Shure - SE215 Pro

Love my IEMs. I use Shure 535 and also Shure 215. Both sound great and very happy i made The change

if you value ergonomics and non flashiness, it's hard to beat the Sennheisers or Shure style iems. I've tried a lot, and outside they are imho the best as they are flush with the ear. The Shure se215 are imho even better for small ears. They have a ~3mm nozzle, the transparent casing makes them non attention grabbing. The cable on them sucks though, extremely microphonic. People claim they are outdated audio quality wise though. All i can say is they EQ extremely well (measured).

I've used the Shure SE215, which are pretty basic. I've also splurged and spent $600 on quad driver Westone W40. The Mackie's are definitely better than the Shure, but not nearly as pricy as the Westone.

The Shure SE215s are great for the money. I've been using them for years, but I primarily use them on stage or in rehearsal. At home I use my Sony MDR-7506 for monitoring and my Steven Slate VSX during mixing and mastering.

Ooooh. My first iem was a Shure 215 for drumming and then my first chi-fi was the kz Andromeda clone. I got rid of both and good riddance they suck ass. You know what doesn't suck the kz zst and the tin audio t4. Both are great

The budget IEM recommendation is usually the KZ ZS10 pros. I got a set recently on sale for $40, but they're typically $50 on amazon. Get some better fitting tips and they're really solid for the price. They're 5 driver and have a ton of low end. Almost too much honestly. I haven't gigged with them yet but compared to the ultimate ears set I usually use the UEs sound much more balanced. I think the KZs might get boomy/muddy, but we'll see. A lot of people like and recommend them. In both cases the headphones I have are universal fit, not custom molded, so finding the right tips is very important. If you don't have a good seal on your ear you get a ton of external noise and end up having to crank the volume on the IEM which can just cause more problems, or they're falling out all the time and you're losing your monitor. When I first started using IEMs we all had the shure psm systems with the SE215 headphones. They're fine. Like you said not the most robust bass response but they worked well enough for me. That band eventually split and I got away from IEMs for a while. Got back into using them more recently with some of my other projects.

My se215 sound great for the buck. They are channeled through headphone preamp most of the time, but work with iPhone fairly great as well

I have the Shure 846G2. But I use the yellow foam inserts. Check those out on the 2nd picture. You can use them with Shure 425, and I believe the Shure 215 as well. The foam is a way better seal than the rubber. You compress it. Stick it in your ear then it expands out. Molds would be best but this is fantastic as well. [Shure846G2](https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/SE846G2JD--shure-se846g2-sound-isolating-earphones-jade)

Get decent sealed IEM buds. Shure SE115 or 215 would work.

Shure SE215 in this list bothers me tbh

IEMs:- Campfire Andro 2020 > Shure se846 > Sennheiser ie800 > Dunu sa6 > Sony mdr ex800 > Sony xba N3 > final a4000 > Sennheiser ie200 > etymotic er2xr > Sennheiser ie600 > Kiwiears Cadenza > Shure se215 > blon bl03 > Moondrop Space travel Headphones:- Audeze LCD2C > AKG K701 > hd600 > hd660s > hd6xx > hd650 > Meze 109 > Koss porta pro > Grado sr225 > Grado sr80

I play to a click with Shure 215s and my band follows me. Forget anyone who says it can't be done. As others have said, you'll want to rehearse this with your band before taking the stage and you'll need to do hi-hat chirps for any parts you aren't playing (guitar intros, breaks, etc). You follow the click (not your bandmates), and your band needs to follow you. It takes a bit of practice to get it right, but for my band this is the only way we play. Everything you need: * https://apps.apple.com/us/app/pro-metronome-tempo-tuner/id477960671 * https://a.co/d/bTxtNF3 * https://a.co/d/iyD4kAV * https://a.co/d/gdO0Z3N * https://a.co/d/5kp4fr6 * https://a.co/d/dTvbvi8 That last link is a cable that allows you to connect the audio from your stage monitor directly into your mixer (without having to even ask the sound guy for a feed), and it splits the mono signal to left/right so you can hear your band and the click in both ears. I plug the monitor mix into channels 2/3, and the click from my phone into 4/5. Without the mixer you won't be able to hear your phone click over the band. It amplifies the signal.

Still go back to my first pair, owned 3 over the years Shure SE215 Cheap \~$100, super comfy and great sounding HM : Moondrop aria as a first IEM

I'd try the cheaper Amazon ones (KZ ZS10 Pro for example). I use those regularly, but I've also used Shure 215 and 425. Frankly, I love the fit and feel of the Shures but don't love the sound. My KZ are WAY better than either, especially once I switched to foam tips on them. The Shure's just aren't worth the money.

Best sounding in-ears I've had, well worth the price

funny enough, I just took them out of the storage box just to find out both units are dead

Just to add some perspective. I have used 215s for years, I got some kz zs10s about 4months ago and found they were far too bassey and had some high freq sibilence... plus the cable is pretty cheap, has a poor fit over the ear. I got some drumeo eardrum black editions a week ago, (black friday deal) and they sound better (much flater curve) for drumming. The fit is better and the cable is 100x better than the KZ. Overall the sound quality for drumming and general music i found slightly better than the shures (kz was good for edm, but bad for drumming and metalcore). Time will tell regarding durability... shures have lasted ages, but quality of eardrums seems good.

IEMs are best. The Shure se215 are the iconic mid range IEM and I love mine, but they're a bit pricey - there are similar products for cheaper. I've heard Linsoul and Truthear all mentioned on a positive light, I've never used them though.

Theres no such thing as good quality iems for under $100. Get the Shures or get the KZ's. Nothing at that price range sounds good but it does the trick for monitoring and hearing yourself enough. I used the Shure 215s until I splashed out on custom moulded ones and they did the track fine, the bass wasnt great but I could hear myself. The only time I ran into issues was playing bigger venues where the noise cancellation isnt great which can sometimes make it a bit difficult.

You can plug the SE215s into anything. I used to use them on my phone on airplanes before all the phone manufacturers thought it was a good idea to remove the headphone jack.

Plenty of modern iems outperform them nowadays for less money. Still, I haven't heard anything else with isolation as good as theirs, you have to give them credit for that source: it was my first pair of iems. I've used them for several years since \~2010 and they still work pretty nice

Honestly I hit this too recently, splurged on some top line stuff and honestly need to force myself to use them over some cheaper options I have. For example I picked up the Moondrop Meteors and Blessing 3's Yet still find myself falling back to the old trusty Shire se215, kiwi ears orchestra and moondrop aria snow editions I find the top line are always very "clean" sounding but i personally enjoy the sound curve on the lower line models best! Might be what my ears are capable of hearing also. Again all subjective and YMMV Always enjoy the little sense of discovery with things like this, think finding the limit of price to returns for me is a fun thing with most hobbies i get into. Finding out for yourself is important! Now I get more excited when I find some a pair of cheap little gems that I can recommend to people looking for some IEM's!

There are comfortable IEMS. There are good sounding IEMS, and there are IEMS that are noise blocking. I am sure its impossible to do all three.. but two is possible. I found one IEM that sounds awesomely flat and blocks the most noise you can imagine using foam tips.. But they are not comfortable as they go super deep into your ear canals. I mean crazy deep. The sound is extremely balanced and studio monitor quality, you could mix with these. They block all sounds from the outside. so much so you can only hear what comes thru your body and skull. But they are not comfortable to wear you can feel the pressure of the expanded foam in your ears. I use these when I am playing drums. Comfortable IEMS are the Shure SE215 but they don't sound great they sound good enough but dont block too much noise as they claim. Loud noises leak thru. . Noise blocking IEM that sounds awesome if you use foam tips included is the **Etymotic Research ER2SE IEM** [**https://etymotic.com/product/er2se-earphones/**](https://etymotic.com/product/er2se-earphones/) They are usually only $80 These feel like deep foam ear plugs but sound like heaven and block out everything. If you dont push them in deep you get a bad seal and they don't have enough bass. You know when you get them deep enough as the bass fills in and they sound like heaven.,

As far as isolating stage IEMs go there's a big gap right at your budget, there's Shure SE215s around $100 which are "ok" for stage usage but don't sound great in terms of clarity imo. Other similar priced alternatives probably have a similar level of sound quality, then there's a big price jump up to multi driver models and many will require custom molded tips rather than generic ones further increasing cost (better isolation and more comfortable though). Don't rule out good quality wired earbuds, they won't isolate as much as stage IEMs but you *probably* don't need that level of isolation for home/studio use, and at your budget they're probably more pleasing to listen to. That said I don't have any recommendations.

I have enjoyed this so far. Comparing shure aonic 215 to KZ PRX. Messing with eq, different programs, got BT for the PRX vs dongle, upgraded cables, got a case for the iems... maybe now I need a DAP. And maybe another non planar pair...

Shure se215, have two pairs. One pair I found in a parking lot in 2015, still work. The other pair from eBay, looks like Chinese bootleg. Had to super glue the shell to keep them from opening. Both sound exactly the same.

Triple flanged eartips aren't useful for band IEM mixes, and shouldn't be used. The triple flange is designed to preserve some of the high frequencies when you wear them - But thats completely irrelevant with an in-ear mix, because you can EQ that in, if required. With IEM's, the idea should be to seal off as much of the outside world as possible. Custom molds work best for this obviously - Not only because they comfortably fit the ear of the wearer, but also because they penetrate deeper into the ear, eliminating more external sound than generic fit plugs. There is also a huge misconception in the IEM world that your in-ear mixes should be EQ'd like a fully produced mix. This is actually the *last* thing you want in a live situation. Higher frequencies are easily blocked by earplugs, but the wave length of lower frequencies are too long to be cancelled, which means they're going to get through to your ears no matter what you do. Because of this, your in-ear mix should be focused on restoring only what has been blocked out. Here's what I do: * Start with the IEM mix volume at zero and EQ flat. * Bring the volume up until the mids and highs sit at the same volume as the low frequencies spilling into my ears. * Engage the high-pass filter on the overall mix (-12dB shelf) and sweep it up until I hear the mids starting to be affected, then drop it back a touch. It usually ends up somewhere between 300-500Hz - which may seem high, but remember you're going for clarity and separation, and removing the low-end noise from your drivers is one of the best ways to do that. * Since I'm a drummer/vocalist, I need to EQ my own voice in my ears to account for *aural occlusion.* I'll add a sizeable EQ boost around 2.8KHz to restore intelligibility in my voice. >What would really seal the deal for me is if any of you drummers here used to use the 215s then switched to a different IEM in pursuit of lower volume in your ears and achieved this. Or any other adjacent solution y'all have on offer. Thanks in advance cheers Yep, so I did exactly this. I went through two pairs of SE215's, then two pairs of more expensive Shure models before finally pulling the trigger on custom IEMs. The big drawback with cheaper IEM's is mostly to do with their durability and reliability - not their sound. The point of my rant above is that most IEMs - even cheaper ones - should prove good enough (sonically) to achieve a workable mix. If you can't get a decent mix on a set of 215's, I think you'll struggle to get it on a higher-end set, too. Hope this helps.

You need In Ear Monitors or some big Vic Firth type studio headphones. Never play without hearing protection, never play with earbuds that don't have proper hearing protection specifically for musicians. Everybody and their mother starts with the Shure se215, I'd recommend taking a look at those.

I use Shure SE215 IEM

I have a pair of the KZ ZS10 pros as well as some ultimate ears and had some Shure SE215s in the past. The KZ are definitely hard to beat for the price, but I found them very boomy and bass heavy compared to the others. Like same mix or same music the KZ had huge bass where others would sound balanced, but if you're mixing for the KZ or want that bottom end that's not an issue. For the price the KZ are absolutely hard to beat. The xvive wireless stuff, similar hard to beat for the price, just watch your frequencies. Some friends who use them regularly have run into interference issues as they work on the same frequencies as WiFi. One of my bandmates used xvive wireless mics which have been flawless, but I've run into the interference issues with my mixer/tablet connection. It can be frustrating when it happens and you can't fix it live.

Yeah those are made for blocking big industrial machine noise so they muffle the drums way too much. Check out the se215 or something similar, they're made specifically for musicians. If you plan on sticking with drumming for a while then look into mic'ing your kit in the future. It makes a huge difference having mics so that you can adjust your drum levels in your IEMs while jamming or practicing with other people.

I gave myself Tinnitus for about 3 years because of using regular Apple Earbuds while practicing drums. I bought some Shure SE215's and they work great. You can get them on eBay for like $60 instead of $100 at Guitar Center.

Kind of depends on the band situation. Do you have a dedicated sound tech? Or do you use a mixer where you can control your own mix from a phone/tablet? Is the rest of your band using IEMs or are they on wedges? Do you mic/DI every instrument on stage? I use mine sparingly. With one of my bands for most gigs we have our own mixer and I can control the mix. If we have a big enough gig where we're running subs and mic the drums/guitars then I can use a smaller rig or DI only and I'll use my IEMs. When we have full FOH provided I'll likely use them as well. When we have smaller gigs and aren't micing amps/drums then I just use wedges/stage volume. With previous bands when I was singing I always preferred IEMs. I had one band where we had everyone on ears and minimal stage volume. I've also had bands do mixed IEM and wedge setups. I used to have a shure system with the SE215s. Currently have a set of ultimate ears. Good isolation is essential. Custom fits will always be the best for that, but as good set of foam tips which seal well and stay in your ears can work just as well. I have some friends/bandmates who swear by the KZ stuff as the best bang for your buck.

I went to my ENT and got custom ones made. They were less than $200 and work great. The better the fit the better they filter. I wear Shure SE215's for in ears at the moment, but as soon as I can afford it I will get custom in ears made too.

i used my shure se215 pros for the tech test, though i am on pc and use a standalone microphone, im not sure what your mic setup is

Shure SE215s are a safe entry pick because they're reliable and built to last, though the sound quality isn't mind blowing. They're popular for a reason though, for live use. KZ does make good budget IEMs. The ZS10 Pro and CRA+ get good feedback and might be a better value. Soundbrenner Wave is more of a wearable metronome than an in ear monitor, so it won't help you hear yourself on stage. If your main goal is comfort and being able to hear clearly, focus on fit and noise isolation no matter which brand you choose. A good seal makes a bigger difference than people think.

My Shure SE215's don't sound as good as my Chu 2's. My recommendation would be to buy a pair of Chu 2's first and see if they tickle your pickle before getting any other IEM's.

I struggled with them at first until I read suggestions online to replace the stock tips with larger foam tips to get a better seal and I managed alright. The issue with single driver iems though is you get ear fatigue quicker so the longer a gig went on, the less I felt like I could hear myself.

I have used plenty of Shures over the years, including the SE215. I'm not a huge fan of the SE215's when playing any instrument because the frequency response is very clearly bass-heavy and the sound is a little muddy. They are great for listening to certain kinds of music, and I can understand why they have been so popular. The frequency response is a lot better on the more expensive Shures like the SE535 or Aonic 4, but overall I think Shure is a lot less competitive in IEMs these days, compared to 10 or 15 years ago.

If you haven't tried the er2, then you might want to test run them. Sound will be good, but fit in the ears... not for everyone. The se215 are just ok. Safe bet in general, with a comfortable fit. I think better as a daily beater.

I'm a drummer and have used the 215s (whole band had them to start with) and feel there was a world of difference switching to the 425s... Others in band (bass, electric, and acoustic /lead vocal) swear by the KZ ZS10 pros. At $45 on Amazon those they might be worth the shot just to test.

I had two pairs of TMA-1s. Snapped the band on both. Switched to Shure 215's in 2018. Upgraded to the 535's in 2020. They're not for everyone but they significantly made DJing better for me.