[New Yawker]

Don't get me wrong, i think Lightning audio is a very interesting path but i just don't want to be a Guinea pig this time around. Thus i'll let the whole thing mature a bit before jumping on board.

Excellent advice Elfary!

 

[New Yawker]

UPDATE #1: I received a reply today from AAW. They stated the Capri MMCX cable with DAC will ship in early July.

UPDATE #2: With both Shure 846s and LTG cable having sufficient burn-in, I now can comment with greater confidence. Compared to the regular earphone cable, there is a wider soundstage. As initially impressed, bass most definitely is reduced somewhat in favour of greater detail in the music. I have had a few quirky moments (mostly music drops a second or so) that I am certain is linked to the LTG cable. I have also received complaints that the built-in mic is noisy. I have not experimented with the bass-favoured Shure 846 filter. That may compensate for the perceived drop in bass.

 

[Emdek]

Well, Musicstore did send me a return form (after 3 reminders), no accompanying text in the email. I'm gonna send it back and ask for a replacement, since I really like my Shure SE535 in-ear headphones, and was hoping the DAC in the Shure cable would be of higher quality then the dongle Apple sells. If the second one also fails I will ask for a refund.

I finally received a gift certificate (no refund) in return for the defective Shure LTG cable, worth 88 euros. But a new cable is about 100 euros, so it set me back about 12 euros and shipping if I wanted a replacement... What the ???? I sent several emails to customer support, in the end the gift certificate was even set to invalid! And then suddenly about 1 1/2 week ago I received an email from customer support asking me if I still want the certificate or a replacement. After replying "replacement" I received a package from Musicstore a couple of days ago with a new LTG cable... Couldn't wait to try it out and luckily this one works fine with my iPhone 7 and the Shure 535 in-ears. So Musicstore did solve the problem finally, but it did take a lot of unanswered emails and annoyance on my side. So after ordering half of april, received the first (faulty) cable end of april, and finally at almost the end of June I can enjoy my brand new LTG cable and Shure in-ears on all iOS devices. I do understand a new product is not always in stock after a first release, but a little more communication from their side would have made the difference. Glad it is solved though.

 

[djansia]

Hi everyone
I'm very interested in the Shure cable for my SE846 but I'm still undecided. I wondered if other companies would develop other types of cables (even balanced ones) and if that was not the case to wait for. I also read a lot about the AAW Capri Balanced Lightning Audio Cable, but apparently there are serious hissing problems at the moment with it.

 

[New Yawker]

I finally received a gift certificate (no refund) in return for the defective Shure LTG cable, worth 88 euros. But a new cable is about 100 euros, so it set me back about 12 euros and shipping if I wanted a replacement... What the ???? I sent several emails to customer support, in the end the gift certificate was even set to invalid! And then suddenly about 1 1/2 week ago I received an email from customer support asking me if I still want the certificate or a replacement. After replying "replacement" I received a package from Musicstore a couple of days ago with a new LTG cable... Couldn't wait to try it out and luckily this one works fine with my iPhone 7 and the Shure 535 in-ears. So Musicstore did solve the problem finally, but it did take a lot of unanswered emails and annoyance on my side. So after ordering half of april, received the first (faulty) cable end of april, and finally at almost the end of June I can enjoy my brand new LTG cable and Shure in-ears on all iOS devices. I do understand a new product is not always in stock after a first release, but a little more communication from their side would have made the difference. Glad it is solved though.

Terrible customer service Emdek, but I'm glad Musicstore finally resolved it.

 

[elfary]

For a few times i have read about sound hiccups when using the Shure Lightning cable...this would be a no go for me. Is that a frequent issue?

 

[New Yawker]

For a few times i have read about sound hiccups when using the Shure Lightning cable...this would be a no go for me. Is that a frequent issue?

Hey Elfary. I use the Shure 846/Shure LTG combo on my daily commute to and from work. The few-second stutter occurs randomly once every two or three hours while listening to music on my iPhone 6s Pro. I have not yet experienced the problem on the iPad Pro 9.7. The LTGs Lightning plug is definitely looser on the iPhone. Although I listen less with my iPad, I am not convinced that is the problem.

As a reference point, I listen to downloaded music from iTunes, Spotify (Premium) and Tidal (Hi-Res).

 

[elfary]

Hey Elfary. I use the Shure 846/Shure LTG combo on my daily commute to and from work. The few-second stutter occurs randomly once every two or three hours while listening to music on my iPhone 6s Pro. I have not yet experienced the problem on the iPad Pro 9.7. The LTGs Lightning plug is definitely looser on the iPhone. Although I listen less with my iPad, I am not convinced that is the problem.

As a reference point, I listen to downloaded music from iTunes, Spotify (Premium) and Tidal (Hi-Res).

Thanks for filling me in.

I strongly advice anybody that suffers the hiccups to report back to Shure so that they become aware of them and try to sort out the issue.

 

[New Yawker]

Thank you elfary for the suggestion. I will report the issue to Shure.

UPDATE: Received an auto-response from Shure promising a response "by next business-day".

UPDATED UPDATE: DO NOT PURCHASE THE SHURE MMCX LTG CABLE! After a back and forth email rally with Shure including sending them a copy of my invoice from B&H Photo, Shure determined it was Apple who was responsible since they manufacture the Lightning connector. I was told that Apple must create a software patch. I assume that means there is no need to purchase the LTG. You can get the same result by using the Apple 3.5mm-to-Lightning adaptor ($10 USD) with the regular Shure iPhone cable ($30 USD) and save yourselves $60 USD compared to the $100 USD LTG. Thankfully, I can live with the quirk but I am very disappointed that Shure refused to stand by their product.

SEE UPDATE #3 BELOW. SHURE AUTHORIZED AN EXCHANGE. THEY DID THE RIGHT THING

 

[elfary]

Thank you elfary for the suggestion. I will report the issue to Shure.

UPDATE: Received an auto-response from Shure promising a response "by next business-day".

UPDATED UPDATE: DO NOT PURCHASE THE SHURE MMCX LTG CABLE! After a back and forth email rally with Shure including sending them a copy of my invoice from B&H Photo, Shure determined it was Apple who was responsible since they manufacture the Lightning connector. I was told that Apple must create a software patch. I assume that means there is no need to purchase the LTG. You can get the same result by using the Apple 3.5mm-to-Lightning adaptor ($10 USD) with the regular Shure iPhone cable ($30 USD) and save yourselves $60 USD compared to the $100 USD LTG. Thankfully, I can live with the quirk but I am very disappointed that Shure refused to stand by their product.

Oddly enough i have not heard anybody complaining from hiccups in the 9$ dongle (which btw to my ears sounds as good as any amp/dac can sound with a set of in ear monitors) so there might be more than meets the eye going on here. From an objective point of view if one looks Yuriv's dongle measurements (Sound Science subforum) no 3rd party cable is gonna bring more quality to the table. Just better ergonomy and more (may be) output power.

Anyway it does not sound too Shure to blame another company for a shortcoming of a Shure product. If Apple is technically responsible for the hiccups they should go after them to get the issue fixed as it is harming their brand and they have paid MFi royalties.

 

[New Yawker]

I agree elfary. Shure should take responsibility for their product. After all, many products are manufactured using components from third-party sources. Shure does not even claim MFI Certification for the LTG in their literature so I have my doubts that the cable is indeed certified.

In my opinion Apple’s proprietary Lightning cable is a failure in so many respects. USB-C is a far more sensible choice. From a purely asthetic point-of-view, Apple didn’t even have the sense to offer their Lightning dongle in a variety of color choice.

(27 June 2017) UPDATE #3: Just received an e-mail from Shure directing me to B&H Photo to exchange the cable. Shure Customer Service Representative said I should also contact Apple to inform them of the issues. Shure did the right thing.

 

[elfary]

I agree elfary. Shure should take responsibility for their product. After all, many products are manufactured using components from third-party sources. Shure does not even claim MFI Certification for the LTG in their literature so I have my doubts that the cable is indeed certified.

In my opinion Apple’s proprietary Lightning cable is a failure in so many respects. USB-C is a far more sensible choice. From a purely asthetic point-of-view, Apple didn’t even have the sense to offer their Lightning dongle in a variety of color choice.

(27 June 2017) UPDATE #3: Just received an e-mail from Shure directing me to B&H Photo to exchange the cable. Shure Customer Service Representative said I should also contact Apple to inform them of the issues. Shure did the right thing.

Thanks for the updates. We'll see how the new one fares.

 

[New Yawker]

UPDATE #4 (28 June 2017): The exchange of my Shure MMCX LTG went without a glitch at B&H Photo. The staff were great. Hopefully this cable will work better than the first.

 

[jockewe]

Meanwhile, i still have no problem at all with my MMCX-LTG cable.
Sometimes there is a fraction music or sound lost just at the beginning (i left Tidal because of finding it highly annoying, there it's all the
time from the app i guess) of use but that is something i have experienced with the adapter as well on occasion... I really like the sound.

Are you s(h)ure you are not misunderstanding the mentioned Apple thing?
For a device to work fully with the Apple products it needs to be engineered and paired/ID'd successfully to be reliable full through.
I'm so happy that the volume is set differently (automatically) when using my Belkin dongle in the car and using the MMCX-LTG, both
are instantly recognized as individuals and work perfectly.
Noone has complained about a noisy mic from all the phonecalls i have made, once i scratched it against my unshaved chin and my
mother asked me if i was out walking somewhere, thats the one negative comment i have got.

I find myself getting immersed in the music i listen to, totally pleased.
I'm sure a Hugo2 with some extraspecial cable to the SE535's would be an upgrade (!) but i'm not longing for it.
/Joakim

 

[New Yawker]

Hey Joakim. I also enjoy listening to music with the Shure 846/MMCX Combo. As far as Shure transferring blame to Apple, there was no misunderstanding. The following is taken from an email response from Shure Customer Service:

“After speaking with our product manager for this cable, unfortunately, I have learned that our ability to troubleshoot these types of issues are relatively limited. While we do manufacture the cable, Apple requires authorized hardware manufacturers to purchase the physical components from them in order to make our products. The issue is likely in the lightning connector itself and the ability to communicate between the phone and the earphones. Since Apple manufactures this connector, the only real solution is for them to create software patch that addresses this specific issue. If you have analytics turned on on your phone and are sending error information to Apple, this will help, as it lets them know when there is any issue with your phone, or with an authorized third party product, such as our lightning earphone cable.”

Shure ultimately did the right thing by exchanging the cable. Only time will tell if the intermittent problem occurs with the new cable. As far as the mic issue, I am willing to cede that it is relative to my personal experience based on a number of factors. I would imagine that only a small percentage of users will experience the same.