[Solude]

DX90 and X5 are on my radar as well.  Form vs Function.  I prefer the X5 design decisions but the DX90 look and feel.

 

[Tony1110]

DX90 and X5 are on my radar as well.  Form vs Function.  I prefer the X5 design decisions but the DX90 look and feel.

I'm leaning towards the DX90 if I can manage to sell my AK120. It looks perfect for the Shure and the price is reasonable. I'd like to hear the AK240 but that price is just ridiculous.

 

[ManLo]

I'm leaning towards the DX90 if I can manage to sell my AK120. It looks perfect for the Shure and the price is reasonable. I'd like to hear the AK240 but that price is just ridiculous.

but the 2.5 TRRS output is impreesive

 

[ag8908]

On the loose bass, I should say I'm comparing it to a Burson Conductor driving an HD800, but ultimately a bass sound is not just a loose thump, there's actually detail and texture when a drumstick hits a drum. There's the moment it hits the drum, and then the dissipation of sound. The SE846 can't deliver that as well as top end headphone setups. I'm not sure any IEM will be able to although I have the Roxannes coming so I'll let you know.
 
I'm also curious if, perhaps, IEMs with dynamic drivers (like the SE215) might be better at this. No idea if that's true although I'm not wasting $99 on an IEM I will likely never use just to find out.

 

[elindil]

In which case is also right to say that the 846 lacks "timbre"?

 

[Kunlun]

On the loose bass, I should say I'm comparing it to a Burson Conductor driving an HD800, but ultimately a bass sound is not just a loose thump, there's actually detail and texture when a drumstick hits a drum. There's the moment it hits the drum, and then the dissipation of sound. The SE846 can't deliver that as well as top end headphone setups. I'm not sure any IEM will be able to although I have the Roxannes coming so I'll let you know.

I'm also curious if, perhaps, IEMs with dynamic drivers (like the SE215) might be better at this. No idea if that's true although I'm not wasting $99 on an IEM I will likely never use just to find out.

One answer to this sort of comparison is to try to repeat it in the subway and see if the results change.... of course, the iem may well come out on top then. It's a kind of a joke, but it's a bit serious as well.

As for the se15, I'm not sure it makes any sort of sense to compare a $100 iem with a $1000 one and a $1500 open headphone. However, a top-end dynamic driver, like the Future Sonics custom-fit MG5pro 10mm dynamic really does have a very well controlled bass. I only directly compared it to the 846 for a short time, so I can't say definitely, but the mg5pro does have a more natural sounding bass with better bass dynamics.

In which case is also right to say that the 846 lacks "timbre"?

Timbre is the realistic reproduction of subtle resonances that make voocal and instrumental music sound real to our ears. We could say that an earphone has more or less accurate reproduction of timbre.

 

[acadia]

Does dac/dap really make a difference. I. Hear something like ak240 needs a high end unemployment, to really shine. I have 846, and noticed that listening on my iPad mini retina is better than my 5s, so it got me yo perusing would picking up a high end dac/dap really improve sound quality?

 

[Solude]

Yes.  The jump from iPhone to iPad is in the 1% gain range.  Now imagine a full bore desktop rig in the $10,000 range... better... yes =)

 

[ag8908]

Future Sonics custom-fit MG5pro 10mm dynamic really does have a very well controlled bass. I only directly compared it to the 846 for a short time, so I can't say definitely, but the mg5pro does have a more natural sounding bass with better bass dynamics.
 

 
Wow that's a centimeter. How big is that IEM?
 
I never understood the difference between the single dynamic driver used in the SE215 and IE800 and the multiple tiny transducer type drivers used in the Westone/SE846 and I assume JH Audio.

 

[ubs28]

  On the loose bass, I should say I'm comparing it to a Burson Conductor driving an HD800, but ultimately a bass sound is not just a loose thump, there's actually detail and texture when a drumstick hits a drum. There's the moment it hits the drum, and then the dissipation of sound. The SE846 can't deliver that as well as top end headphone setups. I'm not sure any IEM will be able to although I have the Roxannes coming so I'll let you know.
 
I'm also curious if, perhaps, IEMs with dynamic drivers (like the SE215) might be better at this. No idea if that's true although I'm not wasting $99 on an IEM I will likely never use just to find out.

 
The HD-800 has an emphasises on the mid-bass frequencies (mid-bass hump like alot of dynamic headphones have). So what you are probably hearing is mid-bass (HD-800) vs sub-bass (Shure SE846). 
 

 

[ag8908]

   
The HD-800 has an emphasises on the mid-bass frequencies (mid-bass hump like alot of dynamic headphones have). So what you are probably hearing is mid-bass (HD-800) vs sub-bass (Shure SE846). 
 

I don't think that chart tells you the detail/precision/speed of the headphone.

 

[Kunlun]

Oh, 10mm is easy to fit in a standard iem, you see 8mm-10mm in Monster turbine iems and many others. The 16mm dynamics Sony uses are a bit big. The MG5pro is custom fit.

You might want to search dynamic versus balanced armature to see the differences in design.

Armatures have a tongue of metal that vibrates to make sound. Dynamics are like the speakers in your home stereo, only smaller, with a diaphram cone. One argument is that dynamics, which are vented (they are partly by the space around them and there is a vent in the back), allow for air to move back and forth and this is closer to how the ear evolved to hear sound, particularly bass. Armatures tend to be in sealed shells, which has a different effect on sound. Some people and some companies like one more than the other. It's all how these components are used and what you want to hear.

 

[ag8908]

Oh, 10mm is easy to fit in a standard iem, you see 8mm-10mm in Monster turbine iems and many others. The 16mm dynamics Sony uses are a bit big. The MG5pro is custom fit.

You might want to search dynamic versus balanced armature to see the differences in design.

Armatures have a tongue of metal that vibrates to make sound. Dynamics are like the speakers in your home stereo, only smaller, with a diaphram cone. One argument is that dynamics, which are vented (they are partly by the space around them and there is a vent in the back), allow for air to move back and forth and this is closer to how the ear evolved to hear sound, particularly bass. Armatures tend to be in sealed shells, which has a different effect on sound. Some people and some companies like one more than the other. It's all how these components are used and what you want to hear.

Oh well if dynamics have to be vented then it seems like they won't be able to provide the isolation of armatures, thus kind of defeating the purpose of an IEM.

 

[Kunlun]

Oh well if dynamics have to be vented then it seems like they won't be able to provide the isolation of armatures, thus kind of defeating the purpose of an IEM.

Actually, many dynamics give excellent isolation. The vent is to the back of the driver, not to your ear.

There's a reason the first in-ear monitors ever used on stage, where you need good isolation, where dynamics.

Of course, armatures have their fans, too. Since this is the shure 846 thread, let's get back to that and you can learn about iem tranducers elsewhere!

 

[Solude]

JH would say it is because that's all there was.  You can also vent a BA and to quote JH it limits isolation to allow hearing ambient sounds.  Holes tend not to isolate.  Think open ortho headphones.  The vent is on the back of the driver and the driver to ear is a sealed environment... blocks next to no outside noise.