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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Customers in the UK,
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Shure E2c Sound Isolating Earphones
Customer Review: Great mids and highs. Thin bass.
Summary: 5 Stars
After using these for a while and comparing to other in ear canal and earbuds I have, and to a set of over the ear headphones, I have come to the conclusion that this isn't the frequency response I like. These do a terrific job with mids and highs, and the bass is very clear and defined, but lacks punch. I mean, you can hear individual bass guitar notes very distinctly, as opposed to somewhat of a mash of bass sound. But the compromise for this clarity is that it sounds a bit thin.
This review is an edit (my first, written soon after purchase wasn't very helpful), so I'm not able to change the stars. I'm really not sure how to rate them now, though. If you like feeling the bass a little, then I think you would be disapointed with these. If you prefer clarity, and are willing to sacrifice a little bass, these might be perfect. So, one person might say 1 star, the other 5 stars. Subjective. I guess I'd say 3 stars at this point. I have to give them credit for making a mediocre source (iphone with 128 bit rate) sound pretty good.
I'm not affiliated with these people, and I'm not sure Amazon will let me post this, but this site has frequency response graphs for most headphones. They even have a thing where you can choose different headphones and overlay the graphs to compare. The E2c graph clearly shows less bass response. Based on the graphs, I ordered some Sennheiser px-100s. (Which aren't in canal or isolating). Unfortunately, I purchased the E2cs from Ace Photo Digital, and their return policy is very restrictive (if you open the package, you can't return). Wish I had read the fine print, because now I'm out a small pile of cash.
http://www.headphone.com/
They aren't especially comfortable, but because the cords go over my ears and the plugs fit my ear well, they stay on when I'm running.
Added a week later:
I received the PX-100 headphones I ordered, and I have to say that I don't think there is any comparison. For my subjective preference, the PX-100s deliver a much more enjoyable experience. Of course, I'm sort of comparing apples and oranges, because the PX-100s are over the ear headphones, and they don't isolate sound either, and, being open, they leak sound. If I needed any of those things, I would go with the Shure, but all I wanted was good sound in something I can jog with.
Customer Review: Poor bass, marginal midrange, overpriced and minimal isolation
Summary: 2 Stars
I bought these with the hope they would be an improvement over the $15.00 pair of Koss earbuds I've been using for five years. They are inferior to the cheap Koss in every respect.
The bass is nonexistent. The Koss, by comparison, produces fine, smooth, deep and defined bass. The E2C is not even robust enough to counteract normal household sounds, let alone the noise floor you'd find on your typical airliner or office building. I tried for a better fit in the ear canal as the manual stated, with no success.
The isolation is marginal at best. I've been using the squishy-foam earpieces on the Koss earbuds, and they block a good amount more of the ambient sound than do the E2C. I experimented with every earpiece option and size for the E2C and did not find anything in the box that approached the isolation of the Koss.
The midrange is very detailed, but analytical. The E2C sounds a lot like a horn midrange or tweeter from the old Klipsch school of design. Efficient, a bit horn-ish and detailed, but certainly not good enough to justify the expenditure, especially considering the lack of bass.
I returned the E2C and would not consider another Shure product because every other earbud in their line is more expensive. I would consider paying up to $100.00 for a pair of earbuds with better bass than the $15.00 Koss model, with slightly better detail in the midrange and highs, and/or better isolation. I purchased a pair of Sony MDR-EX51LP for about $50.00 at Best Buy, and they are going back to the store. They have no better midrange or highs, less bass, and less isolation than the Koss. I also just spent about an hour at the Bose store listening to their $100.00 earbuds. They have excellent, natural sound quality, but they have no isolation qualities and do not play loudly enough to justify their price. (This is not the primary consideration, but I listen to a lot of quiet music, and without isolation I'm not convinced the Bose would play loudly enough to be heard over the rumble of an airliner.) I intend to listen to some of the higher-end Koss models, up to and including their $100.00 retail model, since I have been so impressed with their $15.00 model. I do not work for Koss, or any other stereo equipment manufacturer, I listen to everything from acoustic solo violin and solo vocals to hip hop and metal. Good luck!
Customer Review: Hack your Shure Earphones!
Summary: 4 Stars
My husband, knowing that I have a hard time finding earphones that fit me right, was kind enough to buy me a pair of Shure E2c for my birthday. The sound is great, and I'd consider myself well qualified to make that judgement since I've been working in professional theater for over 10 years. But I was terribly disappointed when I gave myself an ear ache on my first day of wearing them just trying to get the damned things to stay in my ears. Now, as I said I have always had a hard time buying head and earphones that fit right and sounded good to me. So this was nothing new . And I know that many of the reviews of this product say that you will "get used" to the feeling after a week or so. Well I don't consider "getting used" to something that gives me an ear ache to position to be a good long-term idea for my hearing!
Rather than giving up and returning the earphones, my husband encouraged me to explore ways to make them work for me. A little hunting showed me to a website for a tactical military supply company that sells replacement earpieces for their communications devices. They looked like the right fit, so I ordered 2 pairs and had them shipped 1-2 day air.
When they arrived, I excitedly tore into the express package and fished them out, these little things were what I'd paid for? Tiny, flexible gel material in a transparent flesh-color. I fished out my Shure E2c earphones and carefully shoved the eartubes into the appropriate slot in the earpieces. I carefully oriented them and slipped them into my ears. Then I plugged them into my computer and booted up iTunes. I selected one of my favorite pieces of reference audio material, the "Lacrimosa" from Mozart's Requiem. After years in and out of dozens of theaters, I know exactly what this piece of music is supposed to sound like on an EQ balanced sound system, that's why its one of my favorite pieces of reference audio. Mozart filled my head and I gave a vigorous shake. The earpieces didn't budge.
I can now heartily recommend to anyone out there a pair of Shure E2c earphones. And if you happen, like me, to have a miserable time getting any form of earphone to stay in your ear, go to [...] and buy a pair of the replacement earpieces for their tactical communications devices to go with your earphones. You'll be thankful and will finally enjoy a GOOD pair of earphones!
Customer Review: Very Nice, Accurate Reproduction.
Summary: 4 Stars
Fairly flat, wide response. These headphones sound great, even stunning on good music sources. Sound isolation is exceptional, but this can be a problem if you need to hear something other than your music. Bass is wonderful, if they are fit properly.
Fitting these takes some practice and patience. New owners of the Shure e2c need to understand exactly how to install them into their ears. There is a learning curve, but once one understands how they work, one will finally hear what all the hoopla is about.
First, the black phone goes in your right ear, not the left (as the manual says). Second, the wires should be draped over the ear from behind so that the earphone is "upside down". Then, using the smallest soft ear fitting that fits snugly, screw the phone into the ear canal while gently pushing the earphone's body into the cavity in the outer ear. This makes for the best isolation, a huge bass increase, and the most comfort. It also reduces considerably noise microphonically transmitted through the wires from rubbing against your body or clothes. The reward is astounding sound, better than any ear bud I've heard and better than many full sized earphones of similar price.
The down side? Well, these do take some getting used to. Some people won't like them shoved into their ear canal. They do exert pressure on the ear canal, even with the smallest soft rubber inserts (which is what I use). The most difficult tips for me was the foam inserts which require you to compress them before inserting them. It was hit and miss. The worst fit for me was the rather hard clear gels which just didn't fit my small ear canals. Practice makes perfect.
Now, the only problem is that I'm now going to upgrade to the e3c's. I wish I had bought those first. But these e2c's are wonderful. I can't wait for my e3c's.
The worst design feature is the rugged, but quite rather thick wires. It takes some regular use before the wire near the phones begins to naturally curl around the back of the ear. Once that happens, comfort is improved and the earphones are effectively invisible, especially if you have long hair.
Highly recommended, except for those who might find the smaller, better, and much more expensive Shure e3c's a better value.
I'm reserving the 5 star rating for the e3c's.
Customer Review: Worth your money? Possibly.
Summary: 3 Stars
I purchased the Shure E2C after hearing many positive reviews on the product, and decided it was time to upgrade my recently stolen iPod earphones. While the E2C is a great replacement to anyone's iPod earphones, the overall sound clarity is not impressive unless plugged into an amplifier (preferably a headphone amp.)
On comfort: Because we all have differently shaped ears Shure offers 3 types of sleeves for the earphones: foam, silicon, and plastic. This was well appreciated, as it took some experimenting to find out which sleeve fit best for my ear. After finding the best fit these earphones fit snugly and comfortably, and block out nearly all outside noise.
The protective case is good quality and keeps the headphones protected inside a shell of hard plastic. Here's a tip: slide the plastic cord sleeve all the way up to the top of the headphones before putting them inside the case. It will prevent the cords from getting yanked loose from the earphones if you happen to wrap them too tight.
As a general rule one must allow one or two weeks of use before being able to tell the full quality of a pair of headphones, and in the first two weeks of use I fully expected my E2C's to "break in". This did not happen quite to my expectations.
When plugged into an amplifier (like a stereo receiver or headphone amp) these little buds perform beautifully. They have crisp well defined highs, robust and clear mids and smooth yet powerful bass. Put these little earbuds in at home and the world just melts away.
When plugged into a portable device (like the ipod) the performance of these earbuds falls somewhat short of their pricetag. The highs are still clear but the mids are recessed, and the lows are virtually non-existent.
I consider earphones to be a device to be used in environments where background noise must be cancelled or blocked out, like the gym or an airplane. Why, then, are these earphones unable to perform when not plugged into an amp, a device generally kept in the home?
The bottom line is that the Shure E2C is a quality headphone that fits comfortably in your ear, but does not perform well in situations without an amp. In my opinion for $99 there aren't many other earbud style headphones that can compete, but nevertheless be SHURE of what you're buying, hehe.