Ear Buds (In-Ears like Shure E series, Westone, etc.)

saxnbass · #1 05-16-2007, 03:03 PM

I'm debating getting a pair of Shure E2, E3, or Westone UM2 earphones. Anybody have them, how are they? How do they compare to the other ones (E4, E5, etc.)? Any other suggestions?

hyperlitem · #2 05-16-2007, 03:20 PM

I have the e2's. If your gonna be using them for recording they would be terrible for that. They are great for my ipod and stuff though. I think the nicer ones you get the more geared toward in ear monitors they are. They wont let you demo them cuz they go in your ear so i cannot compare them. The big difference for me would be that the e3's i beleive and up had an attachment if youve had custom molds poured for your ears, which is easy to do and a much better solution than those stupid foam things.

saxnbass · #3 05-16-2007, 03:41 PM

I would be using them a lot with my iPod and for in-ear monitoring during performances.

Are the E3's worth the extra $80?

Ibanezzer · #4 05-16-2007, 04:59 PM

E2's are not bad but they are hard to keep in even with the ton of various fittings they come with. I found them more annoying than helpful for that reason because you lost all bass response when they were not perfectly tight. I had mine as part of a personal in ear monitor setup. I sold the setup a few months back as it wasn't being used because of the above issue. If I were to buy one again I would get the E3's since you can use custom molds with it. But then you also have more costs due to the custom molds and such.

In short, e2's were great for my ipod as well, though was I started moving they were not so great. Studio may be okay but its a hard call.

saxnbass · #5 05-16-2007, 05:08 PM

OK, now I've upped my price willingness to spend. Shure E3, Westone UM2. Which one would you choose and why? Any other suggestions?

Brian S · #6 05-16-2007, 05:37 PM

I have a pair of E3s. Got them on eBay for $103. I am very pleased with them. I was surprised at how well they seal my ears against outside noise. I use them when practicing with my prog trio. Instead of using amps we run the bass and guitar through earphones. The E3s cut down on drum volume and the guitar and bass sound great through them. I also use them for in-ear monitors with an aviom system at my church. IMO they are well worth the money.

Seattle_BassMan · #7 05-16-2007, 10:58 PM

I have the Westone UM2's and use them at most of our gigs. I think the bass response is quite good. I notice a little distortion if I play bass solo but when played along with the rest of the band mix it sounds very good.

I chose the UM2's because I had read (somewhere) that they were essentially the same dual driver design as the E5's, but they were cheaper.

However, if you are going to use any IEM's for live use I would HIGHLY recommend custom ear molds. That is the only complaint I have. I don't know if I just have weird ear canals, but my earbuds are always working themselves loose in my ears. This is very annoying! When they are inserted nice and tight the mix is incredible, but if they're not positioned just right then the bass is the first thing to go. The custom molded earbuds are $113 from Westone and figure another $100 just to get the impressions done from an audiologist (sp).

There are a few gigs we play that I use only my bass through PodXT Live and my UM2's to monitor the mix (no amp or cab). I can't tell you how great it is to make one trip with my gig bag into and out of the gig :-)

In fact in the low volume venues, I have much more fun now because I can actually hear a great mix in my ears. Before I had to keep my amp volume so low it was hard to get a good feel to play with. Most gigs I will still take my amp/cab if it's appropriate for the venue. I do like the feel of the air moving around me. I haven't moved to the custom molds yet, but will soon. And when I do I may end up leaving the amp at home for most of my gigs.

All in all, I'm quite happy with the Westone IEM's and I would highly recommend using IEM's to most musicians. If you're a bass player, just make sure you get a dual driver IEM so you get good bass response. Lastly, be aware that you will either need to spend a good amount of time during sound check to get a good mix OR have some kind of a individual monitor mix system (we use Aviom). If you don't have a good monitor mix then you'll be hearing that bad mix crystal clear all night ;-)

vicenzajay · #8 05-16-2007, 11:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by saxnbass

OK, now I've upped my price willingness to spend. Shure E3, Westone UM2. Which one would you choose and why? Any other suggestions?

I would definitely recommend the UM2s...The E-3s are actually more equivalent to the UM1s as they have a single driver. The UM2s are dual driver earbuds and are a definite "step up" from the UM1s or E-3s.

Jay

Brian S · #9 05-17-2007, 06:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seattle_BassMan

There are a few gigs we play that I use only my bass through PodXT Live and my UM2's to monitor the mix (no amp or cab). I can't tell you how great it is to make one trip with my gig bag into and out of the gig :-)

+1

I do the same with my PodXT Live. Life is so much easier.

these_go211 · #10 05-17-2007, 10:49 AM

etymotic.com!

main_sale · #11 05-17-2007, 03:18 PM

www.arriva.com

Beachcoma · #12 05-17-2007, 03:30 PM

Hmm, my shure e4 buds do the job nicely, they have seperate treble and bass drivers, and arent that much more expensive. add to that the fact that any part of the e4 can be replaced if it ever breaks...

chrisp2u · #13 05-21-2007, 08:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beachcoma

Hmm, my shure e4 buds do the job nicely, they have seperate treble and bass drivers, and arent that much more expensive.

I thought the e4's were single driver, unless you mis-typed and meant e5's.
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c

F-Clef-Jef · #14 05-22-2007, 02:07 PM

I'm on my third set of E-2's, first two sets shorted at the mini plug, the set I have now has the wire insulation pulling away from the right earbud. I treat them very gently, always stored in the supplied case (which kinda sucks). Sound is okay... not great though. I won't be replacing them with another Shure product.

I have found this product though, http://www.earbudfitkit.com/ so I am able to do away with the foamies. Works very nicely.

I am also using a Pod XtL (with the bass pack), haven't used a bass amp in about 2 years! My whole band doesn't use any amps, it's been working great. Nothing beats a clean stereo monitor mix, exactly as I want it to sound, as loud or quiet as I want.

TheButler · #15 05-22-2007, 06:05 PM

I love my E2Cs. In fact i just sold 18 pairs on basstalk.co.uk for COST price. Everyone has been really happy with them so far, I don't know if they are studio monitor quality that you'd be after but they are certainly good value for money !

Chris Breese · #16 05-23-2007, 07:14 PM

I use e2's. I really like them, although I wish I could use a good set of headphones. I know that would look silly, but I think I would like them more.

The e2's get kind of greasy on me and tend to slip out when I start to sweat. Overall response for me is very good, although I don't have anything to compare them too. I like 'em!

lamarjones · #17 05-25-2007, 08:10 AM

my band mates have e3s, very nice. But as a bass player, I prefer my ultimate ears le EB edition (EB-extended Bass), its not too much bass that you'd really notice, but I DIG hearing the low end on it.

Kephah · #18 10-19-2007, 01:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lamarjones

my band mates have e3s, very nice. But as a bass player, I prefer my ultimate ears le EB edition (EB-extended Bass), its not too much bass that you'd really notice, but I DIG hearing the low end on it.

I'm thinking of getting the Ultimate Ears EB too. How do they compare to your bandmate's E3's. I had crappy E2's for a couple of years but they finally crapped out last Sunday.

Thanks,
Clint

Chris Breese · #19 10-19-2007, 07:17 AM

I like my E2s. Everyone always slams them, but I think they sound just fine.