Shure SE846 Sound Isolating™ Earphone

Link to my review and measurement index thread where one can also find a full review overview, more information about myself as well as my general-ish audio and review manifesto: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/956208/

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I only give full stars. My ranking/scoring system does not necessarily follow the norm and is about as follows:


5 stars: The product is very good and received the "highly recommended" award from me.

4 stars: The product is very good and received the "recommended" award from me.

3 stars: The product is good/very good, but not outstanding/special enough to get any of my two awards. ["Thumbs Up"]

2 stars: The product is only about average or even somewhat below that and somewhat flawed/flawed in some areas. [neither "Thumbs Up" nor "Thumbs Down"]

1 star: The product is bad/severely flawed to outright bad. ["Thumbs Down"]

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Shure SE846


Source:

Personal unit.


Miscellaneous:

Excellent unboxing experience with a vast amount of accessories.

I really like the smaller of the two, squared carrying case – it is nicely padded on the inside with enough interior space, has got an extra pocket to store the cylinder containing the filter swapping tool as well as the separate tuning filters, and has got a nice, brushed metal top-plate inserted into the lid’s outer with a milled Shure logo (looks very premium).

Transparent shells that reveal the cleanly organised internal; I really like that and looking at the crossover PCB, drivers and internal wiring.
The BA drivers, by the way, have their respective number and frequency range etched onto them, which is a very nice and beautiful touch, along with an etched Shure logo on the tweeter.
The right hand side features a red plastic “cage” around the back of the quad driver package, which is an easy to see side indicator.
Unlike on Shure’s previous releases, the nozzles are removable as they contain the interchangeable sound tuning filters, and they as well as the threaded collars that hold them in place are made of metal.
Everything appears to be very sturdily made, and the build quality of the shells is really good and even a bit above that of my SE425s’ which are already really well built.

Due to the higher amount of drivers per shell plus woofers’ acoustic routing, the SE846s’ shells are noticeably bulkier than that of the SE425 or SE215m+SPE, but typically for Shure IEMs, fit ergonomically very well and provide high passive noise isolation.

MMCX connectors.
Strain relief is very good.
The cable looks very nice and is, except for the colour, pretty much identical to that of my SE425s’, and one can feel the twisted conductors (or perhaps shielding) through the protective silver and copper coloured mesh coating underneath the plastic, but with the disadvantage of less flexibility and more stiffness compared to the black cable; it’s still supple enough, though.

Four BA drivers per side, three acoustic ways, single-bore design.




Sound:

Largest included single-flange silicone ear tips.

The longer of the two cables.

White “treble” filters.

Tonality:

I’ve settled with the white “treble” filters quite soon after purchasing my SE846 as the other two included alternatives are audibly a good bit below neutral in quantity, and the “treble” filters don’t even lead to a bright but rather correct treble response.

That said, the SE846s’ sound signature could be best described as “fairly neutral leaning towards dark-neutral with Harman-like sub-bass boost”.

The SE846s’ “magic” truly lies in their bass boost implementation as it starts nicely low in the lower fundamental range wherefore lower midrange bleed and unnecessary bloom are avoided, and climbs gradually with its peak frequency being in the area of the lower midbass to actual sub-bass, with about 7 dB in quantity compared to diffuse-field flatness. As a result, I would definitely subscribe to Shure’s “true subwoofer” claim as this is really what the tuning is, without the added warmth and upper bass punch of other bassy or v-shaped in-ears such as the Ultimate Ears Triple.Fi 10, NocturnaL Audio Atlantis, Sennheiser IE 800, Fischer Amps FA-4E XB or Campfire Audio Andromeda; there are not too many other in-ears that focus on the lower bass as nicely while avoiding too much lower midrange warmth (spontaneously, out of the ones I have, it would be my Earsonics ES3 and the Etymotic ER2XR, as well as perhaps my Moondrop Starfield, with only the ES3 having the start of their bass boost even lower than the Shure, resulting in an even less affected (i.e. completely untouched) lower midrange).
This leads to a nice low bass subwoofer effect and the very low notes being nicely easily audible.

When it comes to midrange, the tuning is correct to very slightly on the more upfront, intimate side, but less “telephonic” when compared to the SE425 which appear a bit more intimate/closer in the mids. Ultimately, the timbre is even aver so slightly on the warmer side due to a slight bit of lower fundamental range elevation still exists, but not in a way that would colour the sound even mildly.

The SE846s’ lower treble is, to my ears, somewhat on the darker side, which leads to a more relaxed presentation of bright voices, with the area around 5 kHz being somewhat in the background as well to my ears.
9 kHz are around neutral in quantity, actually even just a little above that in quantity, but very far from being even considered remotely bright.
The in-ears’ bottleneck however is clearly everything above that – what follows is a steep roll-off, and frequencies above 10 kHz are pretty much non-existent. While that may be still somewhat okay (although barely tolerable with the existing competition nowadays) for the lower-priced SE425 (that start to roll-off even earlier in the treble), that’s a real shame for in-ears in the SE846s’ price range, and is definitely audible as the in-ears simply lack the subtly perceived “air” and “extension” completely, and cymbals’ and other high notes’ decay and upper tones are just cut off from the recording, which results in an over-dampened sound perception.

Perhaps due to the early treble roll-off and therefore lacking overtones and perception as if the imaginary listening room were over-dampened, the perceived timbre appears plasticky/unnatural to me albeit there are no clues to this at all in the frequency response other than the steep and somewhat too early upper treble roll-off.

Frequency Response:


ER-4S-Compensation (white “Treble” Filters)

To my ears and on other measurements I know, the sub-bass elevation is stronger and the upper frequency peak does not exist but is in fact around/below the “neutral 0 dB” line; in addition, I hear the area around 5 kHz as being more recessed.


ProPhile 8-Compensation (white “Treble” Filters)

Resolution:

The SE846 resolve generally very well, while they are not the “best” multi-BA in-ears in their price range.
Despite not reaching UERM levels of resolution, they are generally not too far apart.

Just like with the tuning, the bass is also the Shures’ strongest area when it comes to technicalities, as the bass remains fast, punchy, detailed and tight even with layered, complex, sub-bass-focused tracks, and never loses control. As the decay seems to be just a tad longer than “ideal”, the presentation also feels “natural”, but is far from being perceived “sloppy”/”slow” as the perceived bass attack appears to be clean and fast; this just adds a bit more “perceived impact”/”texture” (which is really good) compared to IEMs with faster bass decay, such as my UERM.

In terms of midrange resolution and speech intelligibility, the Shure sound and resolve really well; there is nothing to complain here.

The treble is a somewhat different story – while not lacking resolution as such, the presentation is rather soft and high notes just sound soft and not all that well separated compared to the mids and lows, which, in fast and more treble-focussed, cymbal oriented tracks, leads to the highs losing some definition, with the separation of individual high notes becoming more difficult to perceive; maybe this is also another aspect of why the Shures’ timbre does ultimately not appear to be very realistic/lifelike.
While this is ultimately criticism on a high level and the SE846 are clarly not “bad” in the highs, this area is, in the end, just behind the mids’ and bass’s quality and not as good as it could be.

Soundstage:

Not all that surprisingly due to their frequency response with a generally rather dark treble and early roll-off, the perceived soundstage is not all that impressive in terms of size, especially for the price and the comparably priced competition, although larger that that of the SE425 and ultimately about half the size of my UERM.

While not particularly large but only “average-ish” to my ears (and therefore not lacking), the presentation is at least circular and three-dimensional to me, and when it comes to imaging, layering and instrument separation, the Shure offer high precision that is close to that of my UERM, although undeniably with smaller perceived expansion to the sides and less forward projection. As a result, while not wowing in terms of pure size, the stage is at least authentic, three-dimensional and precise.

“Emptiness” between instruments/tonal elements is generally presented well, with only little “fog” around the imaginary tonal elements.

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Comparisons:

Etymotic ER2XR:

Both in-ears have got a comparable tuning and clearly head into a similar direction in terms of sound, but still have some differences in their tonality.
While the upper bass presence at 100 Hz is almost identical on both in-ears, the ER2XR have got slightly more quantity in the root above it up to around 450 Hz, and have got a sub-bass boost that is a bit stronger and peaks a bit deeper, giving them an even somewhat stronger “subwoofer effect” than the SE846.
The Shures’ upper mids and presence range are somewhat more in the background wherefore their upper mids are a bit darker than the Etymotics’.
To my ears, the Shures’ middle treble around 5 kHz is more in the background in comparison, which gives them a more relaxed presentation. The upper treble (cymbals) are somewhat more forward on the SE846. Super treble extension past 10 kHz is definitely better on the Etymotic.

The Etymotic beat my Shure when it comes to upper midrange and treble linearity as well as realism and timbral accuracy.
Voices are more realistic on the Etymotic whereas they have a more relaxed, darker character on the Shure due to their comparatively more relaxed upper midrange, presence range and middle treble.
The biggest difference however is the upper treble – while the Shure render cymbals brighter than the ER2XR, they don’t sound fully right, and that’s not because they are brighter, but because they appear as if they decayed faster (over-dampened), since they lack the upper tones and reverb as the SE846s’ super treble extension is pretty limited; in comparison, cymbals appear to decay correctly on the ER2XR and have got that reverb, decay and the upper tones that they are supposed to have, as the Etys’ super treble extension is better.

Bass tightness and sub-bass definition are ultimately superior on the Shure when both in-ears are compared directly, but surprisingly not by much.
If fast music tracks are played, the Shure remain a bit better controlled and more focused in the bass and mids than the ER2XR, although the difference is smaller than one may expect.
In terms of speech intelligibility, the Ety are ahead due to their tuning as their entire midrange is more neutral, however the Shures’ retrieval of micro details in the mids is better in direct comparison.
It is a different story, though, when it comes to treble details: here, the Etymotic are audibly somewhat ahead, as the Shure simply lack information and sound softer, less precise and less clean when it comes to treble separation.

The Etys’ soundstage appears subjectively larger to me. The Shures’ is more circular to my ears while the Etys’ is slightly more oval in comparison.
In terms of imaging, the Shure are only minimally more precise in direct comparison. With dense, fast and complex music material, the Shures’ stage remains a bit more intact.

Shure SE425:

Both differ clearly in their tuning with the SE846 being more (sub-)bass focussed compared to the more neutrally, somewhat midrange-forward tuned SE425.
Upper mids are somewhat more recessed/darker on the SE846; while they also lack super treble extension, the SE846 start to roll off somewhat less early than the SE425 which gives them ultimately somewhat more “air” and the less muffled cymbals in comparison.

In terms of technical strengths, the SE846 are an audible step above the dual-BA in-ears and generally resolve better, although due to their comparatively more direct upper midrange/presence range tuning, the SE425 are more “critical” with the recording and “analytical” than the SE846 that present a more relaxed sound but are, when it comes to pure details, clearly ahead.

The SE846s’ soundstage is larger than the SE425s’ and also more precise when it comes to imaging.




Conclusion:

The clean and well-implemented, subwoofer-like bass boost is definitely something that makes the SE846 for a very enjoyable listen with their otherwise safe and even tuning.
Bass and midrange details are on a high level as is the imaging precision and layering with the believable three-dimensional soundstage, although the Shure don’t impress when it comes to pure soundstage size.
Their weak point, however, is definitely the treble, especially for the price – extension is clearly limited with a steep and somewhat too early roll-off that leads to a lack of overtone reproduction and an overall timbre that seems to mimic an over-dampened room; when it comes to technical qualities, the highs are also somewhat below the bass and midrange in terms of quality as they sound too soft, which is something that ultimately leads to the high note separation becoming blurry if the recording is too fast in the highs.


Photos:

About myself

I'm 38, so my hearing is possibly not the same as in my 20s. I like various music genres, mainly prog rock/metal, blues and some classical music. I'm not into rap/hiphop/EDM so I don't have a strong preference regarding excessive bass quantity.

Some background

I've purchased this item myself, it was new back then. I have no affiliation with the manufacturer nor was this a sponsored review of part of a loan tour.

Comfort and fit

This is still my favourite IEM with regards to fit, isolation and comfort. Excellent choice for travel.

Here I'm using it with a Whiplash Audio Silver Litz cable:





Sound

I think this was the king of bass back in 2013 when it was announced. It has the typical balanced armature bass, but using a passive "subwoofer" construction it was elevated to a new level. Since then I think other manufacturers have catched up and even surpassed the 846.

Mids are very good, super emotional. Everything is clear and not over-emphasized.

The main issue is with treble, which rolls off around 8 Khz. This makes it very easy to listen to, but the detail retrieval in the high frequencies is not the best.

You can influence the frequency response by changing the filter in the nozzle, which is a very simple process. You can add (even) more bass if you want:



Comparisons

Based on my listening experiences, this is a better IEM for me than the Dunu Luna, but it is inferior to the ItsFit Fusion and even to the Moondrop Starlight, which costs much much less.



Sources

Does not need much power, but for sound quality it is highly recommended to get a good DAP or at least a good USB dongle, like the E1DA 9038D.

Conclusion

This was one of the best IEM seven years ago, but now there are better alternatives today, even for a lower price.

The cheap comes out expensive.... by that I mean that I always wanted these but was not willing to spend the money. Instead I bought
 
Klipsh S4 100$, not happy!
Sennheiser MM550x 550$, not happy!,
Audio-Technica M50x 300$, not happy!,
Phiaton MS 530 250$, not happy!,
Bose QC20i 280$, good noise cancelling, not a fan of the Bose sound
Ultimate ears Triple-Fi 10 250$, a little happy but don't like to look like a TV antenna
Sennheiser IE08 450$, kind of happy but not the most comfortable
 
and finally the SE846, VERY happy.
 
So I spent 2180$ plus taxes instead of 1000. Some of it was my fault because it took me a while to understand that I like earphones better than headphones. but don't get me wrong, the other ear/headphones above are all very good but my message is, if you want the 846's don't be cheap, comes out more expensive.
 
2 more things:
1. Yes they are worth the money
2. If you use them for lets say 5 years and pay 1000$, that's 200/ year or 55 cents a day to enjoy the very best earphones on the market and stop shopping for better (for a while at least)

I finally took the plunge and got these. It's amazing how TOTL IEMS can sound so different.
 
Bass: Tight and full. Tip dependent. With the triple flanges thought my head was going to blow off. I like the silicone tips.
 
Mids/Treble:: A bit forward with roll off but very detailed. Good separation. Resolution is clean.
 
Highs:  Right there very detailed.
 
Soundstage: Not sure it's kind of right in your head.
 
I have the Westone w60's as well and so I was a bit overwhelmed by the huge presence these IEMS give. They are fun and musical. The w60's are more natural and organic and are more comfortable. The cable is a real disappointment on the 846's. It's too stiff and doesn't fit nicely around your ears. If I had to pick one it would depend on the mood I was in. The isolation on the 846's make them better for travelling. I have the Dunu dn-2000j's which are less half the price maybe  a third and on some tracks out perform both. The 846's are well made. Who would I recommend them to? People that like the Shure sound with great detail and in your face sound but not overly fatiguing. I'm done now. No more gear. I'm broke......

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Before i start the review i would like to mention that i use a Chord Mojo as a reference dac/amp to ensure there is no bottleneck prior to my reviews. Also i will show a screen shot of the details rating system because Head-Fi changes this once my review is submitted.
 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                         
 
 
 
 
 
 

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The 846 come in a very nice premium feeling presentation box that has a magnetic clasp on the lid, inside you get a high quality pelican like case, micro fiber cleaning cloth, adapters, tuning filters, ear tips and another smaller hard shell carrying case. The build quality of the 846 is quite good, its housing is a solid plastic shell and the cable feels tough and is a nice thickness. I would have liked to see a better housing material for this price as there are IEMs around £100 that are using materials like stainless steel or aluminium for a higher quality feel and reassurance.
 
                                                                
 

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Bass - So many of you wonder, does it really give sub woofer type of performance and the answer is yes, yes it does but not with all genres of music. To test it out i had go out of my heavy metal comfort zone and try out some of the more bass focused genres so i chose Reggae and Hip Hop. Instantly i was shocked at what these little balanced armatures could do, powerful, controlled and deep low end that kept in its own space down below, i found it so effortless and controlled with tremendous texture and impact, an excellent foundation for the rest of the music. I then tried it with songs im a lot more fimiliar with, whilst not being as impactful and deep with metal as it was with hip hop (usually due to the recordings) i still found it to sound great and never trying to dominate or distract from the midrange. 
 
Midrange - Forward and lush are what came to mind, electric guitar has plenty of power and aggression, vocals are pushed up front and instruments are well separated with good detail. A very intimate presentation.
 
Treble - This was the let down for me, to my ears it sounds completely cut off after around 8khz. As a result i think this is the reason the soundstage is so small and compact and the overall clarity suffers, you can tell there's a lot of detail in these little drivers but it can be hard to pick out if the mastering quality has a darker tone. I always felt myself wanting that extra sparkle, more air in the soundstage, more energy in the treble even just a little bit more extension. 
 
                                                                 
 
 
Conclusion - i have enjoyed my time using shures (previously TOTL) iem with its unique BA design and I really do love the bass and midrange of the 846 so its such a shame about the treble, the sound signature is too dark for me personally and i also like a medium to large sound stage. I cant recommend this to people that love their treble twinkly and bright but if you are somone who is sensitive to treble and are into night club type music, with its phenomenal sub bass it could the perfect IEM.
 
https://www.shure.co.uk/products/earphones/se846
 

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This is my review from "sounds guy" on Amazon!
 
 
Comfort- The sennheisers stay in my ears pretty well. The shures are a little too big and the cable is really stiff and annoying. +1 for the sennheisers.

Design- The shures look better hands down, they have adequate amounts of weight to them and the replaceable cable is a huge plus compared the senneiser ie800s

Microphonics- The ie800s did encounter microphonics because of the cable and I could not move much in them. On the other hand the shures go around your ear so the shure gets a +1 for this category.

Sound (Bass,Treble,Mids)

Bass- The shure se846 has a "subwoofer" bass to it which is extremely unique and can dig EXTREMELY deep, but the detail of the bass is "alright", a little definition would be nicer. Compared to the ie800 which also has deep bass. The shures out perform them because of the depth and subwoofer like feeling.

Mids- The shures sound amazing!!!! VOCALS are extremely realistic and sound like the singer/songwriter is talking to you and it's personal. The se846 moves my heart more. The ie800s have excellent mids and vocals sound clean but the se846 is quite effortless and LUSH sounding. Keep in mind that the shures do have coloration to them and aren't reference grade. They do have kind of a fun signature with the bass-mid emphasis.

Treble- The shures for $1000, have a treble roll off which is unacceptable considering the price. They sound veiled and muffled compared the ie800. The ie800 have sparkly treble and can get a little bit too detailed (might lead to listening fatigue). But the ie800 never irritated me, and I think higher end sounded extremely AIRY, and liquidy.
The shures take quite a beating regarding treble.

Filters on the shure se846- I found the Nuetral one to be the best, since the others altered the frequency response, and I generally prefer a balanced sound. The brightness filter was simply "ok" It would have been better to see more airy ness on the upper end.

Final Conclusion- Consider the shures if you travel a lot, because of the isolation and can block serious amounts of noise. The sennheiser are good if you aren't sitting still (many people complained about the ie800 becoming stiff due to cable issues, I have not encountered that).

Sound wise- The ie800 have better over all clarity and transparency. The shure se846 sounded veiled and muffled in the treble regions when compared to the ie800. Now if you want just good Vocal and Bass then consider the shures since they outperform the ie800 in those categories. In my opinion I would pick the IE800s overall since they just offer better sound quality and airyness of a reference grade earphone. It was disappointing of the treble roll off which got me the most, if the shures were brighter then they would easily be better than the ie800s.

ie800
Mids : 8/10
Bass: 9/10
Treble: 9/10

Shure se846
Mids- 10/10
Bass- 1010
Treble- 9/10

The treble is amazing, however treble heads might find it rolling off. Sometimes it sounds a bit too warm, over all I love it!!

I had 2 pairs with the same issue, after about 10 months, I started to lose sound because the cable didn't properly connect to the earphone. Just moving your head can make it disconnect.
I tried to change the cable with the second one provided and clean the connector, no luck. Spending extra money on a third party cable wouldn't have fixed my issue (I would have get a new set of cable from the warranty if it was the case, I got a brand new pair)
 
You've been warned, it's a great earphones, for less than a year...

This is a very long overdo review.  I've owned these for about 15 months, give or take, and use these about 8-12 hours a day.  I've toyed with the various filters, and have tweaked them a bit, but in the end, after tweaking, these are absolutely the best things I've ever heard sound through.  I spent the better part of owning these swapping comply tips every few days, swapping filters back and fourth, and tried a ton of various sources.  Keep all of this in mind while reading this.
 
I'm going to cut right to the chase: if you own these, then there are two things that you MUST do to actually appreciate these.  First, and foremost, you need to put the blue filters in, and you need to pull out the crappy foam that inhabits the tubes within the filters.  Before doing this, you're appreciating mediocrity, but afterwards you're rewarded with something equivalent to a Ferrari in the headphone world. The soundstage is easily ten times better, bass is significantly cleaner and more lush, and the highs twinkle to an unbelievable extent.  The before and after foam removal is like comparing $200 headphones to $1500 headphones.  I genuinely feel as though this foam unneedingly cripples the audio nirvana.  Secondly, you need to grab yourself an xacto knife, and you'll want to splice out the metal paperclip that promotes the memory loop.... without this metal, the comfort skyrockets.  This is assuming that you have the factory cable, of course.
 
I typically break down music during any reviews or comments, and claim a headphone is fantastic during certain parts, and crippled during others depending on the music.  This is different.  Anything that you're going to listen to, after the filter mod will push your ears to their apex.  When getting newer, and higher-end headphones/IEMs, you're rewarded with a smirking face the first few weeks you put them on until you become accustomed to them, but these provoke the same sensation every single time you put them in and press "play."
 
Obviously, I seem biased, but what can I say?  After the foam mod, they actually fight to make sure I'll never want anything better.  They make their point very well, and honestly make me appreciate not only new music, but my previous collection as though I've never heard it before.  Granted, if you're a potential buyer, you're going to think to yourself "I'm paying $1,000 for some headphones, why should I have to tweak them?" and you're right to say that.  Out of the box, they honestly sound very good, but they didn't set them self apart from other extremely high-end headphones/IEMs.  This isn't to say that you won't be extremely satisfied with their default output by any means.  I just want to get it out as soon as possible: if you aren't planning on removing that crippling foam from the blue filters, then I would say just avoid these completely.  I also want to bring up the subject of tip placement, and why these stand apart from other models/brands... the metal tip tube is fantastic, and coming from many other IEMs from various price tiers, I will say that they are significantly more modular as far as tips are concerned.  I have always advocated Comply tips, but in the end you'll have to swap them out at the most weekly, and without that swap you're faced with a dilema of laziness and SQ.  I've always appreciated rubbery tips, but who am I kidding?  They don't promote the same type of seal and isolation that Comply or similar tips provide.  The metal tubing on the 846s, with the barb system allows you to slide the tips as needed for the perfect fit.  I hated dealing with Comply tips, but I obviously couldn't use anything else to get remotely close to the fidelity that they provided via their seal.  With the metal tubes on the 846s, you can drop down a size on the rubber tips that fit you, and slide them down the tube so it pushes further into your canal to provide the same perfect fit that you'd expect from other types of tips (like Comply or tree tips).  It's nice to get that perfect fit without stressing over tips.
 
Okay, so what really shines with these?  Complex layers are separated entirely through them.  Vocals, both male and female, sound blissful and seductive!  I don't typically listen to vocal music, but when it happens, I feel so blissful that I could simply pop!  Bass riffs?  You got it!  Bass slaps and riffs grind down to your ears until it provokes a grin.  I typically listen to various electronic music, such as electro-pop, trance, chillout....etc, and the layers are so luscious and organic that I borderline can't stand it without being happy.
 
I am from the 80's, so 90's grunge is very nostalgic to me.  After owning some UE Triple.fis, I assumed that fidelity doesn't work well with heavily distorted guitars, but these aren't fatiguing like the UEs, and instead creates extreme fidelity between each pick during a guitar riff... perhaps the triple.fis were just to "bright?"  I'm not sure, but I'm very happy to admit that I don't have the same problems with the 846s.
 
To end this review, I've read a rainbow of good and bad reviews of the 846s.  I definitely assume that all bad reviews are from people that didn't do the foam filter mod.  It's easily night and day.  Listening to them with some lossless and a great source makes my old flagship headphones feel like VHS, and these feel like bluray.  I honestly doubt that not only will I never buy another pair of headphones or IEMs, but I doubt I'd ever want to.  They're that perfect in every single way.  Sure, there's IEMs with more BA drivers, and some that are custom, but what would I care?  These are quite simply, perfect in every way when it comes to sound.

This is the most amazing headphone ever,
I came from background of shure 535, westone w60 and beyren dynamic T6. but this small thing blow everything you ever heard. 
the sound begins to be alive, has its definition, started to hear all my music again, because you can easily imagine the stage and people while listening, 
changed to nozzle to bright and then boom, I cannot stop.
connect it to anything and it will "repair" it, even to airline headphone jack "but with that piece which you can control the sound level, and relax or better "immerse"
..
I wont regret 1000$, because it worth every penny. and your ear deserve it. 
vocals and emotions are electrifying.
They seem to heard the problem in previous se535. Its the bass, and suddenly the stage in your head. I wonder how could they squeeze this all in that piece.
 
Kudos for Shure, somebody did their homework properly.

Preamble:

This is basically a translation with some additions and little changes of my German review (http://kopfhoerer-lounge.blogspot.de/2015/07/se846.html) which I did about a year ago, because I decided that as I have some spare time at the moment, I could spend it to take a few new pictures (sorry for the cellphone’s image quality though and the lousy background, I just couldn’t remove the wrinkles from the pleather, no matter how hard I tried) in addition to my old ones and translate plus (re-) write the text.

The SE846 was purchased by me from Thomann.de new for €969.

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With the SE846, Shure heads into a somewhat new direction and has designed and manufactured all drivers for their €1000 quad-BA flagship in house, including the “special” woofers which for the first time in an IEM are designed after the (more or less) well-known transmission line (TML) principle that can be found in some loudspeaker designs.
The SE846 uses four Balanced Armature drivers per side which are connected in 3-way configuration by the crossover, with two of the drivers being the TML woofers.
Just as already known from other IEM manufacturers, Shure offers its clients to tune the sound with the help of three included acoustic filter tubes that are located in the removable bore.


Technical specifications:

MSRP: €999/$999
Drivers: 4, Balanced Armature
Crossover: 3 ways
Sensitivity: 114 dB SPL/mW
Frequency Range: 15 Hz – 20 kHz
Cables: detachable, MMCX connectors (2 cables: 46” and 64”)


Delivery Content:

So, what do we get?
The first thing you will see is a well-sealed black paper wrapper that features a large picture of the SE846’s right ear-piece on its front and back.
Breaking the firm seals, inside is a black box with a matte-black soft-touch rubber-like surface, sporting a silver (metal?) Shure logo on the top and glossy black SE846 lettering on the front side which features a magnetic lid and can be folded up.
The lid’s inside features a sticker with the serial number (which is by the way also on the black wrapper), a safety instructions sticker and a description of the “subwoofer” drivers on a pocket that includes the instruction manual – really nice.
Inside of that black box is also an elongated, transparent case, manufactured by s3cases and with a carrying strap plus a silver Shure logo on the upper lid. Personally, I don’t really see any real benefit in this transparent case for me as it is not padded on the inside, but it looks really nice and gives you that premium feel.
Inside are a nice black microfiber cleaning cloth with a large white Shure logo, the IEMs, the two cables (each being different in length), an airplane adapter, a cable clip, a 6.35 to 3.5 mm stereo adapter, the damping adapter with included volume dial, a really nice square carrying case with a pocket on the inside (offering room for the included threaded metallic cylinder which features a tool for removing the IEMs’ nozzles and contains the interchangeable tuning filters) as well as a nice outer metal top-plate with milled Shure logo and last but not least a large selection of ear-tips (one pair of white triple-flange tips, one pair of yellow sponge tips with integrated cerumen mesh filter, four pairs of foam tips with integrated cerumen mesh filter in three sizes, three pairs of differently sized silicone tips).
 

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Looks, Feels, Build Quality:

The IEMs have got transparent bodies that let you see the four BA drivers (the tweeter even features a cute little Shure logo, and the tube network in front of it an SE846 label) and the crossover, which is really nice to see and visually pleasing. Even if the coloured versions of the SE846 would have been available back then when I bought mine, I’d still have gone with the transparent in-ears.
The nozzle and threaded collar that holds it in place are made of metal – using the tool for unscrewing the collar, one can remove the nozzle and swap the acoustic filter tube that sits in it.
Everything looks and feels very sturdily made, plus the whole bodies appear even a bit better manufactured than the SE425s’ which are already excellently built.
What I really like is that not only the cables feature small coloured dots for easy side recognition, but also that the right earpiece’s frame on the inside that holds the drivers in place is red and easily visible.

The cables and IEMs are equipped with coaxial MMCX connectors and the cable has got excellent strain relief and a good chin-slider. It looks basically like SE425’s cable, but is silver instead of black and the twisted cable cores on the inside are coated by a silver and copper coloured mesh, wherefore flexibility is not as good as the black version’s. I’ve seen some people complaining about the cable, but I personally find it more than flexible enough and I really don’t really have anything to criticise about it.
 

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Comfort, Isolation:

Like the huge majority of IEMs in this price range the SE846 is supposed to be worn with the cables around the ears, which is anyway my preferred wearing style as well.
Microphonics are close to zero.

The bodies are larger and bulkier than Shure’s lower-priced IEMs, however they should still fit most people and ergonomics are excellent – but I with my large auricles have almost never comfort issues with IEMs anyway.

Provided you manage to get a good fit and seal, isolation is sublime, just like with most other closed-body IEMs and Shure’s lower-range in-ear models.

Sound:

As I own these for quite some time, I have used them with different source devices, however my favourite are my iBasso DX90, LH Labs Geek Out IEM 100 and gain-reduced Leckerton UHA-6S.MKII.

Just as with about all of my IEMs, I use the SE846 with the included silicone tips (large grey single-flange tips), as foam tips and I aren’t the best friends (they often reduce treble and make bass appear less arid, even if positioned correctly).

Music source are mainly my CDs which I ripped in Foobar 2k and store in FLAC format, but I also have a couple of Hi-Res and DSD albums and recordings. For more intense testing and the purpose of this review, I covered as many music genres as possible and used tracks with different complexity, speed and cast density.

The following tonality paragraph will be split into two parts (blue “balanced” and white “bright/treble” filters).

Tonality:

Blue Filters (“balanced”):
Roughly, I would describe the sound as a smooth and relaxed adaption of balanced sound with a decent amount of added sub-bass. Another description would be “mature fun” (no double entendre intended).
Mids are lush and always present (overall, they’re even somewhat more up-front, just like the SE425’s, however without the sometimes slightly annoying in-your-face midrange “peak”) and slightly on the warmer side which is due to that the fundamental tone is slightly elevated, along with the mids, which adds the subtle warmth in this area.
In contrast to other in-ears with elevated bass, SE846’s emphasis starts very low in the lower fundamental tone, wherefore it doesn’t even slightly bleed into the fundamental tone and also doesn’t add too much unnecessary bloom or thickness. Fundamental tone is about not influenced by the bass emphasis and the upper bass is also not elevated as much (SE846’s upper bass is clearly less present than Triple.Fi 10’s or FA-4E XB’s – the emphasis starts really low), so the “true subwoofer” claim is quite true. Compared to quite neutral IEMs like the ER-4S, fundamental tone and upper bass show some emphasis, but it is of lesser amount than the InEar SD-2’s (fundamental tone) or Triple.Fi 10’s (upper bass).
Down from the mid-bass, the emphasis really starts extending, very evenly, and is integrated rather subtle. The climax with about +8.5 dB is reached in the sub-bass.
Tracks with deep bass lines show nice and distinct “cellar rumble”, for example Iggy Azalea and Rita Ora’s “Black Widow” (actually not my usually preferred and listened music, but good for testing sub-bass), where the first of the two synthetic bass tunes is located at 30 Hz.

Treble is somewhat in the background (on the graphs, it looks different, but subjectively treble isn’t as recessed as the frequency response graphs suggest – this is also what was the general consensus in other (German) reviews).
Unfortunately, so I have to say, treble extension isn’t that good for a quad-driver three-way IEM around €1000, as SE846’s treble rolls off more or less early at 10 kHz. I can accept the SE425’s treble which rolls off about 2 kHz earlier than the SE846, as it costs only between €200 and 300 and is a two-way dual-driver IEM, but the SE846 is quite a bit more expensive and although it has the better extension than the SE425, there is about nothing above 10 kHz (music lacks the subtle sparkle in the area of the super treble).

What I personally dislike about the blue filters are the middle highs: around 5 kHz, there is a quite steep dip in my ears – it took me quite a while to figure out that it was exactly that particular dip that made me dislike the blue filters rather often.
Usually a dip in that area (harmonics of instruments and tones in the midrage) adds a more “relaxed” character to the mids and takes away some strenuousness, however (at least in my case) I find the midrange to become too boring and yes, more strained is case of the SE846 (maybe because the mids are somewhat emphasised). And it is exactly this dip that I dislike about my Westone W4R although it is a technically excellent IEM otherwise (W4R’s dip is even steeper). Yeah, I am not the biggest fan of that 5 kHz relaxed-dip gene.
Another reviewer described the SE846 as “very high resolving but with a presentation as if it coated everything with icing” – and this is in my opinion a very fitting description of the blue filters’ presentation; it sounds clean and neat, but overdone at times and somewhat not “dirty” enough.
Correcting the 5 kHz “relaxed” dip with an equalizer or using the white filters (more about them just in a moment), the relaxed and white-washed tonality mostly disappears.

White Filters (“bright/treble”):
The mids and bass remain untouched, however there are quite distinct changes in the treble department: the area around 9 kHz gets boosted, nonetheless I wouldn’t describe it as the typical bright peak that other IEMs have, though that frequency band is little more present than neutral in my ears. Especially compared to the blue filters, the whites are quite a bit brighter. Despite the less dark highs, I would say that the blue filters sound a bit more natural, homogenous in the treble department – but also a bit too relaxed for my personal tastes, due to the 5 kHz dip.
What I really love about the white filters is that the 5 kHz “relaxed”-dip isn’t as present as before, wherefore the “icing” and subjective strenuousness disappear, although the sound is still a little more relaxed than neutral, but not to the extent that I dislike it.
As you can probably tell, I prefer the white filters much more than the blue ones that are too relaxed for my preference.

Black filters:
Sorry, I never tried the black filters  and do not even intend to – they are still in the metallic cylinder.

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On a personal side note, the SE846 IEMs don’t work that well for me as all-round IEMs, as they are too coloured (once again, for me) for Classical, Chamber, Jazz and Instrumental music, so I’d definitely call them genre-specific, however they do that really good (and it’s not a real con for me as I use different IEMs for stationary as well as portable purpose and also have IEMs that I prefer with certain music genres).
Your mileage and preferences may of course be different than mine, so the SE846 may very well work for you as all-rounders (and I have come across some people who use them for about every music genre).

Resolution:

The SE846 has got a high resolution and can easily compete with other universal IEMs above €500 and custom IEMs around/above €1000 (though I have to admit that I have solely experience with the whole Ultimate Ears CIEM line-up when it is about custom-moulded in-ears). My UERM is probably a bit more refined, but these are only nuances and I’d say the SE846 is about on-par.
Although the SE846 is definitely not that close to a neutral frequency response, it sounds authentic and neither synthetic nor inconsistent; instruments sound mostly realistic.
Speed, texture, dynamics and control are really good, however the UERM have slightly better dynamics and the quicker bass impact (more arid/faster decay).

The bass is dry, fast as well as punchy, and especially the sub-bass is surprisingly free of any boominess and pretty arid, despite the emphasis that concentrates mainly on it – really nice.

Soundstage:

Compared to their previous and lower-priced IEM models, Shure has definitely improved in terms of soundstage and spatial presentation.
The SE846 has got an authentic and three-dimensional soundstage presentation with decent depth, layering and an instrument separation and placement that is on-par with custom-moulded in-ears around €1k, however it is undeniable that SE846’s soundstage has got less width and depth. Though, the balance between width and depth is really good and I also never get the feeling of congestion.
I’m not implying that SE846’s soundstage is small, as it isn’t by any means, but most IEMs at this price point have a larger one. Nonetheless, the SE846 has got a nice scaling, wherefore I never have the desire for a larger soundstage when listening to music (even when many instruments are playing at the same time).

The SE846 also does a good job with reproducing “emptiness” between instruments/tonal elements and generally does a good job in terms of creating an authentic soundstage, with decent separation and layering.

Subjectively, I perceive SE846’s soundstage as half as large as my UERMs’, four times as large as my SE425’s and about ⅔ times as large as my InEar StageDiver SD-2’s.

Quick comparison to the SE425:
For a fellow friend, I wrote this brief tonal comparison, so I thought I’d include it here as well:

The SE846 (white filters) is a bit more prominent in the lower mids a has got slightly less level in the lower highs (presence area) as well as middle treble and clearly more level and the better extension in the upper highs (with the blue filters however, upper treble levels don’t differ that much, although the SE846 has still got the superior extension). As the level drops steeper from the mids to the presence area, the SE846 is by the way less analytical and critical with bad recordings although its resolution is a huge step forward.
SE846’s bass emphasis starts extending very low and evenly, with its climax in the sub-bass. SE425’s sub-bass rolls a little off and its general tonality is rather balanced, with only little more upper bass and just a tad warmth in the fundamental range.


Conclusion:

The SE846 gives you the feeling of a premium product (which it obviously is) right from the start, with its large amount of nice included premium accessories. Sound-wise, it is definitely a premium product as well: it features a mature “fun” signature with “true” sub-bass that is very arid and controlled, adjustable treble via the included filters, a really high resolution, a nice 3-dimensional and authentic soundstage (that is rather mediocre in size but well-layered and precise) and sounds surprisingly natural, despite the emphasis in the sub-bass.
However, it doesn’t have the best all-rounder signature and is rather genre specific (at least for me, but your preference may and will most likely vary) and most strikingly, treble extension above 10 kHz should be better at this price point, but other than that, the SE846 is a really nice and premium IEM that I personally like and use mainly for more modern pop, soft rock and electronical music.

Overall, considering the strengths, weaknesses, value and price, I give the SE846 87% or rounded 4.5 out of 5 possible stars.

Brace yourself... Pardon any grammatical errors please as this is one of my longer reviews. 

 

Some Background:

 

I’m currently 18 years old which as little as that matters to me seems to be interesting to many people in this community. I’ve always liked music and sound equipment but I never really got into the head-fi hobby until I discovered the Live Sound field from my schools drama club. From there I began to appreciate sound quality as it was just satisfying for me both from listening but also the engineering and everlasting ability to tweak and work on such.

 

I have worked with home audio, car audio, theater/show systems, portable/personal audio, digital audio (IP-LAN(uhg…) and DSP) and lots and lots of DIY projects. I’ve gone as far to make some of my own speaker cabinets and sound systems from various components too – most notably a very large 2 driver, 4 voice coil, 16ohm, band-pass subwoofer box that I’m quite fond of for its bass quantity and quality.

 

I’ve owned many headphones/IEM and related gear. Ill list some here but this certainly isn’t all; Shure SE846, Shure SE315, Shure SE215, Westone UM3x, Westone UM3x RC, Westone UM1, Earsonic SM3, Sansa Clip Plus, Sansa Clip Zip, Bravo Tube AMP v3, Sennheiser IE80s (the fake ones) and Sennheiser HD420s

 

So while I don’t like to be arrogant I do feel qualified to judge products effectively and share my opinion and I hope you find my opinions and ideas entertaining and helpful. 

 

Prelude:

 

I’ve owned these headphones for a few months and figured it would be a good idea to write a review for them considering they are the more expensive headphones I’ve owned. I’ve compared them to many of the previous headphones I’ve owned (notable the Um3x and the SM3) but also several at various meets and shows.
 

Some quick crazy facts: 

-       They are crazy low impedance. 9ohms. so they can be powered very easily but sometimes you might encounter hiss. Also they can handle a decent amount of power. I’m not willing to find the limits though.

-       They are expensive.

-       They are built like tanks – but still sexy.

-       Shure is known for excellent support but I have yet to experience that as I have not had a problem

-       They come with 3 interchangeable filters that go in the nozzle. Black, Blue, White (warm, balanced, and high/clear)

 

Purchase and Experience: 
 
After having a lovely time with my UM3x I decided I wanted more. More textured and detailed bass and more sound stage. I started looking at some midrange IEMs. Custom and Universal at around the $500 price point. While these were super cool I didn’t have the means to try them. I decided to settle with something lower in price as I did like my UM3x but wanted just a hair more. I did some researched and purchased the crazy looking Earsonic SM3s which look a lot like the Um3x. Sounds good right?
 

It was – and while I did notice an improvement in the Earsonics’ I still wanted more. Also I always had a problem with the Earsonics’ falling apart on me – I would remember back to a time when I used my Shure SE315s that I could drive a truck over. I missed that.

 

I was aware of the 846 at the time but I couldn’t dream of spending that much money… But I did dream of it. Id tease myself by going to Head-Fi classified and looking at used pairs for around $800. I figured if I sold many of my current Headphones I could afford to get them. And I decided to try. After many failed negotiations and fear of getting scammed $800 out I decided that I would buy them new. I called many online stores and worked them all on price before eventually I scored a brand new pair for $800 from headroom (headphone.com). I bought these – I was expecting my parents to jump me but they were like ‘cool dude sounds nice’.  I scored free 2 day shipping and a 30 day return policy if I didn’t like them. My dad even had the privilege of trying them in an airport store a day before mine arrived – live blogging to me via text message about how amazing they are. I nearly lost it.

 

Arrival

 

Today was the day. They had arrived and my first test was to play music while talking to my friend on Skype because I was so excited. That was a stupid choice. I should have just listened to music but whatever.  Ill skip the drama

 

SOUND:

 

They came with the balanced (blue) filters in them first. While the sound was very impressive it was too harsh for me at first. (But wait!) I almost found them overwhelming with treble and just noise in general. I was nervous. I decided to switch to the black filters.  After listening to some daft punk (our lord and savior) I was hooked.

 

The bass was so smooth and deep. And the mids were perfect, which is surprising as usually I’m VERY picky about these. The treble was unheard of. The extension was notably better than that of any IEM I’ve ever heard.  Keep in mind this is with the warm sounding filters.

 

It took me several weeks and several people also trying them to realize that the sound is an acquired taste. It’s not that it’s bad or repulsive but it’s more so that your brain becomes use to it. I like to pretend that our brains have a little inline EQ between our ears and mind. Often it seems that your brain cleans up the sound and hears what it wants to hear as to make music more pleasing but also enhance you sound perception. Whether this is true or not I don’t know but it’s what I think. I also think this has something to do with the “burn in” controversy. But I digress.

 

Point is that after a few weeks I think my brain had returned to the flat balanced out state of EQ as I was now hearing things more clearly as the music should be. Also I felt as if now would be a good time to try the other filters.  I decided to use the Whites. I was turned off by the openness and highs of them again so I went to blue.  This was incredible.

 
I noticed more instrument separation and defined bass. The bass had more texture – everyone says that but what does that mean? I think it means (as I also felt) that as the bass vibrated it was more clear in that you could hear the clarity in it. Each and every bass note and sound wave hitting your ear drum was more noticeable and less clouded together than that of lesser headphones and that of a lame car subwoofer that you might find in some kids truck.  I think this has to do with the subwoofer tunneling thing sure claims in their demo video. I think the sound tube and series of tunnels the drivers are behind create some sort of back pressure or something to add that richness but also quantity.
 
As with the evolution of my ears EQ and my desire for more soundstage and clarity I decided to try the whites.  This time I was very impressed and found them the most desirable.
 I noticed clarity obviously, but also more detailed bass again. I didn’t think this was possible given I already liked what I had from the Blue filters. But most importantly... SOUNDSTAGE. This is what I wanted – as I listened to albums like Random Access Memories (thanks daftpunk again) I could notice placement of acoustic instruments but also bass and the vocalist. Songs that move fast and have a lot going on tend to be more vivid and you get to hear everything at once rather than fill it in yourself.
 
The binaural effect of sound echoing in the room or stage was something I was never able to experience with most music as these ques for your brain are very hard to reproduce unless it’s intentional. (Search for binaural haircut). But with such sensitivity and a good source and recorded audio it’s very noticeable with the Shure’s. You are getting the full experience whether the artist intended it or not and it’s something very impressive.
 
Aesthetics and Accessories:
 
Some of my friends think that they are ugly. I think it’s more so because they are strange and different looking. I personally always have liked the way these look – even before I owned them when I was in my “way too expensive to consider” phase. The engineering on these is incredible. They are like pieces of jewelry as the insides are so intricate and precise. It’s fascinating to look at.
The cable is that of most Shure IEMs. While it’s very strong, feels, and looks nice I am often frustrated with the memory wire that wraps over your ears. It moves and sticks out creating a lever effect sometimes. I removed the memory wire from my shorter cable that the 846 comes with and while this was awesome it soon wore at the base of the connectors going into the headphone and was on the way out.  There is no sounds of cable moving against your clothes or anything. Cable is overall solid.
You can see all the other accessories online so I won’t waste your time. The little containers and cases that they come with are super cool and nice. I do wish Shure included a cleaning stick like westone as sometimes wax gets in the ear tips.
 
 
Fit and Comfort:
 
For me? Perfect. I’m used to IEMs and I could wear these for days. I use the tips that came on them from the factory which is the medium sized Shure foam olives. I did noticed they were slightly different in composition than that of the olives my 315s came with.  They seal very well and are comfortable. Most people are confused at how to put them into their ears the first few times but after you get good it becomes second nature to you.
 
 
Source and power:
 
I often used my Sansa Clip Plus and it was awesome. There was some hiss sometimes from the clips processor but it was fine once music was playing… only sometimes id notice it.
I liked using these with my Bravo V3 tube amp – It added some cool effects and openness from the tube but with super sensitive IEMs like this it’s easy to notice interference that the tube picks up in the air. Like if my cellphone is too close to it. Other than that the Bravo is solid with the 846.
 
I started avidly using spotify which meant a lot of time on my phone. I have the LG3 and I hate its sound card. There’s so much noise and the sound just feels artificial half the time. I’ve done numerous sound mods and tweaks to it but it’s almost proving useless. I just ordered a Fiio e18 for it so we will see.
I’ve also used the 846 with a Fiio e6. It’s cool but there’s no point.
 
My favorite source as of right now has to be my Surface Pro 3. For some reason the sound is perfectly balanced with no EQ or anything and clear as day. Also zero noise or hiss at any time at all – it’s amazing.
 
Would I recommend?
 
Yes – to an audio enthusiast. To the average consumer – no. The price is too daring for something like these. For the average person I would recommend something like the UM3X as they are very easy to enjoy and affordable now. I do believe that everyone should have nice audio equipment because it adds extra value to your media just as a HD television might but there is a point of diminishing returns for the average user.
 
For audiophiles I would definitely recommend the 846 as they are a solid investment and will deliver incredible sound and performance for a long time to come. They get everything right.  Sound quality. Customization. Build Quality. Support. Accessories. Even style.
 
Some people may disagree but I feel satisfied with these. I have actually taken the time to try many other IEMs including the JH Audio Roxxanes which many people consider a step up from the 846 and I didn't see it. But I will say that I didnt have enough time to demo the Roxxanes to definitely say that I would prefer the 846 over them as I simply don't feel as if I have fully experienced other IEMs like that to noticed the small differences.
 
All in all I hope you liked reading the review and I really hope it gives you a sense of how you feel about the 846. Reviews can be very important and I feel like that people reviewing should take the time to be very specific as it can really effect the buyer’s emotions and feelings.  Another forum member that goes by Mounty Burns helped me decided to get these. He helped me hunt prices and shared his opinions with me via email several times and overall was very encouraging. So I’d like to thank him as well as the academy.
 
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And with that… Happy listening.
 

These are easily the best earphones I've ever had or tried and i have the next two levels down of Shure earphones as well. The sound is like you are right there and with a tight fit earplug it eliminates all ambient sound. Bass is incredible as is clarity and the full bandwidth. You feel immersed in whatever you are listening to whether songs or a movie. Although pricey I would recommend these strongly. Pros: Sound and ambient noise silencing are incredible, as advertised. It's like you are right there, live, at whatever you are listening to. Cons: A bit pricey and I personally never liked the "behind the ear" cord but once you get used to it and mold the cord to your ear, they are fine.

Thought that I would post this here as well because peple who search for this should be able to find this easier. Has been reposted from the SE846 thread.
 
Today I got the chance to listen to some of my friend's gear and compare them to the SE846/DX90. I was particularly curious about the Roxanne, but the IM03 turned out to be a very interesting listen indeed. Here is my comparison of the SE846 and the Roxanne since there hasn't really been an in depth comparison yet. Obviously, YMMV. 
 
 
 
JH Audio Roxanne vs Shure SE846 (White Filter)
 
The Roxanne was very good, and having loaned that pair for a day a while ago, I knew what to expect. When I had them, I absolutely loved the bass and treble, but found the midrange somewhat lacking in clarity and detail. When I heard the SE846 with white filters, I immediately thought that the SE846 was a bit similar to the Roxanne, but the midrange was absolutely the best I have heard on an IEM.
 
Let's start with the bass, it is hard to compare these two IEMs especially, because both are adjustable. The Roxanne was on a configuration where the impact was around the same as the SE846. I found that although the Roxanne bass was incredible, the SE846 is just better to me. It is faster and more punchy, which I like and has the perfect amount of sub-bass. The Roxanne was great too, but I thought that the SE846's bass was just more realistic.
 
The midrange was no competition for me, the SE846 takes this hands down. The SE846's midrange is lush, but very detailed at the same time. It has no sibilance and vocal clarity is above everything I have heard. The Roxanne's midrange just felt like it was a bit veiled and overly warm.
 
The treble was interesting, on the blue filters I would have taken the Roxanne treble over these any day, but with the white filter it is much closer. The SE846's treble is probably a little more pronounced, but both are very detailed and not sibilant at all. I really don;t prefer either, so this is a draw.
 
The area that the Roxanne is heads and shoulders above the Shure is soundstage and imaging. The Roxanne along with the 1plus2 are the two most headphone like IEMs I have heard in this regard and although the Shure is very competent in this area, the Roxanne is better. The Roxanne's soundstage is more three dimensional and the SE846's soundstage feels a bit flat in comparison. Imaging is also better on the Roxanne, but the SE846 is not far off at all. 
 
The SE846 seems to be a little bit more detailed because it is tuned brighter and is faster, but in reality they are both great, but I do feel like the SE846 pulls ahead a little. Clarity is much better on the SE846 due to the tuning once again. The Roxanne's warm mids does it more harm than good IMO and it sounds too warm for me. The Shure sounds quite neutral and vocals especially are incredibly realistic and accurate. Instrument separation is a bit better on the Roxanne, but the SE846 comes quite close. Vocal separation is a little better on the SE846 for me. 
 
Overall, I do feel like I made the correct decision by going for the SE846 over the Roxanne because personally I like them more, but many people will also disagree with this. One thing is indisputable, however; both of these are extremely good IEMs and are two of the best universal IEMs out there right now. 
 
 
 
Sources
 
Let's get the negatives out of the way first. The AK100 was shocking, and not in a good way. They were warm, had no focus and sounded downright bad. The sound was blurry almost and everything just sounded warm and lifeless. I genuinely do not like this DAP, for the price, the AK100 is simply unacceptable IMO. 
 
Back to more positive impressions, the HM-901 is great! sounds very detailed, the most detailed DAP I have heard without any doubt. The SE846 paired very well. Soundstage and imaging was exceptional and so was clarity and detail. It made the AK100 sound like a cheap toy. However, almost everything has negatives and the HM-901 is certainly no different. The build quality is horrendous, with cheap feeling and looking plastic everywhere. The deal breaker for me was the UI. The HM-901 is slow, unresponsive and hard to navigate through. If HiFiMAN made the HM-901 more usable, then this would be an awesome DAP. 
 
The DX90 is what I am using right now and I love it. It ticks most boxes for me - it is small, light, has decent battery life, sounds good and has multiple outputs. It sounds great for the price too. It is essentially a slightly scaled down HM-901. It isn't quite as good, but is more than makes up for it by being a but better overall package. It pairs just as well with the SE846 as the HM-901 does. 
 
 

 

 

 

 
As always, I hoped that this helped and I would love to hear what other people think. 

I tried many different IEMs before deciding on these and could not be happier. One of the things of this earphone that immediately stood out along with the full bodied bass was the beautiful cymbal decay. The ability to distinguish and set the soundstage of each instrument is stunning. I am not an audiophile by any means but do play guitar and drums. As described by so many others, the bass is true subwoofer quality with a depth, tightness and a perfect presence the way it was intended by the artist. I am comparing this to the sound that I have experienced at many concerts. Spend some time with the different tips that are supplied to make sure you get the right fit which is so important. I run this straight out of iTouch at the gym, Andoid Phone with PowerAmp and BitHead Amp for travel and the AudioEngine D3 off the laptop. I moved up from the venerable SE530 which gave me many years of great service and that I still listen to from time to time.The SE846 is at a whole different level and are worth the money. If you can afford these, I highly recommend them! These are my third pair of headphones from Earphonesolutions and Flavio and team are top notch! They know their headphones and customer service is second to none! -Henk

I have listened to many earphones, over the ear "cans", including Bose Noise Cancelling, and nothing, I mean nothing compares to this experience in good listening. I was happy with them when I first received them, but then I started to look up the interchangeable sleeves, and was curious as to what were the differences. The ones that come with the earphones are a neutral, yet tremendous sounding sleeve, but then I curiously looked at the black sleeves, which were labelled "warm". I took about 20 minutes to figure out the way to change them (took my time, since small parts involved and didn't want to break them, or lose anything). I just put them on with the warm "black sleeves", and these bad boys came to life so well, that I had to write my review and not miss the opportunity to describe them to others. I am hearing things on live recordings that I never heard before, including a live "Croz" show that I bought when I went to the NYC Winery on 1/31/13, and I hear him talking to the crowd, the crowd responses, and the clicking of the silverware on a plate, it is that crisp and clear! The base came to life, and the highs are high, mids just right, and I am only at half volume on my player.
 
I am actually playing these on an Astell and Kern AK100, modified by Vinnie of Red Wine Audio when I first bought it. I am amazed at the clarity and again this is on a high bit mp3 album, and when I put this on the original flac file studio album, I got shivers down my spine. Sheer enjoyment, and the old ear canals can't stop thanking me enough! Shane Fontanes leads are crisper than ever.....and Marcus Eatons accoustic riffs sweet as candy, Crosby vocals like he was in the room with me, and the base/Drum bottom of the band incredible. WOW!
 
I am happy that I bought them, and recognize that they are a small fortune, but if you love good music, good sound, and clarity, with a comfort that I have not experienced before in my ears, then these are the earphones for you. I would do this in a heartbeat now, after hearing them, and looking back is 20/20 vision always. But I read review after review, after review, and none said anything bad about these. Nothing bad....excepting for a once off this (comfort) and a once off that (one side fitting different than the other, and the solution was to put the different size tips on). Again once off, kept me digging and every time I did, I was overjoyed to hear more and more great things about them. Nobody on the downside was right about these phones, nobody.
 
I don't work for Shure, and actually don't like the earlier earphones from them. I have had two pair, and still keep an older pair as a spare. I have owned Ultimate Ears, Bose (still have the noise cancelling for trips), Koss Portaphones (several pair and like these for the beach over the ear), and many many others. Never did I find anything that I liked that was "totally satisfactory"! Now I did, and Shure outdid itself with the SE846-CL.

At the beginning of my journey, I couldn't fathom myself spending so much on an IEM. I was and still am an enthusiast. The title of "audiophile" is something that still eludes me. I don't know all the linguo, nor do can I discern the most minute differences between IEMs. What I do know is that I had a moment when I put on these headphones for the first time. The bass on these are nothing short of extraordinary. I frankly did not expect this type of performance from something so compact. Shure set out to mimic the performance of a subwoofer in a housing that's the size of the tip of your finger, a tough task, yet they succeeded, and then some. The bass is powerful and convincing, but not at the expense of the higher frequencies. You will get those great vocals, and you will be able to pick out almost every detail. Shure's mid-centric signature is still here, but the SE846's greatest strength is in that groundbreaking bass.  I've never been a bass-head. Heck, I was never one for much bass in my music. While I did indulge in it from time to time, I usually preferred to have it accentuate the mids and highs. That is until I heard the SE846, which taught me that one doesn't always have to listen to what they're comfortable with. There are times when you'll think you've felt everything you want to feel, and you'll be happy with never feeling something new again. But your tastes will evolve and change, and you will learn to appreciate new things, even when you thought you already knew what you wanted. 

Before I begin with my review of the Shure SE846, all of the below are solely what I’ve managed to get out of the IEM, I suggest to give it a try or read some other people’s review to get a clearer picture of the IEM, as my opinions are not absolute and other ears might have listened differently 

 
Build: Durable build, you can actually feel that this IEM can take quite a beating but then who doesn’t take care of its flagship IEM like a baby right? Its comfortable wearing these IEMs, the shape of the SE846 sits perfectly on my ears. Although, the olive tips, after wearing a long period of time, kinda hurts my ears, due to the constant expanding of the foams. Metal nozzles are great, least if your Olives breaks, your nozzle still stays. The cables are durable ( least from the looks of it ) but if the stock cable somehow malfunctions, there’s a second cable that comes together with the SE846 ( 64” and 46” ) also it comes with a variety of ear tips ( olives, triple flanged, standard silicone and yellow foam ) , airline and 1/4" adapter and a volume control, packaged into an amazing, prestigious looking box.
 
Sound quality: Amazing sound, the SE846 nails the mids and lows, jazz songs sound great, with the True Subwoofer that the low-pass filter gives, you can actually hear the strings of the bass being plucked than just the usual splashy bass sound. Highs however, is quite there, but it’s not as good as what Final Audio’s IEMs can produce. Well nothing is perfect, so I can look pass that, not a big issue. Also the audio  fidelity that this earphone produces when I connect it on my Centrance DACport is just amazing, listeing to Celine Dion 's Power of Love on DSD format is just mesmerising.
 
Soundstage:The SE846's soundstage is more or less a "V" shaped soundstage, not exactly wide and not narrow either.
 
True Subwoofer: Remember me saying that this IEM is quite EQ dependent? Yes, it is, if you fully utilize the low-pass filter, on no EQ done, the IEM’s mids and highs are there like it supposed to, but the lows, you can feel that the True Subwoofer is there but it can’t really pump out that punchy low bass/sub bass, ( Jayz’s Tom Ford is the best way to test this IEM’s Highs,Mids and Lows )  listening to Jayz’s Tomford on my Sony ZX1 without any equalization, the bass sounds “weak” and in metaphor, like a caged beast, you know that the True Subwoofer is some crazy **** on the SE846 but it’s not revealing itself. Therefore I tweaked the EQ “ Clear Bass for the Sony ZX1 “ Listened to Jayz’s Tomford again, the bass is so so much more defined, solid and going strong ( EDMs sounds amazing on the SE846 with the EQ ), tight, defined bass, even listening to Jazz is different with the EQ on. The sub bass is amazing, but on super low bass, you might be able to hear subtle crackle sounds ( Happened when I listened to Jayz’s ****withmeyouknowIgotit ) I guess the True Subwoofer have its limits, but other than that, it’s amazing.
 
Interchangeable Filters: It comes with a bright ( white ) neutral ( blue ) and warm ( black ) filters for you to change the frequency response to your liking. The neutral filter, as said is neutral and how the SE846 suppose to sound like, the bright filter, once installed, the mids and highs are very defined, vocals are clearer and the warm filter makes the mids and highs sounds a little dimmer, just slight not too much. So far I'm using the neutral filter as it suits my listening.
 
 
Verdict : The SE846 is indeed an amazing IEM, well done Shure, on developing this amazing IEM.
 
PS :  I would like to compliment Jaben Malaysia for their amazing customer service, by far the best audio hardware store that I've visited in Malaysia so far, good store mood, great customer service and people are just as enthusiastic as I am on audio products.
 
SE846 Link : 
 
http://www.shure.com/americas/products/earphones-headphones/se-earphones/se846-sound-isolating-earphones
 
http://jaben.com.my/shopping2/Shure-SE846/
 
Happy Listening  

Will keep this short.....
 
They cost a grand because......, well -THAT'S WHAT THEY SOUND LIKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
You get what you pay for, and when you pay 1000.00 for a pair of IEMS, this is what you get.
 
Bass that you feel deep down and low.  True subwoofer performance.  Amazing bass/sub bass.  Mids are fantastic and Highs, for me, are spot on.
 
These things make my massive music collection new again. Hearing things in songs I never heard before.  The detail, the clarity and realism are second to none.  They far out perform my W40s.
 
This is a game ender for me.  The search is over.  All I have to do now is sit back and enjoy my music.
 
Think the price is high?  Compared to what?  Golf clubs?  Go to one of the online audio shops that offer 24 month interest free financing.  For 41.00 a month, it will be the best money you ever spent.

Got the SE846 last week and did some hours of comparison with my current SE535. My bias was towards keeping them - I like flagship products as a "there is nothing better" products, i.e. do not bother about upgrades anymore. My setup is a Cowon Z2 attached to an ALO audio Rx Mark3-B, and both headphones equipped with new triple-flanges, which perfectly isolate my ears for a good bass response. I think I am experienced enough with top quality headphones to judge on subtle headphone characteristics and the overall performance, though I am by no means a geek with an unlimited dollar setup.
 
My overall impression is simple: Even after repeatedly listening into different songs, I simply could not determine *any* difference with my current SE535. I definitely would fall through in a blind-folded hearing test. The same level of details in the high/mid-range, no massive bass improvement which I was seeking for, no difference in the spatial sound stage. After putting back in again my 535s, trying to identify any weakness I simply could not hear it.
 
Another thing that stroke me: The 846s initially fit better in my ears than the 535s (they are a bit blown up). However, after half an hour, the left one started hurting. Ears are so sensitive towards even the smallest discomfort.
 
As a result, I decided to send them back - unfortunately.

The only other IEM I've ever tried is the Shure SE425. The SE846 has not only better bass (obviously) but I confirmed that it has better treble and mids. The SE425 sounds downright muddy relative to these. The treble is very slightly rolled off on the SE846, I think, but that's subjective so it might be just right for you. The bass on these is like everyone says, tight, deep, natural and undistorted. But it's not at all like beats or other boomy headphones. Play a bass heavy track and you'll hear it with quality, but it doesn't inject bass where it doesn't belong and it is not excessive. It also sounds nothing like a proper subwoofer; it's no where near that impactful and strong (you can feel a subwoofer in your body) so let's dispense with that bit of marketing right now. However, it delivers bass similar to what you would expect from a quality neutral full sized headphone, with very little distortion and very cleanly. It was unusual to hear that sound from a tiny IEM; at first I found it kind of disturbing, sort of like how you would feel if you saw an ant carrying a rock on its back, lol.
 
The above was with the blue filter, which leads us the reason why this is one of the greatest headphones ever made: its filter system. When I moved to the white filter, the bass seemed much lower. I say seemed, because the manual says that all the white filter does is raise the volume between 1khz and 8khz by 2.5db, so it shouldn't affect the bass. Any way, that extra treble sort of drowns out the bass I guess. After about 3 hours on each, I think I'd like something between the white and the blue (can we get a light blue filter Shure?) But since that's not available I'll spend most of my time with the white. Regardless of what you like, the three filter thing is a very cool innovation by Shure which deserves praise. The only problem with it, is that you might find yourself constantly wanting to switch, to hear how the other filter sounds with a particular song, and I'm guessing I'll be losing/breaking these filters at some point from all the changes, lol. Not sure what the replacement cost is. But this feature, which will probably be copied by others, deserves a 1 star boost. It's like getting three headphones in one.
 
One last comment on the bass -- it's very DAC (and amp, if your amp adulterates the signal) dependent. I say this because the bass output is much much higher when I plug this into my LG G Flex phone, than it is when I plug it into my Note 2 phone. The Note 2's DAC is much brighter but that causes the bass to almost disappear. If you're not hearing bass, switch DACs by trying it on another phone, or your laptop.
 
As far as fit, if you buy a professional tip from Comply, I don't think it's possible to get an improvement by purchasing a custom molded sleeve. Shure IEMs + comply tips go deep into your ears, they are comfortable and they fit every nook and cranny of your ear canal. Just get the right size. I have never tried a custom made IEM but I would not be surprised if they didn't fit as well as Comply tips. The tips supplied by Shure are not as good for comfort or isolation, and I will never use them, but you can buy Comply tips for $20 which isn't much relative to the price of these things.
 
Moving on to the isolation. First of all, Shure is misleading customers when they claim that the SE425 and SE846 provide the same isolation (its website states that both "provide up to 37 dB of isolation" without distinguishing between the two). The SE425 with professional Comply tips is like wearing hearos ear plugs. A car can go by you at 35mph and it'll sound like a very light whispery vroosh. You can't make out what people are saying, even if they're right in front of you. With the SE846, the car is louder and you can hear people's voices a little better. If you look at the innerfidelity charts, they confirm that the SE425 isolate better than the SE846. At first I was annoyed by this slight downgrade in isolation, but then again the isolation of the SE425 might be dangerous. It's kind of odd walking next to a busy street and barely hearing anything. Very risky if you're bicycling or something. Plus, once I find where the noise is leaking into the SE846 I can put tape over  it or do another mod (I think the noise might be coming in from that mechanism they use to let you change tips, perhaps it needs a gasket that I can easily craft). I was going to take off 1/2 star for the downgrade in isolation, but now I'm not sure. I think the Etymotics isolate sound excessively and are unsafe, but I'm not sure whether the SE425 or SE846 have it right. Edit: I created a gasket out of about a 2mm thick slice of a hearos earplug (when compressed it's about as thick as a hair), and inserted it between the base and the screw you use to attach the filter to the base. After doing so, I can no longer hear people talk in front of me; I think the SE425 might still have a tiny bit better isolation but I would have to do careful listening tests to be sure.
 
Getting back to the sound quality, the SE846 still generally doesn't sound better than a solid $300-$500 over the ear headphone. It is NOT EVEN CLOSE to the sound of a flagship over the ear. If I were to start comparing this to the HD800 I would trash this a hundred ways, relatively unresolved and sloppy bass, relatively unresolved treble, treble roll off, lack of spatial imaging, I could go on and on. The first company that makes an IEM that is objectively indistinguishable from an HD800 in blind tests will make a fortune. These are only worth it if you listen to music with a ton of ambient sound that you need to block out or if you don't like the looks of a big headphone; otherwise always buy a full sized headphone. At the same time, it's in another universe relative to the SE425. Those sound awful once you wear the SE846. I really need to try the IE800 (which I didn't buy because it doesn't accept Comply tips, and it has much worse isolation than the SE846 according to the innerfidelity charts) to compare the two [Edit: I purchased and reviewed the IE800 which you can find in my reviews]. But since the reviewers who compare this to the IE800, JH13/16 etc. and other $1,000 IEMs aren't sure which is best, I think this is about as good as it is going to get with IEMs -- which is  disappointing.
 
One other observation is that these are louder than the SE425. With one volume bar, this is like having two volume bars with the SE425 (I checked with a decibel meter, measuring dbA slow). Similarly, with two volume bars, this is like having three volume bars with the SE425. I hear Shure didn't do this on purpose to fool customers with the "louder = better" trick. But please keep this in mind. These have virtually no resistance and they put you at greater risk of hearing loss if you're not careful with the volume. But also keep in mind that the increased bass response of these might be affecting dbA measurements; I would have to dig into the dbA formula to confirm.
 
Due to the high expectations from a $1,000 price, this isn't quite a 5 star product, but I'm keeping them because when a song with bass comes on, I want to hear it, rather than hear that lame tapping sound the SE425 calls bass, and overall I think they deserve 4 1/2 stars. Add the 1 star boost due to the filter innovation and it's 5 1/2 stars (capped at 5 stars).