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  1. Table of Contents
  2. Top
  3. Main Differences
  4. Design
    1. Style
    2. Comfort
    3. Controls
    4. Breathability
    5. Portability
    6. Case
    7. Build Quality
    8. Stability
    9. Headshots 1
    10. Headshots 2
    11. Top
    12. In The Box
  5. Sound
    1. Sound Profile
    2. Frequency Response Consistency
    3. Raw Frequency Response
    4. Bass Accuracy
    5. Mid Accuracy
    6. Treble Accuracy
    7. Peaks/Dips
    8. Imaging
    9. Passive Soundstage
    10. Virtual Soundstage
    11. Weighted Harmonic Distortion
    12. Test Settings
  6. Isolation
    1. Noise Isolation
    2. Leakage
  7. Microphone
    1. Microphone Style
    2. Recording Quality
    3. Noise Handling
  8. Active Features
    1. Battery
    2. App Support
  9. Connectivity
    1. Bluetooth
    2. Non-Bluetooth Wireless
    3. Wired
    4. PC Compatibility
    5. PC / PS4 Compatibility
    6. PlayStation Compatibility
    7. Xbox Compatibility
    8. Base/Dock
  10. Comments

Shure SE215 vs Sennheiser IE 40 PRO

Side-by-Side Comparison

Products

Shure SE215
Sennheiser IE 40 PRO

Tested using Methodology v1.5

Updated May 17, 2024 02:46 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com

Tested using Methodology v1.4

Updated May 17, 2024 03:01 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Shure SE215 Picture
Sennheiser IE 40 PRO Picture

Variants

  • SE215 (Black)
  • SE215 (Blue)
  • SE215 (Clear)
  • IE 40 PRO (Black)
  • IE 40 PRO (Clear)

Our Verdict

Shure SE215

Sennheiser IE 40 PRO

The Shure SE215 and Sennheiser IE 40 PRO are pretty similar in-ear headphones, but each are slightly better in different categories. The Shure are better built as their detachable cable isn't as loose as the Sennheiser, and the buds feel a bit better-made. Also, they fit better inside the ears, making them more comfortable and creating a better seal for excellent isolation. On the other hand, the Sennheiser have a better treble range reproduction, as the Shure have a broad dip that affects the detail and brightness of those frequencies. However, the Sennheiser have a significant lack of low bass.

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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.

Main Differences for

Threshold 

0.10

Mixed Usage 

5.9
No major differences between these headphones for mixed usage. See full list of tests below.

Full Comparison

Design

Style  

Design Picture 2  

Shure SE215 Design Picture 2
Sennheiser IE 40 PRO Design Picture 2

Type  

In-ear
In-ear

Enclosure  

Closed-Back
Closed-Back

Wireless  

No
No

Transducer  

Dynamic
Dynamic

Show text

Comfort 
 

7.5
6.5

Comfort Picture  

Shure SE215 Comfort Picture
Sennheiser IE 40 PRO Comfort Picture

Weight  

0.06 lbs
0.04 lbs

Clamping Force 
 

0 lbs
0 lbs

Show text

Controls 
 

0.0
0.0

Controls Picture  

Shure SE215 Controls Picture
Sennheiser IE 40 PRO Controls Picture

OS Compatibility 
 

No Controls
No Controls

Ease Of Use  

No Controls
No Controls

Feedback  

No Controls
No Controls

Call/Music Control  

No
No

Volume Control  

No
No

Microphone Control  

No
No

Channel Mixing 
 

No
No

Noise Cancelling Control  

No
No

Talk-Through 
 

No
No

Additional Controls  

No
No

Show text

Breathability 
 

9.1
9.2

Breathability After Picture  

Shure SE215 Breathability After Picture
Sennheiser IE 40 PRO Breathability After Picture

Avg.Temp.Difference  

0.9 °C
0.8 °C

Show text

Portability 
 

8.6
9.2

Portability Picture  

Shure SE215 Portability Picture
Sennheiser IE 40 PRO Portability Picture

 

2.0" (5.1 cm)
2"

 

2.0" (5.1 cm)
2.1"

 

1.5" (3.8 cm)
0.8"

Volume  

6.00 in³ (98.32 cm³)
3 in³

Transmitter Required  

No
No

Show text

Case 
 

7.5
6.0

Case Picture  

Shure SE215 Case Picture
Sennheiser IE 40 PRO Case Picture

Type  

Soft case
Pouch

 

4.2" (10.7 cm)
N/A

 

3.0" (7.6 cm)
N/A

 

1.0" (2.5 cm)
N/A

Volume  

13.00 in³ (213.03 cm³)
N/A

Show text

Build Quality 
 

8.0
7.5

Build Quality Picture  

Shure SE215 Build Quality Picture
Sennheiser IE 40 PRO Build Quality Picture

Show text

Stability 
 

7.5
7.5

Stability Picture  

Shure SE215 Stability Picture
Sennheiser IE 40 PRO Stability Picture

Show text

Headshots 1  

Angled Picture  

Shure SE215 Angled Picture
Sennheiser IE 40 PRO Angled Picture

Side Picture  

Shure SE215 Side Picture
Sennheiser IE 40 PRO Side Picture

Headshots 2  

Front Picture  

Shure SE215 Front Picture
Sennheiser IE 40 PRO Front Picture

Rear Picture  

Shure SE215 Rear Picture
Sennheiser IE 40 PRO Rear Picture

Top  

Top Picture  

Shure SE215 Top Picture
Sennheiser IE 40 PRO Top Picture

In The Box  

In The Box Picture  

Shure SE215 In The Box Picture
Sennheiser IE 40 PRO In The Box Picture

Show text

Sound

Sound Profile 
 

Frequency Response  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Bass Amount 
 

-0.43 dB
-2.26 dB

Treble Amount 
 

-4.85 dB
-1.73 dB

Show text

Frequency Response Consistency 
 

9.1
8.7

Consistency L  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Consistency R  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Avg. Std. Deviation 
 

0.19 dB
0.27 dB

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Raw Frequency Response 
 

Raw FR L  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Raw FR R  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Bass Accuracy 
 

8.1
7.9

Bass  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

2.71 dB
2.86 dB

Low-Frequency Extension 
 

16.34 Hz
45.55 Hz

Low-Bass 
 

-2.33 dB
-4.91 dB

Mid-Bass 
 

1.27 dB
0.07 dB

High-Bass 
 

4.25 dB
2.93 dB

Show text

Mid Accuracy 
 

8.4
8.8

Mid  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

2.07 dB
1.63 dB

Low-Mid 
 

3.2 dB
2.45 dB

Mid-Mid 
 

-0.79 dB
-0.01 dB

High-Mid 
 

-0.02 dB
-0.09 dB

Show text

Treble Accuracy 
 

6.0
7.8

Treble  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Std. Err. 
 

5.79 dB
2.97 dB

Low-Treble 
 

-1.62 dB
-3.52 dB

Mid-Treble 
 

-7.09 dB
-0.15 dB

High-Treble 
 

-11.59 dB
-1.34 dB

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Peaks/Dips 
 

7.4
8.3

Peaks/Dips Graph  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Peaks 
 

1.65 dB
1.02 dB

Dips 
 

1.36 dB
1.21 dB

Show text

Imaging 
 

9.3
8.5

Group Delay  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Phase Response  

See details on graph tool

Phase Response Mismatch  

See details on graph tool

Weighted Group Delay 
 

0.08
0.17

Weighted Phase Mismatch 
 

1.48
1.44

Weighted Amplitude Mismatch 
 

0.23
1.24

Weighted Frequency Mismatch 
 

1.18
1.9

Show text

Passive Soundstage 
 

0.4
1.0

PRTF  

Shure SE215 PRTF
Sennheiser IE 40 PRO PRTF

PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.) 
 

N/A
N/A

PRTF Size (Avg.) 
 

N/A
N/A

PRTF Distance 
 

N/A
N/A

Openness 
 

1.5
3.6

Acoustic Space Excitation 
 

0.3
0.9

Show text

Virtual Soundstage 
 

0.0
0.0

Virtual Soundstage  

Shure SE215 Virtual Soundstage
Sennheiser IE 40 PRO Virtual Soundstage

Head Modeling 
 

No
No

Speaker Modeling 
 

No
No

Room Ambience 
 

No
No

Head Tracking 
 

No
No

Virtual Surround 
 

No App
No App

Weighted Harmonic Distortion 
 

7.9
8.7

Weighted Harmonic Distortion  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

WHD @ 90 
 

0.305
0.135

WHD @ 100 
 

0.100
0.046

Show text

Test Settings 
 

Firmware 
 

No Firmware
No Firmware

Power 
 

Passive
Passive

Connection 
 

Wired
Wired

Codec 
 

PCM, 24-bit, 48kHz
PCM, 24-bit, 48kHz

EQ 
 

No EQ
No EQ

ANC 
 

No ANC
No ANC

Tip/Pad 
 

Silicone (small)
Silicone (small)

Microphone 
 

No Microphone
No Microphone

Show text

Isolation

Noise Isolation 
 

8.3
6.4

Noise Isolation  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Isolation Audio 
 

Overall Attenuation 
 

-24.62 dB
-16.82 dB

Noise Cancelling  

No
No

Bass 
 

-15.13 dB
-2.43 dB

Mid 
 

-22.63 dB
-17.96 dB

Treble 
 

-36.73 dB
-31.63 dB

Show text

Leakage 
 

9.8
9.2

Leakage  

See details on graph tool
See details on graph tool

Leakage Audio 
 

Overall Leakage @ 1ft 
 

22.36 dB
26.01 dB

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Microphone

Microphone Style 
 

Integrated 
 

No
No

In-Line 
 

No
No

Boom 
 

No
No

Detachable Boom 
 

No
No

Mic  

No
No

Show text

Recording Quality 
 

0.0
0.0

Microphone Frequency Response  

Shure SE215 Microphone Frequency Response
Sennheiser IE 40 PRO Microphone Frequency Response

Recorded Speech 
 

N/A
N/A

LFE 
 

N/A
N/A

FR Std. Dev. 
 

N/A
N/A

HFE 
 

N/A
N/A

Weighted THD 
 

N/A
N/A

Gain 
 

N/A
N/A

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Noise Handling 
 

0.0
0.0

SpNR  

Shure SE215 SpNR
Sennheiser IE 40 PRO SpNR

SpNR 
 

N/A
N/A

Noise Gate 
 

No

Speech + Pink Noise Handling 
 

N/A

Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample  

N/A
N/A

Speech + Subway Noise Handling 
 

N/A

Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample  

N/A
N/A

Show text

Active Features

Battery 
 

0.0
0.0

Battery Type 
 

No Battery
No Battery

Continuous Battery Life 
 

N/A
N/A

Additional Charges 
 

N/A
N/A

Total Battery Life 
 

N/A
N/A

Charge Time 
 

N/A
N/A

Power-Saving Feature 
 

No
No

Audio While Charging 
 

No
No

Passive Playback 
 

Passive Headphone
Passive Headphone

Charging Port  

None
None

Show text

App Support 
 

0.0
0.0

App Picture  

Shure SE215 App Picture
Sennheiser IE 40 PRO App Picture

App Name  

No App
No App

iOS  

No
No

Android  

No
No

macOS  

No
No

Windows  

No
No

Equalizer 
 

No
No

ANC Control 
 

No
No

Mic Control  

No
No

Room Effects 
 

No
No

Playback Control 
 

No
No

Button Mapping  

No
No

Surround Support 
 

No
No

Show text

Connectivity

Bluetooth 
 

0.0
0.0

Bluetooth Version 
 

No Bluetooth
No Bluetooth

Multi-Device Pairing 
 

No
No

NFC Pairing 
 

No
No

Line Of Sight Range 
 

N/A
N/A

PC Latency (SBC) 
 

N/A
N/A

PC Latency (aptX) 
 

N/A
N/A

PC Latency (aptX HD) 
 

N/A
N/A

PC Latency (aptX-LL) 
 

N/A
N/A

iOS Latency 
 

N/A
N/A

Android Latency 
 

N/A
N/A

Show text

Non-Bluetooth Wireless 
 

0.0
0.0

Non-BT Line Of Sight Range 
 

N/A
N/A

Non-BT Latency 
 

N/A
N/A

Wired 
 

9.5
9.5

Cable Picture  

Shure SE215 Cable Picture
Sennheiser IE 40 PRO Cable Picture

Analog Audio 
 

Yes
Yes

USB Audio 
 

No
No

Detachable  

Yes
Yes

Length  

5.00 ft (1.52 m)
4.3 ft

Connection 
 

1/8" TRS
1/8" TRS

Analog/USB Audio Latency 
 

0 ms
0 ms

Show text

PC Compatibility 
 

Analog 
 

Audio Only

Wired USB 
 

No

Non-BT Wireless 
 

No

Show text

PC / PS4 Compatibility 
 

PC/PS4 Analog 
 

Audio Only
Audio Only

PC/PS4 Wired USB 
 

No
No

PC/PS4 Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

PlayStation Compatibility 
 

PS4 Analog 
 

Audio Only
Audio Only

PS4 Wired USB 
 

No
No

PS4 Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

PS5 Analog 
 

Audio Only

PS5 Wired USB 
 

No

PS5 Non-BT Wireless 
 

No

Show text

Xbox Compatibility 
 

Xbox One Analog 
 

Audio Only
Audio Only

Xbox One Wired USB 
 

No
No

Xbox One Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

Xbox Series X|S Analog 
 

Audio Only

Xbox Series X|S Wired USB 
 

No

Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless 
 

No

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Base/Dock 
 

0.0
0.0

Type 
 

No Base/Dock
No Base/Dock

USB Input 
 

No
No

Line In 
 

No
No

Line Out 
 

No
No

Optical Input 
 

No
No

RCA Input 
 

No
No

Dock Charging 
 

No
No

Power Supply 
 

No Base/Dock
No Base/Dock

Show text

Shure SE215

Sennheiser IE 40 PRO

Comments

  1. Comparison

Shure SE215 vs Sennheiser IE 40 PRO: Main Discussion

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