[miko]

Hello. I try to concentrate on my study but people around me are talking very loudly. I have tried several earplugs but no help.
I am planning to buy the SE115 mainly for sound isolation. Do you think it will do the job? (It may be even more difficult to keep focus with music playing in the background.) Can you share your experience please? I have a few other questions:

1. Do all Shure sound isolation earphones have the same sound isolation
capability? If not, which is the best? How do they comapred with etymotic's products?

2. How is the sound isolation capability of this product compared with
others such as the SE530?

3. Can I buy the earbugs for the SE530 and put them in the SE115?

4. Will I be able to hear people talking loudly nearby if I put the SE 115/530
on with/without music?

5. Do they fall off from the ears easily?

6. Is it true that one can hear ones heartbeats with these isolation earphones on?

7. Are there disadvantages of using these earphones? Do these earphones push the ear wax further into the ear canals?

8. I read one posting that one user feels uncomfortable wearing the earphone even for a short period of time. What is your experience?

9. How is the sound quality of the 115?

10. Can I use the SE115 with iPod touch or iPhone?

Thanks.

 

[VoLTaG3]

Quote:

Originally Posted by miko /img/forum/go_quote.gif I am planning to buy the SE115 mainly for sound isolation. Can you share your experience please? I have a few other questions: 1. Do all Shure sound isolation earphones have the same sound isolation capability? If not, which is the best? They all have roughly about the same noise isolation. 2. How is the sound isolation capability of this product compared with others such as the SE530? The same. 3. Can I buy the earbugs for the SE530 and put them in the SE115? Yes. 4. Will I be able to hear people talking loudly nearby if I put the SE 115/530 on with/without music? With music playing you won't hear a thing. Without music playing you will hear them but very muffled. 5. Do they fall off from the ears easily? No if worn correctly over the ears. 6. Is it true that one can hear ones heartbeats with these isolation earphones on? No. 7. Are there disadvantages of using these earphones? Do these earphones push the ear wax further into the ear canals? I don't think so. This shouldn't be a problem if you clean your ears regularly. 8. I read one posting that one user feels uncomfortable wearing the earphone even for a short period of time. What is your experience? I can wear my SE530's for very long periods of time without discomfort. Not sure about the SE115. Thanks.

My answers are in bold and italics.

 

[FYJX]

1. Do all Shure sound isolation earphones have the same sound isolation
capability? If not, which is the best? How do they comapred with etymotic's products?

Isolation Wise, that depends on your ears and the compatibility with the earphone shape itself. However, the Se210, Se420, and Se530 tend to be the Most Ergonomic Compared to the Se110, Se115, and Se310. Isolation wise is better than Etymotic for some reasons, Shure Earphones are Ergonomic and contour to your ear, and the nozzles are shaped to point into your ear canal, and Microphonics (Cable Noise heard from earphones) is close to none on shures, as it's a big problem with Etymotic.

2. How is the sound isolation capability of this product compared with
others such as the SE530?

Pretty Close. But Se530 will be better than the Se115 in Isolation as the body of the 530 is more narrow and provides a flusher fit to the ear compared to the Se115, which is more round.

3. Can I buy the earbugs for the SE530 and put them in the SE115?

Yes you can. All Shure earphones share the same Ear Tips/Sleeves, Exceptions to the Scl2 and E2c though, they have a wider nozzle.

4. Will I be able to hear people talking loudly nearby if I put the SE 115/530
on with/without music?

If you get a proper fit, you won't hear anything around you when musics playing. You most likely will though if you're not, but barely.

5. Do they fall off from the ears easily?

That depends on how you wear your earphones, and what sleeves you use. Usually, people that wear them over the ear have no problems and it stays in the Whole time. People wearing it like Earbuds, with cables straight down might have a slight problem. But using Foam sleeves also reduces the chance of them falling out.

6. Is it true that one can hear ones heartbeats with these isolation earphones on?

That depends. Most likely no, at least not for me when i have my 530's on with Comply/Klipsch.

7. Are there disadvantages of using these earphones? Do these earphones push the ear wax further into the ear canals?

That could be considered a disadvantage (most likely not that as they don't go THAT deep into the ear, and don't actually push your ear wax, but it may loosen the ear wax and if it's a humid day, it will stick to your earphone sleeves), but before you buy these, make sure and consider that you have to clean your ears often as you will ruin your earphones if they get too dirty and the filters get plugged. Advantage though, you get to listen to your music at a lower volume, with more detail due to noise isolation because you don't have to turn your music up to hear it.

8. I read one posting that one user feels uncomfortable wearing the earphone even for a short period of time. What is your experience?

That depends on each person, and also depends on what kind of tips you use.

9. How is the sound quality of the 115?

I would say, a improvement over the SE110. Better lows and Mids. Highs stay around the Same. They Provide a nice warm Sound Signature, Detailed but not a whole ton, highs are clear (not as clear as higher end earphones, or Etymotics and Westones), mids are smooth (shure's Signature Frequency =), Lows are improved over teh Se110, Warm and thumpy, May not be the most powerful though. Would recommend as Entry level earphone along with Phonak Audeo PFE, and Westone Um1.

10. Can I use the SE115 with iPod touch or iPhone?

Yes you can, you can also get it with the Music Phone Adapter that Shure offers, and it allows you to change songs, answer calls, and provides a high-quality microphone that you can use for calls on the iphone. You can also use the MPA on mos music players like the ipod touch to play and pause music.

Overall, i recommend the Se115, but i would recommend the Phonak Audeo PFE's first. The Lows may not be the most powerful, but they are punchy. And the problem could be solved by a slight EQ tweaking or amping them. Why the Audeo over the 115? It's just a larger step into the highest quality audio level there can be. =)

Hope that helped a bit. and Good luck!

 

[FYJX]

Also, if you need earplugs, you could just get Custom Earplugs as they could provide up to -30db of noise reduction. However they are costly. If you want a solution that keeps the noise down, but allows you to hear other people. You might want to consider teh Etymotic ETY PLUGS. They even come in different colours, and are only $12 a pair.

 

[maingarden]

i believe the SE115 uses a dynamic driver so if what I read around is correct, it should, then, offer more of the lower end.

i bought the SCL3 in white because of it's price point - see if that might still be available from GC or other places. it was running $69 and is amazing for the price; i spoke with a shure engineer before buying to ask how the SCL compared to SE. SCL is the older series, renamed from the "e," series, and is intended more for stage monitoring where the SE was aimed more for consumer listening, with a slightly warmer tone. That said, moving up the line, compares well, and the SCL3, from what the engineer told me, compares well to SE210, maybe even better.

Yes, the midrange is quite sweet, and you'll love the details. Soon, you'll notice differences in recordings, bit rates, and will favor better "quality" music.

isolation is awesome with my SCL3.

the apple store should have a demo box for shures so you can check out the fit on the SEs. I like the SCL for its cabling - there's no need for the cable to disconnect for a phone capability and makes for great portability.

i might step up to the phonak, but i hear both lack on the lower end.
you may want to audition a 115 for that reason, but for the price, you have to consider phonak based on the evals here.

 

[deadguy99]

Step 1 Buy the se115's
Step 2 Download a pink noise or white noise sound file to your preference
Step 3 put the sound file on your mp3 player and put on repeat at low volume and you wont have music bothering you or be able to hear people around you.

Or if you have alot of extra money

http://earplugstore.stores.yahoo.net/snproinwhnom.html

its an Earplug with a built in white noise generator with volume knob and uses readily available hearing aid batteries

 

[miko]

Thank you very much for the detailed answers.

2. How is the sound isolation capability of this product compared with
others such as the SE530?

Pretty Close. But Se530 will be better than the Se115 in Isolation as the body of the 530 is more narrow and provides a flusher fit to the ear compared to the Se115, which is more round.

By body, do you mean the ear tips/sleeves? If I use the tips/sleeves on the Se115, will that improve the isolation?

 

[miko]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MaoDi /img/forum/go_quote.gif Also, if you need earplugs, you could just get Custom Earplugs as they could provide up to -30db of noise reduction. However they are costly. If you want a solution that keeps the noise down, but allows you to hear other people. You might want to consider teh Etymotic ETY PLUGS. They even come in different colours, and are only $12 a pair.

I am very sensitive to noise. I do not want to hear other people talking while I concentrate on my study.

 

[MaxMan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by miko /img/forum/go_quote.gif By body, do you mean the ear tips/sleeves?

He's talking about the body shape of the actual IEMs, not the sleeves.

Quote:

Originally Posted by miko /img/forum/go_quote.gif If I use the tips/sleeves on the Se115, will that improve the isolation?

I'm not sure what you're asking here. You need to use sleeves with any IEM. Attempting to use IEMs without sleeves is like attempting to drive a car without gas: it just won't work.

FYI, all current Shure IEM models come with pretty much the same sleeves. The only difference is that the SE 420 and SE 530 come with triple flange sleeves, while the others do not.

 

[Zalithian]

Quote:

Originally Posted by maingarden /img/forum/go_quote.gif That said, moving up the line, compares well, and the SCL3, from what the engineer told me, compares well to SE210, maybe even better. i might step up to the phonak, but i hear both lack on the lower end. you may want to audition a 115 for that reason, but for the price, you have to consider phonak based on the evals here.

The PFE is on an entirely different level than the SE210's. It has more bass quantity and better quality. It's much more balanced than the SE210's which are so mid oriented that it's almost impossible to hear the other frequencies at all. I wouldn't recommend them for isolation, although they do fairly well with the comply's provided.

 

[FYJX]

Thank you very much for the detailed answers.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MaoDi /img/forum/go_quote.gif 2. How is the sound isolation capability of this product compared with others such as the SE530? Pretty Close. But Se530 will be better than the Se115 in Isolation as the body of the 530 is more narrow and provides a flusher fit to the ear compared to the Se115, which is more round. By body, do you mean the ear tips/sleeves? If I use the tips/sleeves on the Se115, will that improve the isolation?

i mean by the shape or the earphone itself. the tips are the same.

 

[miko]

Thanks for all the replies.

 

[miko]

I bought the SE115. It is excellent! Thanks for all of your information.

Somebody suggested using pink/white noise sound to block out noise from loud talking people. I tried the ones posted on Colors of noise - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
but I found them a bit distributing when I tried to focus on my study. On one hand, I hope to block out outside noise. On the other hand, I want to be able to concentrate on my study. What kind of sound/music do you recommend in this case?

 

[FYJX]

Quote:

Originally Posted by miko /img/forum/go_quote.gif I bought the SE115. It is excellent! Thanks for all of your information. Somebody suggested using pink/white noise sound to block out noise from loud talking people. I tried the ones posted on Colors of noise - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia but I found them a bit distributing when I tried to focus on my study. On one hand, I hope to block out outside noise. On the other hand, I want to be able to concentrate on my study. What kind of sound/music do you recommend in this case?

Classical. Something soothing, like Beethoven.

 

[miko]

I tried a few classical but did not work well. Could you please name the specific titles?