[fermelom]

fermelom -

Yesterday I finally went to the Audiologist (one of Sensaphonics' preferred "Golden Ear" locations) and got impressions made for a pair of custom sleeves for my SE425s. Today, I start looking through Head-Fi for comments on the sleeves and learn for the first time about "full shell" offerings from Sensaphonics.

There's nothing about this option that I can find in the website product pages and the only thing I can really learn about custom sleeves for Shure IEMs is that SE315/425/535 are compatible and SE846 are a different design. 

Would you mind elaborating on how you went about obtaining the full shell sleeves from Sensaphonics? I considered just calling them up, but in my case the audiologist is handling the entire process, so my name probably won't mean anything to the Sensaphonics rep. 

Thanks for your advice!  

The full shell thing is something that I learned from the Sensaphonic's staff in person. Their office it's walking distance from work so I got my ear impressions from them and after explained my issues with the fit of one of my sleeves (I had previously sleeves for the SE535) they suggested remade them the full shell shape. So when I came to order sleeves for the SE846's I ordered straight in full shell. You're right, it doesn't appear on their website but their own ciem's are full shell so it's not new for them, I just think that for the previous Shure iem's they consider the simple sleeve enough. My suggestion it's talk with your audiologist and call Sensaphonic's to make sure they got your order as you want it.

 

[zeissiez]

I had the 846 for about 6 months. And did a brief A-B with a universal fit Roxanne using Fiio X5. Technically, there's no contest. The Roxanne's soundstage was so unlike other IEMs, it's almost like a fullsize can. Then there's the bass. Next to the Roxanne, 846's bass sounded boomy. Roxanne has much better quality in the bass. The 846's darker sounding, Roxanne had much more sparkles on top. The 846 is still very musical sounding, but I'm not sure in long run, once the brain forgets about the technicalities, which one stays as the favorite for purely music. But technically, the Roxanne is clearly one level up.

 

[Eugguy]

I had the 846 for about 6 months. And did a brief A-B with a universal fit Roxanne using Fiio X5. Technically, there's no contest. The Roxanne's soundstage was so unlike other IEMs, it's almost like a fullsize can. Then there's the bass. Next to the Roxanne, 846's bass sounded boomy. Roxanne has much better quality in the bass. The 846's darker sounding, Roxanne had much more sparkles on top. The 846 is still very musical sounding, but I'm not sure in long run, once the brain forgets about the technicalities, which one stays as the favorite for purely music. But technically, the Roxanne is clearly one level up.

I gotta agree with this^..owning both currently.

 

[zeissiez]

Which one do u listen to more ?

 

[514077]

Based on JHA's reputation for customer service and wait time, is it possible to get a Roxanne universal and add the SCSs after?

 

[espresso]

I had the 846 for about 6 months. And did a brief A-B with a universal fit Roxanne using Fiio X5. Technically, there's no contest. The Roxanne's soundstage was so unlike other IEMs, it's almost like a fullsize can. Then there's the bass. Next to the Roxanne, 846's bass sounded boomy. Roxanne has much better quality in the bass. The 846's darker sounding, Roxanne had much more sparkles on top. The 846 is still very musical sounding, but I'm not sure in long run, once the brain forgets about the technicalities, which one stays as the favorite for purely music. But technically, the Roxanne is clearly one level up.

Completely agree with you...
one does not compare roxane with se846....

To be honest, when I tried se846, no offence but the bass was boomy and like out of control. I even prefer 535 to 846.

I think Roxane is a different level than 846.

has anyone heard/know the crystal cable?
I heard that they are based in Holland.
Tried Roxane with this cable and you can forget any other IEM currently on the market

 

[Ivabign]

Completely agree with you...
one does not compare roxane with se846....

To be honest, when I tried se846, no offence but the bass was boomy and like out of control. I even prefer 535 to 846.

I think Roxane is a different level than 846.

has anyone heard/know the crystal cable?
I heard that they are based in Holland.
Tried Roxane with this cable and you can forget any other IEM currently on the market

While I would hope that a $1300 12 BA driver headphone the size of a tangerine 

 would sound superior to a 4 driver that has a street price of around 45% less - you lost me at "535" was preferable. I agree that everyone's taste is their own and by no means is it impossible for someone to prefer the 535 to the 846, when you state that the 846 bass was boomy and out of control - me thinks there may be another issue.
 
I have found the SE846 to be REALLY picky of source due to its abnormally low impedance (9ohms) I had some sources where I got freaky frequency roll offs and other odd dynamics - but with others, they exceeded expectations - and made the 535 sound like EarPods....
 
Seriously, if you don't have a source with the right synergy, the 846's do sound a bit cut off at the knees...

 

[warrior1975]

I've never heard Roxannes yet, but I will say the 8s sound pretty damn sweet, especially paired with my X3. Sounds great out of my Rwak120b as well, but I was surprised of the synergy with the X3. Boomy bass? Not to me... Not at all. Bass sounds damn near perfect. I'd imagine like Ivabign said, Roxannes do sound better... how much that's another story. I doubt much... My Ref 1 sounds better than the 8s, but not a tremendous difference.

 

[zeissiez]

I can assure u that the Roxanne is much superior technically. Not only in soundstage, bass quality and treble quality, but also in imaging. I came from the likes of 535, ue900 & w4r to 846, and I thought the 846 imaging was rock solid. And it even scales very well with desktop amps. But Roxanne is clearly a level up in imaging. Then there's transparency, the Roxanne is clearly more transparent. The combination of big and realistic stage size, superb transparency and rock solid imaging, it almost sounded like a fullsize can.

 

[zeissiez]

While I would hope that a $1300 12 BA driver headphone the size of a tangerine   would sound superior to a 4 driver that has a street price of around 45% less - you lost me at "535" was preferable. I agree that everyone's taste is their own and by no means is it impossible for someone to prefer the 535 to the 846, when you state that the 846 bass was boomy and out of control - me thinks there may be another issue.

I have found the SE846 to be REALLY picky of source due to its abnormally low impedance (9ohms) I had some sources where I got freaky frequency roll offs and other odd dynamics - but with others, they exceeded expectations - and made the 535 sound like EarPods....

Seriously, if you don't have a source with the right synergy, the 846's do sound a bit cut off at the knees...

I had both the 535 red and 846. I would not be surprised if someone prefers the 535 sound. Of course technically there's no contest. The 846 scales to a much higher level than the 535 with desktop amps. I love both, they both have the Shure house sound. But, I too find the 535 having a more coherent sound. The 846 bass sounded "intentional". 846 is a bit hard sounding compared to the 535, for long and easy listening I prefer the 535.

 

[zeissiez]

I've never heard Roxannes yet, but I will say the 8s sound pretty damn sweet, especially paired with my X3. Sounds great out of my Rwak120b as well, but I was surprised of the synergy with the X3. Boomy bass? Not to me... Not at all. Bass sounds damn near perfect. I'd imagine like Ivabign said, Roxannes do sound better... how much that's another story. I doubt much... My Ref 1 sounds better than the 8s, but not a tremendous difference.

I've never heard Roxannes yet, but I will say the 8s sound pretty damn sweet, especially paired with my X3. Sounds great out of my Rwak120b as well, but I was surprised of the synergy with the X3. Boomy bass? Not to me... Not at all. Bass sounds damn near perfect. I'd imagine like Ivabign said, Roxannes do sound better... how much that's another story. I doubt much... My Ref 1 sounds better than the 8s, but not a tremendous difference.

Completely agree with you...
one does not compare roxane with se846....

To be honest, when I tried se846, no offence but the bass was boomy and like out of control. I even prefer 535 to 846.

I think Roxane is a different level than 846.

has anyone heard/know the crystal cable?
I heard that they are based in Holland.
Tried Roxane with this cable and you can forget any other IEM currently on the market

Except the K10, maybe

 

[Eugguy]

Roxanne>mentor>846.

 

[dnlee480]

I owned the 846 and never had boomy bass either.  I thought it was tight and articulate bass.  And the bass goes deep, depending on songs.  Almost feels like a subwoofer.  Reminds me of Sennheiser hd380pro deep sub bass but the 380pro is missing the mid bass range.  The 846 has more fuller bass then 380pro but 380pro goes slightly more deeper but very close.  I really enjoyed the 846 but I do want to try the Roxannes but not sure if I want to get the custom or universal fit.  For two reasons:  I can never let other people like my gf listen to my iem and resale value if I don't like the sound or get bored and want to get rid of it.  I have read that the Roxanne has a similar sound signature as the LCD-3 in the Roxanne forum.  I own LCD-3 and really enjoy them.  But not sure if I want the same sort of sound.  I like having different type of headphones for different sound signatures.  I own hd800, t1, lcd-3, hd600, hd650 and the list goes on.  I really want an iem for portability to use at the gym, coffee shop, and travels.  The one thing I did not like about the 846 was the soundstage.  It sounded like most typical iem where the sound stage is narrow and you hear sound in the center of your head.  Other than that, the se846 sounded amazing to me.  I would highly recommend.  I just couldn't find a ear tip that fit my ear properly and the I really did not like the cable it came with.  The cable was too stiff and stubborn.   Otherwise I probably would have kept it.  With a good fit with the universal Roxanne; would they sound equally good as the custom Roxanne and block out the same amount of ambient noise?

 

[zeissiez]

I owned the 846 and never had boomy bass either.  I thought it was tight and articulate bass.  And the bass goes deep, depending on songs.  Almost feels like a subwoofer.  Reminds me of Sennheiser hd380pro deep sub bass but the 380pro is missing the mid bass range.  The 846 has more fuller bass then 380pro but 380pro goes slightly more deeper but very close.  I really enjoyed the 846 but I do want to try the Roxannes but not sure if I want to get the custom or universal fit.  For two reasons:  I can never let other people like my gf listen to my iem and resale value if I don't like the sound or get bored and want to get rid of it.  I have read that the Roxanne has a similar sound signature as the LCD-3 in the Roxanne forum.  I own LCD-3 and really enjoy them.  But not sure if I want the same sort of sound.  I like having different type of headphones for different sound signatures.  I own hd800, t1, lcd-3, hd600, hd650 and the list goes on.  I really want an iem for portability to use at the gym, coffee shop, and travels.  The one thing I did not like about the 846 was the soundstage.  It sounded like most typical iem where the sound stage is narrow and you hear sound in the center of your head.  Other than that, the se846 sounded amazing to me.  I would highly recommend.  I just couldn't find a ear tip that fit my ear properly and the I really did not like the cable it came with.  The cable was too stiff and stubborn.   Otherwise I probably would have kept it.  With a good fit with the universal Roxanne; would they sound equally good as the custom Roxanne and block out the same amount of ambient noise?

The Roxanne's differs to LCD-3 in treble. Roxanne has lots of sparkling treble. The shell of the Roxanne is so big that I don't think a universal fit pair is going to fit well, definitely not for gym. The 846 fits and isolates very well. U can perhaps try the Noble K10 too.

 

[paulomario77]

 
While I would hope that a $1300 12 BA driver headphone the size of a tangerine 

 would sound superior to a 4 driver that has a street price of around 45% less - you lost me at "535" was preferable. I agree that everyone's taste is their own and by no means is it impossible for someone to prefer the 535 to the 846, when you state that the 846 bass was boomy and out of control - me thinks there may be another issue.
 
I have found the SE846 to be REALLY picky of source due to its abnormally low impedance (9ohms) I had some sources where I got freaky frequency roll offs and other odd dynamics - but with others, they exceeded expectations - and made the 535 sound like EarPods....
 
Seriously, if you don't have a source with the right synergy, the 846's do sound a bit cut off at the knees...

 
I completely agree with you. When I got the SE846 I first tried driving them directly from an iPod Classic 160GB. However, the 846 impedance demanded the use of an amplifier, so I went to this setup: iPod -> ALO Audio The National -> SE846.
 
I'm now driving the 846 directly from a Calyx M. It sounds like a completely different phone from what I had before. The bass, which was indeed bloomy, now is much more contained, articulate, but also much more detailed. It lets the remaining part of the spectrum breathe. Of course the improvement brought by the Calyx M is throughout the entire frequency range, but is most distinguishable in the bass section.