The SE420-Ks are very similar to another pair of Shure earbuds I reviewed before, the SE310-Ks, but a few things distance them from the lower model: Price, comfort and sound.
The SE420-Ks sound terrific. Bass is strong and smooth, highs and lows are clear and overall the entire sound is very, very nice. I didn’t think there’d be as much difference between the 310 and 420 models, but there was. I had both pairs in my possession at the same time, so I was able to do direct sound comparisons.
Like the other model, these earbuds require the cord loops over your ear, which is fine by me. The 420-Ks are very comfortable. Again, they’re very similar in design to the lower model, but just slightly different in size which just so happens to make them much more comfortable in my ears. I recently wore them on two flights for 6+ hours without any discomfort. The added bonus is that they’re sound isolating so they added some dampening to the loud engine noise. This also works on the street, where noise and bums are drowned out by your music, without going too far and making you feel deaf to the world. Also important: No cord noise or whistling in your ears from the isolation.
The biggest drawback to these earbuds is that they require using the Shure MPA-3C adaptor for iPhone/iPod control. It adds a microphone and remote, which is great, but it’s not a terribly elegant design (read: it’s huge) and it hangs a little lower than it should.
Sound-wise, these earbuds are great. And they’re very comfortable. Even though I have to use the iPhone/iPod control adaptor, design-wise they’re still the best I’ve reviewed. Of course, it figures they’re also the most expensive pair at $230 for the headphones and $40 for the adaptor (they now retail at Amazon for $200 and $35 respectively). Verdict? We have a winner.
Note: This was an ongoing series of mini-reviews in which I attempted to find a perfect pair of in-ear headphones to replace two broken pairs of V-Moda Vibe Duos (and succeeded!). If you’re interested, you should read all of the mini-reviews.
