Shure SE210 - I'm disappointed

[ndenbow]

Hi All,

I thought I would share my experiences with my Shure SE210's, which has ultimately ended in me returning them.

Firstly, I bought these to replace my Shure E2C's. I loved my old E2c's. I even had a really old pair that had the lovely thick (yet durable) wires. In the end (after three years commuting 2.5 hours a day) the plastic perished and I had to replace them. I'll try to summarise the differences between the units and why I don't like the new models:-

1. Jack connector is now straight instead of right-angle.
2. The wire from the drivers to the jack is now split by an extension plug, i.e. if you want to use your own cable you can. Very annoying if you trap the wire and tug it because it pulls the extension out and hence no sound. The old E2C wires are more than capable of handling the odd tug here and there.
3. The wires that go over your ears no longer seems to retain a memory and I'm constantly hooking them back over my ears. I could pull the cable retainer tight but that is equally annoying
4. The cable retainer (the draw-string type thingy) is now very tight. It used to be a clear plastic tube and was great. Now it's solid black with 'shure' written on it and when the cable 'twists' it can be very unforgiving.
5. Ear wax protection. The old E2C's had a fiddly circular wax protector that used to fit over the entrance to the actual drivers. Yes it was fiddly, but IT WORKED. The new ones don't seem to work as well and I think this has contributed to their failure.

For me there isn't much that has improved so I will be looking for an alternative manufacturer or trying to get an old pair of E2C's off eBay or somewhere.

Do I think Shure have 'sold out' and catered for the MP3 masses? Yes I do. Shame.

N

[Keiron]

I have just acquired a pair of SE530s. I also own a pair of E3s, which I hardly used at all, but for lifestyle reasons rather than sound quality which is excellent (incidentally, I will be selling them, let me know if you are interested.) I bought the SE530s on impulse really, but they may well end up replacing my Stax setup...so you can guess the sound quality is excellent, but I do agree with your comments on the cabling.

I can't understand why Shure don't use a more flexible cable like pretty much every other manufacturer. I sometimes feel like I'm trying to fashion a length of twin and earth solid core mains around my ears and yes, the slidey thing is a bit of a cheap afterthought, and badly thought out too.

I really don't understand why they didn't at least make the cable long enough so that you could put a player in your shirt pocket. As it stands, they are useless without an extension cord attached, and as soon as you attach one, you have a mass of inflexible plastic and wires. They should have just made the whole wire 9 inches longer in the first place and used the tiniest possible plug on the end.

[Lucas44]

i went from the ec2's to the se210's and like you i'm not liking them as much as i thought. is it just me but did the e2c's give a bit more bass. i haven't got mine anymore so i can't compare.

[ndenbow]

I actually got my E2C's out of the drawer last night and went running in them. They are just SO much better than the SE210's, even though they are more or less knackered now. I am definitely going to pick up some off of eBay at the earliest opportunity.

In terms of isolating earphones I really can't make up my mind what to do. I'm using my closed-back Sennhiesers at the moment and have to put up with being stared at on the train. If I keep using the E2C's they will eventually just fall apart. I would rather keep them for occasional use whilst they still work.