Works with
All iPods
The Good
Clear, precise sound
Noise isolation is impressive
Great fit in ears
The Bad
Bass response is lacking
The Price
US$249.99
NOTE: This review is based on a pre-release version of the earphones.
The Shure SE310 Sound Isolating earphones are touted by the manufacturer as offering levels of sound quality, comfort, and bass response for such small earphones. On two of those counts, they’re right: the SE310s sound great thanks to their terrific noise isolation feature, and feel good, but their bass sound is disappointing.
The SE310 earphones are Shure’s offering for the consumer market and use similar hardware to the company’s E4 model, a professional offering that carries a US$319 list price. It’s clear from the sound quality that these earphones are descended from a professional-grade product. Songs are crisp, clear, and detailed through the earphones and music sounds great.
The quality of the sound is in part achieved through the SE310s’ most compelling feature: noise isolation. Noise isolation dampens sounds surrounding the listener to improve the music experience. While some higher-end earphones offer powered noise-canceling features, the SE310s achieve their noise deadening by snuggly fitting their foam earpieces into the ear canal. By filling the canal, external noises are greatly reduced.
The noise isolation is truly impressive. Playing my iPod at only a medium, comfortable volume, I can’t hear myself typing and a friend had to nearly shout before I could even begin to hear him over the music.
Removing ambient noise from the listening process creates a much better experience of the music, though it does tend to amplify the sound of your own breathing, which can be a little strange at first.
In a nice touch, Shure includes a number of different earphone sleeve shapes to enable the best fit for different ear shapes. This is especially good since the earbuds fill up your whole ear canal and can make your ears feel a bit odd after using them for a long time.
The major downside of the SE310s, though, and what keeps them from being a true knockout is the disappointing bass response.
Though it’s unreasonable to expect a huge, booming base from earphones, it would have been nice to get better bass out of these earphones, especially since Shure touts a better bass sound as a feature of the product. The bass produced by the SE310s is generally a little weak, making songs sound not quite as bold as they would through other audio devices.
The bass sound can be improved by boosting the bass setting in the iPod equalizer, though it’s still not quite as good as I’d like.
Despite that issue, the Shure SE310 Sound Isolating earphones are a terrific way to listen to your iPod. The reduction in ambient noise they provide, when combined with their clear sound, makes them a good choice for quality-conscious listeners.
