Review: Shure SE530

[Al4x]

would agree bwith jinx20001

definitly a personal thing,

triple fis were my fav, they do everything well rather than one exceptional area,
se530s have boomy base but less clarity in the his
IMO!

i was lucky to like the trile fis better cause they fit me better because of the memory wire where the se530s used to slip off one ear when moving

also, for me i can tur up the triple fis past the se530 (in volume) the se530 seems to quickly become painful where as the triple fi gets louder
again IMO

get both, sell one, otherwise idve still just have the se530 (which ive gotta get rid of)

no amp btw

[jinx20001]

Originally Posted by Al4x

would agree bwith jinx20001

definitly a personal thing,

triple fis were my fav, they do everything well rather than one exceptional area,
se530s have boomy base but less clarity in the his
IMO!

i was lucky to like the trile fis better cause they fit me better because of the memory wire where the se530s used to slip off one ear when moving

also, for me i can tur up the triple fis past the se530 (in volume) the se530 seems to quickly become painful where as the triple fi gets louder
again IMO

get both, sell one, otherwise idve still just have the se530 (which ive gotta get rid of)

no amp btw

they certainly are strange conclusions, ofcourse its your opinion and i respect that, but bass is bass, in headphones, if you dont hear it...its not there, the more you hear it doesnt mean the worse it is, its just louder, more powerful and kicks harder (booming in this case) but yes thats your opinion thats cool.

its also strange about the cable, i think shure is among the only manufacturers to make the cable heavy enough and thick enough to stay in place without memory wire, i find with memory wire it takes strangely enough more time to put on and get it sitting comfortably...but again, thats your opinion and im not saying its not true what your saying.

but...there is one thing your slightly confusing me about, this is sensitivity vs loudness. you say the triple fi are louder than the shures but the shures manage to cause more pain with the power...now thats odd. you see, the shures are rated at 119db/mw and the triple fi 117db/mw, now thats not a huge difference but it does mean the shures when given the same power as the triple fi will play louder. now as far as pain goes, humans are more sensitive to the higher frequencies (fact), so if you play a tweeter at 500 watt and a sub at 500 watt you will find the tweeter will likely have given you no ears and the bass you will hardly break a sweat over.

now dont get me wrong i dont want to be seen as somebody trying to make you out as a lyer or bias or anything but considering the triple fi produce highs more faithfully and the shures are known as warm bassy and smooth, this would suggest the triple fi at high volume is more likely to cause fatigue or pain. just my thoughts... but again its your opinion.

[Al4x]

Originally Posted by jinx20001

they certainly are strange conclusions, ofcourse its your opinion and i respect that, but bass is bass, in headphones, if you dont hear it...its not there, the more you hear it doesnt mean the worse it is, its just louder, more powerful and kicks harder (booming in this case) but yes thats your opinion thats cool.

its also strange about the cable, i think shure is among the only manufacturers to make the cable heavy enough and thick enough to stay in place without memory wire, i find with memory wire it takes strangely enough more time to put on and get it sitting comfortably...but again, thats your opinion and im not saying its not true what your saying.

but...there is one thing your slightly confusing me about, this is sensitivity vs loudness. you say the triple fi are louder than the shures but the shures manage to cause more pain with the power...now thats odd. you see, the shures are rated at 119db/mw and the triple fi 117db/mw, now thats not a huge difference but it does mean the shures when given the same power as the triple fi will play louder. now as far as pain goes, humans are more sensitive to the higher frequencies (fact), so if you play a tweeter at 500 watt and a sub at 500 watt you will find the tweeter will likely have given you no ears and the bass you will hardly break a sweat over.

now dont get me wrong i dont want to be seen as somebody trying to make you out as a lyer or bias or anything but considering the triple fi produce highs more faithfully and the shures are known as warm bassy and smooth, this would suggest the triple fi at high volume is more likely to cause fatigue or pain. just my thoughts... but again its your opinion.

Thanks for being nice and constructive
first i find it very hard to describe sound cause im new, and sometimes a may confuse terms

i find the bass hardest to describe, ithink i find the triple fis bass sharper if that makes any sense, it seems to kick at my ears, where as the se530s have more bass but i dont feel the kick so much?

the wire for me is a big problem, it just wont stay around one ear! just one! i was out in the garden one day doing some work, before i had the triple fi, and the cable would not stay over one ear, without the memory wire on the triple fi it be worse than the shure im sure!

this i the bit i dont get either, with the triple fis are louder than the se530s, (ie when dB coming from the triple fi is higher then the se530), i prefer te triple fi
sometimes the highs are too sharp and i have to turn it down but with the se50s it seems to get, i dunno, sort of 'messy,' where it sounnds more like noise than music if you get me.
i definitly agree, as you say, FACT, that the same power in the hi:low will cause the his to hurt before the lows which is why i wonder about this

i appreciate your replys jinx20001

[03029174]

Hi all, ive just ordered the SE530' s because i got given a pair of SE210s by a friend and was impressed with them, can someone please explain abou the rolling off of highs? i spent days trying to decide wether to get the SE530's or the UE10 triple hi fis, im going to use them with an imod 5.5 with vcaps dock and iqube amp, do u think il be able to alter the EQ in Rockbox to get the better hi's

thanks

Pete

[jinx20001]

Originally Posted by Al4x

Thanks for being nice and constructive
first i find it very hard to describe sound cause im new, and sometimes a may confuse terms

i find the bass hardest to describe, ithink i find the triple fis bass sharper if that makes any sense, it seems to kick at my ears, where as the se530s have more bass but i dont feel the kick so much?

the wire for me is a big problem, it just wont stay around one ear! just one! i was out in the garden one day doing some work, before i had the triple fi, and the cable would not stay over one ear, without the memory wire on the triple fi it be worse than the shure im sure!

this i the bit i dont get either, with the triple fis are louder than the se530s, (ie when dB coming from the triple fi is higher then the se530), i prefer te triple fi
sometimes the highs are too sharp and i have to turn it down but with the se50s it seems to get, i dunno, sort of 'messy,' where it sounnds more like noise than music if you get me.
i definitly agree, as you say, FACT, that the same power in the hi:low will cause the his to hurt before the lows which is why i wonder about this

i appreciate your replys jinx20001

oh hey were just having a pleasent discussion dont worry about it, sorry if i came across a bit aggressive i understand what you mean sure, everyone prefers one sound to another, i respect that.

[Al4x]

i wasnt being sarcastic, i liked your comments, just wanted to see if i was going wrong somewhere cause i expected them to be better

[dazzer1975]

Originally Posted by 03029174

Hi all, ive just ordered the SE530' s because i got given a pair of SE210s by a friend and was impressed with them, can someone please explain abou the rolling off of highs? i spent days trying to decide wether to get the SE530's or the UE10 triple hi fis, im going to use them with an imod 5.5 with vcaps dock and iqube amp, do u think il be able to alter the EQ in Rockbox to get the better hi's

thanks

Pete

Are you sure that amp is necessary? I was looking into potential amps for my 6th gen ipod and se530's but have been told on here it is not needed with iem's owing to the impedence of the iem.

Also, yes, eq is infinitely customisable with rockbox and the se530 responds particularly well to eq, not sure about the ability to prevent the high end roll off everyone talks about with the 530's though?

[jinx20001]

Originally Posted by dazzer1975

Are you sure that amp is necessary? I was looking into potential amps for my 6th gen ipod and se530's but have been told on here it is not needed with iem's owing to the impedence of the iem.

Also, yes, eq is infinitely customisable with rockbox and the se530 responds particularly well to eq, not sure about the ability to prevent the high end roll off everyone talks about with the 530's though?

oh yes its certainly possible to get the shures tingling up above,in fact it brings the se530 very close to UE10 pro sound, i will note down the perfect settings curtosy of a guy by the name of davidmahler if you would like

[s1rrah]

Originally Posted by 03029174

Hi all, ive just ordered the SE530' s because i got given a pair of SE210s by a friend and was impressed with them, can someone please explain abou the rolling off of highs? i spent days trying to decide wether to get the SE530's or the UE10 triple hi fis, im going to use them with an imod 5.5 with vcaps dock and iqube amp, do u think il be able to alter the EQ in Rockbox to get the better hi's

thanks

Pete

Hey ...

When I say 'rolled off' highs ... I simply mean the IEM's default sound signature (that is, without any EQ'ing, etc.) has a high frequency profile that is not quite as sharp or crisp in the 'attack' or finish. Easiest way to think about it is like this: imagine a high freq sound that should be extremely crisp (like the tap of a closed high hat or the pluck of a high E note on a banjo) ... a rolled off high will ever so slightly seem a bit duller than a very crisp, sharp and well communicated high.

The Shure SE530's are only hindered in this fashion in the most nitpicky of ways mind you ... and only folks who spend a lot of time 'staring' at the music as it plays will notice ... and it's really not an unpleasant trait ... just not quite as real as it could be and overall creates a tonal feeling of 'warmth' or 'lushness' to the mix.

This slight and negligeble (IMO) flaw is quite easy to rectify with a few well placed EQ notches on the high end; my own SE530's, now that I've worked out the sound, are just as crisp, fast and sharp on the highs as any other phones I've heard or have ... and frankly, regarding all around sound, are more enjoyable than any other cans I own (grados and senns alike). They're hypnotic in the sense that I find myself wanting to not only enjoy listening to the music ... but also that I'm very concerned with carefully listening to the music, which to me ... makes for a more fun listening experience.

And re: the amp:

No, in the volume department, you do not need to amp the SE530's.

I will however say that a decent amp, fed via a clean line-out signal, will absolutely OWN and sound far superior all around than will the headphone out of just about any portable rig made (barring maybe some of the more expensive kenwood offerings).

The headphone out on Ipods, Zens, Irivers, Arcos's, etc. ... simply incorporate substandard electronics and OPAMPs and a decent amp, even though not necessary for the volume, will nonetheless hugely increase the sound quality (soundstage, tone, bass, etc. are all highly changeable depending on the electronics your feeding your signal through.

So if you can run line-out of your portable (not out of the headphone out, mind you but a clean, unamped line-out) then I personally would highly recommned experimenting with amps. Heck of a lot of fun. The Ipods can run a line out, as can the Zen Vision M and Zen Vision W. There are also a few other players that provide a true line out.

Here's a shot of my Zen Vision M with it's line out doc in place:

...



...

The Zen's headphone out is actually on the side of the player that's resting against the desk.

This way, I avoid the subpar electronics (OPAMPs, etc.) built into the Zen player and instead feed an unamped signal straight into my amps better sounding internals.

Amps: there' not just for volume anymore.

[jinx20001]

Originally Posted by 03029174

Hi all, ive just ordered the SE530' s because i got given a pair of SE210s by a friend and was impressed with them, can someone please explain abou the rolling off of highs? i spent days trying to decide wether to get the SE530's or the UE10 triple hi fis, im going to use them with an imod 5.5 with vcaps dock and iqube amp, do u think il be able to alter the EQ in Rockbox to get the better hi's

thanks

Pete

hey! i bumped a pretty old thread by davidmahler that will give you some sweet settings for your e500 on rockbox, keep your eyeballs peeled before it dissappears again

[dazzer1975]

Originally Posted by jinx20001

oh yes its certainly possible to get the shures tingling up above,in fact it brings the se530 very close to UE10 pro sound, i will note down the perfect settings curtosy of a guy by the name of davidmahler if you would like

Yes please, I very VERY nearly purchased the ue 10 pro's but being one for instant gratification and not wanting to arrange an audiologist visit I opted for the se530's.

Thanks very much for the offer of posting the settings.


*edit* Ive found the post you bumped, thanks a lot for that, I will dig out my h340 and have a play with rockbox... shame I dont have a 5.5 ipod

[jinx20001]

Originally Posted by dazzer1975

Yes please, I very VERY nearly purchased the ue 10 pro's but being one for instant gratification and not wanting to arrange an audiologist visit I opted for the se530's.

Thanks very much for the offer of posting the settings.


*edit* Ive found the post you bumped, thanks a lot for that, I will dig out my h340 and have a play with rockbox... shame I dont have a 5.5 ipod

dang! sorry my friend, i forgot rockbox is on other players aswell. hey have a play about, you should have a good idea what sort of settings you need, it shouldnt be too different because rockbox offers a 5 band EQ on all players so just use the settings there such as the 12'000khz boost and that, you will soon hear the sparkle that seemed missing

[barmar46]

I have an iPod classic w/shure se530s and I'm thinking of getting a Pico amp. I think the volume is fine but in agreement that there are a lot of other areas that could be improved with an amp. I have a couple of questions. Is Rockbox compatible w/the classic or am i stuck w/the weaker internal EQ? What are some cost effective recommendations for sound docs? (s1rrah yours looks cool. What is it?) And finally I have an older 5.5 iPod. Any views out there about iModding? (Did I open up a can of worms and/or should this be posted on another forum? If so, just ignore.

[dazzer1975]

rockbox isn't currently available for the classic, and doesn't like it ever will tbh.

as for the 5.5gen, if I had one I would probably get it modded and rockboxed and away ya go

and jinx 20001, np mate, I will set whatever software eq settings I can in rockbox in line with david mahlers suggestions and give it a whirl.

Anyway, thanks a lot fo your help and post bumpage!!!!

[s1rrah]

Originally Posted by barmar46

What are some cost effective recommendations for sound docs? (s1rrah yours looks cool. What is it?) And finally I have an older 5.5 iPod.

I'm not sure who made it ... it's a starquad cable is all I know; I bought it used here at Head-fi for about 30 dollars.

And re: cost effective ...

I don't consider any NEW line out docs to be cost effective (Qables, Soloz, etc.) ... as to me they are all too expensive. That's why I waited till I could find a decent deal on a used one.

I know Qables is a reputable LOD vendor as is Soloz Audio ...

Also ... watch/search through the for sale section.