Shure SE215-K Earphones and CBL-M+-K-EFS Music Phone Cable with Remote + Mic

I bought the Shure SE-215 with the CBL-M+K iphone cables. For this review's sake, the stars are just meant for the earphones. Before buying these, i had the Shure SE 115. Those earphones served me great. They had a good flat sound. However i did notice a few things could do better, for example, the treble was a bit rolled off, and dynamics could be better. Also, the bass was really good, but lacked a bit of definition. And last, but not least, placing them on was a compromise. I had to spend like 5 minutes getting them to fit well. But all this were just pet peeves to me, because in general, they sounded great. After more than 6 years enjoying them, i believed it was time for an upgrade. I was undecided between the Klipsch S4i and the Shure SE215. I had the chance to audition, from a friend, the S4i's. They sound very good. Good bass and crystal clear highs. But I was lucky enough to have them in my hands for a week. I noticed that what at first i saw as "clear sound", was actually turning into colored sound. The treble, and bass, were definitely boosted a bit. So in time all your songs from your collection sound the same. It's as if a chef always cooks with too much pepper. Eventually you'll be able to pick that particular taste in everything he cooks. So that was what made up my mind in buying the SE215, without having a chance to audition them. This turned out to be, for my taste, a very good decision. The SE215 has a very exciting sound, as is to be expected from good dynamic drivers, but it serves it all in a flat, uncolored musical way that Shure earphones are known for. By uncolored I do not mean boring. These earphones are definitely not boring. They deliver a rich, dynamic and detailed sound. There is plenty of bass, but it's kept on a leach. So you get a bass that's very precise and educated. Highs are well defined and never cross the shrilling sounding boundaries, not even close. Placing them on is also a big step up from the SE115. Not only is placing them on alot fast, but they feel alot more comfortable too. The body rests on your inner ear wall very comfortably. The noise canceling is also a lot tighter than the SE 115. Compared to the Klipsch S41, the fit is hands down an unfair comparison. The Shures fit a lot more comfortably and don't ever fall off your ear once properly fit. Noise cancelling is also won buy a mile by the Shure. The cable on the Shure's are great too. They are thick kevlar reinforced. They look like they can last 100 years. So yes as you can see, there are lots of things to love about these earphones. Highly Recomended!The CBL-M cable, I give 3 stars. The cable is way thinner than the original one. Placing the cables around your ear and making them stay there is a true pain. The only reason i give it 3 stars is because the microphone sounds great, and the added control for iphone/ipod/ipad. But if i would've known better, i wouldn't have bought it and saved me the money. The cables are sitting in a drawer collecting dust.

First, the reason I give these only 4 instead of 5 stars is that the cords don't always stay hooked over my ears, and that just annoys me.Now, moving on to the more positive part of the review, because that is my only real complaint.Shure earbuds have a history of cord failure, especially around the ears where sweat and constant bending can cause the stiffer wire casing to split, exposing the delicate wires within, leading to failure. To fix this, Shure took the novel approach of making the buds themselves removable and the cable a replacable commodity. Having now owned three pairs of Shure earbuds, I can say that this is a welcome improvement over the older, non-modular models.This also means that you can very easily buy the low-end buds like the SE215 or the high end buds like the SE535 and swap them out. Or if the cable breaks, replacing a 50 dollar cable is a LOT better than replacing a 150.00+ pair of ear buds.As for fit and feel, these actually feel better in my ears than my older SE115 and SE110s. They're far more comfy over extended periods, don't feel like they're jammed deep into my ear canal and still form a good seal. The audio quality is standard Shure quality. Not bassy, not tinny, but comfortably in the middle. If you like really bass heavy sound, you may want to look into a different brand, but if you like more balanced sound, you can't go wrong with Shures.This kit also includes the CBL-M-+K iPhone cable. This provides some basic controls for the iPhone and a built in mic. The mic is very sensitive and also farily selective as well. I've used it in my convertible (top up) and have been told that the person on the other end could tell I was in a car, but could barely hear any of the ambient noise from my car. My voice comes through loud and clear.The one thing that's a little disconcerting is that when on a call, you can kinda hear yourself echoed in the earbuds as you speak, but that's quickly ignored once the call is connected and you start chatting. I've used these while jogging and had no problems with them falling out, and the thicker cables greatly reduce cable noise as well, which is actually the primary reason I bought another pair of Shures. I've also had Etymotics and cheaper buds, and the thinner cables are always so noise when they rub against clothing, or flap in the breeze. The Shure cables are pretty darned quiet.Shures are built with great quality. The audio is terrific and for the money, these are a great investment.

I've had this headset for less than 3 months and the iPhone cable is already coming apart where it connects to the earphones (the cable casing split revealing the wiring beneath it).I emailed Shure explaining the problem (including pictures of the defective product), expecting they would send me a new cable (with a return posting for me to send back the old one if they wanted that one back). All I got in reply was an automated message asking me to send the product in. When I followed-up with another email, they told me the turn around time would be one to two weeks and that they did nor offer "advance replacement" - definitely not the kind of customer service I would expect on ~$150 earphones.Sound quality is good and it is a good ear fit but I would not recommend it if you are looking for anything durable (and with half decent customer service).