Review: Shure SE530 - Page 4

Well ... in all fairness ... there are positives on both sides of the argument.

Yet (and here comes my parry) ... if you really dig around online, you'll find that in general, most well-versed sets of ears prefer the SE530's over even the Ultimate Ears $1000 dollar offerings. It's very hard to find a negative review of the SE530's ... try it.

That said ... the high freq tuning in the SE530's are aimed at approximating reality; that is to say that Shure was not trying to impress with sparkle or glisteningly crisp highs ... only that they were trying to reproduce music as it was recorded and as it might sound played live.

This last bit ... reproducing music as it was recorded ... is a notorious quality that to the hi-fi aficionados at times comes across as bland or 'boring' set next to more colored headphones such as DT880's or HD595's (both of which are known for being characteristically bright or high-freq-forward).

Shure is a Pro-audio company first and not necessarily a Hi-fi company; in my opinion and being a decades long user of their microphones/preamps ... I feel this is a fairly accurate statement.

Shure builds equipment for professional musicians who are expecting their ears to be treated to reproduced audio that sounds first, like a live performance and second like material/music that can be worked with (that is ... affected, EQ'd, tailored to taste).

Again .. do some digging on Shure, Inc and you will quickly confirm what I just typed.



BTW ... I sort of dig the way my original review/thoughts on the SE530 has turned into a discussion of sorts (pros and cons) ... keep posting you all ... even if you (like the fellow above) simply find the SE530's not for you.

Absolutely true.

This is the same reason I decided to sell my Senn HD595's just as soon as I had heard them ... just didn't like the overall sound/placement of sound. I'd been listening to Grados and the Shures for months and I just couldn't stand how digital, sparkly, bright and distant the sound was.

That's why I just ordered the Grado RS1's. I prefer the onstage sound to the in-the-audience sound. I prefer crunch in my mids as opposed to polish.

Like you elaborate above in your very fair observations ... it does boil down to preference when dealing with similarly outstanding devices.


@Chef:

It really is is hard to find a negative review of the SE530's online (barring our own highly opinionated ranks here at Head-fi, of course which is an entirely unique and nit-picky crowd as user groups go)

From what I've read ... it is also true that *most* reviewers of the SE530's will prefer the SE530's over their price point competitor in the Ultimate Ears camp. Which isn't to say I didn't find the inverse true occasionally, but that more so I found the former true. Just the results of my personal scouring ...

This is not the case with the Westone UM2's, however; I found many more SE530 reviewers claiming preference of the UM2's over the SE530's than I have found reviewers claiming preference of Ultimate Ears over the 530's. In fact, I'm quite itching to try the Westone IEM's for that reason (especially the UM3 when it's released!)

Do note that my comments centered on the wealth of SE530 reviews I read online which, if one is actually concerned with fair analysis, is already an unfair scenario in favor of the Shures as generally the review is going to be done by someone who cares about the equipment they are reviewing; therefore, I found many SE530 reviewers quite eager to lavish them with praise as well as the minor quibble (just like my review! )

You'll be completely stoked on the UE 11's ... no worries.

According to some reviews, the bass is actually more capable insofar as depth and accuracy ...