[tomek]

Hey guys,

A couple years back I bought a pair of Shure E4 ear canal headphones. Although a little thin on bass, I was happy with them while they worked. Last year the left channel began intermittently cutting in and out. Fiddling with the cable helps to restore the sound, but it's a constant pain. Now the right channel has begun doing the same. I contacted Shure and the response I got was a list of repair prices, basically costing as much as buying replacements.

Recently I met another fan of Shure headphones, and he told me, "I love these things, but this is my fourth pair. They keep breaking."

Now I realize that anecdotal evidence isn't terribly useful, but does anyone have any information on the reliability of Shure's products, including their new line? I need to replace these headphones but I'm not willing to buy another product that I will need to replace a couple years down the road.

If so, could someone recommend a product from another company?

 

[kelvinz]

my e4's have frayed a little where the wire meets the headphone after 4 years, my SE530's are just fine

 

[scytheavatar]

If built quality is your concern you might want to consider the Westones and the Etys, both are well known for their terrific built quality.

 

[Juaquin]

My E2Cs long ago had a wire break inside the earbud itself, right outside of the 2 year warranty

However, I think these are a few isolated incidents. Overall their quality seems pretty good.

 

[Daetlus]

I have had E3s for over two years now. They work great, and I treat them harshly, as I carry them pretty much everywhere I go, and listen to them about 8 hours a day. I could not have asked for more from them.

 

[qusp]

it is not uncommon even with the new products for the cables to fail. I have a new model SE530 (the ones that are supposed to not have a cable issue) on my SE530 I thought I was immune and used to defend the SE530 cable against all the people that would always bring up the cable issue. now, 6 months later and first my PTH unit's cable failed; I didnt bother to RMA it because I had just bought the shure iphone adapter...... which also failed both near the mini plug and audio would cut out. I then made my own jena labs cryo copper extension cable (from the Y split to amp) with some resistors to add impedance for use with my pico. and now a few weeks ago the strain relief at the actual IEM seperatyed fro the housing and also started to tear a bit, so it wouldnt be long before that fails in a terminal way. I look after my stuff with these I wiped the cable down with warm mild soapy water almost every day and also rubbed armorall into the rubber to help keep it supple. so now I have joined the people that talk about cable issues with SE530 and accessories. and I have RMA's them and exchange them for IE8. I already have been usng my W3 more often anyway, but it was nice having them as backup and for when I felt like rocking out. I find the SE530 better for rock than W3. I wasnt willing to just get another pair and then have that one fail on me later on and another and another until I didnt have any warranty left; which is a common enough story on here. its just a pity that the IE8 is so pricey at earphonesolutions, I still have to pay shipping and an extra $160USD to upgrade. I can get the IE8 here in OZ for $360AUD which is about $240USD and after cartage I will spend almost $200USD to exchange.

anyone want to buy an RMA'd pair of SE530 with 1.5 years of warranty left

might be a better idea, then I can just buy the IE8

 

[maxfazer]

Very good brand

 

[csroc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Juaquin /img/forum/go_quote.gif My E2Cs long ago had a wire break inside the earbud itself, right outside of the 2 year warranty However, I think these are a few isolated incidents. Overall their quality seems pretty good.

I can't remember exactly what was happening but I had audio cutting out on my first pair of E2cs. I was still within the warranty period so I got them replaced for free and still have the replacement set which work fine after another two years or so.

 

[Quaddy]

do shure do full size cans?

anyhoo, my shures were ok, but i could tell they were gonna go soon. i guess thats why they have to have such good customer service!

 

[tomek]

I think I'll give the Westones a chance. Thanks guys.

 

[Uncle Erik]

I've had a pair of e3cs for about four years now. I take them all over and still haven't had a problem with them.

 

[Philski]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Quaddy /img/forum/go_quote.gif do shure do full size cans?

No.

I bought a pair of E500s nearly two years ago. After a few months, they lost all volume in one channel, returned them, and was sent a brand new pair of SE530s. Those, and their replacements, also failed with the same problem. Now, with just a couple of months of my warranty period left, my fourth set of Shures have failed - exactly the same problem.

If the replacements last beyond March, I won't be able to return them for a free replacement, as the two year warranty only relates to the original purchase date, regardless of how many times they might have been returned. So, when they fail, I think I might be shopping around for something different!

 

[Quaddy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Philski /img/forum/go_quote.gif No.

are you shure?

ok i thought so, i thought maybe they did as this is in the fullsize headphone section

thanks for clearing that up.