by Charlie White

When we were talking about the Shure E3c earphones last week (you remember, those $180 earbuds from Shure that I mentioned sound very good?), I remembered that I still had a pair of Shure E5C earphones. Something had gone wrong with them about a year ago -- the left channel suddenly stopped working.

I went to the Shure website and noticed that there was a two-year warranty on these earphones, so I downloaded a certain repair form from the Shure site, filled it out, and mailed these earphones back to Shure. Sure enough, they fixed them and bounced them right back to me, and they were in the mailbox today -- that's pretty quick -- I sent them to them on Tuesday, but then they're only one state away, in Illinois.

This is what I call excellent customer service. Not only were the earphones fixed perfectly, but they arrived in a brand new case. Shure had also included a new pack of ear bud tips, and an in-line volume control.

These Shure E5C earphones have by far the best sound I've ever heard in my life. I was listening to them this morning before the show, and they have just spectacular bass response, shimmering, smooth highs … I could go on and on about how wonderful these earphones sound. It's like having a couple of the finest hi-fi speakers somehow jammed into your ears. In fact, there are three drivers in each one, that's what makes them unique, and that's what makes them sound so good.

Readers, if you have an extra $550 lying around, consider these Shure E5C earphones. I know, I know, it's weird that these earphones cost more than the most expensive iPod, but when I plugged them into the iPod, before that moment, I didn't realize how good an iPod could sound.

They're very efficient, too; they can play at extremely loud volume levels, enough to damage your hearing. I think that's a bit precarious, too, because the sound is so undistorted, so perfect, you're tempted to turn it up all the way to 11. So keep that in mind if you do end up with a pair of these earphones.

Yes, I do think it's too bad that one of the channels cut out, I think it was a problem with this complicated crossover in these earphones, however, Shure fixed the problem, made it right, and repaired these headphones in one day and then mailed them right back to me. Not only do they have a great product, they stand behind it and back it up. Bravo, Shure.

Keep in mind, though, that the new Shure E500 earphones (pictured at right), the successors to these high-end E5c models, are due to be released in May of this year, and they'll have a few improvements. For example, the crossover will be moved from the junction of its wires into the earpieces themselves. Another innovative feature is its push-to-hear button, where the headphone volume drops 90% when you push a button, and its embedded microphone can pick up ambient sounds, so you can hear someone talking to you. So keep an eye out for those.

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