I would just like to express my appreciation for these awesome IEMs. I believe I'm on my 3rd or 4th year of having them and I use them daily for running, working out, traveling, and they have served me well for all of those purposes.
I've even accidentally put them through a full cycle in the washing machine and dryer and incredibly they have been working fine for well over a year since then, although they did require some time to dry out.
It took me trying out dozens of headphones before settling on these. The things I like best about them are the great isolation and fit, a sound signature which sounds natural to my ears with great bass extension, and a high mid/treble section which isn't fatiguing at all, yet maintains plenty of detail. This is what I really need for very long listening sessions aboard international flights.
These 846s actually got me to walk away from the headphone community for years because they were and still are truly end game for me when it comes to IEMs. They're exactly what I need and want. Maybe one day when they eventually die I'll have to look into something else, but for now I'm very satisfied. However, my attention has currently turned to full size headphones for use at home.
***Somewhat off topic, but it still relates to the 846s in some ways...***
I'm excited to also find my ideal full size cans, but so far in my journey I haven't found anything that I'm really in love with. Nothing I've tried has sounded quite "right" and natural the way the 846s do to me. I'm going for something fun sounding at first, and then I plan to go for something on the very technical side (likely an HD800S since I just recently found out that Sennheiser World HQ is less than 30 miles from where I'm currently living in Germany). Those will be for listening to classical and acoustic tracks, etc.
On the more fun side of things, in the past I've owned the Ultrasone Pro 900 (too muddy in the bass and had painful treble), a Sennheiser Momentum (sounded weird (tinny?) to me in the midrange), and I currently own an HD650. I like the 650, but it's a bit light on the bass for me in most of the music I enjoy listening to the majority of the time (EDM, reggae, pop, rap, etc.).
Looking to the very near future, I'm giving the Ultrasone Signature DJ a shot as well as the Klipsch HP-3, and the Fostex TH900. All of those are brighter than the Shures and deliver even more bass (which I like), but I dont mind that to a point when I'm listening for shorter periods at home. So far I've received the Signature DJ and my initial impressions are generally pretty positive. Could be a keeper if the other ones aren't a good fit. I'm curious what you think I'll like best based on my previous observations, my music preferences, and my satisfaction with the SE846. Take a guess and I'll report back when I've assessed them all in a few weeks!