Simply Astonishing!!!!!

First let me just say that these earphones are not targeted toward sixteen year olds looking to upgrade from the cheap earphones that came with their iPod. These babies are likely to cost more than the music source. I believe they’re intended for use by audiophiles, professional musicians and people who have more money than they know what to do with. No, I’m not rich. I fall into the first category. They’re not cheap, but they’re worth every penny. Read on.

Sound Quality –

In one word…..Amazing!!! The bass is tight, deep and well controlled. No sign whatsoever of muddiness. The midrange is open and airy, with an extended sound stage. The highs are brilliant and clear. I listen to everything from Jazz, to Classical, to Hard Rock. Just last night I was listening to Jimi Hendrix’s “Band of Gypsys” CD. Not the best recording in the world, but typical for that era. During the quiet passages I could hear Jimi’s fingers sliding down the guitar strings. If you’re familiar with round wound guitar strings, you know what I’m talking about. I could also hear the hum of the amplifiers. With these, every little nuance is faithfully reproduced. If it’s in the music, you will hear it. By nature it is practically impossible to accurately reproduce the full spectrum of music using only one driver. Just look at most loudspeaker designs. Having separate drivers for the high and low frequencies is standard for loudspeakers, so it only makes sense that this would carry over to earphones as well. This innovative design is what makes the E5s really shine. Couple that with quality components and you’ll understand why Shure has enjoyed a long standing reputation amongst those in the professional music industry.

Sound Isolation –

Excellent! The tight fit seals out 95% of external noise. The other 5% cannot be processed by the brain when the music is playing. When I fist started fooling around with my E5s I had the T.V. on. After playing music for a while, I took them out. To my astonishment the volume on the T.V. was pretty loud. I’d just assumed I’d turned it down since I heard no trace of it with the earphones in. Active noise cancellation is totally unnecessary with these. I never liked the idea of needing a separate battery for those types of earphones/headphones anyway.

Comfort –

I can’t stress this enough…..fit, fit, fit. The sound isolating technology of these earphones relies on proper fit. In addition, proper frequency response also relies on a tight seal. Loose fit = weak bass. Some people will never discover the full potential of these earphones because they simply won’t take the time to ensure a proper fit. They come with eight pairs of sleeves: one pair of foam sleeves, three sizes of clear flex sleeves, three sizes of soft flex sleeves and one pair of triple flange. You’ll need to go through all of these to find the ones that combine a tight seal with the comfort level you want. The triple flange sleeves have a super tight fit, so tight that you can probably hang a set of barbells on them and they won’t fall out. However, they penetrate too deeply into the ear canal. This combined with their super tight fit makes them uncomfortable for extended use. The clear flex sleeves are made of a slightly more firm silicon rubber than the “soft” flex sleeves. When I first tried this set I automatically assumed I should start with the largest. I’m 6’ 4” and haven’t worn anything smaller than XL since I was about 14 years old. Naturally I should need the large ones, right? Wrong! I discovered the size of your ear canals have nothing to do with body size. The large and medium wouldn’t fit tightly. They kept coming out. That’s because they were too large to fit deep enough into my ear canal. I ended up getting the best fit with the small clear flex sleeves. These are very comfortable and provide a tight seal. In addition to using the proper size, you need to insert them in the correct manner. When inserting the right earphone, reach over your head with your left hand. Pull the top of your ear up and out. This opens the ear canal so that the earphone can penetrate to the proper depth. This is the exact same method of insertion shooters use for ear plugs at the gun range. I was already familiar with this technique. Most music fans aren’t. This is clearly explained on the Shure website. However, most won’t take the time to read it. When you push the earphone in, you should angle it toward the rear for a tight fit. The cord also has a nice adjustment tube. You slide this up or down to vary the length of the “Y”. I must stress that this initial fitting process is a “one time” event, so don’t be turned off by this. After you learn the right technique, it only takes a few seconds to insert them. From that point on you’ll experience sheer musical ecstasy!

Durability –

Time will tell with this one. I can say that the cord is thick and heavy duty. The right angle plug is more robust than most. The overall quality seems to be very high.

Where to Buy –

Got mine at Comp-U-Plus for $354. At first I thought either that had to be a misprint or it was “Gray Market”. It was neither. They’re brand new, factory fresh and come with the U.S. warranty. The catch is they come with a felt carrying pouch instead of the nice zippered carrying case. The pouch is OK, but it’s a little small for these earphones because of the wired crossover. If you want the better case it’s available on the Shure website (www.shurestore.com) for only $14.99. I already ordered mine. Mine also didn’t come with the volume attenuator. Personally, I don’t need that.