Shure SE215 vs Etymotic Research HF5: Which Headphones Are Better?

Tested using Methodology v1.3.1

Updated Apr 10, 2024 06:09 PM

See Etymotic Research HF5 Review

TypeIn-ear

EnclosureClosed-Back

WirelessNo

TransducerDynamic

Noise CancellingNo

MicNo

TypeIn-ear

EnclosureClosed-Back

WirelessNo

TransducerBalanced Armature

Noise CancellingNo

MicNo

Our Verdict

Shure SE215

Etymotic Research HF5

The Shure SE215 and Etymotic Research HF5 are both wired in-ears. The Shure have a more comfortable design with angled earbuds that better fit the contour of your ears. The Shure also have a warmer sound with a punchier bass. They also have a thicker, more durable, and detachable audio cable. On the other hand, the Etymotic isolate passively slightly better than the Shure. They also have a more lightweight and straightforward in-ear design that some may prefer over the thicker cables of the Shure.

Variants

SE215 (Black)
SE215 (Blue)
SE215 (Clear)

HF5 (Black)
HF5 (Blue)

Review

See Shure SE215 Review

Check Price

Black

SE215

Black

HF5

Blue

SE215

Blue

HF5

Clear

SE215

Notice: Two or more of the products selected have been tested with different test methodologies, so some of the results below aren't directly comparable. Learn how our test benches and scoring system work, and read more about the latest changes to our headphones test methodology.

Threshold

0.10

Mixed Usage

6.4

No major differences between these headphones for mixed usage. See full list of tests below.

Full Comparison

Mixed Usage

6.4

Neutral Sound

6.8

6.2

Commute/Travel

6.1

6.9

Sports/Fitness

6.4

6.6

Office

6.0

6.7

Wireless Gaming

4.1

4.0

Wired Gaming

6.1

5.8

Phone Calls

2.6

2.5

Design

Style

Design Picture 2

Type

In-ear

Enclosure

Closed-Back

Wireless

Transducer

Dynamic

Balanced Armature

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Comfort

7.5

6.5

Comfort Picture

Weight

0.06 lbs

0.04 lbs

Clamping Force

0 lbs

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Controls

0.0

Controls Picture

OS Compatibility

No Controls

Not OS specific

Ease Of Use

No Controls

N/A

Feedback

No Controls

N/A

Call/Music Control

Volume Control

Microphone Control

N/A

Channel Mixing

N/A

Noise Cancelling Control

N/A

Talk-Through

N/A

Additional Controls

N/A

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Breathability

9.1

9.2

Breathability After Picture

Avg.Temp.Difference

0.9 °C

0.8 °C

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Portability

8.6

8.5

Portability Picture

L

2.0" (5.1 cm)

2.5"

W

2.0" (5.1 cm)

2.8"

H

1.5" (3.8 cm)

Volume

6.00 in³ (98.32 cm³)

7 in³

Transmitter Required

N/A

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Case

7.5

7.0

Case Picture

Type

Soft case

L

4.2" (10.7 cm)

W

3.0" (7.6 cm)

2.2"

H

1.0" (2.5 cm)

1.2"

Volume

13.00 in³ (213.03 cm³)

N/A

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Build Quality

8.0

7.0

Build Quality Picture

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Stability

7.5

Stability Picture

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Headshots 1

Angled Picture

Side Picture

Headshots 2

Front Picture

Rear Picture

Top

Top Picture

In The Box

In The Box Picture

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Sound

Sound Profile

Frequency Response

Frequency Response

Bass Amount

-0.43 dB

-7.2 dB

Treble Amount

-4.85 dB

-3.9 dB

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Frequency Response Consistency

9.1

9.8

Consistency L

Consistency R

Avg. Std. Deviation

0.19 dB

0.05 dB

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Raw Frequency Response

Bass Accuracy

8.1

6.7

Bass

Bass

Std. Err.

2.71 dB

4.11 dB

Low-Frequency Extension

16.34 Hz

88.51 Hz

Low-Bass

-2.33 dB

-7.13 dB

Mid-Bass

1.27 dB

-3.21 dB

High-Bass

4.25 dB

2.26 dB

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Mid Accuracy

8.4

6.6

Mid

Mid

Std. Err.

2.07 dB

4.49 dB

Low-Mid

3.2 dB

3.9 dB

Mid-Mid

-0.79 dB

3.08 dB

High-Mid

-0.02 dB

5.85 dB

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Treble Accuracy

6.0

6.7

Treble

Treble

Std. Err.

5.79 dB

4.56 dB

Low-Treble

-1.62 dB

5.29 dB

Mid-Treble

-7.09 dB

-0.65 dB

High-Treble

-11.59 dB

-6.94 dB

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Peaks/Dips

7.4

7.5

Peaks/Dips Graph

Peaks/Dips Graph

Peaks

1.65 dB

1.59 dB

Dips

1.36 dB

1.38 dB

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Imaging

9.3

8.5

Group Delay

Phase Response

Phase Response Mismatch

Weighted Group Delay

0.08

0.1

Weighted Phase Mismatch

1.48

0.71

Weighted Amplitude Mismatch

0.23

2.08

Weighted Frequency Mismatch

1.18

1.15

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Passive Soundstage

0.4

0.2

PRTF

PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.)

N/A

PRTF Size (Avg.)

N/A

PRTF Distance

N/A

Openness

1.5

1.1

Acoustic Space Excitation

0.3

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Virtual Soundstage

0.0

Virtual Soundstage

Head Modeling

Speaker Modeling

Room Ambience

Head Tracking

Virtual Surround

No App

Weighted Harmonic Distortion

7.9

7.5

Weighted Harmonic Distortion

WHD @ 90

0.305

0.313

WHD @ 100

0.100

0.162

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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

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Isolation

Noise Isolation

8.3

8.9

Noise Isolation

Isolation Audio

Overall Attenuation

-24.62 dB

-29.99 dB

Noise Cancelling

Bass

-15.13 dB

-16.84 dB

Mid

-22.63 dB

-21.81 dB

Treble

-36.73 dB

-51.42 dB

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Leakage

9.8

Leakage

Leakage Audio

Overall Leakage @ 1ft

22.36 dB

20.47 dB

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Microphone

Microphone Style

Integrated

N/A

In-Line

N/A

Boom

N/A

Detachable Boom

N/A

Mic

Show Text

Recording Quality

0.0

Microphone Frequency Response

Recorded Speech

N/A

LFE

N/A

FR Std. Dev.

N/A

HFE

N/A

Weighted THD

N/A

Gain

N/A

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Noise Handling

0.0

SpNR

N/A

Noise Gate

Speech + Pink Noise Handling

N/A

Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample

N/A

Speech + Subway Noise Handling

N/A

Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample

N/A

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Active Features

Battery

0.0

Battery Type

No Battery

N/A

Continuous Battery Life

N/A

Additional Charges

N/A

Total Battery Life

N/A

Charge Time

N/A

Power-Saving Feature

N/A

Audio While Charging

N/A

Passive Playback

Passive Headphone

N/A

Charging Port

None

N/A

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App Support

0.0

App Picture

App Name

No App

N/A

iOS

N/A

Android

N/A

macOS

N/A

Windows

N/A

Equalizer

N/A

ANC Control

N/A

Mic Control

N/A

Room Effects

N/A

Playback Control

N/A

Button Mapping

N/A

Surround Sound

N/A

Surround Support

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Connectivity

Bluetooth

0.0

Bluetooth Version

No Bluetooth

N/A

Multi-Device Pairing

N/A

NFC Pairing

N/A

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

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Non-Bluetooth Wireless

0.0

Non-BT Line Of Sight Range

N/A

Non-BT Latency

N/A

Wired

9.5

9.0

Cable Picture

Analog Audio

Yes

USB Audio

Detachable

Yes

Length

5.00 ft (1.52 m)

4.1 ft

Connection

1/8" TRS

Wired Latency

0 ms

Analog/USB Audio Latency

0 ms

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PC Compatibility

Analog

Audio Only

Wired USB

Non-BT Wireless

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PC / PS4 Compatibility

PC / PS4 Analog

Audio Only

PC / PS4 Wired USB

PC / PS4 Non-BT Wireless

PlayStation Compatibility

PS4 Analog

Audio Only

PS4 Wired USB

PS4 Non-BT Wireless

PS5 Analog

Audio Only

PS5 Wired USB

PS5 Non-BT Wireless

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Xbox Compatibility

Xbox One Analog

Audio Only

Xbox One Wired USB

Xbox One Non-BT Wireless

Xbox Series X|S Analog

Audio Only

Xbox Series X|S Wired USB

Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless

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Base/Dock

0.0

Type

No Base/Dock

N/A

USB Input

N/A

Line In

N/A

Line Out

N/A

Optical Input

N/A

RCA Input

N/A

Dock Charging

N/A

Power Supply

No Base/Dock

N/A

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Check Price

Black

SE215

Black

HF5

Blue

SE215

Blue

HF5

Clear

SE215