[milford30]

Yah I just tried them on right now. They are definitely more comfortable compared to the silicone tips but the isolation, detail, as well as bass impact suffers quite a bit. I had to take them out immediately during the first song. There is also a quite noticeable veil with these tips. Maybe its the foam or maybe it's the mesh grill wax guard on the end? Isolation is very important to me as I study a lot in noisy environments.
I think I might just have to give these a try. If this fails then I guess I'll stick with the triple flanges.

I was under the impression that if the opening of the tip was wider, the soundstage would also improve? That's why I was considering the westones because people said the opening was much wider than the sock tips.

Thanks for the input everyone

 
 
That is why I use the white filters, it seems to balance them out, doesn't give me a headach after long periods. Anyway I think you are doing something wrong if the isolation and bass impact is suffering, the lack of detail is probably them being less airy. Isolation with foam is objectively better than silicon physically.

 

[tonifyd]

Agreed!

I would venture out a step further and say that listening to electronically amplified (reproduced) music through IEM or HP or Home Stereo and to live (unamplified) music in a concert hall are four different experiences; each has its unique appeal that can be enjoyed in its own way.

For years I attempted to upgrade and tweak my home stereo to sound as close as possible to what I heard in the Meyerson Hall in Dallas--I had season tickets near the front on the main floor as well as in the loge so I had a very good appreciation of the hall sound. After plunking over a hundred grand into my system, I finally had to admit to myself that the attempt was ill-conceived from the start and completely futile--not to mention costly.

Having compared some of the better IEM (IE800, SE846 and Roxanne...) and HP (LCD3, HE-6, TH-900, PS1000...) I arrived at a similar conclusion: two experiences different enough from one another that comparing them may be fun but not necessarily very useful.

Football and Golf: which one is better? I think I'd like to see tackle Golf. Spend too long reading a put and you get a helmet hit in the middle of your back! Wouldn't that be fun?

Have a nice day!

LOL tackle golf! That's awesome in so manh ways lol

That is why I use the white filters, it seems to balance them out, doesn't give me a headach after long periods. Anyway I think you are doing something wrong if the isolation and bass impact is suffering, the lack of detail is probably them being less airy. Isolation with foam is objectively better than silicon physically.

This is what i did to compare. On one side i put in the foam tip and on the other side i stuck on either the triple flange or the gray olive silicone and then just listened to ambient noise. There's more leaking on the side of the foam tip.

 

[milford30]

LOL tackle golf! That's awesome in so manh ways lol
This is what i did to compare. On one side i put in the foam tip and on the other side i stuck on either the triple flange or the gray olive silicone and then just listened to ambient noise. There's more leaking on the side of the foam tip.

Did you put them in this way?
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7Zc5meSooI

 

[moedawg140]

That is why I use the white filters, it seems to balance them out, doesn't give me a headach after long periods. Anyway I think you are doing something wrong if the isolation and bass impact is suffering, the lack of detail is probably them being less airy. Isolation with foam is objectively better than silicon physically.

Just giving my 2 cents -- sizes-fit-all foam tips may or may not isolate more dB than sizes-fit-all silicone tips such as the Westone STAR Fit, but neither sizes-fit-all tips isolate as well as silicone custom sleeves. No competition in this regard. I will go further and say that custom sleeves isolate even more dB than custom acrylic.

 

[tonifyd]

Did you put them in this way?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7Zc5meSooI

No but i do squish it down first then hold it in my ear till the foam fills my ear canal till isolation is in effect.

 

[tonifyd]

Just giving my 2 cents -- sizes-fit-all foam tips may or may not isolate more dB than sizes-fit-all silicone tips such as the Westone STAR Fit, but neither sizes-fit-all tips isolate as well as silicone custom sleeves. No competition in this regard. I will go further and say that custom sleeves isolate even more dB than custom acrylic.

Yes you are probably right as a tip molded to the exact shape of your ear will definitely give you the best seal. Im trying to stay away from custom anything as long as possible though as im sure custom molds arent cheap

 

[moedawg140]

Yes you are probably right as a tip molded to the exact shape of your ear will definitely give you the best seal. Im trying to stay away from custom anything as long as possible though as im sure custom molds arent cheap

If you really love the SE846 and sizes-fit-all tips aren't working for you, the SCS could be a consideration. As for cost, it's up to you if it's worth the price of admission. The entire price of the SCS varies by audiologist, but I've seen Sensaphonics sales throughout the year, a person paying as low as $130 for the SCS, but most spend between $150 to $200 including impression/shipping fees. I believe I paid the most though because I have the custom colors ($50 extra on top of the $150 SCS price), a $100 impression fee from the Sensaphonics Double Gold Circle Audiologist, Lisa Tannenbaum as well as going to urgent care to get my wax cleared before impressions were able to be taken ($35). But having an impeccably feeling CIEM version of the SE846 in my ears? Priceless.

 

[jelt2359]

Agreed!

I would venture out a step further and say that listening to electronically amplified (reproduced) music through IEM or HP or Home Stereo and to live (unamplified) music in a concert hall are four different experiences; each has its unique appeal that can be enjoyed in its own way.

For years I attempted to upgrade and tweak my home stereo to sound as close as possible to what I heard in the Meyerson Hall in Dallas--I had season tickets near the front on the main floor as well as in the loge so I had a very good appreciation of the hall sound. After plunking over a hundred grand into my system, I finally had to admit to myself that the attempt was ill-conceived from the start and completely futile--not to mention costly.

Having compared some of the better IEM (IE800, SE846 and Roxanne...) and HP (LCD3, HE-6, TH-900, PS1000...) I arrived at a similar conclusion: two experiences different enough from one another that comparing them may be fun but not necessarily very useful.

Football and Golf: which one is better? I think I'd like to see tackle Golf. Spend too long reading a put and you get a helmet hit in the middle of your back! Wouldn't that be fun?

Have a nice day!

I once asked a CIEM maker if he thought we'd ever get IEMs that sounded like speakers, or even headphones. He challenged me right back: why should we even try?
 
So different, yes, for sure. Better- that's up for debate.

 

[milford30]

Just giving my 2 cents -- sizes-fit-all foam tips may or may not isolate more dB than sizes-fit-all silicone tips such as the Westone STAR Fit, but neither sizes-fit-all tips isolate as well as silicone custom sleeves. No competition in this regard. I will go further and say that custom sleeves isolate even more dB than custom acrylic.

 
That is un-physical a thicker foam will ALWAYS isolate more than a thin silicon (with the exception of the triple flange) when fitted properly i.e no leaks. That is why they use foam in sound isolating rooms, vibrations are easily absorbed.

 

[moedawg140]

That is un-physical a thicker foam will ALWAYS isolate more than a thin silicon (with the exception of the triple flange) when fitted properly i.e no leaks. That is why they use foam in sound isolating rooms, vibrations are easily absorbed.

With reference to in-ears, I made it a point to only focus on the physical aspect as I did not want to stray from your original statement. I did not even speak about properly fitting correctly, depth of insertion, etcetera. Discussing about using foam in sound isolation rooms is completely off-topic in relation to the materials used with regards to in ear sizes-fit-all tips and silicone custom sleeves. I could agree that the thick foam isolates more than the thin silicone, but you stated: "Isolation with foam is objectively better than silicon physically." What you stated does not discuss thickness at all. My point was explaining to your original statement, that the silicone custom sleeves isolate more dB than any size sizes-fit-all foam tips (and acrylic for that matter) could hope to achieve - nothing more, nothing less.

 

[Jimmyf1312]

Finally took the plunge and got the se846s they sound incredible. Don't work on my desktop setup though, they are too sensitive (ef-5, modi)

 

[tonifyd]

Quick update.

I went to a local shop that sold the Westone star tips.

Holy hell comfort!!

I had the opportunity to test out all different sizes that were available and ended up choosing the medium sized long flange style tip that are color coded "red"

The diameter seems to fall right in between the medium and small gray olives of Shure's.

Some differences in sound I have noticed.

First the bad: isolation does seem to suffer just a tiny tiny bit compared to the triple flange tips. Also the bass does not impact as hard just by a tiny tiny TINY bit.

Good: but both are more than acceptable for the amount of comfort offered by these tips. I no longer have to constantly fidget with the placement to find some comfort which was hugely distracting and was a huge distraction to the overall experience. Now I barely feel them my ears!

Another huge plus of these tips is the treble extension that these tips somehow makes possible. In lack of a better explanation, say for example the trebble extension of the stock tips extended up to back off your eyes. Now you feel as if the treble extends all the way to to temples of your head without ever being too harsh or sibilant. I guess that's what the airiness of the tips feel like.

Also, because of the long tip design, even if you dont have that perfect seal that sometimes causes a pain in your drums when you yank them out (as if the pressure was going to turn your eardrums inside out), the isolation is just as good. The perfect airtight seal is still there, it's just that when you pull them out of your ears there is much much less pain when doing so. When I was using the stock tips, in order to find that seal I had to use a slightly larger tip which was super uncomfortable and felt like it was stretching open my ear canal, which would result in a headache after an hour or two.

As for the recommendation for custom fitted tips, I'm definitely sure that they do offer the best isolation, the best bass response, and the best comfort, but unfortunately I'm in hong kong for now and shipping costs will pretty much triple if i were willing to receive anything in a reasonable amount of time. After i move back to the states i do plan on getting custom sleeves. But until then, i think i have found quite a satisfying fit

Thanks everyone for reading this far

Back to catching up with this thread. Currently on page 62 lol

 

[xaddictionx]

Quick update.

I went to a local shop that sold the Westone star tips.

Holy hell comfort!!

I had the opportunity to test out all different sizes that were available and ended up choosing the medium sized long flange style tip that are color coded "red"

The diameter seems to fall right in between the medium and small gray olives of Shure's.

Some differences in sound I have noticed.

First the bad: isolation does seem to suffer just a tiny tiny bit compared to the triple flange tips. Also the bass does not impact as hard just by a tiny tiny TINY bit.

Good: but both are more than acceptable for the amount of comfort offered by these tips. I no longer have to constantly fidget with the placement to find some comfort which was hugely distracting and was a huge distraction to the overall experience. Now I barely feel them my ears!

Another huge plus of these tips is the treble extension that these tips somehow makes possible. In lack of a better explanation, say for example the trebble extension of the stock tips extended up to back off your eyes. Now you feel as if the treble extends all the way to to temples of your head without ever being too harsh or sibilant. I guess that's what the airiness of the tips feel like.

Also, because of the long tip design, even if you dont have that perfect seal that sometimes causes a pain in your drums when you yank them out (as if the pressure was going to turn your eardrums inside out), the isolation is just as good. The perfect airtight seal is still there, it's just that when you pull them out of your ears there is much much less pain when doing so. When I was using the stock tips, in order to find that seal I had to use a slightly larger tip which was super uncomfortable and felt like it was stretching open my ear canal, which would result in a headache after an hour or two.

As for the recommendation for custom fitted tips, I'm definitely sure that they do offer the best isolation, the best bass response, and the best comfort, but unfortunately I'm in hong kong for now and shipping costs will pretty much triple if i were willing to receive anything in a reasonable amount of time. After i move back to the states i do plan on getting custom sleeves. But until then, i think i have found quite a satisfying fit

Thanks everyone for reading this far

Back to catching up with this thread. Currently on page 62 lol

The star tips really matches well with the 846!

 

[e30ernest]

I have to try the Star TIps again and give them a longer audition on the 846s.  The Star Tips are pairing well with my 425s.  Maybe now my ears would like them better with the 846.

 

[mc21]

Now that I've had the se846 for about a week, I am quite happy with my purchase. It has great isolation (I honestly think shure olives give better isolation than customs. I have a very well fitting custom and it rarely ever loose seal) and I understand what the advertisement meant when it says it has a true subwoofer. Before I got them in my hands, I was looking very hard at the K10 and UM Mentor universal but I have to say I'm quite satisfied and no longer looking anymore. I'm currently using the white filter but may switch back to the blue since I usually like a more neutral sound (but for some reason I seem to like the white more than blue on the se846. I think it has to do with how the bass/midbass sounds.) These are a lot smaller than I anticipated from reading reviews and impressions. It's been a while since I had my se535 but them seem to be pretty similar in size from memory. I have a pair of UM Miracles that I rarely use because it is a hassle to put on and off. Taking it on and off ends up causing my ear canals to hurt after light use. However I have been using Shure olives and comply tips for close to 10 years now and never had an issue and I am quite glad to be back to using them as my daily.