Not what I find. In fact find it very clean sounding, the bass and sub-bass is great both as to amount and articulation; it's not bloomy nor muddy, but very defined. Plus it's mid-bass is amazing, and doesn't intrude into the mids. It's mids/voices are great, and it's treble I find just right, and not sibilant at all like other IEMs. I think this lack of emphasis on sibilants is why many find it "lacking sparkle"; but not my ears. In fact I long for this because it doesn't fatigue my ears even a bit. If I'm to describe its sound in one word, I'll use "live", or "realistic". This has the Harman curve frequency response and I think the Harman curve is right in the money when it comes to mimicking real, live music.
Yet, there's the "Special Edition", which has more sub-bass but also more treble making it more sibilant. I find the regular SE215 cleaner and having more separation between instruments though, and very good soundstage; there's distinctness between sounds and instruments. Again, "live" and "natural" sounding.
o bon jovi's living on a prayer wooo thats beautiful
