Shure E2c Sound-Isolating In-Ear Headphones

Rating:
Summary: Manual a Must
Review: The manual is important. Don't avoid reading the manual, or you'll be confused and possibly void your warranty.<br /><br />The manual is made up of pretty small pages. Page 2 of the manual tells the parts of the earphone. The last item on the list is a "wax guard," referring to page 9. Page 9 is the last page of the verbose area of the manual, describing the wax guard.<br /><br />The earphones ship with the smallest conical sleeves installed, without any wax guard. You have to take the sleeves off, install the wax guards, and put a sleeves back on, or else you void the warranty. I found that to be the weakest part of the process.<br /><br />Otherwise, they seem fine. These are essentially earplugs with earphones attached. I must have small ear canals, because I find only the smallest foam earplugs to be comfortable. The sound is good; the cord seems to be an appropriate length for a hip-mounted monitor pack or personal sound player.

Rating:
Summary: Amazing, if you know what good sound, sounds like
Review: Though some reviews have said that these headphones are,"Overpriced, Weak Bass, Uncomfortable", they are the total opposite. The ear sleeves may take some getting used to, however, when the burn-in period is over, and when one gets used to the fit, these headphones will blow you away. I've tried numerous audiophile-quality headphones before stumbling over the Shure E2C's---Sony MDR-V700DJ, Sony MDR-V600, MDR-V500DJ Sennhesier HD580, Sennheiser HD280, Sennheiser HD550, Sony Nude's, and many, many more. Though my MDR-V700's were, undoubtedly amazing, they were quite bulky, and the impedence was too high to be powered by a portable device. The Shure's on the other hand reproduce sound extremely well. The the mids and bass is strong and clear, and the highs are not piercing. In addition they are built extremely well, and I am confident that they will last me for a very long time. They are well worth $100.

Now, let me address some complaints. the comment that the bass is "weak" is an uneducated comment. Currently, when bass is mentioned we seem to think that it has to be felt. But headphones are about HEARING, not FEELING. True, they are not like strapping a pair of 12in subs to your ear, but the bass in headphones is not defined by whether the headphones can move your head back and forth while listening to music. Rather, bass refers to an actual bass. Yes, as in the guitar. Though these headphones do a mediocre job at reproducing SYNTHETIC bass, it does a phenominal job at reproducing actual bass. Pick up any classic rock, or jazz. You'll see what I mean. Moving on...the flex sleeves do take some getting used to. I recommend using the foam sleeves first then moving unto the silicone flex sleeves. In addition, the sound quality is also dependent on the quality of the mp3 or source where you have plugged in your headphones.

One more tip: do not be led on by uneducated reviews. These headphones do not disappoint.