Shure SE210 huge disappointment! Or?

[mertzin]

After reading a couple of reviews praising the Shure SE210 headphones I finally bought them. Now, after using them for a couple of days with my Clix2 I must admit I am disappointed. The thing that bothers is the treble, which is SO bright and makes it a, for me, unpleasant experience using them.

But since I can find no review saying that these earphones would suffer from some kind of over-pitched treble, I find myself in a situation where I doubt my own ability to recognize "good" sound

.
This sounds like a joke, but is it possible that the SE210-earphones are SO good that my ears rejects the sound as bad, simply because I have never heard anything like it and that I have to get "used" to the sound of them? Or has anyone else also found them being way to sharp on the treble?

PS. I haven't touched the EQ or anything like that. It is just set to flat.

 

[shomie911]

I'm not sure what to say, I have the e4c's and they aren't all that bright sounding and they are supposed to have extended highs (The SE210's highs are supposedly rolled off a little along with the rest the new models and they increased the low end). Maybe your ears are just very sensitive to high-pitch frequencies.

Try setting the EQ to something that lowers the high end in the music. I'm not sure what they call it on the Clix but try a hip hop setting or something like that. It should help balance out the sound a bit.

 

[soozieq]

I had the SE210s and I definitely couldn't listen to them without a lot of eq-ing. They were really thin and tinny with the eq off, but I did manage to tweak the sound enough for them to sound really nice for acoustic, folk, 'gentle' music etc. If I hadn't had a good equalizer on my player, I'd have got rid of them immediately. I was using a Sony NW-A808 and it was quite a nice match. I've since settled for other headphones, but I didn't regret having the 210s at all - not once I'd eq-ed them.

 

[mertzin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by soozieq /img/forum/go_quote.gif I had the SE210s and I definitely couldn't listen to them without a lot of eq-ing. They were really thin and tinny with the eq off, but I did manage to tweak the sound enough for them to sound really nice for acoustic, folk, 'gentle' music etc. If I hadn't had a good equalizer on my player, I'd have got rid of them immediately. I was using a Sony NW-A808 and it was quite a nice match. I've since settled for other headphones, but I didn't regret having the 210s at all - not once I'd eq-ed them.

Did you experience the same ultra-bright treble as I described?

Also, which earphones do I have to buy to be able to listen to music without altering the EQ? I really don't like the idea of changing the way the artist meant it to sound like...

 

[SactoMan101]

Try replacing the original eartips with a different type and see if that helps. Using a different type ear tip often results in a better seal and that drastically improves sound quality from clearer bass. That's why on my Ety's I had to play around with how to insert the tri-flange eartips to get the proper seal.

 

[mertzin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SactoMan101 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Try replacing the original eartips with a different type and see if that helps. Using a different type ear tip often results in a better seal and that drastically improves sound quality from clearer bass. That's why on my Ety's I had to play around with how to insert the tri-flange eartips to get the proper seal.

I've played around with most of the eartips, with little or no difference.

 

[faichiu]

Run-in?

 

[mertzin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by faichiu /img/forum/go_quote.gif Run-in?

Is that when you leave the earphones playing for like 24h? And could that, theoretically, de-sharpen and reduce the treble?

 

[shomie911]

Thats usually called burn-in but I think the general consensus is that it doesn't really affect IEM's although after about 40 hrs my e4's definitely sounded better than they did out of the box. (I'm not sure that the high end settled down any though)

 

[soozieq]

Quote:

Did you experience the same ultra-bright treble as I described?

Not ultra bright at all, no. I found them quite smooth. But we're not using the same player and it's highly possible the sound would vary from player to player and ear to ear.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mertzin /img/forum/go_quote.gif Also, which earphones do I have to buy to be able to listen to music without altering the EQ? I really don't like the idea of changing the way the artist meant it to sound like...

It's a nice idea, but as the artist didn't know what we'd be listening to it with, or on - there's no way of knowing how it was supposed to sound. Add up all the different combinations of headphones and daps, and you can see it would be impossible for each mix to produce 'one' uniform sound that we would all hear unanimously.

I wasn't happy with any of my previous headphones on a flat eq, I was a 'tweaker' - but it's only having gone through countless headphones that I finally found a pair I don't need to eq anymore. Not because I think it's how the artist wanted it to sound, but because it sounds good to my ears.

I've heard people say the 210s are crap, no mids, no highs - but that's not how they sounded to me using my A808. But on my b'f's Zen Touch, (always useful to have something else to test on, if only to hear the difference the source can make) they sounded horrible, really weak and muffled. His Zen eq seemed to distort them. So that's the same headphone on 2 different daps - producing 2 different sounds.

As for suggesting headphones that don't 'need' eq - I think you're going to have to choose them yourself through trial and error, or plenty more reading on here

I went through at least 5/6 pairs before I found what I was looking for. I bought dual and triple-driver phones in the hope I would get the sound I was looking for, and then I ended up with a single-driver phone and being ecstatically happy with it. You'll know the right headphone for you when you hear it, it's a very interesting journey, but also quite exhausting. . .

 

[vesther]

I'd say keep the Equalizer off, turn off any "artificial" equalizers (i.e. Sound Check, preset EQ settings). The EQ settings might also have an effect on what you use.

 

[saboteur1]

SE210, and treble sharpness? No way. If anything, I think the treble is lacking. I believe that if you give them more time (listen to them more) you will get used to the lesser quantity of bass, which makes it appear that the treble is overemphasized at the moment, and they will sound reasonably pleasant to you.

With all headphones, it takes around an hour (or more) to get used to your new sound signature.

 

[ekon]

I have also tested the E210's and for my ears, the treble was unbearable as well .

The overall quality of the sound was lacking, it felt boring and uncaptivating. It had no separation between the instruments, it sounded like a real mess indeed.

I cannot understand how the pricetag is motivated, nor the good reviews. Using these in-ears is almost unthinkable for me, mostly because of the horrible treble.

 

[SactoMan101]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ekon /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have also tested the E210's and for my ears, the treble was unbearable as well . The overall quality of the sound was lacking, it felt boring and uncaptivating. It had no separation between the instruments, it sounded like a real mess indeed. I cannot understand how the pricetag is motivated, nor the good reviews. Using these in-ears is almost unthinkable for me, mostly because of the horrible treble.

One thing that does concern me about the SE210 is that the driver casing looks a bit too small. If you look at the new Shure entry model, the SE110, note the big, rounded driver casing, which results in good, strong bass (I've heard the SE110 recently and initial bass notes of the first song, "Fresh News" from Jean Michel Jarre's new album Téo & Téa, are strong and clear).