 "Legendary Service as well as Legendary Performance" | 2009-04-27 |
| - Reviewed By User: A15FA6540ICBUM |
| One of Shure's trade marks is that they offer "Legendary Performance" and I believe that this simple phrase is an understatement. It has been over four years since I first bought a pair of in ear headphones from Shure and have been very pleased. My first pair were the E4G's (which this model replaced) and had them for over three years until one of the earphones stopped working properly. Didn't bother me to much since I had used them well over a thousand times and was always impressed at their performance. Sent them in to be repaired ($109 since it was out of warranty) and they promptly sent me back a brand new pair of SCL4's. These have been a great pair of headphones, but unfortunately after three months of careful use, the same problem with one of the earphones occurred. Even though this was frustrating, their customer service was phenomenal and four business days after sending in my headphones for free repair I received another brand new pair no questions asked. Every experience I have had with this company has been pleasant and I guarantee you will love the headphones. Yes they are very pricey, but if you are like me and enjoy complete sound isolation without looking foolish with huge cans around your ears, these are the way to go. I live in a college dorm and am frequently taking the trains around Chicago and when I have these headphones in my ears at a relatively low volume I am in my own world and can't hear loud floor mates screaming down the hall or the deafening noise produced by the elevated trains in Chicago. You are going to love these if you buy them! |
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| "Excellent sound and value" | 2009-02-20 |
| - Reviewed By tomvette |
I've had a pair of these for a while. As a reference point I have electrostatic speakers in my home system and some electrostatic headphones. I enjoy accurate sound and needed a small pair of phones for listening to music in flight.
I could not imagine a better sounding solution. The noise isolation is outstanding. Plane noise is dramatically reduced without the frequency and phase distortion that normally results from active noise cancellation. These have extended accurate bass, a smooth color free midrange and very extended smooth high frequency response. They are high sensitivity and can produce very good volume output from a standard iPhone. They come with a good small case and an elaborate assortment of rubber and phone ear cushions.
Excellent engineering . . . highly recommended. |
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 "not worth the premium price" | 2009-01-29 |
| - Reviewed By User: A1BERPJDFAMFJP |
I just purchased the SCL4's so far i've owned the following:
etymotic er6i's
shure e2c's
vmoda vibes
I thought that the premium price on the SCL4's would put these in a class above any of those 3 and I can tell you that it does NOT.
They are very articulate, and accurate, but they really aren't any better than the v-modas(which were the best of the 3 listed above). In fact, the bass response on the SCL4's is much WORSE than the v-moda's. If you put your ipod on bass booster, or even ROCK EQ's, they actually distort out! I am not sure if I got a bunk pair, but as of now, I am not happy and do not recommend you pay the premium price for these.
Another plus for these is their sound isolation, which is superior to all 3 listed above, simply because they contain a wide array of tips to choose from(the black foam tips block out almost everything). |
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| "At this price range, it's all about your preference" | 2008-12-23 |
| - Reviewed By User: A37KJLMX0TRPO8 |
All in all, an excellent set of earphones. I've been a long time user of Shure E3, and I was waiting for the price of SCL4 to drop a little.
In comparison to E3, SCL4 really enhances the high and low range, maybe a little to much. If one is into good mid-range (i.e., vocals, lead guitars, etc.), E3 may sound more "true".
But at this price range, it's all about the listener's preference. For rock and jazz, you may want to boost high and low range sound anyway. Depending on the mixing level, some high range sound such as hats and cymbals may even sound enhanced or artificial. That is how "fatigue" sets in, and you definitely don't want that when you are stuck in a plane. Like anything though, you will get used to it somehow. And the differences are not something that you can not overcome with equalizer settings. (I used "Latin" setting on the iPod.)
When I first did the A/B test, SCL4 definitely stood out. But one may say that SCL4 may sound too "sweet", and there is such thing as too much sweetness in sound, as one may get tired of it.
Surprisingly, the bigger difference is in the type of attachments that come with the earphones. I've tried them all, and the yellow foam is the best, no contest (for both E3 and SCL4). I wouldn't even bother trying other options, and they do sell extra foams if they get dirty.
One more tip: It is true that the sound gets better as you play the set. If you bought a new set, just leave it on for a few days until the set is fully broken in.
With the foam attachment, you won't even hear a crying baby next to you, and the sound of music would be better than some expensive sound system. I never fly without it.
Update (April 3, 2009)
After a few months of use, the set is fully broken in, and it sounds even better than when I wrote the first review. I use it constantly when I fly, and sometimes I never take it off for 5 hour flight. No sound fatigue, or no pain in your ear when used with foam set. I'm very happy with this product. |
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| "Dramatic improvement over free ipod 'buds. " | 2008-12-19 |
| - Reviewed By User: A346X6HLC1ERK0 |
I've been a guitar player/drummer/singer for quite a few years and having said that, I've used quite a few in-ear monitors. Some great, some not so great. Due to work-related travel, I finally came around to the idea of getting an ipod. I'll admit, at first it was awesome, then the reality of ripping all of my CD's set in and it lost a little bit of its lustre. I bought a pair of these Shure SCL4 'buds for use in playing on stage but plugged them into the ipod. I can honestly say that I'm excited to use the ipod again. The sound quality is stunning and the noise isolation is amazingly good. I've tried a pair of the noise-cancelling headphones by the "B" brand and found them to be just ok. They add a small amount of distortion to the sound which I find distracting. The Shure SCL4's do not. It is very crisp and clear with full lows and clean highs.
The one thing I'll recommend to you if you get them or probably any other in-ear headphones is that you get the tips properly fit to your ear canal. You don't want them to sit outside, nor do you want them too deep in your ear. They need to fit snugly and seal well against the skin of your ear canal. I found that I had to put the smallest tips on the earbuds. Shure gives you many different tips to choose from included with the earbuds.
One other thing I'll say.. not about Shure but in-ear monitors in general, if you're spending $100+ on them, think about a protection plan for them. I normally would never buy a plan for equipment but there's a lot that can happen to earbuds... the cords usually are the culprit but it also doesn't take much to ruin an expensive earbud.
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| "Brilliant if used properly" | 2008-12-18 |
| - Reviewed By volkerotto3 |
The SCL4 should replace my E2 and I was unsure whether I should spend the extra money. After a 4 weeks use period I can only recommend these earphones. Crystal clear sound, perfect impedance match to MP3 player output stage, sturdy metal housing, small but perfectly shaped for convenient wear.
Two warnings for potential buyers:
1. sound quality heavily depends on the fit. The foam sleeves that come with the SCL4 are perfect, much better than the ones for the E2. Squeeze them properly before inserting, and allow for 10sec to expand them properly and produce a tight fit. Don't use too small sleeves.
2. These earphones will mercilessly reveal deficiencies of the sound souce! Don't blame the phones. |
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