i've noticed that shure make sound outrageously expensive in-ear headphones going up to nearly £500. has anyone ever listened to anything better than E2Cs because i'd love to know whether they really are that good?

Likewise, £500 for a pair of in ear headphones is just crazy. Unfortunately I'm not in a position to risk being the guinea pig on this one!

I purchased a pair of E5c's about a year ago and my girlfriend a pair of the E2C's for considerably less. To my ears, being a musician and also owning a studio, I am used to listening to high quality audio. I can say without any doubt that the E5c's are trully superb. They can be a little uncomfortable as they are intraaural, but once you have them set up for your ears, you get used to the invasive nature. The sound is beyong reproach; clear, with good imaging and nice subtle bass. If using with an iPod its a good idea to increase the conversion rate to well above 196, as 128 is a little low and brittle and with these earphones you will notice it.

Stu, thanks very much for your reply. i have now purchased a pair of E3cs and i do download most of my music at 192 which improves the quality tremendously. I don't know the correct lingo, but i can say they are truly fantastic. i couldn't really justify the cost of either E4cs or E5cs for purely portable listening, but i would be interested to know how they compare against full size headphones of similar price? if you don't mind explaining also, what does "imaging" describe in this context?

Imaging is the stereo imaging. Many cheap headphones tend to seperate in rather badly and you tend either to end up with a stereo image that is either muddled or to wide or narrow. Where as I have found that Sure have the imaging just right, where it should be and where the producer of the music intended.

I have some Senheisers full size HD600 (I think they're HD's can't remember what there called but they cost a mint) and compared to them, the only thing that is missing is some bass depth. Other than that, its much the same. I also mix down (place sounds of a recorded session in their stereo mix and volume, eq etc.) using a pair of Beyerdynamic DT770 and the Sures are on a par with them also, although yet again not as much bass depth.

Overall, as a portable choice, you cant beat them. They don't interfear with the sound, or colour it at all; what you here is pretty close to how it is meant to be heard.

How I heard about Sure E series was through singers using them as foldback (where they here their own voice in the live concert or gig, you see them wearing them on TV). Many people started to realise that these intra aural foldback monitors were excellent headphones and eventually Sure caught on to this idea too and released them for the general public to buy.

The E5c are identical to the professional ones used as foldback and are the same price. E3 are bloody good too and represent a nice balance for the price. You can't beat them.

Hva ethe Shure E4's and i can say they are fantastic for the money a real difference between them and the E2/E3's as ive had both and although ive listened to the E5's and again they are superb i cant really justify the price increase for portable listening !!

Hi,

I've been looking for a new pair of earphones and after reading reviews I've been drawn to the Shure's. I was looking at the E3's which I can get for around £75, however I've read reviews that said that the bass is poor on these phones and that they are suited to accoustic but not other music. I wondered if anyone here has compared the E3's and E4's and can comment?

Karl, having tried both I'd say the E4's are a significant leap from the E3's (not surprisingly really, considering the price hike!). Main improvements are fuller bass and even better separation.

However I think Shure is releasing a whole new set of noice cancelling earbuds this year so might wanna check those out first before taking the plunge...

I'd add though that my E2Cs are starting to fall apart. :( The lead is starting to wear through to the bare wire. Anyone else had this problem?

yes I had this problem, and I returned them to Shure with the original packaging with the warranty and copy receipt and they replaced them without question by return post.

Guys, I wish I had known this site/thread earlier. Same, I was scared to take the plunge on these expensive in-ear phones. I could risk £30 on the Sennheiser CX300. I just love them. A steal at the price. They are very well built too. The silver colour exactly matches my CD-thin Sony DNE10 CD player. I use them on the plane even when not listening to music, just for noise cancelling! I find the bass very good as well as imaging - though the treble is not crystal clear. The drawback is that I now find my Denon mini (though an award winner) quite congested and never listen to it. Judging from your views, I would like to now go for the E4c maybe next year - or wait for the new Shure range.