LAS VEGAS — Shure has hit the extremes lately in terms of how much they think music lovers are willing to pay for headphones and earphones, but their latest in-ear monitors cost just $50.
The new SE112s are just half the price of Shure’s previously cheapest IEMs, the SE215, and only $20 more than Apple’s iconic, earbud-ish EarPods. It’s quite a change for Shure: Earlier this year, the company came out with the ultra-high-end, $1,000-plus SE846 canalphones. And their exotic, carbon-fiber SRH1540 headphones arrived just a few months ago at a robust $624.
Shure is adamant that the more-affordable ‘phones sound great, especially in the bass department. But you’ll miss out on the gold treatment — literally: The SE112 forgoes the SE215’s detachable, gold-plated MMCX connectors.
The new SE112s also come with only three sets of eartips, which is half the complement included with the SE215. Finally, the SE112 gets smaller drivers (6.7mm, compared to 8mm in the SE215).
But if they sound good, who cares. Just be careful with those hair-thin cables.
When he was eight, Eli Milchman came home from frolicking in the Veld one day and was given an Atari 400. Since then, his fascination with technology has made him an intrepid early adopter of whatever charming new contraption crosses his path. He calls San Francisco home, where he works as a journalist and photographer. Eli has contributed to the pages of Wired.com and BIKE Magazine, among others. Hang with him on Twitter.
