Underwhelmed by Shure se846

[Staysurreal444]

I recently bought a pair of Shure se846's and have been using them for a couple of weeks now. They're good, but not exceptional. I don't hear the awesome bass that everyone seems to rave about. Quite honestly they don't sound drastically different from my apple earpods. Yes, there's greater clarity and a wider soundstage, but I expected more from $1000 iem's. Is it possible that I've got a defected pair?

 

[ProtegeManiac]

I recently bought a pair of Shure se846's and have been using them for a couple of weeks now. They're good, but not exceptional. I don't hear the awesome bass that everyone seems to rave about. Quite honestly they don't sound drastically different from my apple earpods. Yes, there's greater clarity and a wider soundstage, but I expected more from $1000 iem's. Is it possible that I've got a defected pair?

What are you using them with? The impedance is insanely low. You don't need an amp for power but you'll need one for an output impedance of 1ohm or lower.

 

[Staysurreal444]

What are you using them with? The impedance is insanely low. You don't need an amp for power but you'll need one for an output impedance of 1ohm or lower.

I'm using them with my Galaxy s8 cell phone. Do I require an amp to really bring these IEMs to life?

 

[NA Blur]

Are the sealed correctly? If the seal is not correct you'll lose a ton of the bass.

Swap the tips around and don't be afraid to gently press them into your ears a little deeper. You should hear a big difference compared to an earbud if they are properly sealed.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

I'm using them with my Galaxy s8 cell phone. Do I require an amp to really bring these IEMs to life?

I had the S, S3, and S5 and they had a tendency to boost the bass on low impedance loads vs amps. Not that the opposite can't happen on the S8, which is also a different circuit, but I'd look into other things first given that (if anything I'd expect the problem would be "loose bass" more than "needs more bass").

Are you getting a really tight seal around the eartips?

 

[Dulalala]

I'm using them with my Galaxy s8 cell phone. Do I require an amp to really bring these IEMs to life?

Do you have the Snapdragon or Exynos variant?