Shure SE210 is music to my ears.

TexKid · 04-23-2009, 12:40 AM

Howdy y'all. I very much love my Blackberry Storm. It is sleek, sexy, and black (just like my wife). But I am more passionate about music. You could almost say I am an audiophile. I mean, years of playing the cello, bass guitar, piano, and marching band percussion; how could i NOT be?

So anyway, due to budget, for years I have been using a set of Sony MDR-EX51 along with a set of Sony home headsets (the model number is not on hand).

Finally, I saved up to buy two sets of Shure earphones, the SE115 and SE210. Why both of them? I always LOVED Shure products, but couldn't decide which set to go with so figured I buy them both and the loser would be returned to the store. The SE210 beat the SE115 on several factors, noticeable better bass and overall quality, better feel of construction, and lighter.

What does this have to do with the Storm, you ask? As I mentioned before, I was using the Sony ear buds for a while and listening on the go was fairly good. BUT when I hooked up the Shure earphones, OMG! It felt that it unlocked the Storms true audio quality. I felt that it was up to par (if not surpass) to the iPod and my wife's Sony mp3 player (the small one that only holds 2gb). I know this is subjective, but hear me out (no pun intended). On my iPod, the experience was improved when activating the bass booster feature. However, at times, I could hear a faint, very faint static feedback. But, if I played the same song on the Storm with the Shure earphones (song: Duffy - "Warwick Avenue"), I didn't need to increase the bass and the static feedback was gone; not to mention that the sound was clearer with a sense of a live performance quality.

The moral of the story. A set of good quality earphones can make the music experience a better one. Now I leave the iPod in the car and use the Storm as my mp3 player when I am out studying.

One more note: I am still using the Otterbox and the Shure audio jack did NOT have trouble connecting to the Storm.

stevetaz · 04-23-2009, 06:47 AM

Super write-up and thanks for taking the time. Audio is quite subjective, but you are also using comparisons of your experience that others can certainly relate to...

04-23-2009, 08:55 AM

thanks indeed...

on top of it, also cool you're liking the Storm, as do i.

TexKid · 04-23-2009, 05:32 PM

Thank-you guys. I am truly enjoying the Storm. Unfortunately, I noticed the battery drains faster when on the music player for prolonged periods of time. This means that I will occasionally have to use the iPod. No biggie, the Shure earphones are still giving great music quality.

04-23-2009, 05:37 PM

yep... it is to be expected, everything you do with the device uses battery. in my car, i alternate between the Storm and my iPod (i have one of those old-skool tapes/cassette with a wire that goes in the headphone jack.. my car has radio/tape (which is an improvment for me, my previous car -'76 (P)Impala- only had AM radio :}

TexKid · 04-23-2009, 05:44 PM

Originally Posted by rudeboy

yep... it is to be expected, everything you do with the device uses battery. in my car, i alternate between the Storm and my iPod (i have one of those old-skool tapes/cassette with a wire that goes in the headphone jack.. my car has radio/tape (which is an improvment for me, my previous car -'76 (P)Impala- only had AM radio :}

It's all good. I owned a '83 VW Dasher that didn't even have casette (much less 8-track) player. I got excited when I bought my '94 Ford Escort because it had a casette player (this was 5 years ago). Now, I own a '08 Toyota Yaris and when I found out that it had mp3 jack, I was so EXCITED that I cared less that it didn't have power windows. To me, mp3 jack was right up there with sliced bread and Craftsman damaged bolt/nut remover.

04-23-2009, 05:58 PM

Originally Posted by TexKid

It's all good. I owned a '83 VW Dasher that didn't even have casette (much less 8-track) player. I got excited when I bought my '94 Ford Escort because it had a casette player (this was 5 years ago). Now, I own a '08 Toyota Yaris and when I found out that it had mp3 jack, I was so EXCITED that I cared less that it didn't have power windows. To me, mp3 jack was right up there with sliced bread and Craftsman damaged bolt/nut remover.

oh i would choose music over powered stuff any day as well.... i am able to manually roll down a window, to sing in the car and like it... not so much :}

aggie · 04-23-2009, 07:04 PM

+1 for the SE210's. been using them for about a year now and i absolutely love them.

TexKid · 04-24-2009, 01:26 AM

Originally Posted by aggie

+1 for the SE210's. been using them for about a year now and i absolutely love them.

Sweet! Another satisfied Shure customer.

I must admit, I was a bit reluctant to buy them at first because the reviews were not exactly all that great. The main complaint was lack of bass. However, I actually like a set that doesn't have too much bass. I have such an eclectic collection of music that I really wouldn't want a set that had so much bass that it would bog down my music. I like Shure because their headsets have a right balance. This enables me to customize my music experience. For example, in one sitting I could listen anything from Blue October to Feist to Portishead to Slipknot.

Another cool thing about high quality (expensive) earphones is that they are about to isolate (NOT cancel) ambient noise. With cheaper sets, you can hear outside noises causing you to raise up the volume to drown them out. In the long run, this causes hearing damage (which is why performers use ear sets versus having the speakers pointed at them to hear themselves). With Shure and other sets, the quality is better and isolation is improved allowing you to listen to your music at a lower volume and thus preventing damage.