Shure SE425 Wired Sound Isolating Earbuds, Detailed Sound, Dual-Driver Hybrid, Secure in-Ear Fit, Detachable Cable, Durable Quality, Compatible with Apple & Android Devices - Silver

If you're looking for the quick take - buy these earphones! They are extremely good for the price. (I paid $200)I now have SE215's, SE315's, SE425's, SE846's and the SRH1540 and SRH1840.My preference -> SRH 1840, SE846, SRH1540, SE425, SE315, SE215. {Not very controversial.}The thing this earphone has going for it over several others (including 215, 315) is that it does everything well. The string instruments are great, vocals are quite sublime, The bass is definitely present and not bloated. To me they sound a little more fuller bodied than the 315's. (Which are by no means anemic) Also, while they may not be as bass heavy as 215's, they are very close, and the quality of bass is way better.You may not be wowed away by the sound immediately, but if you A/B compare it with the 215 and 315 over multiple genre's, you will find the 425 comes out on top 9 times out of 10. (In my experience the 315 never finishes first, although in general, it is better than the 215.) If you like very bass heavy tracks, and the bass to blow you away, the 215's are quite good for quite a bit less. They do sound anemic in other departments though.Now, comparing these the the SRH1840, SRH1540 and SE846 is unfair. They are all prices more than 2x over the 425. The SRH1840 is an open back headphone, and to me sounds the best of the lot.P.S: I also have the BT5 cable. I haven't really put it to use with any of the iem's. I did try it out once, and it seemed reasonable.

Very comfortable, great range from low to high. Blocks a surprising amount of noise, and high quality audio.

This is Shure’s entry-level balanced armature IEM, the 425s, with two armature drivers. The 535s have three drivers and the 846s have four drivers. The first thing you’ll notice with these is that balanced armatures sound different than regular voice-coil dynamic drivers. There’s sort of a metallic sounding veil covering the entire sound spectrum. Sort of clouds the entire presentation and the best way I can describe it is that it sounds sterile and “metallic.” Not to say there is distortion but there’s definitely a veil there clouding these a bit from a truer performance. The soundstage is noticeable on these headphones but isn’t anything to write home about. It depends on the recording to be honest how much enjoyment you’ll have with these. Well mixed recordings will sound better with more detail and older classical music recordings will have the noticeable recording hum or quiet hiss and that’s noticeable with the 425s. The bass on these isn’t very punchy, but it’s there. Mids and Highs depending on the recording type can be overrepresented by a medium degree with the 425s. It will start to sound muddy or conflated especially with large performances covering the entire frequency spectrum for example Solti’s recording of Mahler 8 with the CSO causes this to happen on the 425s the mids and to a slightly lesser extent the highs are over represented compared to a neutral sound stage. It really depends on the recording how these will react. Mahler 8 is also called the symphony of a thousand meaning a thousand performers. When they’re all playing at the same time it gets muddy on the 425s in the mids and highs with a probably 4 decibel over-emphasis on the mids. This may be simply the fact that the 425s only have two drives to cover the entire spectrum. Other types of music on these sound true to nature and enjoyable for example pop music which is usually engineered to a high degree sounds honest. The bass on these as I’ve said before doesn’t really pop compared to dynamic drivers. Let’s talk about some stuff I listened to and my impression. Rachmaninoff piano Concerto 3 with Horowitz and Ormandy: enjoyable to listen to, with new details popping out I’ve never heard before. That’s one thing with these that you’ll notice is that despite the lack of bass and cloudy veiled sound details are still present and you’re able to pick out various instruments on certain recordings and hear new stuff. This makes the 425s fun to listen to and it’s probably their biggest advantage in my opinion out of all their qualities is the detail. Megadeth album United Abominations: really just a standard reproduction, these are good for metal but not the top of the peak when it comes to playback of metal. I prefer grados for metal but those are over the ear. Played some Mahler 3 and 8: the recording of Mahler 3 I noticed some new sounds and clarity I never heard on that recording (Hornstein Treasure Island). The Mahler 8 I’ve already talked about it’s just too much for these to handle. Liszt piano concerto number 1: nothing to write home about. Dave Matthew’s Live Trax FLAC seems kind of generic. Eidolon song Mind Alterations: this was interesting because on this track I’ve hear the various guitar chords much clearer than I’ve heard before with Grados. Music aside for classical, baroque, romantic, etc. you’ll definitely need some type of amplification with these. Other more modern music that’s already “loud” you can probably get by with just the standard amplification the device offers. I wish the cable was longer I might have to get an extension. Shipping was good with Amazon came in a couple of days. The biggest wow factor you’ll have with these are the fun-factor of the detailed sound. Are they worth $200? Nearly. But depending on the music you’ll be listening to I would choose other options for certain music. These can be seen as a good everyday headphone with certain hi-fi features, but also with a mixed playback experience and metallic-sounding veil. Certain tracks will sound better on these than others. To be honest I would have saved up for the 846s but didn’t have the money at the time and needed something that week shipped prime. If money is no option go straight to the 846s.

It seemed the 425s were being phased out in favor of the AONIC 4 , so if you see them at an insane price don't hesitate to snap them up (although I'm not seeing those deals lately). If you are used to the more flattened, bassier sound of single driver buds, you'll be shocked to discover all the details these will reveal to you about tracks you thought you knew. Voices, percussion, strings, etc. float on top of the middle and bass instead of sunk in amongst them. The clarity is pretty stunning. No, these will not compare to buds with 3+ drivers, but if you're coming from more entry level sound stages, this is your opportunity to upgrade and see what the fuss is all about and you'll never want to go back.

Amazing product

Love them ... great percussion sound isolation

Well mids@ and highs are fantastic bass sounds like a drum stick hitting edge of drumNo real bass at all even on highest volume

There is definitely better sounding IEMs but the price and Shure IEMs are about the only ones along with the KZ DQ6 that will seal and don't hurt my ears when listening for long periods. If you can get these for a big discount then it's not a bad purchase. I put these in about 30th place out of my 200 plus IEMs. A neutral sound slightly lacking in Bass.