Customer Reviews

Shure E3c-n Sound Isolating Earphones (Black)

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Having owned an Ipod for over a year but I've never been pleased with the fit and sound, mainly the fit. Reading Sports Illustrated Shane Battier was talking about essentials needed for constant travel in the NBA. This item was one of his.

What a great purchase! Sound is incredible. Now admittedly I'm not a stereo freak so people on a higher plane than me may search for something better. But the improved sound is incredible to me. Some songs I liked before have a whole new meaning as you hear background noise or lyrics much better.

There is one more benefit/distraction. They feel great in your ear after two days getting used to them. They do bother you a little till then. The new benefit is because they are snug, you can't hear the outside world hardly at all. That's a positive for hearing good music and drowning out the sound of an airplane engine. It's not a positive if you are sitting in the doctor's office and they continue to call you name and you can't hear them.

Overall, I am extremely happy and strongly recommend these plugs. One of my best purchases in the last few years.

I've used three different brands of noise-cancelling headphones, including the current Bose models, and the E3c is the best choice for airplane flights.

Besides being much smaller than the active headphones, it provides better sound isolation. The earphones I got included a small zippered case that you wind the wire around a bobbin to keep things need. The Bose owners with their bulky travel case look at me jealously when I pull out my little kit and install my ear pieces.

The noise reduction with the sponge foam ear pieces is great, and yet you can still hear close conversations (I just pull the plug on my iPod when I want to order a drink or hear the announcements). The sound quality is excellent, rivaling studio monitors in clarity and accuracy.

If you use the sponge foam ear pieces, you'll need to order replacements, as they're good for about 10 extended uses before they start to lose their resiliancy. Besides, they get a bit grungy with time. You can get 10 pair for about 25 bucks on Amazon. Well worth it!

Just picked these up today, bought them online from an authorized Shure Retailer after visiting the Shure Website and reading the warning about purchases made from Ebay and other sites not being covered under warranty. Spending this kind of money for a quality product, a large part of the price is the warranty and company standing behind the product. So you might have to spend a little more (though when shopping, I found them for $179.99 with a $50 price reducing coupon and free shipping so $129.99 wasn't all that bad).

The good: Sound is excellent. I've read people complaining about not receiving enough bass. I tried a couple of different ear flang sizes, (I also own a pair of Etoymic ER6i which I love and found the three stage silicon flanges worked best for my ears. I also written a review on the ER6i's pointing out there strength and weaknesses)finally settled upon the yellow foam for the E3. I've found the tone on these to be rich, picking up some subtle differences in tried and true songs from Dire Straits, Mark Knopfler, and Eric Clapton from those heard with the ER6i's. The wires on the E3 are also thicker which has reduced some noises associated with movement on the ER6i's. However the thickness in wire does add to the bulk in your pocket which unless you are using the IPOD NANO, shouldn't be a big deal. All and all, I'm very satisfied with the price, quality and sound of the E3.

The bad: As I've decided to go with the foam ear pieces, this adds a considerable ongoing "FEE" for using the E3 over the ER6i. Granted you can get 20 pack (10 pairs) of the foam replacements which retail for $21.50 (not including shipping and handling) for a reduced price if you shop around. But when you add the shipping and handling, they start to get pricey. I'll be interested to see how long a pair last. The E3 only included 1 pair in the original package, which seems kind of cheezy as they do recommend frequent replacment. Granted I could use the 3 stage silicon flange, (which by the way run over $12.00 a pair and none are included with the E3)as I've done with the ER6i. I do think Shure should have included a pair of them with the E3 for I am loath to spend $12.00 plus shipping and handling to try them. I still have some for the ER6i, I might try to see if they will fit.

All in all, I can recommend the sound of the E3 and as audio fidelity is different for each of us, I can't say that the ER6i are better or worse then the E3. Each have their strengths and weaknesses. I expect I'll continue to use both in different situatons. I will be flying at the end of the month, and will bring the E3 along for their maiden voyage. The ER6i's have always performed well for me in air travel, and I expect the E3 will as well.

After using the E3's for a long time, I decided I preferred them over the ER6i's (which I'd had to send back for warranty work when one side went out). I figured with the thicker cords, I'd never have that problem with the E3's. Wrong. After a few months, the right side of the E3 cut out.

Both Shure and Etymoic give great customer support. Just make certain you keep your original receipt and I recommend scanning it into your computer as well just in case you lose it.

Anyway, while the E3's went back for replacement,(yes, they sent an entire new packaged set, in a retail box) I switched back to the ER6i. I don't know if Etyomic's replacement units are better than the original units but I was suddenly re-impressed with the tone quality of the ER6i's. And with a Nano, their thinner cord and lighter weight is a big plus.

I've not gone back to the E3's as yet. They are still sitting on the unopened retail box. Maybe, if I ever pull out my 60 gig IPOD, I'll try the E3's again. But for now, I'm surprisingly happier with my ER6i's.

But like I've said before, everyone's audio preferences are different.

I have these and the E2's. These sound better but I am having a hard time keeping them in my ears while I exercise. The E2's fit better but the E3's sound more intense.

I had been thinking about a pair of noise-canceling headphones for a while and tried the over-the-head model from Brookstone that I picked up at an airport first.

They fit around the ear and did a pretty good job of blocking the external sound, but after an hour or two, my ears hurt from the pressure. Maybe they just didn't fit my ears well, but I took them back.

I checked online and read some reviews and was considering the Bose QC2, but couldn't find a dealer that had them in stock.

I ran across some reviews of these Shure E3c's and liked the idea of some that were small and that I could use and still wear a hat, sunglasses, etc. without the headband being in the way.

I found these at a local store, talked myself into paying the fairly high price and tried them out.

They work. I first wore them on a flight and found I could turn the sound down low on my laptop and still hear some MP3 files I had very clearly. My ears didn't hurt after a couple of hours. I like that the wire goes over the ear. This seems to keep the cord out of the way for me. I've worn it with the cord down my back and in front. Both are fine. I've only had them for a few days now, but am satisfied.

I just use the medium soft flex (gray) sleeves that came on them and they seem to fit and work well for me. I tried the yellow foam ones for a few minutes, but went back to the gray medium ones.

These were 40% less than the Bose QC2's that I was considering and about 25-30% less than the Brookstone ones I tried before.

These were the first noise-cancelling earphones that I've tried. They really do cancel 90% of all outside noises. The sound is very high quality. I had trouble getting good bass response at first then I read the instruction manual. It said to try a different size plug (various sizes and types are included). When I tried a smaller size the fit was better and the seal between my ear and the plug was better and the bass really improved. The only possible drawback is that I'm not sure these are the best earphones to wear when jogging because sometimes you need to hear outside noises to be safe and these really do block those out.

After going through my third set of Sony earbuds at $40-$50 a pop, I realized that it was time to consider something else. But nothing else in that price range seemed to fit the bill. Looking at a little more higher-end, I came across the Shure E3c's. I'm glad I did!

I thought I got a pretty decent fit with my ol' Sonys, but these are amazing. It's like they form a suction and don't want to let go. I use the small-sized soft grey sleeves and run the wires over my ears which more-or-less locks them into place. I can wear them for several hours at a time without any discomfort at all.

The construction is solid with a quality feel. The wires are of a larger gauge and reinforced at the normal problem areas. The larger gauge is unobtrusive and not a hinderance at all. In fact, that's why I went through three pair of Sony's earbuds... broken wires and cracked insulation. These are going to last.

Ahhhh... the sound! My current preference in music is techno, trance, breakbeat, etc. (I'm a young 59 year old!). I'm hearing details in my music I've never heard before! Contrary to what a few other reviewers say, the low-end is THERE. I can actually feel it... that's NEVER happened with any earbuds I've used before. The mids and highs are crisper than I've heard for a long time, if ever. The clarity of the highs and lows make for an amazing listening experience.

I'll never go back!


BTW, I got mine at CompUSA for $129... regular store price.

At first I wasn't sure, as I couldn't hear much bass. It's important to try the different plugs that come with these - they're very easy to substitute. I ended up using the large plugs (which surprised me, as usually I end up with small of everything). They are VASTLY more comfortable than the earphones that came with the ipod, which after just 10 minutes would start to hurt my ears from the weight of them. And I confess, on an aesthetic level, I felt wrong using white earphones with a black iPod, so the color of these makes me happy also! I'm not an audiophile by any stretch, but I found the sound coming out of these - once I found the right plugs for my ears - to be entirely satisfactory.

I use these at my gym and it sounds like I'm working out all alone in a place with 100 people! I can't hear the machines, the house music, or the people talking. All I hear is my music, which sounds much clearer than any other headset I've bought before. The yellow foam plugs provide the most sound deadening but need replacement every so often.

My nice e3c headset died after use for about 6 months. I went to Sure's web site and printed out their instructions for repair and sent off my headset. 7 days later I got a box with a brand new retail package! No charge, not even for the shipping! Shure's 2 yr warranty is great! They've built a customer for life.

To get good bass response and to block out outside sound, a good sealed headphone is essential. You can get this with these headphones, I would recommend the smallest size ear plugs, so you can squeeze them right into your ears. If your ears hurt, then you have pushed the plugs in too deep. Make sure your bass boost is on for hearing those low sub bass lines. This headphone does not have a muddy sound: it has a good balance between the mids and the lows.