[truckdriver]

svk7, I owned the Roxanne II and I listened to it for more than 200 hours. You are right, if you connect the 846 and Roxanne to an iPod or some audiophile player and pressed play, the Roxanne has at least two times the separation. With Viper4Android the separation of both IEMs becomes larger still. The Roxanne II goes out of head tall, wide and overhead (for me). The 846 with Viper4Android goes deep (like listening to just the car speaker in the back. It is different than the Roxanne, but to me just as good.

As for a veiled sound with the Roxanne universal, I could not get a proper sound with any of the provided tips. But because I have been using IEMs for 11 years, I really didn't expect too. I immediately got out my war chest of tips and found some that made the sound much better within minutes of unboxing them. Even though all I have is universals, I don't recommend them for most people.

As for the recommendation that have been put forth. I'm not a lab rat. I could purchase the next flavor of the month every month something comes out and gets a lot of attention. But, as I said, I am not interested in the next new tuning flavor. I am interested in a genuine improvement. I bought the KSE1500 the second it was available for purchase. I owned it for a month and while there was a technical improvement due to the technology used, there was also some tradeoffs due to the design of the product. I might immediately jump on a new version of the KSE1500 if it improves.

As for the Vega, I am not really impressed by what I have read so far. There is not one stat about the Vega's isolation. Most IEMs like that are vented and isolates very poorly. Plus, I am just no hearing the right things about the sound.


Edit to add: There is no vibration of silicone on my 846 that account for the sub-bass. It is the technology in the low pass filter. My tips are thick solid triple-flange stuffed (backfilled) with foam. They are firm, tight, and as isolating as anything.

 

[MarkTwain]

Huh, that's an interesting take on things. The fact that Noble has racked up 27 5-star reviews here kind of blew me away. Could be as bad as the Apple fandom that's been going around with these new horrid MacBook Pro's people are stupid enough to be buying. All-in-all, even though professional musicians aren't particularly known to be audiophiles, there is definitely something to be said about most of the top musicians and their sound engineers using JH products.
It's not like I'm reading it obsessively, losing sleep over it. lol. It's just that I have come back to this thread many times in the last half year to see what people are saying and that comment particularly sticks out when I breeze through the comments. As for "getting used to the veil" my JH13v2's and thousand dollar speaker system disagrees with that.

 
Are you not familiar with Social Marketing concepts?
 
As said, they are not bad, but just not as what users over-exaggerated the impact and sound quality. As for marketing, they are quite successful, though you need to be aware of reviews. Trust your own ears, not just your own "eyes". You are buying a high end IEM for your ears, thus you need to trust your own ears and not just reading reviews.
 
Do a thorough audition, bring along your gears and your current IEMs to compare. I tested at a shop in Singapore, very good service. Tested with K10U, Katana, as well as their lower range model as well as another brand IEM worth less than $500. The top range did not impress me and it is not close to what was described by the reviews. Seriously, I was prepared to buy and cash was in my wallet. Just not the sound I was looking for.
 
Just my own preference, and again, don't just read and take in everything here. Listen for yourself.

 

[truckdriver]

Personally, I don't know how much I could learn about an IEM from an in store audition. I feel like I have a feel for an IEM after that third week of 10 hour per day sessions of going thru many scenarios with different sources, tips, and music.

I have not heard the K10. I have no reason to believe that the K10 has a sonic advantage over the Roxanne II. The original K10 could not be purchased in a money back refund way without a restocking fee.

There are many data points of one person saying this or that. I try to take many points into consideration. Even the points of omission as people move from IEM to IEM. I think about what is the basis for always becoming dissatisfied and always wanting the next new hot item. Sometimes the grass is just different, not greener.

 

[svk7]

I usually keep my Roxanne's between the 1-2 o'clock positions, but today I played with my EQ a bit and turned my Roxanne's into what I was missing with my now-sold SE846's.

I can give the 60 Hz range (around where the SE846's addicting sub-bass effect really shines – I think their low pass filter is centered around 70 Hz) anywhere between a 6-12 dB boost and, my God, did it blow me away. 12 dB is okay with most songs, but if it starts getting distorted, anywhere between 6-8 dB fixes that distortion.

(Note, this is different than just turning the Roxanne's variable bass all the way up, which affects frequencies from 10 - 1000 Hz.)

And the best part of it all, when I get my fix of sub-bass in for the day, I can turn it back to the very balanced, transparent, and still musical IEM that the Roxanne is by flattening out the EQ again.

 

[dovahkiin]

About to pull the trigger on a Universal Roxanne after having owned and used the SE846 for 2 years. This string has definitely helped with my decision. Thank you all.

 

[svk7]

About to pull the trigger on a Universal Roxanne after having owned and used the SE846 for 2 years. This string has definitely helped with my decision. Thank you all.

Eh, idk. I'd almost say if not the performance series Roxanne, go for the Campfire Audio Vega. Look into that comparison a bit firstborn. Or even 64 U12s.

Edit: Make sure to check out the For Sale section to find some good deals. Came across these Roxanne performance series just now while browsing: https://www.head-fi.org/f/threads/jh-roxanne-performance-series.852249/

 

[dovahkiin]

Thank you so much for the input. I was considering the U12 series. And I'm now wondering whether to get these or just save for some Tias xD But that's just crazy talk. I'll hang around the for sale section. thanks again.

 

[svk7]

Thank you so much for the input. I was considering the U12 series. And I'm now wondering whether to get these or just save for some Tias xD But that's just crazy talk. I'll hang around the for sale section. thanks again.

That'll be $50.

But yeah, check out the for sale section. Tons of stuff, and depending on how good of a haggler you are, you can get some pretty good deals.