Shure SE425 PRO Wired Earbuds - Professional Sound Isolating Earphones with Detailed Sound, Dual-Driver Hybrid, Secure in-Ear Fit, Detachable Cable, Durable Quality - Clear (SE425-CL)

I finally broke my Shure E3C earbuds after almost seven years of faithful service. I crazy glued the stem back onto the earbud and the buds still work, but I felt nervous about the stem breaking again and getting stuck in my ear. So I decided to get a new set and was wavering between the SE315's and the SE425's. The 315's are probably close to the equivalent to what I was replacing, but the other reviews I read for the 425's praised their better bass response (deep, but clean), the wider range, and the superior noise isolation. So I decided to spend the extra hundred dollars to upgrade to the 425's. I am very happy that I did. My old E3C's were great, and I would guess the SE315's would be equally good, but the 425's are a significant step up. I have a wide taste in music but at least half the time I am listening to classical, so strong, clean bass, and a wide range to handle every orchestra instrument and the occasional classical vocal piece are essential. I'm also in airplanes every week so sound isolation is important.I might mention that in addition to my old E3C's I also have a set of Bose Quiet Comfort 15's, bought when I thought noise cancellation might be better than noise isolation. I was wrong. The Bose are great at killing jet engine noise, and are truly eye-watering in a turboprop, but they don't cancel out babies and rude adults. The E3C's did a pretty good job of those problems, but the 425's are really amazing when it comes to sound isolation. With no music playing, I can still hear conversations, but they are very muffled. With music playing, even at fairly low levels, there is no ambient noise to intrude. Somehow, Shure tweaked the angle of the earbuds so they get a perfect seal. That being said, the 425's would be truly dangerous to wear while jogging or cycling.So about the sound quality of the 425's. Better than the E3C's; better than the Bose QC15's - but not quite at the audiophile level. My guess is you need to spend considerably more to get something that will sound as good as a quality THX-certified home surround system. On my home system, I can pick out exactly where a particular orchestra instrument is placed. Can't do that with the 425's but the stereo separation is very good and gives you the full depth you would expect. The quality of the 425's allow me to listen at lower volume levels, which is far less fatiguing (and quite a bit better for the ears!). The quality of the bass presentation I noticed when I played my Boston Pops recording of 76 Trombones. This piece has bass and kettle drums plus a tuba. On my E3C's and the Bose QC15's all three instruments sound the same and kind of mush together. On the 425's I can hear the difference between the drums and the tuba, and the sounds remain distinct. If you've never used noise isolating earbuds before, it is absolutely critical to get a good seal in your ear - otherwise the bass will be very weak. If you can clearly hear the conversations around you, you don't have a good seal. Conversations should sound almost like you're under water if you have the earbuds inserted correctly.A couple quibble points. As other reviewers mention, getting the foam sleeves off that the 425's ship with is no small task. Even using the trick of putting them in the freezer isn't a quick fix. Knowing that the stems the sleeves fit on are fragile, it took me almost 15 minutes of gentle twisting and pulling to get the foam sleeves off. Hey Shure, how about shipping the 425's without the sleeves installed? The good news is, if you don't use foam sleeves, the other sleeves (soft rubber in three sizes, and yellow memory foam) are much easier to get on and off. And once you find the right sleeve for you, you will never have to mess with that problem again. The other quibble I have is the semi-rigid, 3" wire cover adjacent to the bud. This wire should be bent to the curvature of the outside of your ear to help keep the bud securely installed. It absolutely does that; there is no way these buds are going to fall out accidentally. But the wire also makes the buds much harder to install in the first place. Getting the buds inserted and secured is a two-hand task, and takes a while even once you think you have the hang of it.If the quality of sound and excellent noise isolation are critical to you,and you don't plan to use them for jogging or cycling, and you can live with the quibbles I mentioned, these are the earbuds to buy!

I got these to listen to high-quality music with a snug-fitting wearing method. I don't produce music, but I do like to edit tracks here and then. Just to shed a little light into the kind of person reviewing this product.============REVIEW================I'll be splitting up the review in sections to make reading digestion easier. :P---------THE FIT--------They fit very well. The over-the-ear method of wearing them provides the most amount of security from accidental tugs and movement. It did take some time to get used to how they hug the ear. The first long music-listening sessions made my ears hurt a little, but the pain subsided with prolonged use.The 425's ability of noise-isolation is better than what I've used in the past. The use of memory foam tips for creating a seal works better than most other earbuds that use a silicon or rubber seal. Shure stresses for a good fit in the ear canal to provide the best sound and noise-isolation. When a good enough seal is created, it's good enough to take onto the gun range! Provided you use the correct sized memory foam tips and insert them properly however, but proper discretion is advised. :P--------THE SOUND-------The sound is very true to the original recording. Other reviews were right in that Shure is more known for "bright" sounding products, products that focus on treble. With that in mind, the SE425s are no exception to that rule. I used to listen to a set of very "warm" sounding earbuds before listening to these, which caused the transition to the 425s very underwhelming. Warm-sounding products focus more on bass, and as a result, I was not used to a more neutral and flat-sounding product before these.That fact actually made me consider returning them for a more warm-sounding set!However, after using them for a while, I've grown accustomed to how they sound. The break-in did improve the quality of the sound in general, but it didn't improve the bass a whole lot. Determined to get these buds sounding the way I'm used to, I started tweaking my equalizer a bit.First impressions after increasing the bass frequencies was phenomenal. I had to bump them up a fair bit, seeing how the 425's frequency response curve shows less bass response, but after the change, these buds respond to bass extremely well. The dual-driver nature provides for lots of bass with no distortion of the highs, and the balanced nature is able to yield clean-feeling bass with no muddied sound. Even ramping the bass up to unimaginable levels yielded no distortion whatsoever!The fact that these are naturally neutral-sounding buds makes them perfect for music composition and editing. Equal representation of all sounds allows for unparalleled accuracy in composing, mixing, and editing tracks.---------THE BUILD QUALITY----------I have yet to put them through anything that tests their limits of physical resistance to wear and tear, knowing that I put $238 out of pocket into these little investments...but with my daily use, I have yet to see any sign of damage. Granted that my use involves treating them like a newborn baby, but the 425s feel very solid and well built.I love the fact that the parts are replaceable. Broken speaker? Speaker units are available for sale. Need a replacement bud tip? Shure has you covered. Snapped the cord? There's also something for that too. Each part is detachable for easy replacing of broken parts. No need to toss the entire thing and buy a new one.What's more, is that the actual speaker unit is able to rotate separately from the wire! This allows for easy ear insertion and storage.I believe the cord can also be upgraded by buying the cord with an inline microphone, or by buying the Bluetooth cord, and attaching the speaker units to those ones! I've read that the 425s can do that, but I haven't actually tried it.&&&&&&-OVERALL-&&&&&&&Pros:+ Snug and secure fit+ Excellent noise-isolation+ Accurate and neutral sound+ Dual-driver clarity+ No distortion at high volumes+ Durable construction+ Easy replacement of broken partsCons:- Flat-sounding nature of buds might not be for everyone, especially those who like lots of bass- Insertion method might be a little tricky; definitely not fast on, fast off- Memory wire part of the cord causes entire thing to tangle more often