[insicor]

So I bought a pair of E3cs a couple years back, and they lasted about a year till the left ear stopped producing sound. Luckily the fine folks at Shure Canada let me upgrade to E4cs with no problem. Sent my busted pair in, got new ones back, and they work great no problem. But now i'm all paranoid about actually going out wearing my E4s. I had no problem with the E3s, but I didn't expect them to break so soon. I've had cheap $10 earbuds that lasted longer. How long do most people's expensive IEMs last for? I mean, if and when I decide to upgrade again, i'd expect them to last for more than a year.

 

[Varcharz]

Sometimes the filters just need to be cleaned (on ER-4Ps, at least) so perhaps nothing was actually wrong with your E3cs?

 

[insicor]

But would dirty filters cause sound to be reduced to barely audible overnight? I guess if the same problems happen with my E4s i'll try changing the filter.

 

[Varcharz]

Absolutely. I was on a flight back from Phoenix, AZ and my left phone just stopped, almost completely. Just got clogged is all.

 

[nc8000]

I had my first pair of ER4 for 3 years and after 2 years the stem cracked like so many have reported. I then sold them and bought E4C when they first came out and have had them for >2 years with no problems. Have just sold them as I have rediscovered my love for ER4 and can't understand why I ever sold them in the first place.

 

[lostbobby]

Quote:

Originally Posted by insicor /img/forum/go_quote.gif So I bought a pair of E3cs a couple years back, and they lasted about a year till the left ear stopped producing sound. Luckily the fine folks at Shure Canada let me upgrade to E4cs with no problem. Sent my busted pair in, got new ones back, and they work great no problem. But now i'm all paranoid about actually going out wearing my E4s. I had no problem with the E3s, but I didn't expect them to break so soon. I've had cheap $10 earbuds that lasted longer. How long do most people's expensive IEMs last for? I mean, if and when I decide to upgrade again, i'd expect them to last for more than a year.

I've had UM-2, ER4p and E4c for a couple years, all used heavily and #not# handled gently. The Shures have a crack in the rubber seal where the cable enters housing, which I don't consider a long-term problem. the other 2 pairs are pretty bulletproof, as far as i can tell. I had some super-fi 5 pros for a few months. They've definitely had build problems in the past (like a year and a half ago).

 

[jinx20001]

provided good care is taken they should come close to 5 years lifespan and more, regular cleaning and keeping in cases an so on should be done if you spend this much cash anyway

 

[jinx20001]

also balanced armatures are very sensitive and dont like being knocked about so care needs to be taken

 

[PiccoloNamek]

It all depends on how well the housing and cable are constructed. There probably isn't a very high chance the armature itself will fail unless subjected to extreme conditions. Properly taken care of, an IEM can last for more than a decade. There are some people who still have ER4s from when they first entered into the market in 1991.

 

[jterp7]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lostbobby /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've had UM-2, ER4p and E4c for a couple years, all used heavily and #not# handled gently. The Shures have a crack in the rubber seal where the cable enters housing, which I don't consider a long-term problem. the other 2 pairs are pretty bulletproof, as far as i can tell. I had some super-fi 5 pros for a few months. They've definitely had build problems in the past (like a year and a half ago).

QFT on the 5pros, my third set finally fixes the cracked housing issue they had..incidentally it was around the time the clear version came out..looks like some changes were made in the mfg process

they've been doing okay so far (1.5yrs)

it seems to me that the lower end models seem to be less susceptible to damage since usually those only have one driver and the same housing as the heavier dual or triple driver models. You would think they'd use a tougher housing considering the difference in mass/cost but they don't. Either way, with IEMs in general you really need to be careful with them if you want them to last

 

[tnmike1]

more than five years on my Ety 4p phones. No problems whatsoever, altho I do change filters and wash the eartips regularly

 

[mamboman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tnmike1 /img/forum/go_quote.gif more than five years on my Ety 4p phones. No problems whatsoever, altho I do change filters and wash the eartips regularly

you mean that you change the tiny filter inside the drivers? How did you remove them? thanks

 

[onvn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by insicor /img/forum/go_quote.gif So I bought a pair of E3cs a couple years back, and they lasted about a year till the left ear stopped producing sound.

Do you know if it's a problem with the actual armatures or cabling/joints/etc.??

 

[dimm0k]

I recently had to change out the filters for my Etys... the sound from one ear was lower than the other, but not that noticeable at first. As I was listening the left ear all of a sudden got muffled and changing out the filters fixed it.

 

[insicor]

Quote:

Originally Posted by onvn /img/forum/go_quote.gif Do you know if it's a problem with the actual armatures or cabling/joints/etc.??

I didn't actually find out, although I probably should've in retrospect.