Shure MPA with SE110

Shure’s Music Phone Adapter (MPA) is our favorite iPhone solution, since it lets you use the headphones you’re most comfortable with. It has an iPhone-compatible jack at one end and a microphone module with an Answer/End/Pause button and a female 3.5mm audio jack for connecting to your own headphones. We connected the adapter to the Shure SE110 in-ear headphones, whose cabling is modular; the top half is fairly short, so when used with the adapter, the cable is the right length, but the mic lays around your navel. The MPA comes with three different sizes of foam and silicone tips and a carrying pouch. Shure’s coated memory-foam tips are the most comfortable on the market, and they stay in your ear securely--especially if you wear the cables over the tops of your ears. 

 

The SE110 blocked out an impressive amount of noise. These were the best-sounding headphones for music in this roundup, thanks to fuller bass and clear mids, though the highs were a bit muffled for acoustic music, such as jazz and classical. Calls were very clear for both parties, and our voice was rendered surprisingly well even with the mic hanging so low, though it sounded better when we held it near our mouth. When tested in noisy areas, the mic’s noise-reduction feature worked amazingly well.

 

Music junkies will love the ability to convert any headphones into an iPhone headset, and the mic’s noise-reduction feature makes this a life-saver in chaotic environments. Shure’s SE headphones make excellent companions to the MPA, thanks to the modular cabling.

 

A step above the iPhone's stock earbuds.

 

Stylish headphones with a solid sound quality.

 

Light and compact headphones.