Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Great with few minor complaints. I just got my Shure SE215 Clear earphones. I immediately tried them and road-tested them. Overall they are awesome except few complaints. I hope this doesn't damper your dream of owning one. Good: Sound Quality and noise reduction: Excellent and Awesome. I could hear even the weakest background note clear. Sound is well balanced. The Bass is perfect, not artificially amp'd to give you headache. These earphones block most of the outside noise. I swear. On the LIRR train ride between my place and Penn station in NYC, I couldn't hear a decibel of outside noise. I couldn't hear the loud station announcement, not the loud chatter of girls sitting next to you, not the train sound. Nada. This was not possible with my old earphones. These are perfect for outdoor listening but watch where you use it (read on) Bad: Noise reduction: It blocks way too much noise to be used where you shouldn't be using an earphone - like biking, walking on the street or crossing roads. Your ears tend to get heavy after an hour of listening. Probably because this earphone blocks most of the noise and all you listen is just music. It just isn't healthy for ears. Take breaks every half an hour to relieve your ear pressure. Bad: Style & looks: It takes a little effort to get used to wearing these but they fit perfectly firm. I bought the clear model as I was attracted by the shiny new silver like finsh in the photo. I thought they are a perfect show off but I'm disappointed. The SE215-CL looks much dull than in real-life than in picture. You can't see it unless you open the package. Since these fit in a certain weird way - like around your ear, I have people staring at me in public. Not sure if it is good or bad. If style and look matters to you, checkout a real life picture of CLEAR and BLACK before purchasing. Note: B&H photo store in NYC has SE215-CL for $89 ($10 less than black). Don't know why. Good: Cord: Cord quality is awesome. It has kevlar coating and unlike rubber I don't think it will break or tear. It is one of the reasons I chose this over Etymotic or Klipsch. And the most convenient thing is that the cord is behind your ears when you wear them and they don't fall in front of your face when you bend down. Bad: Cord: It just won't bend as much as the rubber cord does. A really really minor concern. Overall: Sound quality matters to me more than looks. I just wish they had made the CLEAR ones like shown in the picture. Just saying.