Shure E2c Sound Isolating Earphone - E2C
Wired Connectivity

I expected that "sound isolating" meant "noise cancelling." I was wrong. The isolation comes from using old style foam earplugs with a speaker shoved inside. The sound is nice, but the ear pieces were difficult to use. The package comes with three styles. While the foam earplug option stayed reasonably well in my ears, the other two would not stay in my ears. The foam plugs are not comfortable and when they get cold do not stay in place. The case that comes in the package is roughly the same as "wad the wire up in a ball and cram it in your pocket." It does nothing to keep the very long cord from getting tangled. The best news is they were relatively cheap. If I had spent more on them, I would return them to the merchant.
 
Was this review helpful?    

So I needed headphones to drown out my annoying coworkers and roommate. This definately gets the job done. After messing with the earbuds for a couple minutes, I found that the black silicones work best for me. These earbuds not only drowned out my coworkers, but also the annoying 80s music they keep blasting (not to mention it also drowns out my boss). Pros: Amazingly sturdy cord, lots of different sizes of earbuds, sound-isolating/noise-cancellating, and cool free case Cons: After wearing them for an hour, they hurt your ear, a little too long of a cord, they kinda look like really super cool hearing-aids, and since it goes behind your ear, it takes a little longer to put them on Overall, it was well worth the money!
 
Was this review helpful?    

The Shures are the best bang for the buck at this price level, hands down. The sound is gorgeously balanced, not weighted too heavily towards the bass, not squeaky to run off the high treble. I would recommend the Shures to anybody. They're an amazing little earset, and the listening experience is something that you really have to hear to believe.
 
Was this review helpful?    

Amazing sound, sorry but if you play a CD instead of Mp3, you will hear the amazing bass quality. They are 10x better than any cheap headphones.
 
Was this review helpful?    

After reading reviews about the earphones and what to expect out of them when I first received them, I am greatly impressed. The earphones are very comfortable, durable (I've had them for almost a year now), and have a great performance. I listen to everything from classical music and jazz to country, alternative, and rap and these earphones perform through all the ranges. The only reason I gave the "ease of use" rating a 4 is that it took me awhile to get used to putting earphones in my ear and that it takes sometime to put them in as opposed to oldschool headphones. Overall, a great buy especially at this price.
 
Was this review helpful?    

I wanted a pair of earbuds that I could use in noisy situations. After reviewing tons of stuff, I decided that I could only afford these Shure E2C's. Spending more than $300 for in-the-ear phones was out of the question. I already own a pair of Grado SR225's so I know a little bit about audiophile listening equipment. Lack of money prevents me from the getting the truly high-end stuff, so I settle for decent quality at a reasonable price. These SHURE headphones delivered. They obviously don't get the bass and lower frequencies for many songs but they do an excellent job in the mids and highs. The comfort level of these phones takes getting used to. They can really hurt your ears after extended play or if you don't like things crammed in your ear! But, they beat the sound quality of any 'outside the ear canal' earbuds hands down. The sound isolation is worth keeping them around if you don't have earplugs!! Drowns out engines, babies, and the like. The only thing this isn't good for is running/jogging. Although sound isolation is good, vibrations on the cord will go directly to your ear. So could be a problem for some people. I recommend these as the best low-end audio solution for mp3/cd players. They'll sure beat whatever comes with the player when you buy it from the store!
 
Was this review helpful?    

Excellent performance and for a traveler, the case is very compact. Can sometimes be a little difficult to keep in the ear if you don't have the sizing correct, but overall, very giid
 
Was this review helpful?    

Excellent sound quality, only problem is the fitting (Sometimes uncomfortable).
 
Was this review helpful?    

The E2Cs make a decent replacement for iPod's standard issue, but if you enjoy bass or listen at higher volumes, you'd be wiser to go with the Etymotic or Bose (if $$ isn't the issue). The low-end Shures seem to skimp on the low end notes.
 
Was this review helpful?    

These are the best earphones i have ever had i had a choice between the bose and these and tryed both out in a 6 hour car ride and i definatly would choose these head phones over all other ones even the bose or anything.
 
Was this review helpful?    

I'm no audiophile, but I know I love these earphones. My music sounds 100% better than it did with the phones that came with my mp3 player, and I can listen to it at about two thirds of the volume. Some sort of sound blocking is a must for anyone who wants to enjoy their music on the subway/train/plane, and these are much more portable and much cheaper than Bose noise-cancelling headphones (the buy.com price on the e2c's, by the way, is excellent). The only caveats are: If you've ever felt uncomfortable with in-ear phones, obviously don't bother with these. Sticking them in your ear canal is an odd feeling at first, and I still can't wear them for extended periods of time (more than a couple hours); my ears start to feel a little raw. Also, remember that total isolation isn't always a good thing (like if you're riding a bike in the city). It is great, however, if you want to ignore an annoying coworker. :) The foam sleeves get a little grodey after a couple of months, even with regular washing, but you can order more from Shure's website. But anyway, I'd recommend these highly. Worth every penny.
 
Was this review helpful?    

These earphones are unreal. The dynamic range is excellent, from the tin of a hi-hat to a mellow low's of a bass, they reproduce the sound beautifully. Don't be surprised if you start to realize how bad some of your music really is! They come with: 6 sleeves, 3 foam (to form a tighter fit) and 3 plastic (can be cleaned), 10 wax guards and a nice zippered clamshell carrying case.
 
Was this review helpful?    

I was going to purchase the Sony MDR-EX51LP which are $40 cheaper, but I'm sure glad I didn't. The only thing this pair lacks is bass, so if you plan on listening to just rap or music with heavy bass don't bother; Get a different pair. Buy.com is also the cheapest price out there when you use the $5 off code. DO yourself a favor and spend the extra money. Defenitely great quality.
 
Was this review helpful?    

These were my first 'good' canalphones. I've since owned various 'audiophile'-level canalphones, and while they do have recessed treble, they have a clear and detailed sound, and are a great deal for what they cost now. They are much better than any stock earbud or any of the offerings by sony and the like. Some people may like the boomy overpowering bass and harsh grating treble of the sony ex71's, but these are much more enjoyable and accurate. I think it's worth it to spend the extra money on the e3c's, but if you can't afford them, you should get the e2c's. Compared to the etymotic er6i's, the er6i's have much more treble and more detail, but are very light on the bass. Keep in mind that canalphones, especially ones like the e2c's, go far into your ear canal and take some getting used to. After a week or so, though, you won't even notice they're in.
 
Was this review helpful?    

after you get these amazing headphones, you will hear the flaws of MP3, AAC's and other compressed music files at times when the bass guitar is particularly strong or when there's a complex piece playing. That is, unless you dig up your old CD player (mine is 10 years old!) and listen to the the source CDs which sound extraordinarily good. Yes, these are that good for such a low price from buy.com. So in other words, great headphones that are almost too good for poorly ripped files.
 
Was this review helpful?    

I've always had a problem with 'ear bud' style headphones, like those shipped with the iPod. I tried the E2C headphones, knowing I had doubts about the comfort of an in-ear unit (but being tired of my totally enclosed big headphones or the crummy sounding lightweight models). I can only say that this is the best investment I've ever made in a headphone. They come with a mix of foam and plastic inserts of various sizes, and the small foam ones work great in my ears. Once in, outside noise is completely blocked (even on the airplane trip I recently took). The audio quality is outstanding, especially at this price point. The entire frequency range is crisp, even the bass. I'm hearing tons of musical details I've never heard before. Quality-wise, the cord is pretty heavy (which is good) and long. The strain relief on the plug end is heavy duty as well; I doubt the cable will ever separate there, unlike so many other headphones I've had. A really, really good buy.
 
Was this review helpful?    

These headphones are pretty good. They suck if you get a horrible seal. You basically have to shove them in your ears every time you put them on. But its worth it if you dont want to hear anything else. They are a little big for the smallest pair of plugs. So if your ear canals are small, these wont work for you. The bass is pretty good. THe sound quality is the best. I also love the cord going around my neck. It gets out of the way. (It goes all the way down your back.)I can put the volume down and still hear the music. Overall pretty good headphones for 65 dollars. But if you dont like shoving things in your ear, DO NOT BUY THESE.
 
Was this review helpful?    

After reading countless numbers of positive reviews online and got my pair of Shure e2c, I'm surprised that no one ever mention this: Shure e2c is NOT A SUITABLE EARPHONE FOR JOGGING! Even when you walk, you can hear heavy steps. This is generally true for canalphones, I suppose. (same problem with Sony Nude) Shure e2c is slightly better than Sony Nude since it is designed to have its cables hanging behind your ears. So you won't hear sounds generated from pulling the cables. But walking with it is quite a pain for me. Lastly, BUY.COM is great! I ordered my Shure on Sunday night with regular shipping (free and suppose to take a week or more). They shipped it on Monday and I received it on Wednesday! It is so fast. I¡¦m glade that I didn¡¦t add money for other faster shipping. Also, if you want to buy it, buy it here. You can¡¦t find a better deal anywhere else!!! At least as of today! : P
 
Was this review helpful?    

I've never been a fan of earbuds mainly because I've got to jam them so far into my ears to get them stay in and give me some bass. And what always happens is I have to turn the volume up to mitigate the loose fit. Well, the downside to that is I get a terrible ear ache after a while (not fun when working out). The E2C's are what real earbuds are supposed to be. GREAT BASS and the different sized sleeves gave me snug fit. In my case I needed one size on one side and another on the other side. But this is just one piece of proof as to the level of product quality I purchased. Another and most importantly would be the sound....AWESOME! I have to say one thing that really surprised me was the noise filtering ( I had the volume at 60% of what I normally listen to). The snug fit was that good in my ears. I can't speak as to how these differ from the E3C's. But I while I wasn't willing to spend more than the $75 these cost (shipping included) I can say with confidence I might be inclined to now if something happens to these because I'm that impressed. I ordered these earbuds on Monday evening at 6:39PM and they arrived at my door on Wednesday at 6:48PM. Now THAT'S what I call service!! Props to Buy.com.
 
Was this review helpful?    

It took me a day to get used to how much these felt like ear plugs. They sound remarkably better than my previous $30 headphone purchases of various brands. The isolation will definitely beat any noise cancelling set. I find the bass and over richness of the sound very pleasing. They're a bargain at the buy.com price. On the downside they may be too isolating in some situations where you need to hear someone screaming at you. The cord is pretty heavy duty and weigh nearly as much as my digital player, a plus in my book. Overall I love them, and have a hard time listening with anything else (when I need to hear if someone is screaming)
 
Was this review helpful?    

I couldn't decide between noise canceling headphones or these sound isolating headphones. The sale price of these on this website sealed the deal as it made them cheaper than the Sony noise canceling in-ears headphones I was looking at. The day I received them I was leaving on a business trip so the first test was the train. I found them very easy to put on and comfortable from the start and the sound of the train could barely be heard and I certainly couldn't hear other passengers talking (I couldn't even hear the announcements), and I had to turn down the volume from my regular headphone setting. In the airport terminal I could not hear any of the flight announcements unless in between songs, and then on the plane the engine noise was significantly reduced (it was a small 25 paasenger jet so it gets pretty noisy in there). To be honest they probably are worth the full retail price to me so I'm very happy they were on sale.
 
Was this review helpful?    

very good performance. but they are a little hard to put into your ears. Not as comfortable as sony MD series. Put your volume LOW bevore you put these into your ears and watch out the traffic while you wearing them.
 
Was this review helpful?    

I initially purchased these to replace the ear buds that came with my iPod to jog and workout thinking they would stay put inside my ear vs. the Apple pair. I was mistaken, they come off just as easily. What I ended up finding out was how much richer and clearer they sounded plus how much isolation they gave me from the outside world! They are a marvel while traveling by plane. It makes each trip I take so much more pleasant! They are definitely worth the money; they're actually a bargain - first rate! The only gripe I have is that they are a little bigger than my ear canal and sometimes bother me if wearing them for an extended period of time. You can replace the pads for larger or smaller ones so that shouldn't be an issue. Outside of that, these are excellent earpieces for most people except the most demanding audiophile and those looking to use them while working out.
 
Was this review helpful?    

I use these with my iPod on airplanes. I was worried that the engine noise would overpower the sound, but the phones fit in the ear and seal off much of the noise. Excellent sound and they come with a case too.
 
Was this review helpful?    

Computers > PC Accessories > Headphones > Noise Canceling