Shure SE425 Sound Isolating Earphones - Clear Reviews

Always the besr from Shure and Sweetwater!

I ordered these a year ago and they have the best audio quality of the IEMs I have ever used. They are durable and block out ambient sound very well. Crystal clear treble and full rumbling bass no clipping or crackling. Full range audio. The ear inserts are very comfortable memory foam and mold to your ears. The cables wrap around your ears to keep them well seated. I wouldn't recommend for singers as they break ear seal with jaw movement. Well worth the investment!

I really like them. Super comfortable and if there isn't enough bass response, you just select a larger size earpiece, and they give you a sample of every option. I give online lessons and my neck was killing me due to the weight of my headset. I switched to these and the relief is so nice.

My friend's earphones gave out on him about a month ago, and he did not have the funds to replace them. He was lent the Shure SE215 from the pastor of our partnering church and told me he really liked them. So-I decided to go one better and purchase the SE425 after talking with Ken. He assured me that the extra driver would make a huge difference over the 215s.

All I can tell you is that my friend was grinning from ear to ear after using the 425s for the first time. "I can hear EVERYTHING and the earphones give me the extra confidence to lead the team!" Mission accomplished! ;-)

My first SE425s I've had for about10 years and still work great. I did have to replace the cord after about 9 years but thats only aroun $10. When I decided to get a back up, I chose to purchase the same thing.
I've been playing bass for 42 years and chose to give up the floor monitor in favor of something that would cut down the stage volume.

I'm a drummer. I always wear earplugs. I put off trying in ears for decades because I thought they couldn't give me enough protection from the acoustic sound of my drums and band. Boy was I wrong. The set of foam earpieces that come with these work better than any earplugs I've ever used. You get a whole assortment of sizes so you can choose the ones that fit your ears best. Plus, they sound great. My new in-ear monitor mix is light years better than what I was hearing through my floor wedge and wearing earplugs. I'm a convert!!

As usual, Sweetwater delivered on time and with great customer service. These in ear monitors are a great deal for the price, with the clarity being outstanding. Having multiple drivers for the price was a bonus and I am glad I chose these. Very grateful that the headphones and wire can disconnect and just another wire can be purchased. Had to get rid of my last pair because they didn't have this option and when the wires went bad, the headphones had to go in the trash as well. These Shure SE425's are worth it.

For the cost these in ears are just terrific! Could not be more pleased.

the sure SE425 sound very good me as a drummer i recommend the in ear monitors they are very good.

Great performance ear buds! Handle bass and vocals well!

As a drummer I greatly appreciate the noise reducing isolation from the foam sleeves that came with the earbuds. I also purchased a Bluetooth cable which has been very handy for switching between various audio devices. The audio is very clear. I dig the case as well.

I’m one of those DJs who swore by large, heavy headphones for two decades...

After touring with the Marcus King Band for a few years, I became completely sold on using In Ear Monitoring.

The SE425 IEMs are the perfect entry into the world of saving your hearing!

The dual drivers allow me to easily mix on the one or two with no additional equalization needed.

I only have to turn these up about to about 70% of headphone level.

I can hear clearly now & it Shure sounds good!!!

I love these in ear monitors.

Snug fit - great sound -

The upside is I"m on key and I"m not blowing my voice out.

Great balance and clarity. Love them.

I was looking for an improved in-ear monitor experience, as I play as a "one-man band" looping musician. I needed an accurate and reasonably flat EQ response, as well as a good soundstaging. Finally, I wanted IEMs that wouldn"t fall out of my ear when things got hot onstage.

These buds fit the bill in every category for me. They sound incredible, they"re not heavy or fatiguing, and the cables are very well-made.
I also enjoy them for music listening as well. If you"re looking for heavy, earth-shattering bass in an earbud, these might not be for you. If you"re looking for accurate, clear bass with no crossover issues, then these will definitely be right up your alley. They pair well with both Shure wireless IEM systems as well as my rock-solid Sennheiser ew-300 IEM system. Take the time when you get them to find the included earbud inserts that work best for you. (They"re a bit tough to get off, but are secure on the stem when they are on.) The right insert will maximize the sound you get from these...it needs to fill your ear canal completely without causing suction.
One final note: you do need to give these time to "break in" sound-wise, or rather, you need to give the drivers time to properly loosen up under usage. I found the sound of these improved greatly after using them around 12-15 hours.
Overall, these are wonderful. Well worth the money. Again, these are best suited for onstage use, as the EQ profile is flat with a mild mid bump.

I'm new to IEMs and first tried to get away with cheaper "prosumer" isolating buds. Don't do that! Life is too short. I found the frequency response in the prosumer models to be hyped and inaccurate. More specifically, they had that "smile" eq that fools the public into thinking their buds are the best. This boost in the lows and highs just made my stage mix muddy and fatiguing. So, I shelled out the bucks and got the SE425s. It was a good buy. Here's why:
First, you are supplied with numerous options for comfort. I often play two shows per day which means four hours of IEMs! If you can't make these buds comfortable, you might consider ear modification surgery.
Secondly, they are flat as the day is long. I was blown away by how accurate and defined everything was. When the bass isn't hyped, it leaves room in the spectrum for keyboards and other instruments that live in the low midrange area. My current show has four (!) keyboard players, so you can imagine the possibilities for mud. Not a problem now.
I recommend.

Love them very isolating!!

I"ve been using these for the past couple weeks and I really love them! Got them a lot faster than I thought. They really do can about their customer service and that"s a great quality for a company to have!

The best investment in personal monitoring I could make. Miles better than headphones or regular earbuds in the Aviom system my church uses.

My friends/colleagues and I are using the Shure SE425s to monitor in the pit with the Aviom system. The earphones are fantastic and really help a lot!! I highly recommend them!

When I first started performing, I had no stage monitors at all. When stage wedges and side fills became available I thought I was in heaven, it couldn't get any better. When in ears started to become popular, i avoided them. I loved the ambient sound of the room...After much cajoling by friends of mine from The Ides of March and survivor. I bought a pair..I should have done this years ago. It makes singing effortless. I love these. I chose sure because of my familiarity and love of their microphones...These are a miracle.

I love the sound. They are super comfortable as well.

They sound incredible

Very good response, clear mids and well balanced bass. Plenty of earbuds for just about anybody.

Their best attributes are great clairity and sound seperation. Would have no problem using these for mixing/mastering if I had to.

I have owned the 1st generation in-ears for 10yrs and used them on stage. They were good, so I thought. Once I heard these I was blown away. The sound definition was incredible. This was well worth the price.

These headphones are just amazing. Solid isolation, incredible sound quality, and gorgeous frequency range.

I got these because I'm playing live a lot and I don't want to damage my ears from extremely loud stage volumes and floor monitors. These work perfectly, as they are even better sounding than most monitors I've used and they isolate the sound around me so that I can make them as loud or quiet as I want to keep it comfortable for my ears.

Just perfect, and to top everything off ordering from SWEETWATER gives the best customer service you could ask for. Thanks sweetwater team!

Comfortable and sound great and they are ****** awesome

These IEM's are very versatile and have obvious high quality construction. The wires can be replaced, form fitted ear pieces can be added, 2 year warranty, case and multiple ear buds included, quality wires and connecters, excellent sound-isolating capacity, and great high/low sound contrasts! Wires bend over ears and stay put, too. Patent and excellent service from Sweetwater rep. Truly like Sweet- water!

Excellent service in buying an excellent product

I am using these for personal listening rather than as a stage monitor. Solid construction. Great sound quality. Good value for the money.

Yet another outstanding earphone from Shure. I've owned the Se115's and was always blown away by how great even they sounded. I decided to pick up the SE425's for use as in ear monitors. I read a lot of reviews about these lacking bass, and I'm not sure where that is coming from. The overall bass that comes from these is incredibly smooth and has plenty of power.

Most importantly, these earphones deliver crystal clear audio, and the design is incredibly comfortable, and the detachable cable is a huge bonus.

Of course you can buy better headphones, if you want to spend thousands more, but for this price range, these are incredible headphones. Huge advantage over using wedge monitors.

These are what you want if you are looking for serious in-ear monitors without spending the big bucks of custom molded ones. They are comfortable (come with lots of tip options), the cable forms over your ear, and the dual drivers produce very accurate sound. I am used to wearing earplugs...these isolate sound VERY well and act as earplugs on their own. Just get them!

This is my second pair of Shure earbuds and 425's are much better. The new design fits well and love the swivel head. Would recommend to anyone who has had issues with other types of earbuds. And yes the sound and clarity is great!

The SE4225 buds are comfortable and the audio quality is decent.

I buy all my gear from Sweetwater and vintage stuff from CME. I bought these at an airport kiosk! The fellow let me open a 3 packages to try the Shure 425 and the 535. I use these every day since and this was now 24 months. I own and use a set of UE's that I paid nearly 1500$ for custom fit and more drivers. I am a guitar player and singer but I also do Audible books and just about all of my iPhone activity with these.
So with that preamble I would say these really hit a sweet spot. These are NOT bass heavy and if you want this I would say from my 5 minute sample the 535 will be more to your taste. The flatness of these is really where you want to be as guitarist and singer and for audio uses like I do. In the mix you are way better served to not have the strong bass signal. It is not what you are listening for for your pitch. Flat is not necessary rich with these and I don't miss it unless I put on a good set of cans. Same the UE's. The UE's are of course worth the money but the tight ear monitor isn't really a walk the dog or one ear in while you are in a lecture. Even performing the ability to have a partial seal on one ear with the Shure is an advantage to the hard plastic UE. So if your really want a closer to Can's sound spend up for the 535 but is you are using these for vocal or guitar/drum monitoring save your cash and buy these. The small input plug needs to be fully pushed in or it can cut out. I have not had sweat issues and use these on my sweat fest indoor rides via my TACX trainer up in the French alps!
At this price of course if your dog eats one you are not out a grand..Also Shure can get you any replacement.
8 hours of battery life and it hasn't degraded in my time. The Bluetooth can miss my phone even in my pants pockets occasionally but I am able to leave my phone in the house and be in the next room without a break.
I will continue to support these when these finally fail.

I've tried 425 and 535, I play the BASS live with a Pink Floyd Symphonic Tribute project. No bass cabs on stage: I run my board through my Ashdown Rootmaster 500, and it's DI sends the signal to the mixer.

I monitor the band, the orchestra, my voice and my bass with my 535, nowadays. Not because it sounds better, but because it can go louder with the low frequencies that I need.

But if you ar NOT a bassist, consider this:

The 535 is very, very mid centered. It's not boomy and it goes LOUD for lo-freq.

If you want BALANCE and does not need loudness with bass, go for the 425. It sounds SO MUCH better!

And if your thing is listening to music on your telephone, the 425 KICKS the 535 up and down the street, specially if we are talking about bass.

I think this is because the 535 is taylored for clarity.

I'd give the 425 the whole 5 stars if it could could go 5 dB louder with my bass.

I have had original E-1's and a few newer Shure models and thought they sounded good.... These 425's sound fantastic. Good clear highs and solid lows. Super earbuds for the money !

I ordered a pair of Mackie in-ears a few weeks ago. They were sonically pretty good. But the ear bud pieces were impossible to change out on the pair I received, so I could never get a custom fit, resulting in poor attenuation of outside sound. I called The Best Customer Service Rep Ever, Chris Goldbach, and we discussed. I ended up ordering a pair of these Shure SE425's instead.

Wow! HUGE difference. I know that the Shure's are just about a hundred bucks more expensive than the Mackie pair, but still.....WOW! The Shure's came with 18 different ear pieces of various materials, sizes and shapes. And the change out was simple and easy. I was able to quickly get a comfortable fit that was also extremely efficient at blocking outside noise. Mids, Bass, highs...all came through as bright, separate, and clean, not muddy.

I sat down at my drums a few minutes ago and played along with both some Rock tunes and also a CD of the very first performance of the Thad Jones Mel Lewis Orchestra at their Village Vanguard debut. I COULD. NOT. BELIEVE. how much the sound of my drums was attenuated. I could keep the in-ears at a very low volume while I played.

One of the things I think I learned today is that if anyone is not happy with the outside sound attenuation of their in-ears, perhaps they should experiment more with the ear pieces....silcone, foam, triple flanged, etc. Finding the right combo for me made all the difference in the world, but I may not have found the right combo had Shure not been so generous with their included samples.

I only gave these a 4.5 as I haven't used them in band practice yet, but something tells me they will be terrific!

Thanks again for the help, Chris!

I originally bought these as an on the go alternative to my Fidelio X2s. Honestly, now I use these at home more often than I do the X2s. These have a much more neutral profile. I can hear things that were normally hidden under overwelming bass/treble. To be fair I am sensitive to treble and can only listen to the X2s for an hour or so before I start to experience fatigue. That is not a problem with these as long as I keep the volume down to a sensible level. These have replaced my over the ear headphones for music making/listening. The one gripe I have is that the wire will tug on your ears if you turn your head without enough slack. They could really use a clip to prevent that from happening; but that is a cheap fix.

I'm a keyboard player. I use in-ear monitors for both rehearsals & stage performance so I can hear what I'm playing without getting drowned out by drums/bass/guitar, etc.
Had (and still have) an older pair of equivalent Shure in-ears (about 20 years old) but the plastic sheathing around the wire to my left ear bud cracked and I couldn't take a chance on it breaking during use (even though I reinforced it with clear tape). So I bought the SE425s.
These are a big improvement in that the sheathing is much more flexible while still being substantial. If by some chance the cable breaks, I can just replace that without tossing the drivers.
They came with the foam ear inserts attached to the drivers, but I found that I much better bass response with the rubber ear inserts.

Bought these as an upgrade from the stock Sennhieser buds that came with my IEM system. WOW!
Not quite as brite in the top end but I can hear the bass and kick drum in my mix. After hearing the difference, I feel I should have spent another $100 and bought the triple driver version!

Shure has done a great job over the years improving their in-ear technology. For the everyday musician who really wants a good medium between entry level ears and a set of nice custom ears this is an extremely good purchase. The dual driver technology really helps the low end and the stereo image in these ears are an improvement over the 215 and 315 models from Shure. I'd highly recommend these ears to anyone.

I ordered these mainly for in-ear monitoring on stage. They have great, balanced sound and are exactly what I would expect from SHURE. The variety of ear buds should accommodate everyone's personal taste. I would recommend them to anyone looking for a lower cost in-ear monitor, or some great personal use earphones.

I a/b'd the 425 and 535. I purchased the 425 and they are great. The 535 are different and also happening but $$.

I have had many earphones over the years and use them a lot in my work. I had an earlier version of the Shure earphones that liked.

These are much better! The fit and sound are both improved. I like the stiffer wire that goes over the ear and helps keep the earphone more securely in the ear.

I use them for micorphone placement and monotering field recording and for reviewing recordings. Recently, I took them on a cross country flight and found that they were much better at sealing out airplane noise than any earplugs I have tired in the past -- and the music I was listening to sounded great.

I've just started using these along with a wireless monitoring system. They are comfortable and have good sound; however, I find the tone to be on the high end (too much treble). I have made adjustments as noted on the instructions, but can't seem to get an accurate representation of my system's sound. I will keep trying, but my initial feedback is that the high end is a bit too rich on these.

Sound quality is good, though people who absolutely require deep bass might be disappointed. I am a bass player and I find the low frequencies are solid enough and don't fatigue my ears after a multi hour session/gig. The rat pieces themselves are comfortable and come with several tip options. My chief complaint is the way the cable wraps, or more accurately DOESN'T wrap around the ear to help keep out of the way. That portion of the cables is fairly stiff and doesn't seem to like being forced into compliance.

I have never use in-ear monitors before. These looked good, so I tried them. The sound is great. You have to put them in your ear canals like ear plugs, so they totally fill the canals. They come with a set of different size tips. I tried to take the tips off that came on them, to try a different size tip, and was unable to do so. I pulled so hard, I was afraid of breaking the ear pieces. Fortunately, the tips that are on them work OK. If you look on line, you will find some "tips" for changing the ear tips. I have not tried all of them yet. But if you have odd-size ear canals, beware that it may take some work to replace the ear tips with a different size, even though they come with a whole assortment of tips you can try.

Certainly not as comfortable or isolating as molded earplugs (I recently had my molded pair walk away at a show), but the sound is relatively clear and they do the job. Apparently you can buy molded add-ons to these… I"d be curious to give that a try.

I really like how well these sound. The low end is clear and focused, the mids are present and the highs don't rip my head off. Makes me wonder how well the earphones with 4 or 6 drivers sound. I bought these when I bought my Shure wireless monitor system and these are without a doubt a step up from the standard earphones that come with that unit.

Nice step up from standard ear-buds. Nice bottom end. This is where to go before you make the step up to molded in-ear monitors.

I love these ears! I wish the R/L was labeled bigger as sometimes I have to put them on in dim light.
I have already recommended them to others.

Bought these to replace the Shure SE215's. Had to have a replacement set in quick order so I decided I'd try this model. Really, I don't detect a huge amount of difference between the two models but the SE425's do have a clearer more distinct sound….to me at least. They do the job great as far as I'm concerned but not altogether convinced of the price difference to justify. Don't get me wrong….they do sound a bit better to me and I guess that might push someone towards these over the SE215's. Live and learn. If I had to do over (and had more time) I'd probably stick with the SE215's and save the extra money. Still..I'm not unhappy that I have the SE425's now.

Two annoyances. Takes a little time to get used to putting these on. Once on, tighten the cord to your head as much as it allows and you'll get a better fit. And, I finally had to use a magic marker and mark one of the ear pieces so i could tell at a glance which ear it was to go into. Maybe it's marked on the earpieces but I can't see them. It does make a difference fit-wise.

Really thought I would hear the difference between se 425 and the se 215. As a sound tech, a musician/singer, and DJ, I couldn't hear the difference even skipping past the 300 series. Still sound cheap. Sorry.

I was worried these Shure earphones would lack clarity, and I was right. I can't understand why these have received so many 5-star reviews claiming the exact opposite. Drums and bass are hardly detectable. Everything blends together in a wash of mid-frequency sound. Depth and dynamics are almost completely lost. They seem well built and comfortable, but the sound quality doesn't even compare to my two-driver Ultimate Ears monitors. I should have spent the extra money and gotten another pair of those. So disappointed.

I really wanted to like these. I tried all of the different ergonomic ear-fittings just to make sure it wasn't an improper seal that was affecting the sound, I tried with and without a headphone amp as well as with a variety of different headphone amps. The sound just wasn't that great. The high frequency rolloff is so aggressive, it sounds like you're listening through a low-pass filter - albeit one that is dialed in on the higher end of the spectrum. The only way that I could get these to sound okay was by using a custom EQ, which is not likely going to be an option when putting these to use for their intended purpose.

I was hoping that these would "break in" with some time, but that has unfortunately not been the case.

Maybe the set that I got was defective.. Not likely, but I guess that's a possibility.

For the price of these, I am not satisfied with the performance; with that said, I cannot recommend these.

I wish I could be more positive, however my experience with these headphones is, unfortunately, not a good one. After two weeks or so of light use, the right channel stopped working. I promptly returned the faulty set and was sent a replacement, only to have the left channel stop working on the new pair IN THE MIDDLE OF A GIG ! Ugh! When they were working, I have to say, I've heard better sound out of lesser prices earphones. The clarity in the treble, to my ears, is simply commensurate to the price tag.
I'm going for Ultimate Ears or Westones, next.

These IEM'S are ok, but not good if you sweat on stage like I do. I've used these for about 2 or 3 years now, and it never fails by the middle of the first one hour set, I'm moving my head around and pulling on the cable, because the sound will cut out on one of the buds. It really sucks on the 3rd set, when sometimes both buds cut out. I hate trying to play without monitors, and luckily I just sing backup, because I have to quit singing when they both cut out, as I cannot sing if I cannot hear. I don't recommend these, but I keep using them because I was getting bad ear ringing after shows when I used wedges, and these have relieved that problem. I'll try a different brand next time.

I bought these 2 years ago. I play worship music at a Large Church and we jump around and work up a sweat on a weekly basis. These monitors have above average sound quality for the price, butThe problem with the SE line of monitors is that because of the detachable cable, moisture is able to get inside of the electronic components and cause shorts. In the two years I have owned these, I have had to replace the cable 3 times. Just recently, my left bud went out, and Sweetwater's awesome Customer service staff was able to replace it for free. The day before my replacement came in the mail (yesterday), the right bud shorted out. its just a never ending cycle.

When my church moved from wedges to In-ear monitors, we directed our 25 member music ministry to buy the Shure SE line of products, since there is a model at basically each price point. I can say without exaggeration that every member of our team has had to replace a part of there SE monitors at least once. Many have had similar issue to mine.

I would not recommend these, and the only reason that I am still using them is because of Sweetwater's dedication to helping me replace the parts that go defective.

I have had these headphones since 2021 and the audio has been cutting out of the left channel. I can wiggle the cable connection to restore audio for a little, but if I move my head at all, the signal cuts out again. I've tried cleaning the connection and replacing the cable, but it hasn't fixed the issue at all.

I did some research before purchasing these headphones. I needed a good pair for playing Roland TD-27kv. Under the description it stated these were recommended for electric drums.The headphones come with multiple attachments for ear inserts. When I would wear them I never quite got the different tones that the module produces. I know this from utilizing another pair of headphones for that produce an amazing sound. For the price I paid I would have expected something better.

For the price I paid, I expected better tone quality. I play bass. These aren't meant for bass monitoring. They're ok for lead guitar and/or vocals. Very disappointed.

This is not a reflection of Sweetwater, they were a great help. It is the product. I had these for almost 1 year when they went out, one driver completely dead and the other sounded distorted. (Fortunately they were in warranty) I sent them in for repair through Sweetwater, and I received them back in working order. They worked great again for almost another year and the right side is out again. I am a drummer and using them through a Behringer P16 it sounds great..until it doesn't with no warning, no sound. I bought these because I thinking buying a more expensive name brand would be great and after reading the reviews these mast be worth it. Well, my opinion is much different after this experience. I gave them a chance but will be moving on from this product. The funny thing is, I have an older pair of the Sure se215 single driver in-ears that still work after 5+years but has lousy bass response for drums and bass. The 425's no doubt we're an upgrade but durability leaves much to be desired. Save your money, I do not recommend these at all if you are playing bi-weekly+ and need to rely on them they WILL let you down.

I wasn't impressed with the headphones. The sound wasn't clear and seeme distorted.

Bought these as a back up for my custom IEM's, but after 6 months of minimal use the left side quit working.

Just not what I expected. I have a similar set of Bose Headphones, but because they have a Mic for use with IPhone I couldn't use the for recording so I bought the Shure's. I find them to be difficult to use, and the sound quality wasn't even close to what I expected from a $300 set of headphones. If I were able to return them, they would have been back at Sweetwater in short order. Nothing against the folks at Sweetwater, they are great, but this is one purchase I wish I hadn't made.