Better than SE846?

SamyBoy13 · 15 Oct 2019 at 13:02

Hello, guy I recently picked up Shure 846 for a bargain price of 75 pounds and I'm blown away! Coming from Brainwavz B100 is a night and day difference. They sound so much fuller, more detailed - with stock balanced nozels (in one word I haven't head anything like these IEMs in my life). Thus is it worth investing in custom IEMs? Would they be significantly better and if so which ones?

Thanks

SamyBoy13

SamyBoy13 · 15 Oct 2019 at 18:53

Or perhaps would I benefit from a better dac/amp combo, other than my current note 9?

rids57 · 15 Oct 2019 at 21:31

You sure that they're not fakes? The 846 is an £800 IEM and £75 seems ridiculous even for second hand

SamyBoy13 · 16 Oct 2019 at 15:29

rids57 said:
You sure that they're not fakes? The 846 is an £800 IEM and £75 seems ridiculous even for second hand

I got no reason to believe otherwise as elderly gentlemen was selling all his hifi gear due to one sided deafness. I managed to picked up few things i.e. chord clearway cable 2x5 meters for £30 and few other things when I collected the iems in person. I saw the receipt of purchase and they do sound as good as my dt1990s if not better. However they have slightly smaller soundstage.

I'm very impressed how wide 846 are and how good they sound. The low end sounds better to me than my dt990, it is extremely well controlled and quick (sounds like one on sealed subwoofer). I've tried tin p1 and more expensive brainwavz b400 but they didn't sound right to me so they went back.

@rids57 you got me wondering now. I looked for reviews pics and they looked exactly the same all the engraving on the inner components, components themselves etc., just looks identical. Even if they are a copy they are very good one (yet I have no reason to believe otherwise). Any advise on how to check authenticity?

rids57 · 16 Oct 2019 at 20:17

As you collected them in person and the story does sound plausible I'd say you got the deal of the century - I am envious to say the least. Plus, anything by Chord doesn't come cheap so great deals there too.
As for getting better than the 846, yes you can do better but it's going to cost you mega bucks whether universal fit or custom. The only real advantage of custom is the fit, the actual IEM isn't any better plus the fit only lasts for about 2 years and you have to get them re-shelled.
You compare them to both the DT1990 and the DT990, do you have both or was it a typo? I'm sat here listening to Steely Dan on my DT1990's and if they sound better than this then you got an utterly insane deal.

Personally I would be looking at improving the source gear and amp to do the 846's justice unless of course you're already using really good gear.

SamyBoy13 · 16 Oct 2019 at 20:51

rids57 said:
As you collected them in person and the story does sound plausible I'd say you got the deal of the century - I am envious to say the least. Plus, anything by Chord doesn't come cheap so great deals there too.
As for getting better than the 846, yes you can do better but it's going to cost you mega bucks whether universal fit or custom. The only real advantage of custom is the fit, the actual IEM isn't any better plus the fit only lasts for about 2 years and you have to get them re-shelled.
You compare them to both the DT1990 and the DT990, do you have both or was it a typo? I'm sat here listening to Steely Dan on my DT1990's and if they sound better than this then you got an utterly insane deal.
Personally I would be looking at improving the source gear and amp to do the 846's justice unless of course you're already using really good gear.

Sorry I ate the 1 - I do have the dt1990 (New addition to my collection only had them for 3 months). I use Yamaha A-S3000 to power them they really sound good. It is a treat to watch movies and even better listen to music (I started to hate some of my songs due to poor recording/mastering). However, they are not practical on the go due to open design. Hence when I saw se846 on a popular local site (tree) I contacted the guy and collected within an hour.

In terms of a good source on the go any recommendations? I got quite big local collection and tidal subscription to supplement newer tracks as well as older classics that I cant get cd/s hold of. Christmas is soon so might treat myself a little bit early

rids57 · 17 Oct 2019 at 19:47

On the go - any of the new FiiO DAPs would do nicely, the top of the range M11 is a beast for around £450

That would let your 846's really shine and drive your DT1990's very well too

Renegade · 23 Oct 2019 at 21:45

£75 for 846? I paid 10x that for mine! That chap could have sold them for 5x what he did, but then it wouldn't have been so good for you

On the flip side; if you ever decided to move up the chain then you could most likely (certainly) turn the 846's for significant profit. I agree with rids that just because something is a custom doesn't imply it will have better sound. If you are looking for greener grass, the Fearless Audio Roland is one to be on your list. If I had the spare capital, that's where my money would go.