nabwong
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Jun 24, 2005
- Posts
- 2,916
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- 70
To celebrate my 1500th post, i purchased the Shure e4c. Actually i hate iems. But i've never heard the e4c. It was actually a strange coincidence that i decided to buy the e4c.
What led to the purchase
I was sending my gf off at Logan Airport, Terminal C. After all the mushy stuff, we said our goodbyes and she went in. Beside the security area, there was an electronics store. It sold a lot of accessories for cellphones but a rack full of shure products caught my attention. The sales person was really nice and came over to ask if i wanted to try any. TRY??? IN AN AIRPORT??? What the hell!!!
He said he had the e3c, e4c and e5c for trial. He personally has the e5c and he told me a new model e500 was coming out. He was shocked to learn that i've had the pleasure of listening to the e500s. Anyway, i proceeded to compare all of them. The e3c sounded dead. The e4c was a big improvement. The e5c i felt was too bright for my ears. Oh, i tried it with my ipod headphone out.
Background
About 6 months ago i bought the er4p and hated them. They just sounded too bright for my ears. Since then, i've listened to the super.fi pro, um1, um2 and e500. The e500 trumps all.
Fit
I have been playing with tips all morning. I've come to the conclusion that the foam tips work best for me. The best is brilliant. I'm clapping my hands as hard as i can in front of me and i can't hear anything. My hands do hurt now..lol. It is also more comfortable than the other tips. The reason is that my left ear canal is a different size than my right and i couldn't find the right size plastic tip. The foam one just follows the shape and size of my ear canal.
Sound
I was quite dissappointed initially with the sound. I have been using my cx300 for a couple of months and when i listened to the e4c, i felt the bass was missing, not as bad as the er4p though. It was strange and i think this is relative. At the airport, i was going from the e3c to the e4c and that felt like a big improvement in bass. But coming from the cx300, the e4c felt like it was missing bass.
Anyway, i began playing with the eq on my ipod video. After about 30mins of comparing, i picked the "rock" setting. On the itunes eq setting, this means the mids are the same but the bass and highs are boosted a little. Suddenly the e4c came to life. There was more bass but still really really tight. I like a lot of slam and not muddy bass and lively smooth highs. My reference for that is the RS-2. To me, that's the perfect bass and perfect fun cans. The e4c with the Rock eq setting sounds like the RS-2 with isolation. PERFECT.
When listening to Dream Theater's As I Am, the speed/attack of the articulation is amazing. The e4c is so clear even during pass sections. I can hear Jake Shimabukuro's amazing strumming technique and it doesn't sound like a mash of sound. The slightly variation of stroke can be heard.
The e4c is great for jazz. The articulation is crisp and the insturment seperation is unbelievable for iems. I've heard things i've never been able to hear before because of the isolation. It's quite incredible. The tone of the instrument is very accurate too.
In conclusion, i'm amazed by the e4c even though i had to use the eq. Not a big deal for me. I'd like to thank the sales person at Logan Airport for letting me try them. I think i'll go back and purchase some foam tips from him when i fly back to Singapore this thursday.
Edit: Forgot to add that i'll be flying twice this summer. That justifies this purchase
What led to the purchase
I was sending my gf off at Logan Airport, Terminal C. After all the mushy stuff, we said our goodbyes and she went in. Beside the security area, there was an electronics store. It sold a lot of accessories for cellphones but a rack full of shure products caught my attention. The sales person was really nice and came over to ask if i wanted to try any. TRY??? IN AN AIRPORT??? What the hell!!!
He said he had the e3c, e4c and e5c for trial. He personally has the e5c and he told me a new model e500 was coming out. He was shocked to learn that i've had the pleasure of listening to the e500s. Anyway, i proceeded to compare all of them. The e3c sounded dead. The e4c was a big improvement. The e5c i felt was too bright for my ears. Oh, i tried it with my ipod headphone out.
Background
About 6 months ago i bought the er4p and hated them. They just sounded too bright for my ears. Since then, i've listened to the super.fi pro, um1, um2 and e500. The e500 trumps all.
Fit
I have been playing with tips all morning. I've come to the conclusion that the foam tips work best for me. The best is brilliant. I'm clapping my hands as hard as i can in front of me and i can't hear anything. My hands do hurt now..lol. It is also more comfortable than the other tips. The reason is that my left ear canal is a different size than my right and i couldn't find the right size plastic tip. The foam one just follows the shape and size of my ear canal.
Sound
I was quite dissappointed initially with the sound. I have been using my cx300 for a couple of months and when i listened to the e4c, i felt the bass was missing, not as bad as the er4p though. It was strange and i think this is relative. At the airport, i was going from the e3c to the e4c and that felt like a big improvement in bass. But coming from the cx300, the e4c felt like it was missing bass.
Anyway, i began playing with the eq on my ipod video. After about 30mins of comparing, i picked the "rock" setting. On the itunes eq setting, this means the mids are the same but the bass and highs are boosted a little. Suddenly the e4c came to life. There was more bass but still really really tight. I like a lot of slam and not muddy bass and lively smooth highs. My reference for that is the RS-2. To me, that's the perfect bass and perfect fun cans. The e4c with the Rock eq setting sounds like the RS-2 with isolation. PERFECT.
When listening to Dream Theater's As I Am, the speed/attack of the articulation is amazing. The e4c is so clear even during pass sections. I can hear Jake Shimabukuro's amazing strumming technique and it doesn't sound like a mash of sound. The slightly variation of stroke can be heard.
The e4c is great for jazz. The articulation is crisp and the insturment seperation is unbelievable for iems. I've heard things i've never been able to hear before because of the isolation. It's quite incredible. The tone of the instrument is very accurate too.
In conclusion, i'm amazed by the e4c even though i had to use the eq. Not a big deal for me. I'd like to thank the sales person at Logan Airport for letting me try them. I think i'll go back and purchase some foam tips from him when i fly back to Singapore this thursday.
Edit: Forgot to add that i'll be flying twice this summer. That justifies this purchase
