Shure or Etymotic?

[Hi Ho]

I got a Creative ZenMicro Photo for Christmas. I need some good earbuds for it. I have several pairs now.

I have a pair of $10 Sennheiser earbuds that have great highs and mids but no bass at all, even with the EQ and BassBoost. The ones that came with the player have plenty of bass but muddy mids and piercing/ragged highs. Alison Krauss voice is unbearable on those things. I also have a pair of cheap Sony earbuds (Sony... *shudders*). They sound OK but I need something better.

I have been looking at the Shure E2C's, E3C's, and the Etymotic ER6 and 6i Isolator earbuds. I am having a hard time trying to decide. I don't want to spend too much, hopefully around $100. I have found the E2C's as cheap as $75 and the E3C's as low as $120. From what I hear, the E2C's have stronger bass while the E3C's are more accurate overall.

All I know about the Etymotics is that they are popular and known for very good sound quality.

I listen mainly to bluegrass music which is all acoustic.

I don't know of any store that has earbuds available for demo so I must rely on recommendations.

So, any recommendations will help.

 

[nm2285]

I've heard the E2C, owned the ER-6, and own the ER4P. I think the ER-6 is much more accurate than the E2C and would recommend them over the shures for acoustic music. I can see the benefits of the E2Cs for rock music, but the muddier midrange isn't best for acoustic.

 

[jaxvon]

While I can't help you decide between them, I know that Mr. Linkwitz advises using an EQ curve with some of the Etymotic research earbuds (mainly to attenuate the highs).

http://www.linkwitzlab.com/reference_earphones.htm

 

[Geno]

I have the Etys, and think they sound great, with very good isolation. ( I do a lot of air travel) The drawback is that you have to really crank these things deep into your ear canals to get that isolation and bass response. Some people don't like doing that, and find them uncomfortable. I got used to them quickly and don't mind the extra work to get the sound, which is the only way to listen to MP3s with any semblence of high fidelity. By the way, don't rip your MP3s at anything less than about 192Kb, or you'll probably be disappointed with the sound quality.

 

[furrycute]

I have a pair of Etymotic ER4S. I haven't heard the Shures. But I have read that some of the Shures are bass heavy.

 

[Hi Ho]

Thank you all for the suggestions. The player has a five band EQ so that can help with heavy bass or lack of bass. It looks like a toss-up between the Shure E3C's and the Etymotic ER-6.

 

[furrycute]

I woud suggest neither choice. Both of the models you are considering have problems.

Consider the Etymotic ER4S.

 

[Hi Ho]

I don't have $200+ to spend on headphones. What are these problems you're referring to? I'm not looking for perfection, I'm looking for something that is better than what I have now, something that sounds decent and doesn't cost more than the player itself.