 | ABOUT US | Jul 8, 2008 |
Shure Incorporated is a consumer and professional audio electronics corporation.
Introduced as an accessory included in the company's personal monitor systems, Shure's earphones became an independent product with the rising popularity of portable audio devices such as the iPod and when musicians, professional audio producers, and even audiophiles utilized the company's earphones on devices other than Shure's personal monitor/mixer systems.
Shure introduced two versions of their E series earphones to the pro audio and consumer audio channel when these earphones were first released for independent purchase. Later on, Shure expanded their consumer earphone line with dedicated earsets for use with cellular telephones but opted to combine its cell phone earsets with premium audio components found on the E2, E3, and E4 to form the "I" series, a band of two-purpose earphones that can be used with both music and cellular devices (with a trim for the Treo smartphone available).
Shure wanted to cater to mobile gamers with the G variation of the E series earphones. Shure sought to simplify its earphone lineup for the consumer channel by introducing a three-armature earphone called the E500 (later renamed SE530) with a unique "Push-to-Hear" accessory also introduced. ).
A few months after the E500 was first released, Shure took a drastic step in simplifying consumer earphone variety with the SE earphone series, in which each of these earphones have collapsable cables, and in some cases, problems from the E series addressed (i.e. SE420 earphones utilizes pre-emptive crossovers instead of a cooperative crossover). When Shure released the SE110 earphones, the company finally reserved the E series for the professional audio channel (now called the SCL line) with the SE earphones taking over Shure's consumer earphone mainstream. During the E series earphone era, all earphones had the same performance although there are cosmetic, packaging, and naming differences.
With the separation of earphones, Shure's consumer earphones and SCL earphones now have noticeable differences in how the earphones perform. All of Shure's earphones and/or earsets utilize a unique closed-canal sound isolation technology — blocking outside noise from interfering with the audio without active noise cancellation (which would require batteries). This makes the earphones lighter and more portable while also blocking out more noise than noise cancelling headphones. In addition to its canal-blocking noise isolation technology, Shure earphones utilize a variety of foam and plastic sleeves to ensure a good fit on all ears. Getting the proper fit when inserting these is key to getting the best sound and blocking out the most noise. Some of Shure's earphones utilize a unique internal vent in the earphone assembly, which improves airflow around the low-mass balanced armature.
The improved airflow allows the armature to perform as if it were in a larger enclosure without any size penalty and because the earphones and its internal vent is sealed, there's no loss in isolation. Shure's "internal vent" technology is called either "Tuned Port" or "Tuned Bassport".
