[rgoodnight]

I admit I am spoiled by my K1000, but ...

I just bought a pair of E3s because I sometimes I want to mask outside sounds (e.g. when traveling/hotels/loud tv watching by other family members, ...)

I am VERY disappointed with this product on 3 key fronts:

1) Outside noise reduction - pretty pathetic compared to regular foam ear-plugs - not even close. I could hold regular conversations with these on. I did try all the adapters and I know how to put plugs in my ears (I have been doing so since I got married some 20 years ago because my lovely wife snores.)

2) Comfort - They are painful to wear, the inside of my ears feels raw. And, again, I have been wearing ear-plugs each and every night for 20 years, I am used to having stuff in my ears.

3) Sound - I did not give them a chance to break-in, but to say that the highs are "a bit rolled off" as I read in some review is WAAAAY too kind - there are no decent highs. My stock iPod buds sound better than these.

I can't believe that there are people on this forum that found them to be an acceptable product, let alone a good one.

Randy

PS I am sorry if it sounds like venting, but I am a bit upset because the store where I bought them (Guitar Center) has a no return policy on IEM - something I understand and understood when I bought them, but I never expected the fit to be bad (and painful) given that so many people like them.

 

[mypasswordis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rgoodnight I admit I am spoiled by my K1000, but ... I just bought a pair of E3s because I sometimes I want to mask outside sounds (e.g. when traveling/hotels/loud tv watching by other family members, ...) I am VERY disappointed with this product on 3 key fronts: 1) Outside noise reduction - pretty pathetic compared to regular foam ear-plugs - not even close. I could hold regular conversations with these on. I did try all the adapters and I know how to put plugs in my ears (I have been doing so since I got married some 20 years ago because my lovely wife snores.) 2) Comfort - They are painful to wear, the inside of my ears feels raw. And, again, I have been wearing ear-plugs each and every night for 20 years, I am used to having stuff in my ears. 3) Sound - I did not give them a chance to break-in, but to say that the highs are "a bit rolled off" as I read in some review is WAAAAY too kind - there are no decent highs. My stock iPod buds sound better than these. I can't believe that there are people on this forum that found them to be an acceptable product, let alone a good one. Randy PS I am sorry if it sounds like venting, but I am a bit upset because the store where I bought them (Guitar Center) has a no return policy on IEM - something I understand and understood when I bought them, but I never expected the fit to be bad (and painful) given that so many people like them.

You're not gonna want to hear this, but... sounds like you need some Ety's

I suppose you could always sell the E3's on the F/S forum we have here...

Ety's are definitely better at noise reduction (I can't hear much of anything at all) and highs. Although some people say Ety's are more uncomfortable than other brands but I wouldn't know, because I'm fine with them and have nothing to compare to. If your wallet doesn't want to take too much of a hit, definitely try the Altec Lansing im716's on amazon.com. They're having one hell of a sale, only 80 bucks for SQ that approaches the Ety ER-4s. You probably might even gain money because the E3's cost so much more new

 

[MD1032]

It sounds like you might need some more time with these, and some aggressive burn-in. Or at least, that's what my E2c's needed. Also, what kind of tips have you tried? I personally recommend the foamies for isolation, but for an on-the-go easy seal, the soft black sleeves can't be beat.

 

[RedLeader]

I'm a mite confused, if you're using foamies, how is that any different from foam plugs? They should be the exact same, at least thats been my experience

 

[The_Duke_Of_Eli]

Something must be wrong with your fit if you can hold a normal conversation with them in. Also the isolation is better with music on because there's something else to drown out the noise to the isolation is almost complete. Give them some more time. My E3s hurt my ears for a bit but I got used to them before I sent them off.

 

[TheMarchingMule]

Aye yup, Ety's may be the ticket.

Or...dare I say it...ah, what the heck, this is head-fi after all

: CUSTOM IEM!!!

*dun dun DUUUN!*

 

[Zephyron]

Personally, I don't think the E3 burns-in due to their armature driver design (but I believe IEMs and semi-canals that use dynamic drivers do burn in tho), and yes, the E3 has very rolled off highs that will stay that way until the end of its life.

As regard to the comfort, its highly dependant on what tips you are using. I did not like any of the default given tips with my E4g, so I modified its nozzle to fit the Ultimate Ears SuperFi series bi-flange. More comfortable, isolating up till Ety standards (st least the ER6i, I have never tried the ER4 before).

 

[warpdriver]

For sound isolation, you should be using the foams, or the optional tri-flanges. With the foams, the isolation should be the same as using earplugs, and a bit less than that using the tri-flanges.

I do agree with you regarding the highs, the highs really are severely rolled off, and that made them nearly unacceptable to me for anything but pure vocal music. I did not find break-in to affect this.

Comfort is individual, but I could not get comfortable using any of the flex sleeves, the foams were quite comfortable to me, combined with the best isolation made them a non brainer to use.

I did find relative happiness in the ER4S, but it's still a severe compromise compared to full sized headphones.

 

[immtbiker]

Most foamies allow the human voice frequency pass through and that is a good thing in factories and airplanes.

I have the E4C and E5C's and the Ety ER4P's and I use the grey foamies from the Ety's on all the models (less than $20 for a bunch of pairs). They fit just right and make a better seal than the Shure yellow ones.

Bottom line with IEM's is, if you don't get a good seal, the headphone will not give you the proper response curve. The grey foamies are as comfortable as it gets. The rubberized flange tips hurt me. There might be a 2-3 comfort acclaimation period with anything new in your ear, so try and be patient and deal with it for long term gratification.

 

[LaBreaHead]

immtbiker -- I guess the question is, "Can the dark Etymotic foamies fit on the E3C?" I do notice that the Ety foamies are bigger and of a different consistency than the Shure yellow foamies ... but I haven't tried to put the Ety foam tips (rgoodnight -- Ety's with foamies are very comfortable, by the way) on the E3C's, as I seem to remember a thread at some time mentioning that they aren't compatible.

rgoodnight -- Well, you do mention right up front that you're spoiled. Many people (I'm one) go to Etymotics and Shures from bundled earbuds (most earbuds are diabolically uncomfortable ... not even factoring in the sound), bad bundled headphones and even Sony canal phones (which I think are a step up from most bundled earbuds, although certainly not Head-Fi material) ... so the difference seems incredible. For a true "headphone" person, IEMs must seem like a comedown in many ways.

Maybe IEMs aren't for you -- although I hope you find some that you like. I appreciate the portability and isolation, operating on the premise that most decent audio is an improvement on airplane noise, snoring spouses, etc.

 

[immtbiker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LaBreaHead immtbiker -- I guess the question is, "Can the dark Etymotic foamies fit on the E3C?" I do notice that the Ety foamies are bigger and of a different consistency than the Shure yellow foamies ... but I haven't tried to put the Ety foam tips (rgoodnight -- Ety's with foamies are very comfortable, by the way) on the E3C's, as I seem to remember a thread at some time mentioning that they aren't compatible.

If the E3C's have the same i.d. as the 4's and 5's, then yes. I've never had an opportunity to compare the shafts on the 3's to the 4's and 5's.
I guess I shouldn't assume. Good catch.

 

[lostbobby]

Quote:

Originally Posted by warpdriver For sound isolation, you should be using the foams, or the optional tri-flanges. With the foams, the isolation should be the same as using earplugs, and a bit less than that using the tri-flanges. .

+1 on 3-flanges, except you have to buy separately ($15 ). Pretty comfortable, and you can gross everybody out on the subway by licking them and inserting into ear. You can squeeze them and ooze out wax in public too.

 

[egokun]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rgoodnight 1) Outside noise reduction - pretty pathetic compared to regular foam ear-plugs - not even close. I could hold regular conversations with these on.

If the music isn't playing, it's no wonder you can hold conversations with IEMs on. After all, they aren't earplugs and you are supposed to hear outside noise if the music is off. But when the music is playing at a listenable volume, I don't think you can really hear what someone's saying to you. Also, some tips isolate better than others.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rgoodnight 2) Comfort - They are painful to wear, the inside of my ears feels raw. And, again, I have been wearing ear-plugs each and every night for 20 years, I am used to having stuff in my ears.

Again, these aren't earplugs. You should give yourself some time to adapt to them. It does feel strange and uncomfortable at first. BTW, are you pulling back your ear cartilage when inserting them? It's much more painful if you just force them in your ear canal.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rgoodnight 3) Sound - My stock iPod buds sound better than these.

You should definitely give them some more time. This is one of the most objectively rushed statements I've read on this forum.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rgoodnight I can't believe that there are people on this forum that found them to be an acceptable product, let alone a good one.

Maybe that's because...

Quote:

Originally Posted by rgoodnight I am a bit upset because the store where I bought them (Guitar Center) has a no return policy on IEM

That said, there's much better IEMs than Shure E3/c/g, but I've used them for quite a while and to me, they were a no-turn-back entry point in the realm of worthwhile portable audio.

 

[JMCIII]

I'm sorry for your experience with the E3c's. I guess headphones are the same as any other audio equipment - personal taste is still the biggest arbitrator. My pair work very well at sealing out noise, and are comfortable to wear. I used them on a cross country flight with no noise or wear problems.

Hope you find a pair of in-ear phones that work.