I actually ordered the E2C-N earphones from Ace Photo Digital through Amazon. What I received was these SCL2 earphones. I believe the SCL2s are supposed to be the upgrade or the replacement for the E2C-Ns, as the E2Cs are now discontinued?

At any rate, I was really looking forward to receiving the earphones since I was anticipating a huge step-up from the Creatives that came with my MP3 player. What I actually got was something different.

I gave these 3 out of 5 stars simply because while they produce incredibly clear sound, they were not close to meeting my personal expectations for (quality) sound, specifically range of sound. I am no stereophile; but I do expect a set of earphones to produce the range of sounds (including bass) I enjoy listening to. These do not produce that.

While they do produce an exceptionally clear and clean sound (excellent), they are apparently mostly for mids and highs. The bass is just not there. I let a buddy of mine listen to them briefly as well and he said the same thing. "They sound tinny. They have great sound but they totally lack any bass." I agree. My Creatives are NO where near as clean; but they at least rock with a fuller range of sound (yes, they at least produce some decent bass).

I listen to a wide assortment of music on my MP3 player so I want and expect a set of ear or headphones to produce the music as it was intended. Without any real bass, some tunes in my collection do not come through as they should with these earphones. However, I could imagine that if you listen solely to rock or classical, you may not have as big of a problem with them.

On the positive side, they did seem to fit nicely in my ears even with the fittings that came on them from the factory; and they also come with other ear insert sizes and types for you to try. The carrying case is a very nice touch as well.

I am returning these and trying again with something else. For $60+, I should be able to expect more than what I got.

After using these for 3 weeks I can now confidently say that I am thoroughly disappointed with my purchase. My main gripe is the bass response... and I do have them inserted correctly in my ear. Although the mids and highs are great the bass is just so weak that most songs sound boring and lack depth. If I listened to rap it would be even worse.

The cord material is stiff and the way it comes out of the speaker is just retarded. Also the odd shape of the speaker/housing causes it to droop and fall out of your ear unless you use the foam inserts. There are 9 sets of inserts and I hate them all. My old sonys came with just one but they were perfect!

I'd love to smash these headphones with a hammer into little pieces but then I'm reminded that they cost $70. The only positive thing about them is the noise cancellation works very well.

Never having used in-ear phones in the past I wasn't quite sure to expect. The only other earphone that I have extensive experience with is a vintage pair of Stax SRX-Mk3s. The E2c was the specific model that I was interested in, mostly in part due to Siegfried Linkwitz' study on reference earphones ([...]). After discovering that the E2c was no longer available I settled on the SCL2. While they do not sound as good as my Stax reference headphones, the SCL2 does sound mighty good. Their level of isolation and comfort using the supplied foam pads is excellent. Overall I am extremely pleased with my purchase.

I just got a pair of the Shure SCL2 Sound Isolating Earphones in black and I have to say they sound really good with my iPod and laptop. They don't perform as well as my other set, the Shure SE530's but what do you expect when you compare what $500.00 buys you versus $69.00 or so. These are for me to wear exercising, riding my bicycle, and doing yard work in (which I don't dare do wearing the SE530's). All in all, the bottom-end Bass response is more than adequate and the SCL2's produce clear and pleasing high-end reproduction. A good buy!

I just received a pair of these (in a clear styling) that replace a set of e2s I bought a couple of years ago. They're at least as good, and I suspect (as others have noted) that they'll improve somewhat after the break in period. The fit is good once you find the right match for your ears from the many included options, and unless you are *really* into sound you are going to think these are just great. I'm sure there are people who care a lot more about fine points of sound than I do who will be able to find flaws with these, but there's a point of diminishing returns for me around about this price point, and these are far and away the best I've found in this range.

Most importantly, though, this company totally blows me away with their customer service. My old e2s were about six months out of the very generous two year warranty, but had, about a year ago, started to very infrequently drop out in one ear -- probably a short in that ear's wire. It happened so infrequently that I ignored it until it got worse, and then these were out of warranty. I returned them with a note explaining the situation, and two weeks later got a brand new pair of these in the mail. It is pretty rare to find this kind of customer service, and it definitely factors into my five star review and my loyalty to this brand.