Paradigm Shift e1 earbud Headphones (White)

In-Ear Headphones

Our first speakers came out in 1982 and fans still scour the Web to buy used versions of those originals. That should tell you something about the quality of our speakers. Paradigm SHIFT™ series is our newest venture, its focus is audio on the go. Today, most people listen to audio through portable devices. But what about the quality of that audio? Despite what hundreds of earbud and headphone brands would have you believe, audio should sound every bit as good as it looks!

The Design of Our In-Ear Headphones

Paradigm's unique understanding of what makes a speaker sound magical in a listening room is applied to the design of our in-ear headphones. Unlike other brands, we used sophisticated measurement tools and proprietary algorithms while accounting for the psycho-acoustic effects of the ear structure in developing our design. This allowed us to faithfully reproduce the performance of Paradigm's freestanding loudspeakers in an in-ear headphone.

Angie, our Head and Torso Simulator, was the middle man (okay, middle woman) in our quest to critically tune each earbud to sound like our loudspeaker lines. We put her in the anechoic chamber with a microphone in each ear and a Paradigm speaker in the chamber. Then we started to measure. We measured sound pressure levels, the speaker's frequency response, and total sound power (the actual summed output that is heard). We looked for any coloration or distortion at various power levels, all of it according to what Angie was actually hearing. Then we took the results and began to design. And while everyone's ears are different, the one thing we knew with absolute surety from our extensive research with Canada's National Research Council is that all listeners clearly favor three things: a flat midrange, a smooth total energy response and low distortion. Through Angie's ears we were able to so precisely tune the headphones to our speakers that listening to an E1 earbud is like listening to music through our audiophile Monitor series 7 speakers. Listening to an E2 earbud presents the sound quality of our high-end Studio series speakers. And listening to the E3? In portable audio, it doesn't get any better since the E3s are tuned to our ultimate high-end Signature series speakers.

In-Ear Headphones Can Sound As Good as High-End Speakers

Every audio experience (music, movies, video gaming, etc.) is better with better sound. If you're not sure what we mean by "better" sound all you have to do is listen to your current earbuds or headphones, then plug in a pair of Paradigm headphones. The difference is audible. Paradigm SHIFT series products are the result of our thirty years of sound research and product development. We've taken the expertise used to produce hundreds of award-winning Paradigm loudspeakers and adapted it for music on the go. Unlike any other headphone brand on the market, Paradigm sound quality is the result of pure scientific data and extensive critical listening on the part of Paradigm. Each one is tuned to sound like our award-winning high-end loudspeakers. What you hear when you plug in with Paradigm SHIFT series is exactly what you should hear ... a faithful reproduction of the original source, no different than if you were listening to a Paradigm loudspeaker. If you're listening to a live concert recording, your SHIFT headphones will make it feel "live." When you turn up the volume there will be no loss in sound quality. And because our headphones have superb noise isolation, even at low volumes you will still hear the full spectrum of sound clearly.