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We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
If you want wired earphones that double as serious noise blockers for commuting, drumming or stage monitoring, choose Shure SE112; if you need reusable earplugs that lower loud music and crowd noise while keeping it clear and musical, choose EAROS ONE 17db. They look similar at a glance — both go in your ears, both fight noise — but they solve two different problems. One plays audio. The other protects your hearing while you're standing in front of the audio.
• Shure SE112 — biggest strength: a single dynamic driver plus sound-isolating sleeves that block up to 37 dB of outside noise, with a fixed 3.5 mm cable and a two-year warranty.
• Shure SE112 — biggest trade-off: the cable is fixed, not detachable like Shure's higher SE models, so you can't swap it out if it wears.
• EAROS ONE 17db — biggest strength: acoustic filters developed with a former Director of MIT's Acoustics & Vibratory Lab, delivering roughly 17–25 dB of reduction while preserving musical clarity.
• EAROS ONE 17db — biggest trade-off: it's ear protection, not a listening device — there's no driver, no cable and no audio playback of any kind.
• Shure SE112 is for you if you want to actually hear your music, monitor a mix or play along to a track while blocking the room around you.
• EAROS ONE 17db is for you if you want the music in the venue to sound like music — just quieter — and you want something you can rinse and reuse all festival season.
The SE112 is a wired in-ear monitor built around a single high-definition dynamic driver. Shure lists a frequency range of 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz and an impedance of 17 ohms, which is a low-impedance, easy-to-drive design — the kind of earphone that gets loud off a phone, a laptop jack or a small headphone amp without needing extra power. Sensitivity is quoted at 105 dB SPL/mW, so it doesn't ask much of whatever you plug it into.
What really defines it is the isolation. The included sleeve kit lets you pick a tip that seals your ear canal properly, and when it seals, Shure says the design blocks up to 37 dB of ambient noise. That's the whole point of the product: you hear your source, not the room. The fixed cable is 50 inches and can be worn either over the ear — the way most musicians wear monitors — or hanging straight down if that's more comfortable for you. The driver sits behind a shock-resistant ring meant to protect it from sudden impact, and Shure covers the earphones with a two-year limited warranty. A carrying pouch comes in the box.
Who should buy it? Anyone who needs a wired, dependable monitor: drummers, bass players, singers tracking vocals, people who practice along to backing tracks, and commuters who want a sealed fit on a noisy train. In my opinion, it's also a smart pick for anyone who keeps destroying cheap earbuds on stage or in a gig bag — the plastic build and reinforced fixed cable are aimed squarely at live use. Who should skip it? If you want wireless freedom, this is a wired 3.5 mm design with no Bluetooth audio despite the connectivity field listing the technology. If you want to replace the cable later, look at Shure's detachable-cable models instead. And if you need earplugs for a concert rather than a monitor, the SE112 is the wrong tool — it plays sound rather than simply reducing it.
EAROS ONE is not an earphone. It's a reusable earplug with an acoustic filter inside, and that filter is the entire story. The company says it was developed in collaboration with the former Director of MIT's Acoustics & Vibratory Lab, and that the proprietary, patent-pending soundbore technology delivers 17–25 dB of noise reduction while preserving full clarity. The pitch is simple: instead of the muffled, underwater feeling you get from foam plugs, you get the music — turned down to a level your ears can survive.
The design details back that up. The body is made from thermoplastic elastomers, with silicone tips and right-left contouring so each plug sits correctly in the ear. They're low-profile, so they don't stick out and catch on things, and they're made in the USA by a medical device manufacturer using medical-grade materials. Each pack is one pair. Because they're reusable rather than disposable, they're the kind of thing that lives in a jacket pocket or a gig bag and gets rinsed off after the show.
Who should buy them? Concert and festival regulars, musicians who play loud rooms, DJs, sports fans in stadiums, and anyone who leaves a show with ringing ears and doesn't want that to be permanent. EAROS explicitly names musicians, concert lovers, adults and kids. Who should skip them? If you want to listen to recorded music, take calls or hear a mix, they won't do it — there's no driver and no cable. They also won't replace proper industrial hearing protection for something like sustained power-tool use; this is a music-first filter. And if you dislike the feeling of silicone tips seated deep in your ear, that's the fit you're signing up for.
• Best for actually listening to audio → Shure SE112. It has a driver, a 3.5 mm plug and a 50-inch fixed cable; EAROS has none of that.
• Best for hearing protection at loud events → EAROS ONE 17db. Its acoustic filters are purpose-built to cut 17–25 dB without killing the music.
• Best for maximum noise blocking → Shure SE112 on isolation alone. Shure rates its sleeves at up to 37 dB of ambient noise reduction, well beyond the EAROS range.
• Best for musicians monitoring a mix or playing to a track → Shure SE112. Over-ear or hanging-down cable routing and a low 17-ohm impedance make it plug-and-play.
• Best for reusability and pocketability → EAROS ONE 17db. One pair, medical-grade TPE, silicone tips, no cable to tangle or break.
• Best for long-term durability against stage abuse → Shure SE112, with its shock-resistant driver ring and two-year limited warranty — though remember the cable isn't replaceable.
• Best for kids and casual attendees → EAROS ONE 17db, which is designed to be worn by adults and children alike; the SE112 is an adult-oriented monitoring tool.
• Best if you want both jobs covered → buy both. They don't overlap. One goes in your ears to hear; the other goes in your ears to keep hearing.
If I had to pick one, I'd pick based on what you're actually doing this weekend. Standing in front of a PA at a festival, ears ringing afterwards? I'd take the EAROS ONE 17db — the whole product exists to solve that exact problem, and the filtered design keeps the music sounding like music instead of a muffled blur. Sitting at a kit, tracking a part or riding a loud train with your own playlist? I'd take the Shure SE112 without hesitating, because it's a real earphone with a sealed fit and enough isolation to make the outside world disappear. They're not competitors so much as two halves of the same hearing-health habit.
For pure noise blocking, yes — Shure rates its isolating sleeves at up to 37 dB of ambient reduction, while EAROS ONE is quoted at 17–25 dB. But the SE112 is blocking noise so you can hear its driver, and EAROS is reducing noise from a source you're not plugged into.
No. It's a filtered earplug with no driver, cable or Bluetooth — it lowers the volume of sound around you, it doesn't play anything. If you want to listen, that's the SE112's job.
No. The SE112 uses a fixed 50-inch 3.5 mm cable, unlike Shure's SE215 and higher models. That's the main durability trade-off to weigh if you're hard on gear.
Decide by use case, not by brand. If your priority is hearing your own audio with strong isolation, go Shure SE112. If your priority is protecting your ears at concerts, clubs or loud events, go EAROS ONE 17db. Check the current price on Amazon for whichever fits, and if you do both regularly, honestly, get both.
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