[djohnson013]

I have owned the Westone W4's for about five years now and have loved them. I like the fit and sound quality. I bought the Shure SE215's when they first came out, only to try their fit. Obviously they were a step backward from the W4's in sound quality.
Bought them mostly for mountain biking. Ended up giving them to my GF. I struggled to insert them in my ears and hated the way the stiff cable felt around my ears. The wire would rotate and I just had difficultly inserting them.
 
I purchased the W60's this week and using them now. At this time I'm loving them. They will need a few weeks for burn in.  I really find no issue with the build quality, and my W4's are still going strong. I really never abused them for that fact. So maybe that's why they have held up so well. They probably have a 1000 hours of use on them.
 
I probably need to buy the SE846's and compare them myself, then sell the ones I don't like. I just hope they are not as difficult to insert as the other ones I had, and fit in my ears well. I use the Comply foam tips and have had positive results from them. I would use the same with the Shure's  I do like the idea of being able to customize the sound signature on the Shure's
 
I just received my OPPO PM-3's a few hours ago, so I'm listening to them as well. This could the best portable closed headphone I have heard. 
 
 
David

 

[Whazzzup]

Congrats on the new 846 but my preference is transparent.

 

[deltronzero]

  I have to say though anyone who owns the se846 should have at least one sony dap in his collection.Be it F800,F880,A10,ZX2 all these work extremely well with the se846 technicalities aside.Some are a little warmer,some are brighter,the soundstage is  a little more open,but all the sonys have big soundstage,even the F800 series which i continue listen to this day has more width than the dx90 although it lacks in depth vs ZX2 but that's only if you a/b them right away.They are all high in clarity,punchy bass and don't have the thin treble of other daps(except maybe the a10 series which i auditioned 4 months ago and did have that impression vs f805 but its under debate due to limited time at store).Other daps may have more energy and a more searching treble but the musicality of sony daps with se846 is unquestionable,despite the difference in tone between models the general sony sound is there.
 
If i didn't have a sony dap i would definitely be looking at A20/ZX100 right now and pair it later with the mojo dac.Very good sound and battery on the go and se846 is easy too drive,thank god because the amp in all sonys is patheric and then at home add mojo which from reading initial impressions pair well with se846.
 
Advice to new se846 owners out there.

Yep, 846's sound sooooo good out of the ZX2.  The 3D soundstage of ZX2 really help with the shures.

 

[ubs28]

I like the transparent version too. That is because my Shure SE535 is the bronze version. If i had the transparent version of the Shure SE535, then the other varations of the Shure SE846 could be interesting.

 

[ubs28]

I was pleasantly surprised about the build quality of the Shure. I've had previous iem's from a discontinued line and they always had build issues. Although that was typically the cable but with all these removable parts I thought it was just something else that can go wrong. I have no concerns about the build of these and from my past experience Shure has excellent customer service if something happens to my SE846.

It is a shame about the Westone iem you had that felt like a toy. Hopefully that is not the general trend of their products. I really liked their entire W line from the W1 to W4. Ive heard or owned all of them are with the exception of the W1 they were all very good. I was thinking about getting a spare iem since I travel a lot and didn't want to risk losing my SE846 so was thinking about a used W3.

Actually, the only reason I bought the Shure SE215 was that my Apple Earbuds kept failing after a year. And that is how the whole journey started. I'm very impressed with the build quality of Shure in general. All my IEM's still work 100% after many many years.

 

[rawrster]

Actually, the only reason I bought the Shure SE215 was that my Apple Earbuds kept failing after a year. And that is how the whole journey started. I'm very impressed with the build quality of Shure in general. All my IEM's still work 100% after many many years.

 
That may be the case but Shure was not always known for good build quality. I've owned two SCL4 and a SCL3 and they all had an issue with the wire splitting near where the earbuds and eventually going bad. That was an ongoing issues with their iem's and very well known throughout these forums. This was not the case of me abusing my iem's since I typically keep good care of them and was apparent from the entire SCL line. Of course this predates the current line where they have removable cables and a big reason for that (imo at least) was due to their previous lineup having those cable issues.
 
Of course I am happy that Shure has improved their build quality over the years as it wasn't that long ago that they were known for failing cables.

 

[joshnor713]

Hey, for anyone wondering, the LG V10 is the first smartphone that my SE846 are dead silent with (with regard to noise floor). I am hugely satisfied with this phone as a source. My iBasso MK2 is technically better, but for cases where I don't have it around (or just want the convenience), it is really nice.
 
The V10 uses a dedicated SABRE dac/amp and works with Tidal. Here's my review: http://www.androidguys.com/2015/11/09/lg-v10-review-could-this-underdog-be-the-phablet-of-the-year/

 

[elfary]

Hey, for anyone wondering, the LG V10 is the first smartphone that my SE846 are dead silent with (with regard to noise floor). I am hugely satisfied with this phone as a source. My iBasso MK2 is technically better, but for cases where I don't have it around (or just want the convenience), it is really nice.
 
The V10 uses a dedicated SABRE dac/amp and works with Tidal. Here's my review: http://www.androidguys.com/2015/11/09/lg-v10-review-could-this-underdog-be-the-phablet-of-the-year/

FWIW with an iPhone 6 the background is pitch black as well.


If the tonality it's not right, then nothing else really matters.

 

[ubs28]

FWIW with an iPhone 6 the background is pitch black as well.


If the tonality it's not right, then nothing else really matters.

Same as my iPhone 5S. The iPhone 6S plus however ......

 

[oreitan13]

I am using fiio x5 gen 2 as source. What protobal amp do you recommend up to 250 usd.
I am thinking about fiio E12A but I am open.

 

[Eroica4th]

Can you guys, owners of se846, take pictures of the crossover of se846. There are 5 orange/goldish ( capacitors/resistors). In my case, one of them looks a lil bit darker than the other in each earpiece.

 

[ezekiel77]

IMHO the X5ii drives it well. But if you want to amp it the Cayin C5 does a good job although it adds a bit of coloration.

 

[oreitan13]

IMHO the X5ii drives it well. But if you want to amp it the Cayin C5 does a good job although it adds a bit of coloration.

How about the oppo h2 or the fiio E12A

 

[elfary]

Same as my iPhone 5S. The iPhone 6S plus however ......

 
All 6s i have tried (quite a few by now) exhibit bakcground chirping noises clearly audible with both my SE535 and SE846. A hard pill to swallow after so many years of flawless headphone ports.

 

[ezekiel77]

How about the oppo h2 or the fiio E12A

Both are good amps for your budget. If you search the thread quite a number of people use the E12A so you can't go wrong with that. HA2 is more for future proofing if you decide to get headphones later on. Ditto Cayin C5. E12A is more for IEMs but I can't comment much since I've never tried it.