[bl1ndmanonac1d]

OK, so I tried again following your instructions. I put the large Shure foam tips on, rolled them up REAL tight, then yanked my ear down and shoved those guys in as far as I could. My ear shape and/or the the design of the earbud shell would prevent them from going in any further.

And... hey. The bass player rejoined the band! They finally started sounding like 'full-range' earphones. Now, they definitely didn't have really big, full bass. But at least it was something. And, I could definitely still put a bit of pressure, either by pushing them down or in, to get more bass you can 'feel' a bit. So maybe either my ear shape doesn't allow them to go in deep enough or create enough physical contact with my ears to fully generate bass, or I need the longer tips you are mentioning (but at $20 a set, I'd need to get at least medium & large to determine my best size - so $40 JUST to test).

UNFORTUNATELY, those foam tips put some SERIOUS pressure on my ears! After just a couple minutes sampling a song or two, I had to pull them out. And my ears could feel it. I can't imagine having them in for extended periods like this unless I got dramatically more used to them, or the longer tips allowed a smaller diameter to work as well. I also wonder now about trying the Sugru-filled option with the large silicone tips rather than the mediums I used. But I already had to purchase a set of 10 medium tips just to include an original pair if I choose to return these earphones.

Ok that's something at least Try out all the different tip sizes with that technique. Our ears are quite different and yours might have a stronger 'dip' in the ear canal. The Comply tips are a bit softer in my ears but the ones I use (P-Series) are 16mm long. There are also the T-100 from Comply that are shorter and fit the Shures as well. I read on here that many swear that the Dekoni Tips are the best but I haven't tried them since I'm happy with what I have.

I remember the first time I inserted IEMs with foam tips I found it uncomfortable, not being used to having something deep in my ear, but now I quite like it. Some people just don't like it at all. There are plenty of IEMs that are not meant to sit as deep as the Shures and other well isolating IEMs but they don't isolate as well, obviously.

For my part (as I'm also searching for an upgrade to the SE215s) I'm starting to lean towards the Fiio FH3. They seem like a pretty solid buy and they isolate well.

 

[JethroD]

OK, now that I'm probably hearing the SE215s as they're INTENDED to sound, the conversation does change a bit. I now have a week or so to decide if I want to try to make these work, or switch to a different set of earphones.

The biggest things I need to determine now are: A) are there any other more comfortable tip solutions that would seal enough to produce the 'proper' sound signature of these (and how much $$ to invest in trying to find out); and B) do I really love the sound enough, now that I'm hearing it 'properly', to stick with these.

I tried listening for a while more last night (maybe 30-40 min.). At first I got more used to the pressure, but after about 30 min the pain grew increasingly intolerable and I had to remove them. Those large foam Shure tips just put SO much outward pressure on my ears. I've worn plenty of earplugs in my time, but have never experienced that type of pressure.

- Would custom-molded tips produce a tight seal without the pressure of the foam tips? Are they traditionally considered to be a comfortable solution? Wondering how much that would cost...

For my part (as I'm also searching for an upgrade to the SE215s) I'm starting to lean towards the Fiio FH3. They seem like a pretty solid buy and they isolate well.

After hearing the SE215s 'properly', and after starting to get a bit more 'picky' as I learn and research more about high-quality earphones, I'm wondering if something with multiple drivers might sound a bit better than the SE215s? My thoughts after listening more last night is that they do sound really good and pretty balanced and possibly 'neutral'.

But I started yearning for a bit more clarity, liveness, sizzle, 'excitement'. This may have to do with my hearing loss in higher frequencies affecting how I hear those. And I now don't think I'd need a ton more bass, if at all, and if so, would want it to be tight 'punchy' sounding bass.

Both the Fiio FH3s, and the Mackie MP-240, use a combination of a dynamic driver and one ore more Knowles BAs.

- In theory (or based on experience), 'should' the addition of the Knowles drivers for mids/high frequencies increase the clarity of those over the single dynamic driver of the SE215s? I know it's a lot more than just that, but have to start somewhere.

 

[bl1ndmanonac1d]

are there any other more comfortable tip solutions that would seal enough to produce the 'proper' sound signature of these (and how much $$ to invest in trying to find out);

Yes there are IMO. Tips are like clothes, you need to try different ones to find your fit and you will wear through them. If you're getting into IEMs then tips are something you will use and buy again so just get your feet wet

I'm wondering if something with multiple drivers might sound a bit better than the SE215s?

Yes, evern other single DD IEMs will most likely. But there are so many factors to count in and you need to find what tickles your nerve and describe it well in order to get good recommendations here. Soundstage, imaging, isolation, sound signature, detail, musicality bla bla. My Tin T2s sound "better" than the SE215s in many ways - more detail and sounstage, less veiled, very neutral sounding, but still I usually grab the SE215s when I go out because they have great isolation, an intimacy that I enjoy with electronic music and I find the SE215s more engaging, less boring sound signature. A dangerous thing with potentially falling into making this an extended interest is the feeling that "there's always something better". I can see it on a lot of people here and feel it in myself too.

I don't know if I can add much more to this seeing as we're kinda in the same boat looking for an upgrade from the same IEM. I can let you know what I get in the future though.

 

[JethroD]

Thanks again for the responses! It's a tough thing to nail down a purchase that I'll probably use often & keep for quite some time.

So I ordered 2 pairs of the Dekoni tips (M & L), and a pack of the Comply Professional tips (which appear to be the only ones that fit the 215s).

- If I had to use the large Shure foams to get the proper seal, but they were putting tremendous outward pressure on my ears, do you think for the longer Comply Professionals I would need mediums (what I ordered) or large?

I also decided to try Sugru-loading up the Large Shure silicone tips. They're still drying, but I think these sound like they're working the same as the Large Shure foam ones, but much more comfortable. I'll be able to test more tomorrow, which is when I expect the additional tips I ordered. In the end, if I end up opening all the tips to test but returning the SE215s, I may end up spending as much on tips as I did on the earphones. Yuck.

-------------------

I think I'm now hoping for something with equal isolation to the well-fitted Shure's, but with a bit more clarity & sparkle in the mids & highs. I want decent bass, but the Shure's are OK there now. I installed an EQ & processor for my PC (Equalizer APO), so I may be able to add a touch of upper mids & highs with this to help the Shure's sound just right, not sure. I also saw an interesting DAC/Bluetooth receiver that had a nice EQ option I could use to help 'fine tune' whichever earphones I end up with (EarStudio ES100).

So I've ordered a pair of Sennheiser HD280 Pros (from Guitar Center, which has good return policy). And I'm leaning towards ordering a pair of the Mackie MP-240s, or possibly the Fiio FH3s. Then I'll have next week to demo them all, along with the Shures, and decide which to keep, returning the other 2.

 

[bl1ndmanonac1d]

So I ordered 2 pairs of the Dekoni tips (M & L), and a pack of the Comply Professional tips (which appear to be the only ones that fit the 215s).

- If I had to use the large Shure foams to get the proper seal, but they were putting tremendous outward pressure on my ears, do you think for the longer Comply Professionals I would need mediums (what I ordered) or large?

The Comply T-400 tips also fit but are shorter. The P-Series are the ones with most isolation. I know the T-400 tips also come as packs of S+M+L to try out what size fits best, I don't know if this exists for the P-Series. If the large tips put to much pressure on your ears isn't that a sign that they're too big and you should try something smaller? Did you try the medium and small foam tips that came with the SE215s?

So I've ordered a pair of Sennheiser HD280 Pros (from Guitar Center, which has good return policy).

Actually just yesterday I modded my 280 Pros to fit a detachable cable, the stock cable being way too heavy for my use, and I'm very happy with the result I think that testing the 280s is a good idea, even if you end up returning them they are a great reference point. Another thing is that they are quite common so if you want to save money they often turn up on second hand markets quite cheap. I was lucky to get mine for 25€ in a used but very good condition.

 

[JethroD]

Well, I now have a pair of Sennheiser HD280 Pro and Fiio FH3 to compare with the SE215s. Did a brief amount of initial testing tonight, but will do more tomorrow.

Since I'm working at home, I found a couple videos to play through my speakers to simulate 'noise'. One was a crowded coffee house for general noise. But I simultaneously played a guy whistling, and not great at that. The whistling video would work well on me as a form of torture, and is a good test, as I feel like a strong whistler can be heard through 5 feet of solid concrete!

Initial impressions:

- HD280 Pro: these sound decent, and well-balanced. They definitely isolate better than my other over-ear headphones, but not as well as either of the IEM earphones. And boy do they put the clamp-down on the head. My ears fit inside the ear pads, but the pressure around the ears was significant (thus providing the seal). I recently got new ear pads (hadn't occurred to me before) for my couple of old 20+y.o. headphones - Sony MDR7506 and AKG K240DF - so they're good-as-new now. And they both sound a bit better than the HD280s, just not as isolating. So I'll probably return the HD280s.

- Fiio FH3: Out of all of the ear tips supplied (11 pair), only 1 came close to really sealing properly so I could hear the correct tone of these. It was the large gray silicone tips with red cores. They're not a perfect seal, though, so I know there's a bit better sound to be had. But I can say that if I can get a proper seal, these would have at least as much low-end as the SE215s, maybe with a touch more in the sub-bass. But the mids & highs sound more detailed, a bit richer. They don't isolate as well as the 215s with their large foam tips, but are much more comfortable.

I ordered some SpinFit and Symbio to try, but wondering if I'll need foams to get proper seal?!? The included foam tips, which appeared to be only one size, were not quite large enough to seal for me. I'm wondering if large Comply would do it, since they didn't seem to for the SE215s (see next).

- SE215: I've now tried Dekoni, Comply Isolation+, and Comply Professional tips with these, all in size large. None of them seal as well as the Shure large foam tips, and therefore don't produce the proper bass response, presence, or isolation. With the large Shure foam tips, these definitely have some good low-end punch, and pleasant neutral mids & highs. But these tips just hurt my ears due to all the pressure. I must have very peculiarly-shaped ears, and might need a custom-molded solution to really provide the proper sound without the massive discomfort. I'm not sure what other tips to try, and at $15-20 a shot for something I try for a minute or two and then have to throw away, it's getting daunting. I can't even use them on the FH3s due to different stem diameter. I had no idea going in just how crucial, but difficult to achieve, a proper seal would be!