[planx]

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Just to add, The Single-Ended SE846 > RE600 Balanced, run out of the Hifiman HM901 balanced card. The former is just more musical, full-bodied, and lush. The latter are quite special too- so tiny and so comfortable, and nice big sound that has zero veil.
 
But the SE846 remain as my go-to phones. I acquired the RE600 at the same time for comparisons, but haven't quite been able to tear myself away from the Shures enough... Will do that soon. Also got the UE900 as part of the SE846 bundle, really need to give them a proper listen soon. 

 
Interesting. But the big question is, is the 846 worth it for the price? Because that's a lot of money on a universal. Don't bring up Fitear because those are ridiculously expensive as well.

 

[Spyro]

This quite possibly might be my end-game for portables... We will have to see once my Frogbeats C5 come in.

It really seems like Shure was listening to enthusiasts all around. According to other ears, the bass presence is improved with the 846 with retaining the Shure mids. If that's the case, I think I might give Shure another try

[/quote/]
Exactly. Unlike with what happened with W4 and UE900 in adding a driver and giving you LESS bass than the triple drivers, a quad driver should at least have same or more bass and better.

 

[AnakChan]

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Interesting. But the big question is, is the 846 worth it for the price? Because that's a lot of money on a universal. Don't bring up Fitear because those are ridiculously expensive as well.

 
How does one value "worth it for the price" for others? Personally for me the FitEar was worth it so much that when I sold it the first time I regretted it and bought it again 2nd round. And from the demo SE846 (which, in Japan, is priced the same as the TG!334) piqued my interest as a possible replacement for my TG!334 (again). So for me at least, is potentially worth it - only when I've spent more personal extended time with the SE846 (rather than in the shops) would I be able to conclusively say if it's worth it for me or not.
 
Not certain about for you though. What do you like? What would you consider to be worthy earphones? I may have heard some of them and may be able to provide more constructive feedback.

 

[jelt2359]

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Interesting. But the big question is, is the 846 worth it for the price? Because that's a lot of money on a universal. Don't bring up Fitear because those are ridiculously expensive as well.

At this price point, they get more use than my Hifiman HE6 or my JH13s... And I don't find myself thinking I've made any significant compromises- I'm happy.
 
The Fitears are out for me because of fit issues (ironic, lol, given their name), and I haven't tried the 3003 or the IE800, so YMMV.

 

[jelt2359]

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Thanks Jelt2359 for the review. Looks like more and more high end phones play around filters to improve sound quality or change sound signature. I believe the move from SE535 to SE535LTD turns mostly around the discovery of the power of the filter.
Anyway, I was wondering how does the SE846 sounds like if you don't put any filter at all. Just curious   

 
Very interesting question so I decided to try. Without a filter, bass has less impact, separation suffers, treble energy is GREATLY increased, and mids lose some of their sweetness/lushness. This is compared to the balanced filter.

 

[planx]

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This quite possibly might be my end-game for portables... We will have to see once my Frogbeats C5 come in.

It really seems like Shure was listening to enthusiasts all around. According to other ears, the bass presence is improved with the 846 with retaining the Shure mids. If that's the case, I think I might give Shure another try

[/quote/]
Exactly. Unlike with what happened with W4 and UE900 in adding a driver and giving you LESS bass than the triple drivers, a quad driver should at least have same or more bass and better.

 
Never did like the W4, as a few members already know of my hatred towards them. There's nothing "special" about them so I never bothered with them, obviously.
 
Quote:

 
How does one value "worth it for the price" for others? Personally for me the FitEar was worth it so much that when I sold it the first time I regretted it and bought it again 2nd round. And from the demo SE846 (which, in Japan, is priced the same as the TG!334) piqued my interest as a possible replacement for my TG!334 (again). So for me at least, is potentially worth it - only when I've spent more personal extended time with the SE846 (rather than in the shops) would I be able to conclusively say if it's worth it for me or not.
 
Not certain about for you though. What do you like? What would you consider to be worthy earphones? I may have heard some of them and may be able to provide more constructive feedback.

 
I know it's difficult to determine value and whatever as everyone has their own perspective of things. For me, the ER-4S is definitely "worth it for the price". It manages to do so many things correctly. For me to determine "worth it for the price", It has to either blow me away or do so many things right that it outweighs the price of the thing, which is quite difficult to do in this segment as many things are "overpriced" or "underperforming" when considering the MSRP.
 
I like a lot of things Anak! It all depends on how the 846 sounds to me. Usually I hate V-shaped signatures as I find the mids to be essential in my music, but I often like well balanced IEMs or headphones. I've pretty much stopped everything audio related after I purchased the HE-500 w/Jergpads as no other headphone within "reasonable" prices seems to satisfy me this much. I've tried HE-6, LCD2/3, HD800, and countless others but up to now, the HE-500 is my favourite. Not to be mistaken with Velour pads as the Jergpads change quite a lot with the signature.
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At this price point, they get more use than my Hifiman HE6 or my JH13s... And I don't find myself thinking I've made any significant compromises- I'm happy.
 
The Fitears are out for me because of fit issues (ironic, lol, given their name), and I haven't tried the 3003 or the IE800, so YMMV.

 
Maybe a supporting reason is because of how "universal" the 846 are? Personally, I'm not a fan of acrylic shells and I'm not crazy about the comfort.
 
I've tried the 3003 and I found the PFE232 (this can be directed towards Anak as well) to be more fitting for me. Even though the PFE232 is a little V-shaped with the grey filters, it had that "fun factor" the k3003 failed to possess. Also, the treble was more energetic with the PFE so I found that to be beneficial. 
 
All in all, I'm a difficult person to understand at times. I loved the ER-4S but I disliked both the W4 and K3003. I don't have a "set" signature of preference, but I often enjoy IEMs with distinct specialties. This is the reason why I disliked the W4; there was nothing special about it. It managed to do many things accordingly, but you could never see it smiling.

 

[Spyro]

I am a huge Westone fan but I think W4 is the most overated IEM on the board here in mid 2013.
 
I think it is the best universal IEM for vocal and acoustic.  (even over SE535)  After that, I think it is very average. BUT as an overall package and when you throw in a bunch of other genres like rock, pop, jazz...and want to crank it up and toe tap, etc..I think the SE535 craps all over it.
 
I think the SE535 is a nice compromise somewhere in between W3 and W4.

 

[planx]

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I am a huge Westone fan but I think W4 is the most overated IEM on the board here in mid 2013.
 
I think it is the best universal IEM for vocal and acoustic.  (even over SE535)  After that, I think it is very average. BUT as an overall package and when you throw in a bunch of other genres like rock, pop, jazz...and want to crank it up and toe tap, etc..I think the SE535 craps all over it.
 
I think the SE535 is a nice compromise somewhere in between W3 and W4.

 
I can see why some people would love it though. I also liked the SE535, but the bass and treble was quite bothersome. Other than that, mids were superb. I know I'm saying it again but if the SE846 manages to possess the SE535's mids and is able to add the extension the SE535 always deserved, then I think Shure might have themselves a winner. This is merely speculation as I have not tried the SE846 yet, but if anyone in Vancouver has one, please send me a PM as I would love to try it.

 

[TwinQY]

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but if anyone in Vancouver has one, please send me a PM as I would love to try it.

Actually I'd like to express some interest in hearing these as well. If a ménages à trois won't do, PM me separately? I think I just stole someone's spotlight on this.
 
HE-6-similar traits in an UIEM? Oh baby I might be in love. Subbed (well technically I was subbed from the get-go on the announcement thread). 

 

[jelt2359]

In some ways they sound quite different (my HE6 and Shures). The HE6's treble energy reminds me far more of the RE600. Sooo energetic! But for their magical midrange, and deep impactful never boomy bass, they are quite similar. Although I would say that because of the difference in treble presentation, the Shure bass feels slightly more full-bodied.

 

[jelt2359]

Previously I'd preferred SE846 being driven single-ended from my HM901. Then I tried comparing my JH13s to the Shure SE846 (in both single-ended and balanced configurations) and it was clear that the former was brighter, had more air and soundstage, although vocals were less magical.
 
After reading Jude's comments that he prefers the bright, I then switched my Shure SE846 to the bright filter, and tried driving it balanced mode from my HM901. (I hadn't tried this previously because I just got the Shures balanced TRRS cable). In this configuration the Shures really sing. There is more air, more soundstage, and the phones sound more energetic. The vocals continue to be very magical, although with the changes they've become slightly less prominent than they were with the single-ended configuration. They seriously sound like totally different phones now.
 
The Shure bass continues to sound full-bodied and enveloping, more so than my JH13s. And vocals- especially female vocals, those of the Alicia Keys or Utada Hikaru variety- sound downright seductive with these phones. The bass is very good, but what really draws me back to these phones again and again are the vocals.

 

[Spronic]

I wonder what a re-shell would be like. Or how it would even be done. The filters create interesting new possibilities and/or obstacles.

 

[planx]

Why would you want to re-shell a perfectly good IEM, especially one that costs $1000~? Why risk the driver positioning and the universal stick it in and forget it fit?
 
I'm not following as re-shells are mostly done for IEMs that are damaged, out of the warranty period, or a costly way of changing it to CIEMs, even though the outcome might not be as good as the original, which quite a lot of people had success with, including myself. For something like the TF10 and SE530s, yes, but for a brand new SE846?

 

[Spronic]

Fit, comfort? I was only being hypothetical, but you better believe someone will do it eventually. I'm just curious how the reshell will work, especially because of the filters. I much prefer my reshells over the universal design, so much so, that I can't even believe you're surprised I asked haha
 
Still, I badly want to try these!

 

[jelt2359]

Interesting question. The whole reason I get universals, in my mind, is so I don't have to deal with the Acrylic shells
 
But then, for those who want to do it, I'm not sure how this will be done... Perhaps some innovative CIEM maker will be able to incorporate changeable filter technology too?