Shure E4c Sound Isolating Earphones
by Shure Incorporated
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Our Price: $599.99 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: CE See more product details |
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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: Try Before You Buy
Summary: 1 Stars
I am confused. Usually I find that reviews of products help me make informed decisions - but this is not the case with the Shure EC4 headphones.
I am a musician, engineer and producer and have tried a variety of headphones in my life. I needed some travel earphones for music composition on the road. Based on the reviews and specs the EC4s seemed great.
NOT
My daughter has a pair of 15 dollar earphones that she randomly picked up at Target - they are far better. Here are the key issues:
1. Frequency response. Maybe my ear canal is abnormal but I find a bass response fall off that is ridiculous. I understand acoustics and how the ear works, but these earphones have no psychoacoustic bass emulation for me - none - zero.
2. External noise attenuation. Again, it might be my retarded ears (they look normal...) but you can forget about using these earphones on an airplane unless you want to test the tensile strength of your cochlear cilia - in other words, blow out your ears. They just suck (again, this is for my ears).
Bottom line -man I wish I had my 200 bucks back - I could have bought some very nice studio earphones, a guitar, or a whole bunch of other stuff that know works. Instead I am stuck with some wire and plastic that is, in my opinion, one of the worst products you can buy in terms of performance and cost.
I recommend that you stand in a normally noisy environment and jam these into your ears and make darn sure you hear what you want to hear before you cut loose those hard earned c-notes. I realize this is the minority opinion, which is why I keep qualifying that it might be my ear structure - but if that is the case, there is a unique disparity with these particular earphones because my ears work fine with other phones and audio output devices.
Good luck! I will sell you mine for 100 bucks - barely used...
Customer Review: Amazing clarity and sound, once you get the fit right.
Summary: 5 Stars
After reading hundreds of reviews and talking with audio-savvy buddies, I decided to splurge on the Shure E4c earphones.
Most of my listening involves classical music (specifically, piano... but a large variety of other music as well). I felt the design specs of the E4cs would work well with what I listen to.
The Shures came packaged very nicely and with a wide variety of ear-plug sleeves to achieve a solid fit. This is where the earphones are most frustrating. The time it takes to properly select and insert the earplugs is very high. My ears are apparently somewhat different in size, and I toyed with different types/sizes for each ear but ultimately ended up choosing the triple flange design and cutting off the tube part below the largest flange. A slight bit of moisture applied to the flanges helps to get a better seal, and they are comfortable for several hours of listening.
And what a joy it is to listen to music when you get everything right. I've spent a good deal of time on stage as a solo performer and as part of an orchestra, as well as an audience member. The clarity is simply stunning - in an LSO Shostakovich recording, you can hear the floor creak, bows being placed on stands, percussionists shuffling in the background... it's simply wonderful. Close your eyes, and you feel like you're on stage with your own personal orchestra.
In fact, the clarity and quality is good enough that I ended up re-ripping most of my audio CDs at higher bitrates (AAC 224kbps) than before (128-192, depending on my perceived quality of the recording) simply because I could finally hear the difference.
I realize that for most people the thought of $300 earphones is a bit frightening. However, keep in mind that Shure offers a 30-day money back guarantee as well as the peace of mind of a 2-year warranty.
These earphones are absolutely astounding - worth every penny.
Customer Review: Good for me. Good for you?
Summary: 4 Stars
I agree with other reviewers that these arent't for everyone. I wanted headphones with good sound and good noise isolation, and these deliever on both accounts. The Bose and Sony series were not practical for me: the Bose require batteries even without noise cancelling. The Shure's coil easily and I can just toss them in my pocket.
SOUND: Very good. At first listen they seemed very bright. I put the iPod headphones back in, and they sounded very muddy an lo-fi. I'd say the e4c's compare with my Sony MDR-7506's. The bass IS light; you'll use a bass boost on regular MP3 players and other lower-quality amps. A tight seal is essential to getting a good sound. Reverbs and overtones really shine on these.
ISOLATION. Great. Having tried the Bose, I prefer these. On the train commute (the loud Chicago el) these not only cancel out low end, but also the announcer and that idiot next to you on his cell phone. Not total isolation, but low enough that I can listen to my iPod at about 20% volume. But vibrations and body movement will transfer sound through your body to your ear, so these aren't good for exercising.
COMFORT: hard to get use to. I use the foam tips for best seal, but they apply outward pressure to the inside of the ear canal. After extended listening, there is some discomfort. Maybe not with the other tips though.
QUALITY: I had my pair for 6 weeks when the left ear bud started cutting out. The problem was near the y-junction in the cable, but it was within the warranty, so no problems. [...]
They probably sound super great with a good headphone amp. But as-is on my iPod I'm still hearing things I've never head before in songs I've heard hundreds of times. You may want to re-import your songs at 256 or higher.
Customer Review: Amazing comfort, and a sound that will blow you away!
Summary: 5 Stars
I got these earphones as a gift for my birthday, so price was known to me until I looked them up on Amazon. I almost fell off my seat when I saw the tag! However... it's totally worth it. My experience in the past with earbuds was never good. I could never wear a pair of earphones/buds for long because the insides of my ears would start to hurt.
I have never had a pair of headphones this good. I can't wait to wear these on my long flights. I tested these last night as to how well they isolate sound.
We were blasting cuban cabana music on the stereo. I popped in my earbuds, listening to a classical recording on my creative zen. I couldn't hear the cuban music at all, and my husband was mouthing words to me that I couldn't hear!! Fantastic!
And at the same time, I can hear things in songs that I never normally hear!!
Another reviewer here stated that you'll notice the poor quality of mp3s. That is true. however if you are already an audiophile and purchased a pair of quality headphones, you'll be ripping your cds at a high bit rate, and you'll be downloading tunes a bit more selectively!
The earphones come with a bunch of different sized buds that you can get for your ears. And in the booklet that comes with it, I saw that you can get custom fit ear pieces. So if you are using these for recording or production you might want to look into getting the ultimate comfort for your ears.
The earphones also came with a carrying case, which is very nice. I like the little ear bud cleaner that came with them too. I have yet to use it, since I just got these recently, but I'm sure I will.
Overall, I think this is an excellent product!! good job shure!
Customer Review: Try before buying ...
Summary: 3 Stars
To put this review in context, I do not normally use ear-bud type phones such as these.
However, I can't understand why audiophiles are raving so much about E4s. I've now used them for number of weeks and the mid and treble response is fantastic -- I have no argument with any other reviewer on that score -- bass performance is where these fall short. Bass exists, it lends to an extremely full sound, but it does not kick. In short, E4s are not for Hip-Hop enthusiasts.
Okay, I'm not the world's number one fan of Hip-Hop, but I am looking to improve the bass response of my E4's. I have been to a number of sites where users have recommended all sorts of gymnastics just to get the in-ear fit right. Apparently, once you get a good seal between the phone and the ear canal, you instantly enjoy the benefits of bass.
Tried and tried again. Tried different bud types. Tried modified buds. But all with limited joy. I don't doubt the audiophiles' story, but the grail they describe is beyond me. And at the price these phones come in at, you'd at least expect them to perform without all this messing around.
Recently, I bought a pair of AKG K26P headphones (not in-the-ear) and these kick the E4s into touch, bass-wise ... but, compared with the E4s, the mid and treble performance on the AKGs sounds like audio bubblegum.
The E4s have their virtues, and your music preferences should guide you in your decision. They sound beautiful when listening to piano music, acoustic guitars, and even electronica, but if you like music with bass, then I suggest trying them before buying them.
Now for the acid test -- Would I part with mine after all these weeks. Probably not.