great sound

Bigger than E3c. Price.

Better than the E3C for the money. I bought both at Best Buy at the same time. About a $100 diff in price. I listened to the same songs with both, many, many times. I noticed they definately sounded different, but the E3Cs did not have as much bass and deaper tones, while the E2Cs sounded fuller on the low wnd of the spectrum. I fiddled around with some of the EQ settings and came to the conclusion that the E3s sounded more "tinny" and were slightly better at the high treble end, while the E2s were better at the low end and thus sounded more complete overall. I do not hesitate returning the E3s, although they did look nicer and were smaller.

Good isolation

I generally found the earphones to be comfortable and have not problem wearing them for hours. As you would expect, they were not as comfortable to the Grados but that is expected.

Treble is suppressed and can tend to be shouty in the upper mids.

A competent ear phone that is great for plane rides or when you just want to listen at reasonable levels when the environment is noisy.

One of the things that leads to fatigue on plane rides is that you have to increase the volume to overcome the din of the jet engines. These earphones should help that in two ways. 1) It is a decent headphone in terms of overall sound quality 2) It effectively blocks out sounds from the environment.

Comparisons:

My long time reference headphones are the Grado SR-60s. I have lived with these headphones for over 5 years. In this comparison, the source is a Sony SCD-775 5 disc carousel capable of SACD playback. However, in this comparison I have only played back redbook discs as my favorite music is on CD.

I will comment on the SCD-775 being warm in overall balance but very very revealing in the mids. Compared to the SACD Mods version which I also owned at one time, it is not as revealing nor as strong in the bass. Presentation on the SACD Mods player was more lean.

The Grados have deep bass missing whereby Orchestral crescendos have imacpt but no weight like the fundamental is missing. The Shure E2C, however, went deeper and has good impact. A good demonstration of this is the Deutche Grammaphone 4d recording of Firebird Suite, track 13. The Shures dug pretty deep and had good impact and in terms of depth, bested the Grados easily.

Moving up the scale, the Shures have good midrange transparency which can make the sounds of different instruments easy to distinguish.

The weakest part of the spectrum for the Shures is the treble. The Grados show this quite clearly. What is missing from the Shure's is the shimmer of cymbals. More importantly, the "AIR" around performers is significantly reduced compared to the Grados. While it may seem insignifcant, this is the very thing that gives so much life to music. It gives that breath of life to music which makes it alive. To give an example, one of my favorite singers is Norah Jones. She is technically gifted although not a "belter" type singer (loud like Celine can be). On the other hand, she has very good emotional transmittal and has a very intimate voice. Part of the intimacy comes from the breathiness of her voice. Grados capture this aspect while it is lost on the Shures. It is also very evident on flutes and even guitar if you listen for it. A loss of sense of breath going through the flute as it is played. For the guitar, the reverberent field around the strings is lost.

Given a choice of either deep bass or clean extended treble, I will take the treble. Therefore, at home I easily reach for the Grados everytime.

On the other hand, the Grados are not nearly as portable nor can they match the Shures in terms of isolation.

I must point out that one of the reasons I picked the EC2s are the stable load it presents.

I am very interested to hear the Etymotic ER6is for comparison.

Similar Products Used:

Grado SR-60
Sony Generics
Apple IPOD Headphones

I had used earphones by Sony and the earbuds include with my Creative Zen Micro Mp3 player. The earbuds would not stay in my ears and I had to crank up the sound volume to hear at the gym over other noises. I was concerned about gradual hearing loss, so purchased these for 1/2 retail on Ebay. It took about 2 weeks of trying the different included attachments before figuring out which ones fit me best and how to properly insert them. You will know they are in right when you cannot hear most external noises, but hear your own breathing and voice as though you have completely plugged your ears with your fingers.
Once this was done, the difference was amazing. Deeper bass and clearer overall sound allowed the use of lower volumes. These stay in my ears well once inserted and the extra long cord is perfect for my 6'3 ht.

I takes a while to figure which attachments work best with your ears.

Great sound quality improvement over OEM phones.

Customer Service

Not needed yet, but website for Shure was very helpful.

Similar Products Used:

OEM earphones from my Creative Zen micro and Sony players.

Cuts out all outside noise at far under 50% volume Great clarity and bass Compact and portable Many earpieces to choose from

Can't hear people trying to get your attention Sometimes make me itch just a little Kind of pricy

These headphones work wonderfully. Just wearing them cuts out a lot of noise, and when you have music going it's amazing. My iRiver's volume goes from 0 to 40. At 3, I can't hear people talking from 4 feet away. At 6, I can't hear them talking loudly or almost yelling. At 10 or 12, I couldn't hear someone screaming at the top of their lungs at me from 3 feet away (it was a test). This is great when you want to be free from distraction, but can be annoying when you can't hear the phone or the smoke alarm or whatever. Also, my parents are starting to get pissed that they can never get my attention. I tell them to stomp on the ground a couple times, that works pretty well. I'm not sure I'd recommend these for someone who lives in the city, since you couldn't hear a car horn or anything. I love the sound quality. I can hear everything, and I constantly find new things in my music that I didn't notice before. It has wayyy more bass than any earbuds I've used before (obviously). I've never used any really nice headphones before, so I can't speak for people who really know what they're talking about, but for anyone who is sick of their iPod earbuds the E2's are amazing. They're very small and portable, however, the case that they come with is kind of hard to use. You have to wrap them around this little plastic thing and then zip it closed. I usually just put them in my sweatshirt pocket or leave them around my neck. They come with hard plastic earpieces, soft rubbery earpieces, and foam earpieces. The hard plastic was very uncomfortable to me, so I tried the medium soft ones, and they worked perfectly. If you look at the directions for a second, you see how to put them in and you should be able to get a good seal. I let 3 of my friends and my brother try the headphones with the medium soft earpieces, and they all got a good seal with no problem and were amazed by the sound quality and noise reduction. If you can't get the plastic ones to work, you can always use the foam, which you compress and then let expand until they fit your ear. They're pretty comfortable, except that after an hour or so one of my ears might itch a little bit or need a slight adjustment. It's a little hard at first to get the wires to stay behind your ears, which is where they go for more comfort and so they stay better. After a few days, though, the cord gets sort of shaped to stay there. I like the way you tell the left headphone from the right one: the right one is half black and half clear, and the left one is all clear. It sounds weird but it works. So, after using them for about a week, I can't believe I ever used lame earbud headphones and I will never part with these Shures.

Similar Products Used:

iPod and iRiver earbuds Some other crappy earbuds Some basic $20-$40 headphones

Seals out noise; compact

Sound; very muttled compared to high end cans

If I see one more person tout themselves as an audiophile because they have an IPOD I think I will explode. So many people on this forum list themselves as an audiophile when it is obvious that they have no idea what that actually is. With that said I guess I should have known better, and have read between the lines with these reviews. I am sure these are much better than stock IPOD headphones but they are in NO WAY audiophile phones. Now maybe I should not compare them to other open style headphones, but in my opinion sound is sound no matter what it comes from. These Shure's do not even sound as good as my 5 year old Grado SR60's ($60), not to mention my other high end Grados. I will however keep them for mowing my lawn and traveling on airplanes, as they do a good job of sealing out noises and I would assume keeping them in.

Similar Products Used:

Grado Sr60's, 325i's; RS2; Sennheiser HD590.

great sound,,,, easy to carry around, block out lots of noise,,, look pretty coooooool...

i've had some bass problems,,,, on really bassey songs,,.,, i get this wierd sound,,, and i've gotten it with other headphones before,,, and i dont know why it hahppens... if anyone knows please emaiml me at thetruesanta2004@yahoo.com thankz....

i have had the shure e2c headphones since christmas, at first they felt wierd and i didn't even wear them right,,, then i got to know them and they were aewsome....... they block out all noise and i can't hear my family talking and i use these during class whhile my teachers are talking ,,,,its cooool.... ther are not bulky and they are light and easy to carry around...... when you wear them you can't see them from a frontal view... so,,,, i would buy these...

Similar Products Used:

sony headphones

Quality from top to bottom. They have covered all the bases from the variety of plug sizes for fit and comfort, to the detailed instruction book, to the small carrying case...and obviously the sound. You can tell they specialize and take pride in their work.

Learning curve...show some patience and break them in.

After enthusiastically unwrapping my new purchase, tossing the instruction book aside, and jamming two rubberized nobs into my ear canal, i quickly plugged these babies into my iPod and thought i had bought the dissapointment of a lifetime. Lets start from the beginning... After the research I had done on earphones less than $150, I knew i had the product I wanted based on a quality/value decision. Everyone was touting these as an excellent upgrade from the stock iPod headphones (no kidding). I did some price shopping online and eBay strikes again with a 79 free shipping deal. So here we are back to my supposed dissapointment... I quickly realized that these earphones take time and patience to get the sound you want from them. I quickly noticed i had no seal forming in my ear canal, the rubberized plugs were not working out for me in any of the sizes, so i jumped to the foam...what a difference! At first i thought the sound was good, but the phones were still not quite comfortable, and they would not stay in my ears well. Finally, I cracked the instruction book open and there was the answer...pull your ear up and out to straighten ear canal, compress the foam with your fingers, hold for 10 seconds in ear to let foam expand, and voila...an excellent seal, fit, and they stay in great. The sound quality immediately increases once you've done this. Once you have this seal, the bass is immediately more pronounced, but not overpowering, the sound is very balanced. Play a few musically complex tracks and you will quickly notice the quality of these phones. The sound literally envelopes your mind and you enter a state of euphoria...no lies! I would imagine the other more expensive Shure products are even better, but for an immediate upgrade at a great price, you can't beat the e2C. Break them in, learn to use them, and they will not dissapoint...unless you have the e5's i guess....

Similar Products Used:

First phones of this design.

Sound quality, price, privacy, build quality

I'd prefer they had a better method of telling the left bud from the right one. That's the worst thing I can say about these!

The earphones that came with my mp3 player were junk, so I did some research and ordered these on sale from Buy.com over the internet. Good gravy, what an incredible set of earphones! The bass is robust without being unnatural, and the treble is crystal clear with no ringing. I honestly had no idea that my mp3 player could put out sound of this high a quality. One of the best things about them is that they seal against the ear canal so well, allowing you to hear every musical nuance without outside noises intruding. As well, they play rather well without disturbing the person sitting next to you. They do take a few days to get used to, and even the smallest of the earbuds provided seemed rather large in my ears. Nevertheless, they sealed well and were quite resistant to being shaken loose. I don't believe it would be possible for them to accidentally come out of your ears without intentionally pulling them out - they fit quite snugly. I would recommend these to anyone with an appreciation for music.

Similar Products Used:

various Koss, Sony, and OEM headphones and earphones.

Quality of sound; versatility; the ability to block out outside noise.

The thin cord and plug-in.

These are GREAT headphones that have completely changed the way I listen to music. I originally bought them for my iPod, and now find myself using them to watch movies on my system in addition to music; I seldom even use my stereo speakers any longer because these E2s simply sound better. I disagree with a previous reviewer's assessment that these are weak on bass. They do require a breaking-in period and once you reach that point, the sound is pristine. They also block out outside noise with their snug fit. Because I used to live near a traffic light and used to be driven crazy from hearing subwoofers playing loud rap, these were lifesavers for my sanity. They are light and convenient. I even play tennis occasionally wearing them; that's how versatile and convenient they are. These are designed for musicians to use in the recording studio, where the quality of sound is important. I've put almost my entire CD collection on my iPod, and use it almost exclusively to listen to music. In fact, I haven't put a CD in my CD player since I moved here. The one flaw is that if you're not careful, the plug can tear away from your player from time to time. This ruined the first set that I purchased; I sent them back to Shure, which promptly replaced them. In the meantime, I bought a second pair for work. Since I've begun to use mine, at least 3 or 4 others have purchased them and love them. I very highly recommend.

Similar Products Used:

Koss headphones.

Excellent sound; I can hear things I've never noticed before. Individual instruments stand out.

If you like strong bass these probably wouldn't be a good choice; to me the bass is realistic without being exaggerated. Some difficulty in getting a good seal in the ears.

This is a review of the E3's and I'm doing it here because there is no category for them and someone who is thinking of the E2's might want to consider the E3's. I first listened to the E2's (on my iPod) and was not overly impressed with the performance difference from the cheaper Aiwa headphones that came with my MiniDisc player. The salesman at the store is a musician and suggested I try the E3's which is what he owns. I was amazed at the improvement over the E2's. The bass was so much better and the overall sound a quantum leap in clarity and presence. Even though I thought it was too much to pay for headphones, I felt I would be really short-changing myself to go with the poorer audio. I recently purchased the iPod and recorded all my songs with AAC at the highest sampling rate of 320. However with the quality of the E3's, there is a noticeable improvement when I record with Apple's lossless compression so I've had to go back and re-record all my albums. Now I have a system I am completely happy with. The only difficulty with the E3's is getting a good seal in the ears; if you don't the bass is very thin. I have been using the E3's about a week and still have some trouble getting a good seal. The E3's make the AKG K-501's that I have for my home stereo sound muffled and distinctly inferior. I cna't imagine using them again.

Similar Products Used:

Different cheap headphones that come with MiniDiscs, Discman. My earphones for my home stereo are AKG K-501