Apple’s standard earbuds (which rest in the users’ earlobes) deliver good sound. Doing better requires an audiophile earplug-type design which you put in your ear canal. Developed originally for musicians, in-ear phones both deliver high fidelity sound and also shut out outside noise.
A lot of people like that design, but I hated it. The feeling of something stuck inside my ear was uncomfortable and kept me from wearing them for any length of time.
Shure, which long has been a leader in this market, has changed all that.
Its magnificent SE530 earphones (above) set a new benchmark for the earplug-style design. These have three drivers (the devices that makes the sound) for impressive fidelity across all frequencies. They are one of the few earphones I’ve every heard that matches up to conventional over-the-ear headphones in sound quality.
But the Shures add something more: They set a new standard for comfort. Through a combination of smart design (the tube that channels sound into your ear is kept small) and smart materials (new foam tips that slip into your ears easily and then fit themselves to the ear canal), the SE530 can be worn a long time with full comfort. I even have drifted off to sleep while wearing them.
This Fall, in fact, they were the solution to my neighbor-with-the-loud-annoying-laugh problem. Said neighbor was routinely out on her balcony committing noise pollution in late evening when I was trying to doze off. I put in the Shures, which blocked out the annoying laugh and provided some lovely bedtime music.
Some serious comparative shopping is in order here. Prices on headphones vary widely from vendor to vendor -- and even at the same vendor. Just in the course of researching this article, I have seen prices swing up and down by 30% or more.
The list price for the SE530 is $500, but street prices range from $450 to as little as $275. If that’s still too steep for your taste, take a look at the Shure SE310 (above) – list price is $250, with street prices $50-100 lower. This is Shure’s top single-driver earphone. It delivers excellent sound and matches up well with iPods. Still too pricey? Then go with Shure’s SE210 or SE110, with street prices in the $130-140 and $75 range respectively.
Added bonus: Shure makes a Music Phone Adapter (street price is about $35) with a microphone that lets you use your earphones with BlackBerries, iPhones, and other major music-enabled smartphones. It also provides excellent voice clarity on phone calls. Users can answer calls by tapping a button on the adapter, which also doubles as a play/pause control when listening to music. There are two different adapters, so make sure you get the one that works with your phone.
There are various all-in-one earphone/microphone designs out there for smartphones (Shure even makes one itself), but they do not offer the same sound quality or utility.
