House of Drumming.com

For studio work I use whatever they have at hand (which is usually Sennheiser HD25) but for everything else I've used the Sennheiser CX300-II in ears until they broke. Great sound for the value. Now I'm looking forward to getting the Sennheiser IE7, which are significantly more expensive, but also a great pair of in-ears.
For some reason I couldn't get used to Shure in ears, too mid-sounding for my taste, although still great.
I prefer in ears with nice mid-low response and clean articulation because of the isolation they provide, plus headphones and long hair are a nightmare on stage. And I tend to move my head a lot and I've had cases of fallen headphones while playing to a click track and it's not a nicce scenario.
As for the AKGs, I haven't tried that exact model but they're a bit inconsistent in their catalog with isolation, some models are great and comfy, others are too open. I can't check which model we're using at the studio right now until tomorrow but I'll get back to you as soon as I get the info

Seems too hard, and a lot more expensive then they are worth to get Metrophones in the UK so I bought some Shure SE215's. They are the base level Shure's and they even come with removeable cables which is a biggie for me because most pairs of headphones/earphones I've had to replace has been due to the cables. I will post a review when I get them and try them out.

Just got my Shure SE215's and I can't believe they are the entry level in-ears....I can't imagine what the SE535's must be like. I'm glad that I went for the cheapest ones though because they are absolutely amazing, better than anything I'll ever need. I haven't used them with drums yet but I've been listening to music and I can't hear any outside sound at all. I'm also hearing certain stuff in songs that I never heard before, its like I have an entirely new music collection! All in all...highly recommended. The cable on these are removeable so if they break you can replace them without having to throw away the entire ear phones.

After a few weeks with the SHURE SE 315, It´s time to do a review of them.
It won´t be a technical review, just feelings with them, more in the practice situation than live.

- They isolate a LOT, so if you are going to use it live, you NEED to have a GOOD mix of your drums and the others instruments in your ear. You won´t be able to play with your band and only the click track in your shure, for example. You won´t hear your playing, cero. Even in the rehearsal room.
- Same if you are practicing, you need your drums miced and your playalong/click track in your ear.
- They give better sound quality than Vic Firth SIH1 for the mix of music played.
- But if you are going to play/record and them listen on your speakers, it´s a pain to put them on and off. Much easier with the Vic Firth.
- Practicing, as far as the sound of the drums, without pluggin it, I prefer what I get from Vic Firth: warmer, more lows, sweeter, and they isolate less, so I get some of the real sound of the set, very important for the playing feel…
- I always practice with everything mixed in my headphones: when I play with the shure, with everything miced and mixed through them, I get some cold sound, too clean and very low ambiente sound. I feel weird playing with them.

In some sites I´ve read some people use them just for listening music. It´s not my recommendation: there are other HQ in-ear headphones (not for studio or drumming monitoring) that sounds way better and are more comfortable/cheaper: Pionner, AKG, Sennheinser, Sony…and for ¼ of the price. I have tested all here at home. Some decent sony (in-ear models) gives me more suitable sound, but they are not very appropiate for playing drums, because you get a lot of highs frecuencies of your drums.

So, I keep practicing with the Vic Firth.
Live, I´ve not tried the shure in a “everything” monitored situation, yet. Most of the gigs have been in small places, so as soon as I can (and have more soundcheck time) I will give them a more dedicaded try/time.

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Just for complementing the review:
For listening music:
These are what I have at home, and others similar models. I preffer them over the Shure.
For outside:

At home:
My AKG K66 are always great:

I eventually got the Senn IE8s, as the IE7 is discontinued. Great experience so far for listening and live applications. I'm always carrying a small 5 input Behringer mixing console and ask for a direct monitor send. Since I have my own volume control and general EQ, it's way easier and faster to make my monitor mix.
This is a new model, mine is very obsolete but has the same features:
http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/502.aspx
Juan, I've used this in large halls and open air concerts but also medium/small Venues like Galileo in Madrid and it really makes you and the sound man happier, as he gets a cleaner scenario and you get as much drum volume as you want. Give it a try, it's very cheap, actually:
http://www.musicstore.com/es_ES/ESP/Beh ... 004216-000

shit, I feel low tech just cranking an amp and playing with some earplugs in.

Thanks Matus for the advide.

I have this mixer, and I will try the in-ear shure monitoring route next time that the full band is monitored, plugging a monitor send from the soundman.