Shure E2c versus Bose In-Ear headphones

[tdawg]

Hi All,

I'm looking at replacing my $30 Philips in-ear headphones with something better quality and more comfortable. Both the Shure E2c and the Bose In-Ear headphones are at a price I'm comfortable with. So, which would you recommend? I'm looking for clean overall sound production, not just booming base. Also, my current headphones hurt my ears after longer periods of use, so I'm hoping one or both of these sets will provide better comfort. Some reviews I've read seem to complain about the comfort of the Shure's, but I'd like to hear other opinions.

I know how everybody feels about Bose in general (I feel the same about their "home theatre" products, but for their headphones, I thought the situation was better.

Thanks in advance,
Trevor

 

[SLCentral]

While I have not listened to the Bose myself, I have read tons of reviews on them over at Head-Fi. Basically, the Bose OE's are not true in-ears, so they will not isolate sound like the e2c's will. When wearing the Shures, or any true IEM, you'll literally be completed isolated from the world around you, unable to hear anything but the music. This alone should really help you determine which one you want; the Bose will not do this, while the Shure will.

The Bose is definitely more of a bassy headphone then the Shure, with less accurate reproduction, but a more intense bass line. I never had a comfort problem with my e2c, but like all Bose headphones, the OE's are said to be extremely comfortable. Sound quality wise, I don't think there is a question; the Shure's are superior. I would also check out Etymotic IEM's. They start at around $130, so it's a bit more expensive, but their isolation/detail is supposed to be the best in the industry. I also love Ultimate Ear's products, though I've not heard anything in their line below the Super.Fi 5 Pro, which go for ~$200.

 

[tdawg]

Thanks, SLCentral. I was reading over at headphonereviews.com or something like that about the Etymotics and Ultimate Ears. I'm interested in the Etymotic E6ri (?) and the Ultimate Ear Super.Fi 3 now too. Both of those are going for about $70 on Amazon.

 

[SLCentral]

Originally posted by: tdawg
Thanks, SLCentral. I was reading over at headphonereviews.com or something like that about the Etymotics and Ultimate Ears. I'm interested in the Etymotic E6ri (?) and the Ultimate Ear Super.Fi 3 now too. Both of those are going for about $70 on Amazon.

From what I've listened to, the Ety's are more of an analytical sound, revealing lots of detail, but there's not a lot of warmness. The UE's, AFAIK, are a little warmer, with not quite as much detail as the Ety's, but more fun to listen to. They are comfortable, though I do think the Shure's are more so. If I remember correctly, the UE and Shure sound signatures are fairly similar, at least when comparing to Ety's. Ety's sound different then any other earphone I've ever listened to, while the Shure's and UE's were at least semi-comparable.

 

[tdawg]

Originally posted by: SLCentral

Originally posted by: tdawg
Thanks, SLCentral. I was reading over at headphonereviews.com or something like that about the Etymotics and Ultimate Ears. I'm interested in the Etymotic E6ri (?) and the Ultimate Ear Super.Fi 3 now too. Both of those are going for about $70 on Amazon.

From what I've listened to, the Ety's are more of an analytical sound, revealing lots of detail, but there's not a lot of warmness. The UE's, AFAIK, are a little warmer, with not quite as much detail as the Ety's, but more fun to listen to. They are comfortable, though I do think the Shure's are more so. If I remember correctly, the UE and Shure sound signatures are fairly similar, at least when comparing to Ety's. Ety's sound different then any other earphone I've ever listened to, while the Shure's and UE's were at least semi-comparable.

I saw online that the UE suggested wear method is to loop the cord over the top of the ear and then insert the earbud from the top, kind of like a musician's monitor. Do you know if it sounds worse if you don't want to do that? I don't really like the idea of the cord over my ear as that gets annoying to me after a while.

Thanks again for your help. I especially appreciate the sound analysis you give. That will help me a lot.

 

[SLCentral]

Originally posted by: tdawg

Originally posted by: SLCentral

Originally posted by: tdawg
Thanks, SLCentral. I was reading over at headphonereviews.com or something like that about the Etymotics and Ultimate Ears. I'm interested in the Etymotic E6ri (?) and the Ultimate Ear Super.Fi 3 now too. Both of those are going for about $70 on Amazon.

From what I've listened to, the Ety's are more of an analytical sound, revealing lots of detail, but there's not a lot of warmness. The UE's, AFAIK, are a little warmer, with not quite as much detail as the Ety's, but more fun to listen to. They are comfortable, though I do think the Shure's are more so. If I remember correctly, the UE and Shure sound signatures are fairly similar, at least when comparing to Ety's. Ety's sound different then any other earphone I've ever listened to, while the Shure's and UE's were at least semi-comparable.

I saw online that the UE suggested wear method is to loop the cord over the top of the ear and then insert the earbud from the top, kind of like a musician's monitor. Do you know if it sounds worse if you don't want to do that? I don't really like the idea of the cord over my ear as that gets annoying to me after a while.

Thanks again for your help. I especially appreciate the sound analysis you give. That will help me a lot.

For both the UE's and the Shure's, and I believe the Ety's (though I'm not 100% sure), it is suggested to run the cable behind the ear, and then behind the back, though I wear my cable behind the ear and then over my chest. I know with the Shure's and the UE's, it's pretty much impossible to wear it any other way other then behind the ear. It's the most comfortable way, and really doesn't get annoying, at least in my experience.

 

[MrChad]

Originally posted by: SLCentral

Originally posted by: tdawg

Originally posted by: SLCentral

Originally posted by: tdawg
Thanks, SLCentral. I was reading over at headphonereviews.com or something like that about the Etymotics and Ultimate Ears. I'm interested in the Etymotic E6ri (?) and the Ultimate Ear Super.Fi 3 now too. Both of those are going for about $70 on Amazon.

From what I've listened to, the Ety's are more of an analytical sound, revealing lots of detail, but there's not a lot of warmness. The UE's, AFAIK, are a little warmer, with not quite as much detail as the Ety's, but more fun to listen to. They are comfortable, though I do think the Shure's are more so. If I remember correctly, the UE and Shure sound signatures are fairly similar, at least when comparing to Ety's. Ety's sound different then any other earphone I've ever listened to, while the Shure's and UE's were at least semi-comparable.

I saw online that the UE suggested wear method is to loop the cord over the top of the ear and then insert the earbud from the top, kind of like a musician's monitor. Do you know if it sounds worse if you don't want to do that? I don't really like the idea of the cord over my ear as that gets annoying to me after a while.

Thanks again for your help. I especially appreciate the sound analysis you give. That will help me a lot.

For both the UE's and the Shure's, and I believe the Ety's (though I'm not 100% sure), it is suggested to run the cable behind the ear, and then behind the back, though I wear my cable behind the ear and then over my chest. I know with the Shure's and the UE's, it's pretty much impossible to wear it any other way other then behind the ear. It's the most comfortable way, and really doesn't get annoying, at least in my experience.

I wear my E2Cs the same way. I also purchased the soft flex tips for my E2Cs which I find to be more comfortable than the foam and hard plastic tips.

 

[Gautama2]

You can do a lot better than E2C, ER6/6i, or the Bose In-Ear for the price. IMO they all suck for the price. I would recommend either the Crossroads Mylarone X3 or the XB. Choose the XB if you like a lot of bass. You can buy them here http://www.jaben.net/ , the X3 is $57 shipped and the XB is slightly more.

They look cheap but sound amazing, there are however some quality control issues. Several pairs of broken upon (fixable by super-glue) and 3 have died. However, the man who sells them is exetremely friendly and will replace them free of charge, you dont even have to ship the broken ones back.