Shure SE215 Sound Isolating Earphones Colour BLACK

I took the plunge and upgraded to these from a similar, but much cheaper Shure model (SE102). I have been very disappointed.

First the good: when they're in, and stay in, the sound is great - powerful and neutral. They look solid, with a thick and long (too long?) cable. I bought the CL clear model, which is identical to the black in other respects.

Now the bad: getting them to fit is a pain, and even once properly adjusted (you have to bend the last stiffer couple of inches of cable round your ears and choose the right tips) they easily fall out or simply move enough to ruin the sound isolation. I find myself constantly adjusting them when walking, let alone running. All this I could live with, but I am now attempting to return them after 3 months as the right side keeps cutting out. Shure have designed these with a cable that plugs into the earpieces, a very good idea in theory but not in practice. The slightest head movements cause the sound to completely cut out on the right side, which is completely unacceptable. Reviews on the web indicate this is not an uncommon problem with this model (e.g. on amazon.com).

As a fan of Shure's SM microphones I really wanted to like these...but no.

Update: I bought these via Amazon from DAQ, who Shure now tell me are unauthorised to sell their products and are refusing to honour the warranty.
Latest: Amazon have offered to take the earphones back for a refund.

I'm writing this review on the same day i received the headphones, so I'll update it if anything changes.

First thing to say is there was a tiny discrepancy with the ad, but only in terms of colour (A black image was shown but the headphones that came are clear). However, I actually prefer the ones that came, so I can't complain.

Sound quality wise, these headphones are better than anything I've owned before - I'm not a massive audiphile, but I like relatively good quality sound, and I can already tell these far surpasseth any headphones I've owned before. Bass is clear, the hightones come across well on bass-heavy tracks and generally the sound is deep and well-rounded (If any of that makes sense). All clichés aside, there are genuinely parts of songs I can hear that I haven't heard before.

My biggest issue with headphones has ALWAYS been the cable. I use them regularly, and although I'm careful with my cables (Over-under coiling, not abusing them etc) they always die relatively quickly (Maybe I cycle too much with them, maybe I've just been buying bad quality headphones). That's why got these, the removeable cable sounded like a cheaper way of getting good quality headphones to last. However, I'm not sure I'll need to do this for a LONG time as the cable on these feels tough and looks solid enough, which may not be the most comfortable, but I'd rather they lasted than were comfortable. The plug end is thick and looks like it'd take a lot of abuse to break. But I'll update this if anything changes. I haven't tried disconnecting and reconnecting the cable, because I only want to do that when neccessary.

Now onto the first wear... This took me a while (I'm male, so naturally cast aside the instructions) as they're not the most immediately obvious things to put on (I wore them upside down for about 3 tracks before thinking there must be a better way). However, when I realised how to put them off, I realised just how good they were.

To put them on, you bascally have them in your ear, so the thicker bit of the cable goes upwards, then you bend that over your ear to act as an ear-hook. It then keeps this shape, so it's perfectly fitted to you. Initially I was a little frustrated with this, as I've always found ear-hook headphones uncomfortable. However, because it's just a little thicker than the cable, and you mould it to fit your own ear, you can barely feel the cable. This is also good, because as the ends of the earphones are rotatable (Due to the removeble cable), you can have the 'phone hooked over your ear, but not in it, which is good for me as I only ever cycle with one earphone in, but now I don't have to have the other dangling around my chest.

So that's basically everything covered aside from the accessories. In the box comes: 3 foam plugs and 3 rubber plugs. I've always preferred the foam plugs, as I find they give a tighter and more comfortable fit for clearer bass, but between the 6, I think 90% of people will find a plug comfortable for them.
There's also a small cleaning device for the inside of the 'phone funnel. I've never seen one of these before, but have often noticed my 'phones clogging up and the sound quality deteriorating, so this is brilliant for me, and it'll definitely be getting some use. Finally there's a little case, which is relatively sturdy and will be useful for avoiding cable knots (Though I think the kevlar reinforced cable will stop that enough), and also gives a little protection when 'phones are in the bag.

All in all, first impressions are that these are great, and for £70 in the Amazon sale (I didn't talk too much about price as I figure it changes) these are a steal. I would've been happy if I paid the £120 they were originally listed at. Make sure you read the instructions to work out how to get them on, and you'll definitely be happy.

These in ear headphones are simply amazing. Bass is deep and thumpy, mids a crisp and clear, vocals are great and the treble is reproduced well. I use the foam tips, as they are more comfortable (I have small ear canals) and fit my ears very tightly and it makes the bass sound better than the silicone tips. I was using apple standard earphones before and I have realised how bad they really are. I would recommend these to anyone who loves their music, especially bassy music.