I always loved how the stage artists wore earphones. Of course it took me some time to know why they wore it. The best part was the way they curled over the ears which means all jumping around as they do and it won’t budge. Then I realised they are not which are available off the shelf in malls as well (many are custom-made) and have a different signature sound. I always longed to have one.
I’ve had some headphones and earphones in the past but none of them to be audiophile quality (which I myself claim to be 😉 ) except probably HiFiMAN RE-0 which one of my dear friends took it for a stroll and returned it without one of its tips. I feel sorry for him who probably doesn’t know and understand what an IEM is and the cost I had to pay. They were not too costly but they did cost my pocket $100 in Indian Rupees ₹ plus taxes and that’s when I barely started earning. Sadly I did not have spare tips nor could find better replacements (they were too costly).
From these past 2 years have been stuck with just “earphones” from Nokia or Apple which came with their handsets and vowed never to give my earphones to anyone (let alone IEM). Finally, I took another dip and got a SHURE. I would’ve loved Westone but Shure shines all round for me. For what I could spare, Shure it is… And it’s SE425!
It’s been just a day and couple of hours of listening and I understand why they are the best in their category. Shure SE425 has Dual High-Definition MicroDrivers of which one is woofer and other dedicated tweeter. The wire is strong and it says to be kevlar coated. If that’s not all then the cable is detachable from gold plated MMCX connector (no they are not wireless) so that they could be changed in case of damage to wire, customised and allow rotation for comfort – clever design philosophy. It takes a tad bit longer to get comfortable but once you know it is noise isolating, it’s comforting. Wait till you connect it to your playback device and once the music kicks in, you’ll barely notice you had them. Completely immersive stage sound. They sound natural and I could notice bits I probably missed for past 2 years after my RE-0 became no longer usable. They are soft on bass but I’m OK with it, too much bass usually tires me in long play sessions.
The box also contains S/M/L set of Soft Flex Sleeves & Black Foam Sleeves, 1 set of Yellow Foam Sleeves and Triple Flages Flex Sleeves. 3.5mm to 6.3mm adaptor for use with Hi-Fi systems, wax cleaning tool and a cary case. I think they also have a Black Foam Sleeves set attached to earphones as well which fit me so the accessories are safe for now.
Shure SE425 being Noise Isolating means I can use those comfortably without cranking up the volume which not all devices play well. Shure claims they could isolate up to 30 dB. They adapt to wearing style (the sleeves and wire loop over ear) so in sometime they’ll be as natural fit. They can be worn from back or from front but I’ll prefer from back so that I can hang them (and show-off!) when not in use. Now I can allow my audiophile-self to take over and just flow with the stream.