Overall Rating:
3
out of
5
Over priced and over hyped.,
November 24, 2007
By StephSP
from Los Angeles
Audio/Video Quality:
3
out of
5
Ease of Operation:
4
out of
5
"I've got a pair of HD580 and ER6i so I feel fairly confident I can make a reasonable assessment of the SE310's quality.
My goal was to fill in the gap between my other two headphones and maybe even hand down my ER6i to someone who could appreciate them more as they seem tuned to classical music than my Alternative/Rock tastes.
Flatly these are disappointing. Not because of the glowing reviews but for the fact that I just expect better performance from something that costs this much. It feels handicapped, like a slice of quality was intensionally removed to make way for sales strategy (eg. SE420, SE530).
I'm not going to go into the quality of the product itself as the built quality is good enough for the money. My reason for returning this unit is the disappointing sound quality which I admit may be a matter of taste but I’ll you decides that for yourselves.
I've mentioned I have a pair of Etymotic ER6i. These have a very "bright" sound meaning the weight of aural experience is very much in the treble area. Strangely, the SE310 felt tinny with a noticeable "tin can" like muffled sound to them even though the Shures technically and sonically have far stronger mids and base. The Shure is perfectly accurate to the extent of my expertise to gauge but just oddly some of the most important midrange ends up coming off muffled and hollow even though I can tell they are accurate and clear.
The disappointment is more this, my ER6i are less than a Benjamin and lacking very acutely in the mid and low range but still manage to feel open and airy regardless of being an in-canal type of headphone which cannot escape the in-the-head sound of the type. I'd like an Etymotic ER6i but with the same fidelity in the highs as in the rest of the frequency range...oh, that I can afford. The Shure's are a bit pricy and after hearing them, way overpriced. Not good enough if I've pushing my budget for the sake of quality. Not nearly good enough.
I'll give Shure one more shot at my money once I get my refund but this was not a good first date with this brand."