Shure SE420-K Sound Isolating Earphones (Black)

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Update: After a little less than 2 years of regular use, the wiring inside the cable next to the jack broke. I lost good stereo and starting getting crackles. I soon couldn't hear anything.

Luckily, they were still within the 2 year warranty. I sent them in and Shure sent me a pair of Shure SE425-V Dual High-Definition MicroDriver Earphone with Detachable Cable (Metallic Silver).

These new headphones sound identical to the Shure SE 420s but are designed better. The jack insertion now has a 90 degree flexible bend that will hopefully extend the wiring's lifetime. The earphones themselves are detachable in case the cord needs to be replaced later.

Most importantly, for me, the fit is better. I have curvy, small ear canals that must be a bit anatomically strange because they constantly get plugged with wax. However, the SE425's earphones are shaped such that they reach to the back of my pinna and fit within a groove that keeps them snug. Note, though, that I have to use the large, foam sleeves to achieve this effect and that my ears are not particularly large (I am 5'8").

I am happy with my service from Shure and happy with the SE425s. I am just a bit lucky that I was still within warranty.

Preface: I am a medical scientist and performed a scientific comparison (as best I could) of the SE310, SE420, and SE530 Shure earphones. I used an iPod Touch 3G, playing mp3s encoded at 256 mbps. I listened to various types of music, including classical (Mendelssohn), pop (Lady Gaga), rock (Rodrigo y Gabriela), and "alternative" (Regina Spektor).

Analysis:

Comfort This is an under-appreciated quality of earphones because no matter how good a pair sounds comfort will always get you in the end. The SE530s and SE420s are more comfortable than the SE320s. I'm not sure why this is, but it is probably a combination of factors. One, the actual plastic tubes that the sound comes out of are larger in the SE420s and 530s, making them less "pokey" when placing them in your ears. Two, though the SE310s are smaller and lighter, the do not nestle into the ear as well and thus the fit is less secure.

Style Try to get the black earphones of any of these models as they are less bright than the white models. Because the SE310s don't fit as well, they stick out from the ears and look a little silly. The SE530s and 420s are more natural shapes, and fit in the ear a little more nicely (though they are large and still quite visible). The 530s have a plastic bronze exterior that may or may not please you.

Sound You may think that this is the most important category, and it probably technically is. But I have a Southpark-esque truth to tell: The difference in sound between the SE310s and the trice-as-expensive SE530s is minimal. Yes, the SE530s have THREE "microspeakers" with two dedicated "woofers". However, these woofers are not meant to increase bass. They are only meant to give a more accurate representation of bass (i.e. each speaker tiny speaker does not have to handle the entirety of the bass output). This means less distortion on the low end. However, I was not able to detect a difference between the SE420s and 530s in terms of bass distortion or richness.

Soundstage was the major differentiating factor between the three models. The upper two models had more soundstage (i.e. the sounds of a complexly-produced album (e.g. 11:11 by Rodrigo y Gabriela) sound like they are coming from multiple directions and distances, making the listening experience very interesting and rich). I vigorously compared the SE530s and 420s and could detect differences, but my preference for which was BETTER was inconsistent. That is, sometimes the SE530s sounded better and sometimes the SE420s sounded better.

Hiss on mp3 players and my computer was a problem with the SE530s. I tested them using my Acer laptop, my Sansa Fuze mp3 player, and my iPod touch 3G. Each of those output devices created a very audible hiss in the SE530s. This is a major problem if you plan to listen to music as low decibel levels to save your hearing (which is, I think, one of the major advantages of noise-isolating earphones such as these). The audible hiss is due to the unnecessarily high sensitivity of the SE530s. Others have had this problem (see: [..]). The hiss was attenuated in the SE420s and almost gone in the SE310s. The only solution is to use the in-line attenuator supplied with the SE420s and 530s with the volume on the mp3 player turned up and the attenuator turned down. These is no reduction in sound quality with use of the attenuator.

Noise Isolation Isolation was similarly excellent in all three models. This is perhaps my favorite feature of the Shure line and what makes them my earphone of choice. The SE530s come with a push-to-hear in-line microphone. This seems to be a useful feature when you find you can't hear your friends' words when you are playing music with these earphones in. However, the push-to-hear mechanism is bulky and irritating to use. You will most likely rarely use it if you get it. Also, in order to hear the external world, simply pause your music. Your ears adjust to lower decibel levels (the stapedius muscle wiki it) with these earphones in and are quite sensitive to outside sounds without music playing.

Conclusion:

One of the popular reviews of the SE530s states that a comparison of the SE420s and 530s is wise considering the price difference. I did that comparison and concluded that the SE530s are NOT superior. Perhaps for an highly trained ear, there are consistent differences. But I would contend that just because there are differences doesn't meant that the SE530s are preferable. However, the SE530s are considerably more expensive and I suspect that they are quite a profit center for Shure (i.e. they don't cost that much more to make but are able to pull in people who "just want the best").

The SE310s are excellent and I highly recommend them. I ultimately stuck with the SE420s because of their greater comfort and soundstage but those differences were quite marginal.

If you don't believe that the differences in sound are marginal, try buying all three models, doing a scientific comparison, and returning the two losers.

I highly recommend the SE420s. They provide incredible sound quality, comfort, and noise isolation. They will save your hearing while allowing you to appreciate the sweet details of your music that you have been missing out on!

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As I indicated in a prior review, I purchased some E3's to upgrade from my E2 when I bought a new ipod. I loved the E2's and as expected the E3 were even better--with more definition at all frequencies and sound levels.

Earbuds (or plugs) definitely have some sweet fit spots to get optimal bass and avoid some tinniness that you can hear when they are not inserted or sitting correctly in your ear. Shure provides a number of ear plug options to help everyone find something they like.

Now, I have compared the E3, the SE420, and my Bose Quiet Comfort headphones sitting in the rear of a jet while traveling (next to the engine). The less expensive E3 beat out the Bose headphones with better high and middle end definition and equivalent outside sound isolation. The Bose headphones have a bit better low end.. but nothing is bone shaking with earphones or headphones anyway. I almost think that the Bose headphones seem muddy in the mid and upper end after listening to the E3 and SE420. The SE420, in my opinion has a richer sounding mid end then the E3, while handily beating the Bose headphones. I think that the bass and most of the high end frequencies are about the same in the E3 and SE420--maybe pushing your budget to purchase the E3 or equivalent... since the E3 cost $179 or so, and the SE420 cost $350.

As for Shure customer service--I had a suspected loose wire in one of the E3 earphones (used for 8 months) leading to dropouts when I would move my head. I got a return form off the Shure website--filled it out and sent it along with a copy of my receipt to Shure. Within 10 days, they had sent out a completely new pair at no charge. THAT is great service. In the meantime I purchased the SE420's while I was waiting for my E3 "repair". I just had to have another pair and my budget could tolerate a higher price point.

I understand why price does come into some consideration on rating, and $350 (at an Apple retail store) is pretty high end for earphones, but considering these SE420's sound better (to me) than the E3--I am only rating sound quality. With price considered, the SE420 would probably only get a 4, simply because the E3 is a great value.

I would recommend the entire line of Shure earphones, buying whichever one best fits your budget.

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The Shure SE420 may be a dual driver design but it does not sound as so. I purchased these earphones to upgrade from my older pair of Shure E3c's and I was expecting to hear a quality difference between a wideband driver vs a dual driver design. I was shocked after spending time with these that suffice it to say they don't sound any different from my older pair. I had the chance to try out a pair of SE210's as well and I think the SE210's sounded the same as well. Sound is hard to really put into words though so everyone is subjective to there own opinion and experience. However I would like to add that I did my listening experience with these earphones during the day for a few hours and during the night for 6 hours. Day vs Nightime listening is the tests I put these through and for me I am able to hear clearer when I am relaxed so nightime was when I was hopeful to hear a difference but overall I did not hear anything new I could during the day. The bass and midrange don't seem to have any noticeable difference with the added driver vs a single driver design. I tried listening through several sources and it did not make a difference but overall I used a CD player as that was the highest quality source I had.

Comfort wise though the SE series from Shure is much more comfortable to place in your ear and comes with a greater variety of eartips. You don't have to squish the foam tips to place them in your ears. Rather you can just insert them with a bit of a twist. The cables are nice and sturdy and would take some effort to really break so they can stand up to abuse.

Perhaps you might buy these earphones even so and I still recommend you give them a try if you want. You never know how they will sound until you hear them but as for my experience these dual driver earphones don't sound as though they are dual drivers to my ears!

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I originally purchased some Bose Quiet Comfort 3 earphones, but returned them and bought these instead, and am generally glad that I did. The pure sound quality on these is better than the Bose. The only area where the Bose might be better is if you want to listen to some really loud pounding bass, although the Shure's have good bass in my opinion. I have tried both these and the Bose on airplanes and commuter trains, and I think the noise cancelling of the Bose is only slighter better than the noise deafening that these provide. If you have the Shures on even medium volume, you won't hear any airplane or trains noises. Turned off, the Bose will probably block a little more sound. But these are about 1/20 of the size, and can fit into a small purse if you wanted or in the side pocket of your work bag, while the Bose are huge, both to transport and to wear. That is the real difference in my mind that, and the pure sound is better with these.

My only complaints are that it really takes some time to learn to fit them just right to your ear. If you don't have them fitted just right, you lose half the sound quality and sound isolation. Sometimes if you jerk your head quickly one of the phones might get pulled a little out, and you have to spend 30 seconds tinkering with it to get the earplug sealed just right again. If not for that, I would give these 5 stars.

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After doing a ton of research on In-Ear Monitors, and comparing the E4c's, the Etymotic E4-P, and several other models, I decided to go with the SE420s. It took me a while to get used to these IEMs, since I had previously been using some Etymotic E6i's. These SE420s have a much wider sound stage, with great bass and midtones. It has taken me some time to get used to the rolled-off treble that is characteristic of the Shure line. However, after experimenting with the different sizes of foam inserts, I finally was able to "lock-in" the sound with these 420s...and, I must say, it is definitely worth the time that it takes to get them right.

I listen to an extremely wide variety of music, from classical to electronica, to pop, to rock...you name it, I've tried it with these 'phones. I'm really happy with the satisfying bass that these produce. Mind you, it is definitely not overpowering like some might like, but it feels overall tonally balanced, and for headphones as small as these, it is quite remarkable. What really wowed me as I've broken these in has been the clearness and sophistication of the midtones that these IEMs produce. It feels like there is such a concentration on bass and treble (essentially, the extremes) these days, that really good-sounding midtones are harder and harder to come by. That is certainly not the case here. And speaking of treble, I definitely would not call these overly bright, but after I worked to get the SE420s fitted right, I am happy with the higher-frequency characteristics of these IEMs. The treble is not "in-your-face" but is definitely well-balanced and just "sounds right." And I found that turning up the volume slightly on my sources helped to bring out the high-end better, while never distorting the low end. This is probably just part of the sound characteristics of these IEMs.

Overall, I feel like the SE420's are worth the 5 stars. I admit that patience is necessary to get them fitted right and broken in, but if you are willing to work with them, at this price segment, they really are great.