Annoyed... Do all Shure cable's break around the ear?

[kuztardd]

I bought Shure E2c's in November 2005 for around £55.

18 Months later the cable started to break around the ear and I managed to get a warranty replacement via Shure.

14 months later on, these replacements have done the same thing, with the cable starting to break where the cable is in contact with the ear, and thus exposing the wire.

As it is over 2 years since the original purchase date my warranty is truely over.. But i do love these phones.. (just hate the build quality of the cable)

I want a replacement version/upgrade, but scared of buying Shure again as I worry that all cables that are in contact with the ear will always break.. Is this so?
Should I always keep clear of Shure?

[CrowdAds]

[UnquestionablePresence]

generally, shure is known for having a very high build quality for their phones. I have not read/heard about anybody encountering a lot of problems with shure.

[kuztardd]

Maybe, but even searching the web i have found quite a few reports about the cracking of the cables, and this evening, even found that on the new se102 it has been noted

I am now considering going elsewhere, which is a shame as i like the brand, but hate that they wont last much beyond the warranty period..

[dfkt]

I only know about the SE530 that there's been reports about faulty cables in earlier series. My newer-series SE530 is my sleeping phone, so I treat it pretty rough, and it's still good as new. Seems they have improved the cable.

[Syndrome]

From what I can tell it seems that usually the cables going out on headphones is the user. From winding them up to tight, or bending them when putting them in or pulling them out or even when wearing them. Not saying this is your case, but thats usually how it is.

[kuztardd]

From what i have read and personally believe, the plastic/vinyl that the cable is made with goes hard and becomes unflexible where the skin has continuous contact with the skin (top of the ear) and it is easy to be accidentally bent backwards against the curve that has been created.

After being given my second pair, I was so careful and tried so hard to look after them, never ever winding them up, never coiling them, taking them off carefully and placing them hanging up or on a flat surface, but I could tell it was getting harder each month and more brittle.

No matter how long you wear a pair for the cable should stay flexible and bendy.. no?

As much as I would love someone in the know to come on and say that Shure have changed their material I cant take the chance.
I am now looking for phones that have coverings around that area, like the Klipsch custom 2's.. or ones that don't go over the ear, like the Sennheiser CX500 or CX95's. (all < £70)

Shure E2c's
i.e. Klipsch with back of ear coverings
CX95's dont go over the ears (but maybe more microphoncis?)

[aki]

At an electronics store i had a demonstration of shure's, I tried the 230's(correct me if i'm wrong the second cheapest model) and the salesman said all the phones ranging from 130-530 had cables reinforced with carbon. Maybe this is why there aren't problems, as opposed with the e2c's/older earphones?

[Jack4L]

This same problem happens with philips headphones and earbuds, and i've had a few of hose in my past. One pair only lasted me a single summer of yard work... However they were cheap buds, not expensive shures.

I fully agree with the OP that this has made me avoid shure, was even more suprised to find that the flagship model had the problem. Guess its all in the past now, but even then, you can never be 100% sure if your getting the newer or older model. Unless they changed somthing else at the same?

[dfkt]

Originally Posted by Jack4L

Guess its all in the past now, but even then, you can never be 100% sure if your getting the newer or older model. Unless they changed somthing else at the same?

The newer series cable is "iPhone compatible" and looks ugly with any player besides the old iPhone:

[kuztardd]

I have just spoken to Shure UK and they have confirmed that in the past they did investigate the problems with the cables going faulty (so it wasn't just me)
)

Apparently for the new versions they have changed the chemical compound for the headphones..
The Se102 are the same as the E2c's and I couldn't establish if these have the new cable chemicals.. but the E110 and upwards definitely will have better cables.. (but as for durability.. ? we will have to wait and see in future months)

[juliofromny]

I'm so glad that I stumbled upon this thread. I've replaced 2 ec2's because of this cable issue. My current headphones (se110's) don't have this issue but the rubber covering over the headphones has since worn off and so maybe I'll be getting that issue with the cable in a few months time. Also I have had to replace the extended cable twice but that's probably from my own carelessness as they keep snagging on to something and then it would snap off the headphones which probably caused them to become defective. However my cheap Radioshack extended cables which are way too long than I need are still working fine so who knows.

[Samage89]

I had the same problem as the OP, i had some clear Shure e2c earphones and the cable which goes around my ear only on the right earbud started to dissconnect.

I got them replaced recently with some SE110's but if it happens again i'm going to go with Ultimate ears which have a replacable cable and don't go around the ear.

[Th3_uN1Qu3]

Oh great, lame cables again. Haven't those people learned to make proper KNOTS? Well, i don't have that issue, when something like this happens, i just cut a little bit from the cable, take the phones apart and solder the cable back in. Same goes for jacks, i just swap 'em. A $0.5 jack and 5 minutes every few months stop you from sending your phones back.

[WalkGood]

I read a lot about the shure cable issues too, keep in mind that most posters are the ones with issues rather than the happy customers. IMO a lot of issues with iem’s can be avoided by regularly cleaning them, rather than just use & abuse. Remember the human body excretes oils that can be harmful to many plastics and those who don’t clean will only suffer cable issues in the long run. I’m surprised we don’t read about housing issues too. Just make sure that you don't use a product that melts plastic

On a personally level; at first I really liked the se530s cables other than the ipod compatible jack. Although after a while I started to hate how heavy and thick they were as well as the length just didn’t make sense … Not to mention the stupid Y connector coming lose while skateboarding or on the go :/

[juliofromny]

Originally Posted by WalkGood

I read a lot about the shure cable issues too, keep in mind that most posters are the ones with issues rather than the happy customers. IMO a lot of issues with iem’s can be avoided by regularly cleaning them, rather than just use & abuse. Remember the human body excretes oils that can be harmful to many plastics and those who don’t clean will only suffer cable issues in the long run. I’m surprised we don’t read about housing issues too. Just make sure that you don't use a product that melts plastic

On a personally level; at first I really liked the se530s cables other than the ipod compatible jack. Although after a while I started to hate how heavy and thick they were as well as the length just didn’t make sense … Not to mention the stupid Y connector coming lose while skateboarding or on the go :/

so what is a good option to the shures? I just don't know if I can justify buying another set from them if I have had nothing but bad history with them.

[Jack4L]

Originally Posted by WalkGood

IMO a lot of issues with iem’s can be avoided by regularly cleaning them, rather than just use & abuse. Remember the human body excretes oils that can be harmful to many plastics and those who don’t clean will only suffer cable issues in the long run.

Just make sure you clean then with a protective oil, like olive oil or some other not so nasty plastic protecting oils. Just cleaning them, washing them with soap and drying them would just speed up the process.

[kuztardd]

Originally Posted by Th3_uN1Qu3

Oh great, lame cables again. Haven't those people learned to make proper KNOTS? Well, i don't have that issue, when something like this happens, i just cut a little bit from the cable, take the phones apart and solder the cable back in. Same goes for jacks, i just swap 'em. A $0.5 jack and 5 minutes every few months stop you from sending your phones back.

Knots?.... wha? did you see the picture or read my posting?
Nowt to do with knots or cabling coming out, it's to do with eroding materials.

And although the opening of the shure headphones is only slightly marginally possible, it is a very sealed area and very difficult to get into and not do serious permanent damage.
I prefer to have headphones that don't need to be fixed in the first place.

[kuztardd]

Originally Posted by juliofromny

so what is a good option to the shures? I just don't know if I can justify buying another set from them if I have had nothing but bad history with them.

I'm so far looking at Sennhesiser cx500, Klipsch custom 2 or Phillips SHE9850. none of these go over the ears, except the klipsch, but these have extra coating to them..
but it seems microphonics come into play on a lot of models :-( and i never felt the e2c's had that issue

[WalkGood]

Originally Posted by juliofromny

so what is a good option to the shures? I just don't know if I can justify buying another set from them if I have had nothing but bad history with them.

I have been using a 3M plastic cleaner, don’t know the name as it’s rubbed off, but the bottle is plastic & black w/gold. Before you use any product, I’d recommend that you read the label and even test on a similar but cheaper piece of plastic. I have read about a product call plexus, which was originally developed for use in the aviation industry, I’d like to find out more about it, maybe buy and test some on cheaper phones, but these products aren’t cheap, especially the 3M ones and that’s why an alternative would be nice.

[Th3_uN1Qu3]

Originally Posted by kuztardd

Knots?.... wha? did you see the picture or read my posting?
Nowt to do with knots or cabling coming out, it's to do with eroding materials.

I saw that... Reminds me of the cable on earbuds from ipod clones. It was so rigid it would break itself when you bent it too much. It's puzzling how major brand names use the same dodgy cable.

Originally Posted by kuztardd

I prefer to have headphones that don't need to be fixed in the first place.

Well, when you do find some, drop me a line. I have yet to come across such things.