Update to this week-long drama:
The Shure E4c-N earphones arrived in the mail. Though they are good
earphones, they don't really hold a candle to the Shure SE100s.
The Shure E4c-N has much more noticeable bass, but the mids and highs
aren't as crisp and clear as the SE100s. Feeling disappointed and
thwarted, I decided to return the E4C-Ns and buy the SE100s once again.
This time, I experimented with the different earpads for the SE100 and
found the right one for my ear. The increase in bass and overall
richness was immediate. The bass now is very clear and I'm very
surprised that these earphones are able to produce some of the really
low bass in certain dubstep or techno tracks.
So my final assessment is that the Sennheiser CX300s and the Shure E4C-N
are pretty similar in quality, though the CX300s were a little less
expensive. Either of them would be a very good replacement for the Sony
MDR-EX71SL earphones.
However, the SE100s win the prize for clarity and richness!!! It is
really worth paying the extra money for such a marked improvement in the
sound quality!! Making the effort to try the different earpads will pay
off when you find the ones that fit your ears in just the right way.
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darnistle wrote:
Funny that this topic should come up at this time. My favorite Sony
MDR-EX71SL earbuds developed a short in the cord last week, so it was
time to buy another pair. The last set lasted for more than two years,
which is really good considering that I use them daily for hours at a
time and am not as careful with them as I should be.
This time, I decided to try some other brands and took the plunge and
bought the Shure SE100s from a store in town. At $100 it was expensive,
but I was curious to see if there was any significant increase in sound
quality.
The clarity and imaging were astounding!! Truly!! Listening to tracks
I was well familiar with was like hearing them anew: all sorts of
nuances I'd never heard before were suddenly very clear. The earphones
also did an excellent job of blocking outside sounds. I felt like I was
in a wonderfully exquisite aural cocoon.
My only complaint about them was the lack of bass, even though I tried
pushing the earpads further in my ear. It helped somewhat, but not as
much as I would have expected. I thought to put on one of the alternate
earpads to ensure a better fit, but had trouble getting the pads off. I
didn't want to risk ripping the rubber cover since I wasn't sure if I'd
keep the earphones. I never got to experiment to see if using different
earpads would help with the bass problem.
I convinced myself to return the earphones to the store because of the
bass issue, but the sheer clarity of the sound haunted me for days after.
Instead, I bought a pair of Sennheiser CX300s, which sounded just as
good as my old Sonys. They aren't really sound isolating, but they
deliver a good, even sound. No complaints at all. Problem is that
those Shure earphones were SO good, I couldn't deny the massive
difference in quality.
Now that my ears got a taste of the really good stuff, they weren't
havin' the Sennheisers, so I went online this evening and finally
decided to buy the Shure E4c-N earphones today on Amazon.com ($89!!!),
since they got even better reviews than the ones I tried a few days ago!
Assuming the E4C-N is as good as I hope it'll be, I'll probably keep the
Sennheiser earphones as a standby in case something happens to the Shures.
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Frank Glazer wrote:
I'm in the market for some new earbuds for ipod listening on the
train. It's been about a year since this subject was last mentioned
on list, I checked the archives but thought an update wouldn't hurt.
I want something very loud with strong, clear defined bass response.
They need to block a significant amount of outside sound so that i
don't have to hear chatter or rail noise. So what's everybody using
for earbuds these days? I'm considering one of the following:
http://www.amazon.com/Shure-E2c-n-Sound-Isolating-Earphones/dp/B000E5GKW8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1221435680&sr=1-1
http://www.amazon.com/V-MODA-Vibe-Earbuds-Gunmetal-Black/dp/B000V5L5MG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1221436093&sr=1-1
http://www.amazon.com/Etymotic-Research-ER4S-Reference-Earphones/dp/B000300Y9O/ref=wl_it_dp?ie=UTF8&coliid=I3TBZ27N3IMN3O&colid=2ZPLTMQTI9YUX
http://www.amazon.com/Etymotic-Research-Portable-Earphones-Black/dp/B000XPG2QI/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1221434596&sr=8-1
http://www.amazon.com/M-Audio-IE-10-Professional-Reference-Monitors/dp/B000JNNNBQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=musical-instruments&qid=1221436137&sr=1-1
http://www.amazon.com/Philips-SHE9850-Headphones-Advanced-Acoustics/dp/B00176TEGM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1221435109&sr=1-1
or your recommendation under $175
Thanks in advance!
