Product Description

The E2c Sound Isolating Earphones offers to upgrade your portable music experience by giving you studio-quality sound with impressive background noise isolation. It has a unique, stylish design with earbuds that are easy to insert in the ears, plus a high energy speaker with a distinct enclosure! Get the Shure E2c Sound Isolating Earphones and enjoy portable music to the hilt!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5565 in Consumer Electronics
• Brand: Shure
• Model: E2C
• Released on: 2006-06-26
• Dimensions: .7 pounds

Features

• Sound Isolating Design
• High Energy Speakers for Studio-Quality Sound
• Lightweight: Weighs one ounce
• Fit Kit for Personalized, Comfortable In-Ear Fit
• Earphones Carrying Case

Manufacturer's Description
In sleek black, to go with some of today's newest MP3 and other audio players. Originally developed for professional musicians, the E2c combines Dynamic MicroDriver speaker technology with a sound isolating design to deliver rich, full-range sound while blocking outside noise -- ideal for enhancing your listening experience with portable MP3, DVD, and CD players as well as all other audio sources. The E2c's in ear design works like an earplug to block background noise naturally. This enables you to listen comfortably at lower volumes -- even in loud environments. And unlike bulky headphones utilizing active noise cancellation technology, no artifacts are introduced into your listening experience. Sound isolating earphones are also much smaller and don't require batteries. The E2c's speakers are constructed with studio-grade components, producing outstanding audio clarity that allows you to hear your music like never before. The E2c's cables pass behind the ear - out of sight and out of the way -- to provide a more comfortable, discreet fit. Plus, the E2c comes with a stylish, compact carrying case. The cable spool inside provides a convenient, tangle-free way to store your earphones.

Box Contents

Customer Reviews

Despite flaws, well worth the money
I have had these for 2 years now and have come up with the following points regarding the headphones (which I use with an iPod Mini):

The set of fitting buds that comes with the headphones does, in my experience, allow you to find a perfect fit. Sure, that fit takes some getting used to, but afte a few weeks you get into the knack of fitting them in rather easily.

The cable that comes with them is too long. While this is good for using them as you're watching DVDs at home or something, I find I have to wrap some of the cable around the iPod.

The sound is hard to fault, and I do geekily try them with certain albums just to experience how good that sound can be. this, of course relies on you being able to fit them into your ears deeply enough, the sensation of which is like putting your fingers firmly into your ears.

The bass is fine (again, so long as you make sure they are securely fitted). It's not overpowering, but is natural, and beefy when required.

Again, providing they fit well, they block a hell of a lot of outside noise out. Not so much to entirely mute the world, but more than enough to block irritating mobile phones and such. On The Tube, they are a Godsend.

Taking them out can be a bit embarassing - Eurgh! Wax! Give your ears a good clean before putting them in. They also get a bit sweaty in the summer.

The sticky 'wax guards' are a bit of a pain - eventually they get very sticky and grimy, so need to be replaced. I find I replace them every 3 months or so. Once you run out of these, beware - Shure charge a needlessly overpriced fee for a new set: 1/5 the cost of an entirely new pair of headphones!

Also...

After 16 months, the flex where the cable curls around each ear perished. Despite having lost my warranty card etc, I sent them away to Shure with my Amazon email-receipt and hoped for the best. 2 days later, Shure provided me with an entirely new set of headphones, freshly boxed. That is, the 2 year warranty is outstanding! The new pair they sent did, in my opinion, use a more flexible material for the cabling - could Shure have learnt their mistakes and changed this previous flaw? Maybe, and if not at least there's always the warrany to fall back on.

PS: they don't look as cool as the Apple headphones, but at least you can feel smug about the vastly superior sound quality :)

Music how it should be heard
I've only owned these phones a couple of hours but I can already say they're a massive improvement on the Sony Fontopia phones I used to own. I can't compare them with any other phones and I'm sure you could get similar quality sound from a decent pair of closed back headphones. But for those looking for earbuds then this is the only choice as far as I'm concerned.

I'd only consider the 'in-ear' type when buying earbuds because the conventional type that rest in your ear and are supplied with most portable players are too uncomforatable and don't block out outside noise. So that doesn't leave many choices. These phones are £30 more expensive than Sony Fontopias but in my opinion they're more than worth the extra outlay. All the Sony's have to offer is strong bass, and it's not even well defined. These phones offer MUSIC! The bass is as strong as those fontopias but much clearer. Vocals and midrange practically sing! And the treble is bright without being harsh. They're also very comfortable, and the build quality looks a world apart from those flimsy Sonys.

You won't be disappointed
I left my original iPod earphones on a plane. I wanted to get high quality phones to replace them and really see what the iPod could do. These headphones are absolutely fantastic. The sound is clear, crisp and deep. With isolation the music is the only thing you can hear even on a plane or outside - the music sounds like it's inside you head. The build quality is excellent aswell.

One thing to mention is that they fit right inside your ear canal (hence the isolation)which some people may find uncomfortable.