Bluf: save your money and buy Tin T2s.
I know this has been around for a while, and I've owned my pair for a while, but I pulled them out of the drawer recently to re-evaluate and thought it useful to share my impressions and explain why it is that I've ended up reverting to using the IEMs I bought the Shure's to replace.
I listen to classical music 90% of the time. There is bass in classical music. Not a lot, but it's there, and it matters. Besides obvious examples such as when there's a big pipe organ at work, orchestral or chamber music frequently has at the very least cellos that are beating out a rhythm, using their lowest notes. Sometimes they're doing much more. And of course there might be actual upright bass instruments, or basoons, etc. What they are doing should seldom be center stage, but it needs to be present.
Anyway, the Shure 425s, though excellent in many ways, are adequate in the bass department when it comes to rock or pop. There, there's a lot of bass, and the 425s capture it, though the sound might not satisfy bass heads. For example, I just threw on Bjork's Homegenic. Got Bass? Yes. Enough? Maybe? But when the quantity of bass in the music is small--like in classical music--the 425s come up short. So the music feels flat and anemic. Just slightly, but enough.
I recently was listening to Handel's Concerti Grossi. It's chamber music. There are cellos and at least one double bass. The 425s just don't do them justice, leaving the music without a measure of texture. The cellos and double bass need to bite.
Then I switched to my old Fischer DBA-2 MK2, which I bought years ago to replace the MK1s, which I bought because they were heralded as "neutral kings," and a great value for money proposition. At the time I thought neutral was what I wanted. Anyway, the Fischer's sound better, to my ears. What's the difference? The bass. No one's ever thought the bass on the DBA-02 was noteworthy, but relatively speaking, it's better than the 425, and it makes classical music more enjoyable; it also reveals what's lacking with the 425s.
I'd still like to up my game and improve on the Fischers, which have served me well. But the 425s aren't it.
Update: I recently bought a set of Shure bt adapters to attach to the 425s to use running. So now I'm listening outside, where there's more noise. On the positive side, the comfort and fit are great, a result of having well made behind the ear adapters that are tailor-made to fit Shure IEMs. But where TF is the bass? There's the body? And I'm not listening to Bach, I'm listening to stuff with a beat, like Aurora and Bjork. But it's just not there. So, I switched out the Shure 425s and attached the adapters to Tin T2s. Ahhh....That's better. There's the truth: 425s are good but outclassed by $70 Tins. Take note, Shure.
I know this has been around for a while, and I've owned my pair for a while, but I pulled them out of the drawer recently to re-evaluate and thought it useful to share my impressions and explain why it is that I've ended up reverting to using the IEMs I bought the Shure's to replace.
I listen to classical music 90% of the time. There is bass in classical music. Not a lot, but it's there, and it matters. Besides obvious examples such as when there's a big pipe organ at work, orchestral or chamber music frequently has at the very least cellos that are beating out a rhythm, using their lowest notes. Sometimes they're doing much more. And of course there might be actual upright bass instruments, or basoons, etc. What they are doing should seldom be center stage, but it needs to be present.
Anyway, the Shure 425s, though excellent in many ways, are adequate in the bass department when it comes to rock or pop. There, there's a lot of bass, and the 425s capture it, though the sound might not satisfy bass heads. For example, I just threw on Bjork's Homegenic. Got Bass? Yes. Enough? Maybe? But when the quantity of bass in the music is small--like in classical music--the 425s come up short. So the music feels flat and anemic. Just slightly, but enough.
I recently was listening to Handel's Concerti Grossi. It's chamber music. There are cellos and at least one double bass. The 425s just don't do them justice, leaving the music without a measure of texture. The cellos and double bass need to bite.
Then I switched to my old Fischer DBA-2 MK2, which I bought years ago to replace the MK1s, which I bought because they were heralded as "neutral kings," and a great value for money proposition. At the time I thought neutral was what I wanted. Anyway, the Fischer's sound better, to my ears. What's the difference? The bass. No one's ever thought the bass on the DBA-02 was noteworthy, but relatively speaking, it's better than the 425, and it makes classical music more enjoyable; it also reveals what's lacking with the 425s.
I'd still like to up my game and improve on the Fischers, which have served me well. But the 425s aren't it.
Update: I recently bought a set of Shure bt adapters to attach to the 425s to use running. So now I'm listening outside, where there's more noise. On the positive side, the comfort and fit are great, a result of having well made behind the ear adapters that are tailor-made to fit Shure IEMs. But where TF is the bass? There's the body? And I'm not listening to Bach, I'm listening to stuff with a beat, like Aurora and Bjork. But it's just not there. So, I switched out the Shure 425s and attached the adapters to Tin T2s. Ahhh....That's better. There's the truth: 425s are good but outclassed by $70 Tins. Take note, Shure.
