Shure SRH-440

[t0wer]

Shure SRH-440

 

The little brother to the 840's

 

 

Build

These are built extremely similar to the 840's.

so if you haven't read my 840 review, go read it.

 

 

the 440 headband is a little thinner and is pleather instead of the cloth material of the 840's

 

 

The cups are a little smaller decreasing the volume of the internal chamber.

 

Sound

This is a tough section to write as they are extremely similar sounding to the 840's. 

 

I believe the drivers are the same in both headphones, the only difference is the earcup size and earpads.

the stock earpads were used, hard and were starting to crack, so when i was using those, they didn't have the best seal and just sounded thin in the bass and vocals.

 

The 440 pads weren't used a whole lot, and I quickly threw on my extra pair of 840 pads.

  95% of srh840's for about 1/2 the price(new).

 

they sound a tiny(barely noticeable abx'ing) bit thin in the vocals and bass.

and the bass isn't as tight as the 840's, it's a little bit boomy.(see tiny, above)

The highs are nearly identical in both the 840's and 440's

 

 

Final Thoughts

I find it hard to recommend the 840's after trying these. I think they are the best headphones for the price I've ever tried.

Unless you are into serious studio work and want the tighter bass and a slightly fuller sound, go with the 840's, but if you're not, these are an excellent pair of headphones for the price.

[Aleppi]

Looks pretty nice. i would probably get them if i hadnt already gotten my 598s.

[madknight3]

I have the 440's and I'm loving them as my first good pair of headphones. The 840 pads still haven't arrived yet but they should be here soon so I'm looking forward to the replacement.

[t0wer]

Looks pretty nice. i would probably get them if i hadnt already gotten my 598s.

 

 

I found they complimented my 595's pretty well.

different enough to justify having both of them.

[Lauen]

I'll hopefully write my review a little later today. 

[Guest Kloaked]

Could you compare these to a pair of Sennheiser headphones, such as the HD 280's?

[hawaiims]

I had these around 2 years ago. Honestly not impressed. They didn't sound much better than the cheap JVC RX500 (although I guess it's not really fair to compare them as the RX500 are open cans), but their sound signature is pretty much flat and they were uncomfortable as hell even with months of break in. The bass was very unimpressive (not much of a basshead myself, but I definitely like a decent amount of midbass) and overall, while they would be great for studio monitoring cans because they are closed and have a very flat sound signature, for music they are just not my cup of tea.

 

Also not great for portable use due to heavy cable, wire sticking out yadi yadi yada

 

Having tried many "portable" headphones including on ears such as the Senneheiser HD25-II, JVC S500 among others, I am certain when I say I will never go back to headphones for use when outside the house. Altough I found IEMs and disliked them at first when I got some years ago (turns out I wasn't inserting them correctly), they can actual sound absolutely amazing despite their minuscule size. Isolation is top notch and will beat any headphones apart from the active noise cancelling type (completely unnecessary BTW, my moderately passive isolating IEMs allow me to watch movies on the plane without being bothered by the noise). Besides, you won't look like a total idiot with huge cans on your head. 

[Lauen]

I had these around 2 years ago. Honestly not impressed. They didn't sound much better than the cheap JVC RX500 (although I guess it's not really fair to compare them as the RX500 are open cans), but their sound signature is pretty much flat and they were uncomfortable as hell even with months of break in. The bass was very unimpressive (not much of a basshead myself, but I definitely like a decent amount of midbass) and overall, while they would be great for studio monitoring cans because they are closed and have a very flat sound signature, for music they are just not my cup of tea.

 

Also not great for portable use due to heavy cable, wire sticking out yadi yadi yada

 

Having tried many "portable" headphones including on ears such as the Senneheiser HD25-II, JVC S500 among others, I am certain when I say I will never go back to headphones for use when outside the house. Altough I found IEMs and disliked them at first when I got some years ago (turns out I wasn't inserting them correctly), they can actual sound absolutely amazing despite their minuscule size. Isolation is top notch and will beat any headphones apart from the active noise cancelling type (completely unnecessary BTW, my moderately passive isolating IEMs allow me to watch movies on the plane without being bothered by the noise). Besides, you won't look like a total idiot with huge cans on your head. 

They do get quite a bit more comfy if you use the 840 pads, like t0wer and I have.

[BennisTheMennis]

have any of you guys tried the srh940 as a comparison, ive got some coming and i was wondering what you thought.