Headphone News

Shure announced their new SE Series of earphones at this years Consumer Electronics Show and TrustedReviews are quick off the mark with a review of the mid-range SE420.

So how are they? Well, according to TrustedReviews

“Shure has created a superb set of earphones in the shape of the SE420s. I maintain that the E500PTHs are still the best earphones that money can buy, but the SE420s are a far more affordable option. As I said earlier, if you’ve been lusting after the E500PTHs, but could never afford them, take a close look at the SE420s – they offer much of the performance of their big brother at a fraction of the price.”

That’s some praise! As well as the excellent sound, the reviewer also praises the build quality and design of these earphones. Sounds like Shure have done it again.

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Shure have added to their ear-canal earphone range by introducing four new earphones in the SE series at this years Consumer Electronics Show. These earphones are aimed as a more consumer oriented version of Shure’s successful E-series and will hopefully fix some of the niggles users had with the sleeves of the E-series.

First up is the $150 SE210 which feature a single Hi-Definition MicroSpeaker. Next up is $250 SE310 which adds a “Tuned BassPort” for a better range of bass. Third in the range is the SE420 which features a dedicated tweeter and woofer for your $350. Finally, the top of the range SE530 has a tweeter plus dual woofers and an internal crossover which claims to aid in the separation of the highs and lows. As I’m sure you’ve guessed it’s an extra $100 for these features making it a rather expensive $450.

The entire range will be available in February.

[Found via Engadget]

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Sci-Fi Tech have a list of their top 10 ways to listen to an iPod which is an interesting read. Most of the choices are as to be expected with the Sony MDR-NC11 and the Shure i4c making an appearance.

However, their last choice, the AKG K240 Studio is a bit of a strange one. It’s not that often you see people wearing full size studio ‘phones with their iPods but obviously it’s something they go for at Sci-Fi Tech.

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CNET have got a great list of 4 earbuds that are available for under $100. For me, $100 is pretty much the maximum price most people will stretch to for a pair of earbuds so the article is really interesting.

First up is the bass heavy V-Moda Bass Freq headphones. Living up to their name, these headphones can output 122dB at 20Hz - enough to make any head explode. These have been rated at 8 out of 10 by CNET and at $50 represent a great buy.

Next up is the $100 Etymotic ER-6 Isolator. These were also awarded an 8 out of 10 by CNET and you get excellent sound and noise-isolation for your extra money.

Thirdly they have the Ultimate Ears Super.fi 3 Studio which although not quite as highly rated as the V-Moda and Etymotic ‘phones they do offer good sound quality for your $100.

Finally, CNET recommend the Shure E2c. Again costing $100 these are the lowest rated headphones in the round-up but were still awarded a very good 7.5 out of 10. Although the sound is excellent, the fit of these unusally shaped earphones seem to lose them marks.

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Following on from last month’s post there have been another bunch of reviews of Shure’s new top-of-the-range in-ear earphones, the Shure E500PTH.

First up is Information Week who repeat the experience of previous reviewers by being blown away by the sound quality.

if sound quality is paramount — and you have $500 to burn — you’re unlikely to find any with more complete, professional sound quality.

The reviewer was also impressed by the noise isolation and comfort of the Shure E500PTH going so far as to describe them as the most comfortable earphones they’ve worn.

USA Today also reviewed the E500PTH as part of a feature on noise isolating/noise canceling headphones alongside the Bose QuietComfort 3 Acoustic Noise Cancelling headphones, Sennheiser’s PXC 250 NoiseGard and Voyetra Turtle Beach’s ANR-20. Again, it is the quality of sound that most impresses the reviewer with the Shure beating the other three products for sound quality.

Overall the USA Today reviewer gives the E500PTH three and a half out of four, tied with the Bose headphones as the best in the test.

Again, the Shure E500PTH has faired excellently in reviews. If you’re in the market for a pair of personal headphones - and have $500 spare - it appears you’re unlikely to get a better pair.

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Now that Shure have released their E500PTH Noise Isolating earphones the reviews have started to come in and they’re overwhelmingly positive.

Eric Benderoff of the Chicago Tribune loves the ‘phones and has no doubt that they’re worth the costly $500 recommended price. In common with the other reviews, the sound quality of the E500PTH really blew Eric away as well as the excellent noise-isolating capabilities and comfort. Eric’s only problem is with the bundled Push-To-Hear accessory, a clunky in-line attachment that allows you to mute your music and listen to external sounds with-out removing the earbuds. According to Benderoff “It’s a silly idea and poorly executed”.

PC World have compared the E500PTH to two other “iPod replacement” earphones, the Sennheiser MX 55 VC Street and the Creative’s Zen Aurvana. Unsurprisingly, the Shure earphones are the pick of the bunch (I should hope so, they’re five times the price of the Creative and more than twelve times the price of the Sennheiser’s!) with their sound again particularly impressing.

Finally, iLounge are again hugely impressed by the sound quality of the Shure E500PTH, going so far as to say that “Shure has delivered the ultimate in-canal earphone at a better price than its competitors - a very highly recommended offering that is too expensive for many iPod users to afford, but deserves to be worthy of their lust in the meanwhile”.

Their only real complaint about the headphones is the styling and I can understand their point. It’s a pity Shure didn’t put as much effort into choosing a color (brown, in this case) as they clearly have in creating a great sound.

Related Link: Shure headphones iHeadphones are the leading Shure headphones dealer in the UK, with the best possible pricing and service available

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