Customer Reviews

Shure I2C-M Stereo Mobile Headset

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(33)
3 star:		(31)
2 star:		(17)
1 star:		(16)

 

 

After several bluetooth headsets (plantronics/jabra) and some wired ones too, I finally settled on this headphones for my iphone.
Pros:
1.Good fit even for difficult ears! (there are 3 pairs of earpieces for small/medium/large size ears)
2.Excellent sound quality - both music and phone calls
3.Great microphone - people on the other side hear me clearly and also no extraneous noises (background noise filtering works very well, even with
A/c full on blasting on me in my car or with road noises/wind noises while walking on the road).

Cons: 1. No call answer/hang up button! have to go to the iphone to do that!
2. no clips for attaching the microphone to the shirt
3. Wires are long but not too much so it is ok.
4. Just slightly more expensive, but then you pay more for brand name of Shure and iphone connectivity. (I got it cheaper in AT&T directly for 60$).
COnsidering the number of headsets I have gone through in the last 1 year (more than 10 or so), I like this the best of all those and think will stick to this as long as it lasts.
Update 5/25/2009: By mistake I stepped on it and broke one of the ear pieces (unfortunate). So I gave another shot at a BT headset - Jabra BT530 Bluetooth Headset and that seems to be working out well; but I do miss the ipod/music hearing through the headset now (because iphone does not support A2DP profile; Jabra can connect to a A2DP profile though it is a mono headset - if you are ok with hearing a mono sound); well, can't have everything in the world!

Great earphones... however i was a little disappointed that there is no remote answer button like on the shure headphone adapter which i bought first. also a great item, although excess cable length makes it kind of annoying. great merchandise but worth mentioning before u buy...

After having my iPhone earphones die I began looking for a quality replacement. Ideally I wanted a pair of Shure in ear monitors, but they do not have a mic. So, I decided to give these a try because the other reviews were negative about thing that do not really matter (ie. the cord is long ad no answer button). I was not disappointed. They sounds great, the mic works well (although it does not like Muni's light rail cars) and they are less than $60. The only way I would recommend something else is if Shure releases a pair based on their Pro Audio in ear monitors.

These are fantastic with the iPhone and give you the kind of sound quality you would expect from Shure. The mic works perfectly and the cables are thick and strong which is good for preventing cable interference noises that come from earphones with thin cables (had this problem with Etymotics in the past.) The sound is rich and full and good for most music though it could benefit from slightly more detail in the mids when listening to classical music. My wife and I both have these and couldn't be happier. We don't think that they need any sort of remote control since the phone is right at the end of the cable and I want to see who is calling first anyway. We got these here on Amazon for $57. Great product at twice that price. Considering the Ety's are $178 here and the sound is equal (though slightly different in bias) it would be hard for me to buy anything other than these for our iPhones.

They were the right price, and had the features I wanted (1st Gen iPhone compatible, sound leak protection, microphone), and the sound is decent. But they are so bulky and hard to handle, they're impractical for daily use. The ear buds fit snugly but have to be inserted with the cord around the ear, which is awkward to insert & remove. It's almost a two-hand job. The cord is really thick & bulky, which makes them harder to roll up & store, and in cold weather climates it becomes even more stiff and harder to handle than most cords. My search for the perfect iPhone headphones continues . . .

I bought these as a Christmas present for myself because they were on sale.

Pros:
- Great Sound (I'm no audiophile but I'm pretty satisfied with the sound - deep bass however, I would like more differentiation between voice and instruments)
- Isolation - I use these at the gym and I can't hear the background noise at all. Made for a much more focused workout :). I used these on a plane ride recently as well and I could have slept like a baby. I had some marshmallow ear buds that were suppose to cancel noise, but with these I didn't know what I was missing!
- Fit - I found these to be a great fit right out of the box once i learned how to put them in right. The cord has to wrap around the backside of your ear - unconventional but really quite genius. I've always had trouble with the iPhone or iPod standard white headphones staying in my ear but these fit great. I can also work out with these with no problem of them falling out while running.
- Price - you really can't go wrong with the price here for a pair of Shure isolating ear buds. in store - sony's or sennheiser's branded headphones would go well over $59-$69 dollars.
- Extras - it comes with 3 pairs of buds to make sure you get the right fit. i haven't had any problem with the rubber ear pieces falling out at all (happens a lot to cheaply made ear buds) the rubber pieces are quite sturdy. so you can throw them in your bag and go without having worry about pieces missing. These buds come with an ugly pouch to hold the earphones but do the job well of protecting them when stowed away.

Cons:
Most of the reviews are pretty spot on with the cons.
- Microphone does not have any phone controls (play/pause or call/end) and requires you to take out your phone. I use this with my iPhone 3g and i have it in my hand alot anyway to change songs/check email etc. so this is not a problem for me.
- The cord is a bit long.
- Cord is a bit thick - don't expect the slick white standard iPhone or iPod headphones with these shure ones. it's a bit on the bulk side but i think it just looks more sturdy/expensive.
Conclusion:
I'm an urban dweller that makes use of these mostly on the bus to work, walking the loud streets of SF, or working out at the gym. Great sound, great bang for the buck, they stay in my ear with no problems, and a handy microphone that works great with the iPhone 3g. I recommend these earphones!

I purchased these the Shure 12C-MP replace my lost Apple headset that came with my iPhone because I have read such good things about Shure products. For comparison purposes, I will mention that I also own a pair of the Bose Triports, which do not have a microphone.

MUSIC

The 12C-MP presents more detail in the sound than the Apple iPhones and just as much detail as the Triports. Meaning, I can here discrete details that are not expressed by the Apple headphones. However, the Shure's are the least musical or warm sounding. The lack of warmth and resonance is particularly noticeable in low frequencies.

The sound isolating capability on the 12C-MP is the best of the three. It is so good that I will only drive with one ear bud in because otherwise I am totally deaf to the outside world, which could make me the idiot who doesn't pull over when the fire truck or ambulance is behind him. However, the 12C-MP would be the best choice on a plane or other noisy environment where it is desirable to block out all other sounds.

CALLS

The 12C-MPs do the best with reproducing lifelike voices and the noise cancelling is better than the Apple headphones and Apple Bluetooth. As some other reviews noted, there is no remote button on the headphones, but that doesn't bother me.

MISC

They are a bit heavy, but I like that the cable is not flimsy and does not bounce as much when I run with them. They also stay in my ear better when I run that the Apple headphones or the Triport.


PROS
- Great sound isolation
- Durable build
- Good noise canceling microphone
- Accurate sound


CONS
- Music quality is inferior to the stock Apple headset
- Effective sound isolating might not be good in some environments

Overall, I am happy with them for $40. Would give 3.5 stars... but 4 works.

I've had a pair of E2Cs for a long time, and love them, but I yanked the cord one too many times and needed a new pair. I use the "Shure foam sleeves" instead of the black plastic ones that came with these headphones, so my experience may differ a bit.

Most earbuds eventually start to hurt my ears, but I've kept these in during some long plane trips with no discomfort. In fact, their isolation of outside noise is so nice that I'll leave them on even when I'm not listening to something while on an airplane. I also use them when mowing the lawn or running on the treadmill.

Unlike some of Shure's other models, you can't pick up calls or mute without getting your phone out. I'm not in the habit of just picking up calls without looking at my phone first so this missing feature does not bother me. People generally say they can't tell I'm using a headset when talking on these.

*I* think these sound great. They're not big bass-thumping machines so if you're the kind of person that always turns the bass up on your stereo, these are not for you.

I do wish they had some kind of clip. Most Shures have a piece of tubing you can slide up to keep the wires nicely under your chin. These don't have anything, which is my biggest complaint with them. The wires are also not as beefy as other Shure models.

I bought these hoping for an upgrade to the standard iPhone earbud/microphone set and I would say overall I am pleased. The fit of these Shure earbuds definitely take some getting used to and I found the recommended configuration (with the cord going behind the ear) did not fit me as well as draping the cord straight down from the earbud. The highs are great, lows are decent but could be better, but overall the sound is crisp and clear. I have heard things in songs that I had not heard before with my Sennheiser earbuds and I really liked those, so these are even a step up from Sennheisers. And for $35, I would have to conclude that these are a steal for what you get. Would recommend to friends and family for sure.

The price was right for this product and so I pulled the trigger. (at $39 - as of today, 2/24/09, they're selling for $20!!!)

Having used the headphones quite a bit by now (on subways and planes) I can say that I'm pleased with the sound quality, but the form factor is taking some getting used to.

First, I'm not an audiophile, and so can't speak to the complaints some of the other reviewers have lodged against these phones. At first the bass was weak, but I found that by changing the buds to a more appropriate size I was able to seat the headphones more deeply in my ear canals thus alleviating the bass issue and cutting out significant background noise, which makes me think this is what the manufacturer had intended (could not hear that crying baby 7 rows in front of me... thank God, the flight was 4 hours).

The over the ear design (the cords go over your ears and the buds come down from above) is really taking some getting used to, though I think it a wise decision on the part of the designers. The buds are somewhat bulky and can cause discomfort when worn for long periods of time, but that fades as your ears get used to them. I really do enjoy the immersive audio you get from these and have been thankful for the sound isolating aspect of the phones on numerous occasions already.

Also, though they sit well when you're sitting on a bus, plane, car, or subway, they can be jostled out of position when walking, so I wouldn't recommend these for work-out enthusiasts, or city striders who like a soundtrack when running errands.

Overall good headphones, but they require a little more babying and getting used to than I would like, but for the price, I do think they're the best bet out there.

Also, the one killer function I would have liked to have seen on these phones would have been an action button allowing listeners to skip, pause, and backtrack through songs when using an iPhone, but as I said, at the time of shopping, these were the best on offer.