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Shure SE315 Headphones Review

Tested using Methodology v1.4
Reviewed Jun 27, 2017 at 05:07 pm
Latest change: Writing modified Oct 12, 2021 at 10:18 am
Shure SE315 Picture
5.5
Mixed Usage
5.4
Neutral Sound
5.5
Commute/Travel
6.3
Sports/Fitness
5.8
Office
3.7
Wireless Gaming
5.7
Wired Gaming
2.2
Phone Calls

The Shure SE315 are well-built headphones with a comfortable and stable fit. They're easy to carry around in your pocket, and they're passable headphones for sports since they won't easily fall out of your ears. Unfortunately, their sound quality is disappointing and may be a deal-breaker for most listeners.

Our Verdict

5.5 Mixed Usage

The Shure SE315 are sub-par mixed usage headphones. They have a compact and stable design and isolate fairly well. Unfortunately, they have a poor sound quality for casual and critical listeners, and they lack any controls, making them a bit more difficult to use with mobile devices.

Pros
  • Minimal leakage and decent isolation.
  • Durable build quality.
  • Stable and portable design.
Cons
  • Below-average sound quality.
  • No controls.
5.4 Neutral Sound

The Shure 315 are disappointing for neutral sound. They have an even mid-range but have underemphasized bass and treble ranges. As a result, mixes lack thump and rumble while vocals and lead instruments are veiled. Sibilants like cymbals are also very dull. They have a poor soundstage due to their closed-back in-ear design, meaning they won't be the ideal headphones for neutral listeners.

5.5 Commute/Travel

The Shure SE315 are middling for commuting and traveling. They're comfortable, and they're easy to carry on you at all times. They also block a fairly decent amount of ambient noise, but they have no controls.

6.3 Sports/Fitness

The Shure 315 are mediocre for sports. They have a good ear-hook design that's stable enough to run with, and they're decently comfortable for an in-ear design. Unfortunately, they don't have any controls, and the audio cable may get tangled or hooked on something when exercising.

5.8 Office

The Shure SE315 are sub-par for office use. They barely leak, meaning you won't distract your colleagues even at higher volumes. Unfortunately, they have a subpar sound that may disappoint serious listeners.

5.7 Wired Gaming
2.2 Phone Calls
  • 5.5 Mixed Usage
  • 5.4 Neutral Sound
  • 5.5 Commute/Travel
  • 6.3 Sports/Fitness
  • 5.8 Office
  • 3.7 Wireless Gaming
  • 5.7 Wired Gaming
  • 2.2 Phone Calls
  1. Updated Feb 05, 2020: Converted to Test Bench 1.4.
  2. Updated Nov 21, 2019: Converted to Test Bench 1.3.1.
  3. Updated Nov 21, 2019: Converted to Test Bench 1.3.
  4. Updated Feb 16, 2018: Converted to Test Bench 1.2.
  5. Updated Aug 10, 2017: Converted to Test Bench 1.1.
  6. Updated Jun 27, 2017: Review published.
  7. Updated Jun 26, 2017: We've purchased the product and are waiting for it to arrive in our lab.
  8. Updated Jun 25, 2017: Our testers have started testing this product.
  9. Updated Jun 23, 2017: The product has arrived in our lab, and our testers will start evaluating it soon.

Test Results

Design
Design
Style
Type In-ear
Enclosure Closed-Back
Wireless No
Transducer Hybrid

The Shure SE315 have an ear-hook design and angled earbuds that better fit the contours of your ears. The earbuds look and feel premium, and the audio cable is thick and heavily rubberized. Like the Shure SE425, they have a transparent variation that stands out a bit more than the all-black color scheme.

7.5
Design
Comfort
Weight 0.06 lbs
Clamping Force
0 lbs

The Shure 315 have an in-ear fit that's comfortable enough to wear for long periods. They have a wide variety of differently sized tips, some made of memory foam that better conform to the shape of your ear canal. They're worn like an ear-hook design, so the earbuds are shaped to fit snugly within the contours of your ears. This makes them more comfortable than typical in-ears, although if you're not a fan of the in-ear fit, they may still get a bit fatiguing after wearing them for a while.

0
Design
Controls
OS Compatibility
No Controls
Ease Of Use No Controls
Feedback No Controls
Call/Music Control No
Volume Control No
Microphone Control No
Channel Mixing
No
Noise Cancelling Control No
Talk-Through
No
Additional Controls No
9.2
Design
Breathability
Avg.Temp.Difference 0.8 °C
8.6
Design
Portability
L 2"
W 2"
H 1.5"
Volume 6 in³
Transmitter Required No

The Shure SE315 are as portable as most in-ear headphones. They easily fit into your pockets and aren't much of a hassle to carry on you at all times. They also come with a sturdy carrying case that will also fit into your pockets, although it does add a bit of bulk to the headphones.

7.5
Design
Case
Type Soft case
L 3.2"
W 4.7"
H 1.4"
Volume 21 in³

These headphones come with a sturdy hard case. It's decently portable and protects the headphones from impacts and drops as well as minor water exposure. It does add a bit of bulk to the headphones, but the case is still portable while being big enough to carry all the accessories.

8.0
Design
Build Quality

These headphones have a sturdy design and replaceable parts for added durability. The earbuds are dense and hard to damage even if you accidentally drop them a few times. The cable is thick, rubberized, and detachable, so they can be swapped out for another cable or a wireless adapter to make the in-ear buds wireless. Unfortunately, no extra cables are provided out of the box, which is somewhat disappointing for their price.

7.5
Design
Stability

The Shure 315 are stable, wired in-ear headphones. They have a pseudo-ear-hook design that's flexible and not as stiff as other ear-hook models. This makes them stable enough to run with, and they won't fall out of your ears unless you physically pull them out or the audio cable gets hooked on something.

Design
Headshots 1
Design
Headshots 2
Design
Top
Design
In The Box

  • Shure SE315 headphones
  • Audio cable
  • Earbud tips (x9)
  • Wax removal tool
  • Carrying case
  • Manuals

Sound
Sound
Sound Profile
Bass Amount
-4.37 dB
Treble Amount
-8.5 dB
8.7
Sound
Frequency Response Consistency
Avg. Std. Deviation
0.27 dB

These headphones have an excellent frequency response consistency. If the user can achieve a proper seal and fit using the variety of tips that come with the Shure SE315, they should achieve consistent performance each time.

Sound
Raw Frequency Response
5.8
Sound
Bass Accuracy
Std. Err.
5.34 dB
Low-Frequency Extension
109.92 Hz
Low-Bass
-9.58 dB
Mid-Bass
-4.9 dB
High-Bass
-0.98 dB

These headphones have a sub-par bass accuracy. Low-bass, which is responsible for thump and rumble, is lacking significantly. The bass has a tilt towards high-bass, but mixes still lack body and warmth.

8.8
Sound
Mid Accuracy
Std. Err.
1.65 dB
Low-Mid
0.02 dB
Mid-Mid
-1.04 dB
High-Mid
2.2 dB

These headphones have an excellent mid accuracy. The range is fairly well-balanced, so vocals and lead instruments are clear. A slight dip in the mid-mid can nudge these sounds to the back of your mix, while a bump in the high-mid can make their upper harmonics sound a bit harsh.

1.9
Sound
Treble Accuracy
Std. Err.
10.77 dB
Low-Treble
-7.73 dB
Mid-Treble
-12.81 dB
High-Treble
-26.98 dB

The Shure SE315 have bad treble accuracy. The range is very underemphasized, resulting in very veiled vocals and lead instruments. Sibilants are dull and lispy.

6.7
Sound
Peaks/Dips
Peaks
2.39 dB
Dips
1.19 dB
8.9
Sound
Imaging
Weighted Group Delay
0.08
Weighted Amplitude Mismatch
0.24
Weighted Frequency Mismatch
1.97
Weighted Phase Mismatch
3.74
0.7
Sound
Passive Soundstage
PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.)
N/A
PRTF Size (Avg.)
N/A
PRTF Distance
N/A
Openness
3.4
Acoustic Space Excitation
0
0
Sound
Virtual Soundstage
Head Modeling
No
Speaker Modeling
No
Room Ambience
No
Head Tracking
No
Virtual Surround
No
6.3
Sound
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
WHD @ 90
0.703
WHD @ 100
0.683
Sound
Test Settings
Firmware
No Firmware
Power
Passive
Connection
Wired
Codec
PCM, 24-bit, 48kHz
EQ
No EQ
ANC
No ANC
Tip/Pad
Silicone (small)
Microphone
No Microphone
Isolation
6.6
Isolation
Noise Isolation
Isolation Audio
Overall Attenuation
-20.79 dB
Noise Cancelling No
Bass
-0.77 dB
Mid
-17.7 dB
Treble
-45.4 dB

These headphones have an okay noise isolation performance. These in-ears don't isolate below 300Hz, which is inferior to some other in-ears we have measured. In the mid and treble ranges, they achieve 18dB and 45dB of reduction, respectively. Both values being good.

10
Isolation
Leakage
Leakage Audio
Overall Leakage @ 1ft
18.05 dB

The Shure SE315 have an outstanding leakage performance. They don't leak in the bass and mid ranges, and their treble range leakage barely reaches audible levels.

Microphone
Microphone
Microphone Style
Integrated
No
In-Line
No
Boom
No
Detachable Boom
No
Mic No
0
Microphone
Recording Quality
Recorded Speech
N/A
LFE
N/A
FR Std. Dev.
N/A
HFE
N/A
Weighted THD
N/A
Gain
N/A
0
Microphone
Noise Handling
Speech + Pink Noise N/A
Speech + Subway Noise N/A
SpNR
N/A
Active Features
0
Active Features
Battery
Battery Type
No Battery
Continuous Battery Life
N/A
Additional Charges
N/A
Total Battery Life
N/A
Charge Time
N/A
Power-Saving Feature
No
Audio While Charging
No
Passive Playback
Passive Headphone
Charging Port None
0
Active Features
App Support
App Name No App
iOS No
Android No
macOS No
Windows No
Equalizer
No
ANC Control
No
Mic Control No
Room Effects
No
Playback Control
No
Button Mapping No
Surround Support
No

No compatible app.

Connectivity
0
Connectivity
Bluetooth
Bluetooth Version
No Bluetooth
Multi-Device Pairing
No
NFC Pairing
No
Line Of Sight Range
N/A
PC Latency (SBC)
N/A
PC Latency (aptX)
N/A
PC Latency (aptX HD)
N/A
PC Latency (aptX-LL)
N/A
iOS Latency
N/A
Android Latency
N/A
0
Connectivity
Non-Bluetooth Wireless
Non-BT Line Of Sight Range
N/A
Non-BT Latency
N/A
9.5
Connectivity
Wired
Analog Audio
Yes
USB Audio
No
Detachable Yes
Length 5 ft
Connection 1/8" TRS
Analog/USB Audio Latency
0 ms
Connectivity
PC / PS4 Compatibility
PC/PS4 Analog
Audio Only
PC/PS4 Wired USB
No
PC/PS4 Non-BT Wireless
No
Connectivity
Xbox One Compatibility
Xbox One Analog
Audio Only
Xbox One Wired USB
No
Xbox One Non-BT Wireless
No
0
Connectivity
Base/Dock
Type
No Base/Dock
USB Input
No
Line In
No
Line Out
No
Optical Input
No
RCA Input
No
Dock Charging
No
Power Supply
No Base/Dock