Earbones
500+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Dec 21, 2013
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I've read several reports of hiss with the SE846, in this thread in other places...
That said, I'm not surprised you don't hear any. When it comes to hiss in general, there are people that are more sensitive to it than others.
Some folks will go so far as to make statements like "If you hear hiss with the SE846 and one device, you'll hear it with any device". As someone who is very sensitive to hiss, I don't agree with this... I've definitely found some devices with the SE846 can be inky black with zero hiss... Any Apple device, for instance, exhibits zero hiss to my ears when paired with the SE846, and I've never heard of anybody reporting hiss, either. My IFI iDSD Micro is similarly inky on the "high" and "ultra" sensitivity settings of the iEMatch switch, ditto the Resonessence Labs Concero HP. Other devices like the Burson Conductor exhibit slight hiss when matched with the SE846... And still others are nearly unlistenable, like the Oppo HA2.
That all said, all the devices listed above that I found to exhibit hiss with the SE846 are being listened to right now with the same IEMs by others who hear no hiss at all, so I'm not disparaging the devices at all, particularly not the larger devices such as the Burson, or other desktop solutions aimed at full-size cans... I'm just saying that some devices pair better with the SE846 than others for people who are sensitive to hiss.
What I am disparaging is the popular decision these days to show how large a headphone load one can engineer a tiny device to push, rather than how refined they can make a tiny device with regards to pairing with even the most sensitive IEMs.
For me, it's a simple matter of practicality. Engineering a device the size of a matchbox to make a 600 OHM headphone sing does nothing for anyone except sales reps at the booths at audio shows. In real life, nobody is going to strain their neck under a pair of Abyss and plug into something so small that when held in the palm of one's hand it is mistaken for a mole. The vast majority of these micro devices will be used as mobile audiophile solutions, and more often than not will be paired with IEMs. The engineering/tuning of these devices should focus on refinement and perfect pairing for how they will most likely be used, not the ability to make a pair of Stax do backflips in order to impress people at CanJam.
My two cents anyway, heh.
That said, I'm not surprised you don't hear any. When it comes to hiss in general, there are people that are more sensitive to it than others.
Some folks will go so far as to make statements like "If you hear hiss with the SE846 and one device, you'll hear it with any device". As someone who is very sensitive to hiss, I don't agree with this... I've definitely found some devices with the SE846 can be inky black with zero hiss... Any Apple device, for instance, exhibits zero hiss to my ears when paired with the SE846, and I've never heard of anybody reporting hiss, either. My IFI iDSD Micro is similarly inky on the "high" and "ultra" sensitivity settings of the iEMatch switch, ditto the Resonessence Labs Concero HP. Other devices like the Burson Conductor exhibit slight hiss when matched with the SE846... And still others are nearly unlistenable, like the Oppo HA2.
That all said, all the devices listed above that I found to exhibit hiss with the SE846 are being listened to right now with the same IEMs by others who hear no hiss at all, so I'm not disparaging the devices at all, particularly not the larger devices such as the Burson, or other desktop solutions aimed at full-size cans... I'm just saying that some devices pair better with the SE846 than others for people who are sensitive to hiss.
What I am disparaging is the popular decision these days to show how large a headphone load one can engineer a tiny device to push, rather than how refined they can make a tiny device with regards to pairing with even the most sensitive IEMs.
For me, it's a simple matter of practicality. Engineering a device the size of a matchbox to make a 600 OHM headphone sing does nothing for anyone except sales reps at the booths at audio shows. In real life, nobody is going to strain their neck under a pair of Abyss and plug into something so small that when held in the palm of one's hand it is mistaken for a mole. The vast majority of these micro devices will be used as mobile audiophile solutions, and more often than not will be paired with IEMs. The engineering/tuning of these devices should focus on refinement and perfect pairing for how they will most likely be used, not the ability to make a pair of Stax do backflips in order to impress people at CanJam.
My two cents anyway, heh.
The 846 level of hiss on the Mojo is very tolerable, the Solar almost inaudible, not even sure I am not imagining it. The SE5 is absolutely silent but at the same time the SE5 is above 130 ohms of impedance, I guess that is the reason.
