[YugiRider2]

Just received my SE846 - waiting on the Linum cable; I know it doesn't sound great but ergonomics are more important to me. First impressions: fits well, relatively comfortable and decent sound. They isolate a lot more sound than most other IEMs and have a very secure fit. When I tried the other "higher end" IEMs, I was shocked at how incredibly large they were. I could not fit the Roxanne into my ears and even the K10 was too big... I wonder how people can wear those for so long when they are so large.... They just wanted to fall out. The Westone's fit perfectly, and I was surprised that those more expensive IEMs had such glaring issues. Probably just because I'm not an IEM guy. To be honest the SINE sounds better than any IEM I have tried but you sacrifice portability and comfort. I'd rather have something portable for portable use rather than have something bulky and sweaty.

 

[Biswajit]

  Just received my SE846 - waiting on the Linum cable; I know it doesn't sound great but ergonomics are more important to me. First impressions: fits well, relatively comfortable and decent sound. They isolate a lot more sound than most other IEMs and have a very secure fit. When I tried the other "higher end" IEMs, I was shocked at how incredibly large they were. I could not fit the Roxanne into my ears and even the K10 was too big... I wonder how people can wear those for so long when they are so large.... They just wanted to fall out. The Westone's fit perfectly, and I was surprised that those more expensive IEMs had such glaring issues. Probably just because I'm not an IEM guy. To be honest the SINE sounds better than any IEM I have tried but you sacrifice portability and comfort. I'd rather have something portable for portable use rather than have something bulky and sweaty.

My 846s are also arriving within 3 days, this will be my first high end iem, i have ie80 right now. High end UIEMS are very huge, may be you should try to get them custom made, in that way they would fit better i guess. Anyways, i dont have much of bank balance right now, so i urge fellow headfiers to suggest me with a pretty decent amp for the 846s (I prefer a little brighter sound not too harsh of course), a good budget one, currently i only have the 6s plus as source, i was thinking about the fiio e12A. Please let me know of other options.
 
Thanks.

 

[Biswajit]

Guys, can you let me know one more thing, while going through the thread i found that the 846s can be modded as well, just wanted to know if removing the foam from blue filters causes a significant change of sound (better ofcourse), also will the filter wouldn't get damaged in long run if the foam is taken out, please let me know your opinions.
 
Thanks.

 

[Dorje Chenmo]

846 (stock blue/white tubes) vs W60 vs M-Audio IE40 (a tweaked and rebadged UE TripleFi)
 
I bought a W60. Its faceplate cracked in two days. I sent it back and got an 846. It's a happy accident that the W60 broke. I like the 846 much better. I was lucky enough to try both, so I thought I'd try to compare them. So here's what I thought:
 
Soundstage:
W60 - OK width. Not very deep. The vocalist sometimes felt too close, sort of vaguely placed. I couldn't quite pin down the instruments in space. It didn't feel like there was a band in the room. But very airy. Good instrument separation.
846 - Wider and deeper. More natural consistent instrument placement, like they were in the room. Excellent instrument separation. 
 
Percussion:
W60 - Cymbals are clear and shimmering and distinct, not harsh. So detailed I swear I could hear the individual thingies in a tambourine, the texture of the skin on the drum. Awesome for piano (which is a percussive instrument, I think?). I never cared for Elton John before, but on these his piano playing sounds awesome, wrenching. Good crisp bass drum.
846 - with stock blue tips: Cymbals are kind of a splat. It's not unpleasant, but in comparison... The high end rolls off so much you don't get the details. Lower pitched percussion - blocks, hand claps - are handled beautifully. Drums aren't bad, but they're better on the W60. Piano isn't riveting.
846 - with white tips: much, much better than blue tips for percussion. 
 
Vocals:
W60 - I wasn't impressed. I thought these were supposed to be good for female voices, but kd lang sounded blah. Not much of an improvement over my triplefi's. Some women sounded great - Shirley Caesar, Patty Loveless - just not as many as I would have expected. Men not as good. Chanticleer doing renaissance a capella was blah. 
846 blue tips - Spectacular. Warm, detailed, realistic. Good separation, placement. Great on harmonies. I think Shure tunes for vocals - their warm signature sound. 
846 white tips - You sacrifice a little bit of warmth for tons more detail. I strongly prefer it.
 
Guitar:
W60 - Not much of an improvement over the triplefis.
846 blue tips- Rich, detailed, warm. Noticeable improvement.
846 white tips - Even more detail.
 
Bass:
W60 - Better detail
846 blue tips - Goes lower, more ummph when needed, murkier
846 white tips - Same, just eq'd down a little bit.
 
Synths:
W60 - meh
846 blue tips - much better, more alive, good 3D effect
846 white tips - even better. More detail
 
Brass:
W60 - sax sounded great
846 blue tips - horns sounded great
846 white tips - now sax sounds amazing
 
Styles of music that I think would work best:
W60 - piano, orchestral, orchestrated pop, jazz
846 - rock (prog rock, neo-psychedelic, country rock...), synths, country, bluegrass (banjo is probably better on the W60s), dance music, gospel
 
Improvement over my old triplefi's (an old $400 three BA iem)
W60 - I heard new details in surprisingly few songs. Hugely disappointed at how flat Pink Floyd and the Dandy Warhols sounded. So little of my favorite music sounded better I wasn't sure the improvement was worth the $600. (If I preferred piano music, it would be different.)
846 - Lots of new detail across genres. Finally figured out what some lyrics were! (Very clear vocals) So much more detail it was definitely worth the upgrade.
 
Comfort/build:
W60 - Very small, light, and comfortable. Better for small ears. Will the all-plastic build last over time?
846 - Fits me comfortably, but I'm 6'2". Sturdy. Metal nozzle. I like it fine.
 
Edit: I switched to white tips. What a HUGE improvement - for my tastes. Big improvement of instrument detail and separation - which is my favorite thing. A little less bass, a little less warmth, but worth the trade-off... for me.
 
I'm wandering around the apartment listening to the first Roxy Music album (with Eno), which I have played to death and tired of, and it's like hearing it for the first time. The white tips make such a difference. 

 

[Whazzzup]

Guys, can you let me know one more thing, while going through the thread i found that the 846s can be modded as well, just wanted to know if removing the foam from blue filters causes a significant change of sound (better ofcourse), also will the filter wouldn't get damaged in long run if the foam is taken out, please let me know your opinions.

Thanks.

This depends on your entire rig chain and ears concerning preference, for me the mod didn't work, but might try again one year.
Concerning damaging the foamies, it's not possible. Stuffing them back in if you don't like them removed might not be in the same location as removed, but does not seem to make a difference. Use a white plate to do the removal over, losing a foamy while over a rug, can be problematic.

 

[Oldfella]

  846 (stock blue tubes) vs W60 vs M-Audio IE40 (a tweaked and rebadged UE TripleFi)
 
I bought a W60. Its faceplate cracked in two days. I sent it back and got an 846. It's a happy accident that the W60 broke. I like the 846 much better. I was lucky enough to try both, so I thought I'd try to compare them. So here's what I thought:
 
Soundstage:
W60 - OK width. Not very deep. The vocalist sometimes felt too close, sort of vaguely placed. I couldn't quite pin down the instruments in space. It didn't feel like there was a band in the room. But very airy. 
846 - Wider and deeper. More natural consistent instrument placement, like they were in the room,  
 
Percussion:
W60 - Cymbals are clear and shimmering and distinct, not harsh. So detailed I swear I could hear the individual thingies in a tambourine, the texture of the skin on the drum. Awesome for piano (which is a percussive instrument, I think?). I never cared for Elton John before, but on these his piano playing sounds awesome, wrenching. Good crisp bass drum.
846 - Cymbals are kind of a splat. It's not unpleasant, but in comparison... The high end rolls off so much you don't get the details. Lower pitched percussion - blocks, hand claps - are handled beautifully. Drums aren't bad, but they're better on the W60. Piano isn't riveting.
 
Vocals:
W60 - I wasn't impressed. I thought these were supposed to be good for female voices, but kd lang sounded blah. Not much of an improvement over my triplefi's. Some women sounded great - Shirley Caesar, Patty Loveless - just not as many as I would have expected. Men not as good. Chanticleer doing renaissance a capella was blah. 
846 - Spectacular. Warm, detailed, realistic. Good separation, placement. Great on harmonies. I think Shure tunes for vocals - their warm signature sound. 
 
Guitar:
W60 - Not much of an improvement over the triplefis.
846 - Rich, detailed, warm. Noticeable improvement. The Shure sound is good for guitars, too.
 
Bass:
W60 - Better detail
846 - Goes lower, more ummph when needed, murkier
 
Synths:
W60 - meh
846 - much better, more alive, good 3D effect
 
Brass:
W60 - sax sounded great
846 - horns sounded great
 
Styles of music that I think would work best:
W60 - piano, orchestral, orchestrated pop, jazz
846 - rock (prog rock, neo-psychedelic, country rock...), synths, country, bluegrass (banjo is probably better on the W60s), dance music, gospel
 
Improvement over my old triplefi's (an old $400 three BA iem)
W60 - I heard new details in surprisingly few songs. Hugely disappointed at how flat Pink Floyd and the Dandy Warhols sounded. So little of my favorite music sounded better I wasn't sure the improvement was worth the $600. (If I preferred piano music, it would be different.)
846 - Lots of new detail across genres. Finally figured out what some lyrics were! (Very clear vocals) So much more detail it was definitely worth the upgrade.
 
Comfort/build:
W60 - Very small, light, and comfortable. Better for small ears. Will the all-plastic build last over time?
846 - Fits me comfortably, but I'm 6'2". Sturdy. Metal nozzle. I like it fine.
 
Hope this helps.

A very fair assessment.I agree with about 60%of it. I do think there are many variables,depending onAmp/Dac/Cables etc. I am keeping the 846,and the W60. Overall, i prefer the W60, with my small ears,its a perfect fit.

 

[Xcalibermj]

Recently acquired my 846. Coming from a ue900 and rhat20i, clear improvement. I'm listening to flacs out of fiio x7. Sounds incredible at very low volumes. Even without burn in it sounds great. Not yet tried filters. Will give it a good listen with stock before tip rolling and filter swapping.

 

[WhatToChoose]

846 (stock blue tubes) vs W60 vs M-Audio IE40 (a tweaked and rebadged UE TripleFi)

I bought a W60. Its faceplate cracked in two days. I sent it back and got an 846. It's a happy accident that the W60 broke. I like the 846 much better. I was lucky enough to try both, so I thought I'd try to compare them. So here's what I thought:

Soundstage:
W60 - OK width. Not very deep. The vocalist sometimes felt too close, sort of vaguely placed. I couldn't quite pin down the instruments in space. It didn't feel like there was a band in the room. But very airy. 
846 - Wider and deeper. More natural consistent instrument placement, like they were in the room,  

Percussion:
W60 - Cymbals are clear and shimmering and distinct, not harsh. So detailed I swear I could hear the individual thingies in a tambourine, the texture of the skin on the drum. Awesome for piano (which is a percussive instrument, I think?). I never cared for Elton John before, but on these his piano playing sounds awesome, wrenching. Good crisp bass drum.
846 - Cymbals are kind of a splat. It's not unpleasant, but in comparison... The high end rolls off so much you don't get the details. Lower pitched percussion - blocks, hand claps - are handled beautifully. Drums aren't bad, but they're better on the W60. Piano isn't riveting.

Vocals:
W60 - I wasn't impressed. I thought these were supposed to be good for female voices, but kd lang sounded blah. Not much of an improvement over my triplefi's. Some women sounded great - Shirley Caesar, Patty Loveless - just not as many as I would have expected. Men not as good. Chanticleer doing renaissance a capella was blah. 
846 - Spectacular. Warm, detailed, realistic. Good separation, placement. Great on harmonies. I think Shure tunes for vocals - their warm signature sound. 

Guitar:
W60 - Not much of an improvement over the triplefis.
846 - Rich, detailed, warm. Noticeable improvement. The Shure sound is good for guitars, too.

Bass:
W60 - Better detail
846 - Goes lower, more ummph when needed, murkier

Synths:
W60 - meh
846 - much better, more alive, good 3D effect

Brass:
W60 - sax sounded great
846 - horns sounded great

Styles of music that I think would work best:
W60 - piano, orchestral, orchestrated pop, jazz
846 - rock (prog rock, neo-psychedelic, country rock...), synths, country, bluegrass (banjo is probably better on the W60s), dance music, gospel

Improvement over my old triplefi's (an old $400 three BA iem)
W60 - I heard new details in surprisingly few songs. Hugely disappointed at how flat Pink Floyd and the Dandy Warhols sounded. So little of my favorite music sounded better I wasn't sure the improvement was worth the $600. (If I preferred piano music, it would be different.)
846 - Lots of new detail across genres. Finally figured out what some lyrics were! (Very clear vocals) So much more detail it was definitely worth the upgrade.

Comfort/build:
W60 - Very small, light, and comfortable. Better for small ears. Will the all-plastic build last over time?
846 - Fits me comfortably, but I'm 6'2". Sturdy. Metal nozzle. I like it fine.

Hope this helps.

Nice comparison. Somehow, that description of the W60 doesn't surprise me in the slightest, I have never been impressed by Westone

 

[kino lau]

  846 (stock blue tubes) vs W60 vs M-Audio IE40 (a tweaked and rebadged UE TripleFi)
 
Hope this helps.

 
I agree with your comments about the 846 with the stock Blue inserts. The fortunate part is that there are so many ways to tweak the sound to fill your desires.

 

[elfary]

  846 (stock blue tubes) vs W60 vs M-Audio IE40 (a tweaked and rebadged UE TripleFi)
 
I bought a W60. Its faceplate cracked in two days. I sent it back and got an 846. It's a happy accident that the W60 broke. I like the 846 much better. I was lucky enough to try both, so I thought I'd try to compare them. So here's what I thought:
 
Soundstage:
W60 - OK width. Not very deep. The vocalist sometimes felt too close, sort of vaguely placed. I couldn't quite pin down the instruments in space. It didn't feel like there was a band in the room. But very airy. 
846 - Wider and deeper. More natural consistent instrument placement, like they were in the room,  
 
Percussion:
W60 - Cymbals are clear and shimmering and distinct, not harsh. So detailed I swear I could hear the individual thingies in a tambourine, the texture of the skin on the drum. Awesome for piano (which is a percussive instrument, I think?). I never cared for Elton John before, but on these his piano playing sounds awesome, wrenching. Good crisp bass drum.
846 - Cymbals are kind of a splat. It's not unpleasant, but in comparison... The high end rolls off so much you don't get the details. Lower pitched percussion - blocks, hand claps - are handled beautifully. Drums aren't bad, but they're better on the W60. Piano isn't riveting.
 
Vocals:
W60 - I wasn't impressed. I thought these were supposed to be good for female voices, but kd lang sounded blah. Not much of an improvement over my triplefi's. Some women sounded great - Shirley Caesar, Patty Loveless - just not as many as I would have expected. Men not as good. Chanticleer doing renaissance a capella was blah. 
846 - Spectacular. Warm, detailed, realistic. Good separation, placement. Great on harmonies. I think Shure tunes for vocals - their warm signature sound. 
 
Guitar:
W60 - Not much of an improvement over the triplefis.
846 - Rich, detailed, warm. Noticeable improvement. The Shure sound is good for guitars, too.
 
Bass:
W60 - Better detail
846 - Goes lower, more ummph when needed, murkier
 
Synths:
W60 - meh
846 - much better, more alive, good 3D effect
 
Brass:
W60 - sax sounded great
846 - horns sounded great
 
Styles of music that I think would work best:
W60 - piano, orchestral, orchestrated pop, jazz
846 - rock (prog rock, neo-psychedelic, country rock...), synths, country, bluegrass (banjo is probably better on the W60s), dance music, gospel
 
Improvement over my old triplefi's (an old $400 three BA iem)
W60 - I heard new details in surprisingly few songs. Hugely disappointed at how flat Pink Floyd and the Dandy Warhols sounded. So little of my favorite music sounded better I wasn't sure the improvement was worth the $600. (If I preferred piano music, it would be different.)
846 - Lots of new detail across genres. Finally figured out what some lyrics were! (Very clear vocals) So much more detail it was definitely worth the upgrade.
 
Comfort/build:
W60 - Very small, light, and comfortable. Better for small ears. Will the all-plastic build last over time?
846 - Fits me comfortably, but I'm 6'2". Sturdy. Metal nozzle. I like it fine.
 
Hope this helps.

 
Nice comparison!
 
Basically, you think that mids are better in Shure (Which i concur with) so pretty much everything save for cymbals and hi hats sizzle sound better on the SE846s.
 
Westone house sound strives for analog warmth and smooth signature where Shure puts the chips into the mids (an in case of SE846s with a real subwoofer).
 
I can enjoy both approaches but owning a W30s and SE846s i can attest that it's quite a departure switching between Westone and Shure.

 

[Dorje Chenmo]

   
Nice comparison!
 
Basically, you think that mids are better in Shure (Which i concur with) so pretty much everything save for cymbals and hi hats sizzle sound better on the SE846s.
 
Westone house sound strives for analog warmth and smooth signature where Shure puts the chips into the mids (an in case of SE846s with a real subwoofer).
 
I can enjoy both approaches but owning a W30s and SE846s i can attest that it's quite a departure switching between Westone and Shure.

Thanks. Yeah, cymbals and most percussion - I swear I could hear the texture of the skin on the hand drums. And piano. I would have figured that would be a mid-range instrument, but I guess it's the overtones and the strike of the hammer against the strings that make it benefit from the high end so much. The expression is in the high end.
 
I'm not clear on why orchestration sounds better on the W60s. I guess the high end helps separate out the instruments? Like the rasp of a cello is high frequeny? Not my favorite style of music, though. I tune into vocals and guitars, which is why the 846 is a better fit for me.
 
If I still had the W60s I'd try bumping up the mid-range EQ to see what that does, to see if it's just an EQ thing. I'll have to try bumping the high end on the 846s with the white tube and see if that makes a difference. I hope I'm wrong, but I've read there's not much detail there to bump up.

 

[talan7]

I get no hiss using the Sony PHA-3 in normal operation. I can force it to hiss by switching to high gain mode and turning the volume up 3/4 of the way. But you'd never use it like that; you will go deaf and will likely damage the SE846. On high gain, the PHA-3 easily powers inefficient headphones like the Alpha Prime. The volume never even gets past 1/2 on LOW gain without it getting too loud on the 846.

As a bonus, when I'm using the PHA-3, I can listen to it in balanced mode.

I use my 846 with the Pioneer XDP100R and have no hiss whatsoever. I also use it with my Pioneer XPA700 amp, balanced and unbalanced with no hiss.

 

[talan7]

  Thanks. Yeah, cymbals and most percussion - I swear I could hear the texture of the skin on the hand drums. And piano. I would have figured that would be a mid-range instrument, but I guess it's the overtones and the strike of the hammer against the strings that make it benefit from the high end so much. The expression is in the high end.
 
I'm not clear on why orchestration sounds better on the W60s. I guess the high end helps separate out the instruments? Like the rasp of a cello is high frequeny? Not my favorite style of music, though. I tune into vocals and guitars, which is why the 846 is a better fit for me.
 
If I still had the W60s I'd try bumping up the mid-range EQ to see what that does, to see if it's just an EQ thing. I'll have to try bumping the high end on the 846s with the white tube and see if that makes a difference. I hope I'm wrong, but I've read there's not much detail there to bump up.

I just switched to black filter from white on my 846 and I'm probably going to switch back to white. The bass with the black filter is tremendous but I wonder, do I need that much. It still has detail but I feel like it's missing something up top. I want to give the black filter at least a week and then I'll switch between white and blue again to hopefully settle. What I want is black bass but white treble. Is there any mod for that? Blue is too close to black in the treble and white in the bass. They need a gray filter.

 

[Prometeia]

The LG b&o play amp / dac sounds fantastic for the money, I too own the ie80 and se846.

 

[talan7]

Does taking the black foam out of the black filter add more treble? I believe the foam lessens the treble as the white filter doesn't have the black foam.