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!

The dual drivers provide good sound reproduction with very little distortion. The supplied buds provide excellent noise cancellation and keep the music clear and unobstructed by ambient noise. The formable upper wire conforms and holds to any shape which helps to keep the ear pieces in the canal and rarely comes out on it's own on the stage or while moving about.As pertaining to stage use, I highly recommend using an extension of some sort, as the included cable is far too short. The fit is exceptional, and I am able to move freely without concern of having the buds forced out of the ear canal, since the formable wire really helps hold them in place over the ear lobe. I run the cable up my back, and pull on the plastic clip to secure the cable in place, by pulling against the back of my head. The clip holds well, and keeps everything in place as it should.The amount of different earbuds is almost obscene; there's many fitment options that should allow one to custom-tailor each ear piece to fit perfectly in the ear canal, even if one of your ear canals is of a different size than the other (should that ever be a factor).The sound:Bass Frequency: The lows are not overly bass-y - it is more of a reference sound that does not attenuate any one frequency compared to another, and seems to accurately represent the low end without being boomy, and so the mids and highs are nice and clear, without having any distortion since the low-mids/bass are separate from the highs, by design.Mid Frequency: The mids are clearly defined and I would say that the SE425 really focuses the sound where it should be for vocals, guitars and toms, snares and symbols. There is a nice big, spacious sound stage that is pleasing to the ear, without sacrificing clarity.High Frequency: The highs are slightly mellowed to the point that they are clearly audible, but not overly amplified or painful to listen to. Symbols are present without being too "tinny" sounding; guitars are as good as can be coming from our church's mics, console, and amplifiers, though I do not blame the ear phones for the stripping away of the tone that guitars should have. But, in mastered recordings, guitars come through clearly and sound as they ought to with an organic feel.Overall Impression:If this pair got lost or stolen, I would probably not want to afford to replace them, and would settle for the SE215 instead, since they have the same outer plastic and formable wire, though the driver technology and amount of drivers is different, having only one driver. When listening to recordings, the sound is pleasant and provides a full spectrum of audio that exceeds most cans that I have used (though I must confess that I have only auditioned a few decent cans). The "size" of the sound is big and spacious and affords the listener a rewarding experience so long as the canal is sealed properly. And since there are plenty of options for sealing the canal, there should be no issue in finding the right size of bud to use to seal off the canal from ambient sound. If the seal is not secure, a lot of bass is removed from the experience, and so sealing off the canal is vital to getting the most out of these in-ears.