[Mr Makarov]

So there is no a noticeably big leap in SQ between X5 and X7?!?  I wanted to upgrade my DAP (Walkman F) some time ago and bought the X5 and was caught by surprise by its inferior SQ compared to Walkman, it wasn't even a side-grade but downgrade. I expected clearer and cleaner sound and it wasn't, detail retrieval was also not as good, bass is the weirdest thing about X5 (I don't know how to describe it properly but its like something important is missing, also in my opinion its lacks definition and a little bit of control) it sound unrefined and "raw". Only vocals and soundstage is better on X5 (marginally). Another somewhat shocking discovery was that that damn Walkman drives HD700 noticeably better than X5 (but need almost full volume). The good thing also is that X5 has a black background which is very good for sensitive IEMs, my SE846 hisses a bit with Walkman but it is dead silent on X5 even at High gain and max vol (to test for hiss).
I really want to upgrade my DAP but probably it wont be easy nor soon nor FiiO. (any recommendations are welcome)
 
Note: just compared the two (all flat) so I wrote this not from memory, and the same conclusions

 

[csglinux]

  So there is no a noticeably big leap in SQ between X5 and X7?!?  I wanted to upgrade my DAP (Walkman F) some time ago and bought the X5 and was caught by surprise by its inferior SQ compared to Walkman, it wasn't even a side-grade but downgrade. I expected clearer and cleaner sound and it wasn't, detail retrieval was also not as good, bass is the weirdest thing about X5 (I don't know how to describe it properly but its like something important is missing, also in my opinion its lacks definition and a little bit of control) it sound unrefined and "raw". Only vocals and soundstage is better on X5 (marginally). Another somewhat shocking discovery was that that damn Walkman drives HD700 noticeably better than X5 (but need almost full volume). The good thing also is that X5 has a black background which is very good for sensitive IEMs, my SE846 hisses a bit with Walkman but it is dead silent on X5 even at High gain and max vol (to test for hiss).
I really want to upgrade my DAP but probably it wont be easy nor soon nor FiiO. (any recommendations are welcome)
 
Note: just compared the two (all flat) so I wrote this not from memory, and the same conclusions

We should probably clarify what comparison to make here. Are you talking about the X5 or the X5ii? Also, the X7 has a variety of amp modules, including some that put out way more juice than the X5ii. I'm not even sure if there's a standard, as the "standard edition" X7 comes with no amp module.

 

[pinoyman]

i have demoed the 846, and i find the sound to be lacking in treble... its missing some air. the bass slams is too hard for my ears.
and the mids is somewhat off.  
glad i have the earsonics velvets to compare. and i find it more balanced sounding for any genre than the 846.
i thought being famous makes it a good buy... glad i have the chance to demo it first. 

 

[Mr Makarov]

  We should probably clarify what comparison to make here. Are you talking about the X5 or the X5ii? Also, the X7 has a variety of amp modules, including some that put out way more juice than the X5ii. I'm not even sure if there's a standard, as the "standard edition" X7 comes with no amp module.

You´re right! sorry I did not mentioned that I was talking about X5 1st gen. And to be honest, after X5 (1st gen) and what I read about X5ii I was convinced that purchasing 2nd gen would be a big mistake (here it goes for $389 from official FiiO online store) since SQ seem to be almost the same. Now about Fiio X7, here it costs 680 dollars (standard edition, other seller) and as for now there is no way to get any amp module. I have no doubts that X7 should be better, better SQ, more versatile, user-friendly, etc than X5/X5ii but here´s the thing - for me it is not worth its price. I know it is FiiO and its supposed to be the best bang for the buck but so far it was the other way around. On the other hand, I got the Walkman new sealed for $120 (dirt cheap, sometimes Sony sells super cheap for some reason) and here Sony is cheaper than FiiO offerings... The problem is not FiiO DAP but how it compares in terms of price/performance in my particular case. It is easier to get Walkman ZX1 than FiiO X7  and cheaper too. My fear is to get overpriced X7 to only find that it does not sound good for the price (no matter how much juice it can put out with amp modules).

 

[moedawg140]

  i have demoed the 846, and i find the sound to be lacking in treble... its missing some air. the bass slams is too hard for my ears.
and the mids is somewhat off.  
glad i have the earsonics velvets to compare. and i find it more balanced sounding for any genre than the 846.
i thought being famous makes it a good buy... glad i have the chance to demo it first. 

 
Which nozzle insert(s)/filter(s) did you use while listening to the SE846?
 
Did you try all three colored nozzle inserts/filters (white, blue and black)?

 

[Mr Makarov]

  i have demoed the 846, and i find the sound to be lacking in treble... its missing some air. the bass slams is too hard for my ears.
and the mids is somewhat off.  
glad i have the earsonics velvets to compare. and i find it more balanced sounding for any genre than the 846.
i thought being famous makes it a good buy... glad i have the chance to demo it first. 

I had similar first impressions except I liked mids a lot. First thing I noticed is that soundstage is not very wide and treble rolls off noticeably, so it was like bass+mids+no soundstage (coming from HD700), they sounded good but not $1k good, I was even convinced that they sounded worse than Denon AH-D600 (less clear, less treble). Glad I kept them. After changing nozzle filters I settled on modded blues and SE535 cable which for some reason is less bassy resulting in more clarity. Also after some time I realized that the soundstage is pretty decent, not because of width but due to its depth and that imaging is pretty amazing resulting in narrow but deep soundstage where everything is in its place and (to me) sounds just right and natural. After that I started to notice that my other headphones did not sounded right in one or more areas, some has more treble extension, air but thin and synthetic treble, messy imaging and separation, unnatural vocals, hollow sound, bloated bass, etc. I like the SE846 very much for reasons I mentioned but I was still wanting more treble/bigger soundstage and that was covered later by ie800 but then again they´re not perfect - soundstage is very wide but shallow, almost flat (very evident when comparing to se846). I have not heard Earsonic Velvet so can not comment on that, but one thing is probably for sure - if you like (or are used to) sound signature with well extended treble and wide soundstage - SE846 will not impress at all and can even disappoint at first listen (with default nozzle filters, cable, inadequate ear tips).

 

[jirams]

SE535 uses same cable as SE846

 

[Mr Makarov]

Sure it is same type of cable, and made by Shure etc. Close inspection will only reveal that the headphone jack of SE846 cable has an elongation/extension, don´t know how exact words. I was changing the cables between SE846 and SE535 (had them for years) just out of curiosity and then I was "what the? why SE846 now has less bass?" at the same tie SE535 sounded a little bit muddy and with a little bit more bass after changing cables. Now I must say that I am not one of those who believes or defends cables and how they change sound, I believe what I hear. So for me there was a slight but noticeable difference, also I had to double check it and 2 persons also noticed that when we did this little experiment (same with SE425 cable). Furthermore if you search in Amazon for the se846 cable reviews you will notice that from first 8 reviews that Amazon shows the last two are talking about their experience with the cable after buying it for SE535 and reported bass boost and in one case muddled sound:
 
"First impressions on my se535 jpn Ltd. *will update *
Not sure if it was just me, but from the stock cables, I experienced a massive boost in bass, which is strange, because they're cables. Maybe the sound will change if they're burned in etc, but it magnifies the white noise in the background of music playing from my phone, the sound seems a lot harsher and less round, but duller at the same time. I like the aesthetics and the fact that I can listen to these with my phone case on but it just doesn't sound up to par. Will probably replace whenever I get around to it, I'll wait to see if the sound gets any better though."
 
"sound very muddled sending them back...my recommendation ....its a no go"
 
"The good: I can say the sound quality is a little bit better than the stock cable. The lower end bass seems to kick in a little bit more.

The bad: The cable is definitely thinner, and less bulkier than the stock cable. So expect this cable to be able to take less of a beating. I bought these in July '15. 3 months into it, my left ear is going out already. I suspect it's because it's just simply less durable. All my other cables for the same IEM last from a year to two. I won't be buying these again."
 
Seems like I am not the only person on the planet who thinks that there is a noticeable (small but noticeable) difference, but who knows perhaps we are all insane and inventing things.

 

[jirams]

Close comparison of the cables on my 535s and 846s reveals absolutely no difference.  If you buy Shure replacement for either, there is no difference offered.
 
My examples were both purchased this year and have 2015 date codes of manuf.

 

[calpiyuki]

Anyone here paired up se846(with blue filters) with dragonfly red? I am using this setup right now and the se846s sound thin. Will try with black filters now.

 

[Mr Makarov]

 
Close comparison of the cables on my 535s and 846s reveals absolutely no difference.  If you buy Shure replacement for either, there is no difference offered.
 
My examples were both purchased this year and have 2015 date codes of manuf.

I have the old se535 cable (like from 2011) and its also more flexible than the new one from SE846.
Close inspection of the old and new cable will reveal this:

 
Also:
"EA64CLS: Detachable 64" clear cable with a silver-color, nickel-plated MMCX connection. Included with SE846-CL earphones"
"EAC64CL: Detachable 64" clear cable with gold-plated MMCX connection.
 
However, according to Shure:
"1) The nickel plating was chosen for the its appearance, hardness, durability, and superb conductivity.

2) Extensive engineering tests showed no audible differences between the nickel connectors and the gold connectors."
 
 I was 1000000000000% sure that they will sound exactly the same but I heard a noticeably but slight difference and shared my observations. This is weird because they´re supposed to sound the same (same materials, Shure says "no audible differences").  
 

 

[jirams]

The boss on the shaft of the newer plug is to allow reach into phone sockets buried in an outer case.

 

[Frederick Jones]

Entire range has the new jack-plug design now (SE215 and up)

 

[Frederick Jones]

Surprised to find even amazon reviews mentioning changed in bass.

I have always read that the SE535 benefits sonically from a different cable, but never really believed it (plus I like the stock cable), but maybe there is something in this...

 

[Samuel777]

Hi,
I'm looking for the best cable 2.5mm with Shure SE846 to be used with AK380. I have this one : linum Balanced 2.5 TRSSit was very excellent with AK120II. But the sound quality is not good with AK380.
Thanks in advanced for ur help
sam