Shure SE846 PRO Gen 1 Wired Earbuds - Professional Sound Isolating Earphones, Four Hi-Def MicroDrivers and True Subwoofer, Secure in-Ear Fit, Detachable Cable, Durable Quality - Clear (SE846-CL)

Settle in with some coffee or tea cause this is going to be a long one...;-)Shure IEM's have been my mainstay daily listening choice for quite a few years now. I bought my first pair of Shure IEM's back in 2007, a pair of E4C's that I (amazingly) found for $100.00 at my local circuit city.From the get go, the Shure house tendency towards neutrality and not over emphasizing any particular frequency really sat well with both my inner music producer, as well as my inner listener. I'm not a fan of exaggerated or unnaturally affected music in regards to any frequency range, really and if given my druthers, I would always have gear that tends towards neutral but that still responds well should I decide to use equalization.Therefore, at least in regards to IEM's, I've always stuck with the Shure brand as the engineers (and ears) there, those behind the design process of their headphones, IEM's and even their microphones (I own several), seem most concerned with a natural, mostly unaffected presentation.From the E4C's, I rather quickly moved on to the SE500's, then the SE530's and then the SE535's. I've enjoyed them all immensely and for mostly the same consistent reasons: solid performance, nothing exaggerated, clean detailed presentation and excellent build quality (not to mention their excellent service department).Here come the SE846---------------------------------------------------And so when the SE846 was released, especially with the accompanying “hoopla” around the considerable amount of new technology that went in to the production of the IEM (in-house engineered balanced armature drivers, a miniature ported sub woofer of sorts with 4 inches of acoustic pathway, etc.) … admittedly, I was over the moon and just hell bent on the need to try them.But when I saw the price of $1000.00, I realized this was an item that most likely would not end up as part of my regular, daily arsenal. And, for all intents and purposes, it has not. Something about spending $1000.00 on an IEM just throws some internal checks and balances that have simply not allowed me to actually try (or buy) a set.But lately, I was lucky enough to get to spend a couple weeks with a brand new pair of SE846 IEM's and as a long time and quite devout user of the various 500 series IEM's, I figured I'd take a moment to write a bit about my experience with them.Solid----------------------------------------------When listening to non-equalized music, The SE535's have always been just a tad to much on the “flat” side of things, a bit too “middle of the road,” a bit to “straight-laced.” This is fantastic from a music production point of view as it allows me to hear music for what it is and without any affectations brought on by the IEM itself (should I care to have a “clinical” listen to any given sort of music). But in daily use, I have always insisted on using equalization to bring the default, somewhat subdued presentation of the SE535 more in to focus in regards to what I enjoy insofar as recreational music listening is concerned. It's true as well, as you've most likely read or heard, the SE535 has fairly rolled off, stunted highs that I can only imagine were decided upon to make the IEM most palatable with the most sorts/genres of music. But in the final analysis, I enjoy a bit more sparkle than the SE535's naturally provide and too, I like a bit more sub bass and bass presence in general. Therefore, I've always used equalization with them. Currently, I use a Cowon J3 with it's formidable Jetaudio EQ to fine tune the SE535's and prior to the Cowon, a Teclast S:flo 2 with an Arrow amp's bass/treble boost.And so the primary difference I would note between the SE535 and the SE846 is that the SE846 requires NO equalization to sound “right” to my ear. In fact, at all default/non-EQ'd settings, the SE846 sounds about like my SE535's with equalization applied. And yet, for various other reasons discussed below, the SE846 still sounds markedly more impressive for several other reasons.SE535 vs SE846 … a general breakdown---------------------------------------------------The SE535's, in general, sound a bit more “flat line” or “homogenized” than do the SE846's. I think this has everything to do with the rather dramatically better instrument isolation/separation that the four drivers of the SE846 provide. The two IEM's are without a doubt from the same basic tuning camp, they are both somewhat neutral and neither overly accentuate any given frequency; with the SE846, I never found myself thinking, “wow, those highs are too bright,” or … “that bass is totally unnatural (think Bose)” … but Shure really took things to the next level with the SE846's and they are a fantastic successor to the ubiquitous SE535 if only for the fact that they solve two of the most obvious issues with the SE535 (to my ear, mind you): first, the rolled off highs and second, the lack of a visceral sub bass.I just wish they'd have released them at a closer price point to the SE535's instead of basically doubling the price, but that's just my limited income and other interests (that require my money) talking. :-)But it's true. Take every criticism you've heard regarding the SE500 series IEM's and just imagine them all rectified. That's what the SE846 brings to the table. It's not just the superior bass performance of the SE846 (which is significant), it's the high frequency presence, the sound staging, the instrument separation and micro detail retrieval, it's everything really. The improvement over the SE535, really is that significant of a thing. I have listened to the various 500 series Shure IEM's nearly every single day for 4 to 6 hours a day and for the past six years; I am intimately acquainted with them and the above comments are made with a good deal of confidence. The SE846 is a real evolutionary step away from the Shure SE535's.But as mentioned, they definitely hail from the same sonic camp...The one area I think the two IEM's are most similar is in regard to mid range frequencies. Upon first listening to the SE846, I was very happy to hear that Shure decided to stay with the (my opinion) utterly brilliant, somewhat forward and very present take on mid range that just about all of their headphones/IEM's are known for. I like my bass and I like my highs but I think somebody once said that the music is in the mid range and I for one, would tend to agree. The SE846 mid range is nearly indistinguishable from the SE535 mid range, if not just a tad more refined around the edges. Couldn't be more happy about that and the huge improvements in overall frequency retrieval and separation make the SE846 almost a perfect headphone for me.Lows---------------------------------------------------And as most every review will mention, the bass performance of the SE846 is rather astonishing. However the Shure design team came up with that ingenious (and gorgeous) sub woofer-like “porting” system, whereby they give the bass frequencies, literally, four inches of metallic path to trace before exiting the tiny IEM's sound tubes, is beyond me but I can say they've worked a minor miracle with it as the bass performance is the best I've heard from any IEM.It is not an overwhelming, huge, constantly present bass like one might hear in some of the “bass head” cans out there on the market; unless the particular track calls for it, you will never even know such potential is dormant there, but should any given track need it? The bass comes and it comes in just that amount that the track/recording calls for and is always in perfect relation to the high frequencies and the mid range frequencies. That last bit is perhaps the most astonishing facet of the SE846, the fact that at any volume, from the subtlest of settings to the loudest, the SE846 remains absolutely well behaved, with everything in it's place. The bass never bleeds into or drowns out the highs/mids and the mids, though generally always the backbone of the Shure IEM sound (any of them), never dominate in a way that seems outside the requirement of the given track/recording. I sat one day for over an hour just turning the volume way down and way up, marveling at how in the world they kept the relationship between highs/mids/lows so consistently perfect no matter how loud or soft the volume became, truly a feat.But the bass is ridiculously good and miles beyond anything the SE535 is capable of. I consistently use equalization to give my SE535's just that little bit of extra something at both ends of the frequency spectrum as they are just so “flat line” that at times I find them to be a bit boring … not so with the SE846, though. Straight out of the Ibasso DX90, with no equalization, the SE846 are pretty much perfect sounding to this guys ear and I had no need or desire to equalize them in the slightest.Highs---------------------------------------------------Another quality often discussed regarding the SE535 is the obviously rolled off high frequencies. I don't think it is debatable at this point, either for reasons of sounding the best with the most types of music or otherwise attempting to make them non-fatiguing, the SE535's are designed with a rather pronounced “roll-off” of the upper high frequencies. This isn't altogether bad as they can be easily massaged with a decent equalizer if one prefers more sparkle (I do); should one have a player with a decent equalizer (think Cowon J3) then that can be remedied; or worse case scenario? Should one be stuck with an exceptional player that has a pretty bad equalizer (think Ibasso DX90), then it can become vexing.But again, as a person who has lived with the SE535's for many, many years and many thousands of listening hours, I can happily say that the SE846's are much more resolving and have far more sparkly, ­more detailed high frequencies. Everything about the high frequencies is more resolving and more detailed.I would put a section here discussing the mid range but suffice it to say, the SE846 come with the same, rather pronounced and “confident” mid range presentation that the SE535's and most other Shure headphones count as hallmark. I for one was very pleased to hear this as I'm a big fan of a leading mid range and nothing else can really be said about it other than the fact that the SE846 presents that same mid range in an even more detailed, articulate manner (most likely having everything to do with more drivers).Otherwise?---------------------------------------------------Sound staging is a bit more out of the head than the SE535's … the increased number of drivers and perhaps the design of the housings, give one the impression of the music coming from a slightly greater distance (in a pleasant way).The SE846 is a noticeably more detailed/resolving IEM than the SE535, presenting music with a much greater, more discreet separation among the various instruments in any given bit of music; this is not a subtle thing, either. There is more “silence” between the various players and overall, one finds one's self more intimately experiencing the sonic landscape. An interesting thing is that as I would switch from the SE846 back to the SE535, I had a very intense and nagging desire to keep turning the SE535's volume up, thinking that if I did so, I would be able to hear the same sort of details I was getting via the SE846; but increasing the volume thru the SE535 just didn't assuage that nagging itch; in the end, I realized it was simply a matter of the SE846 being a much more resolving listen and there was no issue or discrepancy with the volume setting when switching between the two IEM's. Apparently, the number of drivers and overall design differences inherent to the SE846, really do make a very positive difference.-- Using the Shure “black olives” the noise isolation was identical between the two IEM's (and quite remarkable, as always with that particular tip).-- The fit of the SE846 was approximate with that of the SE535's, even though the SE846 is without a doubt a bit larger of an IEM; still, I had no issue with the fit (my ears are what you might call “medium” sized).-- The build quality of the SE846 is something out of an Engineering or Industrial Design periodical, I mean it's a freakishly gorgeous bit of gear to look at with a magnifying glass. :-) … the cables are ridiculously tough and well put together (microphonic free, BTW) and overall the entire package screams quality.-- I did not experiment with the various nozzles that reportedly can be used to change the sound; I found the default, “neutral” setup to be so perfect that I didn't have any desire to try the other options and so I can't speak towards that.-- I did not test the SE846 with any sort of amplifier; they sounded brilliant straight from my Cowon J3 and even better, straight out of the Ibasso DX90.Why I won't be keeping this $1000.00 pair of IEMs----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------First and foremost, I simply cannot drop a grand on a bit of gear that only has a 2 year warranty.Despite my appreciation of Shure Inc. … their microphones and headphones alike, both of which I have used extensively over the past two decades … I still feel that such a device as the SE846's should come with a warranty that more syncs with the rather heady price tag. Again, I have nothing but love for Shure and their business methodology; for chrissake, they sent me a completely free pair of brand new SE530's once ... simply because I wrote an honest letter to their service department, but that's another thread …But the fact remains, a 2 year warranty is basically the same as Shure saying, “Hey .. we think that these might very well fail after about two years of regular use and if so, your either going to have to buy a new pair or pay for repairs.” And, for a $1000.00 pair of inner ear monitors, this is simply unacceptable for me as a consumer. I'll just EQ my SE535's, thank you very much. ;-)Something I didn't write anything about in the above little essay is that throughout my listening session, I was also swapping in a set of Koss Portapros for even further comparison and I have to say, they are damn near the sonic equal of the SE846's; and, to my ear, a decent bit more exciting of a listen than the non-equalized SE535's. Very similar bass/high freq performance as the SE846's but without the lovely isolation of the latter, and of course not nearly as discreet/portable. And if folks feel that paying $1000 bucks for the 846's is better than $40 bucks for the Koss Portapros or even $500 bucks for the SE535's (both of which I consider fair) … then more power to them. Technically and to make sure the above comparison is understood, the Koss Portapros are not nearly as detailed as the SE846; further, the highs and lows of the Koss' are tipped just so much more towards the “unnatural” … but they are coming close to the sonic performance of the SE846 and so at $40.00 and change, and with a lifetime warranty? It makes dropping a grand on the SE846's sort of hard to justify (even though I still want them real bad) … ;-)But again, can't say it enough … the Portapros, even at a mere $40 bucks, still have a life time warranty (which I've used more than once). Hell, even the $1000 dollar Koss ESP-950 kit comes with a life time warranty, which I've also used on more than one occasion.Ultimately?------------------------------------------Shure has done a genuinely remarkable thing with the design/engineering behind the SE846 and I certainly feel the price is okay for such work and especially the resulting performance; if you have the coin to spare and want pretty much the best sonics one can find today in the market of universal fit IEM's? Then buy the Shure SE846 immediately and feel good about buying them. I certainly would if I could and I might still, anyway ... if I can just find somebody who might want to buy one of my kids (just kidding, I don't have any kids but selling one still comes to mind and as I try and juggle responsibilities in an attempt to justify buying the SE846's for real)If the SE846 IEM's had a life time warranty? I would buy them happily, immediately and without hesitation. Hell, even if the warranty was five years instead of two, I'd still buy them. Shiza! Just look at Blendteq blenders! They build a remarkable product as well (Blendteq is like the Shure SE846 of blenders!) and they back it with a very respectable 8 year warranty and those only cost about $500.00 bucks! But I digress ..Much of this last bit of playful vitriol is just my annoyance at not allowing myself to keep the SE846's (really, I'm bugged to hell). It's been a couple weeks since I returned them to Amazon and every time I put my SE535's in, I'm immediately reminded of how superior of an IEM the SE846's are.The pain is real...Further, the sonic differences between the SE535 and the SE846, though quite significant, simply do not warrant a $1000.00 upgrade when considering my other interests that require financing and my relative income level as well. I really enjoy the SE535's and combined with a clean, capable EQ, they can be made to quite nearly approximate the general frequency performance of the SE846, though the better separation among frequencies and the better isolation of individual players that are hallmarks of the SE846 sound, simply cannot be matched by the SE535 with any sort of hardware or software equalization; it is a simple matter of better physical engineering and design (great job, Shure!!).So yes. I will pine for the SE846's for some time and yes, I sorely wish that Shure had released them closer to the price point of the SE535's or even so, a much better warranty term when priced at their current $1000.00.But at the same time I'm hugely pleased with Shure's innovation and the quality of the product that they chose to make and introduce to the audio market, both for those of us making the music and for those of us who listen.Keep up the great work, Shure. I remain a fan.......;-)

I've owned many "in ear" earbuds and I have to say that even though these are around $1,000, they are worth ever penny spent on them. By far, these are the best set of earbuds I have yet to purchase. I started my audiophile obsession with a pair of Shure SE215's and was quite impressed with the sound that I got from a pair of earbuds that where around $100.00 when I purchased these years ago. They sounded great when I got them and then years later they held me over until I finally bought these. More on that below. I then decided to try the others as well. I have a pair of SE315's that I ordered from a different site and I noticed more bass, but they seemed to lack the highs and mids of the 215's. The SE425's, in my opinion are the worst ones I have ever owned. Sorry for those out there who like them, I just think they have a pure sound, but they are lacking in the bass department. I don't use these too often. I usually use these to listen to my iPad when watching a YouTube video or a news clip or something when my better half is watching TV. I finally broke down in 2012 and purchased a set of SE535's. These sounded great and lasted for four years. When I was single, 16 years ago now, I always listened to music at night turned down very low. I now sleep with earbuds listening to music and my better half wears a CPAP machine. He started noticing that he could hear the music playing very slightly coming from the earbuds. I looked at them very closely only to discover that they where starting to separate at the seams. I tried to use superglue to repair them, but that only made a mess and they still where not sealed around the housing. I finally threw in the towel and bought a new set of earbuds.I own several other earbuds as well. I have a pair of Westone W40's that sound very good, they just hurt my ears after wearing them for long periods of time. I don't like the silicone earpieces and the foam isn't much better, they are also a different size if I remember correctly than the Shure foam earpieces. I also have a set of Bowers & Wilkins C5 Series in ear earbuds and they sound really good as well. My only issue with these are that they coil in your inner ear to keep them in place. Nice amount of both bass and highs, but I must have deformed ears as they will not stay in. Also they are a great value for the price now if you can wear them. I decided that in order to get the best out of my Astell & Kern AK100 3ohm edition portable DAC, I was going to have to buy a nice set of earbuds to complement this player. I considered buying a new pair of SE535's, but I decided on buying something different and newer. I first purchased a set of Westone W60's, which cost as much as the Shure SE846's. I started having issues with the right ear piece immediately after receiving them. I thought about how I did not like the fit of the Westones I still own anyway, so I sent them back. I finally decided to buy what I knew was going to be an exceptional set of earbuds and a reliable brand I have enjoyed for years now. The Shure SE846 with built in subwoofer. I did some research on these and read a few comments about them from AVS forums and was sold on another set of Shure in ear headphones.I have a Astell & Kern AK100II model with the dual Cirrus Logic DAC and a pair of special edition Astell & Kern Angie Special Edition balanced earbuds by JH Audio. This is a really nice sounding setup. I still tend to use my first edition AK100 (the 3 ohm version) more as it has a single Wolfson WM8740 DAC and it sounds so much better to me than the dual Cirrus Logic DAC in my Astell & Kern AK100II Player. It seems to really separate the sound much better than the Cirrus Logic chipset. Don't get me wrong, the newer Astell & Kern is very nice as are the Special edition earbuds. This was a gift from my partner for my birthday. But I still listen to my first edition player using these incredible new Shure SE846's as they sound so great together. I am using the inserts that came from the factory in my new Shure earbuds as they are providing plenty of bass for the type music I listen to. I like Rock, Alternative, and New Wave stuff. I listen to bands like Blur, Suede,and Oasis. I also like the Grateful Dead as well as CSN&Y. So my musical taste is all over the place.These are by far the best set of headphones I have ever owned yet. The Angie SE from Astell and Kern are very good as well, but not as comfortable as my Shure SE846 earbuds. I can wear these for hours at a time and have. I use the large black foam ear piece as it fits the best and is the most comfortable. These have the same size jacks as the rest of the Shure line of earbuds. I think it's 3.5mm gold plated and angled which I really like. The newer Astell and Kern models use the Trrs smaller tip. The balanced output of the player is an incredible feature and it sounds incredible as well, it stil doesn't sound quite as good as my first edition player. I'm also not a big fan of using my iPhone for music as it dosent have enough storage, you need a separate DAC and amp all which takes a toll on the battery life, and it dosent do High Resolution files. I bought an iPod and wish now I had not as it never gets any usage. iPhones and iPods also don't play Flac files without an app. It still only plays 24bit/44kHz files, so you need a very good external amp to get the full sound of high resolution. I prefer a separate portable DAC for my music listening and a phone for calling people. I have mostly 24bit/192kHz files on my Astell & Kern Player. It will also do other formats including DSD, but I have a nice set up at home for really high resolution music listening. In fact these Shure earbuds seem to have more bass response than my Beyerdynamic Tesla headphones that I use with my home set up. I have also decompressed a few Apple Music files and added them to my portable player as well and they sound much better than playing them through my iPhone, iPad, or my iPod with an Oppo DAC/Amp combo.This set of headphones has unbelievable bass response as well as highs, mids, and things I was never even able to hear with my SE535 earbuds. I just can't figure out how Shure engineered these earbuds to get this much bass from such a small earpiece. It is a true subwoofer sound and it blows away any set of midrange priced earbuds away. I have always been under the impression that I needed to "break in" my earbuds as well, but if you go to Shure's website, they say that there isn't any difference in sound after the first day or after one hundred days on their earbuds. They only recommend "breaking in" over the ear headphones. They sounded incredible right out of the impressive packaging. These are top notch and come with a set of different inserts for listening taste. One high range, the preinstalled mid range, and a lower range which neither of the other two I have tried yet. The preinstalled inserts are phenomenal in soundstage and everything I have on my player sounds like it's 10 times better than with my older SE535 earbuds. Them come with an attached 60 inch cable, but you also get a shorter cable (40") , a set of various tips, the extra inserts with a tool to change them, a square hard shell case, and a cleaning rag. Everything is all packaged in a really nice magnetic closure cardboard box with the instructions in a slot inside the lid and the product is in a water tight plastic case. Similar to a Pelican case. I'm not sure if it's waterproof, but it appears to be. I have already ordered another square case, one for my earbuds and another for my accessories. I would not hesitate to buy these again and would highly recommend these to any audiophile who is looking to replace their earbuds or is looking to buy another set that has an incredible sound stage that is customizable for less than $1,000. My Angie Special Editions also are customizable by turning a set of screws on the cord, but I want be changing these for awhile if they continue to perform as perfectly as they are doing know.Some user have complained about the comfort of these as opposed to the others in Shure's line up, but I haven't had any comfort issue, in fact these are more comfortable over long periods of time than my SE535s. My only possible regret is that I'm thinking that I should have bought the black or blue model, as clear plastic tends to yellow with age, but if this is their latest flagship in ear headphones, I can't wait to see what in store in the next couple of years. My only other advice is to make sure that the seller you purchase from is an authorized Shure dealer, or your warranty is already no good.