Effin' Ringin' - Headphone Measurements: Frequency Response and CSD Waterfall Plots

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Author Topic: Shure SRH1840 Headphone Impressions and Measurements  (Read 3547 times)

purrin

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Shure SRH1840 Headphone Impressions and Measurements
« on: August 16, 2012, 06:55:56 PM »

Finally got a chance to hear them. I know that our esteemed pirate MuppetFace likes them and thinks they are OK...

That being said, I think these are horrible. An absolutely disaster in mediocrity. NOw I didn't think they were that badly behaved in the treble - I know some people have had treble issues with them - but not me. The balance is OK. Bass seems rolled off below 80Hz, but rest of the spectrum seems decent with some rough patches in the upper mids and treble. I didn't listen long enough or use certain of my test tracks which I knew would expose treble ringing issues. The "cupped-in" effects of the open enclosure w/ reverberent plastic are clearly audible.

Again, my main beef with the SRH1840 is that they are simply LOW-FI headphones. Seriously, it sounds like Shure grabbed some random drivers off the shelf from Radio Shack and stuck them in there. They sound so junky to the point that the distortion (lack of clarity, low-fi'ness, lack of "fidelity", etc.) is obvious. The SR1840 are distortion generators. The build is not nearly as good as the sexy photos Jude posted on HF. The cups are plasticky. The SRH840 seem much better built in comparison. Also, the lack of swivel in the cups may be annoying for some users. The suede material on the pads is nice though. How much are these again?

I'll keep you guys hanging while I sneak a quick nap. Will take measurements afterward.


P.S. Someone needs to put these back on the Wall of Shame.
« Last Edit: August 17, 2012, 08:32:52 AM by purrin »
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TMRaven

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Re: Shure SRH1840 Headphone Impressions and Measurements
« Reply #1 on: August 16, 2012, 07:29:18 PM »

can we expect fireworks in head-fi 1440 and 1840 topic?

According to head-fi, 1840 is more resolving than hd800, so you must be wrong!

« Last Edit: August 16, 2012, 07:48:57 PM by TMRaven »
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Analixus

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Re: Shure SRH1840 Headphone Impressions and Measurements
« Reply #2 on: August 16, 2012, 08:20:27 PM »

can we expect fireworks in head-fi 1440 and 1840 topic?

According to head-fi, 1840 is more resolving than hd800, so you must be wrong!


If that's true, the 1440 must be like having Neil Pert right here drumming my nutz.  So real!!


Although, that is what it's like listening to them.
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purrin

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Re: Shure SRH1840 Headphone Impressions and Measurements
« Reply #3 on: August 16, 2012, 09:07:47 PM »

Shure SRH1840 Frequency Response CSD Waterfall Plots. It doesn't look bad so far. So what gives?



Why do these sound so low-fi? Hmm. Strange. Measurements not telling us why...
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purrin

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Shure SRH1840 Harmonic Distortion
« Reply #4 on: August 16, 2012, 09:14:33 PM »

Let's take a look at harmonic distortion... Bleh, Yuck. Explains everything.

Why are the odd orders (D3,D5) so high?
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khaos

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Re: Shure SRH1840 Headphone Impressions and Measurements
« Reply #5 on: August 16, 2012, 09:16:05 PM »

To me, aside from the low-fi issue, the main problem I experience was the 2k-4k bump, a balance issue.
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purrin

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Re: Shure SRH1840 Headphone Impressions and Measurements
« Reply #6 on: August 16, 2012, 09:18:11 PM »

The 2-4kHz midrange emphasis without adequate bass enhanced the low-fi effect for me.
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TMRaven

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Re: Shure SRH1840 Headphone Impressions and Measurements
« Reply #7 on: August 16, 2012, 09:22:10 PM »

Very expensive Apple iBuds?

Tyll's graphs seem to confirm a very high distortion under 1000hz as well.  Yuck!
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Analixus

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Re: Shure SRH1840 Headphone Impressions and Measurements
« Reply #8 on: August 16, 2012, 09:36:02 PM »

Just wait for the 1440.... poo
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gurubhai

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Re: Shure SRH1840 Headphone Impressions and Measurements
« Reply #9 on: August 16, 2012, 09:51:16 PM »

There is no way I could have believed that a 45mm traditional driver would out resolve the 57mm ring radiator of HD800.
I am glad that I steered a friend away from these recently. :D
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purrin

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Re: Shure SRH1840 Headphone Impressions and Measurements
« Reply #10 on: August 16, 2012, 10:15:03 PM »

I can see some people preferring the SRH1840 to HD800 solely based on tonal response. The SRH1840 is less hot in the treble and does sound slightly bassier than the FR indicates, mostly likely because the bass is augmented with distortion.
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ultrabike

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Re: Shure SRH1840 Headphone Impressions and Measurements
« Reply #11 on: August 16, 2012, 11:12:43 PM »

Flat and smooth third harmonic distortion from 500 down to 20 Hz. Distortion is also driver matched!
« Last Edit: August 16, 2012, 11:33:53 PM by ultrabike »
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Deep Funk

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Re: Shure SRH1840 Headphone Impressions and Measurements
« Reply #12 on: August 16, 2012, 11:20:28 PM »

Some people I know really like the 1840. They never commented on distortion just that the Shure was too expensive and not as clean sounding as the HD800.
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PelPix

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Re: Shure SRH1840 Headphone Impressions and Measurements
« Reply #13 on: August 16, 2012, 11:33:38 PM »

If it's not too much trouble, I'd like to see a distortion orders graph.  I suspect the problems apparent on listening may present themselves there...

There it is!  Nevermind.  Didn't load the first time!
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jerg

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Re: Shure SRH1840 Headphone Impressions and Measurements
« Reply #14 on: August 16, 2012, 11:55:07 PM »

It seems then that it is much more preferable to have a recessed 2-4kHz than an emphasized one?
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