 Excellent sound. Great for keeping out ambient noise. |
| Review Date: October 2, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Sam, USA |
I had two reasons for buying these headphones.
One was for working out in the gym. I couldn't stand listening to the same single CD that they just won't change and I wanted to block out the sound. I briefly considered getting the Bose noise-canceling headset but they were too expensive and too bulky for working out.
The other reason, similar to the above, is to block out all ambient noise when traveling on a plane with the migraine inducing cacophony of crying babies. What I used to do was put in good noise protection air plugs and put a headset over that just so that the ordeal of flying wasn't so horrific. Yes, the earplugs blocked out much of the music but I couldn't hear the interminable screaming babies or the overhead speakers. No matter what Bose claims, and some people believe, Bose headsets cannot reduce transient sounds (e.g. voices).
Finally, I never liked the iPod earphones. I find them to be uncomfortable and they don't keep out external noise. I know that they're designed *not* to keep out external noise so that you still hear the outside world.
This comes with a wide variety of ear buds and I wound up using the very smallest.
The sound quality of these earphones is fantastic. Between the sound blocking characteristics of the buds and the high quality of the sound, the external world blissfully ceases to exist. As the instructions state, you would never want to use these where you need to listen to warning sounds like car horns.
I didn't read any of the reviews before buying these earphones. I was in the Apple store buying a nano iPod and I grabbed the the Shure earphones because it said 'sound isolating'. It was somewhat of an impulse purchase.
After I brought them home, but before I opened the package (once opened, they can't be returned for health reasons), I checked out the reviews. Since the reviews were so glowing I decided to buy a set through Amazon for way less money than what I had paid at Apple.
I was amazed at how well the sound isolation works and the great sound quality. When I rip a CD, I set the bit rate to 320 kbps to preserve the sound quality.
Even when I set the volume to fairly low, I wind up talking way too loudly. Between the sound isolation and the music, it's difficult to gauge how loudly you're talking. I'm so glad that I didn't buy the Bose at over 4x the cost.
Where I work, sometimes people talk way too loudly. Now I put these in, play soft music and I don't have to suffer listening to all the sports talk anymore.
I love these earphones. I'm buying another for a close relative.
------- Oct 6, 09 update ------
I ordered and received another set. Ordered on Saturday, arrived on Monday (normal shipping rates).
I checked the price on Amazon today (Tuesday). It skyrocketed 60% from last weekend! I wish my 401(k) increased that much so quickly.
------- Oct 15, 09 update ----
Bought another set. I love these guys. If you use the sound-insulating earbuds (the foam types) and you insert them correctly (like hearing protection ear plugs) the sound quality improves dramatically and the outside world disappears (under normal sound conditions -- I wouldn't expect them to block out the noise of a jack-hammer).
I was in a waiting room with someone else listening to music at a fairly low volume. I was thinking about my software code in my head and I whispered (or, so I thought) to my friend, "I found a bug in my program". Her face turned somewhat red and everyone in the waiting room was smiling in a friendly manner. It turned out that I had screamed. While I was in my own little world, I wasn't able to gauge the volume of my voice.
On another note, I'm surprised that these things can deliver bass so well. While your body doesn't vibrate like being next to multiple 12" woofers, the bass is pleasantly deep.
Keep checking out the price on Amazon before buying. The price fluctuates between twenty and forty dollars every few days. The stock market and gas prices fluctuate far less.
--- Oct 28, 09 update ---
While walking on a major thoroughfare in a big city, the din from the trucks and the traffic was deafening. I put the ear phones with the foam sound insulating ear buds on with the volume set to low to medium. In this case, I was listening to Simon and Garfunkel, not exactly blasting music. Except for one motorino (scooter/moped), I heard literally no city traffic. I became far more relaxed. |
run over by my wife - still working
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| Review Date: July 30, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Robert Gruner, California |
I've been very happy with these earphones. The sound quality has been good. The various ear cover options made it easy to find a comfortable fit. I thought running the cables over the tops of my ears might be annoying, but didn't find it so.
To top it off, I accidentally dropped them in the driveway (I thought I'd left them at work) and finally noticed them still lying there a couple of days later. After being left outside and my wife running over them a couple of times with her car, the earpieces had some dings from the concrete, but they still worked, with no noticeable loss of quality. Much better built than the brand they replaced.
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Cool earphones, just my style!
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| Review Date: August 11, 2009 |
| Reviewer: CriticalAcclaim, |
I really hate earbuds (a la iPod headphones), cheap sound quality, and poor design and construction, so I was looking for a good brand and model. I ordered these because they seemed to be what I was looking for, and sure enough these are it! It comes with a lot of different sleeves, I found the small bullet shaped ones to work the best. The cable is really thick, just what I like. It seems really short at first glace, but it comes with a cable extender thankfully. The only thing I question is that the cable jack is in 2 parts (one for each ear piece) instead of one, like I always see. Not quite sure why, but I'm sure that Shure knows what they're doing.
As for sound isolation, it's SUPERB. I've used sound isolating earphones before, but not like these. For the most part I can't hear ambient noise, and If it's loud or close to me I put the music at a low volume and the ambient noise is gone! A lot of people tend to be talking about "how" you fit them in your ear. When standing or walking, I put them in my ear upside down, fit it in, then wrap the cable around my ear, that works best. When sitting, I prefer to put them on normally.
The sound quality is GREAT, I'm hearing a lot of sounds I couldn't hear with any earphones I had previously used, especially since I listen to a lot of synthesizer stuff (RUSH, Pink Floyd) or even some stuff with Disturbed. What I LOVE about these is, I can hear the drums the whole way through, yeah! The bass is always present and rich, just how I like it.
The only con I've had is that some people I know don't like how it fits in their ear, but WHO CARES right? It fits perfectly in my ear, not uncomfortable at all, in fact sometimes I forget I'm wearing them.
If you're tight on money like me but hate cheap sound quality, go with these! I feel like this was an investment, as I'd probably spend more money buying replacements all the time, (20-ish dollar sony brands, which aren't bad actually) and I feel safe with the 2 year warranty. |
finally, some earphones that do sound justice!
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| Review Date: December 10, 2009 |
| Reviewer: J. Michael Weiseman, Indianapolis, IN USA |
just for the record: i do not work for the shure company, nor am i working for a company that rates products. i am a real person writing a real review.
PROS: great performance, rich sound, great low, medium, and high sound reproduction for both music and speech, better sound quality than any other small headphone, earphone, or earbud that i've tried.
CONS: the product packaging was not great. otherwise, not too many yet (i'll update as time goes on). i've heard reports from other users that you have to be extra careful with the wires where they connect to the ear phones. apparently, they can come loose.
long evaluation...
i think this product is awesome! as a musician and amateur audiophile, sound is extremely important to me, and even subtle inaccuracies in the sound reproduction of recordings can be so distracting that it ruins the experience. these earphones were recommended to me by a fellow musician friend, and while i totally trusted his judgment, i had avoided them due to their price, mainly. i saw that amazon had them for almost half price, and immediately took advantage of the offer because i was getting ready to go on vacation and wanted to be able to hear my music/pod casts on the plane. once they arrived, the packaging was certainly better than most, but still cumbersome. after opening, i was impressed with everything that was included with them: a soft, zipper case; multiple types and sizes of ear buds; and a cleaning tool. because i had been let down by other "ear bud-like" purchases, i immediately tested the sound quality using my ipod. the sound quality was impressive--rich tones; nice, smooth bass (which was lacking in my other three ear bud purchases); and finally the higher frequencies and tones were almost perfect. i tested three types of sounds: pop/dance music; classical music (reproduction here is EXTREMELY important to me); and spoken word. all three tested way beyond my expectations. next, i tested the sound isolation (another area that has been disappointing in the past) by listening to music and pod casts while doing laundry. unfortunately, i don't have those new, space-age versions that are really quiet. using the medium foam buds, they did a fantastic job. just like foam ear plugs, you have to squish, insert, and give them time to expand. after that almost all noise is canceled and you only hear the music or speech. i have one particularly clear recording of yo-yo ma playing bach's cello suite no. 1 in g-major "prelude" where, with exceptional speakers/earphones, you can hear him breathing and the bow cutting the cello strings. i could hear both with these headphones.
the real test was using them on the plane. without a doubt, they performed perfectly. i think the foam inserts even helped aid in my ears popping as we ascended and descended-- but i can't explain that one physiologically. at one point, i hadn't realized how well they canceled the noise until we were asked to put away our "electronic devices." i pulled out the earphones and the ambient noise was almost deafening. i will say too that the noise cancellation isn't so much that you can't hear service and pilot announcements. you may have to pause your music, or not listen to it at full volume (which i don't recommend anyway) to completely understand them.
while they will never beat my father's sennheiser, full-sized 1980s headphones, they are well worth the full price, and i wish i had purchased them sooner. thanks shure for producing a top quality product and making us (wanna-be) audiophiles happy. |
Don't waste your $ on bose
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| Review Date: December 27, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Cary Berdy, |
I'm not going to reiterate what all the other reviews have said, instead I will compare these to the Bose in-ear headphones these Shure's are replacing since my cat chewed them up.
Why I like these better:
1. these are ~$40 cheaper
2. Although you can change out different sized ear pieces with the bose as you can with these Shure's, the Bose would never fit well in my ears- I tried all different sizes. The shure ear pieces are more like foam style earplugs you might get on an overseas flight, though higher quality. You squish them down and then stick them in your ear and they expand to fit your ear perfectly. Such a much better fit and more comfortable than the Bose, which leads to #3...
3. Because of the better fit/design of the earbuds, these actually do keep ambient noise down. No b.s. "noise cancelling" that Bose claims. The shure's actually block noise like earplugs would, rather than a poor attempt at electronically cancelling. This is a major bonus, but I would be careful wearing these while riding a bike or walking on a busy street- you won't hear things coming. The passengers next to me had to tap me to let me know the flight attendant was asking what I wanted to drink. These babies rock on planes
4. Cord and overall feel is sturdier, more rugged. The cord is a bit heavy though, but it makes you feel these will hold up longer and may even withstand a cat chewing them
5. Sound is better. I'm guessing this is mainly because as discussed, these actually block noise out, while the Bose were no better than standard Apple earbuds. I'm not a huge audiophile, but these sound fantastic to me. Noticeable improvement over Apple, Bose, and some cheaper one's I've had.
Summary: please dont waste your money on the Bose ones. Do buy them to replace those crappy Apple earbuds, you will thank yourself. You will hear things in your music you never have before |
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