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Shure SE215 IEMs?

H

Hactar

Sep 25, 2011
459
1
Boulder, CO
#1
I am looking for a set of IEMs that can also work as earplugs and are also good for casual music listening.
I don't have a lot of money to spend.

The Shure SE215s look quite nice. $100, detachable cables, a variety of tips.

Can anyone weigh in on these? Also open to other suggestions, but keep in mind, I'm on a bit of a budget.

Much appreciated.
 
#2
I would not recommend them at all if you are planning to use them with bass, they are quite poor for that use. If you can afford them you can get a set of Future Sonic Atrio M5s for about $160 on amazon, these seem to be pretty well respected here. When I switched from the SE215 to my Westone UM2s it made a world of difference. Using the 215s I could only have the lead singer, his guitar, and my bass otherwise I could not hear my bass at all (even then it was a struggle), but when I switched to the Westones I was able to add anything I wanted without fear of losing myself in the mix.
 
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#4
I guess I should ask exactly what your goal in using these is. Are you trying to use them as earplugs without anything plugged in? Will you be monitoring bass? As far as isolation goes the biggest factor in that will be how good of a seal you get when wearing them. The best solution is custom molded IEMs, but that would be way out of your budget, the next best solution in my experience is the silicon triple flanged tips.
 
#6
I use them and a pair of se425, what they can handle all depends on what's driving them, if you're using a pos PSM200 no u can't run hardly anything cuz they have like no power, if you run wired with a decent headphone amp then no prob. Btw out of the Shure SEs the 215s actually have the most bass... u can google RTA graphs and check for urself
 
#9
Older thread but, FWIW, I recently purchased the Shure SE 215 IEMs and they handle bass just fine. According to charts I found, they actually have more bass response than some of Shure's higher-priced offerings. They get very good reviews over at head-fi.org which is one place I always go read when researching items like this. For $99, the SE 215s are tough to beat it seems.
 
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#10
TXLawDawg said:
Older thread but, FWIW, I recently purchased the Shure SE 215 IEMs and they handle bass just fine. According to charts I found, they actually have more bass response than some of Shure's higher-priced offerings. They get very good reviews over at head-fi.org which is one place I always go read when researching items like this. For $99, the SE 215s are tough to beat it seems.
Click to expand...
I have a pair. They work very well for the price. My problem is getting them to seat in my ears. They sound better to me than the $300.00 M-Audio (ultimate ears) set I had--that I had to replace the cable on three times.
 
#12
I've had a set of 215s for a few months now and am quite happy with them. Isolation is really good once I get a good seal. I find if I roll the tips between my fingers to squash them a bit before inserting, they seal up nicely. They're not as crisp sounding as I might like, but work perfectly well to hear myself.
 
#13
In our church band we are all using Sennheiser CX 200 on stage with the Behringer P16 personal mixers. It was cheap, sounds just fine for the price and fits well. It is also important to mention that we have Padtech edrums (Really high quaily) so volume is not a problem.
It feels like on the stage like we were in the studio.
 
#15
MK1 said:
I would not recommend them at all if you are planning to use them with bass, they are quite poor for that use. If you can afford them you can get a set of Future Sonic Atrio M5s for about $160 on amazon, these seem to be pretty well respected here. When I switched from the SE215 to my Westone UM2s it made a world of difference. Using the 215s I could only have the lead singer, his guitar, and my bass otherwise I could not hear my bass at all (even then it was a struggle), but when I switched to the Westones I was able to add anything I wanted without fear of losing myself in the mix.
Click to expand...

I would actually warmly recommend the SE215 for bass playing. They are not as good as other multi driver units out there but if you want to keep the budget down they are the among the best out there.
 
#16
IMO... you will always find bigger, better, faster.

I play bass at church and we all use iems.

The SE215 is good sound isolating and has good bass response. I would say the sound is accurate, not artificially boosted; more bass in the mix means more bass in your ears. Blocks outside sound well. When playing I can feel the stage vibrating when I play, but can not hear anything not fed through the iem.

Good value ($100) and good performance. Suitable for my needs. Highly recommended.
 
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#17
I'm a bass player/lead singer. I used a set of E1's for a while & thought they were fine great. When the E1's failed, I went to set of E3's which I thought sounded much better but I hated the thicker cable. I adjusted to it but eventually the cable disintegrated due to sweat & use. I had a set of E4's, so I switched to them. I did not like the E4 nearly as much as the E3. So I began my search. I bought a Westone UM2. HATED Them. I like the thin cable but I could not hear my bass. I could hear the low end rumble but I could not distinguish the pitch of the note. So I took everyone's advice & got a set of Future Sonic Atrios. These are worse the the UM2. They are just not loud enough. A couple of guys in my band went with Ultimate Ears & they LOVE them. But everyone else loved the other 2 sets I bought as well. I can't see dropping $900 on a custom made set that I may not like. I'm beginning to feel like it might be best to go something on lower end...I don't need a big, artificially enhanced low end. I just need to to hear my bass & my vocal without struggling. I'm thinking about trying the Shure SE215. I don't really like the removable cable idea. But for $100, it may be worth the gamble. I don't care about listening to an ipod.....I just have to have a clean reference for live performance.

I cannot fathom the idea of going back to a wedge. At this point, monitoring is affecting my performance. I have to solve the problem.
 
#18
Get the 215 or similar and reshell them for 120 bucks or less, pm me for a US based resheller. The dynamics are better for live work according to many and IME. Multiple armature IEMs are great for listening and work well in controlled sparse music, may work well for some in many situations. I keep a pair if Shure E2 and a multiple armature Sony to hand, choosing depending on the musical situation.
 

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