When a pair of cans is destined to spend its life indoors, size isn’t much of an issue. And these Shures are unashamedly large, padded and Cyberman-esque — we can’t see many folks taking them on the Tube.
If you were of a mind to, though, at least you wouldn’t irritate your fellow sardines: the Shure SRH940s are closed-back headphones, and don’t leak sound to the outside world.
They’re lovely and comfy on the head thanks to their padded velour ear-cups, and their circumaural design (which surrounds your whole ear rather than sitting on it) means your lugs won’t get too hot.
They’re a fast, energetic listen, and open and revealing with it too – which goes slightly against the grain of their closed-back DNA. The rich synths of the track are conveyed explicitly, and there’s oodles of detail in the low-fi hi-hat part.
The mellow melody is nicely rounded, and the whole frequency range sits together really well, with nothing standing out too far or sitting too far back in the mix.
Switch gears to Chan Chan by the Buena Vista Social Club and all that detail is once again to the fore. The tight-yet-full quality to low frequencies is particularly pleasing.
Shure SRH940: Verdict
Gripes? Only one very minor one: there’s a very slight spike near the top of the treble, which can occasionally stray into thinness during lean-sounding recordings, but it’s not a deal-breaker by any means.
If you find the Shure SRH940s a little too eager-sounding for your tastes, consider the Award-winning AKG K550s, which offer a more easygoing performance – but if it’s excitement you crave, these smashing Shures tick all the boxes.
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