Shure E2c Sound Isolating Earphones
by Shure
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Our Price: $199.99 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $79.70 (click here) Category: CE See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Shure E2c Sound Isolating Earphones
Customer Review: Excellent headphones, if you can afford it.
Summary: 4 Stars
I read a ton of reviews of these headphones from professional sites and from Amazon reviewers. I was very hesitant to buy these because of the price, being worried about the bass response, which seems to be one of the largest complaints about the Shure E2cs.
When I first tried to fit them in, they hurt my ears and wouldn't stay in. I was kind of upset, but decided not to give up on them. I messed with the different attachments, trying the cords over my ears, under my ears, behind my head, in front of my head. Finally I got the right fit.
THE SOUND:
When they weren't fitting correctly, the sound was horrible. It sounded like a 2-inch speaker playing out of a tin can.
However, when I did get them to fit correctly, making sure I had the correct headphone in the correct ear, the sound was wonderful.
I also have had the Sony Fontopia EX71SL headphones. I was disappointed with the Sony's bass. The fit was nice, they blocked sound fairly well, but the bass was nonexistent. With the Shure E2Cs, however, the bass is excellent. The sound is as good as any headphones I've tried AND they block out outside noise perfectly.
I am impressed with the bass response. I was sure it was going to be at least the quality of the Sony Fontopias, or worse. Nevertheless, it turns out that the Shure headphones actually have excellent bass response. The key is purely in getting the correct fit.
The highs and mids are also very impressive. They aren't washed out or scratchy at high volume, and have an extremely clear sound.
PRICE:
This is the reason I give them 4 stars and not 5. From a Marketplace seller I got these headphones for around $75, which is still outrageous for a pair of earphones.
The results are wonderful, but it seems that Shure could get the price of its lower model headphones down were they to sell more units.
MUSIC:
Here are some bands I have tried these headphones with and enjoyed every minute of the diapason.
LagWagon, Tool, 311, Santana, Hooverphonic, Massive Attack, Queen, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin (Wanton Song--I have never heard the snap of that snare drum so clear without these headphones), Van Morrison, Bouncing Souls, Boston Pops (classical is great with these, you really hear the full spectrum [diapason]), Donovan, Eric Clapton, Groove Armada, HIM....
You get the idea. The list goes on and on. It's all good.
OVERALL:
Shure has a 2-year warranty that, from what I've read of others, sounds very reputable.
The sound is excellent. Good bass response, good highs and mids. The fit is uncomfortable until you get used to it. In order to get them to fit right, you have to be willing to work with them for a short while and find what works for your ears. Sometimes the attachments can actually plug your ears completely and block out the sound of even the headphones, which is really uncomfortable, but slight movements can remedy this easily.
Overall, I am satisfied. I would recommend these headphones to anyone who can afford them.
**UPDATE -- 1 year later**
Still good. In fact, I would change the vote to a 5 now. The sound and quality are both spectacular. I got used to the fit within a week and never had a problem with it again.
I've also had to exchange a pair. Unfortunately, it was my fault, but the housing for the wire split and separated, leaving the wire exposed. I sent them back to Shure, which was a fairly easy process, and Shure sent me a brand new pair, no questions asked. I was very impressed.
So rest assured that the expense is covered well by the 2-year warranty.
Customer Review: Incredibly versatile and durable earbuds.
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm only a modest audiophile, but I do like quality, and these earbuds never cease to amaze me. Here are five reasons why these should be the ones you get:
1. Absurdly good sound. Experimenting with my ipod, I found I was hearing new details in the music which I had never noticed before. This is especially true with orchestral music. The first song that I noticed was Pink Floyd's "Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Part 1) - I heard little background chimes and such, that I had never heard before, despite having listened to it hundreds of time on Vinyl with great speakers.
2. Sound isolation. I consistently listen to everything on lower volumes now - preserving my ears - because you just don't need to drown anything out. These are first and foremost EARPLUGS, which incidentally have astounding sound quality. Shure made their business at first making professional sound monitoring earplugs for musicians to prevent their hearing while performing. It shows. One of the best parts of these headphones is watching movies on an airplane. I never hear that background hum of the engines, and never find myself pushing the earphones deeper to hear quiet bits of conversation during the film.
3. Comfort. I have slept with these earphones in on a number of occasions, and seldom wake up, and certainly don't have any discomfort when I wake up in the morning. There are twelve different interchangeable ear sleeves that it comes with, three sizes, and different materials, so you WILL find something that fits you perfectly. Because of the snug fit, it can get a bit sweaty during workouts, but it's not a huge problem, and it never damaged the drivers or anything.
4. Durability. I ran into a problem, outlined below, but on the whole, this is the only set of earphones I've ever felt comfortable working out with. The cables are reinforced at the jack, the Y-split where the earbuds divide to left and right, and where it attaches to the body are all really really durable. I've dropped my ipod with the headphones still in, which can be the kiss of death for some headphones, and not so much as a crack there.
5. Price. If you're going to be spending at least $60 on a moderate pair of headphones, wouldn't you rather just drop an extra little bit to fully enjoy the music that you're listening to? Make your laptop into a theatre-quality sound (okay, that might be an exaggeration, but it's definitely a huge improvement)? The e2c has outranked other more expensive headphones, including other Shure models, and I've even seen people tossing it up between these and Bang & Olufsen headphones, the name of which alone carries an additional $100 on the price tag.
The only cautions I have
1. Bass junkies might not be satisfied, but the bass is still better than any stock headphone you could ever find. I listen to a fair bit of hip-hop, and dub, and it keeps me pleased.
2. My cable split a lot (20 breaks, starting where it curves over the ear) within the course of the year I've owned it. I think this was from doing silly things like sleeping with the buds in. Looking around online, they suggest that you regularly clean the cable to avoid weakening the material due to oils & salts from your skin. Fortunately, it's still covered by warranty. This may also be due to heavy use in a cold climate, as I noticed that the cable stiffened up A LOT when cold, but loosened up when warmed up again. Still, frequent use in winter might have weakened the cable. Anyway, it doesn't seem to be a common problem from reviews I've read.
3. You really shouldn't wear these while biking. I've become a lot more careful crossing the street while walking, because you are not likely to hear a car approaching. That's how good the isolation is.
Customer Review: You get what you pay for, it's drawbacks are well compesated
Summary: 5 Stars
These are the best earphones I had the pleasure to own. I came to purchase them out of need to replace a SECOND set of earphones from Apple. Although the sound coming from Apple earphones is good and the set fits fairly comfortable in your ears, they are too delicate and break very easily.
Looking for better quality, I came across these earphones. I notice the quality of the sound right away. It was obvious. The fitting did take some getting used to, but once I did, nothing else will do.
The main complains I hear about and experience myself involves price and conform.
Well, yes they are expensive, but you get what you pay for. Consider how many earphones you had owned. You are getting a quality product that is well back up by a 2 year warranty. After six months from purchase, I found myself returning them due to breakage of the wire covering. Seven days later, I received a brand new package in my door with a renewed 2 year warranty. The breakage had nothing to do the quality of the product. The wire cover is made of the same rubber of all earphones. In New York City, it gets cold and the covering made of some sort of rubber tends to get toasted and break, particularly on areas were you bend or twist the wires. I'm friends with an electrician and he advised me to rub a little Vaseline on my fingers and rub them around against the wires that land behind the ears were the first shure earphones originally broke for me exposing the wires (this area tends to bent and therefore sensitive to breakage). He was right, just like it can protect chopped lips, Vaseline can protect the covering so they may not break.
In terms of comfort, you may in fact have to allow some time to get used to them, its true. They are built very differently than anything you have ever put in your ears before. It comes with different adapter parts that go in your ears. The disposable foam ones are the most comfortable for me. I do resent a little bit that they do wear out and you have to keep buying them if you choose them to be your best fit. Your personal hygiene and hormonal valance (sweat, ear wax buildup, etc.) may determine how often you may need to change them. But, I think the foams are only second to an adaptor custom made for your ear. I could wear the others that are not disposable, but nothing feels more comfortable and fits quite like the foams. They just take whatever shape your ears have and they are soft. You may keep buying a supply of foams, or get one of those custom made adaptors, or get acquainted with the plastic hard and soft ones. Having several options is a good thing.
Sound quality, is undeniable, and you can read about it even on most individuals that give it a bad rating. Consider that it is a line of products that extend from a price range of $100 to $500. Shure has a reputation for producing high quality professional audio equipment. I listen to classical music as well as hip-pop. When they are well fitted in you ears, you do hear bass. With classical music, it like this was it's target. Its like a set of BOSE in your ears.
They also cancel background noise really well. I found myself wearing them when the room was too noisy even when I wasn't listening to music. They won't cancel noise 100%. It's more like 85-90%, enough for your music to take center stage. Because they are so good canceling noise, you can set your ipod/radio etc. to a volume level that won't harm you.
All in all, Shure compensates well with it's few drawbacks. I do recommend them after spending several hundred dollars on cheap $10 $50 $60 set of earphones that eventually break within a year or so. I owned these for the last 2 years and I don't and won't use anything else.
Customer Review: great sound, and noise isolation, but cord's too long
Summary: 4 Stars
i bought these back in april, and had been using them the past 6 months. suddenly, salvation: no more loudspeakers screaming at me while waiting for muni (underground light rail in sf), no screaming babies, no smacking gum, suddenly blessedly and beautifully at peace.
what finally made me break down and buy them was i'd been using a cheap pair of $20 sony style earphones, and realized i was turning the volume up incredibly high to drown out the outside world, and knew i'd damage my hearing if i didn't change that.
i found the various black plastic and foam earpieces that shipped with the e2c to not fit right, but i will admit i didn't try that hard. i just settled with the foam, cuz they were easy, and fit perfectly. i got the reach up behind the ear, tug a bit motion down to 1-2 seconds, automatic.
however, i'd go back and forth between these earphones while out and about, and over the ear padded headphones at home. not noticing much of a difference in sound quality between the two, i wondered whether the e2c was really all that.
well, i got my chance to find out: i lost them this weekend. and i rummaged thru my bags at home, trying to find any pair of earphones, and was only able to find the ipod stock white ones.
good gods, what a difference. sound coming out of the apple headphones are flat, no clarity, it's like listening to music coming out of a tin can. there is also no protection from the outside world, and quite often i can't hear the music from the earphones if a bus goes by, over the muni headphones start screaming. i'm suddenly realizing how crystal clear the e2c's were, and the music was much more alive.
so now i know i HAVE to get a replacement, and i was really happy with the e2c's, but let me tell you why i'm hesitating:
1) this is the absolute, most important, most major sticking point for me: the cord is WAY too long. it might be great for at home, but walking around, that cord literally is as tall as i am, thick, and when i wrap it around my ipod shuffle, the cord mass is almost twice as big as the shuffle. i wound up having to try various tricks to double up the cord, but usually just wind up bunching the unruly mass in my pocket.
i definitely don't want to get earphones with a cord that long again. it defeats the whole purpose of getting tiny little mp3 players. shure should make a version with shorter cords; possibly they do, and i'm looking to see if so.
2) the foam sleeves should be black. those things get grody fast, i mean, you're constantly pushing them in, pulling them out, and rolling them between your fingers. the foam sleeves are beige-colored, for some reason, and so the grime from your fingers shows up within 3 days, and you get very little wear from them. if they were black, there wouldn't be this problem. also, i did hear someone say that you can simply wash them yourself, but i found when i did that, the foam lost some of its resiliency, and didn't fill my ear as well.
also, and i can't guarantee this, because i was going to really take a look at this, but then i lost them: it started to feel like the sound was diminishing in the right earbud. i have a really bad habit of slamming my electronic equipment around, and tossed these earbuds against hard desk surfaces many times, and i'm frankly surprised they lasted as long as they did. the cord, also, is very thick, and feels high quality, like nothing i could do would break it.
so overall, would highly recommend, it's worth the price (especially given how i'd go thru a pair of cheap $20 earphones every 2 months before), but the too long cord is making me hesitate.
Customer Review: Know yourself and your expectations: think point and click, not SLR camera
Summary: 4 Stars
These are the first pair of in-ear phones that I have used. Therefore, my review has no comparative merits. With that said, these in-ear phones by Shure provide very good quality sound. They are certainly better than any pair of over-ear phones that I have used, admittedly only ranging in price from $20 to $100. I use the analogy of cameras, because I think how satisfied you will be depends in large part on what your expectations and needs are. These phones are clearly the equivalent of a very sharp point and shoot camera that takes nice snapshots. For most people, these phones will be just about the greatest thing since sliced bread. The detail is clear, the noise isolation is superb, though there is something lacking in vividness, especially on the low end. If you are the equivalent of someone who talks seriously about F-stop levels, composition, and the like--i.e., you can't countenance anything less than lossless codec or you only use cds grudgingly in place of records, you will most likely not be happy with these phones. If you're in the other group, you will probably be blown away by them.
Now, I may be wrong. People may say, look, for ninety odd bucks, I expect a perfect product that exceeds my expectations, no matter what they are. My frugal side agrees with you completely. Who are these Shure guys to charge a hundred bucks for a product and have it have limitations? But this is technology. And sadly, in the realm of audio technology, the wonderful improvements and price reductions that we have come to know and love in computers seem to be few and far between. Just a guess, but I bet the yowzas! to is that it? ratio will be about 9:1.
For me, these phones have revitalized my flagging relationship with my Ipod. There is no comparison to the standard Ipod earphones. The fit, comfort, and sound of these phones is on another level. Some here have complained about fit, but Shure really provides you with a remarkable number of options. I went with the smaller version of the attachments that the phones come pre-equipped with. I have goofy ears that get mushed by over-ear headphones, so for me these are much more comfortable. Make sure that you sit down in the clear light of day at a desk and have at least twenty minutes to read the manual and sort out your fit. (The dark coloured phone is the right ear...this is only briefly alluded to in the manual.)
The noise blocking is absolutely remarkable, and a bit scary. If you travel at all, you should get these or similar phones.
One final note on the issue of the bass sound. I listened to some hip-hop and techno music to explore this issue. The bass is not thunderous, it is true. But here's why, I think. For one thing, Shure is justifiably nervous about ruining people's hearing. The package is riddled with warnings about not listening at too high a volume. You can listen to your Ipod (I can't speak to other mp3 players) at quarter volume and enjoy your music in remarkable detail with these headphones. There's a catch though. I think bass is almost as much about the visceral wave of sound that you feel from a bank of speakers as it is what you hear. If you got that from in-ear phones, you would be surely destroying your hearing (as you probably are when you bask in that thumping bass at the club). It's a Catch-22. If you turn the volume up to half volume, the bass is more distinct, but I worry about listening at the volume for a prolonged period of time.
I am really looking forward to giving some of the more subtle selections in my music library like Aphex Twin another listen with these phones. Recommended with the caveats above about expectations.