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Absolutely- I owned a shure e4c as well as UM2, before moving my attention towards full sized headphones for a while. This is going back to just before the E500's were initially released.

In terms of full sized gear, my preference is for Grado vs. Senn, although I owned a W5000 and a hybrid L3000 (that I miss dearly). Preference is for harder prog rock like Tool/Mars Volta as well as more standard rock-

In terms of my IEM experience, I started with the E4c's and moved to the UM2's after finding the E4's lacked bass, which is a pretty standard complaint. It's one of the reasons I've hesitated on going with the PFE's (as well as the QC stuff).

I liked the UM2's for comfort, and appreciated the increased fullness due to the bass response, but felt the bottom end was very unrefined and the standard complaint about treble extension bothered me as well as the bleed from the bass into the lower mids that impacted on vocals, etc...

I *think* based on the reviews I've read that the W3 would be ideal for me, given that I do value isolation, but the price is a problem for my budget. The soundstage is intriguing to me with the IE8's...the prog stylings of my musical taste being more ambient than standard rock.

One thing is for sure about all of these triple driver IEMs is that they are ALL seriously overpriced. The build quality on most is cheap plastic with bad cables (TF10, SE530, etc) and for some of these (the W3) the price is almost double that of a set of Senn HD650s (new from eBay in Europe) or even something like the ATH-ESW9. I was impressed with the build quality of the ATH-CK100s (partly titanium)...and W3s are ok but the rest feel like they could break spontaneously at any minute. All I'm saying is that if I can get Senn HD650s for £180 then going on materials/quality a set of W3s should be about £100...but as it stands now they are £330....ridiculous.....£100 is what I would pay if the world was fair anyway.

I don't disagree there are some pricing issues with some IEMS but most full sized cans have many additional costs. HD650's do not work well without an amp...you'd need a decent one at least to power them and that significantly adds to their cost if you have not already invested in a quality amp.

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You can get the W3 for £237 (including 5-6 day worldwide shipping) on eBay. I doubt hardly anyone will pay £330 in Europe for the W3 unless they don't know eBay.

Where can you get the HD650's for £180 (including delivery?). On eBay the cheapest HD650's I can see now go for £278 (shipping to UK) or £283 (shipping to EU), and currently Amazon.co.uk for £250 (only free UK delivery and 'usually dispatched within 1 - 3 months')

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They come up from time to time. Probably discontinued now or on the way? I bought mine 4 months ago for £180 from a company in Ireland (on eBay) and they were selling hundreds. Good to see you can get the W3s on eBay cheaper than retail UK but still too expensive for me by far. I recently picked up some lightly used TF10s on eBay for £110...which was a good deal, but that is what they should probably be new..

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Sennheiser put the prices up in January and for some time now the HD650's have been quite a bit more expensive (in the UK).

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ah..well I guess I got a good deal then

i didnt hate se530
but i really wrecked it....

there is relative thread of mine
http://www.erji.net/read.php?tid=666996
se530 didnt work well,so i decided to break it!!

http://www.erji.net/read.php?tid=671171
with no hope to fix my se530 up
these was more pic of disassembled drives of se530 on the second page

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No doubt VoLTaG3 was an annoying fanboy. But the criticisms about him stating his opinions as fact just don't add up when I see so many others doing the exact same thing. The above two examples from this thread are seen all too often in SE530 threads. I understand that these posters are giving us their opinions. But, I know at least one member here who particularly faulted the boy for for masquerading his opinion as fact. The above amounts to the same thing so I am wondering if it is so much how he says what he believes or is it more that he adamantey refuses to agree with those who post "facts" like the above. I actually think his greatest crime is that he is far less subtle with his fanboyism over his chosen phones than others here.

BTW, re: the cable problems. They have been fixed as of early 2008. Shure changed the formulation of their cables to address the issue and there is no evidence that the newer cables have more (or less) issues than cables from other manufacturers.

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I'd like something fairly "accurate". I put that in quotes because I know that everything has a flavor to it. I'd like deep bass but not artificially hyped bass. And crisp highs but not tinny. And a clear midrange but not too forward or back. I'm not sure "laid-back" is what I want, but I don't want artificially bright either.

I have a pair of Sennheiser HD485's, which I enjoy the sound of. But I switched from contacts to glasses and the HD485's aren't comfortable while wearing glasses. I'd like something with equal or better sound quality that goes in the ears.

Ideal budget would be around $200, but I can honestly afford to spend more if it is a genuine benefit. I'd rather get something good than spend $200 and wish I'd spent more. I've been considering the Shure SE420's. They are $200 on Amazon. The Westone 3's would also be an option, or the Shure 530's. I've never heard anything about the IE8's.

Any suggestions?

(BTW, I'd be happy to put this in it's own thread if it's not appropriate in this one. But you're welcome to reference things back to the 530s.)

Thanks.

@barleyguy, What did you think of the IE8's? Did you own them for a long time? It'll help us tailor your decision. I'm worried that if you go to the 530's from the IE8's, you'll think that the bass is anemic and pathetic. Really, however, it's more of a difference in quantity, because I strongly feel that all of the Big Four IEMs have incredible detail across the entire spectrum.

From personal use, I think the 530 bass is great and very textured, and ultimately very enjoyable. Few people, I think, can contest that. The 530's have treble roll-off, which was also a deciding factor for me because my ears are extremely sensitive to treble, and too much of it always gives me fatigue. Are you sensitive to treble? If yes, you should go for the 530's.

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And the $400 single driver IE8 isn't?? I disagree. You are paying for exceptional sound in a microscopic package. The portability costs money. Considering only 6-8 years ago ER4's and E4's were $299, I'd say pricing has stayed quite fair. Cheap plastic?? Have there been cracked housing issues? Would you prefer your IEM housings made of galvanized steel? They are nestled in your ears and are indestructible unless abused.

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"I know at least one member here who particularly faulted the boy for for masquerading his opinion as fact" -- It's perfectly OK to say it was me who stated so, no need to say "I know at least one member..."

I wonder if the two quotes you chose (not mine) in your post were repeated to death, yes, to death, by those same posters (whom, btw, you fail to mention their usernames) in almost EVERY SINGLE SE530 thread and others, and, more importantly, if they consistently used 'clever' jargon to try and convince others that their views were NOT views but scientific truths/ facts. Also wonder if they made claims such as their hearing being better than everyone else's on head-fi, and countless other similar remarks.

But seeing how 5 days ago you responded with INNACURACIES and accusations to comments I'd made to Voltag3 on a different thread, and when challanged by FACTUAL information you simply decided to say "I am done with this "discussion." I've stated my thoughts and will not rehash them", once again I very much doubt you'll be able to prove your point here. Voltag3's behaviour/ attitude and it's repercussions went far beyond stating the above quotes you chose.

I'd be curious (not really!) to compare side by side the quotes you used plus those posters' other posts to Voltag3's 800+ posts in 4 months and see to what extent they are as similar as you claim - perhaps you'd care to do it?

EDIT: I'm not a moderator and have absolutely nothing to do with them, so I don't know the exact reasons why Voltag3 was banned, but can only guess why. Perhaps, if you think it so unfair and feel others with similar 'crimes' are still allowed to post here, you should state your case and contact the moderators for an explanation.

maybe we should end this thread???

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I'm just glad Voltag3 is gone....