Shure SRH-1840 - How to hear the distortion?

[hcra]

Hi, I did sort of a compulsive buy of SRH-1840, meanwhile I read some reviews by Sonarworks and @solderdude [LINK] how atrocious distortion (THD?) they have. I decided to give them a listen before returning, and while in less complicated songs they didn't blow me away, I must admit that they sounded pretty sweet with classical or certain prog rock albums, especially remastered.

I did a sine wave frequency sweep, but didn't find anything obviously concerning. With music, I think I hear some graininess with lower violin tones and cellos and male voice (spoken), especially when pronouncing "T" and "S", but AFAIR the distortion should be present in the bass spectrum? I don't have my other open-backs (HD555 and X2HR) at me right now and IEMs sound so differently that it's hard to compare. I apparently ordered some new version of the headphones, but AFAIK it's only packaging that has changed. So am I deaf / this kind of distortion doesn't matter much (this dude seems to think so and he's an opera singer so I guess he's legit) / I haven't heard good headphones in that price range yet? Please let me know, how to achieve scenario when that distortion becomes apparent so that I can decide if this bothers me, since I wanted to return them and order HD600/650 which are quite a bit cheaper right now, but now I am not so sure if I won't regret it!

Bonus question to owners of SRH-1840: how is the durability of headband? It feels like the adjustable earcup "rods" are locked by being squeezed by headband sides as opposed to some ratchet mechanism, which seems a bit concerning.

 

[solderdude]

Since I was linked ...
This was my conclusion: (in red some relevant to your post comments)

The Shure SRH-1840 is a quite neutral headphone with somewhat light but good quality bass. No dynamic nor forward mids but clear and realistic mids with good clarity. There is no obvious shrillness or sibilance, but there is a hint of it.
Treble is at a good level and detailed. Maybe just a bit lacking in treble extension/air but this can easily EQ’ed in there. The same is true for the lows. These too are quite easy to EQ in.

The comfort is very good and one can wear this headphone for long periods.

Some of the measurements are a bit of a let down. It looks worse than how the SRH1840 sounds in reality. I don’t think it is a good alternative for the DT880, HD6** or DT1990 (with filter and analytical pads). Perhaps the Fidelio X2HR (with bass mod) is a better and cheaper alternative for the SRH1840.

So there you have it.
It's a bit like the issue with tube amps.
They measure poorly with higher and potentially audible amounts of distortion at higher SPL but is not very audible with music or at least not sound degrading.
There are better sounding headphones in this price bracket.

It is a bit light in the bass and there is some sibilance/sharpness present but not in obvious amounts.

Not all types of distortion are as audible (as in objectionable) as many believe they are. But it does depend on the type of distortion, the recording, the listener and how loud one listens.

Re: the headband...

The headband can be easily adjusted. This is done by metal sliders. The part that touches the head consists of 2 thin pleather covered strips. The measured headphone is used and the pleather is already flaking. The foam inside is pressed together so one may have to replace the strips now and then. The headband feels comfortable.

The flaking is more of a (looks) issue than I would be afraid for the sliding mechanism.