Shure SRH440A and SRH840A

[Rick63]

Interesting .... I'm Still Really happy with my 440's, with and Without EQ ... there would have to be a seriously compelling reason to consider upgrading.
My only criticism is down to mechanical noise (but hey Many headphones exhibit similar issues, including Stupidly expensive ones !!)
So far I have had zero issues with the 'Build Quality' (maybe I don't use them as much as some) but I was carrying them about a lot (in their bag), when doing Gig's and they are still in almost perfect condition now.

I Did 'change-out' the 'Coily' Cable for a nice 2m Cloth covered super flexible cable, which was an improvement, movement wise
I can only recommend them to anyone wanting a decent sounding set of headphones, at a reasonable price.

Any suggestions for a 1m cable for use with a portable rig (if there are any available)?

I mean, this is a bit ridiculous. LOL.

 

[stoo23]

Any suggestions for a 1m cable for use with a portable rig

Well, I bought mine via Ebay ... having just had a look, it seems most of the cables are either 2M or at best 1.3M in length

Ofcourse, you could perhaps Cut and Re-terminate the cable in your Pic

 

[Rick63]

Well, I bought mine via Ebay ... having just had a look, it seems most of the cables are either 2M or at best 1.3M in length

Ofcourse, you could perhaps Cut and Re-terminate the cable in your Pic

I just did a search and found the Shure coiled cable is 1.5m unstretched so I may just order one of those, though it would be slightly bulky for portable rig use. But it would only be used as such indoors.

 

[Rick63]

Wait a minute, I found a 4ft solution.

Edit: Just ordered one of these. For 12 bucks it's worth a shot.

 

[stoo23]

OH !! OK, I had assumed you must have Not wanted to have used (Your) coiled cable and had replaced it with the cable in your pic. Didn't your headphones come supplied with the Coiled cable ??
As suggested most of the Shorter aftermarket ones I found were 1.3M, just over 4ft
Hope the cable proves to be suitable.

 

[Rick63]

Mine came with the cable in my pic, as stated in the Sweetwater product page.

 

[Alchemist_]

I just did a search and found the Shure coiled cable is 1.5m unstretched so I may just order one of those, though it would be slightly bulky for portable rig use. But it would only be used as such indoors.

before you buy a spiral cable, find out how much it weighs)))))))))))

 

[Rick63]

The cable came today. It took 10 days to arrive from China, not bad considering the estimated delivery date upon ordering was April 5th. Needless to say, it will be much better for use with my DAP and it was $12 well spent.

As for the 840A's, I have been listening to them through both my portable rig and main home setup and liking them more and more each day, and no longer feel the need to use EQ with my DAP. They sound great through my Audiolab M-DAC+.

It's been quite a while since I had the AKG K371 but based on my recollection I like the 840A better. To my ears the midrange really shines through the Shure's, and they are much more comfortable for me and my average size head. My ears would touch the drivers of the K371s and that was annoying as hell, especially since I have normal size ears. It's no longer and issue and I’ll happily live with the 840A for many years to come.

 

[Alchemist_]

The cable came today. It took 10 days to arrive from China, not bad considering the estimated delivery date upon ordering was April 5th. Needless to say, it will be much better for use with my DAP and it was $12 well spent.

As for the 840A's, I have been listening to them through both my portable rig and main home setup and liking them more and more each day, and no longer feel the need to use EQ with my DAP. They sound great through my Audiolab M-DAC+.

It's been quite a while since I had the AKG K371 but based on my recollection I like the 840A better. To my ears the midrange really shines through the Shure's, and they are much more comfortable for me and my average size head. My ears would touch the drivers of the K371s and that was annoying as hell, especially since I have normal size ears. It's no longer and issue and I’ll happily live with the 840A for many years to come.

View attachment 359120

Does touching or stroking the cable cause a microphone effect?

 

[Rick63]

Does touching or stroking the cable cause a microphone effect?

I just checked - there is a little bit of microphonic effect but not bad at all, and it is less than the stock cable.

 

[Alchemist_]

I just checked - there is a little bit of microphonic effect but not bad at all, and it is less than the stock cable.

I found a fabric cable for the headset; it has almost no microphone effect at all. It has a standard 2.5 jack, without a lock. Doesn't fall out, holds up well, plugged the void with a rubber gasket.

I thought it was the headphones that were to blame for the microphone effect... but those are the cables.

 

[Alchemist_]

Looking at plots it looks like the 840 has slightly more clarity.

Still not decided. Maybe the 840A with 1540 pads... I usually prefer velour or cloth pads over pleather/leather.
The 840A pads feel warm and sticky after a while.

For open I use HD800 (EQ) and S5X (filter + mod) most of the time.
For closed mostly modded+filtered DT1770Pro and modded SRH-940.
Portable DT1350.

I got 440A in addition to 840A..

I'm a little surprised:
It looks like the 440A has been slightly modified - they now have the same holes as the 840A.
440A is more damped, sound insulation is slightly stronger.
Under the ear pad, the design differs from the 840A, as before.
The ear pads are tight, 61*40*18 is approximately.
The 840A ear pads are softer and larger in every sense (66*45*21), and also allow more sounds to pass through. The seating position for the ear pads is the same.
There’s a strange thing with the ear pads; on my 840A, released in ’22, the ear pads are larger than the ear pads purchased from the manufacturer.
Manufacturer you fagot!!! There was no point in touching the size of the ear pads.. well, they don’t care about my opinion)) unfortunately..
440A, the sound is very clear, I like it even more for a guitar, the top is not as raised as in 840A.
Bottom/middle/top combine more harmoniously.
The 840A has more space, the design is more open than the 440A, and the ear pads are more comfortable.
When I heard both of them, my first thought was that the 840A was made for critical listening and they emphasized the highs and bass more strongly, the mids were also well developed, but the 440A sounds somehow different, it was probably created for other purposes.
I'll leave both!

When I asked support, why did they create 840A, and why 440A.. They said one would like 840A, another 440A, now I also understand this phrase) They said that anyone is suitable for any task.

Sir, did you save 840A? Or did the 940 defeat him?

 

[solderdude]

I have created a filter for the modified (with 1540 pads) 840A that lowers the ear-gain part.
This is not on the website though.
Now is my go-to closed headphone. Great comfort and sound quality.
The modified 940 is 'backup' like the modified + filtered DT1770 for closed.

For open I use S5X the most.

If I ever encounter the 440A I will measure it. Thanks for describing the differences.

 

[Alchemist_]

By the way, the ear pads stretch a little)
Now they are 62*45*18

 

[Alchemist_]

I have created a filter for the modified (with 1540 pads) 840A that lowers the ear-gain part.
This is not on the website though.
Now is my go-to closed headphone. Great comfort and sound quality.
The modified 940 is 'backup' like the modified + filtered DT1770 for closed.

For open I use S5X the most.

If I ever encounter the 440A I will measure it. Thanks for describing the differences.

Do you think with glasses ear pads 1540 to 840A/440A, will this be acceptable?

I would buy S5X: but they weigh as much as 420 grams, I don’t want headphones that weigh more than 290 grams. And internally, size 55 is very small) I generally came to the conclusion that the oval shape suits me better.
I'll probably try the 58X in hopes that it will be as good as the 560S and the 20mm ear pad depth. That's enough for me/my ear won't touch the speaker. (In 840A/440A I put a special foam or audio cable, this works well)).
I would appreciate any additional thoughts regarding the 58X||560S.

 

[JaguarIT]

EQ can take the 440 or 440A to 105 and 103 user preferences score (UPS)... for slightly less than $100? Nice. Both are available on BezoMart too.

Both have undesirable FR without EQ, even if 440 scores 94-96 on UPS compared to 440A being way off in the weeds at closer to 60, so no reason for me to prefer either based on FR, since I would EQ either with the bass roll-off and etc. Admittedly, it might be handy that the 440 only uses 9 PEQ bands to achieve 105 UPS to further refine Oratory's EQ, but very minor.

So the bigger question is which is better on all the other details ... and do I really want another set of full-sized cans?

 

[solderdude]

So the bigger question is which is better on all the other details ... and do I really want another set of full-sized cans?

Yep, this is the bigger question.

The build quality of the A version seems higher which might be a factor.

About EQ... it is nice that one can get a theoretical 'slightly' higher number based on a measurement on a fixture that may be quite different from your own auditory system.
Also, it is known that preference score differences with a difference of 2 or 3 really says nothing. A difference of 10 to 15 might start to become significant.
Besides there is more to the preference besides a generated number, the slope and seal may throw a comparison way off.

 

[JaguarIT]

Yep, this is the bigger question.

The build quality of the A version seems higher which might be a factor.

About EQ... it is nice that one can get a theoretical 'slightly' higher number based on a measurement on a fixture that may be quite different from your own auditory system.
Also, it is known that preference score differences with a difference of 2 or 3 really say nothing. A difference of 10 to 15 might start to become significant.
Besides there is more to the preference besides a generated number, the slope and seal may throw a comparison way off.

Yeah, build quality looks better, maybe better cable too?

Definitely, agree that preference scoring can be slightly dicey, ime. Sometimes PEQ from Jakko's collection is right on, other times it's laughably off, like "where did these measuremeants come from, because this doesn't sound like Harman upon applying this EQ?" I've used his PEQ lists to retune about 8 different sets and most of them sound *very* similar with EQ, and presumably very close to Harman target since those all needed minor EQ gains, but a couple sound way, way different than the others, and at least one of those was definitely measured on different equipment, and they are iems, so probably different tips from what I use, which can make an enormous difference. Tempted to send to Amir, to get measurements with the tips I actually use, lol

I like the price-point and sensitivity for these Shure full-sized, though I'd rather go much cheaper than $100, because I use full-sized much less than iems. I find them much less convenient and I'm not bothered by in-ears like some folks are and I have enough spare tips that I can always find some that seal and are comfy. Very tempting nonetheless, but I'll sit on it and make no decision for a while. I prefer to not impulse buy, especially because I have plenty already, lol.

 

[solderdude]

I measured the SRH-440A too.

SRH-440A

back to Shure back to measurements home Published: Sept-24-2024 NO SMOOTHING is applied to the shown plots. Most measurement sites have some smoothing applied which ‘irons flat’ sharp peaks and ‘wi…

diyaudioheaven.wordpress.com

SRH-840A is slightly better to my ears.

 

[Alchemist_]

I measured the SRH-440A too.

SRH-440A

back to Shure back to measurements home Published: Sept-24-2024 NO SMOOTHING is applied to the shown plots. Most measurement sites have some smoothing applied which ‘irons flat’ sharp peaks and ‘wi…

diyaudioheaven.wordpress.com

SRH-840A is slightly better to my ears.

I read your review, I have a slightly different opinion.

Usually the same) Thank you for your work. I hope you will have new closed Sony)

I sold 840A and 840 a long time ago.
But we have two 440A - these are cool ears!

The clamp will weaken even more later.
The ear pads of 840A are really softer and more pleasant.
840/840A/440A - I put foam rubber in the ear pads so that the speakers do not touch the ears)

Based on the sound, it seemed to us that 440A is better and of higher quality than 840A.
There is a lot of highs, but what headphones don't have a lot of them(( This is some kind of trend now.

I adjust the highs and bass with an equalizer.

But you can listen to the 440a without an equalizer.

The cable is an absolutely solvable issue.
Any cables, any length, a cable with a microphone - all this is possible.

The only drawback of the 440A is its weak sound insulation.