Shure delivered to the HWM offices a one-two punch in the form of the MPA-2B Music Phone Adapter and the SE 110 Noise Isolating Earphones. With these products, Shure is going to lengths to tap into the mainstream market of music fans and casual audiophiles.

Shure is a company more associated with the extreme high-end of the audio lover’s market, with products ranging from the E500PTH ringing in at an astounding SRP of P25000, to the P9000 SE210 earphones. With the SE 110, Shure practically states its intention to win over the casual music – crowd, at a price that’s reachable by many buyers with the desire to upgrade from the (usually) pathetic “included” earphones bundled with most music players.

The Shure SE 110 features the company’s recognizable bulbous body – somewhat larger in the SE 110 than its higher-end siblings. While not the sleek, slim styling some people prefer, this shape is distinctly Shure in looks and assists the reproduction of the fuller mids and good bass that shure earphones are known for. Balanced microspeakers contribute to the mids, making vocals and “soft” music sound much, much richer than your average standard earphones.

 
The “sound isolation” portion of the product description is accomplished by the foam sleeves and the included array of silicone tips and other foam sleeves of different sizes, combined with Shure’s nominal in-ear design that plugs your sound straight into your ear canal. For that same reason, a cleaning tool (urrk) is also included – but better to use your own sleeves, and have anybody else buy their own set – the SE 110s aren’t very expensive.

They are in fact in the region of P5000, which while still steep, may be a low-enough price point for the buyer looking to step up from crappy earphones to something that comes from one fo the most respected names in the industry. Which is Shure’s plan from the get-go. To sweeten the deal, the package includes the aforementioned different-sized tips for maximum customization, a detachable, modular cable comprised of a 3-foot cable and dual-out plug, a soft carrying case for holding all of the components, and of course the earphones themselves. Getting into the “absolute best” territory for your increasingly discerning ear is no longer a bank-breaking activity with this package.

Now, as with all Shure earphones, the SE 110 is of modular build, meaning all sorts of attachments can be made to the main earphone set. In this case, we are pairing the Music Phone Adapter to the SE 110, and it does exactly what it says in its name – connects the earphones to a compatible, music-capable phone. This gives the user the ability to retain the SE 110’s excellent sound reproduction with their often non-standard connections of their handphones (the iPhone comes to mind). Our particular sample was designed to accommodate the Palm series of PDAs, with a 2.5mm, 4-pin jack.

The Adapter features a “control” button that can be used to take or end calls (and at the same time pause or play a music track), and a mic on the other side of the main body for hands-free yakking. The mic is another example of Shure’s excellent sound quality, with good pickup (sometimes too good from the way it picked up more ambient noise than a competing hands-free set) and a treble-increasing circuit that boosted the speaker’s voice. Its 3-foot length is more than adequate for most circumstances. On the downside, at around P1700 or so, the Adapter is a pricey add-on to complement a pricey set of earphones.

This Shure duo clocks in at a total of P6700, definitely not cheap, but manageable when balanced against its sheer focus on quality and good sound. Shure was never an option for the casual shopper before with their high-end roots, but with these products, the upwardly-mobile casual user will soon be able to indulge themselves with one of the most respected names in the audio industry.