For the price - the Shure SE215s are impossible to beat. Forget the single driver. They sound better than any ~$100 headphones have a right to.
They’re also very durable.
My prefered ones are WestoneAudio AMpro30.
These are semi-opened ones : ambient noises and music are heard -12dB. I will not say they are perfect, but they help me much in playing, and most of all, singing right.
I also own some Shure 535, which are certainly much wider frequency range, but they don't help me singing right, and of course they are closed type.
BTW the AMpro30 are presently discontinued.
IMHO, extended bass frequency range and bass prominent devices are to be avoided when it comes to IEM.
You will always hear and feel low frequencies thru your head and chest from any high level PA. So some sort of little weakness in deep bass is a good thing for feeling right with IEM on stage. As usual YMMV.
Jus sayin', my buddy playing sax and bass clarinet is totally happy with his Shure 215.
Thanks for the feedback, I really appreciate it.
The problem I have with my current headphones is mainly the high end frenquencies, which I find do not translate well in the headphones, compared to what I hear in my studio monitors.
adok54, I totally get it - the extended bass frequency range is not really something desirable, at least for me.
Anyone else? 
I love my JH Audio Pro 13 v2's. I've used them on hundreds of gigs and they always sound great. They aren't inexpensive though!
Vision ears (VE5, in my case) make very good custom in ears.
One thing I had to learn was, that a dedicated in ear processing (mainly eq) can make a difference of Night and day, as you can cut the low and low-mid frequencies, that are conducted through your bones when singing.
Just recently I bought the InEar Stagediver SD-2 and am very happy. They set me back EUR 320,-. I've tested others as well with more drivers and have to say that for me personally it wasn't worth the upcharge. If you have the chance, go into a store and test a few.
Shure SE846 Gen 2
Crazy pricey, but I’ve never heard sound like this anywhere before. 37dB of isolation makes for blissful near-silence and ensures you hear only what you want to hear.
As a convenience, the companion RMCE TW2 Bluetooth adapter makes any Shure SE series in-ear into solid general-purpose wireless headphones. Bluetooth doesn’t sound as good as the wire, but at least my SE846 Gen 2’s still produce details that I’ve never heard through any other listening device before.
For the price - the Shure SE215s are impossible to beat. Forget the single driver. They sound better than any ~$100 headphones have a right to.
They’re also very durable.
These look good but do they come wired with an over ear hook? Regular buds do not stay in my ears.
These look good but do they come wired with an over ear hook? Regular buds do not stay in my ears.
Yep. Exactly like this. Without the button.
Dynochrome when you use them wired, you tuck the cord itself over your ears.
I’ve had a few different models with varying cord thicknesses and degrees of flexibility. I don’t know the SE215’s (as I said, I have the SE846 Gen2 model) but the cord on my in-ears molds nicely to the shape of my ears. Before my SE846’s, I had Westone Pro X50’s and that model’s cord was extremely thin and literally wouldn’t stay over my ears (they sounded great, but not on the level of the SE846’s). The Shure cords are solid and mold nicely.
SE215’s are extremely popular for a reason. Shure is a great company that knows how to support working musicians (and a few passionate hobbyists like me).
The Shure cords are solid and mold nicely.
When you say "mold nicely" are they like a stiff wire or just a cord that wraps? I ask because what goes over my ears has to hold the whole thing up ( I usually use stiff hooks) the buds will stay in but they have to have something holding them up. I don't think just a cord wrapping around will work unless it's stiff. I am asking a bit hypothetically because I'm still oldschool and use real monitors/cab but might have to make a switch sometime and I want to have some idea.
Michael Britt says his "secret weapon" is UE7. He says it's the only one he trusts when he profiles. I think his profiles are best for all purposes and would love to hear them as he does but these things are like $1,000.00 and I doubt I would buy them if I had a million dollars but would love to see how they compared with the $100.00 sure. I'm not super picky when monitoring, more concerned with what's going down on tape or out front.
Michael Britt says his "secret weapon" is UE7. He says it's the only one he trusts when he profiles. I think his profiles are best for all purposes and would love to hear them as he does but these things are like $1,000.00 and I doubt I would buy them if I had a million dollars but would love to see how they compared with the $100.00 sure. I'm not super picky when monitoring, more concerned with what's going down on tape or out front.
They're better for sure.....but 10 times better?
Not a chance.
They're better for sure.....but 10 times better?
Not a chance.
Well that's not exactly how pricing works anyway :). Sometimes it's hard to make a small difference, yet people might be willing to pay for the improvement.
Well that's not exactly how pricing works anyway :). Sometimes it's hard to make a small difference, yet people might be willing to pay for the improvement.
Of course not - but the value has to be there to justify the cost to a person.
IMO - When the person says "I'm not super picky when monitoring, more concerned with what's going down on tape or out front." - No chance the perceived value is there for the extra cost.
Thanks guys, I'm still wondering about the Ear "hookability"
Dynochrome I pulled out the chord for my SE846 Gen 2’s so you can see the degree to which I am able to adjust to mold to my ears.
The chord out the case:
After attaching the earpiece and molding to my ear:
I keep this chord fairly tightly coiled, as reflected in the first image. When I put the headphone over and into my ear, I squeezed the hook into the shape you see in the second image, and it does stay over my ears.
Again, this a set of SE846’s. I suggest you check how different the chord of the SE215’s are from my model. Per my quick research on Sweetwater’s and Shure’s websites, it appears all the SE earphone models use the same EAC64 cable. The “hook” is part of the cable.
As they say, YMMV…
I pulled out the chord for my SE846 Gen 2’s so you can see the degree to which I am able to adjust to mold to my ears.
So it holds that bent shape on it's own? I would think it would need a wire (like a gumby/pokey) or twist tie inside to stay in place.
So it holds that bent shape on it's own? I would think it would need a wire (like a gumby/pokey) or twist tie inside to stay in place.
Yes - it holds its shape very well. I've not looked closely, but there has to be a wire in there to do so. It behaves much like a solid-core wire does when shaping it.
