[Flavio T]

Quote:

Is it just me or are the tips a bugger to get off?!

Not sure I understand this twisting malarky. Medium foam tips a bit big for my ears. Sound good though, glad I bought them. 

Almost all new Shure SE series will give you a bit of work to remove the eartips for the first time. Shure engineering department told us to put the earphones inside a ziplock and then in the freezer for a few minutes. After that the eartips should come off more easily.
 
Note that this usually only happens with the ones that the earphones were shipped with.

 

[AngryBaconGod]

I'm certainly not competent enough to review these, but I will say that a +1.5dB bump in treble is all that is required, at most, to make these seem pretty neutral to me. And quite often it's just not necessary. Anything more and it starts to sound forced.

The bass rolls off a bit sooner than I would like, but it's not something you would ever notice unless you're A/B'ing with a far more competent headphone.

I adore these IEMs. I would recommend them to anybody at the price point, and beyond as well!

 

[DrGroove]

Just got mine in the mail from earphone solutions and I'm loving them. They seem pretty neutral with good bass extension and impact. I've never used Shure earphones before, and the isolation is awesome.

 

[smw30]

Got the two medium foams off with a bit of effort, think I might have caused some minor damage to one of them. Small is a much better fit though so no worries.
 
Quite like the plastic ones too (don't know the technical term).
 
These are a great complement to my SRH440s. Nice pair of Shures. Really high quality stuff. 

 

[JoeyRusso]

I'm glad to see more impressions rolling in..  The 215's continue to put a smile on my face and they're in my ears as I type. 
 
 I'm still amazed how good these sound for the money.  They offer all of the positives of a Dynamic without the usual form factor issues (bullet shape w/large nozzles, etc.).  I'm not sure if Shure was the first to figure out how to push all the sound of a dynamic through a smaller nozzle (usually reserved for BA IEM's), but I'm S(h)ure it won't be long before others follow (or try again)...
 
 I think that's one of the things I like most about them..  Big fun - small package

 

[pyro_dragun]

Got my SE215s a couple days ago, and here are some quick impressions:

They have a pretty wide soundstage, quite a lot of bass (comparable to Panasonic HJE900 imo), although sometimes the bass can be a bit sloppy and slow. Mids are good and present, treble is nothing to write home about and seems to be somewhat subdued, especially compared to my CK10s. It seems pretty laidback compared to other IEMs that I own (HJE900, CK10s). I think these may require more burn in before I make a final decision, but I do like the sound signature, it is fun, albeit not super detailed. The housing feels solid, although I am somewhat concerned about the nozzle, since it is pretty thin and it feels like I might break it when I remove tips. Wiring is solid but it is too stiff and while I like the 90* plug, it's too big. To give you an idea, the part that goes into the jack has the same circumference as the 3.5mm jack on my audio technica M50s, which is a full sized headphone with a screw on 1/4 inch plug.

I own/owned 5 different pairs of IEMs and so far these SE215s are the best at isolating (comparing with CK10s, HJE900, MEE M6). I guess if I were to rate the isolation of the 5 IEMs it would be:
SE215 : 4.5 - very good, almost like foam earplugs. Medium olives.
CK10: 4.25 - also very good, but since I use silicone tips, iso isn't as good as the shure olives. I can get these pretty far in my ear due to how small they are. Using stock small tips (imo, sound better then hybrids)
MEE M6: 3.5 - decent isolation, but not as good as the previous 2. Using medium sony hybrid tips
JVC HA-FXC50 - 3.5 - hard to get a good fit but decent isolation once done.
HJE900: 3.0 - mediocre isolation, imo, but maybe I just can't get the right fit or don't have the correct tips. Currently using some double flange tips I bought off ebay, since they sound the best with those from what I have tried.


Pros:
- Large wide soundstage
- great isolation, best out of everything I have owned so far
- good sound for $85-100
- removable cables
- built quite well.
- decent bass quantity with an "oomph"
- good mids

Cons
- cable is too stiff and l-plug too big
- bass can get sloppy
- trebles don't stand out
- not the most detailed IEM (maybe burn in will help)


Overall, I would have to say my CK10s still sound better to me by a decent margin, and remain my favorites. However, I will most likely be keeping the 215s since they are fun, they isolate well, and they are built pretty damn well. They are slightly less detailed then the HJE900s, but the soundstage is quite a bit larger, imo.


EDIT:
Btw, how do I create/have a signature show in my posts?

 

[kite7]

 
Quote:

 I'm not sure if Shure was the first to figure out how to push all the sound of a dynamic through a smaller nozzle

I believe the Ety MC5 would be one of the first.
 
 
pyro_dragun,
What genre do you listen to? I'm not sure if you heard of any sennheiser headphones but does the treble sound similar to the lower HD500 series or PX100 ?

 

[rawrster]

The Klipsch S4 was also a smaller nozzle. I remember using Shure olives with them.

 

[pyro_dragun]

 

I believe the Ety MC5 would be one of the first.
 
 
pyro_dragun,
What genre do you listen to? I'm not sure if you heard of any sennheiser headphones but does the treble sound similar to the lower HD500 series or PX100 ?

I listen to mostly indie rock (Arcade Fire, Asobi Seksu, Radiohead, Animal Collective, etc..), some hip-hop and funk, and classical here and there.

I haven't listened to the lower HD500s or PX100 before, but I do have a Sennheisser HD212pro, and the Shure's treble is much better then that of the 212 pro. For me, all I know is I prefer the treble on my CK10s over the 215, since the CK10s sparkle a bit up top and are very clear, whereas the 215 doesn't, it is more recessed compared to the CK10s. I think the panasonic HJE900s have a more forward treble then the 215's also. To me, the Shure's treble is just there doing what it needs to get by, but it doesn't really shine or stand out. It is by no means bad though, and some people will probably actually prefer this. I will say that it is not fatiguing at all to listen to the 215s, it definitely has a smooth sound imo with a slight emphasis in the mid bass region. Lower bass extension is pretty good too.

 

[kite7]

 
If you say it has better treble than the HD212pro then that is good news. I had the PX100 and I felt the treble was recessed; SE215 might be better from what you're saying. I will hopefully have a chance to demo them at a nearby store next week.

 

[xbr50]

Quote:

Got my SE215s a couple days ago, and here are some quick impressions:

They have a pretty wide soundstage, quite a lot of bass (comparable to Panasonic HJE900 imo), although sometimes the bass can be a bit sloppy and slow. Mids are good and present, treble is nothing to write home about and seems to be somewhat subdued, especially compared to my CK10s. It seems pretty laidback compared to other IEMs that I own (HJE900, CK10s). I think these may require more burn in before I make a final decision, but I do like the sound signature, it is fun, albeit not super detailed. The housing feels solid, although I am somewhat concerned about the nozzle, since it is pretty thin and it feels like I might break it when I remove tips. Wiring is solid but it is too stiff and while I like the 90* plug, it's too big. To give you an idea, the part that goes into the jack has the same circumference as the 3.5mm jack on my audio technica M50s, which is a full sized headphone with a screw on 1/4 inch plug.

I own/owned 5 different pairs of IEMs and so far these SE215s are the best at isolating (comparing with CK10s, HJE900, MEE M6). I guess if I were to rate the isolation of the 5 IEMs it would be:
SE215 : 4.5 - very good, almost like foam earplugs. Medium olives.
CK10: 4.25 - also very good, but since I use silicone tips, iso isn't as good as the shure olives. I can get these pretty far in my ear due to how small they are. Using stock small tips (imo, sound better then hybrids)
MEE M6: 3.5 - decent isolation, but not as good as the previous 2. Using medium sony hybrid tips
JVC HA-FXC50 - 3.5 - hard to get a good fit but decent isolation once done.
HJE900: 3.0 - mediocre isolation, imo, but maybe I just can't get the right fit or don't have the correct tips. Currently using some double flange tips I bought off ebay, since they sound the best with those from what I have tried.


Pros:
- Large wide soundstage
- great isolation, best out of everything I have owned so far
- good sound for $85-100
- removable cables
- built quite well.
- decent bass quantity with an "oomph"
- good mids

Cons
- cable is too stiff and l-plug too big
- bass can get sloppy
- trebles don't stand out
- not the most detailed IEM (maybe burn in will help)


Overall, I would have to say my CK10s still sound better to me by a decent margin, and remain my favorites. However, I will most likely be keeping the 215s since they are fun, they isolate well, and they are built pretty damn well. They are slightly less detailed then the HJE900s, but the soundstage is quite a bit larger, imo.


EDIT:
Btw, how do I create/have a signature show in my posts?

Thank you sir for the great write up! Since you are a fellow M50 owner, may I ask you how do the se215 compare to the M50? I love the sound signature of the M50 and I want a pair of earbuds that sound similar (more bass would be nice since bass nicely drones out the noises of public transport).
 

 

[d1m4s]

Just order SE215 from earphone solution. Hopefully it will arrived in a week or so, since I lived in australia...how long do you guys usually burn-in the 215? since this one is dynamic instead of B/A.

 

[dweaver]

After another day of use I have played around with alot of the tips trying to get the perfect comfort and agree with others, these things a B to take off! Tonight for fun I decided to try my Sensorcom tips I use with my SM3 and find them pretty comfortable. The SM3 is more comfortable though but not by much. I do think the Sensorcoms have opened up the treble a bit more though which is interesting and I think they create an even deeper isolation. So far I am still very happy with the sound. I still miss the higher treble and deeper bassof my D7000. But I did a test tday with some songs and these have very close to the same depth in bass as the Denon AHC-560R but are much much more controlled. The Denon's do give more texture though which is good for some genre's and these may improve as they continue to break in I also worry about the nozzle breaking but overall do think these are one of the better made IEM'shave owned. I also find the cable a bit thick but also like that looks to be very sturdy.
 
Can anyone comment on how much thicker the iPhone cable is? I think I will buy the cable so I can use it with my iPhone as I liked that feature with my 560R and am thinking it would be nice to have it with these as well.

 

[briersben]

Hey Everybody,
 
I am looking for a quality set of earphones / iems, mainly to use on the go (train). I currently own a set of Audio Technica M50, which I like very much. The only downsides is that it is rather bulky, and also I find it rather warm on the ears.. it gets sweaty quickly.. 
 
So what am I looking for.. First of all I want the best audio quality for the money (around 100 dollar / euro). Noise isolation is also very important to me. Since I own an iPhone 4, remote control is a bonus..
 
I was wondering how the Shure SE215 compare to e.g. the Klipsch Image S4i or the v-moda remix remote / vibrato. Is it in a completly different league? What are the differences in audio quality, comfort, ease of use..
 
I also read a lot about microphonics.. This is something I would really like to avoid.. Do the Shures suffer less from microphonics that the Klipsch / v-moda's?
 
I'm mainly looking at the Klipsch / v-moda's since they feature a remote control. I know that Shure also sells a accessory cable for use with an iPhone (CBL-M+-K). Does somebody has experience with this?
 
But, like I mentioned before.. Audio quality and isolation are more important to me than having a remote..
 
Thanks for any advice..

 

[JoeyRusso]

Thanks guys... I knew there were others, but I drew a blank when I was thinking about it last night..
 
Quote:

 

I believe the Ety MC5 would be one of the first.
 

I completely overlooked them... 

 
Quote:

The Klipsch S4 was also a smaller nozzle. I remember using Shure olives with them.

Ok it's official.. I've lost my mind.. The S4's brought me into this hobby and I also preferred olives on them as well..   Yep, my mind is turning to goo...   Stick a fork in me, I'm done..