Difference between Shure E3 and E3c?

No difference except color and packaging. "C" denotes Consumer as opposed to Professional.

E3s can be driven by a Nano but will sound MUCH better with a headphone amp (try www.headroom.com).

Good luck.

If I remember correctly they are the same earphones... The "c" stands for consumer and is sold in the consumer market while the other is sold in the professional market. Generally the prices are market down lower in the professional market, so I assume that is the reason for the 128.00 marking. If this was a brand new purchase, I would contact Shure.

Etymotic earphones used to sell in the professional market for a 10.00 lower price tag but had to change the name of the phones... Musians Friend used to sell them as such while Audio Advisor had the regular consumer name and mark-up.

Your iPod should drive them fine.

The price is marked down because this is an older line. The new line is SE210, SE310, SE420, SE530. That said, E3c is a great piece IMHO, and competitive at it's slightly marked down price.

Important: See if you can order a set of the Shure "Black Foam" ear piece inserts. These are generally considered to be HUGELY better than either the rubber or yellow foam tips that come with your unit. Seriously, if you are like most people, you'll find the "black foamies" a revelation. I did. They seem to combine the best features of the other tips. They are WAY more comfortable than the other tips, and yet provide excellent isolation. Isolation is necessary for achieving good bass response on the E3c.

You can find them at www.earphonesolutions.com or www.shure.com.

Art

ps: Excellent with nano. Head amp is not necessary, although it would be nice. Adding an amp can be a tradeoff, as you get more power, dynamics and bass control, but probably a little less transparency.

Thanks, all.

I guess I'll open the package now... it's been killin' me not being able to test them out until I got an answer to the question.

The headphone amp might be a good idea were it not for the extra piece of equipment. Most of the time that I use the Nano, I'm skating, running, mowing the lawn, or some other activity that would preclude having an extra box in line.

Thanks again!
Rob