Shure SE112m+ Sound Isolating In-Ear Headset with Remote + Mic Review

TweakTown's Rating: 89%

The Bottom Line

Although lacking bass, Shure's SE112m+ in-ear headset is jam-packed with great accessories, provides great comfort, and includes a stellar microphone, all for a solid price.

Introduction

With in-ear headphones and headsets being reviewed in abundance here at TweakTown, we have recently looked into the Tt eSPORTS ISURUS Pro, the Zipbuds Pro Mic, and the ROCCAT Syva with more brands in line to be looked at in the near future.

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I personally feel that earbuds are a little unloved when it comes to audio accessories for travel or gaming, often becoming part of professional gamers' arsenals and general consumers alike, however, there isn't much knowledge, marketing or focus on exactly what is good or bad surrounding these products. I'm not here to tell you about what is good or bad, but I will be giving an overview of each product, discuss pricing, general sound quality, comfort and applications you may not think of. If you're looking at an in-ear option in the new future for whatever reason, make sure you check out our audio review section for all products I have covered as of late.

Specifications

Known as an audiophile brand and a company that focuses directly on audio products, the specifications are something that Shure would be expected to have down pat. So, let's investigate and find out exactly what is on offer.

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The internal drivers showcase sensitivity of 105 dB SPL/mW, a frequency response of 25Hz-17KHz, an impedance of 16 Ohms and this signal comes through a 50" cable. The sensitivity on offer here is slightly greater than others I have looked at previously, however, the frequency response range is shorter, starting higher and ending lower than the Tt eSPORTS ISURUS Pro and the ROCCAT Syva.

Unfortunately, the microphone specifications aren't listed on the website, user manual or box, however in testing, this microphone sounded near-identical to all other headsets I have previously reviewed, but excelled in some areas (to be talked about soon). As expected, this product connects to your phone, tablet, PC or MAC through a singular 3.5mm jack and will provide audio and microphone through this 3-ring connector.

Pricing & Availability

Coming in at $59 with free shipping from Amazon at the time of writing, this in-ear option is more expensive than previously reviewed models, but still sits well within a reasonable low-mid-range price point. It is also to be expected for a brand such as Shure. If you're looking to save a little money, there's the option to purchase a $49 model which comes without the in-line control unit.

What's in the box?

Accessories are something that Shure has completely hit on the head. This package is complete with an abundance of user manuals, warranty information and more, which comes alongside a handy carry pouch, three different sizes rubber ear plugs, and a handy earphone cleaning tool.

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For those who produce a little ear wax, cleaning out your tiny in-ear headset is quite frustrating as the sound is sometimes muffled or disrupted by a build-up. To help combat this, Shure has included a little cleaning tool, just in case you might need it. Bravo Shure, you're delivered in spades thus far, but how do they feel and sound?

Let's dig deeper

The included ear plugs are slightly different to the rest. They fit much more securely on the earphone body itself which is great, but they are also slightly bigger. When using other models, I have always been comfortable with the medium-sized option, however, with this product, I needed to place the smaller size on for a change.

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Once that was sorted, there is nothing to complain about with the comfort quality whatsoever. Hour-long train trips left me without sore ears and the noise cancelling plus louder sound qualities in this product meant the screeching tracks were drowned out completely. There's no real cable transfer noise to be heard, so threading the SE112m+'s under my jumper reported back no issues with rustling noises transferring to my earpiece. The enhanced outside sound dampening also helped when receiving a business call whilst on the train with the person on the other end being able to hear me loudly and clearly through the microphone when using Facebook Messenger to voice chat. The included carry pouch is a little fiddly and small, but this issue is almost completely negligible.

How does it compare?

As eluded to from the beginning, high hopes were held for this product from Shure. Given the audiophile background, the slightly higher pricing and being impressed by the build quality, the comfort, accessories and packaging means that all the boxes were ticked from the beginning, however, there were some slight issues with the sound quality as a whole.

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There's a very subtle hint of bass, but unfortunately, not near as much as I would have expected. While the other earphones I have tested recently have fallen down on issues of clarity and a missing mid-range but providing acceptable levels of punchy bass, the Shure SE112m+ has seemingly done the opposite. I would say that it's quite possibly not fair to expect 'the sun and the moon' from this product just because it comes from an audiophile brand, I just honestly expected a little more bass overall.

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Quiet tracks fare extremely well with this product, seeing Twenty One Pilots' 'Ode To Sleep' report back crisp and clear sound.

Some chilled out rap music from Nas also fares well, but I was left a little disappointed when waiting for each punch hit from the backbeat.

What's Hot

The accessories: The package includes everything you could ever want.

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Price point: This product is priced well and is bundled in a great package.

Crisp, clear audio: As expected from a brand such as Shure, the clarity is on point.

Clear speech: Helping to set it apart from the rest, this headset has the best microphone I have used to date - busy trains are no match for this pickup.

What's Not

The bass: Although clarity is on point, there's a distinct lack of punch in each bass drop.

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Final Thoughts

As I said just recently, maybe it isn't fair to expect the world from this in-ear option just because it's not from a 'gaming' brand. Initially, I was certainly impressed with the comfort, build quality, microphone clarity and extremely useful accessories, but the lack of punchy bass was a little disappointing to me.

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As someone who has two 10" subwoofers in my car and a Razer Leviathan 2.1 system for my PC, I might be a little bias towards extra bass in my music, but the Shure SE112m+ was outclassed by $35 Tt eSPORTS and ROCCAT offerings in the bass department. Granted the clarity, microphone and accessories were better than all others I have tried, whether you want this headset or not really depends on a trade-off between clarity and punchy bass.