Shure - SE846G2 Sound Isolating Earphones

I am so happy with my setup after 2 years. Topping DX7pro DAC, Neve RNHP Headphone Amplifier and Shure SE846 GEN 2 with the Sensaphonics custom sleeves, playing hi-resolution files from Qobuz. I didn't know that I could hear so well, but after working on Pro Audio gear for 25 years I finally have gotten the affordable solution for my listening experience. I started with Sony CD3000 headphones in 1995 with a CDX200ES and it sounded very good indeed. I bought the Sony SA5000 and I was disappointed with them. I bought a pair of Sennheiser HD800S's and they were better than both of the Sony ones, so I sold them. I then got a pair of Sennheiser IE900 and they blew away the over the ear phones (all of them) and I sold them, only to have the IE900 fail on the left side and not being able to get spare parts for them. I then bought the Shure SE846 GEN 2 from Sweetwater and I am so happy with them. It was like going from consumer/prosumer to Professional level! I spent a few thousand dollars, but I could have spent more time and money and been less satisfied with the outcome. 

I have the Shure 846G2. But I use the yellow foam inserts. Check those out on the 2nd picture. You can use them with Shure 425, and I believe the Shure 215 as well. The foam is a way better seal than the rubber. You compress it. Stick it in your ear then it expands out. Molds would be best but this is fantastic as well. [Shure846G2](https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/SE846G2JD--shure-se846g2-sound-isolating-earphones-jade)

True words. I usually use my shure SE535 and shure SE846 gen 2 for audiophile listening

What are you intending to get? Be warned the shure se535s are discontinued. As for the shure 846 gen 2, its over $1200. But please dont ever get the new aonic IEMs. They arent really for audiophile listening. Just generic.

Its not really a headphones but an iem, specifically the shure 846. That is what lead me to getting the topping dx5 ii DAC, dt 770 pro, hd600 and hd660s2.

So, I had a chance to check out the Shure SE846 Gen 2. A coworker owns a pair and let me use them for a day. Here are my impressions and observations. 1. it's a very well fitting IEM. The shell is compact and the nozzle is very long and it allows the tips to stay in the ear canal very securely. I never felt any movement or loss of seal. It's one of the best if not the best of all the IEMs that I ever tried when it comes to comfortable and secure fit. 2. The sound is rather midrange forward and congested, but the dynamics are rendered very well. I think that a careful EQ would make them sound much better. The bass is lean, but punchy. The treble depends on the filter, but overall it's not very extended or airy. 3. The changeable filters make a noticeable difference, but none of them make the IEM sound just right for me. 4. It seems too expensive for what it is. It has its strengths, but fidelity is not one of them. It's definitely designed with music performers in mind. I have live performance experience and I'm pretty sure that for a live monitor mix, these would be preferable over your typical IEMs designed with music enjoyment in mind. The aggressive nature of them is in general the preferred characteristic for stage monitoring. If one considers that custom IEMs are typically much more expensive, maybe they are not that bad of a deal though. Here is my question for those who might know. The SE846 have a long and super narrow nozzle. We are talking maybe 2mm inside diameter. The filters that go in the nozzle are even narrower. Every other IEM I own has a nozzle that is more than two or three times as wide and at the same time shorter overall. I suspect that this narrow nozzle is responsible for some of the mid forward character, but why are other manufacturers not exploring that style of nozzle more? I saw that some Bluetooth IEMs have narrow nozzles, based on the look of the tips, but none of the usual suspects Chinese IEMs do. From building speakers I know that the nozzle is a part of the tuning, like a port or horn, but I'm surprised it's not utilized in wider variety. It probably takes a very different driver to work well with such narrow and long nozzle and the usual suppliers don't make them that way. Shure has the resources to make custom drivers. Here is a picture that shows the nozzle in an exploded view: https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71FmmkkaA-L._AC_SL1500_.jpg

I changed from the default bright filters to the balanced filters and the sound got darker and more even, but the congested midrange remained put. By ear I swept the midrange and ended up pulling back about 3dB at 940Hz, medium Q. It helped, but it still was not quite right. When I say congested, I mean lacking certain detail, low resolution, not necessarily peaky. >The treble is textured and smooth but I certainly wouldn’t call the sound airy by any metric. I said the same thing, the treble is not extended and it lacks air. My direct comparison was 64 Audio Nio which features the open BA in the nozzle (they call it TIA driver) and that treble is just another dimension. The bass is present, but I think it's skewed toward the mid bass and upper bass, which makes it "punchy". Again for stage use, that kind of bass is good as it accentuates individual note pitches better than just sub bass. I wouldn't mind owning a set just for the comfort and the unique character. But I wouldn't pay the going rate.

in tier 1 valorant, players are provided with shure se846 pros which are typically worn under a set of overear headsets that pump in white noise to mute out crowd noise/casters and also let the players communicate with each other. audio has always been an important aspect of pro play, teams will often base their entire strategy on certain players being in key parts of the map which let them gather important information through audio queues which can be hard to listen out for considering that 4 other people will be talking at any given time + white noise. a lot of lost rounds can be directly linked to players missing important sound queues aswell due to the aforementioned factors

Shure SE846. They aren't perfect but pretty good even though more on the pricy side. They have a fairly neutral sound and clear even when a lot of sounds are played at once. I had the Shure SE535 before. They are not as good and need a little bit of equalizer tweaking but have a better worth to price ratio. SE846 are heavier than the SE535 and your ears may need a bit longer to adjust to them. Since you don't seem to listen to a lot of technical music the SE846 are probably overkill but the SE535 may hit the mark.

I have Shure SE846s and I listened to the IE900s expecting more clarity and air but the bass to be lacking. Unfortunately I was wrong and I was so impressed by the sound. They’re nice a small too, and metal. I’d definitely get them if my 12 year old Shures die on me.

I use Shure SE846 and they have much better bass response than the lower models. You can also get custom molded sleeves for them, so no compromise there.

I bought them recently like 2 days ago! Shure SE846 are HEcking awesome!! I was hesitant for so many years because people were saying that Chifi made them irrelevant. It's so false. The Se846 are so goated. They're so good. I like it with blue filter and yellow sponge!

Cadenza 4. Tanchjim Origin. DX1. If you have to go below the price of the Studio4, these are solid picks. Funny enough, that last paragraph you wrote? That’s basically the Shure SE846. (I bought it recently.) Fantastic for critical editing, mixing, mastering, and voiceover work. In blue filter mode they honestly remind me of the JBL 305s on my desk. The Cadenza 4 is near perfect for the task. Great for mixing, voiceover editing, video editing, and monitoring. Ironically, the Studio4 is pretty bad for critical editing. It rounds off flaws so you won’t even realize they’re there. ======= Edit: I mentioned the DX1 because they reminded me so much of the Hexa. LIterally returned them promptly.

PART 1: I'm coming back to your post now 22 days later. Because I wanted to answer this question. So think of this as a better update/answer than what I gave you. From a point of simplification, there's monitoring (this means when you use a microphone your voice sounds pretty close to you). There's critical voiceover editing (this means you wear headphones you can accurately detect problems with your audio, ie sibilance, plosives, phasing issues, etc) Then there's mixing. mixing means you are generally trying to make everything comprehensive and cohesive and sounds good on many mediums, ie iphones, speakers, car speakers, cans, openbacks, everything basically. Here's my thoughts: The Tanchjim Origin/Tanchim Fission are good at all 3. The Westone Mach60s (bought recently) excel at all 3. To elaborate, when I use any microphone it sounds exactly like me. When I watch microphone reviews by Podcastage, Boothjunkie, Curtis Judd, not only does it sounds like them to the dot but it sounds exactly individually how that mic sounds on them. When I listen to male singers, they sound correct. When I listen to female singers they sound correct. But it also does a great job of pointing out flaws in audio, ie I can hear everything. But also these have a ton of soundstage. The Beyerdynamic DT70IE (bought recently) excel at all 3. Though I'd give the edge to the Mach60s. Vocally it's pretty on point, with my voice and others. I noticed a voiceactor on Youtube mentioning the same thing. Just be sure to use the silicone eartips and toss the sponge ones (those suck). The Shure SE846 (bought recently) can do all 3. However I used the blue filters (neutral) along with the the black adapter from the AZLA SednaEarfit Crystal Standard which allows you to use all eartips, ie Dunu S&S. It veers warmer than the Mach60s but it's still pretty on point. It reminds me a lot of my JBL 305 speakers on my desk. The Moondrop Blessing 2/Blessing 3/Cadenza 4 excel at all 3. I map these all the same. While not exactly the same they're pretty much in the same camp. If you own 1, you don't need the other. The Softears Studio4 is good at only 2. Monitoring and mixing. But it isn't good for critical editing for voiceover. This is because it tends to round out sibilance and round out flaws in audio. So you need to cross-check it with something like a Moondrop Blessing 2 or a Thieoaudio Legacy 2. The Etymotic ER2XR is only good at voiceover editing and monitoring. But because of its poor soundstage it's not good for mixing. The Crinacle Dusk is good for monitoring. Good for mixing. But not suitable for critical voiceover editing. You won't know you have sibilance and problems in your audio. It even smooths out DMS's old sibilant headphone videos. ie I use his old videos as a reference for detecting horrible sibilance. The Dunu Titan S (original) are good for monitoring and mixing (it's relatively neutral). But not good for critical editing. It completely smooths out harsh sibilance on female vocals. Wouldn't count on these. The Salnotes Zero (original) are surprisingly good for $20. They are perfectly fine for monitoring. They also give you a general sense of the landscape and can be used for mixing. I thought it was a meme when I saw a ton of audio engineers mentioning the Salnotes Zero (original) for mixing. It also is good with critical editing (but nowhere near as reliable) as other options but it'll definitely point out egregious areas with your audio. Not bad for $20. I'd still strongly recommend going with the Fission (with S nozzle) which almost the same as the Tanchim Origin for a good price.

I also have a two pairs of SE846 with the brand name Shuse ;)