Shure SE215-CL

Hi!
At first i would like to excuse my insufficient English skills.
I'm from germany, but i'll do my best, so that you can understand my opinion on this product.
It took me a long time to choose a price range.
At last i decided to spend 100-150€.
I compared the Shure Se 215 + Shure 315 + tBone Ep7 and the Se 215 won, but why?

All 3 In-Ear Headphones sound great, so you'll propably be happy with each one of them :) But i'll try to compare them.

The tBones have a great sound in the lows.
The bass is very direct and deep.
Mids + Highs are ok.
They look pretty good.

The Se 315 have a bit less bass .
But for me it seems like the high frequencies are a bit clearer and better.

The Se 215 sounds very very similar.
There's only a bit less resolution.
They sound only a tiny bit "muffled " compared to the 315.
But I got the impression, that the bass in the 215 is a bit more present than in the se 315 ( even it's not that clear).

For me the tBones have 2 problems :
- You can't change the cable ( when the cable is broken, you have to buy completely new ones)
- You can't bend the cable to you ears that good.

That's why they lost.

The difference between the 215 + 315 were very slight.
That's why i decided to use the 215, and i did not regret that.

Btw the 215 are also great headphones for listening to music.
A very clear sound :)

I hope you understand everything.
If you want to spend only a few money but you want to have good quality, you should go for the Se215.

Fazit: Für den Preis brauchbar, es gibt aber besseres, vor allem für Tiefton-lastige Instrumente

Outside Isolation: Ich schätze mal so 12dB Absenkung der Umgebungslautstärke. Wer laute Schlagzeuger hat (oder einer ist) braucht vermutlich mehr, für leise Bands sollte das passen.

Sound: Als jemand der selbst auch ordentliche (teure) Kopfhörer gewohnt ist, ist das leider kein Genuss. ABER durchaus brauchbar. Leute die nicht regelmäßig Songs abmischen hören den Unterschied vielleicht ohnehin nicht. Hab mal in der DAW den EQ so hingedreht wie es gut (=neutral) wäre und das ergab in etwa eine Bassanhebung und eine Absenkung der Höhen von 1.5 kHz aufwärts um 6dB. Beim ersten Anprobieren waren sie total dünn, bis ich den Hinweis auf dem Beipackzettel ernst genommen habe und sie wirklich tief ins Ohr gedrückt hab. Aber selbst damit fehlt noch was. Lässt sich aber mit einem EQ ausgleichen wenn einer zur Hand ist. Jenseits des Frequenzgangs komprimieren die Tröten ganz leicht, d.h. ich kann mir denken, dass man hier nochmal ein präziseres Klangbild bekommt wenn man mehr Geld in die Hand nimmt.

Tragekomfort: Bei meiner Ohrform hat nur eine der 5 mitgelieferten Ohrstück-Varianten (immerhin Auswahl!) gepasst. Alles andere ist sofort rausgefallen. Ich bin generell ziemlich unempfindlich was Schmerz angeht, aber das Drücken dieser Ohrhörer würde mir nach einer Probe vermutlich auf den Senkel gehen – vielleicht gewöhne ich mich noch dran.

Qualität: Kann ich in der Regel erst nach längerer Zeit beurteilen, aber sowohl Stecker als auch Kabel sehen solide aus und halten gut beim einstecken, die Ohrpolster halten ziemlich fest auf den Kanälen. Für den Preis wäre ich nicht erstaunt gewesen wenn Shure hier weniger ernsthaft ans Werk geht. Kann man so machen.

Wer solls kaufen: Wenn ihr ein IEM System anschafft und ihr wollt nicht viel Geld ausgeben ist das kein schlechter Anfang. Wer die Dinger auch Privat in der Ubahn zum Musikhören nehmen will oder absolut transparenten Sound braucht sollte mehr Geld in die Hand nehmen. Das mache ich vermutlich auch, die Dinger hebe ich als Backup auf, oder geb sie nem Bandkollegen.

In 25 yrs playing music, shure have never let me down. Until now. These earphones were great, for 3 mths. As were another shure set I bought for my bandmate which will be my second ever review. The left side stopped working, quickly followed by the right. I bought another cable for 30 quid as I was sure that was the problem. Now I'm an extra 30 quid down with an expensive pair of, what can only be used as, earplugs. I purchased 6 pairs of cheap earphones (so i never get caught short in a gig again)that, in total, cost less than these. They are working perfectly. I highly recommend you do the same

I am a little bit of a headphone-freak. I tried a few brands: Etymotic, Shure, Sony, Sennheiser, Boss (yes, they make in-ear headphones), Apple...

I really like my Sennheiser HD600. Great headphones: linear, dynamic, distortion free and comfortable. With the new ear-pads and head-pad they are back as they were brand new.

I was a little bit sceptical about the SE215. I was in love with my Shure E4C. Really good in-ear headphones. Solid bass, clear treble, balanced mids and excellent noise isolation. Unfortunately, the cable broke a few months ago and it wasn't replaceable with a Shure one. I replaced it with another cable but the E4C were falling into pieces.

I decided I didn't want to spend a fortune in new headphones; the SE215 looked reasonably priced so I decided to give it a go.

* Comfort
In-ear headphones can be a little bit of a problem for some people. Especially the bit that goes inside the ear can hurt after a while.

The body fits in my ears perfectly. It shows that Shure put his experience in in-ear designing in the SE215. The tips are soft and don’t produce excessive pressure inside the ear.

The SE215 come with 6 pairs of tips. 3 are made of special foam that adapts to the ear shape. The other 3 are more conventional.

* Cable
The cable is Kevlar® reinforced and it is thick. Much thicker than the average headphone. This makes it mechanically robust, electrically transparent and not prone to get tangled.

The drawback is that touching the cable induces some mechanical noise in the earpieces. Frankly it is not a problem for me but it might be a problem for some.

The SE215 are design to have the cable going around the ear. The cable has a semi-rigid cover in the last few centimetres before the earpieces. This allows the cable to be pre-shaped so every time is ready for your ears. It works great for me but some people may prefer the extra flexible cable used by other brands/models.

Last but not least, the cable is detachable. Yes, you can unplug it from the earpieces, replace it and your headphones are back as new. It is a great idea that I would like to see more often.

* Body
I purchased the clear/transparent version because I like how it looks but the SE215 are available in black as well.

The body is made of solid plastic. There are no semi-rigid parts that inevitably after a few years simply disintegrate.

* Isolation
It is very good. Perhaps too good – I don't recommend them while cycling.

The isolation is so effective that I find hard to understand why people buy active noise-cancellation headphones. In my opinion, the only case where noise-cancellation headphones makes sense is when in-ear cannot be used (e.g. because of the ear shape or if one has ears that cannot tolerate in-ears)

* Sound
They sound so good... I can't take them off. The SE215 pulverise my old Shure E4C. In comparison, the E4C sound like music on the telephone.

The bass is clear and powerful but not overpowering. Trebles are clear and defined. Mids are balanced. The best thing after my HD600.

* Conclusions
If you look for a good headphones that deliver clear, powerful and solid sound the SE215 are an excellent choice.

If own cheap headphones, do yourself a favour and buy the Shure SE215. Portable music will never be the same.