Shure SE215 PRO Sound Isolating Wired Earbuds - Clear

What you get: One pair of clear colored Shure SE215 in-ear ear buds that have a silver cable with a standard 3.5mm plug, a small carrying case; and interchangeable small, medium, and large ear 'sleeves' in two different styles. What they're for: Listening to audio with the use of a separate media device. About the reviewer: I purchased these on Amazon.com and have owned them for about 5 months. I'm a musician and an audiophile enthusiast who uses these ear buds with my phone and computer to listen to metalcore, EDM, pop, and rap. The grading criteria: 1. Build/Durability 10/10 2. Comfort 9/10 3. Sound Quality 10/10 4. Features 9/10 5. Value 9/10 These ear buds are well made and sound great! They are made with a clear plastic, which is cool because you can see the wires and driver housings on the inside. The clear ear pieces will match anything you're wearing. A layer of flexible Kevlar protects the first couple inches of cable coming from the ear pieces. The cable itself is made of woven silver and bronze material and wrapped again by plastic tubing. The shape of the ear pieces' bodies contour perfectly to rest snug in your ear, and an assortment of exchangeable sleeves ensures a tailored fit. The orientation of these ear buds are designed to have the cable run up and over your ear, and then back down. Although previous reviews (Amazon.com, 2015) reported that these ear buds can be worn the traditional way, with the cable hanging straight down. There will be no problems using these ear buds while you're active, but keep in mind these ear buds are isolating and you will not be able to hear the outside world while using them. Their sound is produced from a single speaker in each ear. These ear buds are the least expensive ear buds in a line modeled after Shure's original in-ear stage performance monitors, which were well received by live performing musicians who needed a way to hear themselves in noisy venues. Higher models in this line have more speakers for each ear. All ear phones, headphones, and speakers are 'colored'; set to specs usually determined by an executive or the companies R&D department. It's color is a natural EQ that stems from the speakers hardware and physical components. These ear buds have exceptionally honest sound reproduction. If you like overstated bass or high end then you might perceive these ear buds to sound flat, because they do. These ear buds can produce sound at nearly the entire range of human hearing. The only thing these ear buds are missing compared to others in the same price range is an inline microphone for making calls on your mobile device or computer. But the cool thing is that each ear piece is detachable from the cable. So you can replace the cable with an after market one that does have a mic-if you need it. This feature would also be useful if the cable or either ear piece were to break. Since the whole thing is modular you could just replace the broken component instead of the whole thing. Overall, these ear buds are excellent value. At a $100 price point you are not likely to find a better combination of good looks, durability, and phenomenal sound. These ear buds would be good for any discerning music fan, but they would also work well for audiophiles on a budget.

Man where do I start on these. These are some quality IEM's. For me, isolation is important because that's part of the whole point of IEM's. If I just wanted quality, I could use my headphones or studio monitors. IEM's are designed to be small and lightweight. Read: portable. If I could sit in one place I'd use my studio monitors. Anyway! On we go: I first got into the IEM scene with some VSD1S's which were highly recommended by several websites and many reviews, saying they were worth way more than the asking price. I bought them, instantly didn't like them -- they seemed fatiguing to listen to, weren't very comfortable, and transmitted a lot of sound. Sitting in a library, I could still hear everything, even people whispering. Tried burning them in for 100 hours, still no better. I bought some more "isolating" IEM's -- the Meelectronics M6 Pro's, attracted by the price. I couldn't get those to seal in my ear canals very well and they were not comfortable at all. They sounded decent. But then again, what good are they if they don't isolate and aren't comfy? Enter these SE215's. First time I tried them on, they were noticeably way more comfortable than both other IEM's I'd had. Also, instantly (no burn in) they sounded way better. Other reviewers have said that the bass is "heard, not felt" -- which is true. The bass is there but not "forward" or muddy by any means. Very balanced. Highs are detailed and the imaging is fantastic. Vocals and mids are there but not prominent in any way. I like my music 'flat' and these do that wonderfully. They aren't fatiguing to listen to, and oh BOY do they isolate! In fact, that deserves a whole new paragraph. The isolation is unreal. It's like wearing earplugs, that play music. It's great. I have a video of my cousin trying out these earbuds, and I ask him, "Hey, how's the isolation? Hello? Must be good" and his face the whole time screams 'bliss' with no care in the world. He definitely did not hear me. I was on the plane, and even with the music paused, I still couldn't hear the flight attendant ask, "Chicken or beef?" These definitely are the most isolating earbuds I have ever used. The only place these MIGHT be beat is with droning noises like the jet engine on a plane, where active noise cancelling headphones might beat them. But that's because of how ANC isolates versus how these isolate. (ANC is better with constant noises like droning engine sounds, and these are better where sounds are more 'random'.) In a busy city center, or a subway, or in a loud area, for example, these are hands down superior. tl;dr: These IEM's are wonderfully comfortable (wore them on a 12 hour flight with no issue), have great sound, and isolate better than anything I've ever tried. Definitely worth the money.

Well, just as I was about to give up on earphones or earbuds and stick with headphones, I decided to give these a try. I've always hated earphones/earbuds because they never seem to fit my ears right. When I saw these, it sounded like the foam used in the construction of the earbud made a much more formed fit. More like foam ear plugs for hearing protection. I attend loud concerts regularly, play drums, and shoot guns too), so I'm pretty familiar with hearing protection. Now that I've found these Shure earbuds, I will never go back to another line of earphones/headphones. These little isolating earphones are just what I needed. I can use them not only for listening to my iPod, but I can even use them for sound monitoring with the drums. The package comes with a nice array of accessories. Plenty of sizes of ear pieces, and a nice quality little soft pouch. Fitting them in and wrapping the cord over your ear is something I'll have to get used to. It took me a few minutes to figure it out, but then it fit great. The sound is good. A little bass-heavy, but I'd rather have too much bass than not enough (can always use the EQ bass reducer on the iPod). I think my Bose headphones are still better for hi-fi at home. With these Shure earphones, I ordered the white/clear/silver color rather than the black. In hindsight, I should have ordered the black. I thought the clear would blend-in with my clothing and skin and therefore look less noticeable. But because of the translucent cable and the fact that it's both silver and copper wire underneath, it actually draws more attention. Almost looks like jewelry. Face it: Because of the design of these, people are either going to think you're hard of hearing and wearing a hearing aid, or you're a rock star and wired for the big stadium show. A couple of words of caution: As another review said, these little babies seriously do isolate you. Now, maybe on a subway that's a good thing. You can get lost in your little world listening to music or an audio book on a commute. Or maybe in your dorm room studying or meditating with some nice ambient music on. But honestly these earphones would be absolutely dangerous to use while jogging or riding a bike. You'll hear nothing but the music. No care horns. No police chase. No rabid dogs chasing you. Sorry if I'm stating the obvious, but these earphones really are like wearing deafening hearing protection. Another related issue: If you're listening to soft or quiet music and you're moving around, you'll hear every foot step you take, every burp, every breath, every Dorito you eat, and all the jostling of your body. That's just the nature of the beast when you plug your ears totally up. Last thing to mention: Make sure to set the max volume limit on your iPod before you plug these earphones in. If you're not careful, you'll blast your eardrums more with these plugs than with over-the-ear vented headphones. Solid recommendation on these earphones. Just be careful where/how you wear them.

I know that it is unfair of me to review a product that I didn't even get to use, but this product has given me an absolutely dreadful experience. I didn't see any other review about this issue, so I am stepping in to warn others about it. After removing my product from its packaging, I discovered that the stock sleeves (foam) had fused to the stem of the earbuds. I took to the Internet, searching for solutions. Even after trying increasingly aggressive methods (including freezing the earbuds), I was utterly unable to remove the sleeves. Rather than coming off, they have torn, and their remnants still wrap around the stem like a glued-on sheath. It is unacceptable for this to happen at this price point. Even if you're not dealing with a completely fused sleeve out of the box, it seems that many people have difficulty switching out the stock sleeves (so much so, that it is a known issue: http://shure.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/3788/~/removing-earphone-sleeves). If you are considering this product, and want to be able to customize the comfort of the device, know that you face a hurdle right out of the gate. I pray that your experience goes much smoother than mine. ***Edit*** Ordered a replacement pair after experiencing the difficulties outlined above. On the new pair, I was able to (not easily though) get the stock sleeves off and find a set of sleeves that best fit me. Now, after actually using the earbuds, I think that they are pretty good. The fit might bother some individuals, and putting them on certainly is not intuitive. But those are minor issues that disappear after some practice. The much more likely deal-breaker is the sound quality. The sound quality takes a little getting used to. My previous earbuds were the SkullCandy Heavy Medals, which lasted just shy of a full 3 years, and survived heavy use. When I fired up the Shure earbuds, I was a little disappointed. The Heavy Medals have better lows and have higher volume (keeping volume settings neutral--which is not that big of a deal; easily fixed by turning up the volume). But, after giving the Shures some extended listening, I found that they gave me a better sound in general. I now prefer the sound of the Shures to that of the Heavy Medals. That said, the Heavy Medals are fantastic earbuds, and I recommend both of these products. I feel as if many earbuds emphasize bass, since it has such a tremendous effect on the listening experience. So, when people try to upgrade to higher quality earbuds and find that things are a little tinny or "reduced," they are ultimately letdown. If you are a bass-head, you probably won't like these earbuds. But, if you want a very well-rounded listening experience, these earbuds shouldn't disappoint. As of now, I can't speak to the durability of these earbuds, but they feel solid enough.

These earbuds may not be for everyone, and using them has some drawbacks, but after going through several sets of buds over the last few years I had some clear goals for my next set, and the Shure SE215 met those goals. Durabilty is my primary goal for this latest purchase, but only time will tell if these earbuds are durable. But that is how I became interested in the SE215, because I found it recommended on several Net review sites listing durable buds. They have a detachable cable, and the cable is probably where most earbuds eventually fail, although it isn't always clear where the failure occurs. Usually, I just hear that one side starts cutting out or goes dead completely. Unfortunately, replacement cables for these are as expensive as a cheap set of buds, but even with regular cable replacement, the cost of ownership of these buds may turn out to be less than frequently replacing cheaper sets. One thing that people may want to know about this product is that it was apparently designed as an in-ear monitor for musicians and not necessarily an earbud designed for use with an iPod or cell phone, although that is probably how most people use it. As such, it has several design characteristics that are different from most earbuds. There are no flashy colors or aggressive shapes. The cable is comparatively long, and it lacks the rubbery flexibility of other earbud cables. The base model also lacks in-line controls, although a model with inline controls is available at extra cost. I opted for the base model without inline controls and bought an aftermarket cable that has the controls. The combination is about the same cost as the one with inline controls but I get two cables instead of one. In use, the SE215 is the best sounding and most comfortable set of buds I have ever owned. Some people describe the sound as bass heavy, but I only found that to be the case if the sleeves are of the silicone flange variety and are very tight fitting. In my experience, these buds are best used with the compressible foam style of sleeves, and I am currently using the largest set of these that came with the set. The compressible foam sleeves tend to de-emphasize bass, as well as being more comfortable. With the foam sleeves, I would characterize the sound as balanced, but still with excellent bass. I have no doubt that a big part of the perceived sound quality of the SE215 is due to its sound isolating qualities. Without some degree of sound isolation, the listener simply won't hear a lot of detail and nuance in the sound. The best comparison I can make is that using the SE215 is close to the experience of using a good set of over the ear head phones. That is high praise, but over the ear head phones are also designed for sound isolation, hence the similarity. Because of the sound isolation and the detail that comes through in the music, the experience of using these buds is immersive and strangely addictive. Using the SE215 has become my favorite way of listening to music. These buds are also the most comfortable I have ever used, especially for long listening sessions. They don't fall out easily because of normal body movements like walking, and because of the over the ear cable routing, small tugs on the cable don't yank them out either. The downside is that getting the buds properly inserted and the cable properly routed is a fiddly and time consuming process. Because of the detachable connector, the cable rotates freely on the earbud and everything has to be held in just the right position to get them properly placed. Another small quibble is that the set does not come with a cable clip. I had to scavenge one from one of my dead earbud sets. This is an omission that should be rectified. It remains to be seen if I can list durability as Pro instead of a Con, but here is my Pro and Con summary of the SE215: Pros - Sound isolation and sound quality make for an immersive listening experience - Nice bass, but not too heavy as some others claim - Very comfortable for long listening sessions - Replaceable cable - Once properly placed, they tend to stay put Cons - Price - Getting inline controls for portable devices is an additional cost - Fiddly earbud placement and cable routing - Stiff cable - Lack of a cable clip

These are perfect for drummers - I've been using them for nearly 2 years now. Before, I had two problems: (1) When wearing regular plugs, I'd have to blast the song on the speakers super loud or I'd have trouble hearing it over the drums, so it was tough to stay in tempo. And (2) If wearing regular headphones instead (I tried for all of 5 seconds), those don't protect my ears from drums. These Shure earbuds solved both problems... now I can hear the music right in my ears AND they act as plugs. Wouldn't play without these anymore. The carrying case is super convenient, and it comes with extra replacement tips that I haven't had to use yet.

After reading a lot of reviews I was excited to try these out. I’m a drummer and am getting back to playing live shows and needed a decent pair of reliable IEMs. Overall they are highly rated as far as more budget friendly IEMs go, but I honestly was really disappointed right out of the gate. The unboxing experience was nothing special, the accessories included were just alright (a zipper pouch and a variety of different tips, but no additional cables, clips, adaptors, etc.). Not the end of the world, especially if the sound really wowed me, but I could tell within a few seconds the audio quality was not up to par and definitely lackluster. Perhaps my expectations were too high, but to me they just lacked any dynamic depth of sound, were quite thin sounding, and tracks and electronic audio lacked any notable clarity. I also had fit issues where whenever I’d change facial expressions the seal would break so I’d lose any bottom end and volume. Drummer faces are a real thing, so it wasn’t going to work for me 😅 I played with them for a bit but between the sound quality and fit issues, I just knew these weren’t the ones. I ended up spending ~$40 more and landing on the BASN Bmaster5 IEMs, and the difference across the board is night and day. Significantly better audio quality and clarity, top notch accessories, super heavy duty. Time will tell how they hold up, but I was incredibly impressed that for not too much more money, the experience was head and shoulders above the Shure 215.

I've now owned 5 pairs of quality, sub-$100 ear buds and this is my favorite pair yet. I first bought a pair of Etymotic ER6i's which had a nice, clean sound although they were a bit thin on the bass. Thin wiring finally gave out on those and one of the ear buds quit working. I also had a pair of Klipsch Custom 2's, a dual driver IEM that had a rich, warm sound that I really liked. A trip through the washing machine damaged the cables which gave out completely soon after. Since then, I bought another pair of Etymotics (MC-5) and a pair of Klipsch S4's. I've been pretty happy with both of those, although both pairs have their weaknesses that have bothered me a bit and I kept thinking I could find something better around the same price point. After reading positive reviews of Shure's IEM's for years I finally decided to get a pair. I bought these SE215's and I can't praise them enough. First, the build quality on these is unbelievable. The cables are much thicker and heavier than any other pair of ear buds I've owned. Everything about the fit and finish on these feels solid and gives the impression they will stand up to some abuse. Like the Klipsch Custom 2's I owned, where the cables come out of the ear buds, they have a small section of memory wire that you loop over the top of your ear rather than just dangling down like most ear buds. This takes a bit of getting used to (mostly when putting them on), but works well once you get the hang of it. They sound great. The bass is deep and solid, but doesn't overwhelm the midtones and highs which are crisp and clean. Compared to my Etymotic MC5's the bottom end is much more robust and satisfying. And the mids and highs are cleaner than with my Klipsch S4s. I have a difficult time believing you'll find anything that sounds better without going into the $150-200 price range. I'm a runner, and I always take in to account how a pair of head phones will perform when running. The Etymotics and the Klipsch pair are both pretty solid for running with only a couple of issues. They both can produce a lot of cable noise which tends to cause you to increase the volume to drown it out. And they both have a tendency to start working their way loose in your ears as you begin to get sweaty. Both of these issues appear to be solved with these Shures. The heavy duty cables and the way you loop them over your ears solves the cable noise problem. The only complaint I've got is that I wasn't really happy with the included sleeves. I got a good seal with the silicone sleeves, but they have a small ridge going around them (from the molding process I assume) that irritates my ears when I put them in. And I had a difficult time getting a good seal with the memory foam sleeves. I suspect if I experiment with them a bit more I may like them, but they also seem pretty fiddley...something you can't just pop in and out. I ended up using a pair of dual-flange sleeves that came with my Klipsch Custom 2's. They fit on the ear buds easily and are easy to quickly get on and make a good seal. I've very happy with this purchase and would highly recommend them to anyone looking for quality, excellent sounding pair of IEM's for under $100.