revolutionz said:

  Not sure how much you've looked into these, but they use the same removeable connectors as the Logitech and the Shure.  If you get these, you could get the iphone cable from either company and use it with the westones

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I don't think they are using the "same" cables. I'd probably say they use the same concept on paper, but probably different implementations. I certainly haven't seen/heard similar complaints with shure or westone for any of their flagship products.

mooses9 said:

  535 are very mid forward iem's they have a tendency to be slightly bright. 
 
ive owned both the 535 and the W4r and imo the W4R has more of a referance sound more of a audiophile sound.
 
its really going to depend on your other equipment. the w4r have ALOT of potential, and are not as sensitive as the 535 so the 535 might be better straight out of a source vs the 535.
 
the 215 are dynamic drivers the 535 are balance armature drivers.

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I don't really have "other equipment" This is why I'm here asking this question, because from the sounds of it, the iphone/spotify/320 kbps usage may be a bit overkill? I don't want to pay $500 for a pair of headphones and deal with EQ or a separate amp. I want to plug in my headphones and listen music. And for my use case, I want the best IEM the money can buy (obviously within reason).

derstig said:

   
I don't think they are using the "same" cables. I'd probably say they use the same concept on paper, but probably different implementations. I certainly haven't seen/heard similar complaints with shure or westone for any of their flagship products.

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This is the first time Westone has used the MMCX connector.  I can easily swap cables back and forth between my UE900 and any of my Shure IEMs.  Should work the same on the new Westones being they switched from the 2pin to the MMCX connector.

So how can you explain the sheer number of complaints about UE900's connectivity issues and not a single one from Shure?

derstig said:

So how can you explain the sheer number of complaints about UE900's connectivity issues and not a single one from Shure?

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There are.  In the SE846 thread, there are reports from one or two people complaining that one of their earbuds is cutting in and out. I'm sure if you searched, you would find others that have had problems with other models of Shure IEMs as well.   I don't have a game-changing answer, all I can go by is my own personal experiences.

for one, shure's 846 are a new iem, there might just not be enough people who A own them, or B changed the connectors.
 
the mmcx is proven to cause a great deal of issue, i would look towards the se535 and the ue900 to get a better idea of a more used and circulated iem than the 846.
 
the mmxc connect can get dirty, it can be come loose after time from change to different cables, this looseness can lead to shorts, dirt in the connect can also lead to shorts in the signal, the ring in the connector can become worn and this can allow for a great deal of movement of the iem housing thus causing shorts... this is ALL from expierence with this connector.....ALSO when you put the male side of the pin into the female side, the female side has a ridge, when you first connect the connectors you heard a nice firm snap, to let you know you have made a good connection....over time the female groove wears out and the snap is no longer a snap but more like a click, this too can lead to shorts in the sound.
 
I love the pin design i feel like although there have been cases where people broke pins off in the housing this could be from carelessness or just man handling the iem and cable. im not saying its perfect. however the mmxc has alot more to fail than the pins to. pin design is very simple, there not alot to wear. and it doesnt wear like the mmxc does.
 
thats just my expierence and my opinion.

Do you like a warm / V-shape sound? If yes, then buy the Shure SE215. If not, then buy the Shure SE535.
 
If you like a big enhanced bass, then you should pick the Shure SE215 also.

ubs28 said:

  Do you like a warm / V-shape sound? If yes, then buy the Shure SE215. If not, then buy the Shure SE535.
 
If you like a big enhanced bass, then you should pick the Shure SE215 also.

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I will sound like a complete idiot, but I have no idea what v-shape sound is. As I said, I want the best IEM I can afford for iphone/spotify/320kbps use case. Genres I listen are pop, rock, country, techno, and metallica. I don't know how else I can say this.

Can you use a TripleFi 10Vi cable with the W4R? Maybe that could work for him... 

mooses9 said:

for one, shure's 846 are a new iem, there might just not be enough people who A own them, or B changed the connectors.

the mmcx is proven to cause a great deal of issue, i would look towards the se535 and the ue900 to get a better idea of a more used and circulated iem than the 846.

the mmxc connect can get dirty, it can be come loose after time from change to different cables, this looseness can lead to shorts, dirt in the connect can also lead to shorts in the signal, the ring in the connector can become worn and this can allow for a great deal of movement of the iem housing thus causing shorts... this is ALL from expierence with this connector.....ALSO when you put the male side of the pin into the female side, the female side has a ridge, when you first connect the connectors you heard a nice firm snap, to let you know you have made a good connection....over time the female groove wears out and the snap is no longer a snap but more like a click, this too can lead to shorts in the sound.

I love the pin design i feel like although there have been cases where people broke pins off in the housing this could be from carelessness or just man handling the iem and cable. im not saying its perfect. however the mmxc has alot more to fail than the pins to. pin design is very simple, there not alot to wear. and it doesnt wear like the mmxc does.

thats just my expierence and my opinion.

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My opinion based upon owning the Westone 4r, Shure SE215, 535 and now the 846 is that the MMCX connector is a better alternative to the two pin connector. After owning the 535 for over a year and multiple removals it never became lose so that I could not get a satisfying click each time. Yes, the MMCX may require an occasional (once a month at most) cleaning but the ability to swivel the IEM 360 degrees more than makes up for having to clean it. It is much easier to snap off a pin than it is to wear out the MMCX connector.

Also, I find it compelling that the three biggest companies (and the engineers) in the IEM market, Shure, Logitech UE and Westone now use the MMCX. They probably are much better aware of the actual failure rate of the two pin vs. the MMCX and find the MMCX to be superior. Unless of course we are to assume all three companies are acting irrationally.

That is just my opinion and mine and all three companies experience.

So is the westone better in terms of sound for the casual listener using spotify than shure with a strong emphasis on pop and the such? 

spook76 said:

My opinion based upon owning the Westone 4r, Shure SE215, 535 and now the 846 is that the MMCX connector is a better alternative to the two pin connector. After owning the 535 for over a year and multiple removals it never became lose so that I could not get a satisfying click each time. Yes, the MMCX may require an occasional (once a month at most) cleaning but the ability to swivel the IEM 360 degrees more than makes up for having to clean it. It is much easier to snap off a pin than it is to wear out the MMCX connector.

Also, I find it compelling that the three biggest companies (and the engineers) in the IEM market, Shure, Logitech UE and Westone now use the MMCX. They probably are much better aware of the actual failure rate of the two pin vs. the MMCX and find the MMCX to be superior. Unless of course we are to assume all three companies are acting irrationally.

That is just my opinion and mine and all three companies experience.

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Well there are a few things to take into consideration. 1 is people who have upgraded pin cables are going to either buy new cables or have the cables repinned in order to use with mmcx, 2 is maybe UE Logitech went to MMCX but they seem to have alot of issues going on with cables and the mmxc connectors. 3rd is that this is only 3 companies that have went over to mmxc connectors, IMO it comes down to preferance, there is a little space there where imo pins do have a slight advantage in my own opinion, again someone else might find this to be different.
 

derstig said:

  So is the westone better in terms of sound for the casual listener using spotify than shure with a strong emphasis on pop and the such? 

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the shure 535 are mid forward emphasized, the w4r in my opinion has more of a audiophile grade sound, some say the 535 are ''funner'' BUT i feel like they lack the audiophile grade quality of sound quality. the w4r do NOTHING wrong, BUT they dont also EMPHASIZE on anything in particular. 
 
however the expierence with the w4r sound changes depending on a couple things:
 
1. the w4r/w4 are very tip dependent the sound quality changes a bit depending on the tip being used.
 
2.sources dac's/amp's while you want a amp to be more or less transparent and not mess with sound frequencies. the w4/r respond imo extremely well with a dac and amp. this also changes the sound signature a bit depending on the kind of amp and dac at hand.
 
3. interconnects and cables. this also changes the sound signature of the w4/r alot IMO but again it depends on the materials your cable and interconnects are made of.
 
now im not saying you need to go out and buy a dac and amp and all that. but at face value dont judge the w4/r like that, they are very capable iem's and have alot of potential, its just how far you wanna go with that potential.
 
when i had the 535 they are very sensitive iem's and they respond as you would assume a sensitive iem at hand would better straight out of a source. 

mooses9 said:

Well there are a few things to take into consideration. 1 is people who have upgraded pin cables are going to either buy new cables or have the cables repinned in order to use with mmcx, 2 is maybe UE Logitech went to MMCX but they seem to have alot of issues going on with cables and the mmxc connectors. 3rd is that this is only 3 companies that have went over to mmxc connectors, IMO it comes down to preferance, there is a little space there where imo pins do have a slight advantage in my own opinion, again someone else might find this to be different.

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Your first point is irrelevant as to which connector is a better alternative.

Your second point I assume is based upon the forums at Head-Fi. Please tell me you are not basing your opinion on one tiny segment of the market (members of Head-Fi) and extrapolating that to all purchasers of the Logitech UE's? If so, you are substituting your well meaning but uninformed opinion on their entire market. You assume you know more than the executives and engineers at Logitech UE.

As for your last point, I would be surprised that Westone, Shure and Logitech UE based their decision to go with the MMCX solely on preference and not failure rate. But since I for one do not claim to be omniscient, I will let the evidence speak for itself.

215 are not good decision for Metallica and other hard guitar genres.
But they sounds very musical and interesting with most DAPs.
215 and 535 has a little problems with treble, it is not a good index.
Also 215 sounds right only with comply tips.

Well those are your opinions you are free to them. While I have not owned the 846, I have owned the se535 bronze and the se535-ltd-j on a point of view as far as build quality they are both the same so personally I can speak for my own personal experiences with the mmcx connector. Of which I had issues on both factory and upgrade cables on. Both the ltd and bronze edition.

Im not comparing one connector to another in my statement. But more so saying that it sucks that people with the w4r cant directly swap out their upgrade cable to the new w40 so in that respect it sucks that you need to either upgrade the pins or upgrade to a mmcx cable that will work.

And I dont particularly follow logitech as "ultimate ears" in my opinion they went down hill when UE sold out thats just my opinion.

But reading up on the 900 and seeing segments of people complaining about build quality and cable Issues thats all I have to go off of. Although its not a all be all answer its a good indication of a product. And there are complaints from the mmxc from buyers.

But we are getting off track here. Im not here to fight or sway a opinion based on any connectors.

I prefer the pins others prefer the mmxc its fair to say to each their own. I wish I had better experiences with that sort of connection but its not the case. But im not here to imply or sway a opinion about the connectors.

But you have to admit if you have a pinned upgrade cable that cost 400.00 for the w4 and now if you want to upgrade the iem you now need to upgrade the xable along with it. Thats more of wjat im talking about.