[megabigeye]

Hey @a-LeXx, it's probably not what you want to hear, but if your SE846 hiss with every source other than your iPhone, it's probably the earphones that are faulty and not the sources. I don't mean that your IEMs are broken, but that such low impedance is an inherently bad design because it so limits what other equipment can be used.

It seems akin to wanting a really fast car, so you buy a race car and then wonder what roads you can legally drive it on.

 

[a-LeXx]

Hey @a-LeXx, it's probably not what you want to hear, but if your SE846 hiss with every source other than your iPhone, it's probably the earphones that are faulty and not the sources. I don't mean that your IEMs are broken, but that such low impedance is an inherently bad design because it so limits what other equipment can be used.

It seems akin to wanting a really fast car, so you buy a race car and then wonder what roads you can legally drive it on.

No, not like that, of course there are sources they don't hiss on, as I said, it doesn't do this on any smartphone or iDevice I use, also it doesn't on AKM-based high-integrated DAC/amps like BTR3...
As you can read just few posts above, other people also say SE846 hisses on both DFR and DFC.

It does however hiss on most amps that are considered audiophile, unfortunately. And a headphone cannot hiss by itself, it's not an active component that can generate any current flow, it can only reproduce whatever the source is sending into it. SE846 is probably just the most sensitive and low-impedance IEM out there...

 

[ElectricL]

What DAC do you guys recommend for the 846? Just out of curiosity.

 

[a-LeXx]

Fiio BTR3 or Earstudio ES100. No hiss, pretty nice SQ. Best options I found so far...

 

[118900]

What DAC do you guys recommend for the 846? Just out of curiosity.

How much are you willing to spend and how “portable” does it need to be?

 

[ElectricL]

Fiio BTR3 or Earstudio ES100. No hiss, pretty nice SQ. Best options I found so far...

Listening through Tidal on USB Audio player pro and MQA you get a black background. Funny this app is better than tidals own. I've been missing out. The sound is really great without eq. Maybe I've gotten used to viper4android and it's ruined my appreciation for better sound...

 

[ElectricL]

How much are you willing to spend and how “portable” does it need to be?

Right now, nothing as I'm happy with the Cobalt and 846. Just wondering for future upgrades. Let's say somewhere around the 700$ mark.

 

[a-LeXx]

Listening through Tidal on USB Audio player pro and MQA you get a black background. Funny this app is better than tidals own. I've been missing out. The sound is really great without eq. Maybe I've gotten used to viper4android and it's ruined my appreciation for better sound...

Probably in this case UAPP is indeed changing the gain level instead of changing the digital volume...

 

[118900]

Right now, nothing as I'm happy with the Cobalt and 846. Just wondering for future upgrades. Let's say somewhere around the 700$ mark.

There are rumours galore (although who really knows) that chord is working towards a mojo 2 which could be worth the wait. If it does come out it could be a viable high quality alternative especially as you’re not in a hurry. Either way definitely try before you buy

 

[ElectricL]

How much are you willing to spend and how “portable” does it need to be?

Right now, nothing as I'm happy with the Cobalt and 846. Just wondering for future upgrades. Let's say somewhere around the 700$ mark.

 

[megabigeye]

No, not like that, of course there are sources they don't hiss on, as I said, it doesn't do this on any smartphone or iDevice I use, also it doesn't on AKM-based high-integrated DAC/amps like BTR3...
As you can read just few posts above, other people also say SE846 hisses on both DFR and DFC.

It does however hiss on most amps that are considered audiophile, unfortunately. And a headphone cannot hiss by itself, it's not an active component that can generate any current flow, it can only reproduce whatever the source is sending into it. SE846 is probably just the most sensitive and low-impedance IEM out there...

Well, like I said, it's probably not what you want to hear. I should have also tagged @ElectricL and whoever else is using the SE846.
I often read about high sensitivity / low impedance IEMs having problems with hiss and noise. Campfire, Shure, JH Audio, I think. Whether or not the transducers are active or passive doesn't really matter— it's still a component of the overall circuit and, in my view, not an appropriate one.
Maybe a better analogy would be putting low profile tires on your commuter car and then wondering why you have dented rims and a rough ride.

Anyway, whether or not you want to continue using those IEMs is completely up to you. And I'm certainly not meaning to be condescending, or anything like that— in fact, I apologize in advance if that's how I seem. I just wanted to put my perspective out there.

 

[118900]

There are rumours galore (although who really knows) that chord is working towards a mojo 2 which could be worth the wait. If it does come out it could be a viable high quality alternative especially as you’re not in a hurry. Either way definitely try before you buy

And in addition if they do come out with it and it’s closer to the much more expensive hugo2 it will be incredibly good value for money, but really the best advice I can give is whatever u choose try before you buy and if you have several options try and listen and compare them all together

 

[a-LeXx]

Well, like I said, it's probably not what you want to hear. I should have also tagged @ElectricL and whoever else is using the SE846.
I often read about high sensitivity / low impedance IEMs having problems with hiss and noise. Campfire, Shure, JH Audio, I think. Whether or not the transducers are active or passive doesn't really matter— it's still a component of the overall circuit and, in my view, not an appropriate one.
Maybe a better analogy would be putting low profile tires on your commuter car and then wondering why you have dented rims and a rough ride.

Anyway, whether or not you want to continue using those IEMs is completely up to you. And I'm certainly not meaning to be condescending, or anything like that— in fact, I apologize in advance if that's how I seem. I just wanted to put my perspective out there.

No offense. But the SE846 is just a damn good IEM, it happend... It's just a too good a magnifying glass for any noise floor that's there. And I'm not using it with an oversized tube amp, complaining that it's too noisy, but with a non-battery powered amp, taking the same power which comes from the smartphone, and still the smartphone with a crappy embedded dac and lots of possible noise sources due to further active components manages to generate a lower noise floor than a dedicated thingy which is basically a USB transceiver + DAC + integrated amp, which actually should be dead silent...

 

[megabigeye]

No offense. But the SE846 is just a damn good IEM, it happend... It's just a too good a magnifying glass for any noise floor that's there. And I'm not using it with an oversized tube amp, complaining that it's too noisy, but with a non-battery powered amp, taking the same power which comes from the smartphone, and still the smartphone with a ****ty embedded dac and lots of possible noise sources due to further active components manages to generate a lower noise floor than a dedicated thingy which is basically a USB transceiver + DAC + integrated amp, which actually should be dead silent...

No offense taken. I'm not doubting that it's a great sounding earphone, I just think that the great sound was achieved at the expense of other design considerations; specifically, usability with a wide range of amplifiers and DACs.

I'm really not trying to instigate, or condescend, or even convince, necessarily; my intent is simply to point out another line of thinking and another set of options.

Anyway, I think we should let this thread get back to being about the DFC.

 

[a-LeXx]

Agree, and the comment that DFC with UAPP is silent is a nice point to continue...

@ElectricL,

so it seems DFC is capable of changing the gain with UAPP. Could you please elaborate a bit more on that? What happens e.g. after you set the volume in UAPP and then use another app to play music? Does it keep the gain that was set with UAPP previously, or is the gain changing?