I took delivery of a set of Shure's E2C canal earphones last week and thought I would share my initial impressions with everyone:
Style
Modern, sturdy in-ear phone with clear plastic, casing the driver.
The general feal is quality.
Sound
After owning both Sony In-ear canal types the MDR 70 & 71 I have to say I am initially dissapointed with the bass output. I'm not sure if this is down to lack of 'run-in' or whether I have the fitted them in my ear enough. I have tried the clear plastic buds which are quite uncomfortable, so I am using the foam attachments instead. Bass seems like its missing an octave or 2, I can hear lower bass on my Sony's. The bass I get on my E2c's is good at its level and there is plenty of midrange punch. I listened to Alicia Keyes - Piano and I; this has more range on the Sony's but mid/treble sounds clearer and more defined on the E2c's. I'm beginning to think if I should have spent another £50 for the next model up. The most noticable difference between the Sony's and the E2c is the treble. E2C have lovely clear highs without any shrill, unless pushed really hard 26/30 on my MZ-R909. I can forgive the lack of bass for now as what I get is adequate, but I do pang for my Sony MDR-70's on occasion.
<update> Since changing to an iRiver Ihp-120 that sound from these phones is quite amazing, bass is louder, deeper and clearer, treble is sharp, everything about them is better than either of the Sony's I have owned. The Amp on my minidisc player wasn't doing the E2c's any justice.
Another major difference between the Sony's and these is the sound isolation. I can hear very little with the Shure's plugged in. The Sony's I thought were good BUT then I used these, amazing noise reduction and not much leakage externally either.
The minijack plastic casing is quite thick (which is a good thing ) and only just fits into the remote on my minisdisk player, something prospective MD fans might want to consider before buying. All my previous minijacks have broken here.
Overall: A great pair of phones for £60 inc Vat & Del.
Style
Modern, sturdy in-ear phone with clear plastic, casing the driver.
The general feal is quality.
Sound
After owning both Sony In-ear canal types the MDR 70 & 71 I have to say I am initially dissapointed with the bass output. I'm not sure if this is down to lack of 'run-in' or whether I have the fitted them in my ear enough. I have tried the clear plastic buds which are quite uncomfortable, so I am using the foam attachments instead. Bass seems like its missing an octave or 2, I can hear lower bass on my Sony's. The bass I get on my E2c's is good at its level and there is plenty of midrange punch. I listened to Alicia Keyes - Piano and I; this has more range on the Sony's but mid/treble sounds clearer and more defined on the E2c's. I'm beginning to think if I should have spent another £50 for the next model up. The most noticable difference between the Sony's and the E2c is the treble. E2C have lovely clear highs without any shrill, unless pushed really hard 26/30 on my MZ-R909. I can forgive the lack of bass for now as what I get is adequate, but I do pang for my Sony MDR-70's on occasion.
<update> Since changing to an iRiver Ihp-120 that sound from these phones is quite amazing, bass is louder, deeper and clearer, treble is sharp, everything about them is better than either of the Sony's I have owned. The Amp on my minidisc player wasn't doing the E2c's any justice.
Another major difference between the Sony's and these is the sound isolation. I can hear very little with the Shure's plugged in. The Sony's I thought were good BUT then I used these, amazing noise reduction and not much leakage externally either.
The minijack plastic casing is quite thick (which is a good thing ) and only just fits into the remote on my minisdisk player, something prospective MD fans might want to consider before buying. All my previous minijacks have broken here.
Overall: A great pair of phones for £60 inc Vat & Del.