Shure E4c Sound Isolating Earphones
by Shure Incorporated
|
Our Price: $599.99 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: CE See more product details |
|---|
Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Shure E4c Sound Isolating Earphones
Customer Review: YOu have GOT to be kidding me!
Summary: 2 Stars
I accidentally posted this review in the Shure E3C page, so I cut and pasted it here, since I have the E4C's not the E3C's.
First off, I am a semi professional musician, so I am pretty familiar with Shure's mid to high quality pro audio gear, and thus made the purchase of these headphones, sight-unseen, particularly after reading all of the rave reviews on this site. Now, in fairness, the high end and even, to a large extent, the mid-range is crystal clear...almost too clear in fact, sometimes to the point of feeling a little shrill. However, I suspect that this had far more to do with the overwhelming lack of BASS! Um...okay the advertisement above says "Booming Bass".
Oh really? Where? Certainly not in these ear-buds. I tried experimenting with the various in-ear inserts, and, like so many reviewers, have to agree that the foam are, by far, the best. In fact, to be quite honest, they are the ONLY acceptable sounding pieces, aurally. I don't mean to be negative here, honestly. I really wanted these to be AWESOME and in some ways they are. The musical detail at the high end is fantastic. The problem is that I paid 300 bucks for these things, because I didn't buy them off of Amazon (yeah I know, my mistake) but instead bought them from my local Apple store, where I purchased my 60 GB iPod. Now I realize that two stars is a PISS POOR rating, and these ear buds certainly sound a lot better than the "two stars" I gave them. The problem is that for the $300.00 I paid for them, or for that matter, the $189.00 they list for on this site, I may actually be over-rating them. If I had paid 20 dollars for these hear-buds I would probably give them a 4 star rating, but combining the under-whelming bass response with the overwhelming price tag, leads me to lower the rating even more, relative to cost to sound ratio.
Now maybe I am doing something wrong. If so, please feel free to email me and give me detailed instructions and I would be more than happy to revise this review accordingly. What leads me to say this is the fact that these ear-buds are billed as cancelling ALL ambient noise, and that simply is not the case. They cancel a good deal of it, but I can still hear external noise, particularly when the music is not playing. This leads me to wonder if perhaps I am NOT getting the proper seal even with the little yellow foam inserts. I sincerely hope this is the case, and that someone emails me and I can feel like a COMPLETE IDIOT because I am not using these right, and thus will have to revise this.
My biggest complaint, as I started to say, is the complete lack of appreciable bass. My buddy has a pair of $20.00 ear-buds that sound like utter crap, because the bass is LOUD but distorts. So I am in no way looking for that kind of sound, but his ear-buds PUMP out bass (albeit distorted) in ways that these Shure buds can't even dream of doing. Now I cannot believe that the technology is not good enough to reproduce thumping bass in small ear buds, particularly given the pretty hefty price tag of these.
Oh and as an aside, I am NOT into dance music, where you hear nothing but bass. I mostly listen to Grateful Dead concerts. So while I am not looking for bass like you hear in car audio systems with MASSIVE sub-woofers, and from blocks away can hear nothing but thinping bass, it would be REALLY nice to hear the awesome bass playing of Phil Lesh as more than a distant and somewhat muted background.
If anyone has any suggestions, my email is ChiroVette@aol.com. If not, I am going to dump these things into the trash heap and HOPE that someone out there can make a set pf ear-buds that can give me some DAMNED BASS!!!!
Customer Review: E4C >>>>>> weak bass?!?!?!
Summary: 5 Stars
Ok, here are few things I have to clear up before you go ahead and buy the headphone.
First, this is a in-ear headphone. Which means that they are placed in your ear. If you don't feel comfortable with something in your ear, don't bother buying and compliant about it.
Second, for people that got use to over exaggerated bass. Don't buy this. Due to the small size of the drivers, it can only produce bass to a certain extend. No, the bass is not weak, infact, it is stronger compare to some other in-ear headphones that are on the market. I found it funny that some people try to compare the bass of a in-ear-headphone with other headphones and speakers. By the nature of the devices, a top quality speakers set will produce better sounds than any headphone. So, what is the point of comparing the sound qualtiy of different class of device?
Third, for people that are ipod fans.... I recommand you to drop your ipod and start searching for a new audio device. Becasue E4C consume bigger power than most of the small headphone out there. If you decided to stay with an Ipod, i recommand you to get a small, protable headphone amp. Trust me, your E4C would sounds much better.
And for anyone that uses none branded audio device or just on-board sound for the audio... I recommand not to buy the E4C, because of the high sensitivity of the headphone will expose the flaws from your bad recorded track or sound source that you had never heard before, and no..... it is not E4C's fault.
Fourth, like most of the high quality headphones, E4C also require at least 100 hours of usage to be broken-in (or burn in). A completely broken in E3C actullly sounded better than a newly open E4C. But after process of breaking in, E4C does sound better than the E3C.
And for anyone does not konw. Yes, almost any of the audio system need to burn in before it can release its full potential.
Fifth, at this stage of headphone, you may be paying more than twice of the value and and just get a little of return in improvement of sound quality. For Example, E4C provide alsomt around.. ur.... 70-80 or even 90 percent of what E5C has to offer, and E4C is much cheaper. So, if you already own a E3C, do not expect too much improvement base on the price of this product... 1.5 times the price does not 1.5 times the sound quality.
Sixth, I don't believe that the gray rubber Flex Sleeves count as part of the warrenty. I believe that it even says in the manule or somewhere, indicated that it is necessory to change the phone Flex Sleeves after a period of use. Becasue yes, they do get lose and sometimes may stuck in your ear if you don't chang it. If you feel good about using the phone sleeve, prepare to spend some money on buying the replacemnet for them. Because they do get lose, oxide, wear, and most important of of all, the whole sanity issue.
(please, please don't use the same foam sleeves too long.. it will not only looks nasty, it smells nasty too.)
Conclusion: If you have simple headphone, the upgrade is amazing.
If you are alredy using a pretty high quality audio out put device, well, you might want to reconsider it or go to an audiophile store and do some testing before you decide to buy them.
And no, for some people out there, I do not say the E4C is good headphone simply becasue I spend 200 dollar on it. I gave it a five star simply due to its quality.
(I only spend 120 dollar on getting the E4C, whihc is actullly cheaper than what my dad paided for the E3C, so price of the itme really isn't a factor that can change opinion toward the product.)
Customer Review: Comparison of Shure E4C and Etymotic ER-4P
Summary: 5 Stars
So that you know a little about me and this review, I will start by saying that I am a professional classical musician, and I have recently had a hearing test on which I did very well. I am also something of a headphone enthusiast, as I have some very expensive headphones, a high-end source and an expensive dedicated tube headphone amplifier. I am aware of a computer magazine review that recently rated the Etymotics higher in sound quality.
This is a comparison of the E4C and the Etymotic ER-4P, using the Gmini XS200 as a source, with mp3's encoded at either 192 or 256 kb/s. (By the way, the Gmini is a great little DAP!) Both of these earphones are quite good and will provide vastly better sound quality than the typical headphones and earbuds that fill the mass market. I like the included foam tips included by each manufacturer, so that is what I used to compare them. The Etymotic foam tips seal better and provide superior isolation from outside noise. I must note that the Shure's were bought new by me, and the Etymotics are a loaner from a friend. Please be aware that the Shure's require some "burn in", and will not sound their best new out of the package. Have patience at the beginning, and notice the improvement in performance over the first 20-40 hours. I do not know the break-in characteristics of the Etymotics.
I'll cut to the chase. The Shure's are sonically much more impressive than the the Etymotic's. Both are highly resolving and have no major faults. The Shure's however, sound as though they have even greater resolution of detail, and have a flatter frequency response. They represent the subtleties of instrumental timbre much more accurately, and include even more detail in their presentation. One can hear all the qualities of the recording environment, the position of instruments of the orchestra (soundstage), and seem to create a sound that is less bottled up within the ear (headstage). They do not have the least trace of sibilance. Somehow, in spite of all this resolution, they still sound smooth and convey all the beauty and warmth of tone one could want. They have slightly "rolled highs", as this is the practice of Shure in all their products, but this is a very small criticism since the treble region is nevertheless very clear, balanced and controlled. In comparison, the Etymotics have a sound that is a little "tipped up", and can become fatiguing. There is a comparative lack of depth to their sound, and there is much information in the midrange in particular that is lost. Bass is not as present, controlled, or quick. Beauty of tone is lacking. I do not have the same emotional response to the music with them. However, these are still not sibilant, and are still very fine.
The Shure's are also better built. I feel they are sturdier and less likely to be damaged from hard use. They are more microphonic than the Etymotics, though, which will be very annoying if you intend to use them while moving around. One should realize they are both very microphonic because of the nature of their isolating design, and therefore will transmit a lot of unwanted bumping and rustling to your ears if you move around with them. I recommend sitting still.
The Shure represents true high fidelity in a portable form. In many ways, they outperform my expensive home headphone rig. What is more, they sound this good without the need of a separate headphone amplifier. In fact, I recommend you skip the amp, as I felt that mine added too much energy to the treble. I am very impressed with them, and I strongly recommend them.
Customer Review: Not nearly as good as I'd hoped...
Summary: 2 Stars
I'm an audiophile/musician/snob, with a good ear, and a job that requires lots of travel. I've been using the Sennheiser PX200 on-ear, small-folding headphones happily for over two years, but was always concerned that during flights I had to crank all laptop volumes to their highest settings to hear the music over the engine drone. This got me to thinking that I should get a set of 'quiet' phones. The bulky Bose were non-starters (Don't get me started on Bose speakers, and please, no flame wars - if you like them, then you listen to them. I prefer my 'maggies'). So I decided that earphones were for me.
PRICE
So I read every review I could find for in-ear phones, and saw a decent price on the E4Cs ($180). Shure had recently released the next series of earphones (210/310/410/510), so the older models were getting replaced. This seemed like an opportunity to get a nice set of earphones on the cheap.
COMFORT
I've taken two trips since purchasing these - one to Guadalajara (5hrs in flight each way), and one to Shanghai (15hrs out, 14hrs back). I wore the earphones the entire time for all flights. So yes, they are comfortable enough to wear practically forever (they do become annoying after 10 hours, but I think that's to be expected given the duration of the flights). I used the yellow foam inserts, as I had an easier time of getting them to seal, and was used to those inserts.
SOUND
Sadly, here is where these devices fail. The bass is severely lacking. The highs are harsh. The midrange is dumpy. Spatially, they are nice - the soundstage is clear and well defined, and they really do seal off cabin noise. Close your eyes, and you can 'see' the instruments spread out in front of you (if only they sounded better). With them in place during take off and landing (unplugged so the flight attendants wouldn't accost me), I could easily hear the pilot announcements, but none of the other cabin noises. Once in the air, I listend to them using a Blackjack telephone, laptop, and lots of cabin movies. Once you start listening to something, all other noises are obliterated. I couldn't hear the pilot, or the flight attendants, or the person seated next to me - or the crying baby on the flight out to Guadlajara. And that's a nice thing in a plane (I slept well).
So overall, I'm happy with them because they're a small package, cut off external noise, and are easy to wear when sleeping on a plane. BUT - I can't get over how poor they sound. They're not nearly as nice as my Sennheiser PXC200s (currently selling on Amazon for ~$50 - and also noted for requiring a break-in period for the bass to come out and play).
If these things get better over time, I'll update this review. And as a coda, I stopped at a headphone place at O'Hare airport, and compared these to the Shure 210/310/410/510 phones (yes, I listed to each - many thanks to a very patient salesman in the "F" causeway). The new Shure 2/3/4 series sounded about the same as the E4Cs. The 510 had decent bass if I pushed the plugs deeply into my head *and held them there*. (and no, I'm not a 'Bass-Heavy' Bottom-Dwelling, Subwoofer Thumping Miscreant).
So if I had this to do all over again, I'd have waited patiently, and tried out the headphones at either an airport, or a mall, or someplace, and made a better informed decision. Don't make my mistake. Take your time, listed to them all, and pick one that sounds good to you (don't fall for the, "It's expensive so it must sound nice" fallacy.
Customer Review: worth the upgrade - super reliable
Summary: 5 Stars
The title pretty much sums it up. As many earbud users know the range and fullness of sound produced by earbuds is meager, at best. Those interested in quality reproduction look to other sources for IEM (Inner Ear Monitors) solutions. The popular options include Shure, Etymotic, Westone, and Ultimate Ears. Each produce credible products.
I received a pair of Shure E3Cs a couple of years ago and immediately appreciated the huge improvement in sonic quality. As many have noted, the lower end of the audio spectrum is very sensitive to physical conditions inherent in IEM products. Fit is critical. After spending some time to determine the best fit (I eventually settled on the yellow foam) I was satisfied. Over time, however, I came to realize that the bottom end wasn't as stable, or as solid, as I prefer. When comparing the signal on the E3Cs to my room monitors I found a noticable depth of low end missing. (all my systems are flat)
After some research, and having experience with Shure's E3C, I opted to try the E4C as they were being described as like the E3C but with better low end reproduction. And since low end reproduction seems to be the primary challenge for IEM products, it made sense to try a product noted for better low end.
I agree with many reviewers that IEM products have a break in period. I decided I'd listen to my E4Cs for at least 100 hours before doing a review. During early listening I noticed an immediate improvement in low end. Yet I was troubled by a sense of harshness in the overall signal. I prefer a "natural" presentation, some would say warm. The new E4Cs produced a keenly defined separation of spectrum. I attributed this to the newness, or stiffness, of the transducers.
Over time I began to hear a smoothing of the signal. They have settled down, and now produce a sound that rivals my best MTM monitors. Incredible depth of sound stage, clear but smooth separation of range, and precise dynamics. Being IEMs they are designed to perform in a very specific space. That tiny amphitheater between my ears. These gems are very sensitive. When I connect them to one of my home systems I find that I need to dramatically reduce power output. I've also found that these can handle the big loads (ouch!). When connected to my iPod the music is as good as anything I've heard.
As with all IEM products be careful of the loads, or levels, you send. Yes, you can hurt your ears with these, or any IEM, when used improperly. It takes very little SPL to get overload in that tiny space near your eardrum.
One final note. Shure's website says that the internal components of the different models of E4Cs are no different. The only difference between the models are cosmetic (color). Whichever model you decide on, the signal will be the same.
Bottom line - these are great! Clear, precise, accurate, fantastic range. My Grados now sit in the drawer. Shop around and you can find these well below MSRP.
7/1/2008 - addendum: My E4Cs were caught (forgotten) outside overnight, and went through two severe thunderstorms. I found them the next morning, wet. Even though they were in their case everything was drenched. I pulled them out, screwed off the ear ports, to let the transducers dry better. Three days later I plugged them in. They worked perfectly, and have for three days since.