[dweaver]

I was going from memory but reading your post I have to agree with some of your points. The IE8 upon more reflection were very comfortable for me and I did like there cable a lot. So I would give them an edge in those to areas over the SE215. In regards to their sound signature I do remember clearly not liking their treble due to what I think of as a tinny sound in regards to cymbals. They were an IEM that when they fit the music it was awesome but if they didn't fit the music I just found them to be off. If they had been $150-200 versus the near $400 I paid for them I would have been happier though. The SE215 at $100 just do a lot of things I like and not to many things I don't like. It's funny because they really are not the best at much of anything, but because they are above avarage at most things they do they make a great all round IEM for me.
 
If I ever have the cash to pick up a used set of IE8's again I would like to do a real A/B test of them against the SE215 and also just have another listen to them as I suspect I might appreciate them more than I think.
 
One thing I can say with clarity though was that I was underwhelmed by my IE8 out of the box as compared to the SE215 which I have enjoyed staright out of the box. But the IE8 did improve with use where as I have not noticed much change in the SE215.
 
Quote:

My impressions are a bit different:

build quality IE8 > SE215
comfort IE8 >>>>>>> SE215

The IE8 gets the build quality due largely to the cable. The IE8 cable is much thinner, feels just as strong, doesn't have the stupid memory wire, and is completely non-microphonic, while I find the SE215 to be microphonic.

The IE8 gets a huge win on comfort for me. This is incredibly subjective and will vary from person to person, but for me, the IE8 is a much lighter IEM which (with Complys anyway) feels like it's floating in my ears, and within moments is completely forgotten. The SE215, by contrast, feels like a huge heavy bulky thing jammed into my ear and on my ear. I'm constantly aware that it's there, and it becomes physically fatiguing after only a short while.

As for sound, I will say that each has a different character, both are good, but I personally give the nod to the IE8's. The SE215 has the wonderful Shure mid sound, and is competent everywhere else, so it's no slouch, but the IE8's, with some negative EQ to the midbass hump, produces a much more balanced and detailed sound to my humble ears.

I think the SE215 is an incredible bargain at the price, and will put a smile on the face of anybody but the most picky. They are both great, but it's clear why the IE8 cost 3.5x as much.

Interesting comments sofastreamer. I really like classical on my SE215 but also have to admit I am not well versed in that genre so would not know what to look for in regards to spatial placement of sound etc.
 
Quote:

i have to correct my post from yesterday, as i only tested the se215 with electronic music. but now i found out, what is on the other side of the medal: these things are completely incompatible with classical music. I heard some Beethoven, and thought the orchestra sits behind a thick curtain. i could not realize if there are playing 3 or maybe 15 strings. next thing i noticed was, that there are two big holes in the soundstage right behind my eyeballs. so first thing i thought was, that maybe its a bad recording.
then i put in my se530, and the difference could not have been bigger. the orchestra sounded so much more real and natural. i could exactly point on each instrument in the far more realistic and deeper soundstage. it was like coming from a 5 $ earbud. i am very disappointed right now. 

 
@Music_4321 I think the thing to remember is this thread is an impressions thread and as such has not had any full blown reviews yet. I have made comments that as I use the SE215 are being revised in my mind. I will try to address those changes in opinion when I do a full review of the SE215. In the mean time I also don't think I have made any serious misjudgements that have lead anyone really astray. The SE215 is a good IEM that does a lot right for it's $100 price tag.

 
 

 

[thwood3]

The inevitable backlash. 
 
Quote:

i have to correct my post from yesterday, as i only tested the se215 with electronic music. but now i found out, what is on the other side of the medal: these things are completely incompatible with classical music. I heard some Beethoven, and thought the orchestra sits behind a thick curtain. i could not realize if there are playing 3 or maybe 15 strings. next thing i noticed was, that there are two big holes in the soundstage right behind my eyeballs. so first thing i thought was, that maybe its a bad recording.
then i put in my se530, and the difference could not have been bigger. the orchestra sounded so much more real and natural. i could exactly point on each instrument in the far more realistic and deeper soundstage. it was like coming from a 5 $ earbud. i am very disappointed right now. 

 
From top 2nd tier to $5 bud! 

Let the debate begin!
 

 

[davidcotton]

As usual the truth of things will eventually be in the middle of where everyone is regarding how good/bad this particular iem is.   FWIW the strong impression that I've been getting from this thread is that the 215 is a good capable £/$100 phone and a nice backup to the top tier phones, nothing more nothing less.  What people are more confident of doing with this phone is taking out doors where accidents do happen and not be as bothered if anything happens to it.

 

[nadsta]

Quote:

i have to correct my post from yesterday, as i only tested the se215 with electronic music. but now i found out, what is on the other side of the medal: these things are completely incompatible with classical music. I heard some Beethoven, and thought the orchestra sits behind a thick curtain. i could not realize if there are playing 3 or maybe 15 strings. next thing i noticed was, that there are two big holes in the soundstage right behind my eyeballs. so first thing i thought was, that maybe its a bad recording.
then i put in my se530, and the difference could not have been bigger. the orchestra sounded so much more real and natural. i could exactly point on each instrument in the far more realistic and deeper soundstage. it was like coming from a 5 $ earbud. i am very disappointed right now. 

 
 
Sorry to hear that. I've found mine work well on orchestral-esque OST like the Dark Knight and pretty good on choral stuff like Thomas Tallis Spem in Alium/Arvo Pärt. 
 
Also tried Mars from Holst's Planets suite and soundstaging is good, deep, realistic,  definately no holes behind the eyeballs. 
 
A/B'd briefly with HD25s and 215's more 3d like, also Senn's more veiled in the upper mids. Le Roi S'Amuse - Pavane has gentle strings and again 215's render these well enough.
 
Haven't burnt in quite as well as i'd hoped, lacks a little air at the top end. 
 
Other than that, as other poster's have written. we're talking about a $/£100 iem that is comfortable (the only iems out of the 4 that I've owned that I can fall asleep in), isolates better than most, has decent kevlar detachable cables, good accessories/case and sound pretty good albeit with a certain sound sig. They share design and form factor with their big brother 535 which cost 3.5 times as much.  Plus they have they're from a major manufacturer and have a 2 year warranty.
 
These are for sure great value do it all iems -gym/travelling/etc. They aren't sonic top tier but I don't want to hammer expensive top tiers everyday. In terms of practicality, they hit a sweet spot- no hype just common sense.
 
 
 
 

 

[sonico]

Hi all, im new here i 'd like to tell my experience to you guys  i recently lost my Westone UM1 what i loved and my only experience in this world. Almost got another one but i saw this new product and i ordered it to see.  Its been 1 week testing it im returning it because the sound  Too much diferent compared with UM1 , for me doesnt have enough bass even tweaking eq not impact in my ears and lack much detail, for me, the sound doesnt "trance me", i try every tip. the fit and isolation are nice, but cable is microphonic with no sound or low volume. Also i cant sleep wit it. it hearts me a bit i dont know why. the thing has quality but its not what i expected. its only my opinion. See you.

 

[Raguvian]

OK, I finally had a chance to play around with the tips. I was using the smallest silicon tips and they went really far into my ear, which meant the body of the phones would stick out at a weird angle, and that prevented me from sleeping with them on since they stuck out so far. 
 
I tried the medium silicon tips and they are much better. Now the entire body of the headphones stay flush in my ears and I can sleep with them on. They also seal much better (almost too well, it's actually kind of hard to pull the headphones out, like trying to pull a suction cup off of a surface).
 
Now I have no more complaints with these IEMs. 

 

[MattAKramer]

I just joined this forum.  I've had a pair of se115's for about 2 years now and the right bud just completely shorted out.  I had a gift card to bestbuy so I bought some skullycandy titan's since I needed something and they are horrible.  The noise that emits from the cable is awful (similar to my old sennheiser 300's).  
 
I'm debating between getting these today with Guitar Center's $20 offer or ordering another pair of se115s.  Has anyone used both that can comment to which is better?  Do these transmit a lot of noise through the cable if brushed against clothing, etc?
 
Thanks.

 

[ericp10]

I spent all day Sunday A/Bing the 215 with the DDM, HJE900, Custom 3, TS02 and SM2. Only the SM2 beat the 215 in all areas of the sound spectrum. The others, generally lead in specific areas and equaled in other (i.e. DDM has deeper and better bass and lusher mids; C3 better vocals and more details; TS02 has a greater soundstage and timbre, etc.). But overall, as an all-arounder and just doing everything right, the 215 hung in there pretty close to all of them except the SM2. So, as was said before, the 215 is just a fun IEM. It doesn't do anything to surpass most of these great sounding IEMs, but it doesn't do anything that made me feel it lags way behind them either. I mean, there wasn't one of these IEMs I've heard, then put the 215 in my ears and felt like I wanted to pull them out because they sucked compared to the other five. Only the SM2 was way ahead in the entire sound spectrum, and the C3 in mids and highs.
 
For the price range, I can't really think of anything that sounds two or three times better than the 215, except the C3 and in some areas the HJE900 (but then again, these two weren't originally $100 IEMs). Just my humble opinion. I understand and accept that others may hear things differently than me.

 

[MattAKramer]

Have you used the 115s?  Thoughts on how they compare to the 215s?

 

[EraserXIV]

Quote:

the 215 is just a fun IEM. It doesn't do anything to surpass most of these great sounding IEMs, but it doesn't do anything that made me feel it lags way behind them either. I mean, there wasn't one of these IEMs I heard, then put the 215 in my ear and felt like I wanted to pull them out because the sucked compared to the other five. Only the SM2 was way ahead in the entire sound spectrum, and the C3 in mids and highs.

 
 
+1, couldn't have said it better myself. close the thread, there isn't anything else to be said  

 

[ericp10]

Quote:

Have you used the 115s?  Thoughts on how they compare to the 215s?

Only other Shures I'ver heard are the SE530 and SE535. This is going by memory, but both of those are far more technically superior than the 215, but I couldn't say I enjoyed those more than I do the 215. Actually, I know for certain that I enjoy the sound of the 215 better than those two for my own personal tastes. Again, not suggesting at all that the 215 is anywhere near the technical superiority of the SE500s.

 

[james444]

Quote:

Have you used the 115s?  Thoughts on how they compare to the 215s?

I have tried the SE115 and heard a fair share of IEMs that others here are comparing the SE215 to. Based on this and even after taking the usual hype factor into account, the SE215 still must be a substantial improvement over the SE115 in my opinion.

 

[MattAKramer]

Quote:

I have tried the SE115 and heard a fair share of IEMs that others here are comparing the SE215 to. Based on this and even after taking the usual hype factor into account, the SE215 still must be a substantial improvement over the SE115 in my opinion.

I'm thinking about getting the 215's then due today since guitar center has 20 dollars off, although it will be a 2-4 week backorder since the store in my area is out of stock.  Only thing scaring me is it looks like they don't let you return open IEMs and they also charge a 15% restocking fee.  
 
How is the cable noise (microphonics?) compared to the 115?  I liked the sound of the 115 and I didn't get a ton of feedback from rubbing on shirt while running which I liked compared to these POS skullcandy's or the sennheisers. 

Do others agree sound has improved with the 215 over 115?  Appreciate any help, trying to decide in the next hour or so to take advantage of coupon before it expires.  Thanks.
 

 

[marko93101]

At the moment, the only earphones i have are Senns CX150s, which are utter muck, these guys be worth the buy? For 70 quid(euro), they seem to be good from what i've been reading, what do you guys reckon?

 

[dweaver]

For the SE115 owner I believe the cable will be a major upgrade over that model. I do notice some microphonics with it but they are much less than a lot of IEM's I have owned. Having said that I can not speak from experience.

For the CX150 owner, these will be a superior IEM but that is not a guarantee you will like them more. Depending on how much bass your current gives you and whether you like that will dictate how much you like these. They have more bass than a lot of IEM's but they do not have as much as a lot of consumer oriented IEM's. If on the other hand you want more clarity and possibly a bit less bass these may be right up your alley.