View Full Version : shure e2 durability and breakage
frescagod
12-02-2003, 12:05 PM
has anyone had problems with the cable near the terminal 1/4" jack deteriorating fast? i take great care of these earphones, and i just cannot believe that the cable is already spotty. the right channel cuts out when i fiddle with the cord, whether intentionally or not. i called shure, and they are making me return it to them, and then it will take an additional "four to five business days" to get a new pair sent to me. it's probably going to be at least a 2 week turnaround time. this SUCKS. i listen to these every day, and after only 2 months and at a price tag of $84, it's unacceptable. not worth the money. i've treated my sony 20th anniversary fontopias like crap (because they are) and they're still going strong after almost 4 years. anyone else have this problem?
Yeah, this exact same thing happend to me--they sent me a brand new pair; it was all of one week from the time I sent them in to the time I received a new pair--I actually thought their customer service was fantastic. There may be an issue with that jack. On the other hand, they have a two year warranty, which is pretty darned good for a portable earphone...
jerrodh
12-02-2003, 06:37 PM
Happened to me too.
I could have done what dmt1 did, but I got a $19.99 2 year instant replacement warranty from Guitar Center where I bought them, so I used that instead. (They actually gave me *another* 2 years warranty free on the replacements, too. So basically, it's an infinite warranty if things keep happening) ;)
Anyway, my advice is DON'T USE THE INCLUDED CASE. It is much too small. I now keep my Shures in a spring-loaded hard sunglass case, where they can remain LOOSELY wound, and still stay protected. I'm convinced that the ridiculously tight winding in the zip case is killing the E2's cord.
(BTW... like this - http://i6.ebayimg.com/02/i/00/f7/6b/86_1.JPG)
Parkmad
12-02-2003, 07:36 PM
I have the same problem. As I was working out, I started to get static and drop outs in the right ear. Eventually it got worse that if I barely touched the cable near the connector it would happen.
So far, Shure's service hasn't been as responsive as the other people have had. I sent them an e-mail 2 weeks ago and they haven't responded. According to their website, you can return product without an RMA so I did that last week. I hope to have a replacement soon.
TheYoshi
12-12-2003, 12:52 PM
After reading this post I thought that perhaps it would be a good idea to put a bit of heat shrink tubing on the headphones around the jack? This should add quite a bit more durability, for those of you who aren't familiar with it basically what heat shrink is, is some tubing which shrinks when you heat it. Very commonly used in lots of hobby applications you can use a heat gun or high wattage hair dryer to shrink it. Here is a link for an example: http://cableorganizer.com/heat-shrink/heat-shrink3.htm
Chris,
wOOt - CalvinPod's back - hehehehe
Maybe I'm not as active as you lot (correction, I know I'm not...) but the E2's I have seem to be pretty chunky round the jack plug, so is it just the action of pulling it out and pushing it in (did I really just say that?) causing this problem or is it from flexing whilst carrying it?
Parkmad
12-12-2003, 07:05 PM
I don't think I was very active with mine. I use it when I work out (3 times a week) and mow the lawn( once a week). I don't think inserting and removing (is that better than pulling it out and pushing it in?) the plug caused the issue because I rarely removed the plug from the iPod. Certainly, when I flexed the cable it aggravated the problem so it's possible that flexing is causing the issue. However, I think there is something wrong in their manufacturing process. It shouldn't fail that easy.
I got my replacement last week. New one works great.
I tend to tuck the excess cable into the small clip on pouch that comes with the Xtrememac case - this tends to keep the flex-sleeve pointing along the top of my iPod as opposed to sticking out where it can be affected by flexing. Noy sure if this is why my E2's aren't going the same way as yours?
AptMunich
12-13-2003, 09:12 AM
according to sugarfried a small amount had bad cables that tended to break quite fast,
he stated that the case had been extensively tested and that it shouldn't be the case that causes the cable to break, but rather the fault in the cable itself...
This was in a pm he sent to me at head-fi.org
sugarfried is a shure usa employee btw...
Originally posted by MadPict
Chris,
wOOt - CalvinPod's back - hehehehe
Well, I thought it was time...It appears that my link is down for the time being though. I also put pictures of E2's, Grados, and Ety's down at the bottom, but it almost gave me a siezure. And reminded me about other headphones I don't own, that perhaps I'd like to. So I took the headphone pictures out, before it forced me to spend more money.
AptMunich
12-15-2003, 10:20 AM
Ok i take it all back,
My e2's are displaying the exact same symptoms as the thread starter's, the right bud cuts in and out whenever the cord is moved - what a load of c r a p!
For the price of these buds, you'd expect them to work longer than 2 weeks (which is how long i've had mine!)
I treat my audio equipment like raw eggs ( i mean a $300 music player and $100 earbuds, i'm not gonna be throwing them around am i?)
Lets see how fast shure germany can come up with a new pair for me :(
jerrodh
12-15-2003, 11:10 AM
Welcome to the club, AptMunich.
I'm so impressed with the sound of my E2s that I will continue to replace them until I buy the E3 ;) (After letting other people use them for a few weeks/months to see if their cables break too) ;)
jerrodh
12-15-2003, 11:12 AM
BTW... before you send them in, put a tiny dot of white-out on one of the earpieces... I'd be interested to see if you get replacements (no dot), or repair (dot stays).
:D
You'll get brand new ones. Shure sent me a new pair, turn around time was one week total--from the time I sent them in. Their customer service was fantastic.
It's a bummer to have this happen, BUT, they have a two year warranty, and Shure has been great about replacements.
AptMunich
12-16-2003, 04:01 AM
Yep, it's a sad bummer kind of club to be in though....the apple buds really are horrible, i wasn't that impressed with the e2's until i used the apple buds again this morning....makes me miss 'em even more!
It sucks even more since i was counting on being able to use them at my band's next concert on monday, monitoring is really important for me (i'm lead singer ;)) and with the shure's out of action it's back to either a) ear protection and not able to hear the monitoring speaker or b) no protection and excellent performance but deaf in 5 years!
Oh well life sucks sometimes! I'll survive i suppose ;)
Merry ####ing christmas to you all!