[AndrewH13]

Its funny. I am a bass head. Coming from the UM3x I used to use the black filters on the Se846. After about 2 weeks I evolved to the white filters. Which are supposed to be the lease bass right? I actually found the bass sounds even better with the whites, aswell as everything else.

Tighntess and speed of bass are important to many, more so than quantity. Different flavours.

 

[Mitchell4500]

Tightness and speed of bass are important to many, more so than quantity. Different flavours.

Amen.
 
I think the biggest bass awakening for me was when I went from car subwoofers to PA subwoofers. With most generic car audio the bass is loud and there, but on my PA stuff it was so much tighter and like you could feel it in your chest

 

[jb5200]

So you guys are saying there is more bass and better with the white filters?  I am afraid the treble becoming too sharp as it's borderline for me!

 

[AndrewH13]

So you guys are saying there is more bass and better with the white filters?  I am afraid the treble becoming too sharp as it's borderline for me!

Other way round I think. Black's warm with treble dip, whites faster, sharper treble but lacking body. I settled for Blues with a clearer treble from foams removed. It's all personal preference though.

 

[jb5200]

See, that's what I was afraid of, I use the blue b/c in theory supposed to be a balance with all but not really wanting sharper treble, a little more sparkle would be nice tho and deeper bass!

 

[olddude]

Blue is stock.  Many of us removed the foam at the top on the barrel (think where the bullet would come out) to gain a bit more treble extension.  The blacks give much more bass, but I feel, with my ears, that it muddies the sound.  The whites give more treble with, to my ears, the loss of some of the nice bass/timbre that the blues give.  If you just got these, listen to them for a while with the blues.  Then play with the tips before messing with the filters.  Tips alone will change the sound sig fairly dramatically.  After you find tips you like, then start the filter game.  But first figure out what stock does.  Let your mind and ears get used to the new iems for a bit first.  Otherwise you are just flailing away and will have a hard time deciding what's what.

 

[jb5200]

That is great advice, I want to try the removal of the foam at the top of the barrel but not sure what your talking about is it the tips themselves or is it on the earbud itself where the tip goes on.  The only way I can get any bass is when I use the largest foam tip and twist and insert, haven't tried any of the yellow, rubber, or flange tips b/c it is sooooo hard to get them off, is there an easier way to get the tips off I feel like I am gonna break the darn things?

 

[olddude]

The filter look like a gun barrel.  The round end is where the bullet would come out.  The other end plugs into the earpiece and is not open.  Don't mess with that end, you will break the filter.  Take a shirt pin and gently slide it into the open round part of the filter (where the bullet would come out) AT THE SIDE no more then halfway, and then angle it so that it catches the foam piece (very small) inside the barrel.  Work it out slowly, over a table with white paper or other smooth surface.  If you don't, you will lose it.  When it pops out, bag it so you can reinsert it later if you want to.  Repeat on the other filter.  DO NOT DO THIS ON THE CLOSED END, YOU WILL F UP YOUR FILTER.  Reinsert the filters, lining up the red dots as the instructions show you to do.  
 
To remove tips, do a gentle pull/twist/pry.  Hold the earpiece at the point where the shaft enters them, not where the cables attach.  Go slow.  It will get easier.  

 

[SomeGuyDude]

Funny thing. The plastic bit on the "closed end" came out of both my filters, I left the foam, and I think it sounds better than stock. 

 

[JaZZ]

  DO NOT DO THIS ON THE CLOSED END, YOU WILL F UP YOUR FILTER.

 
It's easy to do that without f up the filter. I used a straightened paper clip to pull it out from the inside of the filter tube, and the (intact!) filter is now stored in the filter container in case I want to insert it again (doubt it, as it's the black filter). jb5200, you'll be surprised about the result once you dare to go this far! BTW, it's better to use foam tips with a dust protector mesh after doing so!

 

[olddude]

If you're gonna do that, leave the filters all the way out.  

  I liked it that way better than with a cleaned-out black tube.  Though I'm back to the modded blues again now.  

 

[heavenhated]

After multiple hearing my set up settled down to yellow ear tips, blue filter which gives me the best balance. The 3 flanged tip is good but its just supremely uncomfortable. The other tips are either over sized or undersized. Ordered some tips to try out different options. The silicon ones are absolutely no-no for me for i can hardly hear any low's. 
 
The white definitely had a great impact on the highs and mids but the black felt so close to the blue. 
 
I have ordered additional blue that i am going to experiment with including removing the foam. The normal 1,2,3 tips are good but they dont give me the bass even in bass heavy songs. The yellow foam give me great balance between comfort, detail and clarity. I am sure this improves over time as well as i get into more amp and source. 
 
I am still blaming my current source which is a samsung s5 fone. i am debating between X5II or X5I.
 
X51 has nice deals. X3II is also a choice but wont mind the extra space and newer XgII. If there is no major difference in rendition of X5 and X5 II i may actually save some money and get the X5 plus an amp to go with it.

 

[JaZZ]

  If you're gonna do that, leave the filters all the way out.  

  I liked it that way better than with a cleaned-out black tube.  Though I'm back to the modded blues again now.  

 
You see: filterless isn't the be-all and end-all. 

So for those who dare: Try the empty tube option! It offers a markedly different sound than the filterless operation. I haven't tried the «blue filter mod», as I was coming from the white filters and was looking for en even more pesent upper treble combined with increased smoothness and naturalness. The empty filter tube concept has fulfilled my expectations, although I need a bit of bass boost now (!).
 
Your ears may have different requirements, though, so it's just a recommendation for those with similar demands.

 

[JaZZ]

  I am still blaming my current source which is a samsung s5 fone. i am debating between X5II or X5I.
 
X51 has nice deals. X3II is also a choice but wont mind the extra space and newer XgII. If there is no major difference in rendition of X5 and X5 II i may actually save some money and get the X5 plus an amp to go with it.

 
My SE846 sounds great with both X3 II and X5 II. If you can manage the halved memory space I'd go with the X3 II which offers most bang for the buck. It sounds similar to the X 5 II and not even clearly inferior if you ask me. Moreover it's (even) more portable. I like it. I like both. The original X5 now falls a bit short in terms of sound quality (if you use the headphone out). I may be in the minority with my preference for the X3 II against the X5, but that's how I hear it (with both SE846 and IE 800).
 
You don't need an amp for the SE846. It may make sense if you really like the sond signature of a specific amp and/or want even higher sound quality than the X5's headphone out. But with the other two I would definitely resist the peer pressure to use an external amp, since they sound so good and offer «perfect» sound on the go (provided you predominantly use it that way, otherwise I'd go for a desktop amp or DAC/headphone amp) plus optimal mobility which adds to the listening pleasure.

 

[olddude]

Source and files matter as well.  I really liked filterless a lot, but I also really love the smoothness in the bass of the modded- blues.  The empty blacks gave me too much bass, and the whites not enough.  And I'm using Sensaphonics, so that also is part of the equation.  Running FLAC out of my Pono, the modded blues give me, right now, what I like.  
 
I'm going to be test-driving the Cayin N6 within the next month, curious how the 846 sounds with it.  And, unlike the Pono it has an EQ, so I can do a bit of playing with frequencies as well.