If you listen to anything like rap or rock go for the shures.  Classical, jazz that sort of stuff go for the etys.

This is a comparison of the E4C and the Etymotic ER-4P, using the Gmini XS200 as a source, with mp3's encoded at either 192 or 256 kb/s. (By the way, the Gmini is a great little DAP!) Both of these earphones are quite good and will provide vastly better sound quality than the typical headphones and earbuds that fill the mass market. I like the included foam tips included by each manufacturer, so that is what I used to compare them. The Etymotic foam tips seal better and provide superior isolation from outside noise. I must note that the Shure's were bought new by me, and the Etymotics are a loaner from a friend. Please be aware that the Shure's require some "burn in", and will not sound their best new out of the package. Have patience at the beginning, and notice the improvement in performance over the first 20-40 hours. I do not know the break-in characteristics of the Etymotics.

I'll cut to the chase. The Shure's are sonically much more impressive than the the Etymotic's. Both are highly resolving and have no major faults. The Shure's however, sound as though they have even greater resolution of detail, and have a flatter frequency response. They represent the subtleties of instrumental timbre much more accurately, and include even more detail in their presentation. One can hear all the qualities of the recording environment, the position of instruments of the orchestra (soundstage), and seem to create a sound that is less bottled up within the ear (headstage). They do not have the least trace of sibilance. Somehow, in spite of all this resolution, they still sound smooth and convey all the beauty and warmth of tone one could want. They have slightly "rolled highs", as this is the practice of Shure in all their products, but this is a very small criticism since the treble region is nevertheless very clear, balanced and controlled. In comparison, the Etymotics have a sound that is a little "tipped up", and can become fatiguing. There is a comparative lack of depth to their sound, and there is much information in the midrange in particular that is lost. Bass is not as present, controlled, or quick. Beauty of tone is lacking. I do not have the same emotional response to the music with them. However, these are still not sibilant, and are still very fine.

The Shure's are also better built. I feel they are sturdier and less likely to be damaged from hard use. They are more microphonic than the Etymotics, though, which will be very annoying if you intend to use them while moving around. One should realize they are both very microphonic because of the nature of their isolating design, and therefore will transmit a lot of unwanted bumping and rustling to your ears if you move around with them. I recommend sitting still.

The Shure represents true high fidelity in a portable form. In many ways, they outperform my expensive home headphone rig. What is more, they sound this good without the need of a separate headphone amplifier. In fact, I recommend you skip the amp, as I felt that mine added too much energy to the treble. I am very impressed with them, and I strongly recommend them.

My greatest issue with these is the discomfot/irritation of the tips as they need to be jammed into your ear as far as possible to get good sound...They are entirely unsuitable for ordinary day-to-day use where you would need to take out an earpiece to answer a phonecall. Removing and reinserting eartips is very very painful and time consuming. I can see how you would have use for these on long journeys but other than that they are entirely unpracticable.
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For your interest I append one rewiew from www.discountheadphones.com. Author introduces himself like 'professional classical musician' (I would point direct link here, but I cannot find it right now). He seems to prefere E4 for classical or acoustic music too.

You haven't said what you want or what type of music you listen to.
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Briefly: Etys are more hi-fi, Shure are 'warm' or satisfying (or varnishing?) sounding.

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Briefly: Etys are more hi-fi, Shure are 'warm' or satisfying (or varnishing?) sounding.

I just want to ask a quick question as I'm also considering the E4s. I've seen a lot of people saying they are "warm" sounding or bass-heavy, but I haven't seen this quantified in any way. Are they "warm" like some people think HD-580s are "warm", or very bass-heavy like the PortaPros? Because I currently use PortaPros for travelling, and they're just too much for me bass-wise - some tracks which are already bassy just get distorted and barely listenable.
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Briefly: Etys are more hi-fi, Shure are 'warm' or satisfying (or varnishing?) sounding.

I just want to ask a quick question as I'm also considering the E4s. I've seen a lot of people saying they are "warm" sounding or bass-heavy, but I haven't seen this quantified in any way. Are they "warm" like some people think HD-580s are "warm", or very bass-heavy like the PortaPros? Because I currently use PortaPros for travelling, and they're just too much for me bass-wise - some tracks which are already bassy just get distorted and barely listenable.
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E4 aren't bass-heavy comparing to PortaPro. I used PortaPros for years, so I can compare. E4 are much, much detailed end concrete.