Shure E3c Sound Isolating Earphones

by Shure

Product Details

• Item Weight: 1 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B0001NNLHK
• Item model number: E3c
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (184 customer reviews)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: March 1, 2004

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

If you're looking to upgrade your portable music listening experience, the Shure E3c sound isolating earphones deserve a serious look. The E3c's offer a level of sensitivity and range that places them in the audiophile tier of earphones and fortunately, Shure has priced them to make this kind of quality within reach.

In many ways, judging sound quality is all about making comparisons, and when the E3c's are matched against their big brother, the Shure E5c earphones, the E3c's do reveal a noticeable loss of dynamic range and clarity. Of course, the E5c's are worth every penny for those who want to spend more on earphones than they spent on their iPod. The E3c's, on the other hand, come out a clear winner when you weigh their quality and cost.

Design
The E3c earbuds are small and easy to insert in the ear-- easier, in fact, than the E5c earbuds, which are larger and less friendly to folks with small ears. The E3c's thin and pliant cords are light and easy to manage. They're also designed to be looped over the back of the ear, but some testers found it uncomfortable and awkward to keep them there. These testers also said they preferred inserting the earphones upside down, letting the cords dangle downwards from the ear to avoid hassles. By comparison, the E5c earphones feature a bendable stiffening material in the section of cable that runs behind the ears, allowing the listener to loop the cables over and behind the ear more securely. It would be nice to see this simple solution added to the E3c earphones.

Shure did choose to give the E3c's the same gold-plated, 3.5mm input connector as the E5c's. The connector has a low-profile elbow bend to minimize accidental unplugging and snags-- great for laptop and airline users. And just like the E5c's, the E3c's come with a number of earplug "sleeves" packaged in what Shure calls a "fit kit". Our testers had little trouble finding a sleeve that felt comfortable. We especially liked the expanding foam sleeves that, like those foam dinosaurs that grow in water, expand to fit the contours of the ear canal.

Sound Quality
As we listened to a broad range of musical genres on the E3c earphones it was hard, once again, not to make comparisons with the E5c's. If you aren't even entertaining the notion of purchasing the E5c's, then make sure you never have occasion to listen to them. Rest easy in the knowledge that the E3c's deliver clear, crisp highs and rich, thundering lows. Delight in the fact that they excel at delivering the celebrated earphone experience; the external world is largely silenced and the music resonates inside your head. Meanwhile, if you are toying with the idea of stepping up to the E5c's, go ahead and give both models a listen. Although the difference between the two is not stark, we immediately noticed that we had to drive the E3c's at higher volume to get the same kind of resonance and fullness the E5c's deliver at a relatively lower volume.

Comparing the E3c's to the E5c's is a bit unfair, but in many ways, the comparisons revealed just how good both sets of earphones really are. The E5c's represent an extremely high benchmark, and fortunately for those who don't want to spend a bundle on top-quality earphones, the E3c's aren't too far off the pace. We recommend them as a massive upgrade to the standard headphones that ship with most portable music devices.--Joshua Gunn

Pros

• Simple, compact design
• Designed for compatibility with most ears
• Excellent sound quality at a non-stratospheric price

Cons

• Cord ergonomics could be better
• Lower-quality sound than the E5c model generates unplanned spending urge

Product Description

Shure E3c Sound Isolating Earphone - The replacement of the acclaimed E1, the E3 uses low mass, high energy micro-speakers to deliver incredibly precise sound with secure, comfortable, acoustic isolation for an outstanding listening experience where ever you are. Whether listening to your home stereo, computer, or portable CD or MP3 player, this earphone offers studio-quality performance of the highest order. Includes carrying case Soft, flexible sleeves in the Fit Kit gently contour the inside of the ear for a comfortable, secure fit 60-Inch cable with gold-plated connector 2 Year Shure warranty Color - White

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

278 of 305 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Raw sound quality for my raw music like nothing I've known, September 15, 2004

By 

Ilan Dor (Boston, MA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Shure E3c Sound Isolating Earphones (Electronics)

First off, let me save certain people the trouble of reading the following review: If you've got to convince yourself that a pair of earphones could be worth what these cost, they probably aren't.

When I first put these on (with my correctly-fitting size of included ear adapters), I was comparing them with a $9 pair of Sony earbuds that I've been using for the past few years. I couldn't believe it, but I thought my crappy Sony earbuds sounded 100 times better. "Where's the bass?" I thought to myself when switching the '3's' back into my noggin for the second time and still not hearing it.

It took me about 5 minutes to finally figure out the trick that Sony, Panasonic and all of the other consumer-grade electronics manufacturers have been playing on me and you all along: they deceptively amplify the bass response from that of the musician's original intent to cover up the dismal sound quality and inaccurate reproduction of the music provided by their inferior wares. Yeah, that 'Mega-Bass' is more like a bunch of mega BULL.

The '3's do not overpower you with bass. They deliver your music to you as your favorite musicians intended for you to hear it. What you are paying for with these headphones is ACCURACY. Those tight, crisp high-hats bucketed in syncopated pockets of time that you may have not even heard before will elude you no longer, once you get the '3's. The slight tune-decay of those analog synth chords that you're supposed to hear just upon the release of the keys on your favorite 70's fusion recordings would send chills through any jazz/funk afficionado like myself, but you'll never hear 'em without these puppies. The raw, airy echo of live drums that manifests the musically intended mood of good music more than almost any other component or aspect, imho, will be kept from you no longer once you are down with the '3's.

I just got these today, I put them in my ears over two hours ago, and here it is, 10:20pm, I've got work early tomorrow morning, and I cannot even tear myself away from these. I'm hearing my music for the first time, as far as I'm concerned. These headphones literally bring me to tears.

What's your music collection worth to you? Mine's worth about $10K in monetary value, priceless in musical value. I look at it this way now: If I didn't get the '3's, I wouldn't have saved the cost of the headphones - I would have wasted the value of my entire musical collection.

BTW, I do not work for Shure and I have no connection with them, Sony, Panasonic or the like.

If you are one of those conspiratory-minded people that think that a review this strong on musical electronics could only come from someone looking to knock a corporate power off of its perch,
that's cool with me; you probably don't understand music very well or a thing I've said above if you have time to waste on such thoughts that you could be spending listening to music.

57 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Compact and GREAT, December 2, 2004

By 

Debra Chong "ECommerceMaven" (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Shure E3c Sound Isolating Earphones (Electronics)

Not being an audiophile but just an ordinary listener, I decided to splurge and check these out as Shure has a return policy. Am not disappointed --- really pleased to have the quality of great sound. Clear and crisp as one had great speakers. Don't bother with looping the cord over the ears, they work fine the regular way and check out the various inserts for the best fit. I have Sony noise cancellation headphones for over 7 years now and use those too, as well as medium priced Koss headphones from Radio Shack but neither compare to the E3c --- so save your money by not buying all those other headphones that will sit and go with the Shure E3c!

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent!!!!, November 29, 2004

By 

Alex theodo (Maryland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shure E3c Sound Isolating Earphones (Electronics)

I ordered my pair the day after thanksgiving. I was a bit hesitant, due to the price, but let me tell you they worth every penny. I have not tried the 5cs, but this pair is good enough. As other users said, when you hear a song you truly love and have heard for thousand times before, it's like you are listening for the very first time. They passed my Enigma; Sting; Lara St John, and Cher tests with flying colors. The music is deep, not distorted, and detailed as if you are in the music hall in the best seat. Excellent choise, don't be bothered by the price, since we are paying $300 plus for our ipods, they deserve the best headphones out there. An important note, make absolutely sure that the headphones are all the way inside your ear canal, otherwise you will be dissappointed. The earphones come with a fitting package that will accomodate almost anybody's ears. The key is that the earphones need to be all the way inside your ear canal.
One bit downside is the cord is a bit akward. I guess it will take some getting used to, but for $180, I think the company can do a bit better with cord management.

An additional comment regarding Bass;

What we have to keep in mind is that these earphones are reproducing the sound in its 'pure' form. In other words they take the sound with all its attributes and reproduce it. That means that you will not be overpowered by bass. A lot of low priced earphones overcompensate with the bass to cover up the lack of the other details of the sound reproduction. A good example is the MDR series from Sony which are also inside the ear design. The MDRs overcompensate in the bass, because they distort the other elements of the sound. I am an avid audiophile for Jazz and Classical music, some pop too; but jazz and contemporary classical are my favorite genres. I am attending live performances very frequently. My take away from the live performances is that there is no overpowering of bass. Bass is supposed to be complimentary adding tempo to the overall performance, not being the performance itself. Thus, it might take a while to get used to the reduced presense of bass in these earphones, but this absence does not mean they are not good earphones. The absence actually means that they work they way they are supposed to be working. As mentioned earlier, if you don't hear any bass, then you are not fitting the earphones into your ear canal per the instructions.