Is there a reason Shure and Denon headphones don't get talked about much on here?

[jhaider]

Neither is a first-rate brand for headphones.

Denon cans were good when they were OEM'd by Foster (AH-D2000, 5000 etc.). What followed was decidedly colored and correspondingly meh.

Those weren't the last word in fidelity either. When the D2000 came out it was getting lots of buzz from Innerfidelity et al. At the same time, I was growing unsatisfied with my Sennheiser HD580 (which hadn't had a pad replacement in at that point probably 15 years, and had undergone various mishaps in the course of my travels). So I picked up a pair and, at first, liked them.

Then some screws fell out, and while I was waiting for replacement parts (credit to Denon for stocking them!), I also replaced the HD580 pads. The pads came first. The HD580s again delighted. When I screwed the cups back on the D2000s, that was the last time I listened to them for more than a couple minutes.

 

[ZolaIII]

@wrigglycheese Denon changed owner and broke ties it had with Foster and Onkyo in the meantime Creative resurrected for a second time and started headphone business. It offered some of reference Foster designs same as Denon in the half of the price so everyone just stopped talking about Denon and inside talked about same one's from Creative. Denon AH D1001= Creative Aurvana Live (first gen).
Those are still rather good entry point and talked a lot. Truth is no one talks about Foster while headaphones/earphones with their paper drivers still get a lot of rewards.
Other real reason is rise of ChiFi with which lot of premium brands simply couldn't keep up nor compete regarding pricing so lot of those traditional brands actually left the headphone market. Other's which ware more competitive still compete while market shifted towards EMI's, exchangeable cables, BT and cetera.

Never had a Shure headaphones just couple of their microphones.

 

[Killerdo]

Over the past 15 years I've had one Sennheiser and 3 Shure IEMs. But each Shure was an upgrade from the next because I was so impressed. (If two drivers sound like this. Imagine what 3 sound like! And so on). Each Shure was outstanding for the designated performance level. Each were every day drivers. Biking, running, mowing, pulling weeds.

Reticently I got Shure's KES1200 system. It's been a week now and it still makes me feel like Batman crashed my birthday party.

Of course now I need a portable player recommendation because I've only ever used Motorola flagship phones. I've narrowed it down to mid and upper level Astell&Kern. But I can't decide. I'd appreciate a recommendation for a pairing.

 

[Jimbob54]

Over the past 15 years I've had one Sennheiser and 3 Shure IEMs. But each Shure was an upgrade from the next because I was so impressed. (If two drivers sound like this. Imagine what 3 sound like! And so on). Each Shure was outstanding for the designated performance level. Each were every day drivers. Biking, running, mowing, pulling weeds.

Reticently I got Shure's KES1200 system. It's been a week now and it still makes me feel like Batman crashed my birthday party.

Of course now I need a portable player recommendation because I've only ever used Motorola flagship phones. I've narrowed it down to mid and upper level Astell&Kern. But I can't decide. I'd appreciate a recommendation for a pairing.

Pairing for the KES1200? What you need is a clean , portable DAC with a 3.5mm output.that makes use of your phone as a transport.

The E1DA 9038D (reviewed here) I will guess will outperform any A&K DAP operating as just a DAC for 1/5 or less of the price and 1/10th of the bulk and weight - a short 3.5mm- 3.5mm cable into the KES amp , USB audio player pro Android app running on the Motorola. Job done.

EDIT- and with UAPP plus a small fee, you get a full parametric EQ . Now I am making myself jealous of that set up.

 

[Killerdo]

Makes sense. Thanks

 

[warpdrive]

Crinacle says about the SRH440

Shure SRH440 – In-Ear Fidelity (crinacle.com)

"Closest thing to Harman thus far."

I would like to see these headphones measured here for that reason

 

[dmac6419]

I had owned both SRH1540 and Denon AHD7200.

- The 7200 sucked so hard that I returned it two days after I received it. Inexistant confort, no insolation, no seal, high leak. One of the most boring and unexciting HF I ever listened to.

- I used the SRH1540 during one year or so. Mostly outside. Very good confort. Decent isolation. Mostly balanced except for the bump in sub-bass. Non fatiguing after hours of listening. Kind of easy to drive out of a good DAP. These are good headphones but not sure they worth the 550€ I paid for at the time.

I own the 1540 too and they're just fine.

 

[Chrispy]

Well don't use or chat much about headphones, but I have had a pair of Denon AH-D210s for a very long time for when I might need them.....

 

[oozlum]

I’ve owned Shure SRH 1540 for couple of years now and use them a lot for monitoring purposes (music listening). I listen very quiet and I like the fact that the whole FR translates at these levels quite well. Haven’t EQ them yet, though.

edit:
Got them slightly used for 260€.

 

[Killerdo]

Pairing for the KES1200? What you need is a clean , portable DAC with a 3.5mm output.that makes use of your phone as a transport.

The E1DA 9038D (reviewed here) I will guess will outperform any A&K DAP operating as just a DAC for 1/5 or less of the price and 1/10th of the bulk and weight - a short 3.5mm- 3.5mm cable into the KES amp , USB audio player pro Android app running on the Motorola. Job done.

EDIT- and with UAPP plus a small fee, you get a full parametric EQ . Now I am making myself jealous of that set up.

Your advice (much thanks btw) prompted a question. I attempted some research but couldn't find what I needed.

You suggest keeping the phone (Moto Edge+) as a driver. Forgive me but wouldn't a second DAC be redundant. As the source out put (phone) -is what it is-? I hope I'm clear.

Also Moto Edge+ has no USB-C audio output only 3.5 jack

 

[solderdude]

Crinacle says about the SRH440

Shure SRH440 – In-Ear Fidelity (crinacle.com)

"Closest thing to Harman thus far."

I would like to see these headphones measured here for that reason

I took a shot at it.

 

[markanini]

@wrigglycheese Denon changed owner and broke ties it had with Foster and Onkyo in the meantime Creative resurrected for a second time and started headphone business. It offered some of reference Foster designs same as Denon in the half of the price so everyone just stopped talking about Denon and inside talked about same one's from Creative. Denon AH D1001= Creative Aurvana Live (first gen).

CAL! need EQ to sound good. I'd use them more if the headband didn't tend to slip off.

Crinacle says about the SRH440

Shure SRH440 – In-Ear Fidelity (crinacle.com)

"Closest thing to Harman thus far."

I would like to see these headphones measured here for that reason

Excellent for the price, it's in the same tier as Beyer DT770 IMO, slightly brighter and more linear. I like it better than SRH840.

 

[warpdrive]

I took a shot at it.

cool. The earpads looked pretty shot. I wonder if the SRH440 would past muster on this website.

I'm looking at a bunch of different sites to see which ones come close to the Harman target. I'm trying to whittle down a list of headphones I should considering buying and trying in the future. I'm not interesting in EQ'ing so getting good conformity to Harman is my goal.

 

[Jimbob54]

Your advice (much thanks btw) prompted a question. I attempted some research but couldn't find what I needed.

You suggest keeping the phone (Moto Edge+) as a driver. Forgive me but wouldn't a second DAC be redundant. As the source out put (phone) -is what it is-? I hope I'm clear.

Also Moto Edge+ has no USB-C audio output only 3.5 jack

Using the USB output from the moto, into the external USB dongle dac into the Shure amp.

Only one dac, the phone is technically a transport in that scenario. This is assuming the dac and analog output from the moto isn't very good. I would guess by age maybe not, but who really knows!

 

[aravaioli]

It seems these days Audeze, Hifiman and Focal get most of the talk. Shure have not come up with something new in the Hifi tier since 5 years ago or more. Denon is a bit more active and the D9200 gets quite a bit of talk and has intrigued me for long. Both brand are not active in web forums and probably do not cultivate marketing techni1ues such as sending their new models to various internet influencers, something that even Sennheiser started doing.

I own 2 Shure and one Denon.
In my view Shure gets wearing comfort really right. I do not think I own more comfortable headphones than my SRH-1840 and the 1540 follow close. Soundwise they are both bested by other most expensive brands but I find they compete very well in their price segment. My 1840 gets more head time than my HD600, which is possibly its closest competitor. They are a clearer sounding than tge Sennheiser in a way i really like because they are still far from being bright or fatiguing. If I switch from the 1840 to the HD600 I want to switch back right away. Theybalso do not lack bass for me and they certainly do not add any to the recorded track.
The 1540 may be the closest thing to a closed version of the HD650 but the mids are less forward, which I like.

I also have a Denon D7200. It is an elegant and farly bassy sounding headphone but lacks in transparency if compared to the best. The bass is the best part, the mids are slightly too forward for me, the highs as I mentioned lack transparency. I sold the LCD-2C closed back when I got these because overall I liked them better and my neck is still thanking me.
However the Denon fets no play time since I got a TH900 Mark I which I realky love and represents my endgame in closed backs: they are that good as described.

I guess I should mention I only listen acoustic jazz and flamenco, hence take my impressions with 3-4 grainx of salt if you listen heavy metal or rap...

 

[HereYaGo]

Shure survives on SM7b and SM58. And I don't even like those two products. Their headphones measure nasty. I was interested in them for a tiny bit of time. Disqualified them a long time ago. SRH440 is supposedly fairly good up against things like sony mdr7506 and shp9500 but their build quality is trash and 7506 are trash. I saw a sound demo of 7506 vs shp9500 and 7506 were so god awful in comparison made me glad I went with shp9500 early on. SRH 1840 I looked into them before I bought hd600. 1840 Treble looks like a discolored mess I forget if they lack bass or not I'm sure they do, lol.

Sound demo if you wanna hear it. Pretty obvious how mid forward and harsh the treble is on 7506. 9500s much easier to listen to and wider soundstage:
https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1hi4y1s7dd?from=search&seid=14213082485020287972

 

[rcmo]

I own the D9200. My closed back that gets more use.

 

[HereYaGo]

I took a shot at it.

 

[Killerdo]

Pairing for the KES1200? What you need is a clean , portable DAC with a 3.5mm output.that makes use of your phone as a transport.

The E1DA 9038D (reviewed here) I will guess will outperform any A&K DAP operating as just a DAC for 1/5 or less of the price and 1/10th of the bulk and weight - a short 3.5mm- 3.5mm cable into the KES amp , USB audio player pro Android app running on the Motorola. Job done.

EDIT- and with UAPP plus a small fee, you get a full parametric EQ . Now I am making myself jealous of that set up.

UPDATE: Did just that. Put a THX Onyx between Moto Edge+, 3.5 jack and the KSE1200. Outstanding! Thanks again!

 

[Music1969]

I took a shot at it.

Hi @solderdude is the stock cable 4-conductor, with all conductors insulated?

Especially insulated left and right ground / -ve ?