Shure E3c Review

Overall Rating

Excellent noise isolation. Beats Bose QC I & II

Almost unreadable L and R indicators

Hi all. These Shure E3c are my first ear canal headphones and I must say that I will not go back to any other headphones. I've had numerous headphones like seinheissers, Bose noise cancellation and other regular earphones. This certainly takes the cake. For certain, this beats Bose Quiet comfort hands down first in terms of portability. Next, is the rugged design. Bose's ear cup padding wears off easily and is US$30 a pair to replace!
When it comes down to isolating noise, there is pros and cons. For Bose, at least you can still hear someone talking to you (it does not cancel out noise that is 'dynamic', i.e. it cancels out say an aircon humming in the background but not a person talking to you. So you'll still be disturbed but you'll be somewhat aware of your surroundings. As for the E3c, once you find the right fit, man does it block out noise. It can almost completely block off ambient noise like a pair of ear defenders or ear plugs.
Here's what I did. I am in the military and bought this baby recently. I tried this on while riding in a Chinook and man, if you have not been in a Chinook, it is NOISY in it. Yet, once I put in the E3c, I was still able to enjoy my music and actually fall asleep. The volume is set at just slightly above my usual listening level. All my friends around were highly impressed with it.
Oh, one more thing about portability. If you're the type that needs to block out noise and yet want to listen to music before sleeping, you MUST not buy the Bose. With the bulk, you cannot possibly lay down on your bed. However, with E3, you sure can! Like I said, I'm in the military so at times I have 100 others around me. Throw this baby on and they are all isolated. I can easily lay on my cot and let my IPOD mini take me far from that nasty place and into dreamland. And since it stays on, my IPOD alarm also wakes me up. The E3c remained in my ear throughout the night.
It's worth the money. The 2 years gurantee is by far the best. I had some issues with high end freq reproduction and also a slight crack because of rough handling. Sent it back and it was replaced with a entirely new set, no questions asked, no shipping charges. Man am I impressed.
Shure certainly have my business from now on and I will willingly recommend this to anyone.