Comparison Shure SRH-240 vs SRH 440

[kredig]

I really would have loved to put this whole thing into a table but the forum rejected the bbcode for some reason. This would have been a better and easier look for the comparison.
If you are interested then just read through the two review and you are welcome to post your opinion


At first the Shure SRH-240:

Specs

Transducer type
Dynamic neodymium magnet
Driver size
40 mm
Sensitivity (1kHz)
107 dB/mW
Impedance (1kHz)
38 Ω
Max. input power (1kHz)
500 mW
Frequency range
20 Hz - 20 kHz
Net weight (without cable)
0.63 lbs (238 g)
Length of cable
6.56 ft (2 meters)
Type of cable
Attached straight oxygen-free copper
Plug
Nickel-plated 1/8" (3.5 mm) stereo mini jack


Boxing
Comes just in a normal box without any extras. There is only a 6.3mm jack adapter.

Build Quality
The build quality is pretty good for the price. The phones are made of shiny plastic. The hoop has a thin leather skin at the head-side.

There is nothing much to complain about: Sometimes the plastic makes some noise though.

Comfort
The comfort feels really good. After hours of listening the phones do not hurt. People with round-shaped heads complain about the big pressure on the ears.

Isolation
The isolation is good for the price and should be okay for public transportation. Only at really noisy areas you can hear disrupting sounds from outside.

Sound
for portable use (both players): you need a player with a good equilizer.

“clearity of sound”

Defenetly they need to burn-in (at first there was almost no bass noticeable). The first listenings were a pain for the ears.

After the burn-in the sound got way better. The bass is now really punchy but does not oversteer and the highs and mids are always clean. At higher volumes the phones get on its edge though: the bass becomes unclean and hisses sometimes.

A little advice: Do not listen to those phone when they come out of the box. Just plug them in your music-source and keep them a night working. This should speed up the burn-in process.

Pricing
prices taken from Amazon (.DE = € / .COM = $) 14.12.2011

50€ / 50$

Conclusion

+ Isolation
+ sound for the price
+ price / value
+ nice and warm in the winter...
- no carying bag
- no folding mechanism
- the plastic makes noises sometimes
- sound is not clean sometimes
- ...really hot in the summer

The SRH-240 are made for people who want to hear the details in their music with small with a little cut at the bass. NOTHING FOR BASSHEADS

The SRH 240 offer really a great potential for the money. They need time to develop though. After a week or so you will love the sound more and more.

And now the Shure SRH-440:

Specs
Transducer type
Dynamic neodymium magnet
Driver size
40 mm
Sensitivity (1kHz)
105 dB
Impedance (1kHz)
44 Ω
Max. input power (1kHz)
500 mW
Frequency range
10 Hz - 22 kHz
Net weight (without cable)
0.6 lb (181 g)
Length of cable
3 meters (9.84 ft)
Type of cable
Detachable coiled oxygen-free copper
Plug
Gold-plated 1/8" (3.5 mm) stereo mini jack

Boxing
It is the same box as the SRH-240 but it has a carrying bag and exchangeable cable inside. The 6.3mm jack is also included.

Build Quality
Here the plastic is dull and looks a bit better to me. The hoop is also a bit padded which is better for the comfort.
Those phones have a folding mechanism.
The cable is way longer than the SRH-240's but it does not feel like this because it is arced and feels a bit safer against cable
breaks.
Better to tell which side is right/left (right = red / left = blue).

edit: i noticed something where i did not pay attention much: since the cable is one-sided at these phones there has to be a connection cable to the right phone also. But it is made really bad for transportation. The cable comes at the headphones and goes into the hoop behind the part where you can set the sice of the hoop. So you have to be really careful where you put these pretty phones. For the worst case you loose the connection here.

here a picture of what i mean:




Comfort
Feels even better. The earpieces appear a bit softer and the hoop feels nicer. The Cable is also plugged in the the left phone only.

After i updated the cushions (took them from the SRH 840) they are way more comfy and the funny thing is that the sound improves also a bit (a little more bass).

Isolation
Again, isolation seems to be better. Still, some sounds go through the headphones but this is okay for portable use.

Sound
The sound is much warmer with these phones. None of the details get lost though (it is even better actually). You can defenetly hear the difference in the frequency because the bass gets deeper and the highs sound sometimes more clean.
They sound good right from the beginning but they get also better. So after a week or two you need to play around with the equilizer probably.
I couldn't hear any unclean sound yet.

Pricing
Around 75€ / 88$
when you look into some shop alternatives you can find these phones a bit cheaper (got mine for 60€)

Conclusion

+ build quality
+ isolation
+ carrying bag
+ folding mechanism
+ sound
+ comfort
+ better cable (exchangeable)
+ nice and warm in the winter...
- … and hot in the summer
- cable connection between left and right phone

The SRH-440 are a really a bigger brother of the SRH-240. They do everything right what is missing for the SRH-240. In my view the higher price is worth it. Also these phones are better for people who are afraid of cable breaks: the cable is replaceable.

They are probably also nothing for bassheads but they offer a greater potential in bass. So if you are looking for some good phones with an awesome sound quality those are really a recommendation.

here two pictures:

[JK98]

How does the SR440 compare to the Sony V6 and Sennheiser HD280 pro?

[kredig]

to be honest i do not have a clue. those shure's were my first full-sized cans.
for the sennheiser's i have read sereval different opinions: some say they have also a really balanced sound, others say the bass is too heavy and again, others tell that the bass is really flat. so i am kind of puzzled.
about the sony-phones: there i have read that the bass is pretty powerfull and the overal sound feeling is really warm. but according to the frequency range they should be a bit better.