[Caguioa]

is 846 still king for its price range and what It delivers?

price has always been the same for years

 

[435279]

is 846 still king for its price range and what It delivers?

price has always been the same for years

For me yes, its great at what it does, but I've just got myself the Fiio FH7 and its getting more ear-time for the moment at least. The Fiio has much more up top, which I do quite like and for me it's a great fit and comfortable, I can wear it for hours.

 

[holsen]

The Fiio has much more up top, which I do quite like and for me it's a great fit and comfortable, I can wear it for hours.

How's the isolation on the FH7?

 

[435279]

How's the isolation on the FH7?

Not as good as the Shure, I can't measure the two but I would say the FH7 has 60% of the isolation compared to the SE846. This is not an issue when music is playing for me, except for the quieter sections of the music.

Its worth mentioning the FH7 is affected by wind noise quite a bit when out and about.

 

[BobJS]

The honeymoon is over. I returned the Xelentos. Tuning is just too "commercial" for me. FH7 - great, check. Andromeda - great, check. SE846 - always great, check.

 

[joshnor713]

The honeymoon is over. I returned the Xelentos. Tuning is just too "commercial" for me.

Yep, that's how I felt. It's good, no doubt about that, but not memorable.

 

[csglinux]

The honeymoon is over. I returned the Xelentos. Tuning is just too "commercial" for me. FH7 - great, check. Andromeda - great, check. SE846 - always great, check.

Sorry to hear the Xelentos didn't work out for you. I prefer the fit and isolation of the SE846, but I love the sound from the Xelentos. I'm guessing you never got to try them with anything but their stock tips?

 

[holsen]

Yep, that's how I felt. It's good, no doubt about that, but not memorable.

It seems we're all on the same page. 48 hours later and mine are going too. I've tried them with all of the stock tips, Dekoni Bulletz, Final E-Series Tips and the Bass to me was just heavy and muddy. The only tip that worked for me was the oblong silicone that cam in the box (large - where every other tip I use is M) and it was comfortable, sealed well, and opened up the sound, but there's a lot of driver flex. and even just resting my head against the back of the couch, when the lobe of my ear would move the sound would distort. I've never experieced that with any other iem. With EQ and the silicone tips I got them sounding fairly good, but there are just too many compromises for the $800 I spent on them. I still prefer the Tin P1s - but I need something less power hungry when travelling so I think it's going to be the SE 846 or the Fearless S8F which is where this journey started a little over a 2 months ago in my search for a 535 upgrade.... Someone is going to love these Xelentos, sadly it's not me.... I really wanted to, that why I bought them. They'll be on eBay by the end of the week.

 

[BobJS]

Sorry to hear the Xelentos didn't work out for you. I prefer the fit and isolation of the SE846, but I love the sound from the Xelentos. I'm guessing you never got to try them with anything but their stock tips?

I actually got a better sound with CP100 spinfits. I also tried some Symbios. I think they're good, just not $800 good (for me). If they were my only phones, I could certainly use them, but I have several others in the same tier that I would go to first. I didn't want them sitting around not getting head time.

 

[csglinux]

It seems we're all on the same page. 48 hours later and mine are going too. I've tried them with all of the stock tips, Dekoni Bulletz, Final E-Series Tips and the Bass to me was just heavy and muddy. The only tip that worked for me was the oblong silicone that cam in the box (large - where every other tip I use is M) and it was comfortable, sealed well, and opened up the sound, but there's a lot of driver flex. and even just resting my head against the back of the couch, when the lobe of my ear would move the sound would distort. I've never experieced that with any other iem. With EQ and the silicone tips I got them sounding fairly good, but there are just too many compromises for the $800 I spent on them. I still prefer the Tin P1s - but I need something less power hungry when travelling so I think it's going to be the SE 846 or the Fearless S8F which is where this journey started a little over a 2 months ago in my search for a 535 upgrade.... Someone is going to love these Xelentos, sadly it's not me.... I really wanted to, that why I bought them. They'll be on eBay by the end of the week.

Well, I give you and @BobJS credit for doing your due diligence and trying everything out. I wish there were a better way of knowing beforehand and not having to buy, then re-sell via eBay or pay restocking fees or (worse, IMHO) taking advantage of sellers that are forced by Amazon to accept returns that they then can't sell as new anymore. It's particularly problematic for IEMs, because nobody wants to be dealing with second-hand ear wax. Ick.

Maybe in the future we'll have better, more descriptive, more detailed information on newer headphones from the OEMs. As things stand, very few OEMs provide measurements. But even if we were at the point where we all had those FR graphs and knew how to read them and knew what our specific preferences were, there could still be surprising nuances between the measurement coupler/mic and your own ears. Many people underestimate the effect of seemingly-benign changes in things like fit, insertion depth, eartip bore length, radius, material, etc. Look at the subtleties of the mods that @unispeed is doing. Filter foam positioned 1 mm off can make an audible difference. Even todays most expensive professional measuring equipment has tolerances which are easily large enough to not only be audible, but large enough to create make-or-break purchasing decisions. To make matters worse, there's an increasing uncertainty in measurements over 10 kHz, where manufacturers all seem to be diverging on what they think the "standard" beyond IEC 60318-4 should be. To make matters worse still, no Harman or reference FR is a stationary target; it shifts with amplitude so v-shaped signatures need to give way to more neutral or flatter FRs at higher SPLs. Right now, I don't think you have much choice but to break a few eggs to make that perfect omelette. I've spent more money than I care to tell the wife about on all those broken eggs BTW, a word of advice to people just starting out in this hobby - choose the right time and place to tell your wife about the 7th expensive headphone you've just pulled the trigger on that month:

is 846 still king for its price range and what It delivers?

For my ears, it's absolutely up there with all the $2000 and $3000+ IEMs. But given all the uncertainties and differences in everybody's hearing and audio preferences, I don't think anybody can give a definitive answer for you. You really need to go through the same processes as @BobJS and @holsen... buying and trying.

 

[holsen]

Well, I give you and @BobJS credit for doing your due diligence and trying everything out. I wish there were a better way of knowing beforehand and not having to buy, then re-sell via eBay or pay restocking fees or (worse, IMHO) taking advantage of sellers that are forced by Amazon to accept returns that they then can't sell as new anymore. It's particularly problematic for IEMs, because nobody wants to be dealing with second-hand ear wax. Ick.

Maybe in the future we'll have better, more descriptive, more detailed information on newer headphones from the OEMs. As things stand, very few OEMs provide measurements. But even if we were at the point where we all had those FR graphs and knew how to read them and knew what our specific preferences were, there could still be surprising nuances between the measurement coupler/mic and your own ears. Many people underestimate the effect of seemingly-benign changes in things like fit, insertion depth, eartip bore length, radius, material, etc. Look at the subtleties of the mods that @unispeed is doing. Filter foam positioned 1 mm off can make an audible difference. Even todays most expensive professional measuring equipment has tolerances which are easily large enough to not only be audible, but large enough to create make-or-break purchasing decisions. To make matters worse, there's an increasing uncertainty in measurements over 10 kHz, where manufacturers all seem to be diverging on what they think the "standard" beyond IEC 60318-4 should be. To make matters worse still, no Harman or reference FR is a stationary target; it shifts with amplitude so v-shaped signatures need to give way to more neutral or flatter FRs at higher SPLs. Right now, I don't think you have much choice but to break a few eggs to make that perfect omelette. I've spent more money than I care to tell the wife about on all those broken eggs BTW, a word of advice to people just starting out in this hobby - choose the right time and place to tell your wife about the 7th expensive headphone you've just pulled the trigger on that month:





For my ears, it's absolutely up there with all the $2000 and $3000+ IEMs. But given all the uncertainties and differences in everybody's hearing and audio preferences, I don't think anybody can give a definitive answer for you. You really need to go through the same processes as @BobJS and @holsen... buying and trying.

I may be an IEM schizophrenic but I've changed my mind again - I'm keeping the Xelentos! I know this is the 846 thread, but since we started this Xelento discussion here, I'll come back to it here I've been tied up with a client project for the last couple of days so I've done no listening with any IEM. With that I decided to comeback to the Xelentos with no fresh point of comparison so I could just listen objectively. I spent a good hour playing the with the EQ on my player and got it dialled in pretty good. Then i started playing with tips and settled on the Dekoni Mercury Bulletz. I listened for about an hour and was generally pleased but I did notice that the sound was frequently dropping on the left ear but would come back if I wiggled it around. So inspected both ear cable connections and sure enough they both have considerable play in them. So, I popped in a cheap fiio cable and clicked right in tight as a nun's habit on both sides - and it actually sounded better; cleaner, wider, more detailed (and I am certain this is not a placebo). So that got me thinking, hmmm, I've got time to play, let's pop a balanced cable on these puppies and take them to the DAP and WOW, night and day, and again - a nice tight fit at the MMCX connectors! So I decided on one last experiment. I popped on the SE cable that came with the TinHifi P1, a 4 core copper cable, and same thing, a tight MMCX connection and beautiful clear detailed sound. As I type this I'm listening to the Xelentos with the copper cable, plugged into an Audioengine D3, into the USB port on my PC and the Derek Trucks Band through JRiver and its wonderful. I still prefer the detailing in the P1s but I dont hate these Xelentos anymore. My search for a travel earbud that will work well with both my DAP and an airline system is over. I'm happy - but in truth Beyerdynamic should be ashamed of themselves for supplying such a garbage cable with an $800 IEM... (maybe I got a defect, but) Shame on you Beyerdynaminc!

 

[BobJS]

I may be an IEM schizophrenic but I've changed my mind again - I'm keeping the Xelentos! I know this is the 846 thread, but since we started this Xelento discussion here, I'll come back to it here I've been tied up with a client project for the last couple of days so I've done no listening with any IEM. With that I decided to comeback to the Xelentos with no fresh point of comparison so I could just listen objectively. I spent a good hour playing the with the EQ on my player and got it dialled in pretty good. Then i started playing with tips and settled on the Dekoni Mercury Bulletz. I listened for about an hour and was generally pleased but I did notice that the sound was frequently dropping on the left ear but would come back if I wiggled it around. So inspected both ear cable connections and sure enough they both have considerable play in them. So, I popped in a cheap fiio cable and clicked right in tight as a nun's habit on both sides - and it actually sounded better; cleaner, wider, more detailed (and I am certain this is not a placebo). So that got me thinking, hmmm, I've got time to play, let's pop a balanced cable on these puppies and take them to the DAP and WOW, night and day, and again - a nice tight fit at the MMCX connectors! So I decided on one last experiment. I popped on the SE cable that came with the TinHifi P1, a 4 core copper cable, and same thing, a tight MMCX connection and beautiful clear detailed sound. As I type this I'm listening to the Xelentos with the copper cable, plugged into an Audioengine D3, into the USB port on my PC and the Derek Trucks Band through JRiver and its wonderful. I still prefer the detailing in the P1s but I dont hate these Xelentos anymore. My search for a travel earbud that will work well with both my DAP and an airline system is over. I'm happy - but in truth Beyerdynamic should be ashamed of themselves for supplying such a garbage cable with an $800 IEM... (maybe I got a defect, but) Shame on you Beyerdynaminc!

If I posted every time I changed my mind (keep / don't keep) about an IEM I would be top Supreme Headphone Supremeus (or whatever) by now. If you change your mind again, don't be bashful about posting ...

 

[waveSounds]

Shots fired. This will be interesting...

Verdict
In terms of comparison, Shure’s talented SE846s (originally tested at £950 and now available for around £800) are more complete performers, delivering musical cohesion and sonic refinement that the Campfires can’t match.

 

[joshnor713]

Shots fired. This will be interesting...

Verdict
In terms of comparison, Shure’s talented SE846s (originally tested at £950 and now available for around £800) are more complete performers, delivering musical cohesion and sonic refinement that the Campfires can’t match.

WhatHiFi just lost a lot of CA readers

 

[csglinux]

Shots fired. This will be interesting...

Verdict
In terms of comparison, Shure’s talented SE846s (originally tested at £950 and now available for around £800) are more complete performers, delivering musical cohesion and sonic refinement that the Campfires can’t match.

I'd also seen that review. I'm not the biggest fan of the Andromedas (mainly because of ergonomics), but have to play Devil's advocate here. Their sound isn't that bad. Anybody paid to write reviews ought to at least explain what "musical cohesion" is. What Hi-Fi deserve to lose Shure-owning readers too.