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544 of 558 found the following review helpful:
 great product, and Shure stands by itJan 22, 2005
By Ron Cronovich
"Ron"
Like many people, I was tempted by the good reviews but reluctant to pay so much for a pair of tiny earphones. Finally, almost 2 years ago, I bought a pair.
Like all of the other reviews here state, the Shure E2c's sound GREAT. They are very balanced, and let you hear the subtle details of your music, making the music almost come alive in your head. They turn your MP3 player or Discman into an audiophile-quality stereo system.
The E2c blocks outside noise by forming a very tight seal in your ear. In contrast, "noise canceling" earphones, such as the popular ones by Bose, do not block outside noise from reaching your ear, rather they add their own electronically generated noise which is supposed to cancel out the outside noise. I've never had good results with the various noise canceling headphones I've tried; plus, they require batteries to generate the noise-canceling noise. The E2c's block noise without batteries, and without adding any artificial noise or discoloration to your music. It works very well. I especially appreciate it at gym, on the bus or subway, and on a plane. (Warning - PLEASE don't wear the E2c's while driving or bicycling or any other time that safety requires your full attention!)
The build quality of the E2c's is very good - the cord and plug are thicker and sturdier than competing earphones. For 2 years, I heavily used and abused my E2c's, especially at the gym. Literally hundreds and hundreds of times, I've plugged and unplugged them into my various MP3 players, hastily wound and unwound the cord, and tossed them into my gym bag, usually without using the protective case that comes with the E2c's. Despite the very good build quality, my heavy use led finally to a short: when the cord was wiggled in a certain way, the sound on the left side would briefly go out.
I went to Shure's website and saw that they have a 2-year warranty. I sent my E2c's to Shure for repair, hoping it would be covered by warranty, but prepared to pay if Shure felt the problem was due to wear and tear (because, in fact, it was). Two weeks later, I received from Shure a BRAND-NEW PAIR of E2c's - they decided the problem WAS covered by the warranty, and wanted me to have a new pair rather than repairing my old ones!!!
This is more than I expected, and will make me a repeat buyer of Shure products! I especially appreciate this level of service given the lackluster support I've received from so many other companies.
584 of 610 found the following review helpful:
awesome pair of phones, three caveatsSep 02, 2004
By J. London
"despreocupado"
I am totally into these noise-cancelling earphones and they perfectly complement my iRiver mp3 player/recorder in sound and color. Once you've gotten over their higher price point, have followed the enclosed instructions exactly and begun to use them, there is no going back to the normal, flat sounding buds. They isolate exterior noise and that is a boon if you live in a noisy environment, like NYC infamously is.
Experiment with using the foam vs. the flex sleeves to your taste. I've stuck with the smallest of the three sized flex sleeves and after two days testing my ears were used to the slight increase in pressure.
A warning: be careful not to turn the volume up too high in public as one needs to be able to know when her/his attention is required, among other things. Be extra aware of traffic when on the street. Also, high volume just is not necessary as ALL exterior racket (subways, curse-laden conversations and car horns) is rendered mutedly surreal.
Also, be mindful of its carrying case. I've had my pair for almost a year now and the case's cable spool has bent the cord's wire covering to such an extent that it is now exposed. Far be it from me to walk around town like a super-geek w/ electrical tape on mine; I plan to replace them with one from amazon's marketplace sellers for cheaper when Santa comes around this December. But be advised to remove the interior cable spool completely and keep the headphones rolled up manually before placing them inside the case. The case is very durable, zips up securely, is nonbreakable, has a soft protective interior and is lightweight.
One other observation -- use q-tips and rubbing alcohol to regularly clean the flex sleeves if you decide to use those. The foam probably would just wear out completely. Shure's website does sell replacment sleeves (both foam and flex) for $10-$12 each w/ 5 pair included, which is nice.
I honestly would have given the product five stars if it wasn't for the breaking of the wire cover coupled with their already high price. The warnings above should keep yours in good working shape for years though and this is a great investment for all digital audiophiles. :-)
83 of 85 found the following review helpful:
Excellent product, blows any earbud away!Nov 06, 2003
By J. Hutchinson
I bought these earphones for a combination of uses - travel, exercise, casual listening, etc. They are great. The noticeable background noise attenuation is perfect for flights, busy airports, mowing the lawn or anywhere you want to tune out the outside world. Bass response is very good, I'd call it neutral (which is the best thing a serious music fan can ask for.) These earphones are very low profile and unobtrusive to wear. They do not create the fatigue I get while wearing regular headphones for a long period and the sound blows away the numerous earbuds I have tried. I use the flex fit sleeves which are very comfortable. By cinching up the sleeve on the cord, they stay in place with minimal fuss even while exercising. I strongly recommend these earbuds to anyone who wants immersive, comfortable and excellent sound.
41 of 41 found the following review helpful:
Great sound but not perfect...Jun 13, 2007
By Danny
"trying to be helpful"
Hello All,
I've owned the Shure E2C Sound Isolating Earphones for almost a year now.
I'm not an audiophile, but I can appreciate good sound reproduction. These earphones are amazing interms of clarity of highs and mid level sounds. The base is more than passible but not deep and ear-bleeding like some Sony or Bose models. I'm not into those models at all, since the music I listen to are often instrumentals with very little base, also supplemented with Podcasts and the occasional audio book.
I was immediately and pleasantly surprised to hear sounds I've never heard before in music I've listened to a thousand times from my car and computer speakers. I was very impressed and happy with my purchase. But, as with most things, it does come at a price. I'll get to that in a bit.
These earphones comes with 3 styles of earbuds. One is the round soft rubber kind (which come in large, med, small to suit your ear canal), the other is the soft squishy yellow foam, which molds to the shape of your ear (also comes in large, med and small), and the hard plastic kind (also in large, med and small).
The hard plastic kind works the best in terms of blocking outside sound but because its hard plastic, my ears start to ache after a few hours of continuous use. The foam feels the best in terms of comfort but doesn't block out sound as well as the hard plastic and the soft rubber ones. I finally settled on the soft rubber ones, a nice compromise between the hard plastic and the foam. It's soft, fits comfortably and blocks out most of the outside noise.
Now, it's important to NOTE that people have been tossing around the term NOISE CANCELING freely without any regard to its meaning. In terms of earphones and headphones, NOISE CANCELING refers to the mechanism within the headphones or earphones that actually emit a noise canceling signal that actually cancels out the frequency of most of the outside sound coming in.
I've tried the ones from Bose, Sony, and even Shure, which all have a seperate switch to turn on this function. The feeling is really weird and needs some getting used to. It feels like being stuffed up with a head-cold, or your ears on the verge of popping. But, it does do what it claims, which is actively canceling out a large percentage of outside noise coming in.
THESE earphones are NOT NOISE CANCELING earphones. They are sound isolating earphones. This means that they just block out the sound by forming a tight fit into your ear canal to prevent any other sound from getting in. That's all. Its the same as someone doing constuction across the street from your house and you close all the windows and doors to block out that sound. These earphones DO NOT emit a noise canceling signal to actively cancel out outside sound.
I hope this was helpful and makes sense to you.
Anyhow, back to the review.
You need to practice putting these things on your ear. What the hell does that mean? Well, if you've never used these type of earphones before, you will see that its more than just popping in these earbuds like the standard ones do.
The earphones comes with instructions and pictures to show you how to put them on, so don't worry. But, to give you an idea, first the darker colored earbud is ALWAYS the right side earbud. The clear colored one is the left. You first take the earbud cord, loop it around the back of your ear and then insert the earbud into your ear. Don't worry, if this doesn't make any sense, you'll understand when you own your own pair. These earphone won't fit into your ear in any other way AND will always pop out if you don't do it this way.
Is it comfortable? Yes, but over an extended period of time, my left ear starts to ache, but this is after 3 hours of continuous use.
Again, the sound reproduction is great. And it blocks out a large percentage of outside noise. I commute by bus and train and these guys are perfect to keep out all that excess noise.
Now, here are some drawbacks:
1) These are not good for exercising, or anything that involves active movement and sweating. REASON: as you sweat the earbuds will always slip out. If you are just lifting weights, they're fine. If you are on an exercise bike, most of the time, its ok. For jogging, no good.
2) This reason is also in tandem with the first one. If you are motionless, i.e. lying down or sitting or just standing in line waiting for the train or bus, these earphones will produce great sound. However, because your ear canal is almost completely sealed by the earphones, internal sounds will be amplified. What does this mean?
Here is the easiest and most accurate example:
Please try the following: Plug your ears with your fingers, (not put the palms of your hands over your ears). Please becareful when you do this. Take whatever finger fits, completely plug up your ear canal and eat some potatoe chips. The sound of you crunching on those chips are incredibly loud. Walk around a room that has hard wood or concrete floors. Your footsteps are also annoyingly audible.
This is almost the exact sensation you will experience when you have these buds in your ear.
So please take note of this. I commute to work by bus and train, and the only thing that bothers me is the noise that I hear when i'm eating, walking and the buds slipping out when I'm sweating on a hot day.
3) In addition to 1 and 2, the cord itself, if its free and dangling, you will hear the sound of the cord hitting your chest if its not taught or secure in some way. And that sound is quite loud and distracting.
That's it in terms of drawbacks. The earphones come in a nice looking zippered case for easy storage and travel. So, I'm pretty happy with my purchase, because the sound is great and my commute is mostly sitting down or waiting, but hearing my loud footsteps as I rush from my bus stop to the nearest subway train is still very annoying, something I haven't gotten used to yet, probably never will.
I hope this review has been helpful. Buyers beware, as always, try to get as much info on a product before purchasing. Be safe.
142 of 157 found the following review helpful:
Shure E2C - So good it's scaryApr 14, 2004
By Riley M. Mccormick
"Riley"
I just got these earphones and they are very different than I thought they would be. Don't get me wrong - I love them. I live in Manhattan and was not ready for the change that would happen when I put these guys in my ears. Basically I can't hear anything but the music. I'm missing subway stops, almost getting hit by cars. People talk to me and all I see is lip flap. I'm in my own little music world walking around scared that something is going to happen that I can't hear. Like: "Hey look out, watch your head!" Or "Hey look out for the taxi it's gonna hit you!" But when it's a good song I don't seem to care... Unless the subway decides to go express and I end up on Delancy street. Anyway - the sound is awesome. It does take some time getting used to the them in your ear - but so far, so good.
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