[Zalithian]

kfki, it seems that while you did get to audition the 846 you did not hear them properly. I'm not sure if you had a poor fit or an impedance mismatch. The 846 has a lot more bass than the 535, especially down low. If you get a chance try them with a low impedance output source like the Sansa Clip or Fiio X3. I haven't even tried mine on my Galaxy S3 because of the high output impedance.

 

[Copperears]

Impressions sound all over the map, including those who've claimed there's no issue with running them directly with an iPhone 5 (Jude, I believe, says that in his preview/review).

I think variations in type of music listened to, sound environment, musical preferences, types of ears, nature of fit, is probably so wide that any extreme negative statements would have to be suspect on the face of it.

The ultimate wisdom here, which is also true of buying musical instruments, be it a Stradivarius or a Roland Jupiter-80 (! ): trust your ears.

Read this for some perspective:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stradivarius



If you love it, be it twenty bucks or twenty thousand, it's worth it to you. No-one else can decide for you, no-one else is you, and no-one else has your ears.

 

[Zalithian]

Sure, price  and value is absolutely subjective - but there's obviously something up with kfki's impressions. I can't say if the problem was the source, the fit, or a defective pair - but saying the 846 has less bass than the 535 is like saying the RE0 has more bass quantity than the IE8. It's just not true. I don't know how much I trust Jude's iphone comment if he made one. He did get a prototype too - so perhaps they had higher impedance than the final model.

 

[883dave]

  Today I was fortunate enough to audition these puppies. After a constant thorough scrutiny for 2 hours with my 535s and the 846s. a back to back comparison. I wasn't awed or disappointed, it's just not GROUNDBREAKING or REVOLUTIONARY. If you ask me if 1000 bucks for these are justify. To me, they're not. The only difference to my ears, the soundstage is slightly spacious and tight. The bass isn't impactful compare with the 535s. They're subtle and distinguishable. bass coming from the 535s, you can hear the thud, thud, thud when it is on which rumbling down in both your eardrums (it's like PS3 dualshock), however with the 846s is just subtle and elegant. The details are bit clearer, a bit more extended with the 846, for example, you can hear the birds chirping in the complicated instrumental background. But with the 535s, you can still heard the chirping, but less extended. the details are clear but not clearer. 
 
So in conclusion, would i be willing to pay double the price just to hear the extended, clearer detailer sound of the birds chirping in Dream Land, track 1: Children. NO!
 
For 425s owner, the 846s would be a huge jump, but for the 535s owners, the differences are barely noticeable!
Paying premium price for these are the types of folks that wanted to show that they got that kind of moolah to burn. it's to show off their financial status. the sad thing is when the 846s became obsoleted because 959s are coming to replace its predecessor by becoming the successor. the novelty quickly wears off! 
P.S I'm happy with my 535s because I know that 99.9 percent out there have crappy audio set up. therefore it makes me feel better.

I agree and disagree with what you observed.
 
The 846's didn't awe or disappoint, agree they are not groundbreaking or revolutionary. With the way research and technology has come of age, we are years behind revolutionary, at most we can expect refinement.
As for your assessment of the bass. I always knew the 535 were lacking in bottom end bass, to my ears the 846's go a long way in addressing this.
 
In prior posts a fellow at Layton Audio invited you in for a test of his 846's. If this is so, is it possible that he had a different filter than stock, thus masking the bass response?
 
As for paying a premium price, knowing what I now know, I would have stuck with the 535's (wife is enjoying them now).
 
Over the years of using the hi-end shures, only one person has asked about them. He used to be a sound engineer for various bands, and asked if they were shure's, he said that one of the bands bought him a pair of JH CIEM's. 
I for one do not buy this "over priced audio gear" to impress other people. I buy it because to me music and the sound quality of the music is important.

 

[kfki]

  kfki, it seems that while you did get to audition the 846 you did not hear them properly. I'm not sure if you had a poor fit or an impedance mismatch. The 846 has a lot more bass than the 535, especially down low. If you get a chance try them with a low impedance output source like the Sansa Clip or Fiio X3. I haven't even tried mine on my Galaxy S3 because of the high output impedance.

my set up gears: iPod Nano, fiio E07K and 3.5mm cable connector:Viablue. I constantly switching back and forth with my 535s and the 846s. The filter i believe was the neutral one. I didn't get to fiddle around with the filters because the owner say it was his friend who lend him the IEM. So he doesn't want us to change filters. He say the neutral filter produces a much balanced sound. My 535s are warmer sound, so I think that's probably the reason. it's unfair to compare a warm sound with a cold/neutral sound.

 

[kfki]

Look guys, I'm a huge Shure fan, I love its sound signature to death. When I listen to other brand, I always feel they're lacking what Shure has in store. In the end I always end up coming back to Shure for it the BIG UPGRADE. Unfortunately to my ears I may need 5 or more drivers to hear the differences. 

 

[Zalithian]

  Look guys, I'm a huge Shure fan, I love its sound signature to death. When I listen to other brand, I always feel they're lacking what Shure has in store. In the end I always end up coming back to Shure for it the BIG UPGRADE. Unfortunately to my ears I may need 5 or more drivers to hear the differences. 

 
Hey man, don't worry about it. We're not attacking you or anything. We're just very confused with what you heard. The black filter has the least bass, so if you had those filters you were hearing quite a different sound than the other filters. If your source had an impedance mismatch or you didn't get a proper seal those are the two other things I can think of. Check out this graph. What it appears you are saying is you either heard the red one, or somehow the blue or green had less bass than the orange. That's why I'm confused.
 

 

[kfki]

I'm not sure about the color of the filter but the owner say it's the neutral one. So could that be the reason that it has minimum bass output?
Because I was eager to try out the true subwoofer experience which it heavily advertised! So which filter produces visceral and punchy impactful bass? 

 

[Zalithian]

If you had a good fit and no impedance mismatch it could have been that. The neutral(balanced) one is the blue filter which is green on the graph. As you can see, it has more bass than the orange line. So if you heard the blue(balanced) filter it would be really surprising for it to have less bass than the orange line (535).
 
edit: To answer your question:  I feel like the blue filters have the most bass impact

 

[jlbrach]

i love my 846 and think it is a huge improvement over my 535 other than the fact that I find the 535 far more comfortable

 

[Copperears]

A lot of this is relative and comparative, too, at least I've found it to be so.

 

[kfki]

i guess i'm not a genuine audiophile which i thought i were... i just simply can't tell/hear any HUGE difference over the 535s. yes i have to closely scrutinize the sound signature to tell the difference. and the only difference i can hear to my ears were the noticeable extended sound like the birds chirping with 846s, but with 535s, i still can make out the chirping but not that extended and clear or vibrant than the 846s. if i were truly picky for that sort of details that my 535s don't provide, is it a smart bold move to dish out 1000 bucks just to hear that subtle details. NO! But if I have superhuman ears and can hear all sort details, then probably forking out a grand for these puppies are justifying. but for now, i'm okay with my 535s. don't want to become spoil during an economic recession.

 

[kfki]

 
But i do love my viablue cable connector! I love the strong presence, the vibrant clarity that stay so long in your ears like a box of fresh mints. the pristine sound is like waterfall hitting your head but no fatigue whatsoever. it's just you and the music.

 

[Zalithian]

  i guess i'm not a genuine audiophile which i thought i were... i just simply can't tell/hear any HUGE difference over the 535s. yes i have to closely scrutinize the sound signature to tell the difference. and the only difference i can hear to my ears were the noticeable extended sound like the birds chirping with 846s, but with 535s, i still can make out the chirping but not that extended and clear or vibrant than the 846s. if i were truly picky for that sort of details that my 535s don't provide, is it a smart bold move to dish out 1000 bucks just to hear that subtle details. NO! But if I have superhuman ears and can hear all sort details, then probably forking out a grand for these puppies are justifying. but for now, i'm okay with my 535s. don't want to become spoil during an economic recession.

 
Are you talking about the initial audition? If so, I really feel you listened to the black filters which are similar to the 535's, but the other filters are quite different as you can see.

 

[daltonljj]

  i guess i'm not a genuine audiophile which i thought i were... i just simply can't tell/hear any HUGE difference over the 535s. yes i have to closely scrutinize the sound signature to tell the difference. and the only difference i can hear to my ears were the noticeable extended sound like the birds chirping with 846s, but with 535s, i still can make out the chirping but not that extended and clear or vibrant than the 846s. if i were truly picky for that sort of details that my 535s don't provide, is it a smart bold move to dish out 1000 bucks just to hear that subtle details. NO! But if I have superhuman ears and can hear all sort details, then probably forking out a grand for these puppies are justifying. but for now, i'm okay with my 535s. don't want to become spoil during an economic recession.

 
looking on the bright side, I once read this by another headfier about how you can save tonnes of money if your ears really can't hear the difference .... but most importantly having what you feels is best for your ears.... but always be open to new experience
 
On a side note, I personally feel that when it comes auditioning any audio equipment one should never let price influence what they feel about it. Listen through your ears analyse it with both you mind and heart.... enjoy it .... price should only be a factor whether you buy it or not .... this is because value base on price is very subjective depending on personality and background ... eg how a rich spender person will always feel everything is cheap on the other hand a rich but stingy person will feel that everything is expensive. Price is only to help you decide if you are to buy it or not and not to judge its performance