Shure recently launched a redesign of its SRH840 model with the newly designed Shure SRH840A headphones. An over-ear model targeting professionals both in the studio and live for the purpose of monitoring.
The new SRH840A features a facelift that the company says “looks great on camera” while maintaining the same audio quality with some added enhancements. Which could get some mixed responses depending on the user. For example, YouTube streamers do care about what they look like. However, in the studio or live production, it doesn’t matter as audio quality comes before anything else.
Some of the enhancements in this new release include lower harmonic distortion and more precise left-right driver matching. Shure says that the “transparent, natural sound signature delivers detailed accurate audio across an extended range…with rich bass, clear mid-range, and extended highs”, although we can’t back that since we haven’t listened to a pair just yet. Words can be promising but the ears don’t lie.
One of the design changes that I immediatly noticed from the images was the labeling of Left/Right sides. The original model took a similar path to some models coming from companies like Sony, marking them red and blue. This is incredibly useful when you are working live production events in low-light atmospheres (which is most of these events for those sitting at front of house). The new model does not share this.
Instead, the company chose to focus more about making them look nice on camera vs functional while at work. The labels are small and feature the same color as the surrounding area (black), located on the inside of each side of the band. No longer can you confidently reach for your headphones and slap them on your head as if they get moved around between use, who knows what orientation they are in and if the lights are down or out, you may be struggling to see which side is which.
This is a personal thing for me though. There are other monitor headphones that feature the same or similar handicap. However, I know I am not alone in this one and this will matter when it comes to buying the next pair of headphones when mine wear out. In this case, I may side with Sony or stick to the original Shure model (if it can be found at the time).
That being said,t he new design does look nice. Mostly black with gold trim that includes the logo, an outline around the backside of each muff, and the stitching running around the headband. The headband also looks incredibly comfortable. At least, from the images since (again) we haven’t sat down with the new model ourselves.
If you are a YouTube streamer and care about aesthetics as much as you do quality, this could be a model that may interest you. A solid brand with a very nice design and a reasonable price tag (MSRP: $149). The headphones launched last month, so they are available at certain retailers that carry Shure products and will likely continue to roll out to other stores in the near future. They come with a 9 ft locking bayonet cable, 1/8″ to 1/4″ adapter, and a carrying bag.
| Available from the following retailers: | | | | |
| Our Rating NA – Not Rated Yet | Average Price* $149.00 |
*Average price is based on the time this article was published
