True, but it is only happening with his right earbud, and only on balanced-out. Is the z-out of the WM1Z significantly different in balanced and SE modes? And even if that's the case, why only on the right bud??
That's correct. I don't know if that's the same for both the single-ended and balanced outputs, but I'd imagine it would be.
I'm going to assume your hearing is equally good in both ears (that's probably not true for any of us, but let's roll with it for now). The fact that the issue seems to follow the right earbud suggests it's not the cable alone (though it might still be good to clean all connectors and measure boths sets of L and R wires separately with a multimeter). It seems to me most likely an issue with the MMCX socket on your right earbud not properly seating the balanced cable plugs, or, just maybe, some mismatch between your L and R buds that you're only noticing with a higher-impedance cable. I'd go with the Deoxit first, because it's cheap (at least in the US!) and will always come in handy another day. If you notice any hint of crackling or drop-outs with that balanced cable, I'd definitely also take that fine-grit sandpaper to your balanced-cable plugs (as in my previous post).
That's correct. I don't know if that's the same for both the single-ended and balanced outputs, but I'd imagine it would be.
You've got a really good puzzle here
If that doesn't fix it, I'd look at getting yourself a better balanced cable (if you really believe in balanced outputs that is - but that's a question for another day). IMHO, 0.8 Ohm is a bit high for a piece of wire. My Ag litz cables are all about 0.2 Ohm, even with a 2.5->3.5 mm adapter connected. 0.8 Ohm (and 0.94 Ohm) might not sound like a lot, but this can be a bit too high for the SE846 (or Andromeda), given that they're only nominally rated at 8 Ohm based on their response at 1 kHz. Their actual impedances vary with frequency and both drop below 4 Ohm in certain locations:
I left the L and R SE846 measurements separate to show that these things do come with some small unit variance. A higher cable impedance from your WM1Z could create a shift which shows up more strongly on one channel. Something also to note... you said you'd not heard any effect with other earbuds. Andromeda should also show a shift with higher impedance source/cable, but its response, and what you'd need to be listening for, will be very different. You can (roughly) consider the impedance curves to be the shape of the EQ you'd apply when increasing z-out. SE846 tends to get darker, whereas Andromeda tends to get brighter. Both are arguably aberrations, but if you provide a boost at 8 kHz (Andromeda), and can overlook the fatigue and changes in timbre this causes, you typically will hear more detail, so it can lead people to either not worry, not notice, or to think their cable is actually doing something magical. BTW, the effects of cable impedance on the SE846 can easily be measured, even with the cheapest of couplers:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/shure-se846-impressions-thread.675219/page-1207#post-13644650
My best guess is that you need some Deoxit on your right earbud mmcx connector and/or sandpaper on your balanced cable plugs. Plan B - I'd try a better (lower-impedance) balanced cable. And, Plan C - in an ideal world, a DAP with lower z-out and no silly proprietary balanced connections
I'm curious to know which of these (if any?) fixes the problem. Please don't keep us in suspense for too long... Good luck!
That's very good of Shure, because I don't see any evidence of anything wrong with your 846s here. The problem with mmcx is it comes in all types of subtly-varying sizes and flavors; it's not as universal as you might think
Anyway, good luck and please let us know what the outcome is!That's very good of Shure, because I don't see any evidence of anything wrong with your 846s here. The problem with mmcx is it comes in all types of subtly-varying sizes and flavors; it's not as universal as you might think
That's correct. I don't know if that's the same for both the single-ended and balanced outputs, but I'd imagine it would be.
You've got a really good puzzle here
If that doesn't fix it, I'd look at getting yourself a better balanced cable (if you really believe in balanced outputs that is - but that's a question for another day). IMHO, 0.8 Ohm is a bit high for a piece of wire. My Ag litz cables are all about 0.2 Ohm, even with a 2.5->3.5 mm adapter connected. 0.8 Ohm (and 0.94 Ohm) might not sound like a lot, but this can be a bit too high for the SE846 (or Andromeda), given that they're only nominally rated at 8 Ohm based on their response at 1 kHz. Their actual impedances vary with frequency and both drop below 4 Ohm in certain locations:
I left the L and R SE846 measurements separate to show that these things do come with some small unit variance. A higher cable impedance from your WM1Z could create a shift which shows up more strongly on one channel. Something also to note... you said you'd not heard any effect with other earbuds. Andromeda should also show a shift with higher impedance source/cable, but its response, and what you'd need to be listening for, will be very different. You can (roughly) consider the impedance curves to be the shape of the EQ you'd apply when increasing z-out. SE846 tends to get darker, whereas Andromeda tends to get brighter. Both are arguably aberrations, but if you provide a boost at 8 kHz (Andromeda), and can overlook the fatigue and changes in timbre this causes, you typically will hear more detail, so it can lead people to either not worry, not notice, or to think their cable is actually doing something magical. BTW, the effects of cable impedance on the SE846 can easily be measured, even with the cheapest of couplers:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/shure-se846-impressions-thread.675219/page-1207#post-13644650
My best guess is that you need some Deoxit on your right earbud mmcx connector and/or sandpaper on your balanced cable plugs. Plan B - I'd try a better (lower-impedance) balanced cable. And, Plan C - in an ideal world, a DAP with lower z-out and no silly proprietary balanced connections
I'm curious to know which of these (if any?) fixes the problem. Please don't keep us in suspense for too long... Good luck!
The KSE1500/1200 is awesome. It's my all-time favorite headphone. You'll hear the difference with the SE846. The SE846 is great, but there's a whole other level of detail in the KSE. But the differences between DACs are way more subtle. I do prefer the Hugo 2 as a DAC, but the differences aren't that large; the KSE DAC is really not that bad. (Some even say they prefer it to their external DACs.) It does have some limitations (it doesn't support 192 kHz), but otherwise, I think you'd struggle to hear a meaningful difference between the KSE1500 DAC and your WM1Z DAC.
LG V30 or V40 for the best UI experience or Shanling M0 for ultra-portable. Shanling sell a nice small USB-C to micro-USB OTG cable. But if you're going down the KSE1200 route all that's irrelevant - you'll only need an analog 3.5 mm->3.5 mm or 3.5 mm-> nasty-Sony-proprietary cable.
Have you been so unlucky that you've picked up two SE846 that both show the exact same unit variance? Seems unlikely. We also ruled out the cable. We also assumed your hearing was the same in both ears(?). The only thing left is your DAP. In theory it's a cheaper way to get more power and better channel separation, and (over a long-enough run) cancel our RFI effects in the cable, but yes, I completely agree with you. I've yet to find a balanced output source that beats any of the specs of my single-ended Hugo 2 output.That's correct. So the biggest practical differences with the KSE1200 are you wouldn't have a built-in parametric EQ or a digital input. The EQ might not matter (because you might have an EQ on your DAP or not care about EQ), but not having a digital-in reduces the KSE1200's flexibility a bit. For example, KSE1200 wouldn't pair well with something like a newer iPhone, since Apple - in their infinitewisdomgreed - decided to scrap the iPhone's analog output altogether. (I guess you could connect the KSE1200's analog-in to the Apple dongle, if you could live with the dongle's reduced dynamic range and not feel like you were being massively ripped off: https://www.heise.de/ct/artikel/iPh...apter-liefert-schlechteren-Sound-3325932.html). But if you were only ever planning on connecting via your WM1Z analog-out, then you could save yourself some money with the KSE1200.
The KSE1500/1200 is awesome. It's my all-time favorite headphone. You'll hear the difference with the SE846. The SE846 is great, but there's a whole other level of detail in the KSE. But the differences between DACs are way more subtle. I do prefer the Hugo 2 as a DAC, but the differences aren't that large; the KSE DAC is really not that bad. (Some even say they prefer it to their external DACs.) It does have some limitations (it doesn't support 192 kHz), but otherwise, I think you'd struggle to hear a meaningful difference between the KSE1500 DAC and your WM1Z DAC.
LG V30 or V40 for the best UI experience or Shanling M0 for ultra-portable. Shanling sell a nice small USB-C to micro-USB OTG cable. But if you're going down the KSE1200 route all that's irrelevant - you'll only need an analog 3.5 mm->3.5 mm or 3.5 mm-> nasty-Sony-proprietary cable.
The mystery deepens
You are seeing the light about balanced cables
(says me) maybe too good since I'm picking up these sound differences / flaws. I'm just going to stick with the stock cable, ALO said they will switch out the 4.4 for a 3.5 I'd just have to pay the 5 dollars to cover shipping, I'd do it myself but they have a machine that mimics the Shure termination also making it more secure. Cheers!
