Shure E3 Earpieces: For Any Kind of Music, These Multi-purpose Earpieces Bring Pleasure to Your Ears

It can be really hard to find a good set of headphones, and it is really hard to tell what's good anymore with so many consumer options available. Shure has three entries in the earphone category: the E2's, E3's & E5's, with afourt due out this spring, the E4's. The E3's were our choice this time around. The first thing that I have to say is that these things are intended to be used on stage by professional musicians. That being said these are of much higher quality than you find in most basic model consumer headphones. Of course along with that, they are definitely more pricey than most earphones on the market. For very good reason though, as you are about to find out.

First of all, they sound amazing. Nothing is overpowering in the mix, and the clarity is astounding. They also reject ambient noise very well, isolating you, the listener from the commotion of the outside world while you slip into your listening coma.

Secondly, these things are very low-profile and light. Shure has devised a way to route the cabling down your back so it stays out of the way. Once you get used to how they sit in your ears, you can almost forget that they are even there. I've used them to work out in, and it seems a lot of people try to talk to me not realizing that I have earphones on. They also work great on the airplane, with a handy compact carrying case you can put in your pocket and not have to worry about breaking them or anything.

Of course, just because they're small doesn't mean these are not loud. They have the ability to get REALLY REALLY loud, so do make sure your headphone levels are turned down before you plug them in. It's nice that they have the ability to get that loud considering that many headphone amps are pretty under-powered.

As a DJ, I had to try these out while mixing. If you overlook the fact that the cable is not quite long enough, these would make great DJ headphones, though they do take a little bit of practice with them to get used to. Because of the way I mix, I found the easiest way to use them was to just leave one in at all times and use my monitor on the open ear. It would be nice if there was a way to clip the hanging one to my shirt so it wasn't dangling in front of my face when I'm hunched over the mixer. I used a T-shirt clip for a Camel-Bak water pak that I use for Mountain Biking as a makeshift clip to keep the spare earpiece out of the way. Beside the cable being too short there was one other inconvenience and that was that there was no 1/4 inch adapter in the package. Of course, when all is said and done, these are not intended for DJ use, so I can't really count these points against them, but they'd be nice amenities.

Apparently Shure has started to market these to the iPod squad. The E3c's are white versions of the E3's to match your iPod. E2's are a little bit more affordable, but not as low profile and lacking a little in frequency response, while the E5's are very pricey, but also have dedicated dual transducers on each side--that's right, a low freq and high freq transducer in each ear. This is efficient use of technology, clearly doing their homework researching hearing aid/assistive listening devices.

I really like these headphones, they sit nicely in my ears and come with a variety of foams made in different sizes and materials. I found the soft grey flex sleeves to make the tightest seal and fit most comfortably. Once they settle in my ears it sounds like whatever I'm listening to is being played directly from the core of my brain--the sound just seems to emanate from inside of your head. These things just place the sound exactly where you can really feel it. They are great for portable CD players and MP3 players but they are intended and most effective when used with Shure's in-ear monitor sytems which are used on stage in lieu of or in conjunction with stage monitors to reduce stage noise.

Packaging was clean, modern, and informative as was the manual. Highly recommended to people who want to hear music the way it was meant to be heard.

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