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Topic: Shure E4c vs. the rest - not a sure winner (Read 17503 times) previous topic - next topic
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Shure E4c vs. the rest - not a sure winner

The other day i saw an interesting review of earplugs in the german Chip magazine. They measured with an artificial head and they gave subjective marks for sound quality and wearing comfort. I noticed that there was one set of earplugs which gave the Shure E4c a run for their money. Knowing that there are lots of questions about the best earplugs here, i decided to post an excerpt of the review. I encourage you to buy Chip magazine if you like their articles.

Of course, they praised the Shure quality; absolutely precise sound reproduction, and you can hear some details that you never noticed before. But the price of 300 Euros for those 31 grams equals a per-gram price of almost 10 Euros, which is roughly the current price of gold!

Now this is where the Creative EP-630 come in. Almost the same sound quality as the Shure, for 1/10th of their price (only 30 Euros). It was very hard for the testers to distinguish between the Creative and the Shure E4c. The bass is more pronounced with the EP-630, but that's about it. Measurement-wise, the Shure's frequency response is a tad more linear, and they only need an amplitude of 0.08V to read 94 dB SPL (Creative needs twice). But the Shures even have disadvantages compared to the Creatives: The cables transmit a lot of mechanical noise, i.e. if the cable is rubbing on the T-Shirt and so on. Creative has a better decoupling, and the cable is nicely shrouded with rubber, which makes it more sturdy.

Here is an excerpt of the article; Shure won only just, with an inadequate price/performance ratio. Runner-up Creative EP-630 have a "very good" price/performance ratio.

UPDATE: Another review, see here

Shure E4c vs. the rest - not a sure winner

Reply #1 –
yeah, i read that, too. Then i decided to buy the EP-630s... and they're great. (but the article is right, they are sometimes a little bit harsh for my taste. You'll get used to it, though.)

Shure E4c vs. the rest - not a sure winner

Reply #2 –
Sorry to see that Etymotic was not tested.   
Nov schmoz kapop.

Shure E4c vs. the rest - not a sure winner

Reply #3 –
Nice test! I've also bought the EP-630's recently and I'm very happy with them.

Although I'm a bit sceptical towards "burn-in" I have the feeling that the bass response is improving slightly since I bought them a couple of weeks ago. First, I didn't hear bass guitar (only kick drum), now I do.

Shure E4c vs. the rest - not a sure winner

Reply #4 –
Thanks. However, personally I wouldn't give that test a great significance as i see both the Sony MDR EX71 and Koss the plug near the top. Already the shure e3c is far superiour to the Sony headphone tested.

Shure E4c vs. the rest - not a sure winner

Reply #5 –
Quote
Thanks. However, personally I wouldn't give that test a great significance as i see both the Sony MDR EX71 and Koss the plug near the top. Already the shure e3c is far superiour to the Sony headphone tested.
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=358525"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

The MDR EX71s aren't so bad, a bit accentuated & woolly on bass and a bit dull on highs but not bad for the price. I'd agree they're not in the same league as E4s though!

Shure E4c vs. the rest - not a sure winner

Reply #6 –
Quote
But the price of 300 Euros for those 31 grams equals a per-gram price of almost 10 Euros, which is roughly the current price of gold!


What, do you listen to gold bricks? What a useless comparison.

Shure E4c vs. the rest - not a sure winner

Reply #7 –
Quote
Quote
But the price of 300 Euros for those 31 grams equals a per-gram price of almost 10 Euros, which is roughly the current price of gold!


What, do you listen to gold bricks? What a useless comparison.
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=359036"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]


Gee, we're in a good mood today, aren't we? 

Of course it's a useful comparison, it shows what an excessive pricetag that really is. In my opinion they shouldn't even have won the test because of that.

Shure E4c vs. the rest - not a sure winner

Reply #8 –
Info you might like: from a Dutch forum, I've gathered that the Creative EP-630 are in fact rebranded Sharp HP-MD33. There are a lot of happy users; if you're reading Dutch, here's a link.

Shure E4c vs. the rest - not a sure winner

Reply #9 –
Thank you for posting this CiTay.

Shure E4c vs. the rest - not a sure winner

Reply #10 –
Well I just got some brand new E4cs off ebay for 100 great britain pounds (shipped to canada, cost about $250. E4cs from Best Buy are $350).

Still pricey, but a good deal.

Shure E4c vs. the rest - not a sure winner

Reply #12 –
Yeah i haven't seen too many direct comparisons made. Seems like word on the street though has the E4cs sounding warmer, fitting easier and looking nicer. That was good enough for me.

My understanding though is that for detail, the ER-4Ps are still incredible.

Shure E4c vs. the rest - not a sure winner

Reply #13 –
Quote
Quote
Quote
But the price of 300 Euros for those 31 grams equals a per-gram price of almost 10 Euros, which is roughly the current price of gold!


What, do you listen to gold bricks? What a useless comparison.
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=359036"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]


Gee, we're in a good mood today, aren't we? 

Of course it's a useful comparison, it shows what an excessive pricetag that really is. In my opinion they shouldn't even have won the test because of that.
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=359404"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Quality costs! I can vouch for Shure's service being second to none as well. Additionally Shure will replace damaged products for a fixed fee (far less than as-new cost) regardless of the cause (true in US at least). Who else offers that?

Shure E4c vs. the rest - not a sure winner

Reply #14 –
It's nice to see tests like these performed. I'd like more in this fashion, open/closed cans etc.

I'll buy a pair of EP-630 and be happy with it.

Shure E4c vs. the rest - not a sure winner

Reply #15 –
The Creative EP-630 are technically identical to the Sharp HP-MD33. This has been a hot product in the earplugs discussion on the Tweakers.net forum (Dutch language).

Shure E4c vs. the rest - not a sure winner

Reply #16 –
pcatiprodotnet, Etymotic availability in mainland europe was also quite problematic the last time i checked, which could explain why a german magazine wouldn't want to test 'em.


Maybe a bit OT, but i've broken 2 pairs of ER4's (and a pair of ER6's). So switched to Shures, which happen to have an infinitely better build quality - and to be distributed here.

Shure E4c vs. the rest - not a sure winner

Reply #17 –
Since I was in the market for a new set of headphones anyway I got ahead and bought the creatives. Tested on my pc: great sound. Tested on my ipod while sitting at my desk: great sound. Walked confidently out of the door with my new headphones: waitaminute...Every step I take I can hear in the headphones...
I'm not joking, every time I put my foot on the ground, <thump>. Did they forget to test these while walking/running? Or am I doing something wrong? It seems unlikely such a defect would not go noticed...

Shure E4c vs. the rest - not a sure winner

Reply #18 –
I use my EP-630's every day when out of the house, walking around 90% of the time and I've never had any problems. Eating, on the other hand, produces some very psychedelic flangey/tremolo effects, especially if I've got a cold 

Shure E4c vs. the rest - not a sure winner

Reply #19 –
If you stick your fingers in your ear and do the same thing and still hear the same thing, then there is no problem. ;p
I blow chunks.

Shure E4c vs. the rest - not a sure winner

Reply #20 –
Quote
Since I was in the market for a new set of headphones anyway I got ahead and bought the creatives. Tested on my pc: great sound. Tested on my ipod while sitting at my desk: great sound. Walked confidently out of the door with my new headphones: waitaminute...Every step I take I can hear in the headphones...
I'm not joking, every time I put my foot on the ground, <thump>. Did they forget to test these while walking/running? Or am I doing something wrong? It seems unlikely such a defect would not go noticed...
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=360852"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

It's not a defect of the earphones. Block the external sound to your ears and "internal" noises are heard - try wearing ordinary earplugs and you'll have the same "defect" of hearing yourself breathe, chew, walk etc.

Shure E4c vs. the rest - not a sure winner

Reply #21 –
Quote
Quote
Since I was in the market for a new set of headphones anyway I got ahead and bought the creatives. Tested on my pc: great sound. Tested on my ipod while sitting at my desk: great sound. Walked confidently out of the door with my new headphones: waitaminute...Every step I take I can hear in the headphones...
I'm not joking, every time I put my foot on the ground, <thump>. Did they forget to test these while walking/running? Or am I doing something wrong? It seems unlikely such a defect would not go noticed...
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=360852"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

It's not a defect of the earphones. Block the external sound to your ears and "internal" noises are heard - try wearing ordinary earplugs and you'll have the same "defect" of hearing yourself breathe, chew, walk etc.
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=360973"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

]
There is a work around for this "defect".  If you stop breathing the noise is significantly reduced.