Customer Reviews

Shure E4c Sound Isolating Earphones

5 star:		(47)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

So that you know a little about me and this review, I will start by saying that I am a professional classical musician, and I have recently had a hearing test on which I did very well. I am also something of a headphone enthusiast, as I have some very expensive headphones, a high-end source and an expensive dedicated tube headphone amplifier. I am aware of a computer magazine review that recently rated the Etymotics higher in sound quality.

This is a comparison of the E4C and the Etymotic ER-4P, using the Gmini XS200 as a source, with mp3's encoded at either 192 or 256 kb/s. (By the way, the Gmini is a great little DAP!) Both of these earphones are quite good and will provide vastly better sound quality than the typical headphones and earbuds that fill the mass market. I like the included foam tips included by each manufacturer, so that is what I used to compare them. The Etymotic foam tips seal better and provide superior isolation from outside noise. I must note that the Shure's were bought new by me, and the Etymotics are a loaner from a friend. Please be aware that the Shure's require some "burn in", and will not sound their best new out of the package. Have patience at the beginning, and notice the improvement in performance over the first 20-40 hours. I do not know the break-in characteristics of the Etymotics.

I'll cut to the chase. The Shure's are sonically much more impressive than the the Etymotic's. Both are highly resolving and have no major faults. The Shure's however, sound as though they have even greater resolution of detail, and have a flatter frequency response. They represent the subtleties of instrumental timbre much more accurately, and include even more detail in their presentation. One can hear all the qualities of the recording environment, the position of instruments of the orchestra (soundstage), and seem to create a sound that is less bottled up within the ear (headstage). They do not have the least trace of sibilance. Somehow, in spite of all this resolution, they still sound smooth and convey all the beauty and warmth of tone one could want. They have slightly "rolled highs", as this is the practice of Shure in all their products, but this is a very small criticism since the treble region is nevertheless very clear, balanced and controlled. In comparison, the Etymotics have a sound that is a little "tipped up", and can become fatiguing. There is a comparative lack of depth to their sound, and there is much information in the midrange in particular that is lost. Bass is not as present, controlled, or quick. Beauty of tone is lacking. I do not have the same emotional response to the music with them. However, these are still not sibilant, and are still very fine.

The Shure's are also better built. I feel they are sturdier and less likely to be damaged from hard use. They are more microphonic than the Etymotics, though, which will be very annoying if you intend to use them while moving around. One should realize they are both very microphonic because of the nature of their isolating design, and therefore will transmit a lot of unwanted bumping and rustling to your ears if you move around with them. I recommend sitting still.

The Shure represents true high fidelity in a portable form. In many ways, they outperform my expensive home headphone rig. What is more, they sound this good without the need of a separate headphone amplifier. In fact, I recommend you skip the amp, as I felt that mine added too much energy to the treble. I am very impressed with them, and I strongly recommend them.

Wow, these just arrived and sound so good I was moved to write a review immediately. They really do reveal new clarity, new details in music you thought you already knew well. If you really care about sound quality, they are worth the money.

But, be prepared to pay for this amazing sound quality:
- they take time and care to insert correctly.
- you will need to swab your ears before using them.
- They are impossible to remove quickly, like if the phone rings or someone interrupts you. It's like pulling a plunger out of your head. So you need to have time to devote to the listening experience without interruptions
- speaking of interruptions, it's hard to hear external sounds, so don't drive or bicycle with them, seriously.
- If you're claustrophobic, avoid. When inserted, it feels like you are under water, with strange body sounds and a slight feeling of pressure in your head. And the cords make deep reverberation sounds in your head if they scrape across your clothing.
- be prepared to be disappointed by the sound production values on some of your music. And you'll be able to hear hissing and compression artifacts in your MP3s.

But it's worth it for the sound!

"Find alternative to Apple-provided earbuds" sat on my to-do list for about three months. It was right up there with "clean the garage" and "organize vacation photos from last six years," so it clearly was never going to happen. After my Apple earbuds died an early death (again) and an experience with a pair of dreadful Sony EX81LPs (shudder), finding a good pair of headphones became mandatory. I messed around with a pair of Sennheiser HD 595s, which were excellent, but definitely not practical or portable enough for everyday, small carry-on bag use. I ordered these E4Cs, even though I was extremely skeptical about them before I received them. I was perfectly happy with Apple's but for their propensity to last two months before the wires started to expose themselves.

I LOVE these. The sounds is crisp, sharp, excellent. I hear music so much better than I ever have. They fit in my ears comfortably and all of the ear tips are satisfying (especially the ugly, yellow foam ones). I worried about an adjustment period, but I put `em in and was instantly enamored. No learning curve at all. The cord is designed to be worn over the tops of the ears, which is surprisingly comfortable and unobtrusive. I thought that a cord of five feet would be too long (Apple's is about 3'), but it's not at all. The E4Cs are aesthetically pleasing and sturdy-feeling (not at all like Apple's...but it's unfair to keep comparing the free model to the $300 pair). Bass is a little lacking, but I don't want to whine. They soar during guitar-heavy rock music. I can't have a conversation with these in. That means I miss a lot of subway drama, for better or worse. After removing them, there's about a ten-minute period where the rest of the world sounds a little...off. A little murky. These aren't complaints, just observations.

The real tests for me are wearing headphones on an airplane and sleeping with them in (I went to college in NYC's West Village where sleeping with something in my ears was a necessity and I have yet to give up the habit). The E4Cs pass both with flying colors; I can lie on my side with the E4Cs in and be totally comfortable. Since I spend way too much time in airplanes and airports, I've been able to test these on multiple occasions. Without turning the volume all the way up, these drown out airplane noise impressively.

I absolutely think these are worth the purchase price. My Apple-provided earbuds will never again see the light of day.

I was hestitant to buy the Shure earphones because of the price. It better be darn good for the price tag. When I first got the Shures and tried them on, I was really disappointed. The bass was lacking and it didn't sound very loud. I have moderate hearing loss, so every bit of sound helps.

I tried different things to see if I wasn't wearing them correctly. I would push the earphones deeper into my ear canal, that didn't work. But I noticed that, at times, there would be a spot where the sound fidelity was amazing and the bass was present. So I knew that the Shure e4c was capable of delivering the bass and sound I wanted. So I decided to visit the Shure website to see if I could find better instructions or advice on how to wear these. There was a flash tutorial on the help page.

http://www.shurestore.com/earphones/howto.html#

Click on the Click here link to watch the tutorial. I found the expanding foams were the best choice. It's simple to use, and it makes sense. Compress the foam, insert the earphone into your ear and hold it until the foam expands to form a tight seal. It's painless unlike the other sleeves. Make sure that you pull your ear upward and outward to straighten the ear canal before inserting the earphones. There is a picture on the site I linked above for visual cues.

After I followed the tutorial, I tested the earphones on my iPod. I was greeted by warm wholesome sound with tight base. The sound was pure and beautiful. Really. If you diss the Shures for lack of bass or for lack of sound fidelity, I think you're not giving these earphones a fair chance to impress you. Worse, you're missing out on the potential of these earphones and depriving yourself of hearing great music unlike before.

I have the Bose Quietcomfort 2 which I still use, and it's great. But to compare the Quietcomfort 2 with the Shure e4c is like comparing apples to oranges. They're both different. I prefer to compare the Shure to the Sony Sports Headphone that I used on a regular basis. The problem with the Bose is that I can't use it for extended period of times. The weight finally gets to me when I'm wearing it in front of the computer for a while.

I can't use the Sony Sports Headphones after I found out the right way to use these Shures. The sound difference is phenomenal. With the foam sleeves, they feel like nothing. I'm immersed in wondering sounds and enjoying my MP3's like never before. Make sure that your MP3 bit rate is high for the best sound experience possible. For those who like to scroll to the end of a review and skip all the text, here is a summary:

1). Go to http://www.shurestore.com/earphones/howto.html#

2). Click on the Click here link to watch the flash tutorial.

3). Make sure you pull your ear upwards and outwards before inserting the earphones.

4). I recommend the foam inserts. Compress them with your fingers, insert the earphone into your ear canal and hold it for 10 seconds until the foam expands for a tight fit.

5). Make sure your MP3 bitrate is high to complement these Shures.

6). Don't be lazy and give these Shures a fair chance to impress you. Do this not because I told you so, but to give yourself a chance to hear beautiful music.

I hope this helps!

To put this review in context, I do not normally use ear-bud type phones such as these.

However, I can't understand why audiophiles are raving so much about E4s. I've now used them for number of weeks and the mid and treble response is fantastic -- I have no argument with any other reviewer on that score -- bass performance is where these fall short. Bass exists, it lends to an extremely full sound, but it does not kick. In short, E4s are not for Hip-Hop enthusiasts.

Okay, I'm not the world's number one fan of Hip-Hop, but I am looking to improve the bass response of my E4's. I have been to a number of sites where users have recommended all sorts of gymnastics just to get the in-ear fit right. Apparently, once you get a good seal between the phone and the ear canal, you instantly enjoy the benefits of bass.

Tried and tried again. Tried different bud types. Tried modified buds. But all with limited joy. I don't doubt the audiophiles' story, but the grail they describe is beyond me. And at the price these phones come in at, you'd at least expect them to perform without all this messing around.

Recently, I bought a pair of AKG K26P headphones (not in-the-ear) and these kick the E4s into touch, bass-wise ... but, compared with the E4s, the mid and treble performance on the AKGs sounds like audio bubblegum.

The E4s have their virtues, and your music preferences should guide you in your decision. They sound beautiful when listening to piano music, acoustic guitars, and even electronica, but if you like music with bass, then I suggest trying them before buying them.

Now for the acid test -- Would I part with mine after all these weeks. Probably not.

This is my first pair of canal phones. I wondered if I would be able to wear these earphones comfortably as I was not keen on sticking something in my ear canal. But Shure ships earphones with four different kinds of ear plugs and two of the four come in three different sizes. So I decided to take a chance. I tried them all and ended up using the smallest soft tip plug and I find them comfortable. The isolation is nice when I am at the gym or on the subway. The isolation is not total but I do need to take them out to carry on a conversation. I can wear them for several hours with good comfort. I am not sure I would want to wear them more than that.

The sound is very accurate and glorious. I hear a lot of detail. The bass is not as great as I thought but still good and if I want more I use "Bass Boost" on my iPod.
The earphones are small and unobtrusive. They don't stick out very far from the ears. They match my iPod and the cord does not tangle as easily as other earphones. I put the cord behind my ears as Shure recommends. The Shure web site has a little demo showing how to insert the headphones properly. And that helped me.

These are my favorite portable headphones. I recommend them highly.

These aren't available yet, but I tried them at the CES show in January. For those who found the E2 series lacking in high-frequency response, and the E3 series lacking in low-frequency reponse, but don't want to spend what the E5's go for, then the E4's are for you! Very nice sound, great fit in the ear, and extremely good at sound isolation - Even though there were hundreds of people milling around in a large, extremely noisy exhibition hall all I could hear was the music, even when played at a low volume.

Ok, here are few things I have to clear up before you go ahead and buy the headphone.

First, this is a in-ear headphone. Which means that they are placed in your ear. If you don't feel comfortable with something in your ear, don't bother buying and compliant about it.

Second, for people that got use to over exaggerated bass. Don't buy this. Due to the small size of the drivers, it can only produce bass to a certain extend. No, the bass is not weak, infact, it is stronger compare to some other in-ear headphones that are on the market. I found it funny that some people try to compare the bass of a in-ear-headphone with other headphones and speakers. By the nature of the devices, a top quality speakers set will produce better sounds than any headphone. So, what is the point of comparing the sound qualtiy of different class of device?

Third, for people that are ipod fans.... I recommand you to drop your ipod and start searching for a new audio device. Becasue E4C consume bigger power than most of the small headphone out there. If you decided to stay with an Ipod, i recommand you to get a small, protable headphone amp. Trust me, your E4C would sounds much better.
And for anyone that uses none branded audio device or just on-board sound for the audio... I recommand not to buy the E4C, because of the high sensitivity of the headphone will expose the flaws from your bad recorded track or sound source that you had never heard before, and no..... it is not E4C's fault.

Fourth, like most of the high quality headphones, E4C also require at least 100 hours of usage to be broken-in (or burn in). A completely broken in E3C actullly sounded better than a newly open E4C. But after process of breaking in, E4C does sound better than the E3C.
And for anyone does not konw. Yes, almost any of the audio system need to burn in before it can release its full potential.

Fifth, at this stage of headphone, you may be paying more than twice of the value and and just get a little of return in improvement of sound quality. For Example, E4C provide alsomt around.. ur.... 70-80 or even 90 percent of what E5C has to offer, and E4C is much cheaper. So, if you already own a E3C, do not expect too much improvement base on the price of this product... 1.5 times the price does not 1.5 times the sound quality.

Sixth, I don't believe that the gray rubber Flex Sleeves count as part of the warrenty. I believe that it even says in the manule or somewhere, indicated that it is necessory to change the phone Flex Sleeves after a period of use. Becasue yes, they do get lose and sometimes may stuck in your ear if you don't chang it. If you feel good about using the phone sleeve, prepare to spend some money on buying the replacemnet for them. Because they do get lose, oxide, wear, and most important of of all, the whole sanity issue.
(please, please don't use the same foam sleeves too long.. it will not only looks nasty, it smells nasty too.)


Conclusion: If you have simple headphone, the upgrade is amazing.
If you are alredy using a pretty high quality audio out put device, well, you might want to reconsider it or go to an audiophile store and do some testing before you decide to buy them.

And no, for some people out there, I do not say the E4C is good headphone simply becasue I spend 200 dollar on it. I gave it a five star simply due to its quality.
(I only spend 120 dollar on getting the E4C, whihc is actullly cheaper than what my dad paided for the E3C, so price of the itme really isn't a factor that can change opinion toward the product.)

These are the best. I had read great reviews of them before purchasing. The one ciritcism I had heard was that your ear throbbed after they were in your ears for more than 15 minutes. I think that Shure E4c overcame this problem over Shure E3c. The "E4" series came with an assortment of ear plugs so that you can choose the most comfortable for you. I have used these earphones while on the treadmill for 90 minutes at a time, and they are extrememly comfortable (I don't even know they are there). Plus I cannot hear any of the noise of the treadmill motor. The little case that comes with them is very handy.

First off, i see looking at some of the negative reviews, citing a lack of bass. Oh how foolish they are.

I'd like to say before i write my review, and that is you need a proper seal. Now with these, the soft flex sleeves or foamies (foam sleeves) will do good, and will provide more bass (unforunately the tri-flanges do not fit my ears, although i am going to try to cut one of the flanges off to make them fit better) and the second is that these require "burn-in". Burn-in is basically just using them for a certain ammount of time for the drivers to get adjusted because they need to vibrate to make sound, and it gets better with time.

The Highs (Treble) are amazing. Shure is known for the midbass and highs (although they are known to be recessed, or not going up all the way frequency wise) and they sound great. The notes are clear and not harsh, most of all the clarity will blow you away.

The Mids are excellent too. They sound warm, and up front, and provide a 'warm' sound (lack of a better word, but it is the best) and because of it, it allows you to wear them for long periods of time, without getting fatigued.

The Bass on these is excellent. Although it does take some time to burn-in (i think about 50 hours or so, just leave them playing overnight and you can tell a difference) It really is worth it. The bass goes down really low, and is very accurate and powerful at the same time. DO UNDERSTAND that these WILL NOT give you the "boomy" bass, because that is not good. The bass these produce is very accurate, and if you listen to music that has boomy bass, you will not like it because you will not get any boom, because the beats will be seperated due to the E4's high ammount of bass accuracy. They are punchy though, and do get me wrong, i think their can never be too much bass (i am a bass-head) and i like them.

The sound isolation is amazing too. I have owned The Street style (behind your head) and the noise cancelling headphones, and these are much better then both. The noise cancelling phones add a hiss , and its sounds bad, but these do not, seeing as the block out the noise naturally by sealing your ear canal. DO NOT USE THESE WHILE YOU ARE DRIVING/BIKING. very bad idea.

The pricetag is a little high, But they are worth it. They are much better then anything in the price range (Bose, how overated and overpriced they are. Just to let you know, they cost about 1/2 of what the MSRP is; the triports aren't worth 150, barely even 100). They are worth it. I just suggest you also get something besides the iPod (as they have horrible sound quality compared to some others. Let your ears guide you, not your eyes, because you can't hear with your eyes).

Awesome Phones!