The Shure SE846 is an award-winning premium earphone, it is well-regarded by audiophiles and enthusiasts. The high-end SE846 earphone will provide its users with impeccable sound quality and high sonic performance. Give the Shure SE846 a high-quality music source and it will provide you with a high-resolution music presentation. To do so, you will need to couple the earphone with a matching DAC that is equally impressive as the Shure SE846 itself.
The onboard soundcards of your computers, laptops, Mac, and mobile devices are usually not as good as a dedicated DAC. With a high-quality DAC at your disposal, you not only get better sound quality but also are able to play high-resolution audio files. You can also take this opportunity to find a D/A converter that can slightly fine-tune the overall sound quality to your liking. Or you can get a DAC where it will dig out as much music information as possible and send the analog audio signals over to the Shure SE846 cleanly.
This is a high-performance earphone where it will try its very best to reveal every single music detail to its listener. All this music information is expertly handled by the Shure SE846, it is well-organized and is produced with accuracy and clarity. The music presentations sounded natural and are faithful to what the artists have intended for their listeners to hear. The tonality and timbre are well-balanced, giving us realistically sounding vocals and musical instruments with loads of intricate details. It has a very high level of clarity, enabling us to hear the subtle details and nuances clearly. Shure SE846 bass performance is surprisingly good, it is punchy with a tight delivery, not to mention, the low-end response is agile too.
More Details at Amazon – Shure SE846-CL Professional Sound Isolating Earphones – Clear
Getting a DAC to complement the Shure SE846 is a great idea but solely based on sound quality may not be enough as you will still need to look at your own requirements before deciding on a digital-to-analog converter. Your main DAC requirements will also influence your choice of a D/A converter and you might want to look through them before checking out the list of the DACs we have prepared for you. This is a list of the best DACs which you can choose to get and pair with your Shure SE846 IEM. So without further ado, let us start with your DAC requirements first.
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Your DAC Requirements
You might want to work out a budget first as this will affect your DAC choices. A comfortable amount which you are willing to invest on a D/A converter and with a little headroom will suffice. The little wiggle room is just in case you found a DAC which you really like but is above your budget by a little. Will you be using the D/A converter indoors or outdoors or you are likely to carry it around most of the time. If you will be carrying and using the DAC outdoors or during commute etc., you might want to go for a portable D/A converter with enough battery life to last through your journey.
The amount of space you have in your listening room will also influence your choice of DAC. For listeners who are facing space constraints, you can get a very compact size DAC where it can fit in nicely into your room or you can simply keep it once you are done using it. The types of high-res audio files you are listening to will be a requirement that you might want to look into. The DAC you are getting should be able to decode the audio formats you like to play and supports the resolution you are looking for. You might want to take this chance to find out what type of connections you will need from the DAC for your current usage.
If you know you will be planning to add in more devices in the near future, you probably should get the D/A converter that supports them. Sometimes discussing with your loved ones who are sharing the use of the digital-to-analog converter will be a wise choice as they may give you more requirements to consider. Having a more thorough requirements checklist will be good for you as you will be able to learn more of what you need from the DAC. You should add more requirements on your own too. When you have gone through all the requirements and are confident in what you will require from a D/A converter then please take a look below for the list of the best DACs to go for and partner them with your Shure SE846 earphones.
Best DACs to match with Shure SE846
The Mytek Brooklyn DAC is one of the best DACs to pair up with your Shure SE846 earphones. This is a high-end D/A converter with similar sonic characteristics as the SE846, it is transparent and insightful with an innate ability to dig out a massive amount of music details. These music details all sounded natural and realistic without any sense of being forced out. The Mytek Brooklyn DAC has impeccable music timing and snappy attacks, the bass performance is amazing as well. This is a D/A converter where it will excel in all music genres and it is a certified MQA decoder using an ESS Sabre 9018 DAC chip.
More Details at Amazon – Mytek Brooklyn Bridge DAC (Black)
The Chord Hugo 2 is an award-winning DAC that will match well with the Shure SE846. It is capable of retrieving tons of music details and delivering them out in a cohesive and organized manner. This is not just an analytical DAC, the Hugo 2 also brings out the emotion and energy of the music, giving you an engaging and rich music presentation. The stereo imaging has precision and places the musicians accurately on an open soundstage. Chord Hugo 2 neutrality will fit really well with the Shure SE846 and both of them can effortlessly deliver a very high-resolution music delivery without sounding harsh.
More Information at Amazon – Chord Hugo 2 DAC (Silver)
The Schiit Audio Gungnir will be one of the best DACs to go with the Shure SE846 IEM. An amazing all-rounder, this Schiit D/A converter is able to deliver the music without sounding over-analytical, vocals and instruments sounded natural with plenty of intricate details to boot. The level of clarity is astounding as well, there is no need for us to strain our ears when listening for subtleties in our music via the Shure SE846 earphone. The Schiit Audio Gungnir is a lively DAC and will be ideal for listeners who like bright-sounding audio components. We will suggest hearing them out first to see if it is not overly bright for you.
More Details at Amazon – Schiit Audio Gungnir Balanced DAC
This is a modestly priced DAC and will be an ideal choice for a desktop setup. The Topping DX7 Pro DAC will match well with Shure SE846 and comes with a plethora of features such as a built-in ES9038PRO DAC chip, Bluetooth 5.0 (LDAC) providing you with high-quality wireless music streaming and more. It has a very polished background which is really impressive for a DAC at this price point and this enables us to listen to our favorite tunes cleanly without unwanted noise distractions. Topping DX7 Pro has clarity as well and can project a realistically wide soundstage with ample depth.
More Information at Amazon – Topping DX7 Pro (Black)
For listeners who are looking for a portable DAC that can fit inside their pockets without compromising the sound quality then the Chord Mojo is an excellent choice for you and the Shure SE846 earphone. It is an award-winning DAC with a modest price tag, the Mojo has the insights and music handling capability to deliver a rich music presentation with cohesion and enthusiasm. The alacrity performance of the Chord Mojo will complement the Shure SE846 well as the overall sound reproduction is energetic and fun to listen to without losing any music details. This is a DAC that is certainly worth your time to check out.
More Information at Amazon – Chord Mojo Black DAC
The Shure SHA900 is another brilliant portable DAC and should match really well with the Shure SE846 since both are from the same company and may share similar sound signatures. The SHA900 is capable of producing a large and spacious soundstage. With its exceptional stereo separation, the musicians are precisely located on the stage where they are highly defined as well. The Shure SHA900 overall bass performance is superb and this complements the Shure SE846 earphone really well. It has ultra-low noise background and this gives us a more immersive overall sound reproduction.
More Information at Amazon – Shure SHA900
To Sum It Up
You can select the DAC based on your budget first and followed by your requirements. The shortlisted D/A converters should be auditioned so as to see which one sounds the best to you. You may want to do a side-by-side comparison of the DACs as this may allow you to tell the difference in sound quality almost immediately. If you are unable to find the digital-to-analog converter you want from the list, please feel free to use them as references when searching for other DAC models.
