[jetpig]

I recently treated myself to a pair of Shure se215 in ears. They run around $100 and are a GREAT addition next to the Beyerdynamic 770s I have. Where the Beyers reach REALLY deep bass levels and have a forward high end but are widely known to be fairly meh in the mid range, these have some decent bass that doesn't extend as deep, a rolled off (but accurate) treble and the most clear and amazing mid range I've ever heard. Build quality is very heavy duty, with a replaceable cable and a good selection of ear pieces.

Heineken Music Hall 07 was the set that most typified the contrast between my headphones. All the post-emerson material (NUXX is included here, as it's the 03 rewrite with a track from the riverrun mixed in) were MUCH more enjoyable with these than before. Far more nuance and detail came through than I'd heard before. Crocodile, Bamboo, 5 foot 5, TMO, Beautiful Burnout, etc all were MUCH MUCH improved over my DT770s. On the flip side, most Emerson-era material (jumbo being the notable exception) left me wanting more. Kittens could have had more bass-weight and presence and while KoS's Donna Summers line was more textured than I usually hear, KoS wasn't as overpowering as it usually is. The shortcoming was most noted on Cowgirl's stabs as they felt distant and not as immediately arresting as they usually do.

90s sets can be hit or miss with these. Some of them are improved due to the not great recording gear only getting the mid range, while some of the better recordings aren't as great with these due to the lacking sub-bass and not as sharp treble.

Peel session was GORGEOUS, a real treat with these.

EE was absolutely still EE. A testament to Rick's abilities at making this disc sound wonderful through anything.

I've only briefly flirted with Barking era stuff (a little bit of Maida Vale 2 and kcrw) but I didn't feel lacking at all.

TL;DR: Overall these are GREAT headphones and I like them quite a lot, but they don't QUITE beat out my DT770s, with a few exceptions. Bass isn't as deep, and treble isn't quite as sharp. The midrange is MUCH better though, lending most of the AHDO/RR/OwB material a much better experience. If you are in the market for a new set of portable in ears, you could do much much worse than these.