Review: Shure SE530

[jinx20001]

Originally Posted by 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!!!!

no worries glad i could help, welcome to head fi,sorry about your wallet

[s1rrah]

REVIEW UPDATED!!

Check the first post for an update to my main review.

Been messing with some tips/mounting methods and stumbled upon a fairly dramatic change in performance ...

[jinx20001]

wow thanks for the update, i find it real strange the treble increase you had, i do have some amazing settings for the shures using rockbox on a 5.5g ipod which tightens the bass and opens soundstage and highs up dramatically, but using tips, thats like wow how did you do that

[s1rrah]

Originally Posted by jinx20001

wow thanks for the update, i find it real strange the treble increase you had, i do have some amazing settings for the shures using rockbox on a 5.5g ipod which tightens the bass and opens soundstage and highs up dramatically, but using tips, thats like wow how did you do that

Strange indeed. But try it and you'll see.

My hunch, regarding bass and highs is that the yellow foamy is even more porous than the already porous black olive tip.

Theoretically, this could allow a bit more of the bass to bleed out of the tip as opposed to bouncing back against the inside of the driver (which is why the gray flex-tips sound so muddy I think) ... thereby curtailing some of the default hugeness inherent to the bass capabilities.

Also, this same idea could very well add a bit more air to the highs ...

But I'm just making words up at this point ... so ... testing to hear the difference is all one can do.

I'm going to buy up all the yellow foamies I can find ... :-)

[jinx20001]

so you deffinately prefer yellow foamies to the black

[s1rrah]

Originally Posted by jinx20001

so you deffinately prefer yellow foamies to the black

Yeah ... they breathe a little better ... which to me resulted in noticeably better bass performance.

But I will say that mounting the black olives as indicated (push only up to notch) also improved the sound stage a bit but they don't fit the nozzle quite as tight as the yellow so I'm not sure I'd trust them mounted thusly for heavy use (might end up with one stuck in ones ear)

Anyway ... if you can get some yellow foamies do some testing. I was amazed at the difference myself ...

[magnetiq]

great review mate

just a quick question, is the sound vastly different amped over un-amped?

i ask because i finally got an N95-2 and i have no portable amp (dont think i can with these pockets ;p)

[ILikeMusic]

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.

A very apt set of comments. Let me add that when it is said that the E530 sound 'rolled off' I have to ask... rolled of as compared to what? Perhaps some other IEMs but I'm not so sure that they're rolled of with respect to the real world. I've seen it noted that the E530 sound 'more like speakers' than any other IEM and I think this is because in a room environment high frequencies are attenuated by space and surroundings, and can never match that found in the presentation of IEMs which inject sound directly into your ear canal (and is thus not subject to significant high freq attenuation.) Many IEMs present extremely crisp highs which can be interesting to listen to but I'm not sure that this is a very accurate representation of the real world. I've even made a point of listening to live music with this factor in mind and noticed that extreme highs are attenuated in the same way as with speakers in a real, physical listening environment, as one would expect. That ultra-crisp cymbal you hear on some IEMs doesn't really exist in the real world, unless you're standing right next to the drummer.

As per the comments in this thread a little high-end EQ can make the E530 sound just as bright as other IEMs if that's what you want, and I confess to sometimes doing this myself in search of... what I don't know. But every once in a while when I turn the EQ off I find that while the E530 don't sound as crisp they also somehow seem more true-to-life.

And then I turn the EQ back on...

[s1rrah]

Originally Posted by magnetiq

great review mate

just a quick question, is the sound vastly different amped over un-amped?

i ask because i finally got an N95-2 and i have no portable amp (dont think i can with these pockets ;p)

It's quite an improvement over the stanadard headphone out of my Zen V:M. It's also better than my stock X-fi Elite Pro (soon to be modded).

The biggest difference is mostly in soundstage and 'blackness' of the background.

With the SE530's ... the volume isn't an issue ... but there's all sorts of other differences you can make by using different amps.

[s1rrah]

Originally Posted by ILikeMusic

As per the comments in this thread a little high-end EQ can make the E530 sound just as bright as other IEMs if that's what you want, and I confess to sometimes doing this myself in search of... what I don't know. But every once in a while when I turn the EQ off I find that while the E530 don't sound as crisp they also somehow seem more true-to-life.

Exactly that.

[HeadphoneAddict]

Numerous people have been posting for ages that the SE530/E500 sound better with yellow tips. My problem with them is they wear out in a week, and itch more than black foam tips.

The Westone UM56 custom tips improved the sound (more highs) but after I broke the nozzle off my E500 I gave them up until the Westome 3 comes out.

[magnetiq]

after using them for the first time in public, i went home to do some experimenting witht he different tips.

Guys, seriously, the triple-flange are BY FAR the best, everything is crisper and punchy. The bass is also deeper, i can't be the only one who thinks this?

[s1rrah]

Originally Posted by magnetiq

after using them for the first time in public, i went home to do some experimenting witht he different tips.

Guys, seriously, the triple-flange are BY FAR the best, everything is crisper and punchy. The bass is also deeper, i can't be the only one who thinks this?

I just can't get the triple flanges to seal. They just sort of hang in my ear without an air tight seal ...

I might try trimming off the first (smallest) tip and use them as a duo-flange ... but with all three tips on there I can't get them to seal with my ears.

I've heard others swear by them though ... so your comments are on point with certain other users I've talked to/read of.

[magnetiq]

yeah i couldnt get them to fit either without my ear aching, but then i tried sloooowly twisting them in. Man i frickin love these earphones

thanks again for the review

[s1rrah]

Originally Posted by magnetiq

yeah i couldnt get them to fit either without my ear aching, but then i tried sloooowly twisting them in. Man i frickin love these earphones

thanks again for the review

Hey!

I just tried what you said ... put them in and twisted real slow and whaddya know ... I gotta really good 'ears popping feeling' air tight seal!

First time ever (even with the E4's I couldn't use the tri flanges).

Anyway ... yes ... they sound quite good. But I'm still partial to the yellow foamies as the highs are just way better for some reason. With the tri flanges in right now, I found myself going back to the EQ to bring out more highs ... something I had to do with the black olives as well.

Anyway ... I'm glad I can now add the tri flanges to my daily reportoire ... the yellow foamies wear out so fast that I have to have some more durable fall back options.

And I love these things too ...

I just last night spent an hour going back and forth between some Grado SR225's and my SE530's and just ended up hanging the SR225's back on their mount. Totally like the Shure's better.

Anyway ... tomorrow I have a set of Grado RS1's coming in ... I'm pretty sure those will be my new permanent home listening cans but I can't wait to compare them to the Shures.