[rmiller511]

BTW - just received my replacement set.  Had to return mine to the dealer because of a problem with the left earbud. It would go out completely.  Didn't happen often - maybe every 20 hours or so, and when it did go out I could eventually bring it back to life by spiking the volume, but it was not a problem I was going to live with.  Don't know what the manufacture date was on the originals, but the new set was born on 4/18/14.

 

[Black Label]

Le sigh... I am so glad I have almost a month and a half in which to decide how best to utilise up to a grand in pairing the 846 with all the necessary kit in wringing out the best possible sound therefrom.

If the AK boats warm, almost coloured sound, perhaps the silver litz cable is the way to go?

Keeping an iPod classic would be alright if only it supported higher bitdepth audio.

 

[daviemcc]

A chap on the w60 thread compared them very favourably with his lcd-x . The fact that the se846 only has portability as it's plus point against the hd800 is poor.
Top tier iem's should be able to be compared with headphones.
Being quirky is good in moderation.

 

[soundblast75]

A chap on the w60 thread compared them very favourably with his lcd-x . The fact that the se846 only has portability as it's plus point against the hd800 is poor.
Top tier iem's should be able to be compared with headphones.
Being quirky is good in moderation.

I strongly agree,there are closer to hd800 sounding iems than the 846,maybe this is what he perceives at the mo.my advice is dont do one to one testing,especially b/w iem and a big can.i have done it via the Prime,the 846 have nice voicing and instrument,the rest is not perceived much on a direct comparison

 

[soundblast75]

Sorry..the bass of course..its there..but to me too slow in comparison with the Merlins.now..thats a real sub

 

[soundblast75]

Pls take my impressions with a pinch of salt, it is poss that the Litz is being burned in and gone too soft on me

 

[hertzsogood]

Sorry..the bass of course..its there..but to me too slow in comparison with the Merlins.now..thats a real sub

Well how about comparing apples to apples. What I mean is compare Hybrid earphone that has a dynamic driver ( similar to a woofer) to another hybrid like the 1 plus 2. Then compare the 4 BA driver Shure 846 with another 4 BA driver or compare it to a 8 BA driver earphone. 

 

[Black Label]

At first bass seemed "slow", but I quickly perceived it to be "musical".

 

[hertzsogood]

At first bass seemed "slow", but I quickly perceived it to be "musical".

I have many 10 mm dynamic drivers and I love the bass coming from the 846 BA Drivers.

 

[Black Label]

Frankly I have not heard anything quite like it within the realm of headphones; IEMs or otherwise.

The rumble, impact, depth and detail has been an experience akin to drinking a glass of imperial stout whose complex flavour changes as the beer warms/as one goes further down the glass.

Yes I have made a lot of references to liquor lately - is it Friday yet ??

 

[daviemcc]

All you are talking about is the bass though.That the se846 has fantastic bass seems fairly obvious but it would appear that's it's only totl quality with the rest being a bit average. That's what comes across and maybe that's good enough. It probably is for some but others maybe not.

 

[hertzsogood]

All you are talking about is the bass though.That the se846 has fantastic bass seems fairly obvious but it would appear that's it's only totl quality with the rest being a bit average. That's what comes across and maybe that's good enough. It probably is for some but others maybe not.

Top meaning top universal or custom? Also was the 535 once considered top tier? Well the 846 meds and treble is better then the 535 and it is better then most earphones even custom ones. The 846 meds and treble are better then W4 and W5.

 

[Solude]

That the se846 has fantastic bass seems fairly obvious but it would appear that's it's only totl quality with the rest being a bit average.

 
Umm no.  The bass tonal balance is great but it is slower than a lot of headphones.  The real magic is the rest of the frequency range that is spot on tonally, fast, clear, natural with insanely high micro and macro detail.  I've said it before, I'll say it again... I sold my LCD-3 and HD800 and never looked back after a decade of using full sized open headphones.  Is my big rig overkill for the 846?  Probably, but also shows how high the 846 will scale.  It also sounds great out of my AK100 Mk2 which also shows that it fairly forgiving too.

 

[hertzsogood]

BA drivers were created for voice so many companies have excelled with BA Drivers in the Treble and some what less in the meds. The challenge for BA Drivers is the bass region. To fix this challenge many companies have put 2 or 4 BA Drivers to achieve bass or they added a Dynamic driver which is perfect answer to get the bass and especially sub bass. Now with new technology Shure created Sub Bass with the 846. I have demoed and borrowed some new BA Driven earphones that have deep bass rumble but they have more then 4 BA Drivers and some costs more then the 846.

 

[Black Label]

Solude is spot on, which is probably just as well, because I had attempted to reply to daviemcc but my post must have failed to get that far.

Solude: You say you have the AK100II and that the SE846 are quite forgiving of it? Would you please care to elaborate? I am currently in the market for something that features expandable / high capacity that has excellent synergy with the SE846. I am as yet unconvinced that an iBasso model will do it, meanwhile interest in the entry level AK lineup runs hot and cold like my house's hot water system (yay... winter...!).

As the original AK120 is quite warm and syrupy in its sound I feel somewhat put off. So much so that an iPad with 128GB storage is looking like the front runner (it doubles as an ebook reader which is a huge plus and Golden Ear can playback high bitdepth files). I like the clear Apple iDevice sound, always have, however its punch and forcefulness lacks behind all else. Always has.