If it were not for my mix playing out of these new Shure SRH1540 headphones, I wouldn’t even know they were on my head. The very comfortable SRH1540s are closed-back headphones and feature lightweight construction and plush Alcantara® ear pads. These circumaural headphones use an adjustable aluminum alloy headband with stylish black padding. There are rigid carbon fiber ear cups that surround the left and right 40-mm neodymium drivers each mounted within an internal steel frame assembly.
Being a closed-back version of the Shure SRH1840s, you’ll have maximum sound isolation for hours of comfortable listening. They are smooth in the high frequencies to sound warm and musical overall—even at loud listening levels. I can hear deep into my mixes and I utilize them to check and compare subtle details to what I hear from my analytical-sounding main monitors.
I prefer the soft ear pad material of the SRH1540s rather than the typical black leatherette material that, over time, easily gets tattered. I also like the way the main cable splits into separate left and right cables that snap into the individual drivers using color-coded gold-plated MMCX connectors.
The SRH1540s come with a 1/4-inch gold adapter, a set of replacement ear pads and two sets of connecting 1.83-meter cables in a semi-rigid carrying case that keeps the whole kit together and protected.
The SRH1540 headphones sell for $499 MAP. http://bit.ly/1dbK0jb
By Barry Rudolph
miniBio: Barry Rudolph is a recording engineer/mixer with over 30 gold and platinum RIAA awards to his credit. He has recorded and/or mixed: Lynyrd Skynyrd, Hall & Oates, Pat Benatar, Rod Stewart, the Corrs and Robbie Nevil. Barry has his own futuristic music mixing facility and also teaches recording engineering at Musician’s Institute, Hollywood, CA. http://www.barryrudolph.
