Hello, I'm thinking of buying the Shure SE 110 Earphones as I've read good reviews about them. I have only heard the Sennheisser CX 300, and the free ones you get with an i pod and a mp3 player. So will the Shure be a lot better than these, or is there any others I should be looking at in roughly the same price bracket.Thanks.
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Shure SE 110 Earphones
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manicm
Well-known member
I found them dull in the midband eg. strings in classical, but I suspect you need to rip at lossless to appreciate them. They also need burn-in which I haven't yet done.
I have the CX 300s too and I find them great.
I have the CX 300s too and I find them great.
Sliced Bread
Well-known member
I've never use the CX 300's so I cannot tell you which is better, but I love my SE 110's. I think they have a great balance that flatters my iTouch. The sound is natural and well detailed IMO.
I went from the CX-300's to the 110's and have found them to be an excellent upgrade, although I got them from Play for £19 during their December Monday madness offers - which tends to make one less critical than when spending £80-odd.
I too found them a bit dull the very first time I tried them, but when I went back to the CX's for a further comparison, the CX's sounded horribly harsh!
One thing though - they have very much exposed the limitations of 128 kbps AAC, to the point that I will, over time, be re-ripping my CD collection at maximum bit-rate (still procrastinating over whether to go AAC or MP3).ÿ
I too found them a bit dull the very first time I tried them, but when I went back to the CX's for a further comparison, the CX's sounded horribly harsh!
One thing though - they have very much exposed the limitations of 128 kbps AAC, to the point that I will, over time, be re-ripping my CD collection at maximum bit-rate (still procrastinating over whether to go AAC or MP3).ÿ
manicm
Well-known member
margetti:
I went from the CX-300's to the 110's and have found them to be an excellent upgrade, although I got them from Play for £19 during their December Monday madness offers - which tends to make one less critical than when spending £80-odd.
I too found them a bit dull the very first time I tried them, but when I went back to the CX's for a further comparison, the CX's sounded horribly harsh!
One thing though - they have very much exposed the limitations of 128 kbps AAC, to the point that I will, over time, be re-ripping my CD collection at maximum bit-rate (still procrastinating over whether to go AAC or MP3).
I would not call the CX300s harsh, I would say they're revealing and honest. Which format are you listening to? From my experience AAC has always sounded smoother on iPods, and MP3s are a bit harsh - but I don't even find this a problem with my 3g Nano and the CX300s.
But as you say, maybe I need to give my SE110s another chance, I'll come back after two weeks of listening.
I went from the CX-300's to the 110's and have found them to be an excellent upgrade, although I got them from Play for £19 during their December Monday madness offers - which tends to make one less critical than when spending £80-odd.
I too found them a bit dull the very first time I tried them, but when I went back to the CX's for a further comparison, the CX's sounded horribly harsh!
One thing though - they have very much exposed the limitations of 128 kbps AAC, to the point that I will, over time, be re-ripping my CD collection at maximum bit-rate (still procrastinating over whether to go AAC or MP3).
I would not call the CX300s harsh, I would say they're revealing and honest. Which format are you listening to? From my experience AAC has always sounded smoother on iPods, and MP3s are a bit harsh - but I don't even find this a problem with my 3g Nano and the CX300s.
But as you say, maybe I need to give my SE110s another chance, I'll come back after two weeks of listening.
I only found the CX's harsh AFTER listening to the 110's - up until then I'd been more than satisfied with the CX's. After a few comparisons between the two (nothing scientific), for my ears the CX's were harsh and the 110's very easy on the ear (at high bit-rates).
About 70% of my collection is 128 AAC, the rest a mixture of anything up to 320 MP3.ÿ
About 70% of my collection is 128 AAC, the rest a mixture of anything up to 320 MP3.ÿ
professorhat
Well-known member
Having heard them both, I think the SE110s are better than the CX300s, but not that much better. If you can find them for £20 - £30 (sometimes they are around for that), then they're worth going for, but otherwise I'd go for (and indeed did) the CX300s which can be got for about £17 from Amazon at the moment.
I also have the Shure E4c headphones (which I think have been discontinued now) and these are vastly superior to both the SE110s and the CX300s, but then at £100, you'd expect them to be.
(NB - all my tests were done with Apple Lossless files).
I also have the Shure E4c headphones (which I think have been discontinued now) and these are vastly superior to both the SE110s and the CX300s, but then at £100, you'd expect them to be.
(NB - all my tests were done with Apple Lossless files).
idc
Well-known member
The even better Sennheiser cx500s can be had on the Amazon Market Place starting at just under £17 as of the time of this post.
Or you could get some Ultimate Ears - Triple-Fi 10s. Which I have and which sound amazing.
I don't think you hear less improvement based on the bitrate with good headphones, you simply hear more of the precise output of your player. So I really rate good phones with an iPod. I've had the CX300 and the UE were a HUGE step up.
If I were in your shoes I'd see what's out there for the money and then make the decision, but I'd definitely keep an ear out for better deals in the current market and get the best you can afford. The most recent edition of What Hi-Fi has an in-ear headphone test. They didn't review any Ultimate Ears but the reviews look really comprehensive across a number of manufacturers ranges including Shure.
If you want to improve the sound yet again, buy a portable headphone amp and connector. Lifts the sound yet again by a similar margin. So a large improvement, but the biggest is certainly the good headphones over original iPod rubbish.
I don't think you hear less improvement based on the bitrate with good headphones, you simply hear more of the precise output of your player. So I really rate good phones with an iPod. I've had the CX300 and the UE were a HUGE step up.
If I were in your shoes I'd see what's out there for the money and then make the decision, but I'd definitely keep an ear out for better deals in the current market and get the best you can afford. The most recent edition of What Hi-Fi has an in-ear headphone test. They didn't review any Ultimate Ears but the reviews look really comprehensive across a number of manufacturers ranges including Shure.
If you want to improve the sound yet again, buy a portable headphone amp and connector. Lifts the sound yet again by a similar margin. So a large improvement, but the biggest is certainly the good headphones over original iPod rubbish.
Been thinking of gettin some Sennheiser earbuds myself ,theres some good deals on Ebay cx300/400/500 as well as cx55/95 ,but from what i can make out theres lots of fakes being sold on there ! so watch
Is this the reason why they are so cheap or are they a good buy ? also Watch amazon its not what it used to be they have sponsered sellers on there now ,some may also be selling fake .
In the past u bought somthin off Amazon and it actually came from them .Check the reviews on there some people give them top marks others a low mark .Wouldnt be suprised if those givin low marks have been sold fakes giveing
Sennheiser a bad name
Mark
Is this the reason why they are so cheap or are they a good buy ? also Watch amazon its not what it used to be they have sponsered sellers on there now ,some may also be selling fake .
In the past u bought somthin off Amazon and it actually came from them .Check the reviews on there some people give them top marks others a low mark .Wouldnt be suprised if those givin low marks have been sold fakes giveing
Sennheiser a bad name
Mark
I've had the SE 110's for about a year and they're the best sounding and most reliable set of phones I've ever had. They've been stepped on, rained on, sat on, pushed to silly volumes and they still work perfectly and look great. I bought some Grado Sr60's a few months ago but I swear the Shure's have better sound quality. I only use the Grados for Marvin Gaye..
manicm
Well-known member
It seems I'm in a group of one on the SE110s then, well not quite - another post on the Best Sounding iPod forum wasn't too enamoured with his 210s(?) either.
In fact I'm on my second pair - I thought the first were so bad they must have been faulty and demanded a new pair!
All I know is that on ripped 256k AAC and 320k DG Classicals (and DG is notorious for harsh recordings) my CX300s shone on my Nano 3g 'fatty', with no fatigue at all, although crystal and bright.
In fact I'm on my second pair - I thought the first were so bad they must have been faulty and demanded a new pair!
All I know is that on ripped 256k AAC and 320k DG Classicals (and DG is notorious for harsh recordings) my CX300s shone on my Nano 3g 'fatty', with no fatigue at all, although crystal and bright.
Alantiggger
Well-known member
Ultimate Ears - Triple-Fi 10s may well be a great set but for that kind of money I wouldn't buy something to stick into my ears (waste)
try ebay and get the black sennheiser's for £7.50 plus £2.95 brand new
or get a white pair for £9.99 with FREE postage..... great in-ear sound !
try ebay and get the black sennheiser's for £7.50 plus £2.95 brand new
or get a white pair for £9.99 with FREE postage..... great in-ear sound !
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