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I wouldn't consider myself an "audiophile" in the strictest sense of the word. I do, however, like to enjoy my music the way I believe it was meant to be heard. In my experience, Shure earphones provide some of the best sound quality for the price. While they are not in any way cheap, there are certainly far more expensive options out there.
I have used a pair of Shure E4c's for the past three years on an almost daily basis. I absolutely loved them. Unfortunately with that much use the cords began to get brittle and started to fray until a few weeks ago, one of the wires finally completely cut out. This is a common occurrence for all earphones which are used extensively. I contacted Shure customer service to inquire about repairs, replacement, and their advice on a comparable product now available. Shure's customer service delivered a highly detailed and cordial response within 24 hours. I learned that I could repair my E4c's for around $110. Alternatively, I was told that the Shure SE315's were being released in September and they were in the price range I originally paid for my E4c's. So, I decided to go on Amazon and pre-order the SE315's.
Today I received them in the mail. They are somewhat larger than my old E4c's, however I think they are more ergonomically in line with my ears, thus they are more comfortable. There are a number of improvements that Shure has made over the E4c's. First, the cords are now detachable. This is an enormous evolution and easily the best feature of these earphones. If the cord does go bad some years down the road, I can order a replacement for a fraction of the cost of full repair. Second, the top of the cord, near the earphone, is now moldable. Thus you can mold the cord easily over your ear and it stays put. It is also made with kevlar, making it more durable and hopefully, less prone to the problems of past cords.
Finally, the sound quality itself is much, much improved. The bass is full and rich with absolutely no distortion. The highs are also incredible and you can hear even the slightest nuances in music, even at low levels. Truth be told, I have been listening to songs just to see how they now sound with these new earphones. They sound that good. In fact, in some songs I have heard entire new sounds and noises that I'd never heard before.
I use high quality digital files and a Zune HD to listen to my music. I don't use an amp. Like I said, I'm not an "audiophile" but I can appreciate a good set of earphones and realize that to enjoy your music to its fullest you need to invest in a good pair. If you are happy with the stock earbuds that come with an iPod Touch or the equivalent, something like the Shure SE315's is certainly not for you. That said, once you experience the truly unbelievable sound quality these deliver, I believe no one can go back.
The best sound from new earbuds comes after 400-500 hours of playback after the driver has had a chance to get worked in. However, the SE315's already sound a magnitude better than the E3c's. I am ecstatic with my purchase. If you have the money to spend, you can't go wrong with these earphones. Having listened to the Shure SE425's I honestly can't recommend them over the SE315's given the $100 premium. The SE315's sound absolutely amazing and in my opinion, are worth more than $200.
With Shure's two year warranty and excellent customer service, the SE315's are a downright awesome purchase, not to mention they sound spectacular. Trust me, with the SE315's, you will be rediscovering your music all over again.
****October 26, 2010 Update****
After using these everyday for the past month, I feel even better about my purchase, if that is possible. The clarity of these earphones is nothing short of amazing, which has made my listening of radio on my Zune HD a hit or miss affair. Regular FM radio sounds compressed, garbled, and full of audio artifacts, not to mention static. Luckily, HD radio sounds a lot better. I primarily use my Zune to listen to my own library of music, but it's nice to hear the radio sometimes. These earphones will provide you with both the good and the bad in that regard. Still, listening to my personal library has never been more enjoyable.
Also, the new design of these earphones is fantastic when it comes to listening to them in bed. I will listen to music or watch movies on Netflix on my iPad at night, and I can now do so on my side. The design of these earphones is such that when they are in your ear, they are flush with the side of your ear. Therefore, you can lay on your side without them jutting into your ear and causing pain and discomfort. These are the only earphones I've ever had where this was possible. It makes for a huge difference in using them when I lay down or go to sleep, as I now can lay on either side or my back.
Overall, I still have no complaints. These earphones were a great purchase.
****December 2, 2010 Update****
I guess I am a little surprised by the 3 star reviews some others have been giving these earphones. However when I look at the complaints, they are all valid for the most part. If you aren't used to earphones like these there is definitely an introduction/break-in period that you go through. I do, however, disagree with people complaining about the sound quality. But that is an opinion.
As for my continued use, not much has changed. I still use them almost daily and they have been holding up fantastically. No signs of sound or cord degradation at all. I still maintain that they are very comfortable, but it always depends more on what you were coming from I guess. If you absolutely loved how your old earphones fit then any change will be jarring. However I am completely used to these now and love them. Was still a great purchase and I still whole heartedly recommend these.
****July 20, 2011 Update****
My earphones have been through quite a lot since I purchased them in September 2010. I've used them on an almost daily basis, and for very long periods of time in some cases. Since I've purchased them, I listen to them almost nightly, while I go running, and around the house on the weekends. They have also accompanied me on a flight to Las Vegas and back, (from Florida) as well as on international flights from Philadelphia to Barcelona and back. Needless to say, I still loved them and they have been performing great.
So, you can imagine my shock and horror when my left bud suddenly stopped working last week. I quickly went on Shure's website and printed out the requisite forms to send my earphones in for repair and mailed them out on Monday, July 11th. I figured I would not wait to put Shure's 2 year all inclusive warranty to the test. On Wednesday, July 13th I received an email notification that they had received my earphones and that I would be contacted if there were any issues. And then today, July 20th, I received my earphones back from Shure, the malfunctioning earbud replaced with a new one. And all is good and great in the world! But seriously, I received my earphones back from repair in 9 days, at least 4 of which were shipping, and 2 were over the weekend. So Shure's team turned around my warranty claim, replaced my earphone, and shipped it back to me in about three days.
When mailing my earphones to Shure I was resigned to having to wait weeks, maybe even over a month to receive them back. This had nothing to do with Shure, just expectations from previous warranty repairs in the past I've had to deal with from other companies. I am ecstatic about the service and ease of which it took place. Shure clearly stands by their products and obviously honors their warranty. Again, I love these earphones and this experience has made me even more confident in choosing Shure.
****January 08, 2013 Update****
It has been another year and a half since my last update and I am happy to report that these earphones are still going strong and still sound great. I have had no problems and I still use them on almost a daily basis. I am not sure what the newest models are like at this point, but I am still very confident in recommending these after several years and thousands of hours logged listening to music, playing games, and watching movies. Still highly recommended!
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I *really* wanted to like these earbuds, and they are a fine product with many good features, but ultimately they were not the best solution for me. As a working drummer I have been regularly gigging for the last five years, using Shure E2's exclusively. I've put up with the E2's deficient bass response and inevitable cable rot because they offer great isolation (essential for live drumming), they're affordable, and they fit me very well. The cable rot was an issue, the first time I encountered it, Shure's truly stellar customer service team replaced the entire units, even though they were about a month away from warranty expiration. I cut apart the brand-new set and immediately put heat-shrink tubing over the wires to prevent them from rotting. Why Shure can't fix such a simple problem, I don't know.
I was hoping that they had addressed the lack of bass and the cable rot with the new SE315's. It appears that their solution to the cable rot is to make a replaceable cable. I was skeptical about the quality of the connector used at that location, but it appears to be quite robust. I rotated and flexed them around while listening, and detected no sign of an intermittent connection. Shure did improve the bass response noticeably, but unfortunately they seemed to have bumped up the midrange too, and that was the deal-breaker for me. I found them uncomfortable to listen to. This has always been a bit of a problem for me with the E2's also, they always seemed a little too hot in the midrange. I just assumed that it was because they were designed as stage monitors, and so it was important to hear the vocals above all else. When I fired up the SE315's and found that the midrange was even hotter, I made the sad decision to return them.
There was also a slight fit issue for me with the SE315's. The may have been trying to make them lower-profile, so they wouldn't protrude from your ears. Unfortunately these contact my FRONT ear lobe, in a way the E2's never did. After only about 20 minutes of wearing them, I was feeling some discomfort. Maybe over time I would adjust to this, but with the midrange issue I wasn't interested in finding out.
One other thing; When I first received the SE315's, they had the new foam-style pads installed. I am not a fan of any of the foam pads, I greatly prefer the silicone pads, they are way more comfortable, and most importantly go in and out of your ears almost instantly (a must for rehearsals). When I tried to take the foam pads off, it was VERY difficult. This was compounded by the fact that the tube is smaller diameter and seems much more fragile than the E2's. I was actually afraid I was going to break my brand-new buds, that's how bad it was. Not sure why they chose to downsize it, the E2's were fine, and seem a lot more rugged.
As it turns out, you can still get E2's, in the form of SCL2's (same thing), for about $100. That was the final nail in the coffin for the SE315's. I returned them and bought TWO pairs of the SCL2's with the money.
By the way, if you just want to listen to music and don't need the super high isolation, my go-to earbuds are Sony MDL-EX71's. I have not found any earbuds that I like as much as those, the sound is fantastic, the value is incredible, and they are all-day comfortable. In my opinion they sound better than the Shures. If they offered the isolation that the Shures do, I would use them live, but I have tried it and it does not work.
Buy Shure SE315-CL Sound Isolating Earphone, Hi-Definition Micro Speaker with Tuned Bass Port (Clear) Now
The SE315 are marvelous headphones. It APPEARS Shure has solved ALMOST every issue with their previous headphones.
Pros:
* They're Shure headphones, so they sound great and come with lots of different tips for nearly any preference.
* The in-ear comfort is exactly the same has previous Shure entries. If you've owned Shure before, you know what you are getting into for fit.
* The replaceable cable is something that was SORELY needed. Nothing is worse than paying $200+ on a pair of headphones and having the cord break just out of warranty and it cost nearly the purchase price to have them replaced by Shure. Now just replace a $50 cable which admittedly is expensive, but a lot less than it would have been with previous Shure headphones.
* The body of the headphone itself is angled differently, so they are more flush to your ear. They should work better with earmufs, ear on a pillow, etc.
* The "over the ear" part of the cable is now covered in a thin foam-like sheath, so hopefully less cord breakage which has plagued Shure headphones.
* The 1/8" jack now seems sturdier than previous models and is angled, so it should last longer.
Cons
* Yup, they're Shure so yup, their expensive.
* I loved that on my previous two Shure headphones that the cord split in the MIDDLE, so if the part of the cord connected to the 1/8" jack needed to be replaced, it was a cheap replacement. Also, if the cord gets jerked away (caught on something) it just disconnected in the middle. This feature is gone. The cord is one single piece like with other headphones.
* The 1/8" jack itself, while beefy and angled (both great features) is REALLY fat about 1 cm wide. If you don't use a case (like I do for my iPhone), you'll be fine BUT if you do use a case, I think there is an EXCELLENT chance you won't be able to plug in the headphones unless you ream the case hole wider (which is what did, using a knife), get a case with a huge headphone jack hole, or stop using a case (not an option for me).
Overall, I'd mark the SE315's as about 4.5/5. They are three steps forward (yay replaceable cable) and one step back (HUGE headphone jack and a single piece cable instead of a split cable design). I do intend to get the "CBL-M+-K" for the iPhone mic and music controls and maybe that will have a more svelte 1/8" jack.
Read Best Reviews of Shure SE315-CL Sound Isolating Earphone, Hi-Definition Micro Speaker with Tuned Bass Port (Clear) Here
Before you go off looking at all these reviews, you need to understand one thing:
1) IF YOU DON'T USE THEM PROPERLY:
a) the noise cancellation isn't going to work well
b) You aren't going to hear the true bass or quality if you don't know the proper way to put these in your ears, and make sure the ear buds are deep in your ear and have made a SEAL
90% of the any negative comments are usually about sound quality, bass, the headphones not staying on the ears, etc. And 90% of that is due to people not taking the time or effort to understand how to use these right. You have to put them on correctly. And yes, the added plastic that is bendable at the end of the earbuds work GREAT.....if you wrap them around your ear properly and bend it enough so that they do not come off your ear. You have to really bend that plastic around, even down to the very low end of the ear in back. When you do, these suckers will stay on if you're doing somersaults...so the claims that these earbuds don't stay on your ears is nonsense.
Ok yea the bass. It's not like it's gonna be so loud that it's going to blast your ears but the bass is very good IF again you seal the earbuds right. That means again, making sure you use the RIGHT earbuds for YOU. There are several types of sleeves. Experiment and try each of them out. Don't just try the default black spongy sleeves. And with any of the sleeves you gotta put them DEEP in your ear. I found the 3 studded white earbuds work the best at least for me. They get right in there deep in your ear, they don't bruise your ear or make you uncomfortable either, and they really seal your ear so you hear very high quality out of these earphones. You'll know when you have put it on right when you can barely hear a thing, the noise cancellation should be working well before you even turn on the music and you'll know when you've got them in right..trust me. You have to really make sure you aim the earbuds to the middle of your ear canal and then push those suckers in hard! they're not going to damage your ear, just try it for once!
As far as the wires going bad I have not experienced that yet. I know I did have a defective pair that I did have to return to Guitar Center but they replaced them in no time and the new ones are just fine. I even called Shure about it and their customer service seemed fine to me, the guy said absolutely not should they have been tripping out like that. Sure enough, the new ones Shure sent guitar center that I now have are working great. I've owned shure headphones before. So far, I don't see why people are saying the quality or quality is not there. Again there will be defective buds here and there.
No I do not work for Shure (I'm sure I will get some trolls here so wanted to put that out there also). I'm a Software engineer who listens to music DAILY at work while I code and so I use these suckers a lot. They've been great as long as again you use them correctly people. Read the d*** manual for once ok? Yea there's not a lot there but it does tell you how to properly wrap them around your ears and it takes a few times to get used to it and get it right. Be patient, don't give a product 1 star just because YOU haven't made an effort to do your due dilligence to check whether maybe it's YOU who aren't doing something right and to try it for a while and find out that all these issues are nonexistent in reality once you get the hang of it.
Want Shure SE315-CL Sound Isolating Earphone, Hi-Definition Micro Speaker with Tuned Bass Port (Clear) Discount?
For the past year, I had been using a pair of Monster Turbine In-Ear Speakers (one of the very few Monster products that isn't actually over-priced). However, towards the end of its life, I started noticing some sound interruption in the right channel. Considering the Turbines had extremely thin and delicate looking cables, I'm surprised they lasted as long as they did. Anyways, it was time for me to hit the earphone market again.
Ever since I graduated beyond the generic buds bundled with MP3 players, I have had to cry myself to sleep way too often when a brilliant pair of earphones is rendered useless by a ruined cable. I decided I'd had enough of that and was determined to get one with replaceable cables this time around. Having also used the Shure SCL2 in the past, I was well-aware of the sound signature of Shures and decided that the new member to my family would be a Shure. From there on, the decision was easy and made mostly by my wallet. The Shure SE535s (triple-driver), and Shure SE 425s (dual driver) weren't too friendly with my I-spent-way-too-much-money-on-booze-last-weekend-so-now-I'm-a-broke-college-student wallet, so the Shure SE 315s were the logical choice for me.
Before I get down to reviewing the product, you should know this review is based off of about 3-5 hours of listening. I haven't had the chance to burn them in yet, and once I have logged about 200 or so hours of usage, I will come back to update my review. These are some of the songs I sampled immediately after receiving my earphones. In my opinion, these songs together brilliantly cover all ranges from the lows to the highs Staralfur (Sigur Ros), Archaic Patterns (Eno), Let the Drummer Kick (Citizen Cope), 21 Guns (Green Day) and Intensity in Ten Cities (Chiodos).
Mids and Highs:
Reproduction of mid and high frequencies on the SE 315s are pristine, impeccable and flawless (at least to my ear. I have a discerning ear, but cannot claim to be an audiophile). You know how people always claim to have `heard things in a song they had never heard before' ? I now know what they've been talking about. In songs like Staralfur (Sigur Ros), Intensity in Ten Cities and Archaic Patterns it was beautiful. Also for the first time, I am seriously considering completely making the switch to lossless formats. I generally hover around 192 kbps to 224 kbps when ripping my discs, but once again, for the first time it seems I can hear the flaws. I'm definitely going to rip some of my CDs in FLAC and sample them with these earphones.
Bass:
Undoubtedly, bass reproduction in these instruments is on the lower side. I do realize to expect improvements once they are past the burning in phase, but even then, I expect them to be a little conservative when it comes to bass. Now, for me this wasn't a problem. After spending an year with the Monster Turbines, I got my fix of bass. Initially, it felt really good the strong, thumping bass. After a while, it started getting on my nerves a little bit because the bass on them used to overpower delicate mids and highs. Thus, I was looking for earphones that took it easy on the bass and thus the SE 315s suit me perfectly. However, realize that if you are a bass junkie, and need to feel the thump in your ears, these probably aren't meant for you. The bass reproduction on these is light. The thump and the kick of the bass exist, but is never overpowering. The quality of reproduction of bass on the SE 315s fall somewhere in between my previous earphones, the Monster Turbines, and my current headphones, the Grado SR 60i. The 215s don't have overpowering, shallow bass, yet the bass is nowhere as roomy, deep and true as my Grado's. Not a fair comparison though as the Grados, by merit of being open-air, are bound to have a much wider soundstage.
Be well aware of this before making the purchase. For many, music is no fun without strong bass, and for those people I would strongly recommend Monster's line of earphones.
Cables and Fit:
One of the greatest pros for these earphones is the user-replaceable cables. Thus I feel they deserve a section of their own.
The cable length is generous, extending to about 6 feet. Ample length to reach to the player in your pocket and have some room so as not to tug on it.
The earphones are meant to be worn over the ear so that the cord loops around your ear and suspends the earphones into your ear. It is comfortable to wear them that way so much so that when I made the shift from my Shure SCL 2 to the Monsters, I continued wearing them over the ear. It gives a certain measure of protection to the cable so that if you accidentally tug on the cable, the part where it attaches to the earphones does not get strained.
The part of the cable that goes around your ear has a coating of a certain material that makes them very stiff and moldable. The point of that is so you shape them to your ear and they remain that way. However, the initial fit can be quite frustrating and time consuming. When I put them on for the first time, it took me a good 20min to get it into my ear and get a good seal. Subsequently, it won't take you more than about 15-20sec, which is still more than usual earphones. However, the excellent sound quality your ear receives afterwards makes it worth the trouble.
Packaging:
Finally, I conclude with packaging. Nothing much to write here except that the box the earphones is sold in surprisingly needs to be torn to open them. The box is sealed with a rather strong adhesive and in the process of opening it, even though I tried to be gentle in case I felt the need to return them, I ended up tearing the box. I wonder if that would be a problem with Amazon should you feel the need to return. Be patient and gentle while opening the box.
The earphones come with a huge collection of ear buds, earwax cleaner and a very nice earphone carry case. Use it, it's good for the earphones.
Conclusion:
These are great earphones. They definitely don't come cheap, and I wouldn't say there aren't better alternatives in the market at the same price point, however the replaceable cables actually makes them a much better long term investment. You would not want to purchase expensive earphones only to have to discard them an year later due to a faulty wire.
Fitting and wearing these will take a lot of getting used to, however, the seal is excellent and sound isolation is amazing too. Once again, mids and highs are stellar, bass is definitely underpowered so keep that in mind too.
Update:
About 3-4 days into using these earphones I started noticing some stuttering / cutting of audio in the right channel. Seems like the cable or the connection at the earphone was loose. Anyways, I've requested a replacement from Amazon, and its on its way. Mistakes happen, defects slip through even the strictest QA and Amazon's speedy response more than makes up for it. Won't be deducting a star for this.
