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
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.
- Minimal leakage and decent isolation.
- Durable build quality.
- Stable and portable design.
- Below-average sound quality.
- No controls.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Changelog
- Updated Feb 05, 2020: Converted to Test Bench 1.4.
- Updated Nov 21, 2019: Converted to Test Bench 1.3.1.
- Updated Nov 21, 2019: Converted to Test Bench 1.3.
- Updated Feb 16, 2018: Converted to Test Bench 1.2.
Check Price
We've upgraded our Headphones Test Bench to 2.0! This update brings several key changes to our tests and usages, making it easier than ever to interpret our sound results based on your personal preferences. You'll also find a brand-new interactive graph tool featuring multiple targets (including our own!) for you to explore and compare.
For a full breakdown, check out our changelog, which includes detailed commentary from our test designer explaining the rationale behind our update.
We'd also love to hear your thoughts: your feedback helps us keep improving, so join us in the comments!
Test Results
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
- Shure SE315 headphones
- Audio cable
- Earbud tips (x9)
- Wax removal tool
- Carrying case
- Manuals
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
No compatible app.
