Best of Macworld: Shure SE535 SE425
February 11, 2010 by Bill Palmer · Leave a Comment
Editor’s note: Six members of Beatweek’s editorial staff were at Macworld 2010 to report on the newly introduced products for iPhone and iPod users. Here’s one of the twelve best we found. For a full rundown of all the top new products at Macworld 2010, check out Beatweek Magazine’s February 16th issue
There are high-end earbuds and then there are “most people would have to skip a car payment or two in order to afford them” earbuds, and Shure’s new SE535 ($499) and SE425 ($299) certainly fall into the latter category. However, after spending time with both sets of earbuds in an isolated room, we’re left to conclude that both are worth their respective price tags. But what makes them winners is the fact that the cables can be removed entirely from the earbud apparatus. It’s not something you’d have reason to be doing regularly, but earbud cables often tend to wear out before the audio drivers do, and this nifty innovation allows users to replace the cables (which are cheap) while not having to re-purchase the earbuds themselves.
In our hands-on testing, the cables stayed sufficiently firmly attached to the buds that there appears to be no concern about them coming detached by accident. While the feature won’t have any impact on your usage of the product until something finally wears out down the road, it’s like a free insurance policy that at this price point could end up paying off handsomely. Our only real regret with these two products is that neither is available with iPhone or iPod specific controls like volume or a mic, as some of Shure’s less expensive earbuds have.
Read about all of Beatweek’s “Best of Show at Macworld 2010″ winners and finalists in the February 16th issue of Beatweek Magazine, which will feature a cover story interview with American Idol winner Taylor Hicks and more.
Best of Show CES: Shure SE535 SE425
January 8, 2010 by Bill Palmer · 4 Comments
Editor’s note: iProng Magazine is at CES 2010 this week to report on newly introduced products for iPhone and iPod users. While the majority of the awards have yet to be determined, a few of them have already been finalized…
There are high-end earbuds and then there are “most people would have to skip a car payment or two in order to afford them” earbuds, and Shure’s new SE535 ($499) and SE425 ($299) certainly fall into the latter category. However, after spending time with both sets of earbuds in an isolated room, we’re left to conclude that both are worth their respective price tags. But what makes them winners is the fact that the cables can be removed entirely from the earbud apparatus. It’s not something you’d have reason to be doing regularly, but earbud cables often tend to wear out before the audio drivers do, and this nifty innovation allows users to replace the cables (which are cheap) while not having to re-purchase the earbuds themselves.
In our hands-on testing, the cables stayed sufficiently firmly attached to the buds that there appears to be no concern about them coming detached by accident. While the feature won’t have any impact on your usage of the product until something finally wears out down the road, it’s like a free insurance policy that at this price point could end up paying off handsomely. Our only real regret with these two products is that neither is available with iPhone or iPod specific controls like volume or a mic, as some of Shure’s less expensive earbuds have.
Read about all of iProng’s “Best of Show at CES 2010″ winners and finalists in the January 14th issue of iProng Magazine, which will feature a cover story interview with The Flaming Lips and more.
Review: Shure SE115m+
October 29, 2009 by Beatweek · 2 Comments
New in iProng Magazine: a hands-on review of the SE115m+ earbuds for iPhone and iPod from Shure, priced at $119…
review by Bill Palmer
Even if we waited to release our “Best of the Year” awards on New Years Eve, there would still invariably be one enticing product that shows up just after the deadline. In this case it’s not an entirely new product, but instead a revised version of Shure’s SE115 earbuds. The original SE115 was the most highly recommendable set of iPod earbuds on the market at its $119 price point. But its optional add-on implementation of iPhone-specific controls made the product overly bulky and put the controls in the wrong place, and also added $49 to the price point, pushing the product into a price range where it couldn’t compete – leaving the SE115 in the odd position of being a five-star product for iPod users, but not recommendable for iPhone users at all.
We here at iProng complained loudly, and so did users. And to their immense credit, Shure has responded with the new SE115m+, which is basically just the original SE115 but with an iPhone mic and play/pause button built into the left earbud cable, right where it belongs, at the same $119 price point. This evolution wasn’t unexpected. But in a mildly surprising move, the controls also include volume up and down buttons and the ability to record audio. Nice touch. Of course that functionality only works with the latest iPhone and iPod models (sorry, iPhone 3G users), but it’s a great addition that I’d like to see implemented on all earbuds going forward.
Until now, our advice at $119 was simple: the SE115 for iPod users; the competing v-moda vibe ii for iPhone users. But the SE115m+ changes everything, and had me conducting some serious listening tests across various genres, now that the SE115m+ and vibe ii actually compete with each other instead of being different accessories for different devices. And those listening tests confirmed what my previous experiences with the original SE115 had told me: they have a slightly more expansive sound than the vibe ii overall, and sound a bit fuller in the higher and mid ranges – but the vibe ii continues to dominate the lower ranges. Acoustic guitar sounds better on the SE115m+, while Lady Gaga’s new single sounds better on the vibe ii. You get the idea.
The wild card, of course, is the additional controls built into the SE115m+. If you’re a user of the iPhone 3GS or new iPod nano or shuffle, the volume controls in particular may prove to be very handy. On the other end of the spectrum, an iPhone 3G user might consider it an annoyance to have on-board volume controls that flat-out don’t work. This is Apple’s fault, of course, for not implementing the ability to receive volume commands into the iPhone sooner. But it’s likely that your relative enthusiasm toward the volume controls is going to be specifically dependent on which iPhone and/or iPod models you currently have or plan to purchase soon. Ironically the biggest winners here are probably third generation iPod shuffle users, who more or less have to purchase earbuds with these controls or be stuck with the earbuds that came with the shuffle.
Beyond the whole “functionality is dependent on which device you own” angle, there are two other caveats when it comes to the SE115m+. One is that while they’re already available from the Apple Store, they’re going to only be available from the Apple Store (including the online store) through at least the end of 2009. While that’ll amount to no more than a one-time annoyance on the day you purchase them, the more tangible caveat is that unlike the original SE115 which comes in colors ranging from red to black to pink to blue, the SE115m+ is currently only available in black.
If you’re looking to spend $119 on earbuds and you’ve read this review, and then looked at the fact that the Shure SE115m+ and v-moda vibe ii have both received five-star ratings, and are thusly unsure of which one you should purchase, then I’ll cheerfully suggest that you go back and read the review again. While neither can measure up to the audio fidelity of Etymotic’s $179 hf2 earbuds for iPhone (our star ratings are price-dependent), both of these products are ridiculously strong offerings for their $119 price point. Which of the two you choose should depend on what style of music you primarily listen to, which generation of which iPhone or iPod you own, and if it’s important to you, preference for color and styling.
The bottom line here, at the risk of sounding cliche, is that iPhone users who’ve lusted for the original SE115 are the winners, as they’re no longer left with the difficult decision of choosing between fidelity and functionality; they now have equal opportunity for both. I’ve tested too many dozens of earbuds over the years to get excited often, but I have to admit that as an iPhone user the Shure SE115m+ has me genuinely excited.
Learn more about the Shure SE115m+ at store.apple.com.
Shure SE115 for iPod
June 25, 2009 by Beatweek · 2 Comments
Last year Shure launched the SE110 earbuds which were respectable but weren’t necessarily anything to write home about. But what a difference a “5” can make, as the company’s new SE115 earbuds offer an expansive audio experience that’s head and shoulders above its predecessor despite the only mildly upgraded model number. In fact the improved audio experience os the SE115 was so immediately noticeable when we first tested it out at Macworld Expo that it ended up being one of our Best of Show winners despite a fairly crowded crop of new earbuds at the show.
In addition to awesome-for-its-price sound quality, the SE115 manages to offer noticeably better isolation of external noise than other competing products in its price range, another aspect which was immediately apparent in the cavernous and chaotic expo hall. As a bonus, the product comes in a choice of colors pictured above, something we don’t see often enough with earbuds of any price point.
The only catch is for iPhone users. While some iPod earbuds also come in a separate (modestly more expensive) model that includes the iPhone mic/button functionality, and other iPod earbuds leave iPhone users out in the cold altogether, Shure attempts to split the difference with a $49 adapter that replaces the bottom half of the SE115’s cable, placing the microphone closer to your waist than your mouth. The whole thing ends up being absurdly bulky and heavy in comparison to competing earbuds that have the mic and button built in. The misguided Frankenstein nature of Shure’s iPhone adapter kit (along with its inflated price) makes the SE115 not really recommendable for iPhone users who care about having a microphone or play/pause button. But that shouldn’t discourage iPod users who don’t plan on upgrading to an iPhone anytime soon, as the SE115 is an absolutely fantastic product for iPod users.
Read iProng Magazine’s 41st issue featuring an interview with The Crystal Method, iPhone 3G S coverage, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, iPhone earbud shootout and more, Erika Jayne and more
