Known throughout the music industry for its microphones and earphones, Shure has brought its expertise to the consumer market with a range of earphones.

The E3c headphones sit in the middle of the range, in both performance and price, between the entry-level E2c and the high-end E4c and E5c models.

Weighing just 28g, they take a bit of getting used to as they sit right inside your ear; indeed some might find them uncomfortable to wear.

Shure provides small, medium and large ultra-soft ear plugs as well as foam alternatives, so you can play around to get the best fit.

This design allows a large proportion of background noise to be blocked out, producing better quality audio at lower volumes.

This shouldn't be confused with noise-cancellation headphones (such as Sony's MDR-NC50), which monitor ambient noise then emit frequencies to block them out. The E3c headphones instead work just like a set of ear plugs.

Although we found audio quality was impressive, the bass response is on the thin side.

As is normal with speakers, once they've had time to warm up the bass kicks in a bit more, but it still lacks real punch.

It's no problem for the majority of music, but if you are into trance or drum and bass you'll find the E3c headphones disappointing.

The cord is only 1.57m long, which may be a bit on the short side for some, and Shure supplies a carrying case along with a tool to get rid of any ear wax that builds up on the ear pieces.

As long as you're not after real thumping bass, Shure's E3c headphones provide superb sound quality.