[s0ny]

My Shure SE846 arrived.



I was pleasantly surprised that this IEM's true subwoofer really delivers what it promises. It depends on the song. In songs with sub-bass, this IEM really impressed me. The sub-bass is very deep. I would describe it as a booming sound that you hear when a large, heavy object such as furniture is thrown out of a building to the ground, creating that echo after a large boom.

I did some A/B-ing to compare them to my SE535LTD-J. The SE535LTD-J sounded louder and much more mid-centric. I would expect the 9 ohm 846 to be louder and easier to drive than the 36 ohm 535LTD, but I had to turn up the volume when I switched from 535LTD to 846 for every song. The mids on the SE535LTD sounded more fierce than the SE846. On the SE846, the mid and high sounded as if they were toned down. I changed the default blue filters with the white ones. It did improve the clarity and details a lot without sacrificing much bass. I think I'll keep using the white ones for now. I didn't try the black filters yet.

So far, this is my experience:

SE846 with default blue filter vs SE535LTD-J:
mids: SE535LTD
soundstage: draw
clarity: SE535LTD-J wins
bass: SE846 wins hands-down. No competition at all.

SE846 with white filter vs SE535LTD-J:
mids: SE846
soundstage: draw
clarity: draw
bass: SE846

I have to listen some more to determine whether the blue filters expose more bass than the white ones. The white filters open up the mids. The mids sound as if they are blocked by something when using the blue filters, as if a piece of cloth is in the ear tips. That got me worried initially until the white filters were tested. I might try the blue ones again later, but the first impression didn't satisfy me, except the bass.

Size-wise, the SE846 isn't much longer than the SE535. If you have small ears like me, they will still fit. They are a lot fatter though. The SE846 stick out of your ears a lot more than the 535. They aren't suitable for sleeping. I'll keep my 535 as sleeping IEMs.

I would love to hear other people's SE535 to SE846 upgrade experiences.

 

[IaHawkeye]

I must say, this greatly surprises me that it's even a competition, for $500 more you would expect the 846 to take every category fairly decisively . Are you using the default cord for both? Have you let the 846 burn in?

I wonder how a normal non LTD compares to both of these

I have JH RoxanneS but I was eyeing the 846 as my next purchase, now I'm not so sure

 

[jlbrach]

I own both and to me the 846 is better in ever way,a bigger soundstage more detail and of course dramatically better bass!No contest and I am a big fan of the 535.The only area where the 535 is better as far as i am concerned is comfort because it is smaller,otherwise as i said NO contest!

 

[s0ny]

I must say, this greatly surprises me that it's even a competition, for $500 more you would expect the 846 to take every category fairly decisively . Are you using the default cord for both? Have you let the 846 burn in?

I wonder how a normal non LTD compares to both of these

I have JH RoxanneS but I was eyeing the 846 as my next purchase, now I'm not so sure

The 846 is twice as expensive, but not two times better IMHO. The bass is significantly better though. I tried the black filters. I expected them to reduce mids and details even more than the blue filters, but they don't. The black filters give a great amount of bass while keeping the mids intact. I like the black filters the most, so far. Before I listened to the SE846, I thought the filters were an overrated gimmick to lure gullible buyers, but they do matter.

The regular non-LTD SE535 can't beat the 846. The SE535LTD fills the upper gap of the regular 535. The SE846 is much better than the regular SE535 which I had. If you want to upgrade from a non-LTD 535 or earlier models, I think you will get your money's worth. If you don't have a pair of Shure IEMs yet, these are a great buy. The only real problem is the price.

 

[ubs28]

I have to disagree with certain points:
- soundstage: Shure SE846 wins 
- mids: Shure SE846 is better since the mids are more balanced. In comparison to the Shure SRH 1840 which has very flat mids, you'll hear how not neutral (or coloured) the mids of the Shure SE535 are. 

 

[Rmoser]

Very similar to my thinking. I have had my 846 for about two weeks. I also have SE535LTD-J and normal 535 refiltered with Knowles filters to be just a tad brighter than the -J. I found the 846 slightly lifeless with the blue filters but wonderful with the white. My 535's now sound weak comparatively.

Rob

 

[SilverEars]

I personally didn't find any decernable difference between blue and white.  846 has more bass and mids have better imaging, and it makes it appear that there is more high end because the mids are not forward and flat everywhere like the 535, but it has more of a shape providing imaging which provides the perception that high have more detail.
 
The big issue is, all the improvements makes it sound more like any other high end iems than the 535 which is a bit different.  The price of 846 is laughable to me because of this reason.  I don't know what it offers for it's price, if it was more neutral I would understand, but it's definitely colored, it has the Shure signature.  The uniqueness  of Shures is the vocal grainyness.
 
I'm more of a fan of neutral sound so for the same price you can get a wonderful CIEM such as UERM or JHFP which are more detailed and accurate.

 

[s0ny]

The blue filters are imho not the best of both worlds but more like having too little of both.

I've been listening to dubstep using the black filters for about eight hours now. It makes me think "NOW we're talking!". Dubstep uses the potential of the SE846 very well.

 

[ubs28]

  I personally didn't find any decernable different between blue and white.  846 has more bass and mids have better imaging, and it makes it appear that there is more high end because the mids are not forward and flat everywhere like the 535, but it has more of a shape providing imaging which provides the perception that high have more detail.
 
The big issue is, all the improvements makes it sound more like any other high end iems than the 535 which is a bit different.  The price of 846 is laughable to me because of this reason.  I don't know what it offers for it's price, if it was more neutral I would understand, but it's definitely colored, it has the Shure signature.  The uniqueness  of Shures is the vocal grainyness.
 
I'm more of a fan of neutral sound so for the same price you can get a wonderful CIEM such as UERM or JHFP which are more detailed and accurate.

 
But then you get the JH house sound if you go to a CIEM like the JH-13 

 
To me the Shure SE846 fixes most of the issues which I didn't like about the Shure SE535 so it was worth the price for me. The improvement I'd like to see further is probably a restriction of IEM's in general.

 

[s0ny]

I used the black filters for two days straight. Then, I switched to the white filters for the same songs. The bass is a bit less strong, but not much less. The amount of details using the white filters however, is so overwhelming compared to the black filters, that it's totally worth using the white ones. The bass is still strong, but the soundstage, clarity and details of the white filters are far superior to the black ones. If the SE846 had a fixed sound like the blue filter, I'd say go for a pair of SE535 Special Edition. But the white filters are so convincing and so intense at the amount of details. When I compare the white-filtered SE846 to the SE535LTD, I think the 535 is more mids centered. The white-filtered 846 is more spacious and has a more fierce sound.

IMHO, there's no magic involved in the white filter. The black filter uses a thick piece of foam to filter sound. The blue filter uses a less thick piece of foam and the white filter simply has no foam inserted. The white filter is just letting the sound pass and filters at the other end of the tube.

I might give the blue filters a listen again later on, even though I don't feel like I'm in a hurry to do so. I agree with usb28. The SE535 which I owned before had a very noticeable roll-off.

 

[Jensenchua]

I own SE535ltd and just bought SE846 3 days ago, to me 535ltd mid is more brighter but is lack of bass, soundstage, high & clarity compared to 846. I tested the blue and white filters on the 846, personally do prefer the white filter, mid and high are clearly better than the blue but felt less bass than the blue, haven't test the black ones thought.

 

[s0ny]

Congratulations, Jensenchua. You will enjoy the SE846.

 

[delrosa81]

I too have been pondering over whether I should be getting the SE846. I have the SE535LTD currently and when I purchased the SE535LTD, I also took the opportunity to audition the SE846 but I found both of them v v similiar, but that was I am still starting out and my ears aren't that sensitive to different IEMs I guess.

 

[Jensenchua]

  I too have been pondering over whether I should be getting the SE846. I have the SE535LTD currently and when I purchased the SE535LTD, I also took the opportunity to audition the SE846 but I found both of them v v similiar, but that was I am still starting out and my ears aren't that sensitive to different IEMs I guess.

For me the first time I listen to the 846 the bass is like WOW, definitely a king of bass for IEMs. But you can't differentiate the mid & high between the two untill when you get your ear to slowly adapt the sound of 846 and compare it back to 535LTD, than you will find the details, soundstage, highs are much more better than the 535LTD. IMO the 535LTD vocal still shine, whereas 846 kind of balance the vocal.

 

[reefguy]

I just came back from 3 hours of listening session to test se535 ltd and se846.  It was very difficult to tell.  Then I switched to w60 and oriolus hyrbid switched back to the se series, I realized I preferred the se series but I still couldn't tell the difference between the two other than the bass.  Is there a sound/music file out there to systematically test and hear the frequency responses?