Review: Shure SE115m+

review by Bill Palmer

Even if we waited to release our “Best of the Year” awards on New Years Eve, there would still invariably be one enticing product that shows up just after the deadline. In this case it’s not an entirely new product, but instead a revised version of Shure’s SE115 earbuds. The original SE115 was the most highly recommendable set of iPod earbuds on the market at its $119 price point. But its optional add-on implementation of iPhone-specific controls made the product overly bulky and put the controls in the wrong place, and also added $49 to the price point, pushing the product into a price range where it couldn’t compete – leaving the SE115 in the odd position of being a five-star product for iPod users, but not recommendable for iPhone users at all.



We here at iProng complained loudly, and so did users. And to their immense credit, Shure has responded with the new SE115m+, which is basically just the original SE115 but with an iPhone mic and play/pause button built into the left earbud cable, right where it belongs, at the same $119 price point. This evolution wasn’t unexpected. But in a mildly surprising move, the controls also include volume up and down buttons and the ability to record audio. Nice touch. Of course that functionality only works with the latest iPhone and iPod models (sorry, iPhone 3G users), but it’s a great addition that I’d like to see implemented on all earbuds going forward.



Until now, our advice at $119 was simple: the SE115 for iPod users; the competing v-moda vibe ii for iPhone users. But the SE115m+ changes everything, and had me conducting some serious listening tests across various genres, now that the SE115m+ and vibe ii actually compete with each other instead of being different accessories for different devices. And those listening tests confirmed what my previous experiences with the original SE115 had told me: they have a slightly more expansive sound than the vibe ii overall, and sound a bit fuller in the higher and mid ranges – but the vibe ii continues to dominate the lower ranges. Acoustic guitar sounds better on the SE115m+, while Lady Gaga’s new single sounds better on the vibe ii. You get the idea.



The wild card, of course, is the additional controls built into the SE115m+. If you’re a user of the iPhone 3GS or new iPod nano or shuffle, the volume controls in particular may prove to be very handy. On the other end of the spectrum, an iPhone 3G user might consider it an annoyance to have on-board volume controls that flat-out don’t work. This is Apple’s fault, of course, for not implementing the ability to receive volume commands into the iPhone sooner. But it’s likely that your relative enthusiasm toward the volume controls is going to be specifically dependent on which iPhone and/or iPod models you currently have or plan to purchase soon. Ironically the biggest winners here are probably third generation iPod shuffle users, who more or less have to purchase earbuds with these controls or be stuck with the earbuds that came with the shuffle.



Beyond the whole “functionality is dependent on which device you own” angle, there are two other caveats when it comes to the SE115m+. One is that while they’re already available from the Apple Store, they’re going to only be available from the Apple Store (including the online store) through at least the end of 2009. While that’ll amount to no more than a one-time annoyance on the day you purchase them, the more tangible caveat is that unlike the original SE115 which comes in colors ranging from red to black to pink to blue, the SE115m+ is currently only available in black.



If you’re looking to spend $119 on earbuds and you’ve read this review, and then looked at the fact that the Shure SE115m+ and v-moda vibe ii have both received five-star ratings, and are thusly unsure of which one you should purchase, then I’ll cheerfully suggest that you go back and read the review again. While neither can measure up to the audio fidelity of Etymotic’s $179 hf2 earbuds for iPhone (our star ratings are price-dependent), both of these products are ridiculously strong offerings for their $119 price point. Which of the two you choose should depend on what style of music you primarily listen to, which generation of which iPhone or iPod you own, and if it’s important to you, preference for color and styling.



The bottom line here, at the risk of sounding cliche, is that iPhone users who’ve lusted for the original SE115 are the winners, as they’re no longer left with the difficult decision of choosing between fidelity and functionality; they now have equal opportunity for both. I’ve tested too many dozens of earbuds over the years to get excited often, but I have to admit that as an iPhone user the Shure SE115m+ has me genuinely excited.

Learn more about the Shure SE115m+ at store.apple.com.