[mariowar]

Well to my headphones are like women, either I like them when I first met them or...........................

It's been a long time since I was so excited about getting a new pair of headphones, well in this particular case earphones. The package arrived on time as always, thanks to Fed EX and Headroom, and the presentation was awesome......it had everything, plugs in different sizes, foams etc, and excellent catalog and of course the magnificentely built E2C, no complaints about it, they are engineer and built to last. Also they have good isolation, not as great as the Etys. I did not have problems with the fit even though I liked the plastic plugs (small size) better than the foamies they could be made of a better (softer) material, silicon maybe like the Sonys 70.

Ok, I tried them with different kinds of music, from Symphonic rock to metal, from blues to progressive rock, from hard rock to very detailed music and the results were the same the bass is as good if not a little bit better than the Etys 4P, believe or not it has plenty of impact. The mids are well balanced but here comes the problem, there's no high end in this earphones, sorry headroom when you said "very detailed highs".........the "s" sound in the vocals is terrible and muffled like my old vertical sonys mdr 34........the cymbals do not sound cristal clear either........I tested it directly from the Panasonic portable cd player and with my Total airhead, and I had no improvement at all, mainly due to the little roll off of the high frecuencies.......

I really think that Shure has to make a difference between this earphones ( E5C) and the upper models which surely have better high end sound but anyway, I won't ever pay more than 400 dollars for a pair of earphones......I'd rather to buy a pair of Etys P.... therefore I'll wait until they solve the microphonic cable inconvinient to consider them, because I need them for jogging and walking.

Conclusion, I'ts sad, I love how the earphones looked, how they did fit and the bass impact without being boomy at all.....but to me detail is the key to listening pleasure. Who knows I migh have got used to the Grado sound but I found the Sennheisers 590 and the Boses Triport with enough detail to love them. And also I found the Koss 50 great......

 

[nanahachi]

thanks for the review mariowar!

since theyres been talk about these recently, i appreciated another review of them, great timing on your behalf.

did you burn them in at all? can earphones burn in?

let us know if your impressions change or the performance changes

thanks again

 

[appar111]

Mariowar-
Try the E1's if you can get a good deal on them-- I think Guitar Center has them for $119.99. They sound very similar to the E2C except with more detail and clarity in the high end. I definitely prefer their sound (and fit) to the E2's...

 

[mariowar]

Nanahachi I don't believe in burning in headphones what I believe is that you just get used to them........The first time I heard my Grados 325 they sounded great right out of the box, same thing happened with my bose Troports. I am going to return them.

Appar, Well I'm so dissapointed with this earphones that I'm not sure if I will give them a try, let's wait until Headroom refund me the money...... thanks for the suggestion, by the way could you be a little more specific regarding the audible differences between the E2C and the E1C? I just checked Guitar center and they are 179 dollars!!!!

 

[appar111]

Mariowar-
I just bought a second pair of the E1's at Guitar Center today for $119.99. I think the list price might be $179, but you should be able to get them at a local store (hopefully there's one in your town) for the $119-- otherwise, that's quite the price hike online for them!

I heard the same things you did with regard to the E2's, the bass was there without being boomy, but the highs just seemed covered up somehow. The E1's to me sound like the "film" is taken off the E2's high end so they sound more natural. I don't find the E1's highs fatiguing at all, whereas they seemed alot more harsh with the ER6's (which has been well documented here on the boards). I think both the Shures and the Ety's have a more "analytical" approach to reproducing sound though, definitely a unique sound compared to other headphones.

I know some people on here will hate the Shures for no other reason than they "ripped off Etymotic". All I'm saying is that one shouldn't let their views towards a company influence their opinion of the sound of a particular set of cans. They are good sounding cans definitely-- in my opinion they sound much better than the ER6's (the E1's, I'm talking about here...) I'm not bashing the ER4's at all-- I'm sure they sound great, but the E1's are very competent in their own right.

appar111

 

[kikimus]

Sending my E2C's back today. I had them for about a week.

Regardless of what the Headroom profile says, these things have NO high end.

Bass is fine (slightly heavy for my taste, but not bad).

Mid-range is excellent.

High frequencies are non-existant. Cymbals, violins, etc, have no detail whatsoever. It sounds worse than muffled. It's muted completely. I tried different foamies, silicone (including the Ety E-20 plugs), different sources (Ipod, receiver + META42m, etc). Different music, nothing helped at all. I kept switching back and forth with my EX-70's, and couldn't beleive what I was hearing. The E2's certainly provide more isolation, and a more detailed, full sound in the low and mids, but the cut off high range make these phones unwearable for me. They are extremely tiring to listen to.

I really really wanted to love these headphones, the ergonomics are excellent, the case is nice, the fit is there....but it's all about the sound.

I ordered the ER-6's from Headroom today, so I have my fingers crossed.

If these don't work out, I think I will spring for the ER-4p's, but I get a bit nervous carrying $270 earphones around the world with me as I have lost similar stuff in the past. I also like the idea the 6's don't appear to stick out as much as the 4's, so if I sleep with them on, I won't poke my brain if I roll (hopefully my wife will wake me if there is a fire

)

Maybe I'll buy both and just use the 6's for travelling. My fear is that I would never touch the 6's after using the 4p's, oh well.

P.S. Not sure if I buy the "burn in" thing or not, but just to be sure, I did run them on 85% volume from my Ipod in my sock drawer for 40 hours or so. No improvement to report however.

 

[mariowar]

Kikimus, as you have read in this thread I completely agree with you...... I already sent them back and I'm waiting for my refund to go to Guitar center and test the E1C, I hope this ones will have better detail in the high frecuencies.....
I think you went from one side to the opposite!!!! the E6 have excellent highs but NO BASS!!!!!...........See it's funny I tested the the koss 50s yesterday and they sound better than any earbud or earphone.....arghhh the problem is NO isolation......

 

[kikimus]

I have a guitar center right up the street. I might go up there and test them tonight.

Hopefully I'll be able to pick the best of the two.

 

[appar111]

or we could all save ourselves some money and just buy some MX400's--lol. I just got a couple pair of them today from an online store for under 9 bucks a pair, and they sound darned good! Kind of like the earbud equivalent of the Sportapros. They are a bit of a tight fit as far as earbuds go, but other than that they are a real bargain for the money! Good luck with finding the E1c's-- if by some chance you aren't able to find them, you can contact me and maybe you can buy one of my pairs (just saw my credit card bill yesterday-- eeek!) Definitely use the foamies with them though-- I A'B'ed the foamies versus the rubber tips, and the foamies sound much better, easier to get and keep a seal, and they're disposable so when they start getting dirty you can pitch them and grab some new ones.

thanks!
appar111

 

[kikimus]

Gonna wait until I get my ER-6's and give them a shot first. Guitar Center didn't have the E1-c's.

Also, Westone sells the identical product (Westone owns Shure I think) from what I understand, and it's $99. It also comes in clear as well as opposed to the pink version. It's called the UM-1 or something like that.

 

[Shure Guy]

Quote:

Originally posted by kikimus Also, (Westone owns Shure I think)

FYI and LOL, Westone does not own Shure.
Shure is a 77-year old, privately owned, family business.

Here's a link to company history.
(Yes, I work for Shure

)

More rumor-throttling to come...

 

[appar111]

hmmm, either way, do you happen to know if the UM-1 is an E1 clone? They look exactly alike, and I love the E1, but man, if I could get it in clear as opposed to the flesh color, awwww yeah!

 

[kikimus]

Quote:

Originally posted by Shure Guy FYI and LOL, Westone does not own Shure. Shure is a 77-year old, privately owned, family business.

Ok, so I was misinformed

seriously, tell those dudes at GuitarCenter to get off the hookah and get your stuff in stock, even though the E2C's didn't work out for me, I look forward to checking out the E5's.

The E2C's design and build quality is top notch, they just weren't for me.

 

[ssblood]

So Shure Guy.... what kinda deal can I get on those e5s... I could be a walking billboard you know...

 

[Shure Guy]

My, what an active little group! Please note that I tend to lurk rather than post, and intend to keep it that way for the most part. (But the Westone comment was too much.

)

appar111 -- Sorry, but keeping up with Westone's offerings isn't my dept. The form factor looks the same, but not knowing what's driving it (and having never heard it), I'm not authoritative re your query.

kikimus -- If I could get Guitar Center to stock what I think they should stock, I'd be a hero around here. But again, that's not my dept.

ssblood -- For now, you'll need to search retail. In general, to find the E5, you need to find a music store that stocks Shure PSM personal (in-ear) monitors.

General rule of retail -- If you ask for it, they will get it in stock for you.

Some links:
Shure Earphones microsite -- for info on Shure consumer earphones.

Shure Technical Support-- to research anything Shure-related. Includes Q/A facility with real applications engineers for anything not found in our database of solutions.

Hope that helps. Oh, and for the record, I'm...

-Jack Kontney
Director, Public Relations
Shure Incorporated