Hi.

I had a pair of shure e3cs.

the wire got messed up a couple of times. As a studio gear tech it wasn't difficult to just put a new jack on. Eventually they got all bent up and messed up right at the top.. and the wire really doesn't appear user replaceable at all at that point. Since to wear them you wrap the wire around your ear I am not surprised at all that the thin wire eventually became intermittant, felt weak at that point, and stopped working.

On a 2nd pair, the tip where the earpiece attaches to, being plastic, cracked off.

So I got the etymotic ER4S.

On the first week the wire for the right side was messed up. I was going to send them in for warranty. I took the earbud off the cable and wound up losing it.

I'm pretty damned stupid.

I'm looking for a pair of headphones that suit the following.

a) WAY more durable than the e3c. if I can't replace the cable like on the er4s(that has a DETACHABLE CABLE), it'd better be damn good. at least at the points where it attaches to the headphone, since it's pretty impossible to get in there. when I cut it up I was surprised how ****ty the wiring is.. it's like hair.

b) does not have as much microphonics as the er4s. the e3c had them but not nearly as bad as the er4s.

c) has decent tips. none of the er4s stuff fit my ear. I wound up using E3c tips on them. They actually fit better on the etymotics since the er4s got big at the tip like a circumsized penis(I'm sorry I really can't think of a better analogy) so the tip fit on better. On the e3c, I'd often take the earpiece out of my ear and the rubber tip would be stuck inside. . shure also seems to care more about it fitting my ear since they supply so many sizes.

I like Alessandro MS1s. I like Thiel CS 3.6 speakers. I think the koss plugs sound like ****. That's my taste so far.

The E3c and etys I heard weeks apart. They sounded very similar to me, but I know audio memory sucks, so that's not a fair comparison.

I'm looking for something that fits the above that I can get used. durability is more of an interest to me than actual audio quality because after hearing the thiels at home I know nothing short of sitting in front of those is going to satisfy me, but having something that works for more than a year will definitely impress me.

I just want something of good quality that has some honesty of tone like the thiels and alessandros(I don't consider "clinical" to be "accurate"), where the music is louder than the wire rustling, where the earpiece is difficult to crack, where the tips fit my ears, with a wire that is either VERY VERY DURABLE or user replaceable.

and something i can get used for 200 or less. if the e4c fits the above, and i can find it on ebay for cheap, I'll take it, but since I've never tried them I have no idea if they do.

It's not because I'm cheap. The thiel setup with a decent amp and a D/A(that took me an hour to modify to get rid of the ****ty 4558!) cost over 2K. I'm realistic and understand that carrying this around 8-12 hrs a day, the cable somewhere will **** up and they'll be out of warranty, and will only be usable as a noose. So I don't want to pay over $200 since they won't last that long.

Thanks!

Perhaps one of the UE Super.fi 5 or Tripple.fi 10 provided you can get used to their fit (I couldn't). To me they seem pretty durable and they have detachable cables. I personally didn't have durability problems either with E4C or ER4 (other than the famous cracked tube every about 3 years)

Quote:



see this is what I'm talking about.

I repaired fostex T20 headphones from the mid 80s in a large studio, that excluding some slightly kludged internal wiring(from 25 YEARS of musicians kicking the **** out of them), worked perfectly.

Why should a pair of $200 'phones have a "famous" issue that occurs out of warranty?

Is this the expectation now?

That everything be disposable?

Sorry for the mini rant. I have had so many pairs of headphones but these, and portable players, that have gone for some reason or another. Don't get me started on the terribly weak solder jobs(if that **** is even solder) that keeps the jack attached to the PCB of the player...

but my cheap RCA walkman from 1997 is still here.

and my 5 year old alessandros are still here.

and my T20s.. are still here.

i had e4c once but a rattling driver forced me to return them a go a step higher

I don't think you will like E4C, UE SF5pro will be the better choice for you.

Anyway, There are lots of people don't like ETY's although they're great, including me.

Etymotics have replced my drivers twice in 6 years both times før just the shipping cost despite them being long out of warranty

Once if you insert the ER4S correctly it will absolutely annihilate the E3c in every aspect... Even the Lowerend ER6i model by some reviewers sounds close to the more expensive E3c...

The Ultimate Ears do have detachable cables, and u can also wear them over the ear style, or not which will make them stick out of your ears (unless you do some flip mod or something that i heard about)

do the er4p with a GOOD fit(NOT those garbage flanges and foamies, they can truly give one an IMPROPER IMPRESSION of that wonderful sounding headphone) rival the SE530 from shure? I see them going for $220-$250 used.

maybe a pair of er4p + the shure tips might be in order...

i see the e3cs get sold for $50 used often which is why they were an attractive choice. Since I got them almost four years ago new for $113 there is no way I will pay close to that now. IEMs are an evolving technology compared to other types of headphones, so a price drop as new and better come out is something I expect.

even if they DID break, they're cheap, and I know them. they had a very "stagnant" sound.. nothing really moved with them. no dynamics. but they were acceptable, as they fit well, and had a decent spectral balance compared to cheap junk.

the er4s with a good fit felt like the shures, but they moved more, perhaps at the risk of being a bit siblant. not around my ear, i mean dynamically. they did not feel constrained.

that story about the etys, nc8000, is very promising.

thanks again everyone for the input

i found a used pair of e3cs for $64

woot

now i get the tips that fit without having to buy them for etys

and i'll feel less bad when the cable/driver/enclosure dies in 9 months