[tbritton]

To not waste an excellent post listing the good things about the SE846:

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.

Terry

 

[nico_g]

Hello
I can confirm that the SE846 with AK (320 or 380) or Cowon Plenue is a very good match with no problem of hiss or too loud sound issue. For instance, with my AK380, sound level is perfect with a setting between 50 and 60 (on a 150 full-scale value).

 

[LTDJ]

To not waste an excellent post listing the good things about the SE846:

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.

Terry

Apart from number 1 SE535 LTD-J's meet all these and they are half the price. Plus the bass that can be extracted through good EQing and DSP is much more impressive since EQing 846's to achieve similar meaty bass leads to a very easy and relatively nasty overdrive.
SE846's sound a bit like they were tuned to be on the edge of excitement rather than refinement.

That said I'm wondering whether perhaps amazon sold me a fake pair (I bought directly from them not 3rd party) hence your opinion is interesting to read.

 

[csglinux]

Apart from number 1 SE535 LTD-J's meet all these and they are half the price. Plus the bass that can be extracted through good EQing and DSP is much more impressive since EQing 846's to achieve similar meaty bass leads to a very easy and relatively nasty overdrive.
SE846's sound a bit like they were tuned to be on the edge of excitement rather than refinement.

That said I'm wondering whether perhaps amazon sold me a fake pair (I bought directly from them not 3rd party) hence your opinion is interesting to read.

They're unlikely to be fake if you purchased direct from Amazon, but if you could post some pictures here, we might be able to confirm.

I think the 846 are a notable step-up from the 535. I don't want to have to always rely on EQ, because I plug my headphones into all sorts of sources. But you do have to be a special sort of person to be camped out on headfi, worrying about that extra 3% improvement in sound quality. If you can live without that extra SQ, you can save a lot of money. If you're going to lie awake at night worrying about that extra 3%, then @nico_g had some really good advice for you!

 

[cyclops214]

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.

I ran into the same Volume Problem With my Amp So I picked up this Little dongle the IFI Ear Buddy For $20 US And it works awesome It's a step-down volume attenuator.

https://www.amazon.com/Ear-Buddy-He..._5?ie=UTF8&qid=1513210868&sr=8-5&keywords=ifi

 

[csglinux]

I ran into the same Volume Problem With my Amp So I picked up this Little dongle the IFI Ear Buddy For $20 US And it works awesome It's a step-down volume attenuator.

https://www.amazon.com/Ear-Buddy-He..._5?ie=UTF8&qid=1513210868&sr=8-5&keywords=ifi

I'm not entirely sure this isn't anything but an expensive resistor. The OEM claims it doesn't change the impedance by more than a few Ohms, but that's easily enough to alter the frequency response!

 

[LTDJ]

I ran into the same Volume Problem With my Amp So I picked up this Little dongle the IFI Ear Buddy For $20 US And it works awesome It's a step-down volume attenuator.

https://www.amazon.com/Ear-Buddy-He..._5?ie=UTF8&qid=1513210868&sr=8-5&keywords=ifi

Nice one, did you notice any change in sound signature when using it?

 

[Stranger Than Fiction]

Has anyone read or contributed to this thread? Seems the SE846s have been, according to some, knocked down the ladder when measured up against competing IEMs within and beyond their price point.

I wrote a lengthy “in defence of the 8’s” post too.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/rank-the-iems-youve-heard.454855/page-83

 

[Whazzzup]

Has anyone read or contributed to this thread? Seems the SE846s have been, according to some, knocked down the ladder when measured up against competing IEMs within and beyond their price point.

I wrote a lengthy “in defence of the 8’s” post too.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/rank-the-iems-youve-heard.454855/page-83

You put some thought into this and I’m glad you like 846, but I stopped at the “mid range is everything I could ask for “ while you did state you are sensitive to upper frequencies might explain this, and preference is personal, but the 846 to me, the mids are it’s drawback.

 

[Stranger Than Fiction]

I’m curious to know more about your impressions. One thing I didn’t touch on is vocals which could do with just a bit more aura but then again much of what I listen to nowadays consists of no vocals at all.

 

[Whazzzup]

I’m on this thread from 4 years ago until a year ago, and really have not posted in over a year, nor have listened to my 846 with dhc hybrid fusion 8 braid since I gave it to my wife. I really liked 846 especially the fit and it’s smoothish non offensive sibilant delivery. But the mids for me is where the magic happens, think hd800S or encore......given my preferences without sacrificing too much on the bass wall. I have a fully modded th900 for when I want my thump on. But other than that, it’s been too long since I have listened to 846, maybe I should stop here and just lurk.

 

[Stranger Than Fiction]

I must say the Campfire Audio Vega has piqued my interest more so than the Encores. I’d like to know more from those who have both or maybe even all three.

 

[paulgc]

SE846 are my daily in office/business travel IEMs. Combined with https://www.moon-audio.com/ Dragon cables a https://chordelectronics.co.uk/product/mojo/ (and now the https://chordelectronics.co.uk/product/poly/ ). With the Chord Poly streaming Tidal from iPad through Bluetooth or Airplay (in on WiFi). Very happy with the mini-rig. Great sound and well integrated little package. Are there better IEMs... sure. Are these cheap... no. But worth it.

 

[paulgc]

I’m on this thread from 4 years ago until a year ago, and really have not posted in over a year, nor have listened to my 846 with dhc hybrid fusion 8 braid since I gave it to my wife. I really liked 846 especially the fit and it’s smoothish non offensive sibilant delivery. But the mids for me is where the magic happens, think hd800S or encore......given my preferences without sacrificing too much on the bass wall. I have a fully modded th900 for when I want my thump on. But other than that, it’s been too long since I have listened to 846, maybe I should stop here and just lurk.

They even sound good in the Toronto cold!

 

[jadis]

Hello,

I'm not much of a poster on here (but have lurked for a while). I recently decided to upgrade my IEM's and have in my possession both the SE846 and Westone W80 which I have been comparing for about 2-3 weeks.

I wanted to post my opinion on these, in hopes that others may find this information useful as I could not find much information on this forum or the web comparing these two.

First of all, for those not aware there is currently a coupon you can use at earphonesolutions to get 35% off the W80's, bringing them to $975. So price-wise these two earphones are about the same price. I don't know how long this coupon will last or if some form of similar discount has always existed for W80's. If there is some discount somewhere for SE846's I'm unaware of it and earphonesolutions is out of stock. The discount code is "OCT35". Alright now that I saved you $525 if you want to get those let's continue.

A bit about me which may be useful information to you: I've owned and used Westone W4R's for several years (they still work fine). I am 41 years old and according to hearing tests I have trouble perceiving frequencies above 15KHz which I read is somewhat common due to age. I think when I was a teen I listed to a lot of music at high volumes with earbuds so that didn't help either. My wife could hear the same test sounds easily up to the 19-20KHz range so that made me a little sad but oh well. I don't consider myself any sort of "expert audiophile" or whatever. Just a guy who enjoys a quality listening experience. I might not know all the right qualitative words to use.

My setup is: iPhone 7 playing 320kbps downloaded files from Spotify with an Oppo HA-2SE DAC/amp. I typically listen in my office which is essentially a quiet place. I don't commute and listen on buses or the like. The type of music I typically listen to is Pop, Rock, Dance. I always listen with flat or no EQ. When I use the W80 I have the ALO Ref8 cable installed.

Westone 4R: These were my first IEM's coming previously from medium priced dynamic drivers (Sony MDR-EX600). I would say these are not particularly strong in bass if that's what you like but still very good though and separation and clarity very good. Have enjoyed them for many years and still do.

I decided to "splurge" a little and upgrade as I said, hoping and wondering if new more expensive IEM's would give a similar "massive jump" in quality as I experienced when I first moved to the W4R's.

Westone W80: Have a very "full" sound as compared to the W4R. I didn't think the W4R's lacked in any way until I heard these. Excellent separation and clarity, strong bass. Better than the W4R for sure. But what I immediately noticed too is that the W4R's are much stronger in the high's - which I like a lot and the W80's can't do this even with some EQ. Maybe it's a personal preference thing or I have been "trained" by years of use of the W4R's, or it's because I have trouble hearing high frequencies I dunno. All I can say is that for sure higher frequencies are more apparent with the W4R. After some days/weeks of getting accustomed to using the W80's I would say that overall though, they are definitely better than the W4R. I don't miss the high frequencies - unless I swap back to the W4R's (which I then feel sound overall less "lively" and "full" - particularly the lower end/bass).

Shure SE846: compared to the W80's the first thing I noticed, which surprised me, was that they don't have as much bass as the W80's - or maybe a different kind of bass. Let me try to explain: with the W80 I hear and "feel" the vibrations of the bass in my head more so than with the SE846. This surprised me as Shure advertisements and descriptions from users typically highlighted the SE846 "subwoofer" and bass. But it's clear if you switch between W80 and SE846 which I did a lot of back and forth with the same songs for many hours. Volume/impedance of the W80 and SE846 are very close so you don't need to adjust volume as much to make an apples to apples comparison either.

The mids/vocal range of the S846 is more apparent than the W80 or W4R. I don't know if "forward" is the right word. It's a different "signature" that's for sure, very apparent. To me, it sounds like what happens when I increase the "mid tone" setting on an EQ. Overall net effect is not unpleasant, just different. I would say that with the SE846 it sounds a bit closer to hearing the singer's voice live in front of me than with the W80 if I close my eyes and imagine a bit. Is this "signature" better sounding to me? yes and no - it's just different.

I did try all the white/blue/black tubes with the SE846 too. The eartips I used were the silicon Westone tips (same size and type for all three earphones - to try to keep things apples to apples, plus they are what are comfortable to me).

General W80 vs SE846 :

I think in the end I prefer the W80's. I would say that overall they have better separation/clarity of sound and the effect of the lower mid to bass sounds lead to an overall more full, lively, satisfying sound - it's like, there's just "more there". It's slight, but true.

With the W80 I hear, feel, and experience the low frequencies in way that doesn't happen with the SE846. I'm not a bass freak either, and I wouldn't say the bass on the W80 is "overpowering" or drawing a veil over the rest of the sounds (like cheapo earbuds can).

The SE846 definitely have much more forward mids and overall are slight more "in your face". The bass on the SE846 is definitely weaker.

They are both great earphones in their own right - and you likely wouldn't notice the differences unless you did A/B comparing like I have been.

Now, the final nail in the coffin for the SE846, at least for me, is that they are uncomfortable after extended use (like 20 minutes or more). They are just physically larger. After about an hour using them, if I take them off and put the W80's in my ear then it's like I feel physical relief. I have tried to focus on sound quality or signature as my decision making factor - but after many days of testing back and forth I have come to the conclusion that sound wise W80 and SE846 are both very high quality, different "signature" but in general still pretty close in terms of "quality" that someone (at least me) likely only notice the difference when going back and forth. There is no "night and day" difference in quality overall. So with that in mind, the fact that the SE846 become uncomfortable after some time I might as well choose the W80 as the long term keeper.

I hope this info is useful for others contemplating a W80 vs SE846 decision. Definitely music and sound can be subjective and definitely the higher you go in terms of price range there are diminishing returns.