Product Description
Heart-pounding performance featuring Dual TruAcoustic MicroSpeakers, the SE420 uses a dedicated tweeter and woofer to provide a detailed sound stage. Lows, mids, and highs are distinct and defined for accurate reproduction of all the details of your music.
Customer Reviews:
Must buy for Classical and Jazz Musicians.......2007-12-09
All is said in the title. A system with two drivers and a tweeter, r u kiddin? However the only way you will get the absoulute full benefit of these headphones are if you import your music at 256kb.
Excellent IEMs.......2007-11-08
I lost my previous pair of canalphones, Sony MDR-EX90LP, and decided to purchase some really high end canalphones. (or in ear monitors or IEMs as I will refer to them from now on) I purchased a pair of the Shure SE420 IEMs and haven't regretted the purchase for a second.
These IEMs sound absolutely incredible. They sound is so clear and detailed that I notice new details in songs that I had listened to dozens if not hundreds of time. In a complex musical passage it is easy to follow every note of a single instrument which is not an easy feat with most headphones. Some may argue that the bass is a little on the weak side with these IEMs but I would beg to differ, I find it extremely precise and detailed, never boomy or bloated. I will admit that these sound a little thin (bass shy) when hooked up to my iPod Nano but when I hook them up to my portable headphone amp they really wake up and sound incredible. These IEMs prompted me to order a new portable mp3 player based on sound quality (the Sony NWZA818) because these IEMs revealed the sonic shortcomings of the Nano clear as day. If you are willing to spend the money, I think you will be happy with these IEMs, I know I am!
E2, E3, SE420--all good choices.......2007-08-26
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.
Great IEMs...after you break them in and fit them correctly.......2007-08-12
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.
Triple.fi and SE530 are MUCH BETTER.......2007-07-22
If your considering buying these earphones, I highly suggest you take a look at the Ultimate Ears Triple.fi 10 Pro or the Shure SE530. The Triple.fi's retail for the same price($399.99) and according to EVERYONE, the Triple.fi walks all over these. If you want Shure's, the SE530s are AMAZING! earphones which are $299.99 now on this website but retail for $499.99. Choosing between the Triple.fi 10 Pro(more refined-sounding) and the SE530(more full-sounding) depends on personal taste, but both easily surpass any other earphone on the market besides the custom molded Ultimate Ears UE-10 Pro(THE BEST) which retail for $900.00.
Product Description
Heart-pounding performance featuring Dual TruAcoustic MicroSpeakers, the SE420 uses a dedicated tweeter and woofer to provide a detailed sound stage. Lows, mids, and highs are distinct and defined for accurate reproduction of all the details of your music.
Customer Reviews:
Great!.......2007-12-22
I ordered these for my husband because he travels a lot for business. He loves them. I have used them a few times and they are wonderful. The sound is superb. On airlines, you can't even hear any noise at all. It's like having a symphony inside your head.
John Nemerovski's MyMac.com Review.......2007-11-08
Shure is throwing another hat into the over-$250-super-premium-earphone arena. Summer 2006 brought us their ultra-expensive "500 series" with a price to match, reviewed here at MyMac.com. We had a few gripes in addition to the hoorays in our evaluation of this product, which has been rebranded SE530 to fill the top spot in the company's newly-introduced budget-to-pricey comprehensive SE lineup.
Artie recently reviewed SE210 and SE310 here. These models received a high rating. He is currently listening to the brand new SE110. His review will probably be posted soon after this one you are reading.
Modular components are the highlights of Shure's entire SE family. MyMac.com applauds the several different ways you can configure SE420 and its siblings. Audio delivery improves both objectively and subjectively as SE-series prices ascend. Knowing that fact, SE420 should sound r-e-a-l-l-y splendid.
* * * * *
SE420 by Shure is worth rating on our exclusive 20-point headphone/earphone evaluation scale:
COMFORT and FIT (6 points possible) = 6, based on variety of insertion tips included, and on nicely-sized driver shells that conform beautifully to the ear. This is the exact same score we gave to Shure's "500" series 'phones last year.
AUDIO QUALITY and SOUND ISOLATION (6 points possible) = 4.5, with high marks for isolation and clarity, but a reduction based on audio balance heavily weighted toward the midrange, with noticeable lack of a powerful bass. See company explanation below.
ACCESSORIES, CASE, and MANUAL (4 points possible) = 3, thanks to thoughtful modular components, and a thorough English/Spanish/French-language manual, but a case that is way too small to contain SE420 with all its accessories. For $400, two companion cases should be included, since users typically won't carry every possible attachment.
CONSTRUCTION and DESIGN (4 points possible) = 4, with plenty of attention to detail and quality in every aspect.
TOTAL = 17.5, for 4 out of 5 recommendation by MyMac.com.
* * * * *
We received the following audio-balance explanation by Matt Engstrom, Category Manager, Listening Products, Shure, Inc.
"Generally speaking, the overall frequency extension increases as you move up the line from the SE110 to the SE530, and the path from lows to highs has a different shape as well so that each earphone has its own characteristics. The SE420 has a very similar mid and high frequency response to the SE310 but leans more toward the SE530 for lower frequencies. The end result is a very different balance from the SE530. The SE530 has an extended low and high frequency response versus the SE420, which has a more even overall tonal balance (as does the SE310). This means that the SE420 tends to bring out more mid-range details like vocals and electric guitar, whereas the SE530 tends to bring out deep undertones in music and also sounds such as fingers moving on acoustic guitars and breaths between words while singing."
Translation by Nemo: SE420 has a lot of punch within the audio spectrum where most music is heard. For $400 you get brilliant clarity throughout this region, without potential aberration from cranium-splitting highs or bowel-churning lows. A lot of money buys a lot of sound delivered to your sonic sweet spot.
* * * * *
We've raved over super-premium in-ear headphones by Etymotic Research and Ultimate Ears here and here. Either of these 'phones offers outstanding audio for listeners with outstandingly deep pockets and golden ears. Shure's SE420 is another candidate for this class of music aficionado.
Originally published at http://www.mymac.com/showarticle.php?id=3046
Best By Far.......2007-10-26
The short and sweet of it is that I have owned Shure E2C's, Bose TriPort, Bose QC2's, and Shure E4C's. The newer SE420's give you deep, rich sound without overwhelming base or blocking out the highs. Search around for an authorized dealer to get the best rate and you can snag an authentic pair for about $250...much lower than the $400 retail on Shure's site. The combination of the two separate TrueAcoustic speakers for distinction and clarity are unparalleled. Needless to say, all of my other aforementioned ear and headphones are all now on eBay!
JE
Extrememly happy with these in ears.......2007-06-13
The Shure se310's are far and away the best in ear headphones I've ever owned. All the high's mid's and low's of pretty much every music genre come through as if I'm sitting in on a recording session or hearing the music live all around me, which is exactly the music experience I wanted and expected. If you have never owned a pair of Shure in ears and are standing on the fence, then now is probably the best time to jump on the bandwagon. If you are updating an old pair of ec4's or lower grade Shure's than this is what you are looking for. Shure in ears are for those music buffs and audiophiles who want to have the most pure experience with their tunes as possible without actually hearing it live. Experiencing this level of quality with earphones for the first time is quite the experience as the difference between the high end phones and the basic consumer phones is quite substantial. I'm not a paid advertiser or anything like that. I just graduated from college and am taking advantage of my graduation money, hehe. Lucky for me, I managed to find these on Amazon while TigerDirect was having a huge sell and nabbed them for 138 bucks instead of the normal 250. Great deal! If money is an issue at 250 then I suggest going with the se210's or go even cheaper with the v-moda vibe in ears. Both of those sets are great as well in the 100 - 150 dollar range, and these were the sets I was originally looking at until I ran into these babies as an even lower price than the se210's because of the sale. Couldn't believe my eyes! And now my ears are rejoicing! If you can afford it these are still a great buy at $250. You really can't go wrong with Shure. They consistently put out a high quality line of products. As you might have already noticed I'm a fan of my recent purchase.
I've read some professional reviews about this set and a couple of them have mentioned how they were dissapointed with the bass response, but with my experience I can't help but question their professional reviewer status. The bass response is perfect for me. You just have to get the right fit, which shouldn't be a problem with the many different types and sizes of in ear fixtures that come with the set. For me, the foam fixtures already on the phones out of the package were the right fit.
I used to play in a nationally renowned touring and recording rock band so music is 'kind of a big deal' to me. This is as close as you'll get to having a live music experience in your home, at the gym, or jogging in the park.
The sound isolation is also a huge plus, and it works like a dream. I live in an apartment right across the street from an industrial zone with tons of noise coming into my place at all times of the day and night. It is right next to a busy road, and my wife is a dancer. She plays her own music on her stereo quite loud to choreograph and practice routines all the time. Suffice it to say I don't have a very peaceful environment at home. So to get away sometimes I like to put on some headphones and just zone out. All that noise is completely gone with these bad boys on, and the volume level does not need to be loud at all to drown all that outside clutter out, so you save your hearing from being damaged by not having to turn the volume way up to drown out all that exterior mess.
Hope this review has been helpful to you.
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