Any Shure SRH owners?

[mrgoodkat]

Ive basically narrowed my search to the ATH-A700/AD700 or the Shure SRH440 (http://www.shure.com/ProAudio/Products/Headphones/us_pro_srh440_content), but I cannot really find many opinions on gaming performance of any of the Shure SRH series. I'm sure they would be plenty reasonable, but can anyone chime in?

Im really tempted to go with the open AD700, as they are typically thought to be the best dual-purpose cans at the price point, which is definitely what I am looking for. I want music performance first, but solid gaming performance too. And I cannot seem to find really any opinions on the Shure SRH series.

I like the idea of going with Shure because they are around 30 minutes from me, and I have already called and confirmed that drop off repairs are a-ok. That, and they have a detachable cable. Ive had far too many cables crap out on me in the past, and the option to simply buy another for $10 is huge.

Ive spent $50 in the last two months shipping stuff out for RMA...getting a little old. I guess I also like the Shure styling a bit more. And portability is a plus.

[jhanby]

These are two completely different headphones.

AD700
- Open
- Wide expansive soundstage
- Top Quality sound
- Not Portable

EDIT : the frontpage has several reviews on this pair of headphones, as they are generally considered some of the best headphones for their price range.

440
- Closed
- Very small soundstage
- Ok sound
- Portable

To put it bluntly, the AD700s will be better for gaming, comfort and music. But if you want portability, go with Shures.

Don't worry about the cable on the AD700's, I have a pair and they are extremely well made.

Personally I'd go for the AD700s

1. Whats the price difference ?

2. What music do you listen to ?

[mrgoodkat]

Price is same.

Mostly rock/classic rock, some metal and hard punk, some electronic/dance, smidgen of hip hop, and I will entertain 'classical' if I come across it.

Portability isn't an issue at all. Although I'm sure that once I make a decision, that will change. It is nice to have...

Really the only reason for even thinking Shure was that they were so close to home. My $100 gaming headset's (http://www.steelseries.com/int/products/audio/5hv2/information) cable finally crapped out at the jack. Wouldn't be the first to meet the same fate. Repairing is an option, but not with the manufacturer. Twenty dollars in supplies to do so, is leading me to think I should finally pony up for a decent pair of phones. The AD700 appears to be the resounding recommendation.

AT's nearest repair center is Ohio, so I can live with that.

Although being a noob, I'm quite confident that the gaming headset I have, has a wide soundstage, and it also didn't handle low frequencies well at all. Almost non existent. I'm thinking that the open AD700 will be very similar in that respect, which has me also contemplating the closed A700. I can live with that when it comes to music, but with that headset, an explosion in COD sounded very glassy. There was no punch. Want something more than that.

The A700 would also be around $20-30 more than the AD700. Sound canceling isn't an issue, but bass might be.

[jhanby]

I can say that the AD700 is one of the most perfect gaming headphones out there.

However, some people might say that it lacks bass. If you are a bass-head, do not get them.

My suggestion is the AD700 (or A700 if you want more bass, but not anywhere near as good as AD700s for music) hands down.

[MadMan007]

The Shures are pretty well regarded. Despite being closed they are said to have a good sound/head-stage for closed phones but probably still not as good as AD700. You will be able to find plenty on the Shures over at head-fi, also it's said that if you simply swap the earpads for SRH840 they sound almost the same. I wouldn't bother with the A700 they are not nearly as well regarded.

So, I think it comes down to whether you want some degree of sound isolation or not and whether the greater portability of the Shures is an advantage. I doubt you can go wrong with either, just different.

[mrgoodkat]

Yeah, I posted over at head-fi, and they turned me on to AT. Really no Shure opinions in my thread though. Ive done a bit of searching, but really nothing pertaining to gaming and Shure.

I was aware that the 840 pads could be swapped out and were far more comfortable, but I had no idea it helped with SQ.

There actually is a place around 40 minutes from me that demos all kinds of high end equipment, so I can at least go and hear the Shure's, but they don't carry AT. I would rather support a local company (regardless of the guts), and the ability to simply drop off for a repair is nice. This is far too confusing, and problematic without disposable income... :)

[MadMan007]

Well here's the thing - you can read all the opinions and impressions you want but audio is subjective so you'll have to try it yourself. What I suggest is buying from a place with a very liberal and easy return policy with no restocking fee (Amazon is an obvious one, some 'headphone specialty' places are too) and try them out. Supporting local businesses is great, maybe they'll let you try stuff out too. And although I hesitate to write this you could always try stuff out and return it then buy locally if you can.

[CharlieCS]

My 440 will be here soon , i was putting off getting them , trying to justify 840 , but in the end i could not ,ordered 440 .Figured i should not get myself sucked into another hobby slash addiction, just don't have enough money for both .I might post my impressions.

[mrgoodkat]

Impressions would be great. I'm almost entirely sold on the AD700's now as I found a review that directly compared them to my old headset. So I have a pretty good idea of the sound. While the bass is said to be plenty acceptable, that is what I am really worried about. My headset was directional, and was said to contain almost no bass in comparison, so it looks like a big step up. I'm not into bass, but I was really missing out on certain fx in games.

[fldrice]

In stock form, the AD700 is slightly bass thin but the soundstage is very large. I own the 840 and I've listened to the 440. Unless you amp the 840, their is no real difference between the two phones. In fact, the 440 sounds slightly better than an unamped 840.