[parhelictriangle]

I've found that I have pretty similar sound-sig tastes to the boys and girls at HeadRoom. My god, these sound great! Very nicely balanced. Nothing seems overpowering--actually rather neutral but with a nicely defined bass range (with enough power for me, I'm a HD-595 man). Lots of detail unamped through a 5.5 iPod. Completely engaging. I'm really having a hard time finding any faults--and I was plugged in for a good 8 hours yesterday after snagging them.

These might be my most successful impulse purchase ever (in any category). I had my doubts--most of the E line Shures didn't sound like my cup of tea from most of the reviews and descriptions I've read. I'm also pretty new with IEMs. I've been avoiding them for about two years, but the construction work around my apartment in downtown LA kind of required that I pony up, as they say. So shelling out the cash for these guys was a bit of a risk, especially since there are so few reviews out there. But Tyll seemed pleased. . . .

I sure as hell am.

Edit: I apologize for mentioning HeadRoom and not buying these there--I just saw them lying around at the Apple Store and. . . . Anyway, I'm saving up to buy a nice amp from you guys. Give me a few months to recover and I'm all yours.

 

[condamned]

did you had the chance to compare them to the e4c?

 

[plywood99]

Yeah I purchased the SE310 from Headroom after reading Tyll's small review of the SE line. Must say nothing but impressed with them. Silky smooth sound signature with a ton of detail. And I really like the highs, so velvety sounding with out being crass.

And if you think they sound good from an Ipod, just try a Vibez. It was like a whole new ballgame with the Trekstor. The two just seem made for each other. Audio bliss...


Ply

 

[jffkm]

I purchased a pair of Ultimate Ears Super.fi 5 Pro's a little while ago after deciding to upgrade from a trusty pair of e3's that died on me. (they lasted quite a while and went through an uncommon amount of abuse after commuting with me daily for almost 5 years...i loved those things), but I ended up returning the super.fi's for a few reasons. The first was fit and finish. They are very large and uncomfortable to wear, projecting almost an inch out of the ear on either side. Second was the sound isolation. I simply could not fit these things into my ear canal as well as the e3's fit with etymotic triple flange sleeves (the er4 triple sleeves fit the shure e3's perfectly and are a bit nicer (i think the rubber is slightly different in terms of composition and the shaft of the sleeve is shorter allowing for a lower profile after insertion)) The sound was great on the UE's when i was mashing them into my ear canal (i.e. fantastic bass extension, very detailed and neutral mid's and highs) but it was too much of a tradeoff to walk around constantly pushing them back into my ears (and yes, i tried every sleeve in the fit kit). Third, a personal gripe, is the chemical odor on super.fi's that is on the headphones and casing. I don't know what process they use to make the headphones but I suffer from migraines and these things were wreaking havoc on them because of the pungent smell. I have no idea what it is to be honest, but it's quite strong out of the box. So I went in on a pair of se310's and i love 'em. Neutral bass, mid's and highs lack a bit in comparison to the UE's (when shoving them into the ear) but the comfort, and neutrality of the sound are still great. They are a bit less sensitive compared to the UE's but they seem to reveal a lot more flaws in the encoding for some of my tracks. My entire computer library is in FLAC but for the ipod i have everything at 320kbps. I can definitely pick up more flaws in the encoding with the shures. it may be the superior seal of the phones though to be honest. The sound isolation that i can get with these is so good it's almost scary. i.e. i can't hear any traffic at all when walking in nyc (even with no playback) so it's even potentially dangerous. As an example track, I usually play Sufjan Steven's "for the widows..." and listen for his vocal cue and breathing in the opening. the shures dominate in revealing these types of detail. for anyone considering them, go for it. compared to the e3's, i can't say they're a better value because i loved the e3's and they're much cheaper these days, but the sound on the se310's is butter.

 

[frozenice]

Thanks for the reviews. If anyone tries the SE310 with a Tomahawk amp and could post a review I would appreciate it.

 

[productred]

I got hold of a pair of SE310 a few weeks ago and I absolutely adores it right out of the box. I intends to employ them as an alternative to my beloved and trusted ER4S and they hold up there own to this purpose really well. In contrast to ER4's true and analytic sound, SE310 is SWEET.............the midrange is sth which dwells in your mind long after you put them down. To me it is not, as by common perception, a product between E3 and E4 in terms of quality.........instead it is a mixture of both - E3's excellent midrange with E4's intrinsic details. Still E4 is even more detailed, but the sweetness factor simply does not exist in the E4. Not without colouration, the SE310 surprisingly sounds even more linear and balanced than the E4 mainly because i faintly notice a high-mids hump in the E4 while this is absent in the SE310. the tonal quality is very good, but not as accurate as E4, not to say the ER4. everything sounds exactly like how they'r supposed to sound, with the E4/ER4 showing just a tad more intimate details at the two extremes. with these characters, SE310 is an absolute winner for vocals.

I think SE310 hits the sweet spot really well.

AS A SIDE NOTE, and i want to make it absolutely clear, SE310 DOES NOT sound like the SE210 by ANY chance. far from it. before paying for the SE310 i tried both at the local store for extended periods with SE210 actually in my ears for a longer time. you may say the frequency distribution is similar, that they tends to tune for two largely balanced iems with some coloration. but these factors does not equal to sound quality. while still pretty balanced, the SE210 sounds very veiled. I MEAN VERY. DID I SAY VERY? very, very veiled and blurred. No highs, no lows, no details, sadly that's not bose. is this called smooth-sounding? it DOES sound smooth. but are we looking for a smooth sound here in our pursuit for better equipment at that pricepoint? NO NO NO. the SE210 shows absolutely no character while isn't really neutral. the bass is lifeless and a large portion of the lows is truncated. not the lower lows, but THE lows. highs are non-existent. and this is based on a very very well-sealed condition. who would want these?? at that pricepoint (or lower) there'r a great many contenders which either gives a more detailed and uncolored sound or shows a distinct character.

so please, as the old man says, DUN TRUST ANYBODY. or rather, DUN TRUST ANY EARS BESIDE YOUR OWN. you may ignore my above babbling altogether and go out to have a listen yourself.

 

[ajmiarka]

I purchased a pair of SE310s today and have been listening to them non-stop. I also picked up a pair of SE210s for comparison because I have read people saying that there is no difference between the two. So what should I do but go and find out for myself and post my thoughts here.

This is my first post here on head-fi, but I've been a long time reader. By no means do I consider myself an audiophile. Sorry if this post uses incorrect phrases and doesn't make sense from a technical standpoint, but I'll try to explain from my perspective the differences I hear.

My current setup before buying the new SE's are the V-Moda Vibe Duos with an iPhone and Macbook. I do not own an amp and usually keep my EQ flat or with treble boost because the Vibes are bass heavy to me. When I use the word bass, I mean shake your ears, not the frequency. I mostly listen to Dispatch, State Radio, and Dave Mathews, but my music tastes are all over the place. Saying that, the Vibes have been an excellent set of phones...that is up until now.

Upon first listening to the SE210s, it felt like an "in your face" sound. The vocals and music seemed to be more inside my head or in front of my face. It sounded surprisingly nice, and had better clarity than my V-Moda Vibe Duos, which sounded more fuzzy or like I was listening to something underwater when I switched back to listening to them. The SE210s provided bass but in a different way. It seemed much more under control and I could distinguish lower notes easier. The Vibes seemed just to blend the lower bass music together and vocals were caught behind the music. The SE210s also provided more clarity at higher levels. There were times I could hear things I couldn't with the Vibes.

After listening to the SE210s for a while, I switched to the SE310s. I immediately noticed that the "in your face" sound had faded. Not that it was a bad thing, but that the music didn't seem to be in front of me anymore but more separated and the music came from the sides. High notes seemed to last longer also. When cymbals where hit, they would linger and fade out, rather than just stop. Another thing I noticed was the bass was not as ear shaking as the SE210s. This allowed me to be able to distinguish instruments more easily with the SE310s. It was as if my comparison thoughts of the Vibe -> SE210 was the same going from the SE210s -> SE310s: More clarity, more separation of music and vocals, and more controlled bass. Vocals and music especially seemed separated and instruments appeared out of nowhere! It was an awesome experience hearing things for the first time, even if I had listened to a song a hundred times before!

Using a flat EQ on the SE210s provided enough bass for me, but not for the SE310s. Although I could hear more clarity in the lower frequencies, I still lusted for some thump in my ears. I decided to switch the EQ to Rock and that did the trick with most of the music that I listen to. The clarity was still there, but now I had the bass I needed with the SE310s.

So, after reading numerous posts about the SE210s and the SE310s being "identical", I whole heartedly disagree. The SE310s, to me, provide more separation of instruments and vocals. They also provide better clarity whether high notes or lower notes are being played. That although the bass might not be as ear shaking as the SE210s, a little EQ has helped make these the best IEM's I have heard.

These are my thoughts...and I'm stickin' to 'em

 

[Pianist]

I heard the Shure SE310s a few weeks ago ago and was really impressed by them too! Very neutral and with plenty of detail. They sound better than my Super.fi 5Pros, but also isolate much more and are nice and small, and easy to insert into the ears.

 

[Pianist]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ajmiarka /img/forum/go_quote.gif I purchased a pair of SE310s today and have been listening to them non-stop. I also picked up a pair of SE210s for comparison because I have read people saying that there is no difference between the two. So what should I do but go and find out for myself and post my thoughts here. This is my first post here on head-fi, but I've been a long time reader. By no means do I consider myself an audiophile. Sorry if this post uses incorrect phrases and doesn't make sense from a technical standpoint, but I'll try to explain from my perspective the differences I hear. My current setup before buying the new SE's are the V-Moda Vibe Duos with an iPhone and Macbook. I do not own an amp and usually keep my EQ flat or with treble boost because the Vibes are bass heavy to me. When I use the word bass, I mean shake your ears, not the frequency. I mostly listen to Dispatch, State Radio, and Dave Mathews, but my music tastes are all over the place. Saying that, the Vibes have been an excellent set of phones...that is up until now. Upon first listening to the SE210s, it felt like an "in your face" sound. The vocals and music seemed to be more inside my head or in front of my face. It sounded surprisingly nice, and had better clarity than my V-Moda Vibe Duos, which sounded more fuzzy or like I was listening to something underwater when I switched back to listening to them. The SE210s provided bass but in a different way. It seemed much more under control and I could distinguish lower notes easier. The Vibes seemed just to blend the lower bass music together and vocals were caught behind the music. The SE210s also provided more clarity at higher levels. There were times I could hear things I couldn't with the Vibes. After listening to the SE210s for a while, I switched to the SE310s. I immediately noticed that the "in your face" sound had faded. Not that it was a bad thing, but that the music didn't seem to be in front of me anymore but more separated and the music came from the sides. High notes seemed to last longer also. When cymbals where hit, they would linger and fade out, rather than just stop. Another thing I noticed was the bass was not as ear shaking as the SE210s. This allowed me to be able to distinguish instruments more easily with the SE310s. It was as if my comparison thoughts of the Vibe -> SE210 was the same going from the SE210s -> SE310s: More clarity, more separation of music and vocals, and more controlled bass. Vocals and music especially seemed separated and instruments appeared out of nowhere! It was an awesome experience hearing things for the first time, even if I had listened to a song a hundred times before! Using a flat EQ on the SE210s provided enough bass for me, but not for the SE310s. Although I could hear more clarity in the lower frequencies, I still lusted for some thump in my ears. I decided to switch the EQ to Rock and that did the trick with most of the music that I listen to. The clarity was still there, but now I had the bass I needed with the SE310s. So, after reading numerous posts about the SE210s and the SE310s being "identical", I whole heartedly disagree. The SE310s, to me, provide more separation of instruments and vocals. They also provide better clarity whether high notes or lower notes are being played. That although the bass might not be as ear shaking as the SE210s, a little EQ has helped make these the best IEM's I have heard. These are my thoughts...and I'm stickin' to 'em

I totally agree with you since I heard the SE210s too. The SE310s are definitely a step up. It's like the difference between Shure E3s and E4s.

 

[saboteur1]

Good to hear that the 310's are better than the 210's by a wide margin.

My 210's are, as I've posted before, mediocre at best. Veiled, fuzzy, and slightly... distant. Enough lows, but no highs at all.

As we can see by the graph, the highs are much better going from the 210 and the 310. Better upper-upper-treble with the 210, but nothing ever touches 18khz normally anyways. 310 doesn't really touch the E4 upper midrange/lower treble, according to the graph.

 

[ADD]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pianist /img/forum/go_quote.gif I heard the Shure SE310s a few weeks ago ago and was really impressed by them too!

Hi Pianist,

I would be very interested for you to compare the SE310 with the CX300 that you own.

 

[ajmiarka]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ADD /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hi Pianist, I would be very interested for you to compare the SE310 with the CX300 that you own.

I used to own a pair of CX300s, and from memory they not as detailed as the SE310s. I remember going from my first pair of canal phones, Sony EX71s, to the Sennheisers and was surprised by how they had more of a sound stage, a wider sound. The SE310 provides that same wideness, but also provides much more detail in the sounds you hear. You are able to separate the music better.

 

[ajmiarka]

I should also comment on the comfort of the phones. They are very comfortable for my ears. This may vary by individual as stated in iLounge's first take of the SE310s. I use the smallest black foamies and they fit perfectly. The smaller grey rubber plugs also work for me, but aren't as nice as the foamies.

I consider myself to have smaller ears, but I don't feel these stick out of my head too far, and definitely not as far as a pair of Ultimate Ears. They seem just right.

 

[Trager]

I have to say that I loved my SE310 phones. Great soundstage for an IEM, very sweet mids, and a solid bass. Then I sprung for a pair of Atrio M5 on a lark, and I haven't been able to go back to my SE310 since.

That said, the SE310 is by quite a bit the best Shure for me. I didn't like the E4 nearly as much, and my brief flirtation with the E500 led me to feel they were entirely too bassy.

 

[Cata1yst]

am i the only one who finds the E4's bass lacking?, i mean its nice and even, but i could use a more "twang" and impact to the bass