Review: Shure SE530

[Joelc87]

Um2 for sure much bolder the um2 almost rivals the SE530

[slowth]

oh.. oops.. I was thinking dual drivers to rival dual drivers...
thought the 530s would be more of a UM3 kinda competitor..

[jamaya15]

Going back to the whole thing about tips changing the sound of the e530s it is absolutly true.

I personally prefer the black olives only because they are easier for me to put in. I used to spend alot of effort getting a decent seal out of the yellow foamies but thats just me.

Ive tried every kind of tip that came with the e530s as well as the comply tips and I can confirm that the yellow foamies give the best bass. Its not a massive improvement over the black olives but it is definatly there.

[ronin74]

Originally Posted by ronin74

and you've improved the sound of my SE530s just by changing out the olives for foamies (up to the notch), thanks!!

Perhaps a clarification is in order. The olives were perfect with my Tomahawk, everything seemed to be balanced, but very recently I picked up boomana's SR-71, everything changed. Everything was MORE, especially the bass, which became boomy and blouted. The foamies fixed that, they mellowed out the boom but kept the much improved SR-71 thump (if that makes any sense) thus cleaning up everything else across the board.

Now I'm wondering if "customs" will be an improvement or detriment to the 530s--with the SR-71. With customs will I get the "olive effect."

[s1rrah]

Originally Posted by slowth

it can be had for 100? gotta be kidding me!!! Did it drop in value by so much!!!

how about the Um2 Vs the 4Cs?

I only say that because I sold my E4C's for 100 used.

Also, I see them in the for sale section for 100 bucks sometimes ..

New will be a bit more I think.

[yxmees]

Ok, I've had SE530s for a week or so now and all I can say is - what a ripoff! I had im716 before those and in comparison 530's suck in every way. 530's have much less treble than im716, that was to be expected, but not to that extent. I increased 11 khz setting to the max and it still had less treble than im716 on 75%. D2 has a lot of settings, so I managed to get almost as much treble, but 530s treble is annoying and disturbing, it scratches my ears. Bass - I tried all the tips that came with phones and none of them gave much better bass than im716. So the question is - why the hell should I buy these, if 6 times cheaper phones give the same satisfaction and more? Also cables are too stiff and rigid and don't want to stay behind my ears. I'm trying to get rid of these and get im716 again, they are on sale for 50$ on ebay. One thing is sure - I won't buy earphones again without trying them first.

[redaxis]

Originally Posted by s1rrah

I totally agree with your comments regarding the E4 series ... one of the best deals in the IEM world in my opinion.

There are some aspects that I think outshine even the SE530 ... but the 530's have more favorable qualities in the long run.

I especially like the default tone of the E4's bass; though the 530's have more bass presence, the default tone of the 530's is not as nice as the E4's, which, to my ear are just perfect in their naturalness and tone when outputting bass frequencies (though you have to listen for it).

I wish I had kept my E4's now instead of selling them; would have made a great set of backup cans to my 530's ..

Hi, my first post so please forgive if i ask something has been mentioned.
I own an E4c, my first pair high end IEM. I didn't like it till i know how to appreciate it's clarity. However, i never liked its bass still, maybe I'm a bass head but to me it sounds too tiny. It's tight, but doesn't go deep enough, sometimes it sounds more like a deeper mid than a bass. It's highs is bright but it's too sharp n hurts my ear when i listen to certain tracks. As I'm tired with bass boost EQ on my nano, I'm considering upgrading E500/SE530.

Here's some questions;

- I noticed E500/SE530's rated Impedance is 36 ohm, and ipod nano's output is only 34ohm, i wonder if that effects its sounding? (I don't plan to use any amp)

- I know you recommend SE420 over SE530 as their price difference is too huge, but what about for those who plans to upgrade instead of buying new? Sorry 'coz i just want to make sure I'm heading the right direction with major improvements over my current E4C... In terms of sound stage and bass response.

- I believe you prefer E4c's bass than SE530's, as you said its more true to your ear. Does that mean SE530's bass is over powered and muffled? I like E4c's bass tightness, I just wish it could go a little deeper, do you thing SE530 would provide what I'm looking for?

- I love E4c's clarity, do you think SE530 provides similar clarity?

Much thanks for your time.

[s1rrah]

- I noticed E500/SE530's rated Impedance is 36 ohm, and ipod nano's output is only 34ohm, i wonder if that effects its sounding? (I don't plan to use any amp)

Not a technical expert or anything but I would say no effect; an amp is just gravy when using the Shure IEM's and not really necessary unless you want to experiment in how different amps circuitry/OPAMPS can change soundstage and bass/mid/hi frequency delivery.

- I know you recommend SE420 over SE530 as their price difference is too huge, but what about for those who plans to upgrade instead of buying new? Sorry 'coz i just want to make sure I'm heading the right direction with major improvements over my current E4C... In terms of sound stage and bass response.

- I believe you prefer E4c's bass than SE530's, as you said its more true to your ear. Does that mean SE530's bass is over powered and muffled? I like E4c's bass tightness, I just wish it could go a little deeper, do you thing SE530 would provide what I'm looking for?

I say the 420 is a better deal because reviewers online say the difference between them and the SE530 is negligeble in regards to overall sound quality and some folks I've talked to even preferred the TONE of the 420's bass but agreed it didn't have quite the IMPACT presence of the 530's.

And regarding the E4C's bass: I prefer it's default TONE, yes; but I more prefer the 530's for the sheer amount of bass PRESENCE and IMPACT (especially since when using the right tips and with some EQing, I can get the default 530 bass tone close to as silky and natural as the E4C.)

I thought the E4C bass was adequate; mind you I had a completely air tight and very deep seal (using the soft, dark gray flex-tips). My seal was so air tight that the tips would come out of my ear with a very loud suck-POP noise. Those were the only tips I could stand with the E4's.

With the SE530's, the same tips result in way to boomy and huge bass; unlistenable. But with the yellow foamies (and even the black olives), the bass is way more disciplined and nice though still being insanely up front.

I do not feel that the 'out of the box' bass performance of the SE530's is as natural and "tight" as the E4C; it's in the same family/range, but the dedicated bass driver really does slam and you've got to find the tip that generates the right bass for you as the listener; the tip will dramatically affect the bass tone.

- I love E4c's clarity, do you think SE530 provides similar clarity?

Absolutely.

In my opinion, I think the 530's offer near twice the detail and resolution as the E4C's. This was immediately apparent after listening through some of my MP3 collection.

...

Otherwise...

Whether the 530's are for you or not is anyone's guess; I've heard the Westone UM2 offers nearly as much bass IMPACT as the 530's but with a more refined bass TONE so maybe you should read some reviews on the Westone UM2's as well.

General rule of thumb regarding any thing you plan on buying is read every review you can find. Generally, you'll come to see patterns replicated from review to review which will steer you clear of things you might not like (ie > SE530's rolled off highs, etc.).

...

I personally have grown quite fond of the SE530's; they're great mobile phones and I listen to them every day.

I've found that the vast majority of reviews online which praise the SE530's (though not without also citing a few well known flaws) are for the most part spot on and accurate: they rock.

I have yet to find a review online that said they suck.

Have fun.

[ph0rk]

Originally Posted by redaxis

I own an E4c, my first pair high end IEM. I didn't like it till i know how to appreciate it's clarity. However, i never liked its bass still, maybe I'm a bass head but to me it sounds too tiny. It's tight, but doesn't go deep enough, sometimes it sounds more like a deeper mid than a bass. It's highs is bright but it's too sharp n hurts my ear when i listen to certain tracks. As I'm tired with bass boost EQ on my nano, I'm considering upgrading E500/SE530.

- I noticed E500/SE530's rated Impedance is 36 ohm, and ipod nano's output is only 34ohm, i wonder if that effects its sounding? (I don't plan to use any amp)

I don't think I tried my Nano, but my iphone was hissy as all heck with the 530's - it isn't the impedance but rather the sensitivity. Both the se210 and (fresh out of the box) se420's are hissless.

The 420's have fabulous bass, btw. Tight, present, just beautiful. I don't even need EQ for stuff like massive attack, etc. Good deep bass.

I'd recommend that you first: look into mp3gaining your music, so you can use the ipod eq without distortion, and see where that puts you. IMHO the 500/530 doesn't play nice with ipods.

[ch28kid]

Originally Posted by redaxis

Here's some questions;

- I noticed E500/SE530's rated Impedance is 36 ohm, and ipod nano's output is only 34ohm, i wonder if that effects its sounding? (I don't plan to use any amp)

Where did you find the iPod Nano output? I look on their technical specification on apple website and doesn't say anything

Apple - iPod nano - Technical Specifications

Does anyone know what the output is for iPhone? Just wondering cause I am using one right now and I do plan to buy Shure SE530.

[thedauntlessone]

thx for the review + comments

[ph0rk]

Originally Posted by ch28kid

Where did you find the iPod Nano output? I look on their technical specification on apple website and doesn't say anything

Apple - iPod nano - Technical Specifications

Does anyone know what the output is for iPhone? Just wondering cause I am using one right now and I do plan to buy Shure SE530.

Impedance isn't the problem, sensitivity is - I'd guess anything as sensitive as the 530's would give you hiss on an iphone.

se420s have lower impedance than the 530's, but are less sensitive. no hiss.

[hmpf]

Originally Posted by s1rrah

...........
That said ... I make no gaurantees you'll agree with any of that and so use your better judgement and try to listen to both first.

(ALSO: in Grado's defense... I think my Grado RS1's are much better than *both* the SE530's and the SR225's )

Have fun.

Thank you very much for your time and great topic=great review

[redaxis]

Originally Posted by ch28kid

Where did you find the iPod Nano output? I look on their technical specification on apple website and doesn't say anything

Apple - iPod nano - Technical Specifications

Does anyone know what the output is for iPhone? Just wondering cause I am using one right now and I do plan to buy Shure SE530.

sorry, my bad, i must have made a mistake...

[redaxis]

Thanks alot for your opinion and correction of some of my mistakes. Now i got a better idea of how these IEM would sound to me. I did read alot about UM2 and I thought SE530 would deliver better low end due to its dual bass monitor. Lots of UM2 and SE530 fan out there so it's confusing when they compliment their own preferred IEM.

I guess I'll stick to my E4c for a while since westone 3 is about to release, I'll decide untill then. For now, I just hope my third pair of E4C replacement (due to it's famous cord cracking issue) will last till my next purchase.

Thanks again!