Lol - what you doing with your Andro cable that it gets so tangled?
Shure SE846 Impressions Thread
- Thread starter jelt2359
- Start date
Lol - what you doing with your Andro cable that it gets so tangled?
geardoc
100+ Head-Fier
Just wrapping the Andro cable into a loop to put them in the case or shirt pocket. When the cable weighs the same as the IEMs, the loop does not tangle.
How do these fit for very small ears? I've just had ear impressions done and it turns out from the Westone line-up for customs I could at max get one with 3 BA drivers (ES30).
I'm now not sure if these would fit me (and can't find a local dealer to test). I'm not sure how much better it would sound than the ES30.
I'm now not sure if these would fit me (and can't find a local dealer to test). I'm not sure how much better it would sound than the ES30.
Are you able to try any of the Shure SE IEM line? I have the 846's 535's and 215's, to be honest they are fit about the same, but more drivers means they need to increase the size of the IEM. The 846's are only slightly larger, but it is noticeable.
I haven't been able to try them, unfortunately. Previously I had RHA T20i and those were ok in terms of comfort with comply tips. Larger than those in depth or width would be too large
However I then jumped to CA Andromeda and they have never been comfortable.
As such j started looking at alternatives with small nozzles. I thought of getting a Custom ES80 by Westone but they said they couldn't fit in all the drivers and still have it fit with my ear.
As such I started looking into smaller IEM brands and I ended up here with shure. I'll wait for my custom 3 BA driver from Westone and maybe that will do the trick just fine but I'm afraid I might miss the sound quality Andromeda had and thus still debating the shure option as a smaller but still great IEM for any genre. The 3 BA Westone are a bit known for recessed treble which will affect me when listening to classical music.
Oh well only one way to find out
geardoc
100+ Head-Fier
Me too, just waiting for Andromeda sound in an SE846 sized package. Without spending $2k!
Do they talk about the SE846 in the Andromeda thread as much as they talk about the Andromeda here?
Do all Andromeda fans lack confidence in their choice and as such try to get others to agree with them?
It's almost as bad as the kids that used to go on and on about the Clip+ being the top quality sound solution.
Do all Andromeda fans lack confidence in their choice and as such try to get others to agree with them?
It's almost as bad as the kids that used to go on and on about the Clip+ being the top quality sound solution.
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I want to push back a little on some recent Andromeda-related posts on this thread. I'm not quite sure why, but these types of comment seem to get posted here on a regular basis:
1) The SE846 is getting old.
2) Its treble rolls off.
3) There are better-sounding headphones out there.
4) You can buy a better pair of headphones for less than $300 these days.
5) The Andromeda is the gold-standard in audio, and we should all just move on from the obsolete SE846 and buy the Andromeda.
I agree with points 1-3. But let's put things in perspective:
1) Getting old only means obsolete if there's something newer which is better.
2) Yes, but that statement applies to every headphone ever made. The truth is, the treble on the SE846 rolls off perhaps(?) a little more than average with stock filters and long, narrow-bore foam tips; it rolls off much less than average with silicone tips and a free filter mod that takes less than a minute to do (the "Trishd" mod).
3) Those better-sounding headphones don't have the comfort, isolation and convenience of the SE846.
4) If this were true, I'd buy those <$300 headphones and then join in trolling the rest of you on this thread for continuing to be lame losers with your "obsolete" choice of the SE846
(No, actually, I wouldn't, but I would buy that magic sub-$300 pair of headphones, sell my SE846 and then tell you all about it.) I'm yet to find such a pair of headphones though.
5) Hmmmm... For those that don't know the Andromeda, let me highlight a few points before you lay down over $1000 for a downgrade in comfort, fit, isolation and possibly SQ too. The Andromeda is a fairly conventional multi-balanced armature IEM, which comes in a very unfortunately-shaped housing that digs into your ears. At least it does for me. These specific edges and this particular case screw are the main sources of discomfort for me:
But by suffering poor fit, poor isolation and outer-ear discomfort, at least we'll get vastly-improved sound quality, right? Well, frequency response is always subjective, so it's hard to know what any individual will prefer, but the usual claim that the Andromeda has much better treble extension is simply wrong. I think this myth has persisted because Andromeda has less sub-bass and less mid-range, so by comparison, its upper frequencies appear more prominent. But extension implies a later roll-off, and with most common SE846 eartip choices that isn't the case. Let's first look at the situation with different eartips (because that's really all you can change on the Andromeda). It's true that when comparing Andromeda with its stock Andro foam tips against SE846 with long, narrow-bore foam tips like P-series Comply, the foam kills more of the treble in the SE846 (you can click to enlarge any of these figures - also, unless otherwise stated, all measurements are averages of the L and R channels for each headphone and the SE846 have the Trishd-modded blue filters):
There's no ingenious design here in the Andromedas, it's just that they have much wider nozzles, so less of the wavefront gets attenuated by the foam:
The bores aren't quite as narrow on the SE846 when using most brands of silicone tip:
You pay a price for the wider nozzle on the Andromeda though - they don't easily and securely fit in your ears and their isolation isn't as good, because the walls of their foam tips are rather thin relative to any foam tip that would fit on the smaller-diameter nozzles of the SE846.
Now let's compare Andromeda with foam, silicone Cp155 SpinFits and silicone Spiral Dot tips:
As expected, there's more treble with silicone tips. The Spiral Dots don't isolate quite as well, which causes a slight tilt towards the upper register. So let's compare the Andromeda with tips that give the brightest FR measurements (Spiral Dots) to some other popular IEMs with silicone tips, including the SE846:
The Andromeda actually has the least amount of treble amplitude (y axis) up to 10 kHz of any of these headphones. The Andromeda's treble extension (x axis beyond 10 kHz) is nowhere near that of the KSE1500 and rolls off at almost exactly the same point as that of the SE846 with Trishd mod + Cp800 Spinfits. The Andromeda's FR is generally good, but if I have to be picky, it has a relatively heavy mid-bass. The absence of any proper low-pass filter (like that in the SE846) causes the low-end to bleed into the mids. Human ears need u-shaped sound signatures to match equal loudness over the audible spectrum, i.e., something that rises all the way into the sub-bass. A bloated mid-bass can often be a characteristic of cheap (and cheap-sounding) headphones. I guarantee you'll hear this effect on the Andromeda - it's not subtle. The Xelentos have a fairly chunky mid-bass too, but note how the low-end of every other headphone - apart from Andromeda - continues to rise into the sub-bass.
The Andromeda's THD is nothing special - it's pretty much what you'd expect from standard off-the-shelf balanced armature drivers:
Andromeda's impedance curve goes way lower than that of the SE846 at low frequencies, which, in turn, requires very tiny output impedances (based on the standard rule of 8) so as not to skew the frequency response:
I don't in any way consider this a design flaw, but its low impedance and high sensitivity does make the Andromeda a bit more picky about what's driving it. (Specs: Andromeda: 112.8 dB/mW; SE846: 114 dB/mW.)
I didn't write this post to bash Campfire Audio, but I'm left scratching my head at the spate of recent posts that rave about the Andromeda. People should be aware of what they're getting into if they're considering selling their SE846 just because it's "old". Andromeda is a good-sounding headphone, but IMHO, replacing the SE846 with an Andromeda could be an expensive mistake. If you've tried the Trishd mod with silicone tips on the SE846 and still want more treble, there are headphones out there that have better treble-extension than the SE846, but the Andromeda isn't one of them.
1) The SE846 is getting old.
2) Its treble rolls off.
3) There are better-sounding headphones out there.
4) You can buy a better pair of headphones for less than $300 these days.
5) The Andromeda is the gold-standard in audio, and we should all just move on from the obsolete SE846 and buy the Andromeda.
I agree with points 1-3. But let's put things in perspective:
1) Getting old only means obsolete if there's something newer which is better.
2) Yes, but that statement applies to every headphone ever made. The truth is, the treble on the SE846 rolls off perhaps(?) a little more than average with stock filters and long, narrow-bore foam tips; it rolls off much less than average with silicone tips and a free filter mod that takes less than a minute to do (the "Trishd" mod).
3) Those better-sounding headphones don't have the comfort, isolation and convenience of the SE846.
4) If this were true, I'd buy those <$300 headphones and then join in trolling the rest of you on this thread for continuing to be lame losers with your "obsolete" choice of the SE846
(No, actually, I wouldn't, but I would buy that magic sub-$300 pair of headphones, sell my SE846 and then tell you all about it.) I'm yet to find such a pair of headphones though.5) Hmmmm... For those that don't know the Andromeda, let me highlight a few points before you lay down over $1000 for a downgrade in comfort, fit, isolation and possibly SQ too. The Andromeda is a fairly conventional multi-balanced armature IEM, which comes in a very unfortunately-shaped housing that digs into your ears. At least it does for me. These specific edges and this particular case screw are the main sources of discomfort for me:
But by suffering poor fit, poor isolation and outer-ear discomfort, at least we'll get vastly-improved sound quality, right? Well, frequency response is always subjective, so it's hard to know what any individual will prefer, but the usual claim that the Andromeda has much better treble extension is simply wrong. I think this myth has persisted because Andromeda has less sub-bass and less mid-range, so by comparison, its upper frequencies appear more prominent. But extension implies a later roll-off, and with most common SE846 eartip choices that isn't the case. Let's first look at the situation with different eartips (because that's really all you can change on the Andromeda). It's true that when comparing Andromeda with its stock Andro foam tips against SE846 with long, narrow-bore foam tips like P-series Comply, the foam kills more of the treble in the SE846 (you can click to enlarge any of these figures - also, unless otherwise stated, all measurements are averages of the L and R channels for each headphone and the SE846 have the Trishd-modded blue filters):
There's no ingenious design here in the Andromedas, it's just that they have much wider nozzles, so less of the wavefront gets attenuated by the foam:
The bores aren't quite as narrow on the SE846 when using most brands of silicone tip:
You pay a price for the wider nozzle on the Andromeda though - they don't easily and securely fit in your ears and their isolation isn't as good, because the walls of their foam tips are rather thin relative to any foam tip that would fit on the smaller-diameter nozzles of the SE846.
Now let's compare Andromeda with foam, silicone Cp155 SpinFits and silicone Spiral Dot tips:
As expected, there's more treble with silicone tips. The Spiral Dots don't isolate quite as well, which causes a slight tilt towards the upper register. So let's compare the Andromeda with tips that give the brightest FR measurements (Spiral Dots) to some other popular IEMs with silicone tips, including the SE846:
The Andromeda actually has the least amount of treble amplitude (y axis) up to 10 kHz of any of these headphones. The Andromeda's treble extension (x axis beyond 10 kHz) is nowhere near that of the KSE1500 and rolls off at almost exactly the same point as that of the SE846 with Trishd mod + Cp800 Spinfits. The Andromeda's FR is generally good, but if I have to be picky, it has a relatively heavy mid-bass. The absence of any proper low-pass filter (like that in the SE846) causes the low-end to bleed into the mids. Human ears need u-shaped sound signatures to match equal loudness over the audible spectrum, i.e., something that rises all the way into the sub-bass. A bloated mid-bass can often be a characteristic of cheap (and cheap-sounding) headphones. I guarantee you'll hear this effect on the Andromeda - it's not subtle. The Xelentos have a fairly chunky mid-bass too, but note how the low-end of every other headphone - apart from Andromeda - continues to rise into the sub-bass.
The Andromeda's THD is nothing special - it's pretty much what you'd expect from standard off-the-shelf balanced armature drivers:
Andromeda's impedance curve goes way lower than that of the SE846 at low frequencies, which, in turn, requires very tiny output impedances (based on the standard rule of 8) so as not to skew the frequency response:
I don't in any way consider this a design flaw, but its low impedance and high sensitivity does make the Andromeda a bit more picky about what's driving it. (Specs: Andromeda: 112.8 dB/mW; SE846: 114 dB/mW.)
I didn't write this post to bash Campfire Audio, but I'm left scratching my head at the spate of recent posts that rave about the Andromeda. People should be aware of what they're getting into if they're considering selling their SE846 just because it's "old". Andromeda is a good-sounding headphone, but IMHO, replacing the SE846 with an Andromeda could be an expensive mistake. If you've tried the Trishd mod with silicone tips on the SE846 and still want more treble, there are headphones out there that have better treble-extension than the SE846, but the Andromeda isn't one of them.
No it doesn't. These measurements were supplied by Ken Ball on the Andromeda thread:
Volume-matching is always a little subjective when two headphones don't have the same FR, but mid-range is where most of the action is, and so normalizing at 1 kHz is a reasonable thing to do. Here's my attempt at that based on the previous graph. The S version is clearly less v-shaped - i.e., given the same mid-range volume setting, it has less bass and less treble than the standard version of the Andromeda:
Volume-matching is always a little subjective when two headphones don't have the same FR, but mid-range is where most of the action is, and so normalizing at 1 kHz is a reasonable thing to do. Here's my attempt at that based on the previous graph. The S version is clearly less v-shaped - i.e., given the same mid-range volume setting, it has less bass and less treble than the standard version of the Andromeda:
For those that are interested, the Andromeda I measured was an Andromeda version 2.0. Here's how you can tell them apart:
Measurements shown are all raw (uncompensated) using an IEC60318-4 compliant coupler. Details/procedures/equipment are described here:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/audio-measurements-on-a-headfi-budget.893084/
An important disclaimer on measurements: You should only ever use measurements to make relative comparisons from the same rig. In anticipation of comments like "your graphs suck", "your rig isn't professional/expensive enough", "these are inaccurate", "the Andromedas don't really measure like this", etc., etc., I have to point out that, yes, they do - at least within unit tolerance. Here are my measurements (individual left and right channels) compared with those supplied by Ken Ball from Campfire Audio:
Measurements shown are all raw (uncompensated) using an IEC60318-4 compliant coupler. Details/procedures/equipment are described here:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/audio-measurements-on-a-headfi-budget.893084/
An important disclaimer on measurements: You should only ever use measurements to make relative comparisons from the same rig. In anticipation of comments like "your graphs suck", "your rig isn't professional/expensive enough", "these are inaccurate", "the Andromedas don't really measure like this", etc., etc., I have to point out that, yes, they do - at least within unit tolerance. Here are my measurements (individual left and right channels) compared with those supplied by Ken Ball from Campfire Audio:
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Krutsch
Headphoneus Supremus
We've all seen a lot of this in Head-Fi and I wonder if it's what you suggest or if it's paid promoters.
Raketen
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
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- Posts
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Give me a Clip+ and a cMoy and I will move the earth!
AFAIK it's not uncommon for Andromeda users to prefer sources with a few ohms of output impedance for exactly this reason. In those conditions is the difference significant enough to alter your opinions here?
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I want to push back a little on some recent Andromeda-related posts on this thread. I'm not quite sure why, but these types of comment seem to get posted here on a regular basis:
1) The SE846 is getting old.
2) Its treble rolls off.
3) There are better-sounding headphones out there.
4) You can buy a better pair of headphones for less than $300 these days.
5) The Andromeda is the gold-standard in audio, and we should all just move on from the obsolete SE846 and buy the Andromeda.
I agree with points 1-3. But let's put things in perspective:
1) Getting old only means obsolete if there's something newer which is better.
2) Yes, but that statement applies to every headphone ever made. The truth is, the treble on the SE846 rolls off perhaps(?) a little more than average with stock filters and long, narrow-bore foam tips; it rolls off much less than average with silicone tips and a free filter mod that takes less than a minute to do (the "Trishd" mod).
3) Those better-sounding headphones don't have the comfort, isolation and convenience of the SE846.
4) If this were true, I'd buy those <$300 headphones and then join in trolling the rest of you on this thread for continuing to be lame losers with your "obsolete" choice of the SE846
5) Hmmmm... For those that don't know the Andromeda, let me highlight a few points before you lay down over $1000 for a downgrade in comfort, fit, isolation and possibly SQ too. The Andromeda is a fairly conventional multi-balanced armature IEM, which comes in a very unfortunately-shaped housing that digs into your ears. At least it does for me. These specific edges and this particular case screw are the main sources of discomfort for me:
But by suffering poor fit, poor isolation and outer-ear discomfort, at least we'll get vastly-improved sound quality, right? Well, frequency response is always subjective, so it's hard to know what any individual will prefer, but the usual claim that the Andromeda has much better treble extension is simply wrong. I think this myth has persisted because Andromeda has less sub-bass and less mid-range, so by comparison, its upper frequencies appear more prominent. But extension implies a later roll-off, and with most common SE846 eartip choices that isn't the case. Let's first look at the situation with different eartips (because that's really all you can change on the Andromeda). It's true that when comparing Andromeda with its stock Andro foam tips against SE846 with long, narrow-bore foam tips like P-series Comply, the foam kills more of the treble in the SE846 (you can click to enlarge any of these figures - also, unless otherwise stated, all measurements are averages of the L and R channels for each headphone and the SE846 have the Trishd-modded blue filters):
There's no ingenious design here in the Andromedas, it's just that they have much wider nozzles, so less of the wavefront gets attenuated by the foam:
The bores aren't quite as narrow on the SE846 when using most brands of silicone tip:
You pay a price for the wider nozzle on the Andromeda though - they don't easily and securely fit in your ears and their isolation isn't as good, because the walls of their foam tips are rather thin relative to any foam tip that would fit on the smaller-diameter nozzles of the SE846.
Now let's compare Andromeda with foam, silicone Cp155 SpinFits and silicone Spiral Dot tips:
As expected, there's more treble with silicone tips. The Spiral Dots don't isolate quite as well, which causes a slight tilt towards the upper register. So let's compare the Andromeda with tips that give the brightest FR measurements (Spiral Dots) to some other popular IEMs with silicone tips, including the SE846:
The Andromeda actually has the least amount of treble amplitude (y axis) up to 10 kHz of any of these headphones. The Andromeda's treble extension (x axis beyond 10 kHz) is nowhere near that of the KSE1500 and rolls off at almost exactly the same point as that of the SE846 with Trishd mod + Cp800 Spinfits. The Andromeda's FR is generally good, but if I have to be picky, it has a relatively heavy mid-bass. The absence of any proper low-pass filter (like that in the SE846) causes the low-end to bleed into the mids. Human ears need u-shaped sound signatures to match equal loudness over the audible spectrum, i.e., something that rises all the way into the sub-bass. A bloated mid-bass can often be a characteristic of cheap (and cheap-sounding) headphones. I guarantee you'll hear this effect on the Andromeda - it's not subtle. The Xelentos have a fairly chunky mid-bass too, but note how the low-end of every other headphone - apart from Andromeda - continues to rise into the sub-bass.
The Andromeda's THD is nothing special - it's pretty much what you'd expect from standard off-the-shelf balanced armature drivers:
Andromeda's impedance curve goes way lower than that of the SE846 at low frequencies, which, in turn, requires very tiny output impedances (based on the standard rule of 8) so as not to skew the frequency response:
I don't in any way consider this a design flaw, but its low impedance and high sensitivity does make the Andromeda a bit more picky about what's driving it. Andromeda being more sensitive than the SE846 means a direct A/B of the two without proper SPL matching would tend to favor the Andromeda. How many of you are careful about accurately SPL matching to within a fraction of a dB before doing your blind (obviously!) A/B testing? Honestly???
I didn't write this post to bash Campfire Audio, but I'm left scratching my head at the spate of recent posts that rave about the Andromeda. People should be aware of what they're getting into if they're considering selling their SE846 just because it's "old". Andromeda is a good-sounding headphone, but IMHO, replacing the SE846 with an Andromeda could be an expensive mistake. If you've tried the Trishd mod with silicone tips on the SE846 and still want more treble, there are headphones out there that have better treble-extension than the SE846, but the Andromeda isn't one of them.
No it doesn't. These measurements were supplied by Ken Ball on the Andromeda thread:
Volume-matching is always a little subjective when two headphones don't have the same FR, but mid-range is where most of the action is, and so normalizing at 1 kHz is a reasonable thing to do. Here's my attempt at that based on the previous graph. The S version is clearly less v-shaped - i.e., given the same mid-range volume setting, it has less bass and less treble than the standard version of the Andromeda:
For those that are interested, the Andromeda I measured was an Andromeda version 2.0. Here's how you can tell them apart:
Measurements shown are all raw (uncompensated) using an IEC60318-4 compliant coupler. Details/procedures/equipment are described here:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/audio-measurements-on-a-headfi-budget.893084/
An important disclaimer on measurements: You should only ever use measurements to make relative comparisons from the same rig. In anticipation of comments like "your graphs suck", "your rig isn't professional/expensive enough", "these are inaccurate", "the Andromedas don't really measure like this", etc., etc., I have to point out that, yes, they do - at least within unit tolerance. Here are my measurements (individual left and right channels) compared with those supplied by Ken Ball from Campfire Audio:
I want to push back a little on some recent Andromeda-related posts on this thread. I'm not quite sure why, but these types of comment seem to get posted here on a regular basis:
1) The SE846 is getting old.
2) Its treble rolls off.
3) There are better-sounding headphones out there.
4) You can buy a better pair of headphones for less than $300 these days.
5) The Andromeda is the gold-standard in audio, and we should all just move on from the obsolete SE846 and buy the Andromeda.
I agree with points 1-3. But let's put things in perspective:
1) Getting old only means obsolete if there's something newer which is better.
2) Yes, but that statement applies to every headphone ever made. The truth is, the treble on the SE846 rolls off perhaps(?) a little more than average with stock filters and long, narrow-bore foam tips; it rolls off much less than average with silicone tips and a free filter mod that takes less than a minute to do (the "Trishd" mod).
3) Those better-sounding headphones don't have the comfort, isolation and convenience of the SE846.
4) If this were true, I'd buy those <$300 headphones and then join in trolling the rest of you on this thread for continuing to be lame losers with your "obsolete" choice of the SE846
5) Hmmmm... For those that don't know the Andromeda, let me highlight a few points before you lay down over $1000 for a downgrade in comfort, fit, isolation and possibly SQ too. The Andromeda is a fairly conventional multi-balanced armature IEM, which comes in a very unfortunately-shaped housing that digs into your ears. At least it does for me. These specific edges and this particular case screw are the main sources of discomfort for me:
But by suffering poor fit, poor isolation and outer-ear discomfort, at least we'll get vastly-improved sound quality, right? Well, frequency response is always subjective, so it's hard to know what any individual will prefer, but the usual claim that the Andromeda has much better treble extension is simply wrong. I think this myth has persisted because Andromeda has less sub-bass and less mid-range, so by comparison, its upper frequencies appear more prominent. But extension implies a later roll-off, and with most common SE846 eartip choices that isn't the case. Let's first look at the situation with different eartips (because that's really all you can change on the Andromeda). It's true that when comparing Andromeda with its stock Andro foam tips against SE846 with long, narrow-bore foam tips like P-series Comply, the foam kills more of the treble in the SE846 (you can click to enlarge any of these figures - also, unless otherwise stated, all measurements are averages of the L and R channels for each headphone and the SE846 have the Trishd-modded blue filters):
There's no ingenious design here in the Andromedas, it's just that they have much wider nozzles, so less of the wavefront gets attenuated by the foam:
The bores aren't quite as narrow on the SE846 when using most brands of silicone tip:
You pay a price for the wider nozzle on the Andromeda though - they don't easily and securely fit in your ears and their isolation isn't as good, because the walls of their foam tips are rather thin relative to any foam tip that would fit on the smaller-diameter nozzles of the SE846.
Now let's compare Andromeda with foam, silicone Cp155 SpinFits and silicone Spiral Dot tips:
As expected, there's more treble with silicone tips. The Spiral Dots don't isolate quite as well, which causes a slight tilt towards the upper register. So let's compare the Andromeda with tips that give the brightest FR measurements (Spiral Dots) to some other popular IEMs with silicone tips, including the SE846:
The Andromeda actually has the least amount of treble amplitude (y axis) up to 10 kHz of any of these headphones. The Andromeda's treble extension (x axis beyond 10 kHz) is nowhere near that of the KSE1500 and rolls off at almost exactly the same point as that of the SE846 with Trishd mod + Cp800 Spinfits. The Andromeda's FR is generally good, but if I have to be picky, it has a relatively heavy mid-bass. The absence of any proper low-pass filter (like that in the SE846) causes the low-end to bleed into the mids. Human ears need u-shaped sound signatures to match equal loudness over the audible spectrum, i.e., something that rises all the way into the sub-bass. A bloated mid-bass can often be a characteristic of cheap (and cheap-sounding) headphones. I guarantee you'll hear this effect on the Andromeda - it's not subtle. The Xelentos have a fairly chunky mid-bass too, but note how the low-end of every other headphone - apart from Andromeda - continues to rise into the sub-bass.
The Andromeda's THD is nothing special - it's pretty much what you'd expect from standard off-the-shelf balanced armature drivers:
Andromeda's impedance curve goes way lower than that of the SE846 at low frequencies, which, in turn, requires very tiny output impedances (based on the standard rule of 8) so as not to skew the frequency response:
I don't in any way consider this a design flaw, but its low impedance and high sensitivity does make the Andromeda a bit more picky about what's driving it. Andromeda being more sensitive than the SE846 means a direct A/B of the two without proper SPL matching would tend to favor the Andromeda. How many of you are careful about accurately SPL matching to within a fraction of a dB before doing your blind (obviously!) A/B testing? Honestly???
I didn't write this post to bash Campfire Audio, but I'm left scratching my head at the spate of recent posts that rave about the Andromeda. People should be aware of what they're getting into if they're considering selling their SE846 just because it's "old". Andromeda is a good-sounding headphone, but IMHO, replacing the SE846 with an Andromeda could be an expensive mistake. If you've tried the Trishd mod with silicone tips on the SE846 and still want more treble, there are headphones out there that have better treble-extension than the SE846, but the Andromeda isn't one of them.
No it doesn't. These measurements were supplied by Ken Ball on the Andromeda thread:
Volume-matching is always a little subjective when two headphones don't have the same FR, but mid-range is where most of the action is, and so normalizing at 1 kHz is a reasonable thing to do. Here's my attempt at that based on the previous graph. The S version is clearly less v-shaped - i.e., given the same mid-range volume setting, it has less bass and less treble than the standard version of the Andromeda:
For those that are interested, the Andromeda I measured was an Andromeda version 2.0. Here's how you can tell them apart:
Measurements shown are all raw (uncompensated) using an IEC60318-4 compliant coupler. Details/procedures/equipment are described here:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/audio-measurements-on-a-headfi-budget.893084/
An important disclaimer on measurements: You should only ever use measurements to make relative comparisons from the same rig. In anticipation of comments like "your graphs suck", "your rig isn't professional/expensive enough", "these are inaccurate", "the Andromedas don't really measure like this", etc., etc., I have to point out that, yes, they do - at least within unit tolerance. Here are my measurements (individual left and right channels) compared with those supplied by Ken Ball from Campfire Audio:
Just for the record, I wasn't one of the many that seems to come here bragging about Andromeda vs Shure's.
If anything, I agree with all the things you said about the Andromeda which is making me want to dismiss them.
The biggest reason being that the comfort for ME personally just doesn't cut it.
I have very tiny ears and tiny ear canals and large shells just don't work with me.
In fact I've had ear impressions done and out of the custom lineup of Westone (ES series), the maximum I could chose was the ES 30 (3 BA like UM Pro 30).
Other than those, they wouldn't fit my ear according to the audiologist.
As such I went ahead and got them but I'm still debating in the meanwhile looking into a TOTL IEM's for small ear canals (that are not etymotic because I can't deal with the deep insertion).
One of the contenders was Shure as I heard about them being very comfortable. They would take away the stupid sharp edge on the Andromeda that hurts your outer ear after a while.
For me personally though, I think they might still be too large (depth wise) and thus not sit flush in my ear all the time. Then again that begs the question which top IEM will
Perhaps 3 BA Custom is the only IEM life for me
I just hope they sound good as I've read alot of reviews bashing the UM PRO 30 for bad treble response and being a bad IEM in general for classical music which is something I also enjoy from time to time.#Rant #IJustWantOneGoodMultiGenreIEMForVerySmallEars
ropie
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Just for the record, I wasn't one of the many that seems to come here bragging about Andromeda vs Shure's.
If anything, I agree with all the things you said about the Andromeda which is making me want to dismiss them.
The biggest reason being that the comfort for ME personally just doesn't cut it.
I have very tiny ears and tiny ear canals and large shells just don't work with me.
In fact I've had ear impressions done and out of the custom lineup of Westone (ES series), the maximum I could chose was the ES 30 (3 BA like UM Pro 30).
Other than those, they wouldn't fit my ear according to the audiologist.
As such I went ahead and got them but I'm still debating in the meanwhile looking into a TOTL IEM's for small ear canals (that are not etymotic because I can't deal with the deep insertion).
One of the contenders was Shure as I heard about them being very comfortable. They would take away the stupid sharp edge on the Andromeda that hurts your outer ear after a while.
For me personally though, I think they might still be too large (depth wise) and thus not sit flush in my ear all the time. Then again that begs the question which top IEM will
Perhaps 3 BA Custom is the only IEM life for me
#Rant #IJustWantOneGoodMultiGenreIEMForVerySmallEars
Have you considered finding a single driver IEM?
I regularly swap between the Shure 846 and the Sennheiser IE800S
The Sennheiser sound incredible as well and they are small and comfortable
The one issue I have with these is the cable can't be replaced. Expensive for one you can't really replace
joshnor713
Headphoneus Supremus
*High-Five*. I too have these two IEMs. Both incredible in their own right, and I too switch between them when I want a different flavor. The IE800S doesn't have as much oomph/fun as the SE846, not even close. I could understand some calling the IE800S bland, but it's a technical marvel - so smooth and detailed.
I do much prefer the fit of the SE846 though, much tighter fit and more options due to a non-proprietary nozzle.
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It makes me wonder how different the size of the Shure is compared to these RHA T20 for example (Depth and width).
If they are the same size or smaller, I'd consider purchasing these as many say they are extremely comfortable but larger depth or width wise, I won't be able to keep them in in my rather tiny ears
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