Shure SE846: A New In-Ear Flagship From Shure. Finally! (Impressions p26-28)
May 3, 2014 at 3:06 PM Post #2,926 of 3,218
The low point on the 846 impedance sweep is 4ohm.  Yes output impedance of the amplifier matters... a lot =)
 
May 3, 2014 at 3:08 PM Post #2,927 of 3,218
  the retina macbook pro has incredibly high output impedance, I remember plugging in multi-ba's into mine and it would get really muddy and dark, I'm surprised it made the SE846 sound natural to you
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That is weird. I don't hear a big bass boost. What is the output impedance of the 15" Retina Macbook Pro (2013, Haswell version)? The bass is a little bit stronger in comparison to the iPhone 5S, but not alot.
 
May 3, 2014 at 3:51 PM Post #2,928 of 3,218
That is weird. I don't hear a big bass boost. What is the output impedance of the 15" Retina Macbook Pro (2013, Haswell version)? The bass is a little bit stronger in comparison to the iPhone 5S, but not alot.


Tech specs just say <24ohms, so probably somewhere in lower 20s to high teens, which is quite high for the sensitive se846.
 
May 3, 2014 at 4:18 PM Post #2,930 of 3,218
Tech specs just say <24ohms, so probably somewhere in lower 20s to high teens, which is quite high for the sensitive se846.

 
Do you got a link for that? I could only find a website from 2012 which used as source some post from 2009 from the apple site (so it's not reliable info). Btw,  Apple changed the headphone output for the 2013 Haswell Retina Macbook Pro as it's now part of the Logic board. If you have the older 2012 Ivy Bridge Retina Macbook pro, that could explain why it sounds dark and muddy? 
 
May 3, 2014 at 4:30 PM Post #2,931 of 3,218
  Looks like the impedance of 846 is way less than the jack.  This can't be good.  
 

 
I think his numbers are off. The iPhone 5S has an impedance of 2.30 ohms and the Shure SE846 sounds the same on both my 2013 15" Retina Macbook and iPhone 5S, unlike my Apogee One which turns the Shure SE846 into bass monsters. I can safely say that the output impedance of my 2013 15" Retina Macbook Pro is nowhere near 20 ohms, more closer to 5 ohms I'd say.
 
May 3, 2014 at 4:51 PM Post #2,933 of 3,218
  They're right and verified by other measurement sites.

Do you got a link perhaps for the 15" Haswell Retina Macbook pro since I"m quite sceptical about it. I would expect it to sound bassy and muddy if it has 20 ohm impedance and not sound like my iPhone 5S that has 2,30 ohms :)
 
Or maybe I won the headphone output lottery if Apple uses multiple manufactures (such as with display and SSD's for example)
 
May 3, 2014 at 5:00 PM Post #2,934 of 3,218
Even with something as high as 20ohm it's a 9dB variance from sub bass to low treble.  Which would make it a Westone UM3X :p
 
May 3, 2014 at 5:00 PM Post #2,935 of 3,218
Do you got a link perhaps for the 15" Haswell Retina Macbook pro since I"m quite sceptical about it. I would expect it to sound bassy and muddy if it has 20 ohm impedance and not sound like my iPhone 5S that has 2,30 ohms :)

Or maybe I won the headphone output lottery if Apple uses multiple manufactures (such as with display and SSD's for example)

Oh, you have haswell retina. Then I am not sure about haswell. At least for ivy bridge retina the output impedance is indeed very high.
 
May 3, 2014 at 5:04 PM Post #2,936 of 3,218
  Even with something as high as 20ohm it's a 9dB variance from sub bass to low treble.  Which would make it a Westone UM3X :p

Well, the Shure SE846 sounds the same on my Haswell Retina Macbook Pro as with the iPhone 5S. So it doesn't sound like a Westone UM3X. :)
 
May 3, 2014 at 7:34 PM Post #2,937 of 3,218
  Well, the Shure SE846 sounds the same on my Haswell Retina Macbook Pro as with the iPhone 5S. So it doesn't sound like a Westone UM3X. :)

I have Haswell Retina Macbook Pro as well, it sound just you said, balanced, not dark. Also there is a lot of headroom for the headphone output with SE846
 
May 3, 2014 at 7:48 PM Post #2,938 of 3,218
The reason I was asking how SE846 source dependent earlier was I have read about the DACport DAC/headamp that everyone suggested the 1 Ohm mod. OK, I went got the 1 Ohm version, I found it dose improve the sound overall from compare to headphone out of my Macbook. The HP out of newer Macbook is decent actually. Only problem I have now is this setup is little bright. I feel the tonal balance is tilt toward to treble a little bit. The mid bass hump is not exsting (good or bad, I don't know yet). I wish the bass can be little more in quantity. I email the CEntrance, Theycan custom mak any inpediance between 1 to 10 Ohm maybe more. Have these choices on hand. I am here to asking suggestions. Thanks.
 

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