Shure SRH1840 Studio Headphone Review

SRH1840 have low impedance for a flagship open-back set, yet the sensitivity is also rather low, so while they’re easier to drive from mobile devices than, say Sennheiser HD 650, only with a dedicated audio interface or headphone amp you can be sure that sufficient volume will not be a problem.

The build of SRH1840 is flagship-worthy. These lightweight headphones seem to be well put together and the materials feel premium, matching the price tag.

The additional accessory package that comes bundled with every SRH1840 includes a semi-hard case, additional cable, and a set of additional ear pads. Unlike others, Shure opts to include a spare set of the same velour ear pads that come installed with the headphones, so the frequency range will stay the same after the swap.

If we were to hand out an award to a headphone manufacturer for the out-of-the-box most neutral-sounding headphone catalog, Shure would easily win it! Most of their studio-oriented over-ear models beat the competition in most of the price brackets and SRH1840, as a true flagship, is the flattest of all Shure offerings. Only the 8-10kHz boost separates them from the flattest headphones ever – Sennheiser HD 650. Range from 100Hz all up to 7kHz is exceptionally flat and requires only minor tweaks for calibration to get it perfect. More impactful correction is needed to tame the 6dB high frequency boost and improve the very top-end extension, but that most likely will be perceived only by younger listeners. The extension must be improved in the low frequencies as well, but unfortunately, there’s a massive issue with that. More on that later.

On average, the driver matching is ok, but we have measured pairs with the lower frequencies skewed to one side and other more narrow frequency band issues in the upper frequencies. These issues aren’t ruining the whole experience and will go unnoticed in most cases, but still, at this price point, we’d expect better.

SRH1840s are lightweight and distribute pressure on the head quite evenly. The relatively relaxed clamping force aids long session comfort, yet is just strong enough to prevent them from sliding around on the listener’s head. The headband padding is very minimal though, so it might become a problem after a longer period for some. Nevertheless, all of our testers praised SRH1840’s comfort.

If SRH1840’s harmonic distortion was on par with its rivals (or any modern pro market headphones) the asked price would be appropriate. But the awful THD doesn’t match the price tag, hence the value for your money is poor.