn\'t distinguish one\'s signature from the other, or this is as far as I got before I could tell the difference between two good headphones. (It\'s one thing to be able to differentiate a $40 headphone from a $300 headphone, and another thing to differentiate two $300 headphones.)However, after listening patiently to a few more tracks, I think I might be gravitating towards the Shure more. I think compared to the Shure, the Fidelio L1\'s sound a little muffled and not very highly resolving. The bass is maybe a little more pronounced, but at the high end, the Shure\'s are definitely clearer. Now there are professional reviewers out there who feel the Shure 1440 might be a little too bright - maybe that is true. But it is very detailed. I think depending on the track you pick, or if most of your music is identical, then based on your collection - you may or may not like the Shure\'s.I think the accessories are wonderful too. A hard case is much appreciated. Two cables and two sets of velour pads are definitely welcome. I think this is the best money you can spend on headphones - they should last a long timeUpdate: 2016-04After having used both the Philips Fidelio L1 and M1, I decided to pull the plug on the X1 as well. (The X2 is already out, but I wanted the X1) Now, I haven\'t listened critically to the SRH1440 and the X1 back to back to pin point differences, but I will have to concede that the X1 sounds better to me. The X1 has a wonderful soundstage, has boomy bass, and the high end isn\'t too shrill. The Shure SRH 1440 is ok too for the most part, but I feel it is too shrill at the high end for a lot of tracks. This might be a more linear response than the X1, but is harsh for listening for extended periods of time. You can always play with EQ to adjust for that, but I generally don\'t mess with the EQ too much. It is also worth pointing out that both headphones will work with a Portable player like the FiiO X1, and the MBP 15\" Retina I use drives these pretty well as well. I do use a Schiit Magni/Modi 2 Uber combination at times, and for all of them, the X1 and SRM1440 work pretty well. The one place in which the SRH is a better value for money is the X1 doesn\'t have a replaceable earpad, and the stock cable it comes with is sucky! The SRH comes with 1 extra set of earpads and 2 good cables, also a nice case. Win!The next set of headphones I want to compare this and the X1 to are Beyer DT 990 250 Ohms, (to see if my Schiit stack make a difference) AKG K712pro, HiFiMan HE400 and Grado 325i. I would also like to sample the SRH1840 and 1440.Update: 2016-10I finally decided to pickup two more headphones to test out. I bought a Shure SRH 1840, and also a AKG K712. So I tried doing some comparisons of the SRH 1440 with three other headphones - the Philips Fidelio X1, the Shure SRH 1840, the AKG K712. One of the things that still in my opinion the 1440 had going for it is the wonderful accessories that came with it for it\'s price point.I have already spoken about the Fildelio X1\'s. Now, the AKG K712 Pro can be had at the same price point, and I have to concede it is a better headphone. The orange looks of it leaves a bit to be desired, but otherwise it is a more balanced sounding headphone to me. In comparing the K712 to the Fidelio, the Fidelio X1 was the darker sounding of the two, but also did not sound as clear at times, and the soundstage of the 712 was wider still.The Shure SRH 1840 came out the real winner really. If I could hold on to only one of the above headphones, (and I have since sold a lot of my headphones), it would have to be the SRH1840. It is possibly the most balanced headphone of the lot. The sound signature is very flat and the sound stage is wide without being too wide. In many ways, the K712 and the Fidelio X1 keep up with it, the Fidelio X1 sounds better if you\'re a bass head, and if you like a wider sound stage, the K712 is comparable. However, to me, the 1840 were the clear winners over everything else. The 1440 did not stand a chance - the 1840\'s are lighter, better looking (IMHO), come with the same accessories, and sound a lot more linear. I do not experience fatigue due to listening to extended periods, since the top end is not accentuated like the 1440\'s. The 1440\'s left my ears tired with any amount of extended listening.So there you have it. If you can stretch your wallet a little more, go for the 1840\'s. If not, make sure you audition these and compare them to some other good headphones in the price range before you pull the trigger.
- I am looking for good reference studio headphones for my music room. I have some Shure 840\'s that I am completely happy with, but I need a more of an open soundstage and open back headphones will be perfect for mixing and mastering. The SRH1440 has a good solid feel and design, but the highs are way to harsh. The high end hurt my ears. With proper equalization I\'m sure many would be happy with these cans, but for mixing, no.
- Now that the price has come down on these wonderful headphones, I decided to purchase the SRH1440. I am so glad I did. I have owned good headphones from Koss. These headphones have such a unique design that I had to get them. Plus, the quality of their sound is awesome! They come with extra ear pads and cord. That was a great bonus. They are an open back design. I like it, If I need to hear something other than my music I just turn down the volume and I don\'t have to take them off to hear things. I think they are the best looking headphones on the market today. They are so comfortable. I give them 5 stars and thanks to Amazon for the best place to buy the products I really like and can\'t get at a store in my city.
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