[tjl5709]

Well, the KSE1500 is a real successor in terms of clarity and resolution (IMHO, it's a successor to every other headphone in that regard.) It's definitely a successor with respect to price it's just not a successor in terms of portability.

I don't know of any rumored replacement/upgrade/successor to their multi-BA line of IEMs. The SE846 are still a great purchase in this ultra-portable category for several reasons:

1) Amazing quantity and quality of sub-bass that doesn't bleed into the mids.
2) They aren't vented, so they isolate really well.
3) Compared with other modern IEMs, the buds are ergonomically-shaped and still relatively small, making it easier to get a comfortable fit.
4) They have long, thin nozzles which gives you the choice of a huge range of third party eartips, and also helps achieve a good fit and an isolating seal.
5) Custom shells are available from Sensaphonics, which basically turn these UIEMs into CIEMs.
6) If you want to tune the FR, you have a huge range of filter mods, beyond just the stock white, blue and black filters.

There's still no other IEM out there that ticks all these boxes.

I have to 2nd this. I find the SE846 end game with my new X7 mk2. But I did get to listen to some KSE1500's. If I ever move, this is where I go next. Going to another multi driver IEM might provide a slight improvement, but the difference with the KSE1500 was significant. Just can't quite swallow 3x to expense.

 

[csglinux]

A bit OT but I can find the IE800 for £449 through work (official from Senhheiser).

I am worried about the quality of their olives as I read they are silicon only. I really like the ones from my SE420.

The IE800 is such different animal it could be from another planet. It does have better treble extension, but that comes at a price - a very strident 11 kHz peak. Its eartips are proprietary clip-on silicone Sennheiser tips, so you're a bit limited in changing those. The IE800 have a relatively shallow fit which is very comfortable, but doesn't isolate nearly as well as any Shure IEM (tick that box twice, because the IE800 are vented). They're not bad, but if I had £449 to spend, I'd buy a pair of FLC8S (which are tunable, isolating and sound much clearer) and 60 pints of beer with the change. Unless you live in London - in which case it would be just 6 pints of beer with the change

P.S. Sennheiser now has a successor to the IE800 - the IE800S, which has a more linear FR (less bumps along the way) and a less intense resonance peak. I still prefer the FLC8S though.

 

[parajba]

The IE800 is such different animal it could be from another planet. It does have better treble extension, but that comes at a price - a very strident 11 kHz peak. Its eartips are proprietary clip-on silicone Sennheiser tips, so you're a bit limited in changing those. The IE800 have a relatively shallow fit which is very comfortable, but doesn't isolate nearly as well as any Shure IEM (tick that box twice, because the IE800 are vented). They're not bad, but if I had £449 to spend, I'd buy a pair of FLC8S (which are tunable, isolating and sound much clearer) and 60 pints of beer with the change. Unless you live in London - in which case it would be just 6 pints of beer with the change

P.S. Sennheiser now has a successor to the IE800 - the IE800S, which has a more linear FR (less bumps along the way) and a less intense resonance peak. I still prefer the FLC8S though.

Wow. Just checked out the FLC8S online. Users compare them to the SE846 and k3003...for a fraction of the price.
How is comfort and fitting? Is it as good as the Shure with their own olives?

I am very tempted to buy them. But only if they ft as well as the Shure...Nore sure how/where to rest then...

 

[csglinux]

Wow. Just checked out the FLC8S online. Users compare them to the SE846 and k3003...for a fraction of the price.
How is comfort and fitting? Is it as good as the Shure with their own olives?

I am very tempted to buy them. But only if they ft as well as the Shure...Nore sure how/where to rest then...

They're actually fairly small earbuds. You should have no problem getting a good fit and seal.

 

[paulgc]

You will love the pairing! The Mojo and SE846's sound great together.

A great mobile pair.

 

[parajba]

Thanks a lot for the useful advice.

I can get the SE846 for £800. The FLC 8S for £230. I am after the 'ultimate' IEM to be paired to my iPhone (6) as a source. I might buy a Mojo soon but I still haven't decided as I value simplicity in my set-up.

Are the FLC 8S comparable to the SE846? Or are the Shure in a different league? The price is massively different...

It is an attractive proposition as I could get immediately the FLC 8S and the Mojo and still have some change...

(Edit) I found the dedicated FLC 8S thread...so not to go too much OT here. Thanks for the advice anyway! Much appreciated!

 

[Doug2507]

Assuming you're in the UK as you're using pounds, you can get the shures (Genuine) for a little over £500.

 

[Quadfather]

I am thinking of selling my Shure SE846s in mint condition, with extra cables, white and blue filters, and three cables...plus two completely unused Shure cases...box, accessories, and an assortment of never used Shure and Spinfit tips. I also am including some Knowles modded filters. Is $575 a fair price to list it on classifieds? The tia Fourte bug has bitten me.

 

[Doug2507]

..

 

[Frederick Jones]

Assuming you're in the UK as you're using pounds, you can get the shures (Genuine) for a little over £500.

Where?

 

[paulgc]

A great mobile pair.

Forgot to add... upraded the 846 cable to Moon Audio Dragons. Using the Mojo with the Chord Poly Streamer. The Poly is "arguably" (by many) still a "Beta" product however I think reliable in Bluetooth and Airplay modes. Including Tidal streaming. Haven't been brave enough to try the Roon config.

 

[Quadfather]

I just posted a beautiful, mint pair of SE846s on the for sale board. They are clear. I am more into headphones lately.

 

[LTDJ]

Hi guys,
I've acquired a pair of 846's earlier this year and I've been struggling to fell in love with them since.

Quick question for you owners out there, do you find them to be unbearably loud? I'm struggling to listen to them on anything other than the lowest volume settings and this applies to all my devices (laptops, phones, Sony ZX2 player with jetAudio HD music player). As much as I don't like to use the inline volume control I have to otherwise my ears get massacred by the volume which is frankly too much. It almost sounds like having too much gain on the preamp sometimes. Really annoying.

Comparing them to my 535 ltd-j's the experience is underwhelming. I'm not seeing the x2 price in the quality of sound they produce. Not only that I prefer my JDM 535's since the mids are lush, the highs don't roll off and don't sound grainy and the bass can be dialed in with appropriate amount of EQ. I tried all 3 supplied filters for 846's and the blue ones are the best since the high's sound closest to what the JDM 535's produce (yet they can't match it). White and black can only be described as swimming in the mud which I'm not a fan of.

So before I get rid of the 846's do you have any advice on the points I made? I don't want to go into hardcore modding since this isn't the point of spending this much on non custom iem's.

I appreciate your advice.

 

[csglinux]

Hi guys,
I've acquired a pair of 846's earlier this year and I've been struggling to fell in love with them since.

Quick question for you owners out there, do you find them to be unbearably loud? I'm struggling to listen to them on anything other than the lowest volume settings and this applies to all my devices (laptops, phones, Sony ZX1 player with jetAudio HD music player). As much as I don't like to use the inline volume control I have to otherwise my ears get massacred by the volume which is frankly too much. It almost sounds like having too much gain on the preamp sometimes. Really annoying.

Comparing them to my 535 ltd-j's the experience is underwhelming. I'm not seeing the x2 price in the quality of sound they produce. Not only that I prefer my JDM 535's since the mids are lush, the highs don't roll off and don't sound grainy and the bass can be dialed in with appropriate amount of EQ. I tried all 3 supplied filters for 846's and the blue ones are the best since the high's sound closest to what the JDM 535's produce (yet they can't match it). White and black can only be described as swimming in the mud which I'm not a fan of.

So before I get rid of the 846's do you have any advice on the points I made? I don't want to go into hardcore modding since this isn't the point of spending this much on non custom iem's.

I appreciate your advice.

I loved the "swimming in the mud" analogy

The problem is, most modern digital equipment has a very limited number of volume steps. It takes a really good piece of hardware to bring out the best in the SE846 - not only does it need a fine-grained volume control, but it also needs a low noise floor, because the SE846 will expose both these problems.

I can think of two options:
1) Get a better source, with a good number of volume steps and - ideally - a separate gain control.
2) Swap your SE846 for a less sensitive pair of IEMs.

I also don't like the idea of inline resistors - unless you really like the change in FR that it brings.

Ooh. I thought of a third option...
3) Get older. Eventually this problem's going to go away

 

[LTDJ]

I loved the "swimming in the mud" analogy

The problem is, most modern digital equipment has a very limited number of volume steps. It takes a really good piece of hardware to bring out the best in the SE846 - not only does it need a fine-grained volume control, but it also needs a low noise floor, because the SE846 will expose both these problems.

I can think of two options:
1) Get a better source, with a good number of volume steps and - ideally - a separate gain control.
2) Swap your SE846 for a less sensitive pair of IEMs.

I also don't like the idea of inline resistors - unless you really like the change in FR that it brings.

Ooh. I thought of a third option...
3) Get older. Eventually this problem's going to go away

I'd have thought that Sony ZX2 (not ZX1, made a mistake in the original post) should be good enough to drive 846's. The 535 LTD-J's are on the other scale of loudness, I have to crank it up almost all the way to the max to get decent levels, which is just about fine since I have the EU version of ZX2.

I'm somewhat questioning the point of spending this much on something that doesn't seem to be that much better than the cheaper model. Hence I wanted to hear your opinion, maybe I'm missing the trick somewhere. BTW I use them with custom sleeves so the fit is perfect.