Joi Ito's Stuff

Sensaphonics ear molds and my new ProPhonic Soft 2Xs

Last week I received my custom Sensaphonics ear molds for my Shure E5cs and a new set of Senasaphonics ProPhonic Soft 2Xs with custom ear molds. On May 28, the president of Sensaphonics, Michael Santucci, was visiting Japan and he took the molds himself. He was in Tokyo meeting with audiologists training them to take ear molds for Sensaphonics. Michael sent me molds for my Shure E5cs and a new set of ProPhonic Soft 2Xs.

As I've described in my posts about my E2cs, my E5cs and my post about hearing conservation, the idea of in ear isolation ear phones is that you isolate your ear from outside side and increase the quality of the sound while being able to listen to the music at a much lower and less damaging volume. It's a totally different technology than noise canceling. I've tried many types of noise canceling headphones, and if you can afford them and can deal with the weird sensation of having something stuck deep in you ear, the sound with in ear isolation ear phones is MUCH better.

Anyway, I started with the E2cs and declared them "the best headphones I've ever used." Then when the E5cs came out with the dual inducer + cross over it improved the range and quality so much, I declared "I'm in sound heaven." Now I struggle for a new phrase. It's like fine wines or teas. You think you've had the best, and then you're surprised when the next level is even more amazing. Like fine wines and teas, the price keeps getting steeper. The E2cs will set you back $100, the E5cs $500, the ProPhonics 2Xs $900 and the custom ear molds cost about $50. These prices may vary depending on where you get them. (Thanks again Michael for letting me try these out.)

I must say, that the quality of sound increase from the E2cs to the E5cs was much more noticeable than from the E5cs to the ProPhonics. The biggest improvement is the comfort of the soft silicon ear molds. They are amazingly comfortable and shut out the outside sound much better than any of the sleeves available. I had been using the triple flange sleeves for the E5cs because they went the deepest, but they were uncomfortable and I had to keep pushing them in. The silicon ear molds just fit.

Michael has used a very thing, but very strong teflon cable for the ProPhonics so the whole package is much lighter and less visible than the E5cs. In addition, because the molds for the E5cs have to wrap themselves around the E5c casings, the whole thing sticks out of your ear, whereas the ProPhonics inducers fit inside of the mold itself and everything is hidden in your ear, making the whole setup almost invisible. (Not always a good thing if someone is trying to talk to you.)

For a more thorough review an comparison of the ProPhonics with ER-4s and E5cs see:
REVIEW: Sensaphonics ProPhonic 2X-S - Comparison w/ ER-4 and E5c

Shure E5c - I'm in sound heaven

I wrote that the Shure E2cs were the best headphone/earphones I've ever had. Well, today I just got my E5cs and they're better. There's this amazing feeling when you think you're in heaven and you find there is something better. I've had similar experiences with wine and Chinese tea. When you taste the good stuff, you can't go back and then you start wondering if there is anything better.

Anyway, the details...

The E5cs main difference is that it has a cross-over circuit and fits 2 drivers in each earphone so you get an amazing dynamic range. The bass reverberates through you head like you're in a disco or something. The E2cs were great on the high ends, but these E5cs do the whole range amazingly well.

The cord is shorter and lighter, not exactly sure why. You can use the triple-flange sleeves which seem to go deeper into your head. They feel a bit weird, but I think I'm going to like them better than the normal flex sleeves.

The only thing is that they're $500 vs. $100 for the E2cs. Are they 5X better than the E2cs? Well, think of the power law and wine. It costs more and more as you get closer and closer to the peak. It's a matter of your priorities I guess. I don't think that they will be worth $500 to some people, but I'm happy. You could get a round trip ticket between SF and Tokyo for $600 or you could go and buy a few expensive Japanese musk melons. it all depends on what makes you happy I guess. ;-)

You can buy them on Shure's site. And, no, they don't pay me to do this. ;-p

UPDATE: Matt from Shure has started a blog. Check it out!

Original entry in Joi Ito's Web

Shure E2c - the best headphones I've ever used

The Shure E2c "in-ear" headphones are the best headphones I've ever used. They come with foam earplug style or rubber sleeves. They fit right inside of your ear like a hearing aid and the wire slips over your ear and down behind your back. There is no electronic noise cancellation, but the earplug-like sleeves shut out all outside sound and give you incredible sound with no outside noise. Absolutely incredible. My ipod experience just got one notch closer to a religious experience.

Thanks Barak!

UPDATE: Matt from Shure has started a blog. Check it out!

Original Post on Joi Ito's Web