Shure SE Models

The Shure SE 215 in ear headphones will sit right in your ear very comfortably and give you a great musical experience. I love these, I am usually not a fan of “in ear” headphones because they just aren’t very comfortable to me and they usual sound like your listening to music on a old radio. Meaning they usually have a very dull high frequency sound. These really are not like they, they give off just enough bass that you can really get your head bobbing to the music and feel it. The high’s are not over doing it either, they put off a very clean sound, I am really impressed by Shure with these headphones , these are actually one of the first pair of in ear headphones I have used from Shure. I had no idea Shure made these type of headphones. On the best things about these headphones is that you can detached the cord from the actual headphone. I have seen this on hundereds of normal headphones but on an in ear headphone? I have never seen that and I though it was pretty cool and innovative. If there is every an issue, mainly a short in your wires you can easily replace them and not have to purchase a whole new set of headphones. Not that you would have to replace them, because they seem to last a long time.

You can also, get them in different sizes as well, which is a good thing but odd to me. Most in ear headphones are mainly one size fits all. So by Shure doing this shows that they are truly thinking about the customer because they would have to have all these different sizes that not that many people might not buy. So they have a little more overhead in that department.

But overall, great in ear headphones. Plug these up to your iPod and you wont need anything else, you can wrap these up and put em your pocket and have no worries. Very durable and long lasting.

I am usually not a big fan of in ear monitors but I was in need of a pair for a single situation that I was in on the road so I decided to just purchase these from a locals music store that I have never heard of . The guy that worked there told me they where great and I wouldn’t be upset with my purchase but because this wasn’t a major chain store and I already ton like in ear monitors I was very skeptical. But he talked me into buying them with the guarantee that I could bring them back if I was unhappy. So I purchased them and lets just say I have used them more than expected over the last year and a half. This are great in ear headphones and I was so impressed with the quality of them. I wish I knew about these when they first came out and I would have bought them right away.

You will be able to hear all of your low tones with them with no problem. Which is part of the problem I don’t in ear monitors because I feel like all I can ever hear is highs. But I can hear all the low tone instruments in the Shure SE215’s very clean and clear without it being muddy. Also normally in these type of headphones the highs are just too much for me and give me a headache but these didn’t. There is a very well balanced sound in these in ear monitors.

I have been using for a while and find my self using them more and more since I have had them. They are very well built to be so small, they come in standard black like the picture above or a clear pair which I have. The clear pair look a little better to me for style but either way they will sound great.

I'm a professional guitar and backline technician. My main job on tour is to keep two guitarists and one bass player happy about their gear, and sounding as good as possible. My job is 98% preparation, and 2% execution. However, the execution is the focal aspect, and I shoot for perfection at every show. A "glitchy" concert is memorable, and not in a good way.

Initially, I relied on listening to the band as closely as I could, and keeping an eagle eye on my guys for any visual indication that something wasn't right. This was quickly revealed to be a less-than-ideal method of monitoring the guitar and bass rigs. There were times when a guitar or bass signal would drop out (for one reason or another), and because my ears were constantly trying to make sense of the aural onslaught of stage volume, I didn't always hear it. So I would be tuning a guitar during a song with my back to the stage, and only when our drum tech would run across stage and yell "SOMETHING'S WRONG WITH KENNY'S BASS!!!" would I know that anything was amiss.

So, armed with that experience, I decided to purchase a set of In-ear Monitors, or "IEM's" as they are sometimes referred.

What I settled on were the Shure SE315-CL, single-armature IEM's. The 315's are one step up from their entry model, the SE215. At at list price of $199, one may wonder how anyone could consider them a more barebones model of earphones, considering most consumer earbuds don't even crack the $100 mark, and some truckstop models can be had for under $10.

Several things differentiate the SE315's from standard earbuds. The main thing is that most garden-variety earbuds utilize dynamic drivers, which are basically akin to tiny speakers. They move a lot of air, hence their capability for strong bass response. But they are often not designed and voiced with the highest sound reproduction quality in mind, and frequency response can be lacking through the mid to high frequency range.

The SE315 utilizes what's known as "Balanced Armature", which is different kind of driver, used in hearing aids and prized for their accurate reproduction of higher frequencies. The downfall is that BA's don't like to share frequencies, and it's common practice for IEM manufacturers to build more than one into each ear for their more expensive models, with each driver dedicated to a specific set of frequencies. This allows the most clarity and separation in the frequency response, since the audio bandwidth is not all squeezed through one driver.

This brings me to perhaps my only complaint about the SE315's sound quality: the bass response. The SE315, being on the lower end of the spectrum in terms of Shure's tiered IEM models, utilizes only one balanced armature per ear. For those who like a strong bass response, these IEM's are not for you. I personally prefer an accurate reproduction of the mid and high range to the lowend thunder, especially when monitoring the artists on stage. I simply need to hear the instruments and amplifiers and know that they are functioning correctly and in tune.

I also like to use my SE315's for casual music listening. They have a clarity and sensitivity that is unmatched by any other bud I have put in my ears by a wide margin, and makes even listening to familiar music enjoyable and interesting.

Another thing that differentiates the SE315's from your standard iPod earbuds is build quality. The SE315-CL is extremely well built, sporting a thick, Kevlar-reinforced cable that connects to the monitors via snap-in coaxial barrel connector, allowing full 360 degree rotation. This is a great design point, as I've seen several $1,000+ custom molded IEM's that utilized a more fragile, less-ideal two-pin connector system that had no flexibility at all.

An ear-forming wire and sleeve on each side ensures a comfortable fit to keep the buds in place and the cable out of your way once they're in place. The cable itself is plenty long enough to run down the back of your shirt and connect to your wireless pack or MP3 player, and in most cases, still have enough slack to put it in your front or back pocket.

The SE315 includes several kinds of replacement tip sleeves, and a zippered soft pouch, which I elected to eschew in favor of a miniature Pelican 1010 Series case i purchased from Tour Supply (www.toursupply.com) to better house and protect my IEM's from moisture and trauma. Of the included tip sleeves, I prefer the medium olive-style, although some users may opt for the special deal Shure has worked out with Sensaphonics where you can have custom molded tips made from your ear canal molds when sent in by an audiologist. Having a mold of your ear canals made by an audiologist in an interesting process that involves a cotton ball with a string attached to it stuffed into your ear canal, followed by a sticky foam compound injected into your ear. It's very weird. I suggest you try it.

Overall I find the Shure SE315's to be a great model of IEM for people who value durability and clarity, but don't need an overwhelming bass response. For the gigging musician who wants to utilize in-ear monitoring without the brutal cost of custom, multi-driver models, these are also a great solution.

The Shure SE535 V are a pair of isolating earphones that come with a soft zip up case. You can actually purchase these in ear head phones in a few different colors. The SE535 V are very expensive, I wouldn’t think that in ear headphones could be this expensive but they are worth every single penny. The sound is very high definition and I can wear these for hours without them irritating me which is odd because other in ear headphones that I have used in the past really start to hurt after about 30 minutes. When I purchased these they came with adapters and different ear pieces and styles to suit whatever the users comfort level or ear size may be. These would be a perfect pair of in ear headphones for a live set or a live band. They are very durable and do a great job keeping out all ambient noise and outside noise.
The frequency range is 18 Hz to 19 kHz with an impedance of 36 ohms. They have a triple high definition micro driver on the inside. They also come with a full 2 year warranty which is what I would expect to come with them because of how much they cost. This is a manufacturer warranty and not a store warranty.
These headphones are very comfortable and have an amazing sound. They bass in this sounds the best that I have ever heard out of in ear or over ear monitors. You can also replace the cable if needed because it comes off very easily. Being that the SE535 V comes with different ear pieces, they have small ones , medium ones, and large ones so no matter the size of your ear you will have a piece that feels just right. There really is not a way to check these headphones out in store because they are in ear and they probably won’t take them back for a return unless something is wrong with them. I do recommend getting them if you have the money to spend on these types of headphones. You will thank me later.