Shure SE102MPA Sound Isolating Stereo Earphones / Headset

The Sure SE102 are great entry level premium IEMs. The fidelity is above most in the price range. Comfortable in ear. The Sure wrap around ear form factor is always a bit annoying. I loved the short cord extension cord design. Great when you don't need a long cord hangin on you. Like when you just want to put your phone/player in a shirt pocket or plug them into a clip-on bluetooth device like the Sony Ericcson MW600.

It was a historic IEM for me, although it does mark itself as the first "better" iem that I've ever purchased since the $25 Sony In-ears. I can't comment anything now, because it has been such a long time since I heard it.

Just from what I've remembered, an un-amped SE102 has little mid bass hump, is generally light in lows, and neutral vocals. That's for what I can remember clearly.

I bought these initially for the mic section (earphone section can be detached from the mic section) so that I can use them with other iems for my smart phone. The phone adapter can be purchased from Shure for $50, so $10 extra seemed like a good deal to pick up an extra pair of earphones. The build quality is nice, cables are a little wide and stiff but appears to offer sturdy, tough performance. Now here's the surprise. Based on many reviews, these iems have been condemned to having poor bass, "anemic" as some as described. However, after a regimen of over 100 hours of burn-in using a combination of pink noise, white noise and stepped frequency treatment, and finding the right plugs to seal a good fit in the ears, I have found the bass to be only a bit less than my Sw-Xcapes which, though they are not bass-heavy, they do produce so very nice low, tight bass notes.