[Ivabign]

  That is the difference in R&D ability between a half a billion dollar company (annual sales) and all the small privately owned boutique companies in this business. 

There has to be the desire to create greatness though - R&D & $$ can take you mediocre places... (Beats, Bose, et al)

 

[Chodi]

 
There has to be the desire to create greatness though - R&D & $$ can take you mediocre places... (Beats, Bose, et al)

I agree but Shure has demonstrated that they have the desire to reach state of the art products. Those others companies you mention are mass market low-fi to mid-fi companies. Shure has proven over and over that they are for real through their pro audio efforts. No comparison with those other companies.

 

[Ivabign]

  I agree but Shure has demonstrated that they have the desire to reach state of the art products. Those others companies you mention are mass market low-fi to mid-fi companies. Shure has proven over and over that they are for real through their pro audio efforts. No comparison with those other companies.

I agree - Shure is a great company - they push the envelope in their own way - while everyone was expecting a 6-driver SE946 - they come out of left field with the electrostatic - brilliant. My SE846 is one of my favorite IEMs - you can stare at the workmanship some times - just holding the little buggers in your hand

 

[Ivabign]

  Guess I'll just do the sensible thing and buy both ....... said no one ever!
 
 
Ivabign, how is comfort like between the two?

Doh!
 
My K10 is custom, so it fits like a glove - the 846 also fits extremely well - and I have a hell of a time with many universals. Makes me wonder how the Angie and Roxanne fit me... I have a real sharp angle in my ear canal - so an IEM with a short nozzle gets loose really easily.

 

[Chodi]

 
Doh!
 
My K10 is custom, so it fits like a glove - the 846 also fits extremely well - and I have a hell of a time with many universals. Makes me wonder how the Angie and Roxanne fit me... I have a real sharp angle in my ear canal - so an IEM with a short nozzle gets loose really easily.

I have the same problem with my ears. Hard to get a good seal with iem's that have short tubes. Here is one solution I found that works:
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/331714726620?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

[elfary]

Prior to the SE846 i owned for a couple moths a set of Westone UM Pro 50s. While i loved them as soon as i tried the 846 i knew that it was something special.
 
I don't know how did Shure get away with it but no iem that i have heard makes the music as a whole shines as it does with SE846. The emotional quotient of the SE846s is on a league of its own.
 
And workmanship and design are staggering as well. One of those rare instances where everything is perfect or very close to perfection.

 

[RyuX84]

Just a quick question.. Anyone ever had any problems that a driver broke down ? Mine are 3 months old and one of the drivers (audible 400-2000 hz approx.) broke down on the left side.
Now i have to wait for some weeks and hope that they repair it - but i am a little shocked how fast it happened and i never listen high volumes and took special care.
Could it be the custom cable i used ? But again i only attached it to the SE846 once and then left it attached, and i guess i would have a broken socket or something but not a broken driver.
It is kind of sad because i really loved them but now that they broke down so fast i am afraid it might happen again (when out of warranty)...

 

[jelt2359]

  Just a quick question.. Anyone ever had any problems that a driver broke down ? Mine are 3 months old and one of the drivers (audible 400-2000 hz approx.) broke down on the left side.
Now i have to wait for some weeks and hope that they repair it - but i am a little shocked how fast it happened and i never listen high volumes and took special care.
Could it be the custom cable i used ? But again i only attached it to the SE846 once and then left it attached, and i guess i would have a broken socket or something but not a broken driver.
It is kind of sad because i really loved them but now that they broke down so fast i am afraid it might happen again (when out of warranty)...

Yup mine broke down a few months in. Did a one to one exchange at my local service center. Luck of the draw, I guess.

 

[RyuX84]

  Yup mine broke down a few months in. Did a one to one exchange at my local service center. Luck of the draw, I guess.

Sad to hear that...Well then let's hope for the best that it was just a faulty batch of drivers and now they are all working well

 

[RubenV]

  Just a quick question.. Anyone ever had any problems that a driver broke down ? Mine are 3 months old and one of the drivers (audible 400-2000 hz approx.) broke down on the left side.
Now i have to wait for some weeks and hope that they repair it - but i am a little shocked how fast it happened and i never listen high volumes and took special care.
Could it be the custom cable i used ? But again i only attached it to the SE846 once and then left it attached, and i guess i would have a broken socket or something but not a broken driver.
It is kind of sad because i really loved them but now that they broke down so fast i am afraid it might happen again (when out of warranty)...

Sorry to hear that. I've got mine for almost 12 months now, and they are rock solid. I honestly do not think it was caused by either high listening levels or the custom cable. When you manufacture on a scale like Shure does, despite all QA, there is always a change that a product fails. At least Shure appears to be a solid company, with a decent track record. So replacing the driver etc. will be covered by warranty I presume. Unfortunately you have to do without these iem's for the time being...On the other hand, it might make you appreciate them more if you get them back.  

 

[RyuX84]

  Sorry to hear that. I've got mine for almost 12 months now, and they are rock solid. I honestly do not think it was caused by either high listening levels or the custom cable. When you manufacture on a scale like Shure does, despite all QA, there is always a change that a product fails. At least Shure appears to be a solid company, with a decent track record. So replacing the driver etc. will be covered by warranty I presume. Unfortunately you have to do without these iem's for the time being...On the other hand, it might make you appreciate them more if you get them back.  

Yes that might be true... I will also change the MMCX connectors on my silver cable just to make sure. I miss them a lot, i should mix down a track and can't go anywhere with the Audio Technica ATH-MSR7...
 
Still it feels strange dropping this many bucks on in ears and then after approx. 120 hours of using them you have your first (hopefully only) repair.

 

[Uyski]

Is driver failure something I'd notice fast?
My ears are not very well trained, and I bought my SE846 used. 
 

 

[RyuX84]

  Is driver failure something I'd notice fast?
My ears are not very well trained, and I bought my SE846 used. 
 

My driver failure was very subtle.. i had to describe it to the girls at the shop for several minutes with hand picket examples until they heard it. But of course if you are used to your in ear monitors and you are using them for audio production you will hear any small little change in sound (and its even easier to hear if only one side has the problem).
And once you heard the problem, it will bug you and you will hear it as clear ever, all the time

 

[Chodi]

  My driver failure was very subtle.. i had to describe it to the girls at the shop for several minutes with hand picket examples until they heard it. But of course if you are used to your in ear monitors and you are using them for audio production you will hear any small little change in sound (and its even easier to hear if only one side has the problem).
And once you heard the problem, it will bug you and you will hear it as clear ever, all the time

Since I also live in Thailand I'm very interested in your service experience. I can't believe they are going to send the bad unit back to the factory in China for repair? I also find it had to imagine that the local distributor has the technical means to replace a driver. Were you able to find out how they intend to repair the problem unit?
 
Frankly, I would just expect the distributor to replace the broken side with a new unit. It is easier for them then dealing with actual repair. Very curious how this turn out.

 

[RyuX84]

  Since I also live in Thailand I'm very interested in your service experience. I can't believe they are going to send the bad unit back to the factory in China for repair? I also find it had to imagine that the local distributor has the technical means to replace a driver. Were you able to find out how they intend to repair the problem unit?
 
Frankly, I would just expect the distributor to replace the broken side with a new unit. It is easier for them then dealing with actual repair. Very curious how this turn out.

I feel what you are saying.. Since i know how they usually "do things" in thailand i am afraid that this will be a bad experience.
The other thing that could possibly be is that they return and and say they cannot hear the defect. But last but not least maybe they replace the headphones within the warranty limitations..
But will keep you updated.. I am not sure what i can do if it doesn't work out here in Thailand.. Can i send them directly to Shure myself ?