Westone W40 vs Shure SE215: Which Headphones Are Better?

Tested using Methodology v1.5

Updated Nov 18, 2025 02:21 PM

TypeIn-ear

EnclosureClosed-Back

WirelessNo

TransducerBalanced Armature

Noise CancellingNo

MicYes

TypeIn-ear

EnclosureClosed-Back

WirelessNo

TransducerDynamic

Noise CancellingNo

MicNo

Our Verdict

Westone W40

Shure SE215

The Westone W40 are better wired in-ears than the Shure SE215 if you want a mic and controls. Unlike the Shure, the Westone have a mic and in-line controls, making them a bit more versatile. The Westone also come with a better case and more accessories than the Shure. Their sound is very midrange-focused with a steep bass roll-off. On the upside, the Shure have a more balanced sound profile, although the treble is somewhat recessed. They also have a slightly better noise isolation performance, but it's dependent on the tip and fit in your ears. Both headphones have a similar performance for isolation and leakage.

Variants

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

Review

See Westone W40 Review

See Shure SE215 Review

Check Price

Standard

W40

Black

SE215

Standard

W40

Walmart.com

Blue

SE215

Standard

W40

B&H

Clear

SE215

Standard

W40

BestBuy.com

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

6.8

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

Full Comparison

Mixed Usage

6.8

Neutral Sound

6.2

6.8

Commute/Travel

7.2

6.1

Sports/Fitness

7.2

6.4

Office

6.9

6.0

Wireless Gaming

5.1

4.1

Wired Gaming

6.8

6.1

Phone Calls

6.4

2.6

Design

Style

Design Picture 2

Type

In-ear

Enclosure

Closed-Back

Wireless

Transducer

Balanced Armature

Dynamic

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Comfort

7.5

Comfort Picture

Weight

0.04 lbs

0.06 lbs

Clamping Force

0 lbs

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Controls

7.4

0.0

Controls Picture

OS Compatibility

iOS

No Controls

Ease Of Use

Good

No Controls

Feedback

Decent

No Controls

Call/Music Control

Yes

Volume Control

Yes

Microphone Control

Channel Mixing

N/A

Noise Cancelling Control

N/A

Talk-Through

N/A

Additional Controls

Show Text

Breathability

9.3

9.1

Breathability After Picture

Avg.Temp.Difference

0.7 °C

0.9 °C

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Portability

8.8

8.6

Portability Picture

L

2.4"

2.0" (5.1 cm)

W

2.6"

2.0" (5.1 cm)

H

0.8"

1.5" (3.8 cm)

Volume

4.9 in³

6.00 in³ (98.32 cm³)

Transmitter Required

N/A

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Case

9.0

7.5

Case Picture

Type

Hard case

Soft case

L

2.7"

4.2" (10.7 cm)

W

3.4"

3.0" (7.6 cm)

H

1.7"

1.0" (2.5 cm)

Volume

15.6 in³

13.00 in³ (213.03 cm³)

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Build Quality

8.0

Build Quality Picture

Show Text

Stability

7.5

Stability Picture

Show Text

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

-3.56 dB

-0.43 dB

Treble Amount

-4.31 dB

-4.85 dB

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Frequency Response Consistency

9.4

9.1

Consistency L

Consistency R

Avg. Std. Deviation

0.12 dB

0.19 dB

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Raw Frequency Response

Bass Accuracy

7.1

8.1

Bass

Bass

Std. Err.

3.88 dB

2.71 dB

Low-Frequency Extension

56.57 Hz

16.34 Hz

Low-Bass

-5.08 dB

-2.33 dB

Mid-Bass

-0.11 dB

1.27 dB

High-Bass

5.38 dB

4.25 dB

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Mid Accuracy

7.0

8.4

Mid

Mid

Std. Err.

4.06 dB

2.07 dB

Low-Mid

6.02 dB

3.2 dB

Mid-Mid

2.36 dB

-0.79 dB

High-Mid

2.32 dB

-0.02 dB

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Treble Accuracy

5.5

6.0

Treble

Treble

Std. Err.

5.51 dB

5.79 dB

Low-Treble

-3.49 dB

-1.62 dB

Mid-Treble

-3.06 dB

-7.09 dB

High-Treble

-0.32 dB

-11.59 dB

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Peaks/Dips

6.1

7.4

Peaks/Dips Graph

Peaks/Dips Graph

Peaks

2.65 dB

1.65 dB

Dips

2.07 dB

1.36 dB

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Imaging

9.3

Group Delay

Phase Response

Phase Response Mismatch

Weighted Group Delay

0.14

0.08

Weighted Phase Mismatch

1.17

1.48

Weighted Amplitude Mismatch

0.41

0.23

Weighted Frequency Mismatch

0.89

1.18

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Passive Soundstage

0.6

0.4

PRTF

PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.)

N/A

PRTF Size (Avg.)

N/A

PRTF Distance

N/A

Openness

2.3

1.5

Acoustic Space Excitation

0.6

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

7.2

7.9

Weighted Harmonic Distortion

WHD @ 90

0.295

0.305

WHD @ 100

0.353

0.100

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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

7.7

8.3

Noise Isolation

Isolation Audio

Overall Attenuation

-21.12 dB

-24.62 dB

Noise Cancelling

Bass

-10.43 dB

-15.13 dB

Mid

-20.94 dB

-22.63 dB

Treble

-33 dB

-36.73 dB

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Leakage

9.5

9.8

Leakage

Leakage Audio

Overall Leakage @ 1ft

24.14 dB

22.36 dB

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Microphone

Microphone Style

Integrated

In-Line

Yes

Boom

Detachable Boom

N/A

Mic

Yes

Show Text

Recording Quality

6.0

0.0

Microphone Frequency Response

Recorded Speech

N/A

LFE

479.46 Hz

N/A

FR Std. Dev.

1.64 dB

N/A

HFE

3,319.91 Hz

N/A

Weighted THD

27.987

N/A

Gain

27.89 dB

N/A

Noise Handling

6.6

0.0

SpNR

SpNR

18.07 dB

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

Active Features

Battery

0.0

Battery Type

N/A

No Battery

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

N/A

Passive Headphone

Charging Port

N/A

None

App Support

0.0

App Picture

App Name

N/A

No App

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

Show Text

Connectivity

Bluetooth

0.0

Bluetooth Version

N/A

No Bluetooth

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

Cable Picture

Analog Audio

Yes

USB Audio

Detachable

Yes

Length

4.5 ft

5.00 ft (1.52 m)

Connection

1/8" TRRS

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

N/A

No Base/Dock

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

N/A

No Base/Dock

Check Price

Standard

W40

Black

SE215

Standard

W40

Walmart.com

Blue

SE215

Standard

W40

B&H

Clear

SE215