[juansan]

Wow! really did not want to start such a debate.
I do not have any further tech details regarding output impedance of either the SE or Balance outputs. as a matter of fact it does not interest me a bit. All I care is whether I like or dislike what I get from my gear.

Thanks

Unfortunately impedance matching is fundamental to the use of headphones and goes way beyond whether you “like or dislike” having to take it into consideration, especially with the potential problems of low impedance models such as the SE846s.

Like I said before it’s worth investigating and I’m glad you brought it up, but I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone without some further investigation into whether it is technically compatible.

 

[zolom]

I tend to agree with all your comments above. But sometimes, important specs are not revealed by the manufacturer.

 

[BaTou069]

Hi, I ditched my iBasso DX90 and most of my headphone related stuff years ago, but kept my 846s and my Shozy Alien.

I now have a OnePlus 7T pro and after all these years, I'm considering to buy a DAC than can be both for portable and for laptop use.

Looking into anything from a hidizs DAC Dongle to an ibasso DC03/04 or a Chord Mojo...
or a MMCX Bluetooth device as the Fiio UTWS3.

Would like to know your opinions and experience here.
I personally don't think going balanced is a priority here, just having the best DAC and good impedance matching is whats most important for the Shures (I guess).

The real question behind this is, does the Shure SE846 scale well? I know the Sennheiser HD600/650/6XX do scale well, and changing DAC or an AMP with more power, or going balanced, all of this makes a difference.
But we're talking about 9ohm Shure IEMs here, so what made the most difference for you?

Thanks

 

[juansan]

Hi, I ditched my iBasso DX90 and most of my headphone related stuff years ago, but kept my 846s and my Shozy Alien.

I now have a OnePlus 7T pro and after all these years, I'm considering to buy a DAC than can be both for portable and for laptop use.

Looking into anything from a hidizs DAC Dongle to an ibasso DC03/04 or a Chord Mojo...
or a MMCX Bluetooth device as the Fiio UTWS3.

Would like to know your opinions and experience here.
I personally don't think going balanced is a priority here, just having the best DAC and good impedance matching is whats most important for the Shures (I guess).

The real question behind this is, does the Shure SE846 scale well? I know the Sennheiser HD600/650/6XX do scale well, and changing DAC or an AMP with more power, or going balanced, all of this makes a difference.
But we're talking about 9ohm Shure IEMs here, so what made the most difference for you?

Thanks

If form factor is an issue I can personally recommend either of the dragonflies red or cobalt. If form factor isn’t an issue I would recommend the chord Mojo.
Either way try to audition them before you purchase.

 

[Krizit]

Seriously considering a Dragonfly DAC for my pair. Cobalt is about 350 USD in my country, not sure I'm willing to spend that much when I'm worried 0.65 ohms is too high. Can anyone clarify the benefits of the Cobalt over the cheaper two versions?

 

[juansan]

Seriously considering a Dragonfly DAC for my pair. Cobalt is about 350 USD in my country, not sure I'm willing to spend that much when I'm worried 0.65 ohms is too high. Can anyone clarify the benefits of the Cobalt over the cheaper two versions?

Cobalt includes jitterbug technology and a better chipset and sounds a bit “cleaner and smoother” compared to the red. To be entirely honest if you don’t feel comfortable spending that much and you won’t need to add a dragontail as an optional I think the red (at it’s lower price point) is perfectly valid and almost certainly the sweet spot in the range.

 

[fablestruck]

Cobalt includes jitterbug technology and a better chipset and sounds a bit “cleaner and smoother” compared to the red. To be entirely honest if you don’t feel comfortable spending that much and you won’t need to add a dragontail as an optional I think the red (at it’s lower price point) is perfectly valid and almost certainly the sweet spot in the range.

Guys any opinion on NextDrive Spectra USB-DAC?

 

[CK Moustache]

Hi, I ditched my iBasso DX90 and most of my headphone related stuff years ago, but kept my 846s and my Shozy Alien.

I now have a OnePlus 7T pro and after all these years, I'm considering to buy a DAC than can be both for portable and for laptop use.

Looking into anything from a hidizs DAC Dongle to an ibasso DC03/04 or a Chord Mojo...
or a MMCX Bluetooth device as the Fiio UTWS3.

Would like to know your opinions and experience here.
I personally don't think going balanced is a priority here, just having the best DAC and good impedance matching is whats most important for the Shures (I guess).

The real question behind this is, does the Shure SE846 scale well? I know the Sennheiser HD600/650/6XX do scale well, and changing DAC or an AMP with more power, or going balanced, all of this makes a difference.
But we're talking about 9ohm Shure IEMs here, so what made the most difference for you?

Thanks

Unpopular opinion: Apple USB-C to Headphone Jack Adapter. Very low output impedance, very good hiss performance (even surpasses the DX90 slightly, and therefore much quieter with super sensitive in-ears than the vast majority of what's on the market), audibly transparent (surpasses Red Book standards).

 

[juansan]

Unpopular opinion: Apple USB-C to Headphone Jack Adapter. Very low output impedance, very good hiss performance (even surpasses the DX90 slightly, and therefore much quieter with super sensitive in-ears than the vast majority of what's on the market), audibly transparent (surpasses Red Book standards).

I don’t think the apple adapter is actually that bad at all considering what it costs. I have even tried to do some A/Bing with the dragonfly red at the time I had it and it compares reasonably well for its cost (considering you cannot properly A/B as you have to disconnect and reconnect which takes time) It’s just that as with everything, there are better alternatives albeit at a higher price.

 

[Krizit]

Anyone can compare Dragonfly Cobalt with iBasso DC03? I note DFC 0.65 ohms OI and DC03 is 0.15 ohms OI. Would the DC03 pair better with the 846?

 

[juansan]

Anyone can compare Dragonfly Cobalt with iBasso DC03? I note DFC 0.65 ohms OI and DC03 is 0.15 ohms OI. Would the DC03 pair better with the 846?

The DFC OI is still well below the 8X minimum match with the SE846 which from personal experience sound excellent.

its entirely down to personal preference not equipment mismatching whether you want to go for one or the other and frankly I wouldn’t risk making a decision based on someone else’s opinion.

 

[HiFiJayJay]

Anyone can compare Dragonfly Cobalt with iBasso DC03? I note DFC 0.65 ohms OI and DC03 is 0.15 ohms OI. Would the DC03 pair better with the 846?

If you must know, I own the cobalt and use it constantly with my se846, and it's my favourite dac/amp with the se846 out of everything I've owned and used (e.g. iFi nano bl, qudelix 5k, E1DA, etc)

 

[Krizit]

The DFC OI is still well below the 8X minimum match with the SE846 which from personal experience sound excellent.

its entirely down to personal preference not equipment mismatching whether you want to go for one or the other and frankly I wouldn’t risk making a decision based on someone else’s opinion.

While listed as 9 ohm, 846 reaches down to 4-5 ohm for some frequencies, requiring <0.5ohms. At 1 ohm OI there is a very noticeable attenuation of high frequencies. Im just not sure if 0.65 OI is low enough to be interdiscernible.

This graph demonstrates the effect of OI on SE846. https://images.app.goo.gl/C5qJ6gj2ABMhHudz7

Think I might just go with DFC based with feedback in this thread.

 

[juansan]

While listed as 9 ohm, 846 reaches down to 4-5 ohm for some frequencies, requiring <0.5ohms. At 1 ohm OI there is a very noticeable attenuation of high frequencies. Im just not sure if 0.65 OI is low enough to be interdiscernible.

This graph demonstrates the effect of OI on SE846. https://images.app.goo.gl/C5qJ6gj2ABMhHudz7

Think I might just go with DFC based with feedback in this thread.

I know it drops as low as 4/5 ohms depending on the frequency, have even posted as much myself here or on the DFC thread, but based on comparative listening (and you can see what I’m comparing them to in my profile) I can assure you that the effect is not noticeable, if it’s there at all.

From the graph an OI of 0.5 ohms attenuates the volume by how much? 0.5 db? slightly less? would you even hear that in dynamic music?

I can say that with the supplied filters the SE846 has another card up it’s sleeve which allows you to compensate the sound signature for any potential attenuation anyway, even if you could actually hear it which I am very sure you cannot.

I found the neutral (blue I think) filter comparable to a pair of Audeze LCD4z which in the end I found just a little dark compared to my tastes and since moving to the Stax (and also using the kse1200) I have found myself switching to the brighter (white?) filter.
My personal preference would be for a sound signature somewhere between the neutral and bright filters but when having to choose I prefer the brighter one.
And 99% of listening done on the DFC.

my only advice is try listen yourself, you cannot compensate for people’s tastes when trying to use other people’s opinions to make a personal decision