Recording - December 2013 - 28

are a "unique metal compound", and that's it for tech data.
No impedance, no sensitivity, no frequency response...
you'll have to go by your ears. (Which isn't a horrible
thing, I guess.)
Speaking of "going by the ears", once they're assembled,
how do the Eclipses sound? Startlingly good! I was so
impressed on first listen that I had to live with them almost
exclusively for over a week to be sure that I wasn't just being
seduced by a flattering yet inaccurate frequency response
curve. And maybe I was, but that was a good week...
The Eclipse speakers seal tightly to the head and provide
excellent isolation from outside sound; they're heavily
padded and can be worn for hours without discomfort. I
would characterize their frequency response as flattering in
the extreme highs and lows, with plenty of tight non-woofy
bass and a nicely clear treble that is present without being
harsh or spitty. Soundstaging is excellent, and there's plenty of detail. At a guess, I would estimate their impedance
to be in the 50 to 100 ohm range; they don't get as loud
as some other phones in this roundup, but they offer good
listening levels even with relatively weak headphone amps.
In other words, "Loud enough but not earsplitting."
I was able to pick out sonic issues on problematic mixes
with ease, and enjoyed acoustic music as well as heavily
electronic styles with equal pleasure. You could probably
"learn" these phones well enough to do serious work with
them, and they'll be equally at home in the tracking room, at
the mix position, or on the go for casual listening. And yes,
the look is striking if you're worried about that sort of thing.
I was impressed by the Eclipses and will be keeping an eye
and ear open for new releases from Myth Labs. This is a wonderfully comfortable, well-isolating, and pleasant-sounding
headphone, well worth a listen.

Shure SE846 In-Ear Monitors
$999; www.shure.com

No, that price is not a misprint; these in-ears will set you back around
a grand. They're the newest and fanciest of the Shure SE in-ear monitor line (see our review of the SE215 in our January 2013 issue), which
ranges from highly affordable in-ears to some of the best earphones in
the world, bar none. With the SE846, Shure pulls out all the stops and
delivers a no-compromise listening experience for everyone from stage
musicians to critical-minded engineers. They were released just before
we went to press, and I jumped at the chance to work with them for
about a week before wrapping up this issue.
If you're new to the world of high-end in-ears, the price might be startling,
but it's not easy to build something that offers the full-on listening experience
of a quality headphone in a package that fits in your pocket and provides
good sound isolation on stage, while retaining compatibility with wireless
receiver systems. Each earpiece has multiple tuned transducers in it (four in

http://www.shure.com http://cras.edu http://cras.edu

Recording - December 2013

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