[grandcross]

well, I'm only a audiophile padawan here, but my shure e3cs were heaven. the moment I recieved my shure e3cs, putting them into my iRiver and into my ears, I was immediately blown away (as being the first decent quality headphones I ever had). That was with the grey cover - I used the yellow foam and noticed a great amount of bass drawn in. EQed a bit on the iRiver, noticed an even larger increase in quality.

Now, whether I like it or not (and while I wait for my AKG 271s), I use my e3cs for everything. They instantly blow away my Sony MDR-CD180, which were closed headphones with headache-inducing bass. The bass is not nearly as harsh, even when EQed on the e3c. People did mention about it being bright - and yeah, I notice it a bit too. These are LOUD phones, it'd be a deathwish to bring my volume up even to 15/50 (iRiver) on one of my heavy metal songs (well, using the SRS WOW EQ - if it were the Bass EQ, itd be a different story). Then again, I've never been to a live concert, so I wouldn't exactly know about loud music. .

Overall, I've been enjoying my e3cs from the moment I got to listen to them. It was quite disappointing to hear that many people on these forums seem to not like the sounds Shure provides. The Etys do seem to get much more credit, after all...

 

[EdipisReks]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr Iriver Later I also tried the ER4, and though these did have the best detail I had ever heard, they too sounded still thin in comparison to the E3c (The ER4 had a good vacumm like sea)

if you are getting a vacuum effect then you aren't inserting them properly. that is most likely why you were getting thin sound out of the ER-4's. you have to equalize the pressure in your ear canals or you get thin, congested sound with the ER-4's.

 

[catscratch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CivicRydr I demo'ed both of them two not too long ago. The ER6s have NO bass. I say this because I came from EX71s and we all know what their known for. This leaves the thin sounding trebble very pronounced and at times hurt my ears. The detail was fantastic (coming from EX71s remember) and you can really hear the separation in the instruments. The E3cs was much better on the low end, though I like even more thump. I can't say that the mids are perfect. There is a hump in the mids, but they come out sounding clean, (on top of all the other sounds). When EQ'ed you can really clean things up and the E3cs sound great. Other points, when EQ'ed the ER6s still have no bass, the ER6s feel like they are going to break, the ER6s are hard to put on and at times painful due to the vacum created in your ear. I'm looking to get a pair of E4s when I can find them. Peace

This is exactly what a bad seal feels like and sounds like. Now, I have never been able to get a good seal with the tri-flanges, period. The foamies, however, work pretty well.

Every one has differently shaped ear canals. Trying one type of tip and then passing judgement on a canalphone's sound isn't a very good idea.

Yet another point in favor of the SR-001. They don't need any fussy insertion procedures.

 

[Mr Iriver]

Quote:

Originally Posted by EdipisReks if you are getting a vacuum effect then you aren't inserting them properly. that is most likely why you were getting thin sound out of the ER-4's. you have to equalize the pressure in your ear canals or you get thin, congested sound with the ER-4's.

I am almost sure the seal is not the problem, as I find I get pretty nice amounts of bass paired with the IRiver. THe bass in my opinion is still thin compared to that of shures, though more detailed, and still present enough. With a bad seal the bass goes almost completely away and the sound becomes I found becomes harsh so I don't think the seal was the problem.

 

[EdipisReks]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr Iriver I am almost sure the seal is not the problem, as I find I get pretty nice amounts of bass paired with the IRiver. THe bass in my opinion is still thin compared to that of shures, though more detailed, and still present enough. With a bad seal the bass goes almost completely away and the sound becomes I found becomes harsh so I don't think the seal was the problem.

it's not the seal in your case, it's the equalization of pressure. it palpably changes the sound. in a proper insertion, you should pull down on your earlobe after they are inserted so that air can rush back into the void left by the insertion.

 

[Emon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CivicRydr EQ'ed the ER6s still have no bass, the ER6s feel like they are going to break, the ER6s are hard to put on and at times painful due to the vacum created in your ear.

EQed they have no bass? What was your source, any amplification? Because I'm sorry, but that has NOT been my experience at all. EQed, the ER-6s can have tremendous bass. Granted it gets rather boomey when you go up too high, but just from my Audigy 2 -> ER-6 I get great bass. I have the bass up a notch or two in the Windows volume control, and the treble up about half a notch. Then in my EQ I have the treble slightly above the mids and the bass going up a bit too. The only reason I use the tonal control in the volume control is for tonal control away from Fubar. I don't use the crappy Audigy drivers, so for games and such the Windows tone control is fine.

Anyways I'm not saying you're wrong or anything, it could just be a YMMV depending on equipment, but I've found EQ and tone settings that get me great bass without sacrificing everything else. My mids are a little recessed but I like it that way with all my cans, especially since I don't have any high end source or amps yet.

I'll agree they're delicate, but never an issue for me since I treat my stuff so well, but in rigorous portable situations I can see it being a problem. As for the fit, did you try the foamies? The biflanges are like torture in my ear, my right ear moreso. I roll the foamies up tight, slide them in and they expand. Don't even need lubrication.

 

[Mr Iriver]

Quote:

Originally Posted by EdipisReks it's not the seal in your case, it's the equalization of pressure. it palpably changes the sound. in a proper insertion, you should pull down on your earlobe after they are inserted so that air can rush back into the void left by the insertion.

When I get the same type of (vaccum) seal with the shures using the soft flex sleeves, even then I find them to sound fuller than the etys in both bass, and mids. So fit/pressure may not be the problem. The Er4 are always more detailed, though the shures are always fuller sounding. I haven't tried the ER4 well amped though (that may make the make them sound fuller).

 

[dura]

I love my E3s!
But even though I was used to canalphones, it took me some weeks to figure out how to wear them, what tips to use and to carefully apply some EQ to make them match my taste.
But now, for portable use, I find them more then good enough to enjoy music, sometimes for 5 hours or more in one session.
Of course tastes differ, players differ, we have differnt music and different occasion on which we listen..

 

[ProleArtThreat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by EdipisReks it's not the seal in your case, it's the equalization of pressure. it palpably changes the sound. in a proper insertion, you should pull down on your earlobe after they are inserted so that air can rush back into the void left by the insertion.

I think a lot of people make the mistake of shoving the tri-flange tips in their ears too far and too forcefully. I remember not discovering how good my ER-6i's sounded until I switched over to the foam tips. Then I knew what a good seal sounded like. When I switched back over to the tri-flange tips, it was easier to figure out when I had a good seal and when I had "oversealed."

 

[appar111]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dura I love my E3s! But even though I was used to canalphones, it took me some weeks to figure out how to wear them, what tips to use and to carefully apply some EQ to make them match my taste. But now, for portable use, I find them more then good enough to enjoy music, sometimes for 5 hours or more in one session. Of course tastes differ, players differ, we have differnt music and different occasion on which we listen..

the thing is, I don't want to have to use EQ-- the phones should sound great without any EQ, and if I have to use EQ to make it sound good, then I wouldn't be interested in them... using EQ to enhance the sound, sure, but to have to use it to make them sound useable, ehhh, not interested.

I don't remember having a problem with bass on the ER6's at all when I used them before-- so long as I had a good seal. That and the fact that the detail was so great on them, it keeps you from noticing that they're not as bassy as other phones..