Home > Articles > Home & Office Computing

Shure E3c Sound Isolating Earphones: Earplugs Never Sounded So Good

Two hundred bucks may seem like a lot of money to spend on earphones for your MP3 player. But the difference in quality may make that amount sound quite reasonable when you hear Shure's E3c Sound Isolating Earphones.
Like this article? We recommend

Like this article? We recommend

For more information on Digital Lifestyles topics, visit our Digital Lifestyles Reference Guide or sign up for our Digital Lifestyles Newsletter

Many of you out there undoubtedly own MP3 players. And, judging by the sales numbers, many of you own iPods. Regardless of your brand of MP3 poison, chances are the headphones that shipped with your device are not the best-sounding option out there. That's certainly the case with my iPod, so I went looking for a replacement set of earbuds that might fit a little better and sound a lot better.

The earbuds that shipped with my iPod are passable, but they just don't have the clarity and richness I'm looking for. About 20 years ago I bought a high-end Walkman (AM/FM and cassette, baby!) that came with a very nice set of headphones for the time, but I guess Apple is more interested in saving a few bucks than providing a high-quality set of earbuds. I figured I'd be able to find a good pair of replacement earbuds relatively easily. Boy, was I wrong.

The first thing I learned was that there are 4,295,352 models of headphones, earphones, and earbuds out there, ranging from $5 to $500. Since I'm the type of person who generally believes that you get what you pay for, and because of their stellar reputation for in-ear monitors for musicians, I decided to try Shure's $199 (MSRP) E3c Sound Isolating Earphones (see Figure 1). While the E3c earphones aren't the top of the line, I couldn't justify spending as much for earphones as I did for my iPod. (The E4c lists at $299 and the E5c at $499. I'm sure they're both excellent, but at those prices I'll never know.)

Figure 1

Figure 1 The Shure E3c headphones.

I started out with mixed feelings about the E3cs because of fit-related issues, partially because of their design and partially because of my own physiology. But in the end I was impressed with the earphones' engineering and overall performance. Let's consider a few of the details.

The Fit

Why would I talk about fit before sound quality? Because, before sound quality means anything, you have to stick these things in your ears. After many hours of listening, I realized how important positioning and fit are for getting good sound out of the E3cs.

The E3cs were rather difficult to insert into my ears at first. They're kind of small (remarkably so, actually) and hard to manipulate with my big fingers, and they're designed to be inserted with the cord over the ear. (By contrast, the cord for the default iPod earbuds simply hangs down out of your ears.) It takes some maneuvering to get these things in with the cord flipped just the right way over your ear, but actually it's a good way to keep the cords out of the way. With practice, the act of putting the E3cs into my ears became second nature and was really no effort at all, but there was a learning curve.

I wasn't inserting the earphones fully into my ears on my first few attempts, and the resulting sound was tinny and transistor radio–like. I soon realized that they weren't inserted properly, so I jammed those bad boys all the way in. Again, the sound was sub-par, but I just couldn't find the sweet spot no matter how much I fiddled with them. I took them out and tried again, and the third time was a charm. I inserted the earphones a little farther than the user manual diagram showed—but not as far as they could go—and was rewarded with amazing sound. I then realized why the E3cs cost almost $200.

The problem was, I couldn't get them to stay in place for very long. After only a few minutes I'd have to adjust them, and sometimes I'd have to pull them all the way out to reinsert them. I tried a few of the extra sleeves provided in the package (see the section "The Goods" for some details) until I came across a size that was a better fit than what I had originally been using, and things became quite a bit better.

Even after weeks of testing, however, I never had a completely trouble-free listening experience. I found the E3cs often needed to be adjusted, especially during any kind of physical activity. I don't know if it was the result of my grimacing, but I couldn't keep them in properly for more than 10–15 minutes at a time at the gym. They mostly stayed put when I wore them around the house, though, or whenever I wasn't lifting heavy objects.

Since I've had trouble getting other earphones and earbuds to fit me correctly, I'm going to give Shure the benefit of the doubt and guess that my own ear shape had something to do with my experience. (Maybe my head is just better suited for headphones.) Still, after using these for a while, I did get much better at putting them in and adjusting them. And after hearing how they sounded when they were inserted correctly, it was worth tinkering a bit to keep that sound.

I also have to say that the long-term comfort of the E3cs was very good. I could wear them for an hour at the gym with no discomfort, and I even wore them for several hours while doing yard work, with no complaints about comfort. Their cord often got in the way (more on that later), but my ears never became sore.

Bottom line: Proper fit is crucial to getting the best sound out of the E3cs, but don't expect to get it perfect right away. Shure offers a 30-day money-back guarantee for their earphones, and I'd recommend taking at least a week to get the hang of inserting these things properly. If you give up too soon, you might miss out on hearing just what they can do.

InformIT Promotional Mailings & Special Offers

I would like to receive exclusive offers and hear about products from InformIT and its family of brands. I can unsubscribe at any time.

Overview


Pearson Education, Inc., 221 River Street, Hoboken, New Jersey 07030, (Pearson) presents this site to provide information about products and services that can be purchased through this site.

This privacy notice provides an overview of our commitment to privacy and describes how we collect, protect, use and share personal information collected through this site. Please note that other Pearson websites and online products and services have their own separate privacy policies.

Collection and Use of Information


To conduct business and deliver products and services, Pearson collects and uses personal information in several ways in connection with this site, including:

Questions and Inquiries

For inquiries and questions, we collect the inquiry or question, together with name, contact details (email address, phone number and mailing address) and any other additional information voluntarily submitted to us through a Contact Us form or an email. We use this information to address the inquiry and respond to the question.

Online Store

For orders and purchases placed through our online store on this site, we collect order details, name, institution name and address (if applicable), email address, phone number, shipping and billing addresses, credit/debit card information, shipping options and any instructions. We use this information to complete transactions, fulfill orders, communicate with individuals placing orders or visiting the online store, and for related purposes.

Surveys

Pearson may offer opportunities to provide feedback or participate in surveys, including surveys evaluating Pearson products, services or sites. Participation is voluntary. Pearson collects information requested in the survey questions and uses the information to evaluate, support, maintain and improve products, services or sites, develop new products and services, conduct educational research and for other purposes specified in the survey.

Contests and Drawings

Occasionally, we may sponsor a contest or drawing. Participation is optional. Pearson collects name, contact information and other information specified on the entry form for the contest or drawing to conduct the contest or drawing. Pearson may collect additional personal information from the winners of a contest or drawing in order to award the prize and for tax reporting purposes, as required by law.

Newsletters

If you have elected to receive email newsletters or promotional mailings and special offers but want to unsubscribe, simply email information@informit.com.

Service Announcements

On rare occasions it is necessary to send out a strictly service related announcement. For instance, if our service is temporarily suspended for maintenance we might send users an email. Generally, users may not opt-out of these communications, though they can deactivate their account information. However, these communications are not promotional in nature.

Customer Service

We communicate with users on a regular basis to provide requested services and in regard to issues relating to their account we reply via email or phone in accordance with the users' wishes when a user submits their information through our Contact Us form.

Other Collection and Use of Information


Application and System Logs

Pearson automatically collects log data to help ensure the delivery, availability and security of this site. Log data may include technical information about how a user or visitor connected to this site, such as browser type, type of computer/device, operating system, internet service provider and IP address. We use this information for support purposes and to monitor the health of the site, identify problems, improve service, detect unauthorized access and fraudulent activity, prevent and respond to security incidents and appropriately scale computing resources.

Web Analytics

Pearson may use third party web trend analytical services, including Google Analytics, to collect visitor information, such as IP addresses, browser types, referring pages, pages visited and time spent on a particular site. While these analytical services collect and report information on an anonymous basis, they may use cookies to gather web trend information. The information gathered may enable Pearson (but not the third party web trend services) to link information with application and system log data. Pearson uses this information for system administration and to identify problems, improve service, detect unauthorized access and fraudulent activity, prevent and respond to security incidents, appropriately scale computing resources and otherwise support and deliver this site and its services.

Cookies and Related Technologies

This site uses cookies and similar technologies to personalize content, measure traffic patterns, control security, track use and access of information on this site, and provide interest-based messages and advertising. Users can manage and block the use of cookies through their browser. Disabling or blocking certain cookies may limit the functionality of this site.

Do Not Track

This site currently does not respond to Do Not Track signals.

Security


Pearson uses appropriate physical, administrative and technical security measures to protect personal information from unauthorized access, use and disclosure.

Children


This site is not directed to children under the age of 13.

Marketing


Pearson may send or direct marketing communications to users, provided that

  • Pearson will not use personal information collected or processed as a K-12 school service provider for the purpose of directed or targeted advertising.
  • Such marketing is consistent with applicable law and Pearson's legal obligations.
  • Pearson will not knowingly direct or send marketing communications to an individual who has expressed a preference not to receive marketing.
  • Where required by applicable law, express or implied consent to marketing exists and has not been withdrawn.

Pearson may provide personal information to a third party service provider on a restricted basis to provide marketing solely on behalf of Pearson or an affiliate or customer for whom Pearson is a service provider. Marketing preferences may be changed at any time.

Correcting/Updating Personal Information


If a user's personally identifiable information changes (such as your postal address or email address), we provide a way to correct or update that user's personal data provided to us. This can be done on the Account page. If a user no longer desires our service and desires to delete his or her account, please contact us at customer-service@informit.com and we will process the deletion of a user's account.

Choice/Opt-out


Users can always make an informed choice as to whether they should proceed with certain services offered by InformIT. If you choose to remove yourself from our mailing list(s) simply visit the following page and uncheck any communication you no longer want to receive: www.informit.com/u.aspx.

Sale of Personal Information


Pearson does not rent or sell personal information in exchange for any payment of money.

While Pearson does not sell personal information, as defined in Nevada law, Nevada residents may email a request for no sale of their personal information to NevadaDesignatedRequest@pearson.com.

Supplemental Privacy Statement for California Residents


California residents should read our Supplemental privacy statement for California residents in conjunction with this Privacy Notice. The Supplemental privacy statement for California residents explains Pearson's commitment to comply with California law and applies to personal information of California residents collected in connection with this site and the Services.

Sharing and Disclosure


Pearson may disclose personal information, as follows:

  • As required by law.
  • With the consent of the individual (or their parent, if the individual is a minor)
  • In response to a subpoena, court order or legal process, to the extent permitted or required by law
  • To protect the security and safety of individuals, data, assets and systems, consistent with applicable law
  • In connection the sale, joint venture or other transfer of some or all of its company or assets, subject to the provisions of this Privacy Notice
  • To investigate or address actual or suspected fraud or other illegal activities
  • To exercise its legal rights, including enforcement of the Terms of Use for this site or another contract
  • To affiliated Pearson companies and other companies and organizations who perform work for Pearson and are obligated to protect the privacy of personal information consistent with this Privacy Notice
  • To a school, organization, company or government agency, where Pearson collects or processes the personal information in a school setting or on behalf of such organization, company or government agency.

Links


This web site contains links to other sites. Please be aware that we are not responsible for the privacy practices of such other sites. We encourage our users to be aware when they leave our site and to read the privacy statements of each and every web site that collects Personal Information. This privacy statement applies solely to information collected by this web site.

Requests and Contact


Please contact us about this Privacy Notice or if you have any requests or questions relating to the privacy of your personal information.

Changes to this Privacy Notice


We may revise this Privacy Notice through an updated posting. We will identify the effective date of the revision in the posting. Often, updates are made to provide greater clarity or to comply with changes in regulatory requirements. If the updates involve material changes to the collection, protection, use or disclosure of Personal Information, Pearson will provide notice of the change through a conspicuous notice on this site or other appropriate way. Continued use of the site after the effective date of a posted revision evidences acceptance. Please contact us if you have questions or concerns about the Privacy Notice or any objection to any revisions.

Last Update: November 17, 2020