Shure E2c (white)

3.5 stars

"Sounds great with some learning curves..." on February 12, 2005

Pros: Great clean sound, decent bass, appears to be high quality, nice traveling case.

Cons: Difficult to get it to fit perfectly. It took me about a week of use to finally figure out that I need a medium sleeve on my left ear and a small on my right ear! If it's too big, it hurts after couple hours of use. If it's too small, it doesn't have en

1.0 stars

"I really wanted to like this product..." on August 16, 2006 by mhartman75

Pros: everything except the sound

Cons: the sound and this 10 character minumum

Summary: I don't consider myself to be an audiophile by any means but I am particularly savvy with mid-priced ear buds having owned several pairs thru the years. I tend to go with the Sony products even though they are cheaply made and tend to fall apart with normal use. I have been plunking down around $50 a pair for various ear-buds for the last few purchases and am generally pleased with the sound-isolating capabilities as well as a rich full sound of some of the Sony products - I currently have the MDR-EX81LP/B. I remember the first time I tried decent ear buds I felt like I was underwater, hearing myself breathe and all. This sound-isolation feature provides tremendous audio reproduction benefits in my opinion, even better than some high end DJ style headphones where you sometimes have to press the earpieces to your head to get the full sound. If it wasn't for the poor build quality of the Sony products they would have had a loyal customer...

That brings me to the recent purchase of the e2c from Shure. Most of the reviews of this product are glowing with praise, far outweighing the negative reviews - I should know, I think I read every single one on the internet. Shure is a great company, the e2c looked sharp, and I had a burning, unfulfilled desire for high quality, durable ear-buds at the $100 and below price-mark. From the moment I was able to get the packaging open, all seemed extremely well. The e2c is hot, the cords are nice and thick, the length is perfect, and above all, this company seems like they really care about getting that sound-isolating feel with all the possible ear-bud attachments. I even thought that not labeling the right and left buds was a dope stylistic touch (the right bud is black and white). They even thought to include earwax guards that you install prior to use. I was easily able to get a tight, perfectly sound-isolated fit with EACH of the possible attachments (hard rubber, soft rubber, and plugs). I found them easy to put in and use due to my previous experience with and tendency for sound-isolating style ear-bud headphones. I also really liked the way they fit the ear, with the cord going behind the ear - they are extremely comfortable. I preferred the hard rubber and the soft rubber ones equally to the plug style; the soft rubber ones are actually much like Sony's buds.

Everything changed after that. Now I want the 5 minutes back that I spent trying to get the stupid earwax guards off the sticky paper and on to the buds. In a word, the sound is WEAK. Everything - and I mean everything - EXCEPT the sound on these headphones is absolutely top notch. I completely ignored all the reviews about no bass, tinny sound, etc. (there weren't that many) based on the assumption that these people had no ear for sound and had no idea what they were talking about. To you people, I say now that I am sorry, and one of the biggest mistakes in my portable-audio life was not listening to you. I've since returned the headphones and am happy now with my Sony MDR-EX81LP/B, knowing that I have made an effort to at least try to find higher quality headphones even if at a premium. I suspect I will venture out of this price range ($50-$100) onto the next tier, hoping to get what I'm looking for; however, I doubt I will take any sort of chance on the higher end Shure products because of the experience with the e2c. I am interested in checking out the Etymotic products, they seem pretty good for high end buds.

If you think I have a bad ear simply because I think these things are terrible, then I don't ever want a good ear.

4.5 stars

"Whoa, I can't believe what I'm hearing" on July 8, 2005 by chuchodude1

Pros: Good Sound, Thick Cords, Lightweight, Blocks Sound

Cons: I could use a little more bass

Summary: These are quite honestly the best headphones I have ever used. I have gone to the Bose store and I tried some TriPorts and the Quiet Comfort II's. They were both really nice but they are big. The E2C's out perform both Bose's headphones. I love these so much, but I want to go back to the old earbuds that came with my Zen, but I can't get the E2C's out of my ears long enough to put the others back in. Like everyone else says, you have to have a good seal for these to work. I can stand the rubber flex tips but the foam tips are so much more comfortable. I've had them for one day and I slept in them last night. There were a couple of times where I woke up to my music and it was almost like I was in a trance, I seriously felt like I was high when I was listening because the sound totally surrounds you. These things are amazing. My parents hate them because now when they want my attention they have to tap my shoulder because they can't hear me. I'm learning to like the behind the ear design of them. At first it is awkward to put them in like that but when you use the plastic tube that slides up, the snugness of them is insane. I could jump around and they wouldn't let loose. I love the highs and mids of these. The bass is there but it definately will not rattle your cage. I guess you can't expect a rattling with earbuds because you can't feel the rumble in your body, but the sound quality is so good. If you have to have a headphone with earth shaking bass these are not the phones for you. Acoustic guitar music sounds so incredible with the E2C's. You can hear every little vibration of the string. I know it will sound weird but my favorite music to listen to on the E2C's is Tenacious D. It is soo crystal clear and you hear things you've never appreciated before. Today I heard Jack Black say fu** right at the end of the song. I've never heard that before. I love these so much I'm thinking of marrying them. I can't imagine what the E5's sound like and I can't wait to be rich enough to buy them. I recomend these to anyone who loves to listen to good, balanced, quality music. A+++++++ Shure!

4.5 stars

"SICK Headphones!" on April 25, 2005 by wildcat365

Pros: Excellent sound across all ranges

Cons: Price (but it's well worth it.)

Summary: I listen to all types of music from hip-hop to blues from trance to jazz. It's hard to find ear-bud headphones that can handle such a diverse range of frequencies. The Shure e2c does a remarkable job of cancelling noise and the sound is amazing. Once you listen to these and comparing them to OEM headphones, you'll fork up the cash immediately. The ear-bud style headphones only takes a day to get used to and once you find the right size adapter putting them in and out of your ears is no problem. People complain about having a hard time getting them in their ears, but it's not that difficult. Plus they HAVE to be designed liks this in order to have great sound. I got mine off eBay for $70. I can't even imagine with the e3c's and the e5c's sound like....