For my birthday this year, I received a pair of Shure E3c headphones from my girlfriend. I decided upon these headphones after reading hundreds of customer reviews on various opinion and product websites. I wanted to give anybody yet another opinion if they were thinking to drop $200 on a pair of headphones.

The consensus of those reviews that I read when deciding was that if you can “deal” with the (dis)comfort level of these headphones they were worth it. There were a few mis-guided fools which also said that even when inserted correctly in the ear, the sound was sub par and that they were overpriced.

The Sure E3c headphones came with a wide array of ear buds, ranging from yellow earplug type foam, to varying stiffness in rubber sized earplugs. Within minutes I was able to find a size and type of ear bud which was somewhat comfortable and created the airtight seal in the ear which is critical for optimal sound.

When demo-ing the buds for the first time I was able to hear the true quality and value in these headphones. With all background noise completely eliminated you are able to hear little nuances in music that you may have missed before.

I listen to lots of varying types of music .. from hard rock (Rage Against the Machine), Alternative (Coldplay), Pop (Jack Johnson-DMB) and Electronic (DJ Tiesto) and these headphones have allowed me to appreciate my music more than ever.

When sitting in the ear correctly all outside noise is blocked out – beeping horns, train squeaks and crying babies are no match for an airtight seal. Some times this is not the best situation to be in when walking around the busy Boston streets full of Massholes.

You can remove the ear buds slightly, with a significant loss in sound quality, in order to hear the background street noise if need be to survive.

I have also noticed that with these headphones I hardly ever have to crack 70% volume on my 3rd Gen iPod in order for me to enjoy my music – whereas with other headphones I constantly had the volume maxed out.

After 3 months I hardly even realize that these headphones are different than older headphones that I have had in the past. They sit snugly in the ear and don’t easily fall out if using while working out/running to catch a train.

Actually one word of advise I have – when the headphones are sealed in your ear – be carefully not to yank the ear bud out too quickly because it does create suction and I think you may be able to injure yourself. But I’m not a doctor and I have no clue if that’s actually true.

Anyways .. best headphones I ever had.