[moedawg140]

Thanks Moe. I have not gone with full afterburners for months. I found while is was the most resolving of the choices it was very fatiguing with a Cirrus Logic DAC and the Lightning I am now trying it again but through the Burr Brown Intruder DAC. I will let you know.

 

No worries, Spook.  I feel that impeccable seal and isolation are two of the biggest factors with regards to entire FR satisfaction, and the SCS is very instrumental at least in this regard.  
 
The differences between the modded black and whites are pretty slim, especially since both foam dampers are removed (white filters out by default) and only really leaves the respective baffles in play.  
 
Balanced helps out, the Hugo sounds utterly blissful, and Silver Litz assists with perception of elevation of upper mids to highs as well.
 
All this said, the Legend R is ultimately more coherent and resolving than the SE846.

 

[spook76]

Well after chasing my tail for an hour here are my conclusions. Without a filter on full afterburner, the 8s are more resolving but it is still too fatiguing and the width of the soundstage is materially smaller.

The black filter does have a smoother treble I would put it between the stock blue and white.

However, I am back to the white filter where I started as it is more resolving than the black (sans foam) but never fatiguing and the soundstage is greater than the no filter.

I will not qualify my conclusions with the idiotic phrase "your mileage may vary" as in the audio world all we have is our own perceptions of the sound to base conclusion upon so of course your mileage WILL vary.

While I am on a rant, may I also point out the term "price point" is also completely idiotic. Look the word "price" up in Websters Dictionary it means the same as "price point". We add a adjective "price" to the noun point without realizing the single word "price" is the same. It reminds me of regardless and irregardless. One is a word "regardless" the other is gibberish as the prefix is not only confusing but meaningless.

This reminds me when I was a junior associate on an merger deal, the bankers at Goldman Sachs said to us attorneys "we need some dedicated bandwidth on this issue". What they meant was we need a junior associate (me) to be their bitch. I am sure the bankers thought they were being very clever coming up with that phrase but my fellow attorneys on the call had to mute the call as we were falling out of our chairs laughing at them.

Okay back to the forum.

 

[moedawg140]

Love your rant, Spook - on point!  I do agree about the "your mileage WILL vary" phrase as we will all have different perceptions about most everything in this world, and I'll still say my idiotic phrase of "your mileage may vary" because there may be just one person that agrees or hears the equivalent of what I write/post, so for this factor and determination alone, will still keep the "may" in there.

 

[olddude]

I find that tips really change things almost as much as the filters do.  I tried the olives, now I'm on the Westone Star silicons and they seem to give me a better seal that is also more comfortable, as well as a more defined sound across the frequency range.  Firmed up the bass a bit, and give me a more clear treble.

 

[Whazzzup]

Disregardless

 

[Earbones]

So what exactly does the black filter mod consist of, and how does it affect the sound?..

I tried the (stock unmodded) blacks briefly, but went back to the blues. The blacks were just too bassy, especially paired with the IFI Micro iDSD... Blues are fine, but I'm going to try the whites today just for the sake of why not...

 

[spook76]

So what exactly does the black filter mod consist of, and how does it affect the sound?..

I tried the (stock unmodded) blacks briefly, but went back to the blues. The blacks were just too bassy, especially paired with the IFI Micro iDSD... Blues are fine, but I'm going to try the whites today just for the sake of why not...

The black filter modification is quite simple. Using a pin gently remove the accostical foam from both the black filters. Do not remove or touch the accostical screen on the other end. Make sure you keep track of the foam if you want to put it back.

 

[Dragonsan]

Well after chasing my tail for an hour here are my conclusions. Without a filter on full afterburner, the 8s are more resolving but it is still too fatiguing and the width of the soundstage is materially smaller.

 
The SE846s are fatiguing? Really? The last thing I'd call them is fatiguing. 

 

[spook76]

The SE846s are fatiguing? Really? The last thing I'd call them is fatiguing. 

I agree with any of the three filters but if you ever listen to the 8s without a filter in the nozzle. Try it you will hear what I mean.

 

[truckdriver]

Disregardless

Unbehoovable

 

[Kylemcg]

No wonder, the engineers designed them to use a filter of a certain shape, volume, and reverberative qualities. By using them without a filter you may be inducing distortion and bad reverberation that'll taint the sound of the se846.  

 

[olddude]

Bad reverb, man.  Bad reverb.

 

[jayaudio116]

@spook76 I also find myself looking for music that was master good but it seems like this trend towards mastering for loudness is reverting back, Slowly but surly. So much depends on how good the music sounds and the more I upgrade my head gear the easier it is to see this

 

[spook76]

@spook76 I also find myself looking for music that was master good but it seems like this trend towards mastering for loudness is reverting back, Slowly but surly. So much depends on how good the music sounds and the more I upgrade my head gear the easier it is to see this

Absolutely. I listen almost exclusively to progressive rock both classic and modern. Compare Opeth's Pale Communion (2014) to the older Opeth albums or better the story of Pocupine Tree's Deadwing. Steven Wilson, the leader of PT unsuccessfully fought his record company not to compress the final album. Ultimately he released an uncompressed DVD-A version when he set up his own website and the difference is striking.

 

[Earbones]

The black filter modification is quite simple. Using a pin gently remove the accostical foam from both the black filters. Do not remove or touch the accostical screen on the other end. Make sure you keep track of the foam if you want to put it back.

Thanks... Sounds like a fairly simple operation.

What are the benefits? How do the modded black filters compare to the stock blue and stock white?