The Perfect Fit
No wonder I've complained about the Shure e2c's being somewhat annoying to wear...I've been wearing them incorrectly for a year and a half! An error in the instruction booklet misidentified the left and right earphones, and I never questioned that as the fit seemed to make sense. Turns out the earphones are supposed to be upside-down.
Of course, I never would have found this out if one of the earphones hadn't started malfunctioning two weeks ago. For the second time since I bought them in January 2005, one of the earphones was shorting out. In the course of looking up warranty info to make sure I was still covered, I visited Amazon and found a product review that mentioned the error in the instruction booklet. A guide on Shure's site confirmed this. Feeling sheepishly stupid, I tried the new correct way of inserting the earphones. Needless to say, it was more comfortable
I sent my malfunctioning e2c's back to Shure on a Thursday April 20th (thankfully its a 2 year warranty), and promptly received a brand new set on Monday the 24th. I'm happy to say they fit and sound better than ever. Shure's warranty/service department definitely deserves praise...but it's a little disconcerting that I've had an earphone short out twice now. If it happens again, I'll probably be out of the warranty period.
Of course, I do still have my Grado SR-80's to fall back on. I did wear them to and from work this time...