[Slingblayde]

I recently got with the times and bought a 1 gig I-Pod nano. I thought the earbuds sounded pretty decent, enough bass, not a lot of treble, but I can live with that. I bought it because I couldnt stand the endless barrage of commercials on the radio anymore, and I have a decent collection of MP3's to choose from.
I work in a machine shop that is kinda loud sometimes so I read some reviews on different sets of earbuds that go right in your ear. Every one that I read gave the Shure Ec3's rave reviews (Im not an audiophile so I dont really know good review sites, names, etc) I priced them out here in Canada, $250 bucks :-O
I priced them in Detroit, $179 at Circut City. Taking into account the value of the Canadian Dollar I decided to make a trip to Detroit to buy a pair thereby saving myself about 80 bucks even after paying the 8 bucks to cross the border and back.
Being the honest Canadian Taxpayer that I am, I bought them, threw out the packaging, stuck them in my pocket and drove back to Canada not telling the dude at the border what I bought (I pay ENOUGH taxes, I wasnt paying MORE taxes on these)
To my dismay they sounded HORRIBLE!?!? There was absolutely NO bass. The stock earbuds sounded better, I couldnt believe it. I tried every tip they came with and still very little, to no bass. I even had friends listen to them and they couldnt believe how bad they sounded. I placed them lightly in my ear, I buried them, I tried every possible combo but still nothing.
I have an extremely wide musical taste, I have everything on my Ipod from Stompin Tom to Iron Maiden.
Is there anything I can do to get some bass? I love the way they fit, they help seal out the noise at work. They are comfortable, I just cant get over the lack of bass. If I cant get any bass response there will SURELY be a pair of barely used Shure Ec3's in the For Sale forum.

Any opinions or advice for a n00b would be much appreciated.

 

[InspectorGadget]

I have E3c's and love them! I am sorry to hear that you don't like yours. The reviews are so varied on all the IEM (in ear monitors) that its a hard decision to make as to which are best for you. But I have to say that I researched for a long time before buying mine and no matter what IEM you read reviews for your going to find people saying that they do not have bass. I think it is a nature of the beast. You get the isolation, but have to sacrifice some bass. I really bury mine in my ears and I am caught off guard sometimes with how much bass there is, but then I can go to the next song and think wow this has no bass. Its really different from song to song and player to player. Overall I am more than satisfied with my E3's. I bought mine on Ebay and the guy did not have the wax removal tool so Shure sent one to me for free no questions asked! They really stand behind their products.

So long story short....I hope that you give them a little more time and see if maybe you can find a set of tips that give you a good seal and good bass.


Tim

 

[MatsudaMan]

Sorry about your luck. I've heard them before and I personally don't like them. Does Ipod have eq? If so, crank up the bass. If not you might want to consider selling them on ebay or this site. They seem to be relatively popular around here. Good luck.

 

[ironman64]

Agreed. It it the nature of IEM's, but that price range, you could always post those for sale & grab a pair of EB's. Might not be as discreet as the Shures, but you'd likely have a better chance of some increased bass response.

 

[Meyvn]

I know you claim to have tried everything, and I do NOT mean to patronize you, but have you tried using the large foamies, compressing them strongly between your fingers, and then pushing them in as far as they will go without hurting or anything? I ask because this is the only way I've had good luck with IEMs, and it isn't very intuitive/common sense related. Just figured I'd suggest it. Personally I find my E2s to have plenty of bass.

 

[flamerz]

I know it's hard to do with E3's, but perhaps you're getting an improper fit?

 

[MatsudaMan]

Quote:

Originally posted by Meyvn "I know you claim to have tried everything, and I do NOT mean to patronize you, but have you tried using the large foamies, compressing them strongly between your fingers, and then pushing them in as far as they will go without hurting or anything? I ask because this is the only way I've had good luck with IEMs, and it isn't very intuitive/common sense related. Just figured I'd suggest it. Personally I find my E2s to have plenty of bass."

I'm sure the poor guy didn't expect to have "to compress foamies and stick them in as far as they go" just to get a little bass. If he wants bass, he should sell them and get some Ultimate Ears.

 

[feh1325]

my first impressions with the e3g were the same as yours. i was very disappointed but wanted to give them time. they'll grow on you when you appreciate the sound signature

 

[mlarn]

Check the manual/website, and make sure you have them inserted deeply enough into your ears. If they are not in there correctly all IEM's will sound very badly.
Good luck!

 

[MatsudaMan]

Stick them in as far as they'll go - when you feel a sharp pain (the foamies rubbing directly against your eardrum), you'll know you've gone just a little too far.

 

[JLai]

I had the same impressions as you when I first got mine. You'll learn to like the e3c's over time, but the bass doesn't get much better. After I got my Super.Fi's, it was like night and day. You might want to give those a shot.

 

[Slingblayde]

Yes Mevyn I tried the foamies also, I usually wear foam earplugs at work and they are very similar to the foam tips on the Ec3's. I think I am getting a good seal with just about all the tips, (I can feel the pressure of the seal, almost like my ears are popping)
I was wondering if I modded the tips a bit, maybe clip a tiny bit off the backside of the rubber tip so it slides on the end of the earpiece a bit more, bringing the end of the actual earpiece closer to the end of the rubber tip and therefor a little deeper in my ear without actually burying it?

Would this do anything?
I'd rather not chop up the tips if I end up selling them tho. I doubt anybody would want them if the tips are all carved up.

Would buying the next model up of the Shures sound better? Anybody have any similar style IEM's or earbud style they can recommend? Im not looking for skull pounding bass, but a little more would be nice.
I did try the EQ Bass Boost setting on the Ipod, but it still didnt sound very good, I found the best sounding EQ setting was Rock, or Hip Hop.

And Thanks for the info and opinions to everyone who replied.

 

[Turner_Brown]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Slingblayde Yes Mevyn I tried the foamies also, I usually wear foam earplugs at work and they are very similar to the foam tips on the Ec3's. I think I am getting a good seal with just about all the tips, (I can feel the pressure of the seal, almost like my ears are popping) I was wondering if I modded the tips a bit, maybe clip a tiny bit off the backside of the rubber tip so it slides on the end of the earpiece a bit more, bringing the end of the actual earpiece closer to the end of the rubber tip and therefor a little deeper in my ear without actually burying it? Would this do anything? I'd rather not chop up the tips if I end up selling them tho. I doubt anybody would want them if the tips are all carved up. Would buying the next model up of the Shures sound better? Anybody have any similar style IEM's or earbud style they can recommend? Im not looking for skull pounding bass, but a little more would be nice. I did try the EQ Bass Boost setting on the Ipod, but it still didnt sound very good, I found the best sounding EQ setting was Rock, or Hip Hop. And Thanks for the info and opinions to everyone who replied.

I'm having the same issue as you with the e4's...so I don't think upgrading to the next model will solve your problems.

 

[fongalv]

Ive never had problems with the bass of mine...I guess its your preference of a more bassy sound signature...

 

[Iron_Dreamer]

Someone trade the poor guy for a set of EB's!