best in ear headphones, which ones, and btw, who can afford the shure E5C???

GO TO ADMIN PANEL > ADD-ONS AND INSTALL VERTIFORO SIDEBAR TO SEE FORUMS AND SIDEBAR

eugchen

New member
Joined
Jul 22, 2004
Messages
146
Points
0
wtf??? why in bloody hell are these headphones so expensive? that is so ridiculous!

i currently have the apple in ear head phones for 39.99, which are not bad, but i was looking for something better. i have read that people like shure...is it that good?

how are these sony fontopias?

i dunno, i guess to each is own...
 

icec0ld

New member
Joined
Mar 15, 2004
Messages
183
Points
0
Age
42
Location
orange county, ca
its not ridiculous when u listen to them. the BEST are arguably the ultimate ears ue-10 in ear monitors. use by most of the music industry's top artists during their concert. i use the shure e2 (50-100 bucks) and i can assure u that they will destroy the apple in-ears
 

Doug Gilmour

Intelligentleman
Joined
Dec 12, 2003
Messages
4,909
Points
0
Location
Not Brighton
Website
www.last.fm
You know you should really try those earphones out before you label them as "ridiculously expensive", which is a very premature judgment.. If you want to buy a good budget pair go for the Sony MDR-EX71SL's (or MDR-EX51LP's) which can run you about $30-35 from Amazon. If you want to take a step up you could get the Shure E2c's here for a ridiculously low, $65...

-Dan
 

soman

New member
Joined
Nov 6, 2004
Messages
29
Points
0
I bought the ATH A900 for 200 and the AKG 271 sometime ago for 220 and getting a PortaCorda MK II amp for 125 (standard price 220)
 

eugchen

New member
Joined
Jul 22, 2004
Messages
146
Points
0
i know, i need to listen to them first, but comeon...how much better can they sound to justify that price? i mean, that thing costs 1.5 times my 4G ipod!! that is crazy. but i guess i should try them. but yeah, i guess my main choices now are between the sony 71's and the shure e2...
 

mavis

piggott.
Joined
Nov 21, 2004
Messages
94
Points
0
Location
Tokyo, Japan
Website
www.mavisxp.com
eugchen said:
i know, i need to listen to them first, but comeon...how much better can they sound to justify that price? i mean, that thing costs 1.5 times my 4G ipod!! that is crazy. but i guess i should try them. but yeah, i guess my main choices now are between the sony 71's and the shure e2...
I just got my E5c's today, and right off the bat I can tell you they beat the pants off my Ety ER-6i's ... They are really incredible phones - if I had to do it all over again, I'd order them again in a heartbeat. ;)
 

shuurajou

New member
Joined
Dec 4, 2004
Messages
11
Points
0
Age
38
Location
Bristol, England.
mavis said:
I just got my E5c's today, and right off the bat I can tell you they beat the pants off my Ety ER-6i's ... They are really incredible phones - if I had to do it all over again, I'd order them again in a heartbeat. ;)
I would expect them to as they are 500 dollars :p. The question is, do they beat the 129 dollar Ety ER-6i's enough to justify the almost 4X price increase :).
 

AndyH

New member
Joined
Feb 17, 2004
Messages
4,865
Points
0
Location
Philly 'burbs
shuurajou said:
I would expect them to as they are 500 dollars :p. The question is, do they beat the 129 dollar Ety ER-6i's enough to justify the almost 4X price increase :).
Actually, you can purchase the Shure E5's for approx. $380US, quite a bit cheaper than the MSRP of $500US.
 

Doug Gilmour

Intelligentleman
Joined
Dec 12, 2003
Messages
4,909
Points
0
Location
Not Brighton
Website
www.last.fm
shuurajou said:
I would expect them to as they are 500 dollars :p. The question is, do they beat the 129 dollar Ety ER-6i's enough to justify the almost 4X price increase :).
That really depends on what you're looking for in your music. The E5's would take care of the highs and mids nicely, but especially the bass because of the dual drivers it uses.. Shures are known to have more of a warm sound compared to the colder and precise sound of the Etymotics. Many find the highs and mids of the Etymotics, especially the ER-4P's, to be very good, but the bass not too great.. Many also think the Etymotics, because of their emphasis the accuracy of the notes, sound too cold, and the music doesn't sound as it was intended to be...

So to answer your question, probably not since you may like the highs and mids of the Etymotics and also would find them fine.. Unless of course you are a basshead where the E5c's would sound incredible with the dual drivers. The bass found with the Shure E3c's, however I hear isn't bad. When an amp is added though it would give a nice bass boost... Honestly I probably would not find them worth it, but I haven't given them a try yet, so I can't fairly judge them..

After doing research I think I've found the best choice between good sound and price and so will be getting the Shure E3c's this week maybe..

-Dan
 
Last edited:

shuurajou

New member
Joined
Dec 4, 2004
Messages
11
Points
0
Age
38
Location
Bristol, England.
I'm largely into headphones. Got some ATH-A900's, HD-600's, HD-25's and an amplifier to help them all out, but obviously none of those (bar possibly the HD-25's) are going to be suitable for real portability. I've ordered a pair of Ety ER-6i's, as they were designed for use in the iPod and won't hurt my wallet too bad - it's already been wounded fatally from buying a 40GB iPod this month :).
 

untchble

New member
Joined
Mar 5, 2004
Messages
26
Points
0
Best Earphones

This is an on going debate and is dependant on the users tastes. I have used the Shure E3's and now have gone with the Etymotic ER4P. When I was testing out the Shure's, I sampled the 2,s, 3,s and 5 series of headpphones and my personal favorite were the 3's, they had a better overall sound that I preferred. Now after acquiring the Etymotic ER4P I hear a big difference in clarity but bass is lacking a bit so I am expirementing on how to boost the bass. I sold off my Shure's and made the Etymotic ER4P my primary choice. Like they say "to each his own". Best of luck...
 

Doug Gilmour

Intelligentleman
Joined
Dec 12, 2003
Messages
4,909
Points
0
Location
Not Brighton
Website
www.last.fm
Re: Best Earphones

untchble said:
This is an on going debate and is dependant on the users tastes. I have used the Shure E3's and now have gone with the Etymotic ER4P. When I was testing out the Shure's, I sampled the 2,s, 3,s and 5 series of headpphones and my personal favorite were the 3's, they had a better overall sound that I preferred. Now after acquiring the Etymotic ER4P I hear a big difference in clarity but bass is lacking a bit so I am expirementing on how to boost the bass. I sold off my Shure's and made the Etymotic ER4P my primary choice. Like they say "to each his own". Best of luck...
Perhaps you should invest in an amp, possibly a Cmoy to boost the bass. I've never tried the Etymotics so I wouldn't know if it'd work... My amp gives a lot of bass though so I don't think there would be an exception..

-Dan
 

eugchen

New member
Joined
Jul 22, 2004
Messages
146
Points
0
well i bought the shure e2c on amazon last night....hopefully these will be the ones i keep...i need more bass, my apple in ear suck at that.

still can't see how anyone could spend so much on earphones at 500 dollars and up...i saw some for 700-800 also...not sure of the brand. that is insane.
 

enjoilax

New member
Joined
Feb 17, 2004
Messages
6,756
Points
0
Location
my house
eugchen said:
wtf??? why in bloody hell are these headphones so expensive? that is so ridiculous!

i currently have the apple in ear head phones for 39.99, which are not bad, but i was looking for something better. i have read that people like shure...is it that good?

how are these sony fontopias?
Better than your Apple in-ears.
 

Doug Gilmour

Intelligentleman
Joined
Dec 12, 2003
Messages
4,909
Points
0
Location
Not Brighton
Website
www.last.fm
eugchen said:
well i bought the shure e2c on amazon last night....hopefully these will be the ones i keep...i need more bass, my apple in ear suck at that.

still can't see how anyone could spend so much on earphones at 500 dollars and up...i saw some for 700-800 also...not sure of the brand. that is insane.
Congrats on the new E2c's! You should like them. Post back here when you receive them!

Honestly that is not that much money compared to some others.. Of course $800 is a lot, but there are much more expensive pairs around. I know "thedodgyguy" has a pair of Stax that cost around $8000 or so...

-Dan
 

thedodgyguy

Declined Lounger
Joined
Jul 16, 2003
Messages
1,593
Points
0
Unless I drag a generator behind me, the Stax are not an option when walking around with the iPod. (and it is surprising by the way how relatively convincing the iPod is when connected to this rather unforgiving phone).


The EX71 are good value for money, I think they are physically designed with a better eye for detail, with nicer design touches than the Shure/Ety phones and the sound will satisfy bassheads, although after a while the very one-note bass becomes boring, and the highs are pretty harsh. There's some evidence that these phones "settle down" over time due to the build-up of oil inside the assembly, where it becomes mellower. They are inferior in various aspects to the Shure E2c / E3c... although the Shures have some tradeoffs too. You do get generally what you pay for, although the more you pay the smaller the steps become.


The E5 is my choice for portable use. I haven't really got into custom in-ears as I didn't think it was warranted until now. The E5 gives you sledgehammer bass when the music demands it, but you get the detail with it as well but without any annoyingly harsh highs. But to tell the truth, although with my listening experience I'm way past the 'treble = detail' stage the E5 really could do with just a bit more in the trebles... it's been rolled off slightly too much. But the E5's combination of attributes of mild / relatively balanced sound, non-pedantic detail, superior isolation and good wear comfort does add up to hours of unfatiguing listening. One other complaint is something I thought I'd never say about a headphone... I'd like them to be less efficient.


I prefer to do my analytical listening at home, and when portable (while I do require a certain degree of precision) I prefer to be entertained. The E5 does just that. Coming off any of my premium phones, I can't adapt to the Etymotics' compromised interpretation of music for portable use. (Note: music, not sound) The Shures have an equal number of sonic compromises but in different areas, and to me they represent a lower level of disruption when coming from my world-class home headphones.


Are they worth $500 in relation to what else is out there? IMO, no. $350's a 'correct' price for one in my view.
 

eugchen

New member
Joined
Jul 22, 2004
Messages
146
Points
0
well i got the ec2's, and here's my miniature review...keep in mind i had the apple in ears for about 5 months now...

well first off, the box and packaging is awesome. it looks very professional and cool....

upon listening to them, i think maybe i got them too hyped up for me. everyone was raving about them too much, and i think i got disappointed with them.

the sound is great, and the bass is pretty good too, but the bass is not as good as i thought.

the ear cover things are a bit uncomfortable, and they are awkward to put in, but i bet this will take practice.

i prefer the rubber pieces over the foam....i do not think the foam pieces work well in my ears at least.

overall, i really do like them, i just thought i would like them even more.
i really do not think the apple in ear are that much inferior to these shures.

on a scale of 0-100, with 100 being the best, i would say my apple in ears are about a 70, and these shure's are 80...like my original post, i am sure that the shure's would be close to 90, but is that worth 300 dollars more???

but anyhow, please feel free to comment on your opinions of the shure e2c if you can.
 

mctriple

New member
Joined
Oct 6, 2004
Messages
191
Points
0
Age
40
Location
Champaign, IL
eugchen:

did you get a very good seal around your ear canal? how long did you try the different types of fits? e2s are pretty darned bassy.
 

eugchen

New member
Joined
Jul 22, 2004
Messages
146
Points
0
i did try all 6 kinds of plugs...i really do not like the foam, i do not feel like they give good seal. i ended up using the small plastic covers, they are the best for me.

i did not say there is no bass, there just does not seem to be that much for bassy songs, but it is not that bad.

overall very good ear phones...
 
Top