SE846 Filter mod

[Jamnperry]

I think my flush cuts aren't perfect. I'm a pretty clumsy 60 year old and can barely see them! But I'm getting better at it.

 

[MiguelARG]

again, thank you very much for the contribution
I'm really enjoying the new update
it was not for you, never, would have occurred
I am at your disposal
Thank you!
Miguel

 

[Jamnperry]

I tried my idea of using silicone grease by putting a small bit around the rim of the collar. Seems to be fine and should be sealed now. I think I can hear the difference. Anyway another option that should be easier to clean up than a glue. But I'm confident it can't shift and no leakage even though it is a really good fit as is. So not really necessary but I would recommend this step. Just a tiny amount so it doesn't get into the bottom opening.

 

[csglinux]

Most people out there looking for an upgrade to their sound quality probably consider upgrading their headphones first, and then perhaps their source (e.g., DAP). If you already own one of the worlds' best headphones (the SE846), you've probably already worked your way through the black, blue and white filters and found your personal preference. I had been using modded blue filters (blue filters with the tiny pieces of foam removed) for more than a year and was pretty happy with them. Thanks to Jamnperry, I've now discovered something better, which I highly recommend to all SE846 owners

I should start by saying I'm a huge skeptic when it comes to audio. I have never been able to hear differences between 44/16 red-book CD/flac and 96/24 or 192/24 "hi-res" equivalents (from the same master) and have never seen any coherent counter-argument to Christopher Montgomery's now famous blog (https://xiph.org/~xiphmont/demo/neil-young.html) which implies that, in fact, no human being should be able to hear such differences. I'm also a bit of a DAP and cable skeptic. It's not that these things don't make a difference to the sound - I know that they do - it's just that those differences are usually smaller (and much more expensive!) than advertised. So I was a bit skeptical that these Knowles dampers would do much for me. But I can now say, for those of you out there looking for an upgrade to your SQ, the Knowles dampers discussed in this thread represent one of the best value for money upgrades you can make to your SE846. I would go further - I think these are one of the best upgrades you can make, regardless of price.

Jamnperry was kind enough to loan me some of his Knowles dampers and I spent about a week measuring them and listening to them. They're tiny little fabric-based dampers that come in a variety of colors indicating their specific acoustic impedances, given (curiously) in ohms:

Gray: 330 Ohm
White: 680 Ohm
Brown: 1 k Ohm
Green: 1.5 k Ohm
Red: 2.2 k Ohm
Orange 3.3 k Ohm
Yellow: 4.7 k Ohm

Generally, as you'd probably expect, the sound gets darker as you increase the resistance, although things seem to be somewhat complicated by the resonant peaks of the headphones in question. I found the brown FR to be reasonably close to those of my modded blues, but with a bit more slam in the bass. Surprisingly though, I also found that virtually all of the Knowles dampers I tested improved the overall clarity of the sound, regardless of the resulting FR curve.

These dampers are tiny - too small to fit in the SE846 nozzles. So Jamnperry had the ingenious idea of first inserting them into tubes cut from cotton swabs. That seemed to work ok, but I found they didn't seal perfectly in the tubes. My plan B was to first insert the dampers into tiny pieces of cable insulation. (I have tons of different sizes of cable and just found some bell cable that fit.) Here is an orange damper on its own:



And here is a red and a brown damper inserted into the plastic cable insulation:



These then fit snugly into the bottom of the metal nozzles of the SE846, replacing your existing black, blue or white filter tube:




I highly recommend trying these! They're available from mouser.com. You'll need to pay a bit for shipping and the dampers are priced individually, but less than $1 each.

Kudos to Jamnperry for starting this thread and many thanks to him for the loan of his dampers. I am now a loyal follower and a skeptic no more

 

[zmcqdv]

Most people out there looking for an upgrade to their sound quality probably consider upgrading their headphones first, and then perhaps their source (e.g., DAP). If you already own one of the worlds' best headphones (the SE846), you've probably already worked your way through the black, blue and white filters and found your personal preference. I had been using modded blue filters (blue filters with the tiny pieces of foam removed) for more than a year and was pretty happy with them. Thanks to Jamnperry, I've now discovered something better, which I highly recommend to all SE846 owners

I should start by saying I'm a huge skeptic when it comes to audio. I have never been able to hear differences between 44/16 red-book CD/flac and 96/24 or 192/24 "hi-res" equivalents (from the same master) and have never seen any coherent counter-argument to Christopher Montgomery's now famous blog (https://xiph.org/~xiphmont/demo/neil-young.html) which implies that, in fact, no human being should be able to hear such differences. I'm also a bit of a DAP and cable skeptic. It's not that these things don't make a difference to the sound - I know that they do - it's just that those differences are usually smaller (and much more expensive!) than advertised. So I was a bit skeptical that these Knowles dampers would do much for me. But I can now say, for those of you out there looking for an upgrade to your SQ, the Knowles dampers discussed in this thread represent one of the best value for money upgrades you can make to your SE846. I would go further - I think these are one of the best upgrades you can make, regardless of price.

Jamnperry was kind enough to loan me some of his Knowles dampers and I spent about a week measuring them and listening to them. They're tiny little fabric-based dampers that come in a variety of colors indicating their specific acoustic impedances, given (curiously) in ohms:

Gray: 330 Ohm
White: 680 Ohm
Brown: 1 k Ohm
Green: 1.5 k Ohm
Red: 2.2 k Ohm
Orange 3.3 k Ohm
Yellow: 4.7 k Ohm

Generally, as you'd probably expect, the sound gets darker as you increase the resistance, although things seem to be somewhat complicated by the resonant peaks of the headphones in question. I found the brown FR to be reasonably close to those of my modded blues, but with a bit more slam in the bass. Surprisingly though, I also found that virtually all of the Knowles dampers I tested improved the overall clarity of the sound, regardless of the resulting FR curve.

These dampers are tiny - too small to fit in the SE846 nozzles. So Jamnperry had the ingenious idea of first inserting them into tubes cut from cotton swabs. That seemed to work ok, but I found they didn't seal perfectly in the tubes. My plan B was to first insert the dampers into tiny pieces of cable insulation. (I have tons of different sizes of cable and just found some bell cable that fit.) Here is an orange damper on its own:



And here is a red and a brown damper inserted into the plastic cable insulation:



These then fit snugly into the bottom of the metal nozzles of the SE846, replacing your existing black, blue or white filter tube:




I highly recommend trying these! They're available from mouser.com. You'll need to pay a bit for shipping and the dampers are priced individually, but less than $1 each.

Kudos to Jamnperry for starting this thread and many thanks to him for the loan of his dampers. I am now a loyal follower and a skeptic no more

Mind to share where to get and what's the size for the cable insulation? Thanks

 

[csglinux]

Mind to share where to get and what's the size for the cable insulation? Thanks

It was just from some old bell cable I had spare. I just happened to have a size that perfectly fits the outer diameter of the 2.08 mm dampers and inner diameter of the SE846 nozzles.

If anybody wants some of this cable insulation, just PM me your address and I'll be happy to put some in the post for you.

 

[Jamnperry]

It's much easier to work with than the cotton swabs and seals really well. If you insert damper side outward you can use a Etymotic or similar tool for easy changing which does fit perfectly in the bullet case that came with the stock filters.
But either way the swabs will work too.

 

[ranjitotski]

Where to buy this filters?

 

[Jamnperry]

All the ordering info is on the first page of the original damper mod thread for the SE535. It is the exact same filters used there.
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/663273/se530-535-acoustic-filter-mod-more-sq-improvement-than-cables-dampers

 

[saintintn]

I'm one of the participants from the SE535 thread on the damper swapping (and have most of the Knowles dampers), so I'm beyond excited that you guys figured out a similar hack for the SE846.   Thank you, Jamnperry! 
 
For csglinux, can you find this cable/sleeve at a hardware store?  I live near a Lowes in TN and would think they would have something like this.  Are we talking a hard plastic sleeve or would using the sleeve from a 12 gauge wire, etc... accomplish the same thing?
 
Thanks!

 

[Jamnperry]

It's not a hard plastic but a pliable shrink tubing, rubber,  type consistency. I don't think a wire sleeve will give you that seal. You're just as well off using the cotton swab and sealing it with a bit of silicone grease or similar. But once you press the damper into a swab tube they are hard to get out so better to make that choice at the start.

 

[csglinux]

Navigating mouser.com can take a bit of work, and you need to be careful, because these dampers come in different diameters. These are the ones you want:

Grey: http://www.mouser.com/Search/ProductDetail.aspx?qs=3unH%2fDqlvl9jDj9uyvmVwA%3d%3d

White: http://www.mouser.com/Search/ProductDetail.aspx?qs=3unH%2fDqlvl%252bz0DHih1fc5w%3d%3d

Brown: http://www.mouser.com/Search/ProductDetail.aspx?R=BF-1860-000virtualkey66550000virtualkey721-BF-1860-000

Green: http://www.mouser.com/Search/ProductDetail.aspx?qs=3unH%2fDqlvl%2fu8b73ZrZUpQ%3d%3d

Red: http://www.mouser.com/Search/ProductDetail.aspx?R=BF-1921-000virtualkey66550000virtualkey721-BF-1921-000

Orange: http://www.mouser.com/Search/ProductDetail.aspx?R=BF-1922-000virtualkey66550000virtualkey721-BF-1922-000

Yellow: http://www.mouser.com/Search/ProductDetail.aspx?qs=3unH%2fDqlvl%252byyYubQJkbrQ%3d%3d

 

[saintintn]

So, I can confirm that the Q-tip mod works and the clarity is significantly boosted.  I used the brown dampers which leave all the bass/subwoofer attack there, but the upper end is crystal clear, too.  Almost too much treble, honestly.  Playing Wrapped Around Your Finger from The Police exemplifies the boosted treble using iPhone 6 with Onkyo HF app and DSD version of the album.  Not saying sibilance is there, but Stewart Copeland's cymbal play is very evident.   However, playing Get Lucky by Daft Punk (FLAC version - same setup) is amazing in retrospect.  In fact every song on this album is just mind blowing with these brown dampers.  So, material played/mastered version, as we all know, can impact the damper effect.  I have a set of green which boost the bass more and should cut some of the upper end.  I'll post some thoughts around those later.  
 
You guys rock!  

 

[Jamnperry]

I agree with your assessment. My main problem was with sibilance with brown. My green I had a problem pressing into the swab but thought it was ok. But they immediately sounded bad so on to red. The red will tame the highs but at the expense of slight bass. But very nice. So when Paul sent me a piece of that insulation I tried the greens again. I'm leaving them in for now as I like the slight increase in bass and the highs are fine. I'll give it a week. So if the green doesn't work try red.

 

[MuZo2]

Here what the filters do to FR, hope this helps.