Mobile Driving/Flying Cockpit with Motion and Tactile ( Build )

[Deleted member 197115]

I have converted all my IEMs to these tips, the best I've had to day, very comfortable, superb seal, easy to get in and out, durable, and non tacky, wax guard is a plus.
They are highly regarded on head-fi as well.

 

[RCHeliguy]

I have converted all my IEMs to these tips, the best I've had to day, very comfortable, superb seal, easy to get in and out, durable, and non tacky, wax guard is a plus.
They are highly regarded on head-fi as well.

Thanks!
The 846 Gen 2's come with COMFY's as well which were just recommended above.

The silicone triple flange sleeves didn't feel right to me. It appears that people have lots of preferences for the things they stick in their ears.

The out of the box foams feel pretty good. I suspect the COMFY's will be good as well. I'll test out your recommendation as well, because apparently you just never know what works for an individual.

 

[RCHeliguy]

I've got a pair of Shure SE846 that I used to wear daily.

I'll get a chance to try them out myself tomorrow. Once I got the 215's working properly I quickly noticed where they fall short and I got itchy and ordered my very own 846 Gen2 from Sure. They claim they can deliver tomorrow

 

[Deleted member 197115]

In ear phones take a bit while to get used to. For new comers the best thing to help with transitioning are comply comfort foamies. You just roll them, insert into ear and let expand there. They do not last super long though so once your ears build some tolerance to foreign objects in, you can transition to silicone tips, like Azla Sednatift I posted above.
And if you decide to go down rabbit hole.
Earbuds by the way while do not provide as good isolation as IEMs, are much easier on ears and some have suprisingly good sound quality. I can recommend Smabat ST-10S Gold, they are like mini HD-650.

 

[RCHeliguy]

Old and new. Seems to be working well.

 

[GagarynGaribaldi]

I'll get a chance to try them out myself tomorrow. Once I got the 215's working properly I quickly noticed where they fall short and I got itchy and ordered my very own 846 Gen2 from Sure. They claim they can deliver tomorrow

Interested to hear your thoughts, you've already discovered that tip fit is important and you get a load to try with the 846. Probably worth noting that Comply do two "lengths" of tip as well as various diameters - they describe them as Pro and Comfort - or used to at least. I found I got the best bass response with the longer Pro tips but everyones ears are different.

BTW - you might want to give these a go with the 846's for one less wire. I have a pair and they work pretty well when you need to be wire free, although the drop in quality (and volume) from a wired connection is apparent.

In ear phones take a bit while to get used to. For new comers the best thing to help with transitioning are comply comfort foamies. You just roll them, insert into ear and let expand there. They do not last super long though so once your ears build some tolerance to foreign objects in, you can transition to silicone tips, like Azla Sednatift I posted above.
And if you decide to go down rabbit hole.
Earbuds by the way while do not provide as good isolation as IEMs, are much easier on ears and some have suprisingly good sound quality. I can recommend Smabat ST-10S Gold, they are like mini HD-650.

Some people have (or develop) sensitivities to silicone. I used the silicone triple flange tips for years then suddenly couldn't as silicone now makes my ears itch. The comply tips work better for me and me ears.

We might use different terminology but not sure what you mean with the comment on IEM isolating better than buds. For me IEM = buds + TX and RX. You clearly mean something else though?

Not tried those ST-10S Gold but I do own a pair of HD-650 and can say with some confidence that well fitting SE846 blow those away. Just sound 'bigger' - more like LCD-X.

 

[metalnwood]

Interested to hear your thoughts, you've already discovered that tip fit is important and you get a load to try with the 846. Probably worth noting that Comply do two "lengths" of tip as well as various diameters - they describe them as Pro and Comfort - or used to at least. I found I got the best bass response with the longer Pro tips but everyones ears are different.

BTW - you might want to give these a go with the 846's for one less wire. I have a pair and they work pretty well when you need to be wire free, although the drop in quality (and volume) from a wired connection is apparent.


Some people have (or develop) sensitivities to silicone. I used the silicone triple flange tips for years then suddenly couldn't as silicone now makes my ears itch. The comply tips work better for me and me ears.

We might use different terminology but not sure what you mean with the comment on IEM isolating better than buds. For me IEM = buds + TX and RX. You clearly mean something else though?

Not tried those ST-10S Gold but I do own a pair of HD-650 and can say with some confidence that well fitting SE846 blow those away. Just sound 'bigger' - more like LCD-X.

I think he means IEM's as the ones that go right in vs many earbuds that dont sit right in and make a good seal.

Interesting on how you used iems for a long time and then had a problem with them and it turned out to be the silicone. I am the same, I used them for a long time and then developed problems so i stopped using them. If the amsers is trying something other than the silicon I might give it a go.

 

[Deleted member 197115]

IEM as in ear monitors that require insertion into ear canal thus isolating better. Earbuds just rest inside Pinna thus worse isolation.
Shure IEMs had their run but are outpaced by new offerings these days, nobody even talks about them anymore.
HD650 out of right setup are special though. Not as technical as LCD-X 2021 but do not cost that much either and spare elevated mids have more correct tonality.

 

[RCHeliguy]

Funny how perceptions are on this subject. I watched number of recent reviews on the 846 Gen 2 and people did talk about having the the Gen 1's for a decade and how well they held up etc.. etc.. Others gushed about the amount of spatial imaging, sub woofer like bass etc.. etc..

Writing them off as being outpaced is interesting.

If you want cutting edge, Sure has some $2,000 and $3,000 electrostatic versions, but they require/include the matching amplifier to drive them.

Anyway, fingers crossed I like what I ordered

 

[Deleted member 197115]

Funny how perceptions are on this subject. I watched number of recent reviews on the 846 Gen 2 and people did talk about having the the Gen 1's for a decade and how well they held up etc.. etc.. Others gushed about the amount of spatial imaging, sub woofer like bass etc.. etc..

Writing them off as being outpaced is interesting.

If you want cutting edge, Sure has some $2,000 and $3,000 electrostatic versions, but they require/include the matching amplifier to drive them.

Anyway, fingers crossed I like what I ordered

If you are interested in learning about todays highest rated IEMs based on seasoned head-fiers opinion, not some random youtube Joe, here's a few ranking lists from well respected reviewers.
Crinnacle's
Antdroid's
Precog's

And a very good IEM guide covering different budgets from headphones.com

Fair warning to your wallet though.

 

[metalnwood]

I would say you are surely at your end game when you buy $1k iems to plug in to the output of a vr headset to listen to car sounds in a sim.

 

[GagarynGaribaldi]

IEM as in ear monitors that require insertion into ear canal thus isolating better. Earbuds just rest inside Pinna thus worse isolation.
Shure IEMs had their run but are outpaced by new offerings these days, nobody even talks about them anymore.
HD650 out of right setup are special though. Not as technical as LCD-X 2021 but do not cost that much either and spare elevated mids have more correct tonality.

Got you. Those rest on the outer ear things don't work for me. IEM for me still refers to a complete monitoring system - but I accept that my usage may be 'niche.'

No idea what you mean about the LCD-X being technical? To me they sound remarkably similar to my HD 650 but just a bit more so! Doesn't make much sense to me, butI hate all the 'audiophile' BS that fills the internet with people claiming that one headphone sounds better than another because they saw it on a graph and that they can hear these humps. It's practically impossible to measure these things consistently from model to model - even if you can really tell much from that looking at a graph. Despite the headphone review industry telling us otherwise!

And it's too easy to forget that in the same way that our eyesight changes, so does our hearing - and it's uniquely personal. People really need to listen and see what works for them. I find headphone review worse than worthless - they can be downright misleading.

Folk have been writing off the 846 for a long time because there are newer sexier offerings. And if your job or hobby requires writing about headphones then you tend to write about the new ones. Not much more to say about the 846 nowadays.

Don't really understand the argument of them being outpaced either - outside the digital field, most of the best audio equipment was designed decades ago when the big R&D budgets existed. The technology of headphones is not new - even Planar and Electrostatics have existed for decades. Nowadays "manufacturers" big expense is marketing - convincing folk that their shiny new stuff is better than the tried and tested stuff.

But my takeaway is if a company with the history, expertise and budget of Shure thinks that all they need to do to a ten? year old design is chuck in the Comply tips that everyone uses and add a fourth filter option then they must be pretty sure (no pun intended) that they got it right the first time. Bit like the SM57. I'll let others follow trends - I'm still inclined to stick with what I know I like.

 

[RCHeliguy]

I would say you are surely at your end game when you buy $1k iems to plug in to the output of a vr headset to listen to car sounds in a sim.

But the tunes have to sound good in Beat Saber

Of course, you have in fact completely nailed that remark.

 

[Deleted member 197115]

Folk have been writing off the 846 for a long time because there are newer sexier offerings. And if your job or hobby requires writing about headphones then you tend to write about the new ones. Not much more to say about the 846 nowadays.

They are $900 though, and this is for 4 BA drivers with uninspiring shell design.
You can get much better deal and sound out of DUNU SA6 (6BA), or venture into ThieAudio Monarch MKII, which is tribrid design 1DD + 6BA + 2EST for the same price as Shure.

 

[RCHeliguy]

They are $900 though, and this is for 4 BA drivers with uninspiring shell design.
You can get much better deal and sound out of DUNU SA6 (6BA), or venture into ThieAudio Monarch MKII, which is tribrid design 1DD + 6BA + 2EST for the same price as Shure.

The DUNU SA6 is a no-go from the beginning. I didn't bother looking at the other.

A 60ohm impedance requires a headphone amplifier.

I'm looking for 16-32 ohm tops so they can be driven by the output of the headset jack without an inline amplifier.

 

[Deleted member 197115]

The DUNU SA6 is a no-go from the beginning. I didn't bother looking at the other.

A 60ohm impedance requires a headphone amplifier.

I'm looking for 16-32 ohm tops so they can be driven by the output of the headset jack without an inline amplifier.

I have them, and they are easy to drive, most IEMs are with a few exceptions like Etymotic ER4S but even with those onboard audio card wasn't a problem.
You should look at sensitivity, not impedance.

 

[RCHeliguy]

I have them, and they are easy to drive, most IEMs are with a few exceptions like Etymotic ER4S but even with those onboard audio card wasn't a problem.
You should look at sensitivity, not impedance.

I look at both.

 

[RCHeliguy]

But my takeaway is if a company with the history, expertise and budget of Shure thinks that all they need to do to a ten? year old design is chuck in the Comply tips that everyone uses and add a fourth filter option then they must be pretty sure (no pun intended) that they got it right the first time. Bit like the SM57. I'll let others follow trends - I'm still inclined to stick with what I know I like.

When it comes to audio, I think we are on the same sheet. (BTW, I got a recommendation to get these headphones from someone whose ears I trust which is why I mentioned I was considering them when you posted about them )

Let me emphasize that I'm not pointing fingers any anyone in this conversation.

Audio is such a mess from a communication standpoint. There is quite a bit of "magic" believed by many and being thrown around as fact. I've worked with Sound engineers and Mastering engineers, and I've dealt with "audiophiles" who believe in magic and those who are grounded in reality. There is a wide spectrum.

The result is that I've come to take a LOT of the reviews out there with a serious grain of salt.

We can argue about what the "best" is, or what potentially better values might be, but at the end of the day, if I'm happy with how the SE846's sound, I'm done. I won't be endlessly auditioning new earphones. I'll consider the box checked and move on. They arrive tomorrow and I should know pretty quickly if they check my box.

Is it likely something else would have checked that box? Very likely. Is this overkill for the application? Possibly. Oh well.

 

[RCHeliguy]

After saying all that, I'm actually pretty impressed with how well the SE215's work. They sound pretty good all things considered. For sim racing games they are more than adequate but they hold up pretty well in all the other games.

However I'm very much appreciating how good the Valve Index's off ear speakers were and they did sound better. My hope is that the 846's will surpass them by a margin, but for the most part this is just my way of trying to squeeze a little more out of the VR experience.

The sound isolation works a little too well. I'm having trouble hearing my wife when I'm wearing them. ( Some might see that as an asset, but it could be an issue. )

Was playing Until You Fall which will give you a workout like Beat Saber and it's full of bright reds, blues and greens. I still have yet to see this red shift some are complaining about.

The Automatic IPD adjustment actually has another feature. It will tell you to move your headset if it isn't positioned properly. Then following it's instruction everything looks very good again.

I went through a pile of room scale games today and without question the Aero works well for them with the exception of one game where I tend to whip my head around a lot. It takes getting used to and I'm not sure how to describe what I'm seeing, but it lacks the spontaneity of every other headset I've tried. Maybe it's persistence? And maybe that's why it doesn't stutter if you've managed to push your GPU too hard. But something is different.
Then again I may have a setting wrong. I thought I had motion smoothing turned off, but I'll double check that.

 

[RCHeliguy]

There is one other thing that is a bit weird.

Because the image quality is extremely high quality and there is enough FOV to look around in, your eyes are busy and you stop thinking about the image you are looking at while exploring an environment.

In a way it's a bit anticlimactic. You just think, this is how I always thought VR should look your brain accepts that and you move on with the game without being distracted by things that you can't read, or aliasing and other weird things.

I picked up a newspaper on the ground in Half Life Alyx and just started to read it. I held it at a comfortable distance like I would in real life. Huh... This is actually quite amazing.