Earplugs that drown out sound, but play music!

When I first stumbled onto the headphone scene I figured I would never spend more then $30 for a set of headphones... I would however spend any amount of money for an ipod photo, shuffle (gen1 and 2), video ipod, itouch, and sansa MP3 players... Here I was with some hi-tech music players that could do video, MP3, record voice, and even play games! All the while I either used the default buds that came with the unit or I had some big stereo head sets that I would put on once in awhile to keep my ears warm.

Then, I started getting serious about music and the sound quality. I did my research and you can easily spend equally if not more money on a set of good headphones/buds as you would for your MP3 gadget. This is where the Shure SE110's come in. After reading multiple articles on what is good and what is bad and how things should sound. It all really boils down to what is good for you. For some, $30 is good - and that was me for the past 20 years of my life... well then I started to try out different setups and found that there really is a difference in the sound quality of certain headsets... doesn't mean you have to spend the most to get the best, but you have to know what sounds and FEELS good to you.

This is where my review will differ from others... I am not going to go on and on with how great sounding these buds are, but I will tell you why I really like these and what made me decide on purchasing $100 buds.

At first I didn't want to stick anything into my ear because the ipod included buds never really stayed in and always popped out if I started running or doing any activity. So I tried the 'cans' or Over the Ear style headphones that cover your ear completely. I tried all types from bose, sony, grado, etc... The sound quality is good and if you get noise canceling - it actually enhances your music furhter, BUT they are not practical if you are always moving around or taking your music to go or bringing it to work in my case. I like to wear beanies and hats a lot and sometimes the Over the Ear headphones just didn't vibe with me... and for the ladies - well it just doesn't look cool.

This lead me to go back to the dreaded buds. I wanted something noise canceling as in my office I really don't want to hear the water cooler talk or the clicking of keyboard keys as other co-workers went about their business. After checking out a lot of reviews, I realized... all my life I was ok with the $30 headsets and didn't complain much - I'm kinda the person that enjoys my music because of the beat and lyrics, but others need more like to hear every reverb or background sound and crackle on the track. I'm not that professional and I doubt most people are... so just accept the fact that sometimes you can't really appreciate higher quality buds because you just want to grove with your tunes and bob your head to the beat. Nothing wrong with that.

That's why the SE110's are nice... there are other brands out there that use Shure's design of using different ear size buds to custom fit into your ear... but I think Shure does the best job in doing this as the foam inserts (they also include some rubber latex ones, didn't like them though) are like actual ear plugs that you would wear to a concert to protect your ears. So I figure... this is weird, at first I rolled them between my fingers to compress the foam then I inserted them into my ears and held them in place for 10 sec to allow them to expand and seal off my ear drum... this was Shure's instructions to get the best fit/sound. Once you find out the right fit - then it's a strange feeling because you can hear your own heartbeat and every step or movement you make as the ear plugs basically seal you off from all other noises around you. It's really quite amazing how quiet it gets when you have the buds in and the music doesn't even have to be playing.

Now, with having such a quiet environment you start the music, but the beauty here is that since it the ear plugs have essentially sealed your ear canal from the outside noise, it only requires a little amount of volume to listen to your music. To my surprise, I only turned up the volume a few notches on my ipod before the sound of the music was more then enough to fill my head with tunes. I usually had to put the volume to about half or even past the halfway mark to get a good beat into my head, but since these buds really seal out the sound and brings the music directly into your ear canal - it's amazing how little volume you really need. The other good thing to this is that the lower the volume - the better the battery life is on your MP3 device! Double bonus right?

One thing I did notice with the SE110's is that they are very comfortable. All other headsets including buds and Over the Ear - I would eventually have to take them off to give my ears a break as they would either be pressing my ears too much and making my ears sweat or the bud would get dislodged from it's initial position and I would have to adjust them. With the SE110's and the foam fit - I never take them out and love the feeling when they are in my ear. It's like there are not there... very soft and very comfortable. This is key... there are times when I am in my office and someone walks in, I actually dread having to pry the buds out of my ear to listen to what they are saying - in fact, they sell another piece that you can attach to the buds to allow you to listen to outside sounds in case you don't want to take out your buds... they are that COMFORTABLE.

One thing that you will want to do is make sure to keep your ears clean. The foam plugs do not last forever, but you can maintain them in good condition for about 3 to 6 months. They recommend every month or so, but ehhh... as long as you keep your ears clean and don't get too crazy with jamming them into your ear - they should last a bit longer. Good thing is that it is cheap to get a set of 14 replacement buds for $10 online. The buds also come with a wax removal tool in case you need it. They also come with carrying case that has a compartment inside that is big enough for a shuffle or nano... the case is very small and flexible - great for storing your buds when on the go and since you can fit a shuffle or nano inside the case too - it's easy to always have music wherever you go.

These buds also have thick cords, which means they won't tangle like the cheap-o brands and it actually has an extension. So if I have the shuffle I can remove the extension and just let the shuffle hang freely while connected to my buds... but if you want to place your MP3 player in your pocket, you can also do this by using the included extender. You can also purchase longer extenders if you need to plugin to something that is further away from you such as a stereo system. Great addition to have and makes it easy when you are at the gym as you can use the short cord configuration and not worry about the extra wire getting in the way.

Overall, these buds are top notch and though there are other buds that have better sound quality, deeper bass, clearer highs, lower lows, etc... really unless you are some musician or sound engineer - the sound is amazing. The thing that sold me on the SHURE brand is that they are very comfortable and high quality. For the $100 price tag they are durable and functional and worth every penny.

Enjoy the music!