Three More Headphone Choices - Shure and Sennheiser

I cover headphones and earbuds from time to time, and I've laid my hands on three more products for my listening (and your reading) pleasure. Here's some comments on an admittedly random collection of personal audio gear:

Shure SE420/SE310 Earphones - Shure's new SE line is its highest performing set ever. And if you're able to drop $350 on a set of earbuds, the SE420s (pictured) are about as impressive as you can get. Seriously. Shure has redesigned the popular E series with a new industrial design and attention to little details like rubberized attachments between the buds and the audio cable. For the first time, Shure includes a variety of thick foam sleeves in addition to the triple flange sleeve and the usual rubber ball sleeve: Shure designers promised me that the foam sleeves made for the best in-ear fit (which makes audio sound better and audio isolates external noises), and they're right. It's night and day vs. the usual iPod earbuds.

It takes some practice and experimentation to get a good fit in the ear, but once you do, the sound is great. Don't expect that mega-thump you get from my beloved V-Moda Bass Fréqs. The effect is more subtle: The SE420s offer a clearer, crisper sound than any earbuds I've tried before. The bass is lighter, but the sound is much less muddy. Shure notes that the SE line is designed for sound mixing environments, where every nuance of every note needs to be picked out, rather than just hearing a big beat while you're playing in the studio or on stage. I have to agree that, for fidelity, the SE420s are extremely clear. It's really hard to go back to cheap earbuds after using them for a while.

The SE310 is Shure's $250 lower-end model (though a $150 SE210 also exists), but these earbuds just didn't compare to the SE420 in my mind. They certainly weren't bad, but they just didn't sound as clear as the SE420, and the bass on the SE310s was considerably lower in power. Shure also has an even pricier set of earbuds called the SE530 ($450!), which features two woofers inside a rather bulky package, but unfortunately I haven't had a chance to try them out... yet.

Sennheiser PX 100 - On the other end of the spectrum you'll find these over-the-top-of-the-head headphones from Sennheiser, another top name in the audio market. At just $30 to $50, these cans won't bankrupt you like Shure's might, but they sound much more impressive than their price tag would indicate. The bass is huge. The audio is clear, though nothing like what you get from the Shure. I actually like them better than the iCans I reviewed previously (link below), and they fit on your head better, too. Nice touch: Padding on the plastic bar that goes over the top of your head and a hard, compact carrying case. Definitely worth the reasonable cost.

More headphones:

V-Moda and JLabs
Ultrasone Edition 9
Ultrasone iCans