Shure SRH440 Reviews

Ross M
from United States
April 23, 2013Music Background:
Musician, Home Recording, Live Sound

SRH440

Solid set of headphones. Isolation and bleed seem great. Audio balance is awesome, seems relatively flat, nothing is too hyped or smoothed out. They can get uncomfortable if you wear them for an hourish, but that's really a trade-off for getting good isolation and low bleed, so I'm not bothered by it. Comes with a leather bag, and the 1/4" adapter is handy. Didn't think I would like the coiled cable, but it tangles less than straight cables, so I now prefer it. Exposed wires is a little sketchy, but I feel confident in these headphones holding themselves together for years to come.

JimmyVern
from USA
April 4, 2013Music Background:
Singer songwriter and musician

Sensing Super Sound

I am quite impressed with the Shure SR440! These headphones give me great sound sense at a great price. They're awesome! buy a set for yourself.

microtonal1
from Oregon Coast USA
March 26, 2013Music Background:
Always more to learn

Shure SRH440 Headphones--Pure listening pleasure!

Shure SRH440 headphones provide the finest details of recordings. Each instrument is distinct. Tonal quality is superb. So happy I invested in these headphones. They make my work easy!

Willy
from United States
January 30, 2013Music Background:
Pro Musician, Recording Hobbyist, Hardware Engineer

Built like a tank!!!

The only reason it's not 5 stars is because the're a little heavy, and the vinyl earpad covers can make you sweat...

That said, they sound great to me, and the closed back design keeps things isolated in both directions... Like, there is no bleed between the headphones and the microphones during tracking, and they do a great job of keeping outside noises out of your ears...

Cheney Haycraft
from West Salem, IL
January 7, 2013Music Background:
Recording engineer, amateur videographer.

Good phones for the money.

Bought these to have another set of headphones when tracking, as well as having another source to reference mixes on. Work fine for what I wanted them for. Can get uncomfortable after having them on for awhile, but that's not really a big deal. Flatter in the highs than the Sennheiser's I own.

raf
from Orlando, FL
January 2, 2013Music Background:
local band, played shows, record stuff at home, hobbyist mostly

great sounding recording headphones

I use these to record stuff at home with my 5150 212 combo and an sm57 through my focusrite 2i2 interface. These are excellent headphones. I had sennheiser HD240s for a long time, but had to sell them. Ended up stumbling upon these guys (recommended by a friend), and I like them a lot better. The sound that Im hearing through these is truer than anything I did with the 240s. Very comfortable. Closed back, so great for recording guitars. Really, no complaints.

TimArt
from TX
December 27, 2012Music Background:
Music Creator/Producer

Love 'em

Awesome headphones!!! Very sturdy and high quality. Amazing sound and great bass response that is just right, not too quiet, not too overpowering. I love how they fold up very compactly for portability! Works great with my iPod/iPhone as well as my audio interface's headphone amplifier!!! Blocks out outside noise well and does not leak very much sound. Especially helpful when recording vocals!

Les
from Northwestern Washington
December 19, 2012Music Background:
Musician, musical director, community theater

Finally, headphones that work--and don't kill your budget.

After seeing a set of $300+ Bose headphones disintegrate,and getting no satisfaction from the company, I decided to find headphones that delivered decent range, were simply designed, and had an easy-to-replace cable. The Shure SRH440 fit the bill, and quite nicely. I will get a second pair for the home studio.

Fritz Carney
from United States
December 7, 2012Music Background:
Pro Musician, Bassist, Composer, Bandleader, ect.

Shure SRH440 Headphones

I was pleasantly surprised when I had to replace my Koss headphones with these headphones purchased strictly on brand name and cost. However, the

Shure SRH440 headphone surpassed the broken phones by leaps and bounds. I didn't know my Fantom X8 would be panned with low notes on the left, mid notes in the middle, and high notes on the right.

I also compared these phones with a lesser priced and more expensively priced Shure headphones, and the SRH440's sounded better to my ear than the $320.00 pair I tested at last year's NAMM Show!

A great bargain for sure: no pun intended. ;-)

Joe Nocella
from Wantagh, NY
November 28, 2012Music Background:
Pro Musician

Very Good

I bought these 4 years ago and they're still going strong. The sound is great. Highly recommended!

from Long Island, NY USA
November 18, 2012Music Background:
Recording and Production

great headphones for recording

these headphones sound out standing and are extremely flat. they have zero bleed when your recording. sound great and i love them. they are very well built and can fold up which makes them very portable come with a nice leather case. the cable locks in so your not pulling it out of the headphones nomader how hard you pull, and its coiled so gives the distance you need and you aren't tripping over it where ever you go. in summery i love these head phones the are absolutely fabulous, and great value for money!

Mutley58
from Lancaster, PA USA
November 11, 2012Music Background:
Home Recording Engineer

Adequate but not great

Needed another set of headphones for additional musicians & tracking use in the studio and thought I'd give these a try. I can't say I really like how these fit, feel or sound. I find them to be uncomfortable after a short period of time. The plastic shell enclosing the drivers has a weird resonance when tapped & I think it makes them sound boxy. They don't seal as tightly or prevent sound leakage as well as the Sennheiser HD280's do (which are the same price) so I never use them for vocal tracking. Being able to replace the cable is a nice feature and is the main reason I thought to try them. For the money Sennheisers or Sony's are a better choice.

John K. Blossom
from Springfield, MA
November 2, 2012Music Background:
hobbyist

OK, I guess.

Fits well. Sound is good. But one of the earphone covers has slipped off and it's very difficult to put back.

Joshua Richard
from Boston, MA USA
July 30, 2012Music Background:
Musician

Great Headphones for cheap

Detachable cable and bag are very convenient features. The bass response is that of a product worth much more than these cost!

john haynie
from florida
July 27, 2012Music Background:
decades of writing, performing recording

Great phones

Light and quiet ( for a no-bleed recording). Frequency response is very good. Comfortable. Great price for a quality product.

Aaron White
from Milwaukee, WI
June 20, 2012Music Background:
Pro Musician

Best set of CANS......

Brandon Eden suggested these cans to me a few days ago and I am glad he did! The quality is amazing! The highs are perfectly balanced with the lows. The sound is crisp and clean and the more volume you add, the clearer they get. These are the BEST set of CANS you can purchase for the price. PERIOD.

Kathleen
from United States
April 26, 2012Music Background:
Hobbyist

Not What I Expected

I was disappointed by these Shures. I've used Sony MDR 7506's before, and it just seemed that nothing stuck out well with these phones. They were also too big for me, even adjusted as small as they go, so if you have a small head think of another option. Because of this they felt very uncomfortable. I guess it depends in what you're looking for in a set of headphones, but I like to hear the beat. These didn't give me that, so I returned them. Since the Sony's are out of stock, I will try the Sennheiser Pro's. For someone else these may be perfectly fine though; this is just my experience.

steve sweat
from
March 28, 2012

Sey Hey

I wouldn't say these are accurate, but they are good

Susan
from St. Joseph, MI
March 9, 2012Music Background:
amateur singer/songwriter/musician

Srh440 is great for noise cancellation

I haven't been able to use this product a lot, but I really enjoyed it. I bought it as a gift for my fiancée and so when we were on a few trips, he brought his laptop so we could watch movies on the tourbus. He also brought a splitter and his new headphones. When I used them, I watched the whole show and then took them off. It was like a waterfall of bus noises hit my ears. I didn't realize how much noise it really blocked. Aside from that when I listened to music, I heard base tones I've never heard before in some of my favorite songs. Overall, these headphones are awesome.

Erik
from OC, CA, USA
February 21, 2012Music Background:
Hobbyist, Keyboardist, Home and Studio Recording

So Far the Best I've Ever Used

For the price of these I was really surprised. I remember telling the guy are you sure I'm going to like these? He was right, I have a Sony pair and they're great too but these help me notice things I normally don't even on tracks that supposedly were already mixed. I find myself working faster and setting my levels correctly the first time more often. I use to have to scan through all my headphones and try out my stuff on different stereos to figure out what I did wrong.

The Weave
from Foothills of The Ozarks
February 15, 2012Music Background:
Live Sound Engineer, 40 Year Musician

Good Quality at a reasonable price

Good Quality at a reasonable price. Works just fine for band practice and recording playback.

Phil
from Payson, Arizona
February 14, 2012Music Background:
Recording artist, former church sound man

Wouldn't want to wear these all day

I bought these for tracking vocals in the recording studio. Although I haven't used them for that purpose yet, I have tried them out for listening to music on my computer. The sound is what I would expect from Shure...that is great sound (good balance with lows/mids/highs) and I could listen to that sound all day. The reason I wouldn't like to wear these phones all day though is that they are a bit tight on my head. That's good for sound isolation, but a bit too much as the pressure gets to me after awhile. I think they will be great for tracking vocals. I have a pair of AKG K240 MkII phones for mixing, and those I could wear all day long, but since they are semi-open (giving even more faithful reproduction of the mix), they are not recommended for wearing when recording vocals, as the sound could be picked up by the very sensitive studio microphone. Overall, I definitely recommend these phones for the purpose mentioned above, and maybe they wouldn't be too tight for everyone, but just a word of caution if you plan to wear them for hours on end.

from
February 13, 2012

Shure SRH440

I feel that this is quite a great set in terms of quality... Just not really comfortable with the padding... still trying to get used to it...

Carl Schaffner
from United States
February 12, 2012Music Background:
Internet Radio DJ

Shure are nice headphones

For a modestly priced set of headphones the performance is second to none! The crystal clear audio response across the range it really remarkable. From deep driving Bass to high fidelity Orchestra arrangements I literally don't miss a beat. The solid closed back design allows me to seamless enjoy the last beat of a high amp rock tune cranked up then jump right on open mic without a hint of feedback or looping. I'm truly impressed.

Greg Everett
from Conover, WI
January 29, 2012Music Background:
47 years as working musician with solid credentials - a fair amount of time recording in studios - a hobbyist on the engineering side

Great Product and Service!

I told my sales rep, if I like the cans, I'll write a good review. I like the cans so here it is.

My old headphones were falling apart and I had been shopping for new ones. I'm on a limited budget and had to keep it under $100. Having purchased from Sweetwater before, getting prompt service, free shipping, the 2 year Sweetwater warrantee on a couple of items and their huge "wishbook" along with follow-up thank yous to make sure I was satisfied with my order, there was already no question, I would make my purchase here. That said, I also checked other sites to for reviews. I had more or less decided on the pair I wanted but I thought it might be a good idea to call Josh Sites (my sales rep at Sweetwater) for his opinion. He said he wasn't all that crazy about the brand I had picked out and explained why. Then, after some discussion on my exact requirements, he suggested the SRH440s and another brand that was actually $20 cheaper. I opted for the Shures simply because I felt more comfortable with my own experience with Shure mics.

I got the headphones today and have been playing with them all afternoon and evening. They are everything Josh said they would be and the difference is night and day from my old phones. Everything I lacked with my old phones and ultimately had to compensate for, I can now hear with the Shures. They seem to provide a very flat response, perhaps with a hint of sweetnes as Josh said I might notice but they are incredibly crystal clear across the spectrum. I can't imagine how my $100 could be any better spent.

Thanks to Josh Sites and Sweetwater, I have had a pleasurable and gratifying purchasing experience for music gear (again). I have bought gear for many years from music stores and on the internet. Whether it was music gear or anything else, I have never dealt with a retailer that does so much to let me know how important I am to them. Yes, it's all about making money but everyone wants to get the most for their dollar spent and Sweetwater does that better than anyone.

Thanks You Guys,
Greg

from Louisiana
January 19, 2012Music Background:
Musician

Sounds great, well made, worth the price!

Mike D.
from Springfield, IL
January 6, 2012Music Background:
TV Editor

Great Product

These are my first pair of professional headphones and I couldn't be happier. Cozy fit, especially for long periods of editing, easily shape to my head with little external sound. Be warned that these headphones do not provide much low-end, but that was one of my criteria while shopping. Overall fantastic headphones, especially for the value.

Gabriel Magno
from Las Vegas
January 5, 2012Music Background:
45 years pro musician

Pretty Good and Durable

After two weeks, I can say it surpassed my older Sony headphones, which at the time were highly rated. I listened to several songs I was familiar with and with the Shure, I heard sounds I never heard before (especially on the high end). Things like triangles, brushes, tambourines, etc.). I didn’t give it 5 stars because of two things I feel could use improving.

The cord feels heavy after a while, especially if you're recording something and standing up. The cups after about an hour did seem to put pressure around my ears, causing some discomfort. I know what you're saying "want some crackers and cheese with your whine?". But if consumers don't voice opinions, the manufacturers will feel all is okay. Would I recommend these. Absolutely. The overall sound spectrum is very well defined, and they appear to be well constructed...

Mike
from Ohio
December 19, 2011Music Background:
Recording Engineer, Pro Musician

The Best I've found

Each person has different uses for headphones so, I will comment on my use only. I use these(I have four of them) for musician monitoring while tracking. These sound superb! They sound like a good studio monitor. That being said, means they sound flat with no hype. If you are looking for hyped up bass these are not it. These are flat with plenty of room left for EQing if needed. And Yes you can EQ these to get hyped bass if needed. These are the first set of cans I've found that a loud drummer said that at half volume he could hear everything perfectly.The outside isolation is also very good. The only reason I gave it a 4.5 rating instead of a 5 is that the only improvement might be the weight. They are a bit on the heavy side and extended use can get tiring. Overall, excellent quality and a great bang for your buck. You could compare these to an SM57 and likewise refer to these as a "Studio workhorse"/ $100 bucks and they just work great!.

RazorLand Studio
from Kansas City, Missouri
November 13, 2011Music Background:
Recording Engineer, Live Sound Engineer, Pro Musician

Killer

Have been both a live and studio engineer for over 30 years, used them all, AKG, Sony, Yamaha......hands down the most comfortable, best sounding set of cans I have ever owned....................I am going to have to go back and remix some tracks that I thought I had nailed down now though ...........

from
September 16, 2011

Awesome

best headphones i've ever owned

John Compton
from
September 5, 2011

Beautiful

I used to be using a pair of headphones that I thought were great because they were studio monitoring headphones, and not just commercial crap. I thought they were flat, and the others weren't. When I got the SRH-440s, I realized how much of the audio spectrum I wasn't hearing with my other phones. These definitely opened my eyes.

E-man
from Los Angeles, Ca
September 4, 2011Music Background:
Beginning Music Producer

Not too crazy about them

Bought these headphones because SHURE is a quality name that can be trusted and the reviews were good. Once I had them and started listening to my mixes I became disappointed. Mid frequencies were a little more present than preferred and muddied up the mix a bit. Disappointed at the headphones, I bought another pair around the same price (Sony 7506) and was glad I did. SHURE are still useful but not my go to headphones for clarity. My recommendation, go to a music store a listen to variety of headphone. Find the pair you're most comfortable with and buy it at Sweetwater!

Clementina
from Dominica
August 4, 2011

On-air Staff Satisfaction speaks volumes.

My Staff has expressed tremendous satisfaction in the fit and clarity of sound of the headphones. I am so pleased with the purchase and appreciate the quality of service delivered by Sweetwater.
Thanks to my Sales Engineer for his assistance and rapid response in meeting our need. I highly commend you, M.

Menton J. Matthews III
from Chicago, IL
June 20, 2011Music Background:
Musician.

Not SHure enough

At first they do not sound all that bad, and don't feel all that bad as well, but after about an hour of wearing them, and hearing your mix you have worked up in them, I have to say they are useless in almost everyday. To be honest they truly give me headaches, they REALLY hurt after having on on for more then an hour, and the sound… no so much.

Charlie Phillips
from Jacksonville Florida USA
June 15, 2011Music Background:
Professor of Digital Media and Audio Recording State College.

Great value for the price

I ask my sales rep for a good pair of closed headphones. Steward said people were having great success with the Shure SRH440. I was amazed at the quality and sound of this headphone. It works great as a studio headset but did not believe Steward when he said that is would work as mix down/mastering headphones. I was pleasantly surprised. I have mixed a piano trio recital, live chorus concert and lots of electronic and blues/rock with them. There are outstanding for the money. I use them in my home studio a Presonus StudioLive 24.4.2 firewired to a IMac 7 using Apple Logic Pro 9. My near field speakers are Yamaha HS80M with sub woofer. The Shure matches beautifully with this system. I will be buying more for the studios.

Zo
from Denver CO
April 11, 2011Music Background:
hobbyist

They Are Nice

I like the sound of these cans. They serve my purpose well, basic video editing and casual music listening. They are a bit heavy, don't feel that rugged, and the earpads harden and crack too easily. Will be looking to replace with the SRH840 pads soon.

Victor Calise Blanchard
from Houston, TX USA
February 8, 2011Music Background:
Padwan Learner, Sound Engineer, Singer/Songwriter, Hobbyist

Hell Of A Buy

I received these baby's as a gift this past Christmas. I asked for them because they were recomended by my sales engineer here at Sweetwater. I am very pleased with the quality and durability featured by these headphones. I take good care of my equipment and I fully expect these will be around for another ten years before they wear out.
I use these for recording and have experienced no bleeding or contamination of my tracking.
The removable coil cord is great and would like to note that it is plenty long and just as rugged as the rest of the item.
These come with a very nice carrying case as well. Sideways say I.
I would not use these to recreationally listen to music, but I go to them every time I record and whenever a divice of mine needs monitoring and I don't have monitors handy. I think anyone would agree that these are great set of headphones for their price. I see no reason to drop them for anything more expensive, period.

John
from TX USA
December 25, 2010Music Background:
Live Sound Engineer, A2 Sports Broadcast

Amazed.

What can I really say about these headphones? Other than I am absolutely blown away by them. For just over a year I have been mixing on Sennheiser HD280 pro headphones (don't get me wrong, those headphones are great too. Sennheiser makes some fine gear.) and I always noticed that my lows would be screaming through my speakers after I had printed my mix. So my friend lets me listen to his 440's and I loved them. I just bought them as a christmas gift to myself, and I'm in love. The clarity is amazing. The lows come through nice and clean, the highs are bright and the mids are not muddy at all. I also love that the cord actually disconnects from the headphones for safety during travel. (Just another thing that will make these last a lot longer than most headphones.) All in all, I couldn't be happier. I would recommend these to anybody.

Bob
from Maine
December 12, 2010Music Background:
musician since 1967

Nice stuff

This headphone is for hearing what is recorded....ambient sound without color...if you are looking for a booming bass, forget these. Buy something inaccurate. I love these as monitors or with my MP3 player. This is the standard , much like the SM 58 has been a standard for eons.

Baron Fuselier
from US
December 7, 2010Music Background:
Lead engineer at SOL Studios.

Great sound but feel cheap.

they sound ok but they feel really cheep like a pair of $19 radioshack headphones. i bought these cause the isolation rating was 3db higher than the 7506, and hd280. witch it was not by much but it was. i will be sending mine back to get a pair 7506, or hd280.

Jansen Wilder
from Singapore
November 22, 2010Music Background:
home Hobbyist.

Decent stereo Image , punchy bass.

It starts to get heavy after usage... The Mid range between 6 to 9 KHz is a little bright to my ears... very decent in stereo detail for its price. I sold it after 2 weeks of usage .... I guess that's why they had the SRH840.
I replace the SRH440 with the ATH M50...huh... my ears feels better with the M50 somehow. My tip, always listen to headphones flat without eq and judge if they balance the frequencies in a song/track/mix, The SRH440 offers stronger bass I believe. But I prefer the M50 just slightly..price considered as well. Cool headphones for its price, ignore the SRH220 and grab the 440 directly if you need decent headphones.

RF.
from ill
August 6, 2010Music Background:
singer .home recording . tech to way radio

WOW!!! SAYS IT ALL

FIRST OFF 20-20KHZ IS HUMAN HEARING ANYTHING ABOVE OR BELOW THAT IS USELESS THESE PHONE ARE ANYTHING BUT THESE ARE WELL BUILT SOLID HEADPHONES CLEAN , CLEAR , SMOOOOTH BASE CLEAN MIDS CLEAR HIGHS BOTTOM LINE ITS LIKE BEING AT THE CONCERT MAN..WHAT SOUND.. I DIG THE REMOVABLE CORD AND PADS NOW HERE IS THE BOTTOM LINE IF SHURE MAKES THESE AND YOU HAVE TRUSTED THERE MICROPHONES FOR YEARS TO BE THE INDUSTRY STANDERD WHY WOUDENT YOU TRUST THERE HEADPHONES THAT ARE CALABRATED BY THE SAME COMPANY.. TO DELIVER THAT SHURE SOUND TO YOUR EARS AND WHAT BETTER WAY TO HEAR ALL THE AWESOME SINGERS THAT SING ON SHURE MICROPHONES THEN WITH HEADPHONES CALABRATED FOR JUST THAT??? NOTE: NOT ALL SRH 440 ARE NOT THE SAME TRY A FEW AT SAM ASH OR GUITAR CENTER OR SWEETWATER IF ONE IS NEAR YOU THE A/B BABY!!! TILL YOU FIND THE SOUND YOUR EARS ENJOY MYSELF ALL HEADPHONES GIVE KILLER MUSIC BUT DO ALL LET YOU HEAR THE SINGER SO CLEAR THAT IF HE SANG RAW WITHOUT EQ .COMPRESSOR, DELAY, VERB. YOU COUD SAY MAN YOU SOUND IN MY HEADHONES JUST LIKE YOU DO IN PERSON. ( THATS WHAT SHURE SOUND IS ALL ABOUT FROME MICROPHONES TO HEADPHONES ( BE SHURE) AND KNOW YOUR GETTING THE ABSULUTE BEST BANG FOR YOUR BUCK NOTE: 3 DAYS BURN IN TIME ... BEFORE USE I RECOMEND .... RF.

myspace.com/THEREAL208
from Nampa, Idaho
July 30, 2010Music Background:
Producer, Music lover

Best Ive heard so far

Best in class, compared these to others in this price range and glad I went with these very High quality materials, like the screw on 1/4 plug to avoid it popping off, Very clear and detailed sound I almost got the Dr.Dre Beats which are 300.00! those are very nice to listen to music (VERY Nice but hyped BASS good for bumpin but Im recording and need a FLAT freq. response so I get the best mix possible These are great and were recommended over the Sony 7506's and HD 280pros by Salesmen

from
March 18, 2010

Nice!

For $99 they're well worth it. Great for tracking. More detail and accuracy than I was expecting. I wouldn't use them for a final mix or real critical monitoring situations, but for general recording they more than suffice. I will be getting the 840's to pick up where these left off.

TJ
from Kansas City, MO
November 14, 2009Music Background:
Guitar Hobbyist

Great Product

If your looking for a pair of headphones within a reasonable price range, these are definitely the one to purchase. I had bought the Sony MDR-7506 at first, and was not impressed! Really there is no comparison between the two. The Shure 440 are more durable and way better sounding without all the static background noise that you get with the Sony MDR-7506. Shure 440 is truly a great product!

Customer Reviews

SRH440

Sensing Super Sound

Shure SRH440 Headphones--Pure listening pleasure!

Built like a tank!!!

Good phones for the money.

great sounding recording headphones

Love 'em

Finally, headphones that work--and don't kill your budget.

Shure SRH440 Headphones

Very Good

great headphones for recording

Adequate but not great

OK, I guess.

Great Headphones for cheap

Great phones

Best set of CANS......

Not What I Expected

Sey Hey

Srh440 is great for noise cancellation

So Far the Best I've Ever Used

Good Quality at a reasonable price

Wouldn't want to wear these all day

Shure SRH440

Shure are nice headphones

Great Product and Service!

Sounds great, well made, worth the price!

Great Product

Pretty Good and Durable

The Best I've found

Killer

Awesome

Beautiful

Not too crazy about them

On-air Staff Satisfaction speaks volumes.

Not SHure enough

Great value for the price

They Are Nice

Hell Of A Buy

Amazed.

Nice stuff

Great sound but feel cheap.

Decent stereo Image , punchy bass.

WOW!!! SAYS IT ALL

Best Ive heard so far

Nice!

Great Product