[Canuck57]

I have a pair of Grado SR-225s for use in my home and I'm VERY pleased with their sound. I recently bought Shure E3 earphones for more portable use and I'm VERY VERY disappointed with the thin bass response. I've tried all the various sleves, however, the bass is still very weak.

The E3s did NOT come with the Triple Flange Sleves, has anybody tried these sleves, and if so, do they improve the bass as a result of a better seal?

Is there a break-in period for these type of earphones? I've only had the E3s for a couple of days.

I've recently purchased two amps, a SuperMacro V3 & MapleTree Ear + (waiting to receive both), do E3s sound improve when amped?

 

[quackattack]

Hope this doesn't seem too obvous. Are you sure they are in your ear properly? Bass is very weak on canal phones unless you have a good seal. You may play with it to try and get it further in your canal.

I'm sure you have already tried this, but I thought it best to be sure.

 

[Jmmmmm]

Could be a few things:

As quack said, make sure you have a good seal. May be obvious, but it's very important.
After full-sized headphones, the e3c's (and most canalphones) may just seem light on bass. I thought the same of my e2c's, and they are supposed to have more bass than the e3c's. After using them for a few days, my ears/head got adjusted to the sound and the bass response seemed better. You aren't goign to get head-thumping bass out of most canalphones, though.
Try burning them in; it won't hurt anything. I think it's important for canalphones, but mostly psychological burn-in. I think with some use, your opinion will change.

In my experience, tri-flanges bring out the the treble and lessens the bass, though the bass becomes clearer. You 'hear' the bass more, as opposed to feeling it. However, if you want more bass, foamies are probably the best way to go. If someone else feels differently, please say.

 

[Cyclone]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Canuck57 I have a pair of Grado SR-225s for use in my home and I'm VERY pleased with their sound. I recently bought Shure E3 earphones for more portable use and I'm VERY VERY disappointed with the thin bass response. I've tried all the various sleves, however, the bass is still very weak. The E3s did NOT come with the Triple Flange Sleves, has anybody tried these sleves, and if so, do they improve the bass as a result of a better seal? Is there a break-in period for these type of earphones? I've only had the E3s for a couple of days. I've recently purchased two amps, a SuperMacro V3 & MapleTree Ear + (waiting to receive both), do E3s sound improve when amped?

Comming from a high end Grado will make your e3's sound like crap.

Canal phones like those do not burn in, but you will get more used to the sound.

Browsing www.headphone.com i can see that the bass improves quiet a bit on the er6i when amped, so i would think that amping your e3c's would help a bit at least. Dont hold out much hope for their bass, they're 100 dollar canal phones so you cant expect much compared to your grado's.

 

[kramer5150]

Yeah... thats just how they sound... Make sure youve got a good seal to the ear. not much else you can do. Maybe a little EQ? I have to EQ my e2cs. IMHO they sound flat and lifeless without it. I DONT like the sound of the e2c at all, but when I need max isolation, theres not much else in my budget. My $17 KSC75 pounds the snot out of the e2c, sonically... .thats just the way it is.

 

[root]

It's obvious that E3s are not the best in-ear monitors . However, they do have their break-in period (excluding the psychological one). Has anybody actually tried and compared a pair used for more than two months approximately and the brand-new model? Well, I have. There is a noticeable difference in the way they sound. There sure is.

 

[allenf]

Quote:

Originally Posted by root It's obvious that E3s are not the best in-ear monitors . However, they do have their break-in period (excluding the psychological one). Has anybody actually tried and compared a pair used for more than two months approximately and the brand-new model? Well, I have. There is a noticeable difference in the way they sound. There sure is.

I guess that if everybody repeats 100 times the received wisdom that "Balanced Armature Drivers Do Not Burn In" then we will all believe it to be true.

Anyone got a link to this proving it either way?

 

[allenf]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Canuck57 IThe E3s did NOT come with the Triple Flange Sleves, has anybody tried these sleves, and if so, do they improve the bass as a result of a better seal?

Tried 'em, but not for long.
Comfort (like sticking thumbs in ears) and SQ (like the length of the sound tubes w/trip flanges was curved in my ear canal - rolling off all the treble) was horrible for me.

I couldn't stand wearing them long enough to tell if the bass was improved - but I am happy with the bass with the standard mid-sized silicones anyway.

 

[root]

Quote:

Originally Posted by allenf I guess that if everybody repeats 100 times the received wisdom that "Balanced Armature Drivers Do Not Burn In" then we will all believe it to be true. Anyone got a link to this proving it either way?

Yes, I know that and earlier I was convinced to boot that there is no burn-in in such canalphones (I was influenced by this very site as well to think so). That was until I got a chance to compare the brand-new (unpacked) pair with my E3s. Guess it's the only way to check things out.

 

[1UP]

To OP what is your source for the E3Cs? I find the bass just fine myself, from an Iriver HP-120 with a bit of EQ to boost it

 

[elbastardocalvo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Canuck57 I have a pair of Grado SR-225s for use in my home and I'm VERY pleased with their sound. I recently bought Shure E3 earphones for more portable use and I'm VERY VERY disappointed with the thin bass response. I've tried all the various sleves, however, the bass is still very weak. The E3s did NOT come with the Triple Flange Sleves, has anybody tried these sleves, and if so, do they improve the bass as a result of a better seal? [/B]

I use the e3c's with ety tri-flanges and I find that both th ebass response and the clarity improved over all of the Shure pack-in options. Isolation is terrific as well. I highly recommend this option but, of course, YMMV.

 

[geardoc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by elbastardocalvo I use the e3c's with ety tri-flanges and I find that both th ebass response and the clarity improved over all of the Shure pack-in options. Isolation is terrific as well. I highly recommend this option but, of course, YMMV.

Me too; I use the E3's with ETY triflanges at work and sometimes don't hear
the telephone ring right next to me. I've got an 8dB boost at 55Hz on Foobar, rolling off to about 200Hz.

 

[BRBJackson]

Another vote for the Ety tri-flanges here. They're vastly less expensive than the Shure's PA755's, and don't have the annoying 'stem' on the mounting end (which plenty of folks end up cutting off anyway). Also, if you find that the smallest flange makes contact with your ear canal when fully inserted, you can just cut it off, leaving you with a duo-flange...

As for bass response, I do EQ my DAP a bit, and find both bass response and treble energy to be satisfactory through the E3's

 

[Canuck57]

Well I played around with the various sleves and finally managed to get a better fit and obtain a good seal, so the bass is much much better now. Between the improved seal and using the bass boost on my mp3 player they sound pretty good.

Thanks for all your comments guys!

 

[ZimbuTheMonkey]

Ok, I just got my E3s a few hours ago. I think I'm able to get a pretty good seal, but I need some confirmation, so I had a few Qs.

1. How easy is it to take out the earphones when a proper seal is achieved?
2. How much is plastic part supposed to stick out?
3. I can hear my teeth clacking, my feet dropping and at one point I heard my heart beat, is this a sign of success?

EDIT: I'm gonna try "burning-in" the 'phones by plugging them in my PC and letting my playlist run at medium volume, is that ok?