Replacement iPhone earphones on test

Shure SE210 and Shure MPA

Manufacturer: Shure (SE210s), Shure (MPA)
UK Price (as reviewed): £64.99 (inc. VAT) (SE210s), £28.99 (inc. VAT) (MPA)
US Price (as reviewed): $129.95 (ex. Tax) (SE210s), $39.99 (ex. Tax) (MPA)

Frequency response: 25Hz – 18.5kHz
Carry case: Hard case
Tips: Small, medium, large plastic, small, medium, large foam
Cable length: 45cm (SE210s), 80cm (MPA)
Weight: XXg
Remote: Clicker (MPA)

Shure’s earphones enjoy an excellent critical reputation, but it hasn’t made any specifically for the iPhone. Instead it’s produced the MPA – short for ‘music phone adaptor’ – a microphone and clicker assembly on cable with a 3.5mm plug to connect to your phone, and a 3.5mm port to plug in any pair of earphones.

This means you can use the MPA with any earphones you like, although with many sets you will have to contend with a fairly large cabling problem. Most earphones come with around 1m of cable, and you’ll need to find somewhere to stash this so you can get the mic close enough to your mouth for it to be able to pick up what you’re saying when you’re on a call. As Shure’s own earphones tend to come with a very short cable and a cable extender, you can simply swap the extender for the MPA.


We combined the MPA with Shure’s SE210 earphones, a mid-range set that you can buy, together with the MPA, for under £100. The SE210s use an in-ear design, and unlike the Apple and Sennheiser models in the test, we found they really benefit from being worn with the cable looping up and over the ear. They can be worn by simply inserting them into the ear and letting the cable dangle down (and as you can see from the pictures, Shure has cleverly applied the logo so that it looks right whichever way you wear them), but we found we only achieved optimum sound quality with the cable looped upwards.

This contributes to making the SE210s fussier to wear than the Sennheiser and V-Modas and less suitable for using on the go with the iPhone. This is compounded by the fact you need to take care to get a decent seal or else you’ll struggle to hear any bass. Shure includes two types of tips in the box – squidgy foam and flexible plastic – each in three sizes, all of which are comfortable to wear once inserted. There’s also a small but tough case to protect them when you’re not plugged in.


The SE210s were second only to the EF2s at their effectiveness at blocking noise, and only by a whisker – people really have to shout to get your attention. As with the EF2s, the Thomas Pynchon level of seclusion the SE210s create results in very detailed audio. They ace the ‘Hey Jude’ test, and as with many of The Beatles' recordings you can hear so much studio detail (tambourines shivering just as they’re picked up, cymbals wavering) that you really feel a strong sense of place.

Precision is all well and good, but it does bring problems. Some sounds come too sharply, and after a while there’s a nagging sense that some songs lack warmth and texture. It’s probably to do with how lower frequencies are handled – ‘Alex Chilton’ was robbed of its usual bounce and ‘Only Shallow’ sounded oddly thin. That said, there were successes. Fleet Foxes’ icy harmonies were superb, as was The Wire exit music.

Ultimately, the SE210s are a fine pair of earphones, and these are minor quibbles considering their cost. Our real issue is that as interesting a piece of thinking as the MPA is, it’s really shown up by the dedicated iPhone sets in this test. The MPA microphone ends up around 47cm from the earphone when used with the SE210s.

You need to do something with the excess cable, and we could never quite get the microphone into the optimal place. This is a shame, as the mic quality is well above that of the other models on test. Overall, the SE210 and MPA combination is a lot less convenient than the dedicated iPhone sets, and as good as the audio quality is, ease of use is a primary factor when you’re using earphones out and about.

• Performance
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• -
• -
• 8/10

• Value
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• -
• -
• -
• 7/10

• Overall
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• -
• -
• -
• 7/10

Score Guide