Backstory: (skip if not interested )
I never liked IEMs. Never found them comfortable. They gave decent sound quality at best when they had a good fit but the fit wouldn't stay. If it did, it wouldn't be comfortable. I never found the perfect IEM.
So I stuck with regular earbuds and for a long time, I was fine with it until I wasn't. I first came over on head-fi because I was considering the Bose IE earphones which were incredibly comfortable and from my 2 day experience of the one my friend had, it produced a good "warm" sound. It was going to be my first 100 USD pair so I thought I should check head-fi especially considering the bad rep Bose generally has.
I read about how Bose can be overpriced for it's quality and got a few suggestions as to what I should get. The Shure SE215 was available for $99 and the TF-10 and SE315 for $150 at the time. I decided to pay the extra money and get either the TF10 or the SE315. The only reason why I didn't go for the TF10 was it's reputation of being uncomfortable for some folks (which as you've probably read was important to me). So I got the SE315. Now, may be some day, I might get the TF10s but certainly I don't need to..
Review:
I waited 4 months to get this piece of equipment because the package was delivered a day after my friend left the US. Another friend of mine gave it to me earlier this month and I instantly loved it. I had read all about how this pair can be difficult to wear at first but once you get used to it, it's great. I had seen a video 3 months ago on how to wear it and on my first go, I had a great fit! I've never felt as comfortable as this ever! Put them on and they isolate sound well. Put the music on even at low music and I left the world behind as I did my work. Good thing I can do a decent job at lip reading
This is my first "good pair" of earphones (before this I used stock earphones from my mp3 player/phone) so the review might not be "professional. But to an enthusiast who loves to listen to rock, classic rock, alternative, a bit of heavy rock/metal and some pop/good old fashioned vocals filled music, this is a good pair of cans. Sound is clear and crisp.
After the first 5 minutes of me thinking to myself "did I just waste a ton of money on earphones that suck?" I got used to the sound and then started liking it. This also had to do a lot with me turning off the EQ (something I was used to doing on my stock earphones)
The vocals were crisp and the sound was clear. It played a good range of music but never made it feel over powering. The earphones were never felt loud but felt comfortably producing enough power to give me unbelievable sound.
I remember the first time I had my music ripped to 128kbps CBR then moved to 194-240kbps VBR. When I went back, I felt the difference in quality and couldn't stand it so I re-ripped my music. I've not had that feeling with FLAC just yet but I must say, I can't put another pair of earphones back on now.
Down to the numbers:
Value: 3.5 Stars
The earphones are expensive IMO. Do they produce the good sound? S(h)ure. Are they good value for money? Maybe.
Audio Quality: 4 Stars
The audio is good. Plays a good range of music well and shines on vocals. Doesn't have much of a bass thump but gives a good balanced sound. If you're looking for the thump, these are not the IEMs you want. If you want a good balanced sound that produces a good sound for vocals and a range of instruments, then you should consider these
The reason why I cut a star here is that it could do with a bit more bass thump. Not a lot. Just a bit. The other thing is that though the sound was good, it didn't well and truly blow my mind. Or may be that's just me If the TF10s don't outperform this by much (it does have DA instead of a single driver), I'll give it another half star.
Design: 4.5 Stars
The design of these earphones are great and they help with the comfort level provided (details below). The earphones sit well into your out ear cup thingy (lol? ) and the wires seem to be of good quality. Replaceable wires are a plus though I hope I don't ever have to replace them
Half a star cut for the wires being a bit weird at times and getting tangled though the bigger reason would be the thing that can be used to tighten the earphones isn't that easy to use.. takes a lot of effort to move it up/down
Comfort: 4.75 Stars (rounded to 5; read below)
As I mentioned earlier, I need comfort. These pairs definitely provide that. I can wear them for 4-5 hours and not get tired of them (after that I don't want to listen to music/have to go somewhere so I take off my earphones). I have worn these for an entire night while travelling on a bus and slept with them till morning. While my friends complained of a not so comfortable night's sleep largely in part due to the sound, I happened to sleep like a baby oblivious to what's going on around (I figured if it was something important, my friends would wake me up )
Note, sometimes, quite rarely, after 10-15 minutes of listening, I need to take off the earphones for 2-3 seconds and put them back in.. I feel like hot air is coming out of my ears and there was some pressure built in there. It's not painful but just a bit of discomfort. I'd take off 0.25 stars but I can't
Isolation: 5 Stars
As soon as I put this on, I can barely hear others. Put on music even at the lowest volume and I can't hear people That's the whole point, isn't it? I like how I can listen to music at 20-30% volume and hear it perfectly
Overall: 4.5 Stars
Pretty darn good. What else can I say?
I never liked IEMs. Never found them comfortable. They gave decent sound quality at best when they had a good fit but the fit wouldn't stay. If it did, it wouldn't be comfortable. I never found the perfect IEM.
So I stuck with regular earbuds and for a long time, I was fine with it until I wasn't. I first came over on head-fi because I was considering the Bose IE earphones which were incredibly comfortable and from my 2 day experience of the one my friend had, it produced a good "warm" sound. It was going to be my first 100 USD pair so I thought I should check head-fi especially considering the bad rep Bose generally has.
I read about how Bose can be overpriced for it's quality and got a few suggestions as to what I should get. The Shure SE215 was available for $99 and the TF-10 and SE315 for $150 at the time. I decided to pay the extra money and get either the TF10 or the SE315. The only reason why I didn't go for the TF10 was it's reputation of being uncomfortable for some folks (which as you've probably read was important to me). So I got the SE315. Now, may be some day, I might get the TF10s but certainly I don't need to..
Review:
I waited 4 months to get this piece of equipment because the package was delivered a day after my friend left the US. Another friend of mine gave it to me earlier this month and I instantly loved it. I had read all about how this pair can be difficult to wear at first but once you get used to it, it's great. I had seen a video 3 months ago on how to wear it and on my first go, I had a great fit! I've never felt as comfortable as this ever! Put them on and they isolate sound well. Put the music on even at low music and I left the world behind as I did my work. Good thing I can do a decent job at lip reading
This is my first "good pair" of earphones (before this I used stock earphones from my mp3 player/phone) so the review might not be "professional. But to an enthusiast who loves to listen to rock, classic rock, alternative, a bit of heavy rock/metal and some pop/good old fashioned vocals filled music, this is a good pair of cans. Sound is clear and crisp.
After the first 5 minutes of me thinking to myself "did I just waste a ton of money on earphones that suck?" I got used to the sound and then started liking it. This also had to do a lot with me turning off the EQ (something I was used to doing on my stock earphones)
The vocals were crisp and the sound was clear. It played a good range of music but never made it feel over powering. The earphones were never felt loud but felt comfortably producing enough power to give me unbelievable sound.
I remember the first time I had my music ripped to 128kbps CBR then moved to 194-240kbps VBR. When I went back, I felt the difference in quality and couldn't stand it so I re-ripped my music. I've not had that feeling with FLAC just yet but I must say, I can't put another pair of earphones back on now.
Down to the numbers:
Value: 3.5 Stars
The earphones are expensive IMO. Do they produce the good sound? S(h)ure. Are they good value for money? Maybe.
Audio Quality: 4 Stars
The audio is good. Plays a good range of music well and shines on vocals. Doesn't have much of a bass thump but gives a good balanced sound. If you're looking for the thump, these are not the IEMs you want. If you want a good balanced sound that produces a good sound for vocals and a range of instruments, then you should consider these
The reason why I cut a star here is that it could do with a bit more bass thump. Not a lot. Just a bit. The other thing is that though the sound was good, it didn't well and truly blow my mind. Or may be that's just me If the TF10s don't outperform this by much (it does have DA instead of a single driver), I'll give it another half star.
Design: 4.5 Stars
The design of these earphones are great and they help with the comfort level provided (details below). The earphones sit well into your out ear cup thingy (lol? ) and the wires seem to be of good quality. Replaceable wires are a plus though I hope I don't ever have to replace them
Half a star cut for the wires being a bit weird at times and getting tangled though the bigger reason would be the thing that can be used to tighten the earphones isn't that easy to use.. takes a lot of effort to move it up/down
Comfort: 4.75 Stars (rounded to 5; read below)
As I mentioned earlier, I need comfort. These pairs definitely provide that. I can wear them for 4-5 hours and not get tired of them (after that I don't want to listen to music/have to go somewhere so I take off my earphones). I have worn these for an entire night while travelling on a bus and slept with them till morning. While my friends complained of a not so comfortable night's sleep largely in part due to the sound, I happened to sleep like a baby oblivious to what's going on around (I figured if it was something important, my friends would wake me up )
Note, sometimes, quite rarely, after 10-15 minutes of listening, I need to take off the earphones for 2-3 seconds and put them back in.. I feel like hot air is coming out of my ears and there was some pressure built in there. It's not painful but just a bit of discomfort. I'd take off 0.25 stars but I can't
Isolation: 5 Stars
As soon as I put this on, I can barely hear others. Put on music even at the lowest volume and I can't hear people That's the whole point, isn't it? I like how I can listen to music at 20-30% volume and hear it perfectly
Overall: 4.5 Stars
Pretty darn good. What else can I say?