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To isolate or not to isolate? That is the question!

post #1 of 16
1/30/10 at 1:06am
Thread Starter 
What a great website! I'm finally speaking up after lurking for a couple of months. I've tried some mid-priced IEM's for my iPhone 3G starting with S4i, SE115+, HF2, Super.Fi 5vi. But it's become clear that I'm not going to be happy with this level of product. The Super.Fi's were the most bearable, but lacked detail and bass. The HF2's offer incredible clarity but almost no lower register. I'm a musician and listen to a variety of Blues, Jazz and Rock. I value a balanced sound, but can not live without a decent low-end. I'm not a bass-head by any means, but can't stand an empty bottom. (That said, overly bright highs are equally unacceptable.)

I've read a gillion threads here and greatly appreciate the wealth of knowledge and shared experience from this community. (You guys rock!) Without the opportunity to demo any of these, I've narrowed down to the SE530's and IE8's. (Unless someone can talk me into the W3's, which scare me due to so many expressed sibilance problems.) There are so many things that intrigue me about the IE8's but I hate the idea of not having a deeply isolated experience. Therefore, my gut says I'll be happiest with the SE530's, even if they're not quite as dynamic as the Senn's. Is the difference in isolation between these two IEM's dramatic? And, if so, how deeply impacted is the listening experience.

Can anyone help me make a final decision (read "put me out of my misery") so I can make a purchase and get on with my life? Thanks!
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post #2 of 16
1/30/10 at 1:18am
I'll piggyback a question on your question and ask how the Monster turbine pros match up to these.
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post #3 of 16
1/30/10 at 2:08am
Welcome to head-fi! I have both the SE530 and IE8. First thing you have to understand the SE530 are balanced armature based while the IE8 have dynamic drivers. Bass from these two technologies sounds significantly different, BA is faster and more precise whereas DD can deliver more impact and inner-ear vibration. The SE530 have very strong bass for a BA phone, nevertheless if you read the threads you'll find some folks complaining about lacking bass.

As for the IE8 they have a bit too much upper bass that can be tamed either with shallow insertion (at the cost of isolation) or with a good EQ. I wear them fully inserted and use EQ, therefore isolation is sufficient for me to use them on a noisy subway. Yet the SE530 isolate even better, you won't hardly hear anything on a subway, while with the IE8 I can hear subdued noise.

Both are excellent phones, but I prefer the IE8 because they are more fun and engaging without compromising on sound quality. Moreover the soundstage and out-of-head experience with the IE8 are the best I've heard from IEMs.

Hope this helps, feel free to ask more questions!
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post #4 of 16
1/30/10 at 12:03pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by james444 View Post
Welcome to head-fi! I have both the SE530 and IE8. First thing you have to understand the SE530 are balanced armature based while the IE8 have dynamic drivers. Bass from these two technologies sounds significantly different, BA is faster and more precise whereas DD can deliver more impact and inner-ear vibration. The SE530 have very strong bass for a BA phone, nevertheless if you read the threads you'll find some folks complaining about lacking bass.

As for the IE8 they have a bit too much upper bass that can be tamed either with shallow insertion (at the cost of isolation) or with a good EQ. I wear them fully inserted and use EQ, therefore isolation is sufficient for me to use them on a noisy subway. Yet the SE530 isolate even better, you won't hardly hear anything on a subway, while with the IE8 I can hear subdued noise.

Both are excellent phones, but I prefer the IE8 because they are more fun and engaging without compromising on sound quality. Moreover the soundstage and out-of-head experience with the IE8 are the best I've heard from IEMs.

Hope this helps, feel free to ask more questions!
How do you find the IE8's for listening at lower or medium volumes? My concern is that the weak isolation would require cranking these. I've also read that they require some volume to bring out the mids and highs. Is this true?
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post #5 of 16
1/30/10 at 12:16pm
Hard to go wrong with SE530's but they have been out many years and I believe Westones offer more, specifically treble detail. The #1 complaint of SE530 (besides some people having cracking cable issues) is rolled off highs.

I think the majority of people don't have siblance issues with W3 and if you don't either, I think they are far better IEM's than SE530. I even prefer the W2 over SE530.

No experience with IE8 but I understand they are quite bass heavy and don't isolate nearly as much as the Shures or Westones.
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post #6 of 16
1/30/10 at 12:57pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Teeter View Post
The Super.Fi's were the most bearable, but lacked detail and bass.
I wonder if you were getting a good seal. It's pretty common to have prolems getting a good seal with UEs. Except for total bass heads, I've read few complaints about Super.fis being bass light.

You need to keep this in mind when you upgrade. If you're not getting a good seal, you'll not like the bass even if you're not a bass head.
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post #7 of 16
1/30/10 at 1:33pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Teeter View Post
How do you find the IE8's for listening at lower or medium volumes? My concern is that the weak isolation would require cranking these. I've also read that they require some volume to bring out the mids and highs. Is this true?
Like I said, I wear them fully inserted and that way their isolation it's roughly on par with most of my other IEMs. The SE530 have above average isolation, but the IE8's isn't particularly weak. I too listen at moderate volume levels and do not find the mids or highs lacking. Yet if I wouldn't EQ down the upper bass the mids would probably seem recessed in comparison.
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post #8 of 16
1/30/10 at 1:44pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by scompton View Post
I wonder if you were getting a good seal. It's pretty common to have prolems getting a good seal with UEs. Except for total bass heads, I've read few complaints about Super.fis being bass light.

You need to keep this in mind when you upgrade. If you're not getting a good seal, you'll not like the bass even if you're not a bass head.
Since the OP emphasizes the importance of isolation, I suppose he would notice seal problems. Plus there's a difference between the older SF5 Pro and the newer SF5. Most of the posts on head-fi refer to the SF5 Pro.
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post #9 of 16
1/30/10 at 8:51pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by scompton View Post
I wonder if you were getting a good seal. It's pretty common to have prolems getting a good seal with UEs. Except for total bass heads, I've read few complaints about Super.fis being bass light.

You need to keep this in mind when you upgrade. If you're not getting a good seal, you'll not like the bass even if you're not a bass head.
Thanks for the suggestion, but the seal was fine. I had the Super.Fi 5's - not the 5 Pro's, which I understand have better bass. The 5's had better bass than the Ety H2's, but only marginally so.

This does bring up a question, though, that I have about the IE8's. Is the oft mentioned isolation problem due to inability to get a good seal? Or do they leak outside sound even with a strong seal?
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post #10 of 16
1/31/10 at 3:02am
^ The IE8 do not leak if inserted properly. But their corpus has an odd shape and depending on your ear size/shape you may not be able to do so.
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post #11 of 16
1/31/10 at 3:33am
As james444 states, the IE8 does provide noise attenuation but the SE530 provides even more. The SE530's are designed to be noise isolating earphones and they do this very well. I've been going through a comparison phase between the SE530, IE8 and the TF10 of late. I have the SE530's in as I type. I prefer the sound signature of the IE8 over the SE530, but I would choose the SE530 for commuting and air travel because of the excellent isolation that it provides. Unfortunately, the title of your thread really says it all. You have to weigh up and then decide what you're looking for in an earphone and despite everything you've read and the advice that we're offering, we can't make that choice for you.
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post #12 of 16
1/31/10 at 4:51am
The first thing that popped into my head when I saw the title of this thread was: 'Will it blend? That is the question!'
One thing I'd like to see is a Blendtec blender blending a Blendtec blender.
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post #13 of 16
1/31/10 at 4:59am
^ Had to google for Blendtec as these are not known where I live. Pure genious advertising, thanks for the LOL
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post #14 of 16
1/31/10 at 5:07am
Quote:
Originally Posted by iponderous View Post
You have to weigh up and then decide what you're looking for in an earphone and despite everything you've read and the advice that we're offering, we can't make that choice for you.
x2. If you're leaning towards the IE8 you'd better buy from a place where you can exchange them for the SE530 just in case.
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post #15 of 16
1/31/10 at 5:32am
So the usual intro, I own the IE8 and my best friend owns the SE530. While I definitely prefer the IE8 sound signature, if isolation is an issue, then I wholeheartedly recommend the SE530 over the IE8 ... I mean, you can't enjoy the IE8 sound signature if you can't hear it without breaking your ears with unsafe volumes! For me, I am a student so most of my portable listening is done while walking around campus, so the IE8's are just fine (in fact, it's a good thing as it keeps me from getting hit by cars or ignoring friends that say hi to me!). However, IMHE, the IE8 isolation is just not sufficient for subways, buses, and airplanes (I am actually considering a second pair of IEM's for that reason). So yeah, if you want the more complete "IEM" experience, my vote is for the SE530. In the end, either one is an upgrade to your previous IEMs, so I think you will be happy.
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