Shure E5c Sound Isolating Earphones Sale
The E5c is Shure’s top-of-the-line model, offering the richest possible listening experience. Dual high energy micro-speakers capture the high- and low-frequencies, while an in-line electronic crossover separates these outputs. You can hear your music like never before, where subtle details are brought forward for a lush, complete listening experience.
Shure E5c Sound Isolating Earphones Description
- Sound Isolating in-ear design – Hear only what you want to hear
- Portable and lightweight design – weighing 1.1 ounce
- Personal fit kit to contour to your ear size
- Dual high-energy micro in-ear speakers
- In-Line Crossover to enhance a studio quality listening experience
Conventional wisdom has long held that bigger means better when it comes to headphones. The thinking has been that a larger headphone isolates and covers the ear, letting it experience sounds more fully. Shure’s E5c earphones are on the vanguard of a new school of thought: Tiny is actually better. Shure has managed to cram dual-driver speakers into small earphones that isolate the listener from virtually all background noise. If you don’t mind the secret service look, and you’re ready to spend more on your headphones than you spent on your MP3 player, the E5c’s won’t disappoint. In this case, you really do get what you pay for.
Design
While the E5c earbuds are larger than other earphone-style headphones, they’re still stunningly small. The cord, which includes an inline crossover unit that separates high- and low-frequency signals, is thin and pliant. A bendable stiffening material is added to the section of cable that runs behind the ears, allowing the listener to loop the cables over and behind the ear– a simple and discreet solution. The gold-plated, 3.5mm input connector has a low-profile elbow bend to minimize accidental unplugging and snags. Shure includes a detachable in-line volume attenuator that controls volume without the need to fiddle with your player or listening source. The attenuator did seem a tad larger than it needed to be and, because it is not built into the E5c cord, it must be plugged in at the end of the cord. More than one tester said, “Why not just change the volume on the iPod instead of this doo-dad plugged directly into it?” A solution that places the attenuator nearer the listener’s chest would be a welcome addition, but it’s admittedly a minor niggle.
In an effort to match the earphones to ears of all shapes and sizes, the E5c earphones come with a number of earplug “sleeves” packaged in what Shure calls a “fit kit”. Our testers had little trouble finding a sleeve that felt comfortable. We especially liked the expanding foam sleeves that, like those foam dinosaurs that grow in water, expand to fit the contours of the ear canal.
Lost in Sound
With the E5c earphones comfortably placed in our ears, we listened to a range of music genres encoded in both music CD and MP3 format. The most common response was, “Wow, I never knew this song had all these other instruments.” Indeed, the E5c’s have such dramatic clarity and frequency response that we were left wondering how we’d ever listened to music any other way. They’re that good. The earphones produce the sensation that the music is actually inside one’s head. Bass vibrates the cerebral cortex, high ranges dance in the frontal lobes. While Shure posts impressive impedence and sensitivity ratings for the E5c’s, the truth is in the listening and we were simply blown away. In loud, crowded environments such as airplane cabins and teeming Seattle coffee shops, we heard absolutely nothing but music, a sensation that is both eerie and liberating. Anyone who says there is no difference between high-bitrate MP3 and CD audio tracks should strap on a pair of these earphones. The difference is striking.
The earphones remained comfortable after extended use, especially with the expanding foam sleeves. Listeners with especially small ears may want to give the E5c’s a trial run; they are somewhat larger than the other, more affordable earphones in Shure’s “E” line. This concern aside, if you have the ears, and the earmarked funds, for the E5c’s, you are in for a listening adventure like none other. –Joshua Gunn
Pros
- Simple, compact design
- Designed for compatibility with most ears
- Did somebody say something? We were lost in sonic bliss.
Cons
- Costs more than many things it plugs into
- May be a tad big for small ears
- Volume attenuator could be better designed and integrated
Shure E5c Sound Isolating Earphones Review
E5C vs. E3C
For a year and a half, I listened to the E5s. The sound quality – especially the bass, is noticeably better than the e3s. Does the quality difference justify the extra money? I think so. But I also think that this depends on your financial situation. If you insist on squeezing every last ounce of high-fidelity out of your portable rig, than these headphones are for you. As I wrote in my e3 review, (having owned a pair at one point), you are doing yourself a great disservice by not listening to your music with as little or (preferably) no compression. My current codec (format) of choice for “ripping” CDs is Sony’s ATRAC Advanced Lossless which plays the music back with all the bits of the original CD. You can really hear the difference in bitrates when listening through the E5 headphones.
The E5s are comfortable and do a very good job of isolating outside noise. Although they are larger than other models, it only took me a couple days to get used to wearing them. I used them on the subway everyday. The cord is a bit more rigid and less flexible than the other models from Shure.
Worthy of note: I am currently on my third pair of e5s; well sort of, I am now using the newer SCL5. The first E5 developed a wire fray, and the second, some uneven sound levels after about 1 year of use. Shure exchanges faulty products with a great 2-year warranty. Recommended.
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