i know there are threads but i searched and it gave me 90 day rule

are the shure e4cs really worth the extra money over the shure e3cs?

and shure owners.. how is the durability...
i like the sound of my sony's modified with shure rubber things but they break every 4 months (cables fray or actual speaker plastic separates. so i'm thinking $120 once is better then $35->$45 3-4 times a year.

9/25/2007 1:59:09 PM

It's worth the extra money if you're picky about how your music sounds. If you're just going to be listening to mp3s, it won't make much of a difference. If you have your music encoded with FLAC or something similar, you may appreciate the difference.

As for durability, it's all a matter of how your treat them. They're are not indestructible and will break if you treat them roughly. However, properly cared for, they should last a very long time. What are you doing to your current ones that lead them to break so often?

9/25/2007 2:06:37 PM

I had a pair of the E3's for a while, and then sprung for the E4's when they came out. These things are so awesome I've never regretted spending the extra cash on them.

The sound is great, and you don't hear a lot of the ambient noise because they fit inside the ear canal.

As for the durability, they're pretty rugged, although I would say they're more fragile than a typical pair of earbuds. I run with mine, and I think some sweat got into the left bud and damaged it, because the level of audio output was 20% of what the right was. I called them up and they replaced them for me within a week.

9/25/2007 2:10:48 PM

see... i want mine for running etc. too.

all i do is run with mine and use them on airplanes and to drowned out my co-worker's elvis sound track without having to be obscene to the office really the sony's have 2 piece plastic casings press fit together and the fittings break and the casing comes apart... nothing a little crazy glue can't fix but annoying none the less.

and the gauge of the wire on them is about 1/2 what one would expect for headphones and the wire frays inside from fatigue and shorts out a channel usually after about 3-4 months.

my mp3 player is a sony phone and only has mp3s on it but i do have every cd i've purchased in recent years in flac on my laptop. which are the two main uses for my headphones.

also my laptop has a 3.5mm fiber optic jack... anyone know if any headphones utilize this yet?

[Edited on September 25, 2007 at 2:47 PM. Reason : .]

9/25/2007 2:43:44 PM

you don't want to use superglue on $200+ earbuds

their 2 year warranty gives you more than enough time to know whether these things will break or not. the return service is very fast, and even faster if you can show them the dated sales receipt

honestly, if money isn't that big of an issue for you, then why not spring for them? your ears will thank you.

9/25/2007 3:48:39 PM

Quote :

"also my laptop has a 3.5mm fiber optic jack... anyone know if any headphones utilize this yet?"

god i hope not, would be the most fragile headphone cable ever

9/25/2007 4:41:46 PM

actually the cable i use to connect it to my amp is pretty darn limber... but we shall see how long untile it fatigues and dies..

9/25/2007 4:47:07 PM

fiber optic headphones will never exist

you can't hear light

9/25/2007 4:48:02 PM

2 year warranty is worth it alone... as i mentioned i've had 4 sets fail in 1 year ($35-$45/per)


hahaha yeah i know they would have to have power so that they could convert the signal but if there can be bluetooth there can be fiber.


[Edited on September 25, 2007 at 4:50 PM. Reason : .]

9/25/2007 4:48:27 PM

I have the e4c's (thanks for the xmas present bro!)

well worth the price (yeah, I didn't spend it, but I got him an ipod, so it's like I did)...I keep them in their case whenever I'm not wearing them and have had no problems with them whatsoever over the last 1 3/4 years. sound quality is amazing and the design pretty much isolates noise from outside (i can't even hear myself typing this right now and I'm just listening to sports talk radio)

9/25/2007 6:52:34 PM

eargasm!

10/3/2007 8:19:41 PM

Shure actually replaced my e2c's about 2 months outside my 2 year warranty period, no questions asked

I did put a lot of wear and tear on my headphones at work and at the gym every day for those 2 years though

10/3/2007 8:58:12 PM

^^ did you get the e4's?

10/3/2007 9:02:29 PM

SHURE DID <3

[Edited on October 3, 2007 at 10:23 PM. Reason : WHAT A SHITTY PUN]

10/3/2007 10:22:59 PM

bttt per request

2/25/2008 9:47:20 AM

how log did it take to have warranty work done

my left bud speaker is blown i think and there is a short in the wire too.

2/25/2008 12:11:17 PM

1 week from the day i shipped them out. my left ear went out, too. apparently that's common on these things, unfortunately.

2/25/2008 12:30:22 PM

Thanks joe#s

2/25/2008 12:54:39 PM

REALLY considering picking up some of these

2/26/2008 11:45:04 AM

They sound amazing you seriously won't be able to listen to any other headphones without getting irritated after you try these.

2/26/2008 1:38:45 PM

yeah i've got the e420s - been using them at work and while working out - they work surprisingly well during a lot of motion

2/26/2008 1:42:11 PM

My left went out on my e3c's a long ago and I have no clue how to fix it - i still occasionally use them for right only but it's pretty sad

2/26/2008 1:59:57 PM

outside of the 2 year warranty ?

You can send it to them... their website has a list of fixing costs.

2/26/2008 2:04:50 PM