giorgiomoroder's Full Review: Shure E3C Consumer Headphones
So, I decided to try out a canal earphone, not knowing what to expect (my dealer wouldn't let me try them out as the ear cushions come into contact with all kinds of destructive ear wax stuff). After an initial struggle which you have to go through, all was well, and I was ready to do some serious testing. So here goes.
First, they block out a LOT of sound (20dB at least). That is very nice because you hear pretty much everything. But, they block out so much you also hear everything inside your body: creaking spines, chewing jaws, deep breaths, pounding hearts, etc. The sound reduction also makes the earphones less usable in other place than home:
Walking, bikes, cars: no sound from outside = dangerous
Trains and such: too much effort to put in and out = unpractical
Airplaines: very nice - only thing is they don't actively block sound so you still get all the low droning engine frequencies (i prefer active anti-sound earphones on planes)
So finally, only your home is left as an environment for using these. However, when I'm home, I'd much rather put on a nice, large, comfy, cushiony, top-of-the-bill-sound phone than pushing canalplumbers in your ears.
I suspect these canal earphones trickled down into the consumer market from the pro stage environment (e.g., monitors for drummers on stage), where they are quite apt.
On the E3c's specifically, easthetically, they're kinda boring but not ugly. Build quality looks very good, they seem very sturdy for such small things. Sound-wise, really very good, obviously very transparent, but also very close - feels like the music is hardwired to your brain. I missed a bit of space ('sound stage') there. This hardwiring adds to the lack of bass response (even if you push the sleeves in so deep they practically touch your ear drum). I know it is a question of taste, but I'm not known as a bass craver. Just a heads up. Finally, as with any canal earphone, the fit might not work for everyone. It's not just the sleeves in your ear - for example in my case, my right ear shell somehow wasn't pointy enough to support the wire going over it (where it's supposed to go), so it kept falling down.
For all of the above, I would not recommend the shure e3c for most usages I can think of except being onstage.
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