Gizmodo Gifts

Or you could go over to www.westone.com and check out the "UM1" with a single driver or the "UM2" with two drivers (which I am currently using). Unfortunately the "Westone 3" haven't been released yet.

I have to disagree adamantly on this one... I've tried a few different versions of these Shure buds and found them all to sound quite poor in addition to having that silly "wrap the cord around your ear" feature.

I even tried them side by side with my V-Moda's at the Audio Engineering Society show this year, V-Moda in one ear, Shure in the other. Although the Shure's did have a bit more clarity, their low end was piss poor and washed out.

Don't buy these, and definitely don't buy the Bose Tri-Port's either... they're even worse.

There's a lot of mods out there for Shure's, that put them above what they are stock from the factory. Unfortunately, that means the warranty is void, but what can you do.

@KEEBLER - I have a pair of the older E3c's from Sure, and the sound quality is actually quite good (bass tones included) if you can figure out how to use them correctly.

The over-the-ear-cord deal is to make sure they are positioned correctly in your ear canal. After you get that figured out, you really have to experiment with all the different sleeves included, as to get good bass out of them there must be a good seal between the buds and your ears. The orange memory foam sleeves that behave kind of like foam earplugs work the best for me.

Before you dismiss a product, make sure you're using it correctly... the instructions are there for a reason.

Soooo how big was the check from Shure, Giz?

The fact that you need "instructions" to use earphones is a clear indicator that there are better alternatives.

I mean, they're earphones...

Etymotic er-4p here

@konakazi: Yeah, I want you to make money and all Giz (I lurves me some sponsor love, too) but at least mark advertisements as such. Or disable comments on them... I'm sure Shure doesn't want these sorts of comments on their ads.

Shure SE310 are the best headphones I have ever owned, they almost equal my Harman Kardon SoundSticks in terms of awesomeness.

@HVEDHRUNGR - Sure there's better alternatives, I really only use them when I work out since they're small enough not to bug me... my point was that they're not as horrible as KEEBLER made them out to be.

I have the SE 530's and I have to say that they are truly unbelievable soundwise, well worth the money...$449 on Amazon...

I have etyomtic er6s. Just $70 on amazon, totally worth it if youre still using crummy earbuds that came w/ your mp3 player.

I use the Ultimate Ears Super.fi 5 (I think that's the model) because they sounded better than the 1 and 2 series Shures. CompUSA didn't have the 3, 4 or 5 series Shures in stock but my father-in-law swears by the SE 530 Shures. He returned the Ultimate Ears 10s and kept the UE Super.fi 5s for yard work. They were much more comfortable in the ear than my UE with foam (softer foam I guess?) and they have 3 drivers vs. the 2 in mine. They were 2-3x the price though :-(

Oh and this is quite a shameless plug for Shure. Makes me feel dirty.

i really dig my e2c's.

BY KEEBLER AT 04:08 PM
I have to disagree adamantly on this one... I've tried a few different versions of these Shure buds and found them all to sound quite poor in addition to having that silly "wrap the cord around your ear" feature.

I disagree, too. In Ear Monitors are not comfortable for all people and different models will fit some people better than others, so it's like giving someone a non-returnable suit without knowing their size. However, I like the wrap around the ears bit, it keeps the wire out of my way and is the preferred cord management for professional IEMs.

I've got a pair of dual driver, custom molded Livewires that are much more comfortable than stock IEMs and cost less than many of those same said stock models.

IEM Gifts? $20 JVC Marshmallows would work for most folks... It's more or less an entry level IEM and at that price, most anyone can swing it.

By no means, it's a SHURE, Ultimate Ears, or Westone, but at the same time, it's within most people's price.

@HVEDHRUNGR

"The fact that you need "instructions" to use earphones is a clear indicator that there are better alternatives."

I bet your car has instructions - time to start walkin'.

i have the E530 from shure and they are great.
if they sound crappy you need to change the foam stuff to get better fitting in your ear. they must seal real tight, otherwise you lose a lot sound quality.

i got westone earbuds for my shure and they are really excellent combination. had teh 4c before and the 530 are definitely an upgrade.

500 USD is a lot (well in euro not really anmore) and i think they are well worth the money. look what you have to spend for good homesystem speakers, there it starts with 2k per speaker to get decent audio experience (speaker that are just loud you can get a lot cheaper) ;-)

@gizmodome: You get licenced to drive, not licenced to wear earphones.
Bad analogy.

Anyone who can't figure out how to wear Shure earphones is pretty dumb. I have the e2g's, and I can put them on in the dark.

The really cool thing about the wrap-around feature is that the earbuds are asymmetric - the left one won't fit in the right ear and vice versa. That means that you don't have to look at the "L/R" text (which they have anyway) to put them in.

They do a great job of isolating noise and deliver some awesome sound.

However, in-ear earbuds are not for everyone. I had to try 5 different options (Shure includes 9 different pads - from foam to silicone to PVC) before settling on the large PVC option.

I HATED my e2g buds at first. And despite the fact that I managed to fit them correctly, they ARE NOT as comfortable as over-ear headphones or even loose earbuds. But the much better bass response (as good as over-ear headphones) and sound isolation (better than active noise cancellation) make up for this.

I can listen to music on the bus or on an airplane with my e2g buds without having to crank up the volume. They are great when I mow the lawn, too.

So, yeah, I'd recommend these. But buy them locally, in case you need to return them. In-ear buds aren't for everyone.

@luckypictures:
I know how to use them, there's no question about that. Regarding the cord around the ear issue, I actually do like cord around the ear styles... I just don't like shure's implementation which touches your ear. The Sony style around ear buds give the cord a bit of spring by having a ridgid component around the ear. Granted, the Sony buds are poorly built and don't last very long.

As far as their sound quality, I'm an audio engineer by trade and understand the acoustics involved in requiring an air tight seal to maintain proper low frequency response. I also evaluate sound daily and although I haven't put them through lab testing to 100% verify my subjective evaluation, I'm fairly sure of my assessment.


When I posted on Gizmodo that I the Bose Tri-Port were horrible there were also a number of people responding saying how great they sounded, even though they were so horrible I wasted $100 on them and feel bad even putting them on eBay for some other poor sap to get screwed.

@Gelangweilt:
You do NOT have to spend 2k per speaker to get high quality speakers.

@whakojacko:
The etymotic phones are very accurate and for a reasonable price. My only issue with these was that I didn't like the "christmas tree style" ear ear bud. I do have a pair of etymotic custom made ear plugs the ER6's fit into though, and they work amazing with them. Best sound isolation I've heard.

Unfortunately removing the buds from the custom mold over and over again (to swap with the earplug filters they also can be used with) causes the silicone to loosen and eventually the earbuds (or your expensive earplug filters) fall out easily. No good.

as a gift i would rather give a pair of Grado sr60's.
ok, so they're not in-ear phones, and doesn't isolate, but they sound great while being quite affordable.

The question is: do these come with their own auto tangle feature?

I can't stand any earbuds that aren't IEMs. I'm using some $40 JVC ones that are okayish, but have my sights set on some Sennheisers.

Even the uber-cheap Koss Plug will do, but they aren't well built. I've gone through three paid of them.

@Keebler: hey, hey, hey, you quoted the wrong person about not being able to use them.

I merely stated that there are a lot of mods one can do to a pair of shures. Or hell, even the JVC Marshmallows.

A gift is usually under $50, isn't it? These as a wedding gift would downright suck, unless you dropped for two pair for the happy couple...