[AgentXXL]

Nice, I guess I might try a DIY thing or look around to see if there's anyone doing such repairs around my city. If it doesn't work it feels akin to needing to replace your whole car because the steering wheel has issues though lol.

Also, I would have thought IER-M9s would have blown the 846s out of the water given the comments on these forums and other audiophile reviews. I'm surprised you find them on par.

The M9's are very nice and certainly a contender others may want to consider if moving away from the SE846. Personally I don't feel they're worth the $1500 CAD MSRP, but I'm very pleased with them. As I have the specific use case of wearing them while sleeping, they're perfect for that due to the all-metal shell.

Also, with me being over 55 and dealing with tinnitus, my hearing is likely not as discriminating as younger folks. I was considering the Sony IER-Z1R, which is another metal shell, but $2500 CAD MSRP. And not suitable for wearing while sleeping as they're so large. It was the folks in the IER-Z1R thread that told me to take a look at the M9's, and I'm glad I did.

Perhaps it's just the years of enjoyment I've had from the SE846 that colors my opinion. Given enough time and finding the right eartips for the M9's, I have little doubt that they'll see a LOT of use.

 

[psikey]

Nice, I guess I might try a DIY thing or look around to see if there's anyone doing such repairs around my city. If it doesn't work it feels akin to needing to replace your whole car because the steering wheel has issues though lol.

Also, I would have thought IER-M9s would have blown the 846s out of the water given the comments on these forums and other audiophile reviews. I'm surprised you find them on par.

I still have both and the M9's are better than the SE846's on every level for me. I use my M9's wired and my SE846 wireless now on short cable with my BTR5. For at home for any serious listening time I use the M9 now in preference.

 

[robthemac]

I'm a long-term lover of the SE-846. Unfortunately today the left earphone decided it was going to become 99% quieter than the right. I have to really crank the source to even get a bit of (mid-focused) music coming through. Right earbud is fine. Have tried different sources, different cable, switching left and right MMCX connectors, cleaning out wax, changing filters. Wiggling the cable around doesn't help. No obvious bend or crack in the centre pin.

I'm in New Zealand, which means nobody who can repair nearby, and sourcing MMCX connectors is a bit of a hassle. I'm not great with a soldering iron but have some friends who are.

Whaddaya reckon? Worth replacing the MMCX connector and seeing if that sorts things out? Or does the presence of some consistent signal passing through the drivers suggest it's not the MMCX connector?

 

[AgentXXL]

I'm a long-term lover of the SE-846. Unfortunately today the left earphone decided it was going to become 99% quieter than the right. I have to really crank the source to even get a bit of (mid-focused) music coming through. Right earbud is fine. Have tried different sources, different cable, switching left and right MMCX connectors, cleaning out wax, changing filters. Wiggling the cable around doesn't help. No obvious bend or crack in the centre pin.

I'm in New Zealand, which means nobody who can repair nearby, and sourcing MMCX connectors is a bit of a hassle. I'm not great with a soldering iron but have some friends who are.

Whaddaya reckon? Worth replacing the MMCX connector and seeing if that sorts things out? Or does the presence of some consistent signal passing through the drivers suggest it's not the MMCX connector?

The MMCX connector issues usually present themselves as intermittent or no sound and are usually a broken connector. I would doubt that they would be responsible for causing the loss in volume. That most likely would be a clogged filter, but since you've tried changing them and have swapped cables left for right, it is actually leaning towards driver failure in the earbud.

Shure themselves don't repair the SE846 or even offer drivers as parts - they instead offer a flat rate for purchase of a replacement earbud. When I looked into it here in Canada, it was $350 US for a complete replacement earbud. I ended up buying a used pair off a fellow Head-fi member for about $400 US, complete with some accessories. Alas I've managed to crack the left earbud shell (like I did on the original set).

I also had significantly reduced volume in my original left earbud. I cleaned everything (including my own ears), swapped cables, etc but nothing changed the result. As I had to disassemble it to put in a replacement shell, I took my time and once I had the drivers out, I did some testing of the driver module. Alas it was indeed the cause of failure, so hopefully yours isn't the same issue.

I've got a back-of-the-bench project underway to design and print some replacement 3D shells. Once I have a model I'm happy with, I'll mill some out of some magnesium alloy stock on a CNC. In the meantime I took the plunge and bought another set of IEMs - the Sony IER-M9. They are very close to the Shure signature, but I still feel the SE846 offer better bass response.

Good luck on your attempt to repair - hopefully you have better success than I did.