[kaciatterson]

hey guys on my SE846 theres a small silvery spot on the medial side of the IEM and its on both sides, are there signs of degradation?

 

[kino lau]

I recently dug out my long 1/4" extension cable and used it to plug into my home system with the 846's for a late night movie without the neighbors in my building banging down my door. These slam even with movies, though I'm not sure why I would have thought otherwise. 

 

[Limu Shirin]

just got the spinfit tips and wow...jesus GOD!
they're much more comfortable even than the foam tips and balance the sound very well.
The base gets much more clear and freq response gets seperated much better.

 

[asarin]

  just got the spinfit tips and wow...jesus GOD!
they're much more comfortable even than the foam tips and balance the sound very well.
The base gets much more clear and freq response gets seperated much better.

and they last forever!  

 

[ranjitotski]

Wow im amazed with my modded black filter!

 

[Tranman409]

  just got the spinfit tips and wow...jesus GOD!
they're much more comfortable even than the foam tips and balance the sound very well.
The base gets much more clear and freq response gets seperated much better.

what size did you get? 

 

[AurallyInclined]

Hi there, first post and glad to be here.
 
I purchased SE846's right after they came out since I just happen to be in the market to replace my old SE530's. The 846's were my first "super-premium" audio purchase, the packaging made an impression from the get go, and their sound did not disappoint. What struck me at the time was how viscerally strong yet utterly clear the bass notes were. I hadn't experienced anything close at that time. Aside from that the overall balance and tuning were similar to the 530's, but with even richer, fuller mids and much greater clarity throughout. Since the 530's had given out due to cable issues (the permanent wire began slowly pulled away where it met both IEM's; despite being as careful as possible the left eventually gave out and. having purchased them from an unauthorized deal, not covered under warranty). 
 
Since then I have had a good deal more experience with high-quality IEM's and can say that the SE846's are still equal to their elite reputation. I did not use the sound modifiers - they're unnecessary from my perspective since the 846's are already so well-balanced and I prefer a relatively neutral sound. That said, I think including them was a smash idea, since I have listen's to IEM's that I wished were just a little bit "warmer". I might have used them a bit more if they weren't such a pain to install.
 
I mostly listen to classical and the 846's are still among the best I have listened to for such music, but where they really shined for me was on modern music, especially electronic and rich sounding rock tones (eg the opening chords of Killing in the Name). The "true" woofer they doubt isn't marketing, it's the real deal - and pushed out clean bass without distortion no matter how loud things got. Sound-wise I feel the treble had less air than I wanted and expected, but that's more of a nit-pick. In short, they sound great, and I never regretted the green I forked over for them (and in spite of getting laid off six weeks later .

 

[Limu Shirin]

  Hi there, first post and glad to be here.
 
I purchased SE846's right after they came out since I just happen to be in the market to replace my old SE530's. The 846's were my first "super-premium" audio purchase, the packaging made an impression from the get go, and their sound did not disappoint. What struck me at the time was how viscerally strong yet utterly clear the bass notes were. I hadn't experienced anything close at that time. Aside from that the overall balance and tuning were similar to the 530's, but with even richer, fuller mids and much greater clarity throughout. Since the 530's had given out due to cable issues (the permanent wire began slowly pulled away where it met both IEM's; despite being as careful as possible the left eventually gave out and. having purchased them from an unauthorized deal, not covered under warranty). 
 
Since then I have had a good deal more experience with high-quality IEM's and can say that the SE846's are still equal to their elite reputation. I did not use the sound modifiers - they're unnecessary from my perspective since the 846's are already so well-balanced and I prefer a relatively neutral sound. That said, I think including them was a smash idea, since I have listen's to IEM's that I wished were just a little bit "warmer". I might have used them a bit more if they weren't such a pain to install.
 
I mostly listen to classical and the 846's are still among the best I have listened to for such music, but where they really shined for me was on modern music, especially electronic and rich sounding rock tones (eg the opening chords of Killing in the Name). The "true" woofer they doubt isn't marketing, it's the real deal - and pushed out clean bass without distortion no matter how loud things got. Sound-wise I feel the treble had less air than I wanted and expected, but that's more of a nit-pick. In short, they sound great, and I never regretted the green I forked over for them (and in spite of getting laid off six weeks later .

Welcome to head-fi and thanks for sharing your impressions.
mind telling what your're powering the se846 with?

 

[AurallyInclined]

(cont.)
My one serious issue with the 846's was their fit and overall ergonomics. I couldn't wear them for much more than 60-90 minutes. At that point, if I still wished to listen, I got around the problem by "perching" the tips on the outside of my ear canals - basically inserting them until resistance is met and leaving them. With Shure's excellent over ear wires this wasn't a problem unless I was running [insert laughing]. Even like that they sounded no worse than my 530's had. 
 
This was with the foam tips, which I felt were the only tips that preserved the bass strength. Just like with the sound modifiers, I probably would've switched the tips out more frequently had they not been so difficult to change. The first time I tried removing the factory tips there were several points that I feared snapping the monitors. Future removals were not quite so unnerving, but not much. I'd had the same problem with the 530's, presumably since they're the same tips.
 
Nevertheless they were my sole IEM's for about a year, and even after I began investing in new ones they remained my favorite for modern music. After getting a pair of W40's I fell in love with the precision and light clarity for most classical music, and even though they were literally half the cost I preferred them over the 846's for most classical listening (especially chamber works). With vocals and more richly orchestrated orchestral works, it was still the 846's by a clear margin. I preferred both to the AKG's I tried (and returned). 
 
Now, those of you who have read this far (which I appreciate btw) may be wondering about my use of the past tense. I regret that my SE846 story has a rather tragic ending. Last spring I was caught in a downpour on my bike, was struck by a car, and landed right on the monitors in my pocket. Didn't get the driver's info b/c I didn't notice and had walked away without a scratch (somehow). Mistake! Oh how I wished that I'd purchased Amazon's overpriced accident warranty...
 
I just got some W60's because I was able to get such a deal, and while I am still breaking them in I think that they would've supplanted the 846's for all forms of classical and jazz (which is 98% of what I listen to). But I tried listening to a track from Daft Punk's Alive 2007, and while it sounded great I have no doubt the SE846's would still be the clear winners on such bass heavy tunes. I'll share more about the experience if/when I talk about the W60's).
 
Hope this extended post helps.

 

[AurallyInclined]

 
Welcome to head-fi and thanks for sharing your impressions.
mind telling what your're powering the se846 with?

 
Thanks for welcome and the question, one I should've addressed given it's relevance in my case.
 
I used a fiio E17 with my iphone when I wanted to really focus on the music. Since I am, as a rule, incapable of sitting still for anything, there is no point in my investing in any devices that aren't portable. There is, of course, a noticeable improvement when using a proper DAC. I have a laptop with a SoundBlaster X-Fi3 card, and it takes the cake with the SE846's (or should I say took the cake).
 
The 846's have a very low impedance and got plenty loud without an amp on. This was even truer of modern music, which tends to have "louder" recordings than classical. From my experience, the 846's benefited less from improved DAC than I expected, and not enough to warrant carting/charging one all the time. In short, the 846's managed to stand out from lesser IEM's even when just plugged directly into my iphone. 

 

[Limu Shirin]

   
Thanks for welcome and the question, one I should've addressed given it's relevance in my case.
 
I used a fiio E17 with my iphone when I wanted to really focus on the music. Since I am, as a rule, incapable of sitting still for anything, there is no point in my investing in any devices that aren't portable. There is, of course, a noticeable improvement when using a proper DAC. I have a laptop with a SoundBlaster X-Fi3 card, and it takes the cake with the SE846's (or should I say took the cake).
 
The 846's have a very low impedance and got plenty loud without an amp on. This was even truer of modern music, which tends to have "louder" recordings than classical. From my experience, the 846's benefited less from improved DAC than I expected, and not enough to warrant carting/charging one all the time. In short, the 846's managed to stand out from lesser IEM's even when just plugged directly into my iphone. 

thanks for the answer. BTW,any background hissing with e17? how would you compare the soundstage of the Shures with w40?
I've got them (se846) for a couple of days and they sound congested and too bloated with orchestral music with silicone tips and even spinfit tips, but a tad
better with foam ones (medium size).

 

[Black Label]

I too love the Spinfits! With an upgraded cable I can sleep with the 8's in. Great because this household with its four St. Bernards and mothering Staffie start singing for their breakfast early!

 

[Whazzzup]

Egad a long hair tortie is enough

 

[jmac1516]

I got the Sensaphonics custom sleeves for my 846 and it improved everything about them. Seal, bass, comfort,etc. I can listen to them for hours with no issues.

One of my better investments! Look them up.

 

[Marleybob217]

Hey Guys, I'm interested in purchasing the SE846 but I'm wondering about comfort.
 
I have pretty small ears, and the owned the SE425s a while back, and they were slightly too large for my ears.
 
Does the se846 have the same size / shape as the SE425s? If so I should probably just get customs again...