Shure SE 115

November 17th, 2009 omo Posted in Reviews, Social | No Comments »

Long time no post.

So my trusty Shure e2c has finally breathed its almost-last breath. The plastic shielding over the post-Y-splitter portion (the stretch of cable between the ear buds to the splitter) has gotten to the point where it’s too brittle to be stored, and the eventual breaks in the cable lead to too much lost of power to the buds that it is not working out of one end. That means it’s time for a new pair of earbuds. For postmortum, I’ve had these since 2005 and I bought them as open box from Circuit City via their eBay store. No, I didn’t take the utmost care with them either, especially in the final years of it.

So, Shure SE 115. I had a chance to pick up a pair of SE 110s for $50 (after cash back) but I passed it on for a sale on the 115. That sale never really came, and I was pressed to get a new pair, so I blew a bunch of Amazon gift certs. The problem with 110 and 115, from a brief google, is the lack of bass response. Supposedly if you go up to a SE 210 (about $100 more) you can win-win with both more fun dynamics and more “flat” response but lol.

The actual kit, if you’ve set foot in an Apple store, comes in this long box. It contains a carry pouch which beats the little circle thing the e2cs has, even if it’s like twice as big. Like all of Shure’s new earphones, it is separated into the extension cord portion and the earphone portion. Not sure I like it, but it works. Shure e2cs have bigger ear bud attachments–something not a problem for me but nonetheless I noticed, so it’s a problem for some users. The 115s come default with foam buds that are in a semispherical shape, but the usual array of optional buds of different shapes and sizes are present (as well as the removal kit) so it’s all good.

As to the sound quality? It’s definitely pretty bassy for something like this, but the frequency response is flatter than the e2c near the high end. What it does better is clarity and volume. Mid and low mids are notably clearer and louder, which is probably a good thing for most people, depending on the type of music you listen to the most.

I picked mine up for $68, black, from Amazon. It comes in 3 other colors. I think it’s a good deal.