[Monty Burns]

Well that is subjective.
That said if you will not the length and breadth of this thread AND the high quality of knowledge and experience of those who post her (not me I am a simple man)...
You will find an overwhelming consensus that they are indeed equal to the task

 

[Justin_Time]

  Are these earphones worthy for their price?

I guess you are asking about the "value" of the SE846. That depends mostly on you.  
 
If your are seeking the best possible sound (price be damned), or the pride of owning an exclusive piece of audio gear that most can only dream off and few can afford, and a few other reasons along those lines, then absolutely, it is worth it.
 
In terms of the (still subjective) sound-quality-to-price ratio, I feel that the point of diminishing return was passed long ago, around perhaps less than a few hundred US dollars. Also, quite subjectively, I do not believe that for, at twice the price, I am getting twice the sound quality of the SE535.  But this may not be true for other HeadFiers.  For most people outside this Forum, the SE535 is already ridiculously expensive at $500. Heck, most people wear $10 (?) IEMs with their iPhones and are quite happy with them.
 
To take a tired but more commonly understood example of automobiles, are the Ferrari, Lamborghini, Rolls-Royce or Bentley worth their price? Only "you" can answer that question for yourself.  The "value" of any product is a reflection of who you are as much as of the product itself, if not more so.  I myself think that $1,000 is too much to spend on an IEM, and that I do not need another pair of over-priced IEM, but I bought the Roxanne and SE846 as soon as they came out, so that tells you something about me...

 
 
My (far less rational than above) attitude is that we do not need any of these audio gears.  They are just toys for grown-up boys.  So why agonize over them.  If you can afford it, buy it and enjoy it.
 
I guess I will stop derailing this thread now at let others return to more germane discussions of the SE846.

 

[GrindedDown]

Are these earphones worthy for their price?

Yeah I guess that depends. I would have to say yes for me. I was pretty hesitant even after I paid for them and once I received them and started listening, a lot of those doubts went away. I can easily afford this and having a TOTL item that fits the sound profile Iike is important to me and worth the price tag. These things really do sound just so good to me.

I can tell you that if you are here looking at this thread that you are at some level considering buying them. If you can afford them, I'd say go ahead. For me I ended up selling some of my things I don't use to raise some money. I definitely didn't need the money by any stretch but it was easier to justify for me. Also, I got a brand new pair at a good price so I didn't pay the full $1000.

Let us know when you finally take the plunge

 

[madwolfa]

I will decide if it's worth it when I hear them myself. And then I figured there's always that 30 day return window if I absolutely hate them.

 

[GrindedDown]

Oh that ^^^ and they have this sort of terminator look to them when your wearing them. Like your jacked in to the machine.

I think Monty was ranting about that and AI taking over a while back in this thread.....

 

[madwolfa]

Oh that ^^^ and they have this sort of terminator look to them when your wearing them. Like your jacked in to the machine.

I think Monty was ranting about that and AI taking over a while back in this thread.....

 
Yeah, pure geek/tech porn that is.

 

[Mitchell4500]

For awhile I was like "wow these are great IEMs but that's a lot of money. Maybe I should return/sell them..."   but as time went on I found myself so content with them - particularly the bass, I really like bass. Not to say I am a "bass-head" because I don't like too much bass because that takes away from the music (I listen with flat EQ with the white filters).
 
Consequently I spend a lot of time making sound systems (particularly sub-woofers) for my house and car and the shows I do. I find that really impact clear and loud (not in the sense of noise or pain, but more so presence and filling effect) bass can be hard to produce given that it require more energy and moves throughout the air more dramatically? than other frequencies. I always find myself messing with sub-woofers and mid-bass speakers than my highs in a sound setup because the highs always seem to just work the way I want with the imaging and such. 
 
My point being is that the 846 create bass EXACTLY the way I want without having to be EQed or tweaked. Additionally they are ultra durable and comfortable. Not to mention backed by a pretty serious company with excellent support. So to my these define my version of "reference" monitor because they sound the way you'd expect a quality sound PA system to be setup in a theater or venue. So after spending a large amount of time messing with a sound system EQ and bass Ill kinda loose the reference point of sound in my head but the 846 are a convenient and comfortable way to get that back....
 
TLDR:  I like the 846 so much that I tune sound systems to sound like them kinda.

 

[Zojokkeli]

Yeah I guess that depends. I would have to say yes for me. I was pretty hesitant even after I paid for them and once I received them and started listening, a lot of those doubts went away. I can easily afford this and having a TOTL item that fits the sound profile Iike is important to me and worth the price tag. These things really do sound just so good to me.

I can tell you that if you are here looking at this thread that you are at some level considering buying them. If you can afford them, I'd say go ahead.

 
Bingo! I'm a happy owner of 535's for a few months and counting, but I'm already eying these bad boys. I'm fairly s(h)ure I'll be jumping on board the 846-train at some point in the future, I've got some speaker acquisitions to sort out first though.

 

[Monty Burns]

   
Bingo! I'm a happy owner of 535's for a few months and counting, but I'm already eying these bad boys. I'm fairly s(h)ure I'll be jumping on board the 846-train at some point in the future, I've got some speaker acquisitions to sort out first though.

As a proud 535 owner as well I will attest it is an able foot soldier on the road to sonic bliss.
 
But the 535 is, to borrow from one of my earlier Battlestar Gallactica analogies, like a Cylon Centurion. Drones in the war against humans.

 
 
The 8s well they are the much more evolved and stunningly beautiful Cylon Skin Jobs.... 

There is no question which I prefer to have inside of my head, Just call me Gaius Baltar
 
This explains why my 535s have been boxed where they shall remain until they are needed in the inevitable war against the Apes
 
 
 
I was tempted to go with a Sex and Condom analogy but that is reserved for the SCS... Like wearing nothing at all  

 

[GrindedDown]

Some more impressions as a new owner of the SE846:
 
Initially the bass seemed very overwhelming when I first hit play with these bad boys in. I think it was mostly that I wasn't expecting such impact even despite the marketing and "true subwoofer" performance. I'm happy to report that the bass response is excellent, tight and controlled, never muddies, has excellent extension and sub bass response is just awesome. 
 
At first, I had changed through all the filters to see which I liked the best. I obviously started with blue and they had great bass, but will great clarity across the spectrum and awesome instrument separation which can suffer a lot when bass colors phones too much. White was very good, had awesome detail and introduced enough sparkle up high, but still had some bottom end impact. It did take away some of the oomph and made this earphone sound maybe a tad more analytical to me. The black filter was my least favorite at first. It sounded like the bass went from tight and controlled to overly exaggerated and colored everything too much. Now that my brain has begun adjusting to the sound signature of the 846 and I can identify its strengths and weaknesses better, I thought I'd try the filters again. 
 
So I tried the black filter and I've got to say that I enjoy it much more than I initially thought. Actually I first thought "oh I'll never use this". It certainly adds additional impact and takes a tad off the clarity and detail of the bass frequencies, but it really doesn't seem to impact the rest of it's sound signature qualities. Soundstage still sounds good, the mids remain creamy and forward without being muddied and the highs still have detail albeit a bit rolled off. 
 
Overall, its very impressive how these filters seem to tune the sound to your liking just enough without taking away the characteristics of the 846's sound signature. I'd be interested in seeing mods for these filters or shure even selling a multi-pack that allows further tuning options. Kinda like EQing your music, but at the driver level instead of source level. Verrrrrryyy cool. 
 
Also did some quick A/Bing vs UE900S. UE900s has some good clarity, mids are indeed recessed and not nearly as good, bass is obviously lacking, but only by comparison. The bass is actually pretty clean and controlled sounds, just lack sub bass response and overall impact or oomph. Clarity and detail retrieval are very good tho and music definitely enjoyable. What has surprised me and excited me the most about the 846 vs the UE900s is how much more listenable the 846 is at lower volume levels. The UE900S needs to be driven to higher volume or else it loses most of its sound quality rather quickly whereas the 846 seems to maintain it at low volumes. Thats very nice to help prevent fatiguing.

 

[madwolfa]

Thanks! Can't wait for my delivery tomorrow.

 

[Headtrip]

I have to concur with your assessment of these bad boys. Just received mine yesterday and am having a blast trying my reference tunes with my Hugo, iPhone 6 + and my Questyle. All sound magical and unfatiguing but the Hugo is my favorite. I have to admit I enjoy these almost as much as my HD800s and the portability and sound isolation makes them an everyday joy. Can't wait to try all the tubes.

 

[csglinux]

  Some more impressions as a new owner of the SE846:
 
Initially the bass seemed very overwhelming when I first hit play with these bad boys in. I think it was mostly that I wasn't expecting such impact even despite the marketing and "true subwoofer" performance. I'm happy to report that the bass response is excellent, tight and controlled, never muddies, has excellent extension and sub bass response is just awesome. 
 
At first, I had changed through all the filters to see which I liked the best. I obviously started with blue and they had great bass, but will great clarity across the spectrum and awesome instrument separation which can suffer a lot when bass colors phones too much. White was very good, had awesome detail and introduced enough sparkle up high, but still had some bottom end impact. The black filter was my least favorite at first. It sounded like the bass went from tight and controlled to overly exaggerated and colored everything too much. Now that my brain has begun adjusting to the sound signature of the 846 and I can identify its strengths and weaknesses better, I thought I'd try the filters again. 
 
So I tried the black filter and I've got to say that I enjoy it much more than I initially thought. Actually I first thought "oh I'll never use this". It certainly adds additional impact and takes a tad off the clarity and detail of the bass frequencies, but it really doesn't seem to impact the rest of it's sound signature qualities. Soundstage still sounds good, the mids remain creamy and forward without being muddied and the highs still have detail albeit a bit rolled off. 
 
Overall, its very impressive how these filters seem to tune the sound to your liking just enough without taking away the characteristics of the 846's sound signature. I'd be interested in seeing mods for these filters or shure even selling a multi-pack that allows further tuning options. Kinda like EQing your music, but at the driver level instead of source level. Verrrrrryyy cool. 
 
Also did some quick A/Bing vs UE900S. UE900s has some good clarity, mids are indeed recessed and not nearly as good, bass is obviously lacking. Clarity and detail retrieval are very good tho and music definitely enjoyable. What has surprised me and excited me the most about the 846 vs the UE900s is how much more listenable the 846 is at lower volume levels. The UE900S needs to be driven to higher volume or else it loses most of its sound quality rather quickly whereas the 846 seems to maintain it at low volumes. Thats very nice to help prevent fatiguing.

I had a similar experience with the UE900s. (I'm digressing here, but I still consider the UE900s to be by far the worst value-for-money of any of the several dozen IEMs I've ever owned.) Your point about listening levels is really important and often overlooked. People don't adjust volume levels to be at x%; we tend to adjust the volume until things sound good. You really don't want an IEM that pushes you toward unsafe listening levels. (I'm digressing again, but I found the same effect with Aurisonics' Rockets - they need a reasonable amount of power or their bass disappears.) The 846 have a really good balanced FR at even the lowest volume settings

 

[threephi]

  Both my nozzles have a bit of give. It wasn't apparent when I first got them, but after switching out the tips and filters a few times, they became more noticeable. I believe it's just the rubber rings that are inside the housing being broken in. There hasn't been any change to the sound.

In mine it's definitely more than the o-ring.  The whole earbud creaks when it flexes, and the axis of motion turns on a point behind the post rather than at its base.  It seems clear that there's a little bit of give to the insides.

 

[GrindedDown]

  I had a similar experience with the UE900s. (I'm digressing here, but I still consider the UE900s to be by far the worst value-for-money of any of the several dozen IEMs I've ever owned.) Your point about listening levels is really important and often overlooked. People don't adjust volume levels to be at x%; we tend to adjust the volume until things sound good. You really don't want an IEM that pushes you toward unsafe listening levels. (I'm digressing again, but I found the same effect with Aurisonics' Rockets - they need a reasonable amount of power or their bass disappears.) The 846 have a really good balanced FR at even the lowest volume settings

Ya know, I have to whole heartedly agree with you on the UE900S as far as value is concerned. I would never buy them at $400 plus tax to be honest. Thats significantly overpriced. I got them brand new and sealed for 275 (the newer "unibody" version). Even then, I'm a little hesitant to say that I am fully satisfied with the money spent on these. This seems to be a fair value IEM at $200-$250 I think. I enjoy them make no mistake, but they are underwhelming for the price and there seems to be better value elsewhere. I do give it style points and for some reason I love the stock blue cable. Light and comfortable and a great feel overall. Certainly an attractive package.
 
Sheesh, a lot of digressing going on... 
 
Back to the 846. I think that sounding good at lower levels may be one of my fav features of this earphone. It's great because I find that these won't fatigue me as quick as some IEMs and I can remain comfortable through long listening sessions. I like higher volume sometimes, but have almost always opted to listen at the quietest sound level possible without sacrificing sound quality. Luckily that's a very low volume with these. With the UE900, I had to listen too loudly on those and that is absolutely no good long term. I want to enjoy this hobby for as long as possible and my wallet is just gonna have to suck it up and deal with it.