Shure E4C vs E5C
 

Hi,

In case anyone was wondering what the $200 in price difference gets you: well, a heck of a lot.

I've been using a pair of e4Cs and was pretty happy with them, but I recently upgraded to the e5C and they are simply awesome. Tunes that I grew bored of with the old earphones sound brand new with the new pair.

One small observation: The bass tends to sound distorted when using the earphones with my iPod nano when the charge level is below 50%. This was true on the e4C as well but it's much more pronounced on the new pair.

Hmm...interesting. I've been contemplating upgrading to the E5c myself. Have you tried them with something other than the Ipod? If so, better bass?

I'm currently traveling so I can't really try it with a good stereo. But even on the iPod, the bass got a lot better. When I get home I'll plug it into my home amp and see how it compares to the old pair.

You should really consider etymotics ER-4P. They invented this sort of system and make high end audio monitors (like rock stars use on stage) and hearing equipment.

http://www.epinions.com/elec_Audio-H...splay_~reviews

I prefer the foam inserts myself, this provides in excess of 40db of noise isolation. You simply won't hear the stewardess, the engine, or the squaling infant. What you WILL hear, is stuff deeper in the music tracks and background noises that were also recorded. Unlike the others (including the Shure) the ER-4P uses a stalk system that places the speaker farther in your ear canal in a hole in the center of the isolation foam. This delivers the actual speaker almost directly to your ear drum without any background. There is simply NO background noise and you will be stunned by the mistakes and other things on the tracks you were never aware of before.

Regards,
-Bouncer-

Shure has announced the E500, which is suppoed to be the successor the to E5. I'm not sure if the E5 will be discontinued, but the price point is the same as the E5. The E500 has two "woofer" drivers (as opposed to one on the E5).

http://www.shure.com/news/pressrelea...006_01_05.html

Estimated availability for these earphones is May.

And I thought my E2C's were nice!

Are these others really worth $200 - $400 more ?

Do you guys use foam or the plastic ear pieces? I find that after watching a DVD, the inside of my ears are sore.

I use the foam pieces and find them quite comfortable. None of the rubber ones fit well for me.

There was a thead here about a company creating custom molds for your ears at a fairly affordable price - I sent them an email a couple of weeks ago but have yet to receive a reply.

Foam for me (E4c). E500s sound quite nice, but US$500. Ouch. That's about $820 in my currency. Double ouch.
http://www.engadget.com/2006/01/09/s...-new-paradigm/

Yes, the E500 does sound very nice, but given that I've just spent the same amount of money on a current-get product it will have to be a bit of time before I upgrade.

The PTH (push-to-hear) accessory for $60 should be a no-brainer though.

I don't see why this wouldn't work with any other earphone out there - and the #1 thing I dislike about the E5c (or any other in-canal earphone for that matter) is the fact that I have to yank it out of my ear every time I need to talk to someone, then reseat it afterwards. This does get annoying if I do this every time a FA walks by and asks something. With the PTH I could just say "repeat it to the box please". :D

I have both. My ER4P earphones sit unused in a drawer. I prefer the richer fuller sound of the the Shure E5 phones over the cooler more analytical and more uninvolving sound of the ER4P.

I'm contemplating the same thing. The E4C and the E5C. I currently have the Bose QC2s and was originally going to get the QC3s but I had read about the Shures and was sitting on the plane next to a guy with the E4Cs and he had nothing but good things to say about them.

Any other insight as to the difference between the E4 and E5?

Has this become available yet?

The COMPLY ear foams are the best if u like foamies and last alot longer than the the standard faomies that come with the SHURE fit kit. I have the grey platinum slims for my E4. I ilisten to a very wide range of music. Tried the E5 but the price point could not provide significant value over the E4. The E2's are just horrible and a waste of money. The etymotic ER6 series are way better in value and sound than the Shure E2's