[mrsmr2]

I received my 530s on Thursday and I'm not finding them great.

I'm comparing them to my SE310s and while I wouldn't say the 310s are better (they are not), the SE310s seem more balanced and are better with some music than the 530s.

Main complaints are that the bass, while nice with a lot of my music, sometimes feels overdone. It reminds of a bass boost function and it doesn't seem consistent. e.g. a drum can sound in isolation and it can feel flat, then the rest of the drums kick and the 530 wakes up. The 310, in comparison, will have less bass over all but less of a contrast between the single drum and the main drums.

This boosted bass can veil some of the details.

Also, vocals can sometimes come across sharp and a little harsh. Compared to the SE310s, there is more clarity with the 530s but can sometimes be a little too clear. However, this is a much lesser problem compared to the bass.

My source is a Cowon D2 with music encoded as Ogg Vorbis q6. Music is the full range: 80's pop, Jethro Tull acoustic, Megadeth, Metallica, Gwen Stefani, Thelonius Monk.

I've tried the yellow foamies, ety's grey foamies, triple flange with stem cut off and triple flange with end flange cut off.


So, am I being too critcal?

 

[ChroniCali]

Not sure how vocals are coming off as sharp or harsh, but almost feel as though the inconsistency in the bass notes may be from the D2 bass roll off.

 

[mrsmr2]

Good suggestion. Although I'm not sure the bass roll off is that bad.

I'll try the Shure attenuator as that helped to define the bass, but with the downside of reducing the airiness with my E4s.

I've also got a Sansa clip so I'll try that as well.

 

[mark2410]

harsh? you sure its not the song, the 530 isnt usually known for being anything other than wonderful in the mids.

bass wise the 530 will spit out as much as the song demands in a way that most IEM's cant. if the song calls for little it will give little and if it calls for a truck load the 530 will step up and dish it out. at times this can be strange sounding as some songs i feel are designed to be played on equipment that cant do that so randomly emphasise particularly low sounds. this makes them seem to suddenly jump out much more than they really ought to as they are tweaked to be played on less capable equipment

 

[jinx20001]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrsmr2 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Good suggestion. Although I'm not sure the bass roll off is that bad. I'll try the Shure attenuator as that helped to define the bass, but with the downside of reducing the airiness with my E4s. I've also got a Sansa clip so I'll try that as well.

im a huge D2/se530 fan, but if theres one let down from the D2 its the bass, if you ask me i think its way too light, the se530 were brilliant bass wise with my old 5.5g ipod, the D2 seems like a higher definition device, the audio quality is a step up but it certainly rolls the bass off.

 

[theitchybeard]

I definately agree with the D2 bass rolloff, if you want similar SQ but with better bass, the Iaudio 7 is a good choice. It just sucks for video

 

[K_19]

Try the yellow foamies or the double/triple flange again, but this time go for a shallower insert. This will help to kill more of the bass. Also, don't be afraid to EQ it a bit... 530s are quite EQ friendly and you got a Cowon player which means you should have a capable EQ... I have a feeling you are finding the bass overdone because of lack of higher end frequencies... bring them up just to balance things.

 

[mrsmr2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by theitchybeard /img/forum/go_quote.gif I definately agree with the D2 bass rolloff, if you want similar SQ but with better bass, the Iaudio 7 is a good choice. It just sucks for video

Does the I7 still have the ogg playback problem?


Alternatively, I could look into amping....

 

[mrsmr2]

Thanks for the advice guys. I've tried the 530s with the attenuator at almost max resistance and played the same music on a Sansa Clip (stupendously good player for the price btw). I get the same results so it's not a bass roll off problem.

I concur with Mark2410's comments. The kicking in of bass is definitely due to the music as I can hear it on my SE310s as well - it's just there is much less of a contrast compared to the 530s.

Vocals, sometimes, are still coming across a bit too loud for my ears. They are just that little bit less clear on the 310s and a bit milder.

Ultimately, I think it's my ears. With the 530s there is a lot more rumbly bass but also clearer, louder vocals. The sound is sharper all round and I think I'm going to have to adjust my head a bit more.

 

[mnhnhyouh]

Brain burn-in is the most important thing with new headphones...

h

 

[JuStlcE]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mnhnhyouh /img/forum/go_quote.gif Brain burn-in is the most important thing with new headphones... h

agree

 

[theitchybeard]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrsmr2 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Does the I7 still have the ogg playback problem

Don't use ogg so I'm not sure, but from memory I think people did mention something about it on the iaudiophile forum (cowon fan forum). That's the best place to get any info you need.

 

[MegatronRx]

I find the SE530s highlight a lot of the crappiness in poor sound cards/encoded music files.

The Cowon D2, from what I've heard is a great MP3 player so I don't think that is at issue.

Example: I use my Grado SR80s with my laptop and the music sounds beautiful. However, when I use my SE530s, it just sounds awful.

-----------------

I also concur with the brain-burn-in theory. I've owned my SE530s for a couple of weeks. The first day I got them I was like, I spent 500 bucks on this?? I actually would have returned them if the store I bought them from allowed me to. But now, I'm finding they sound better and better and to be frank, I wouldn't return them.

 

[mrsmr2]

Grey Ety foamies are doing the business for me at the moment. Bass is reduced and letting the higher frequencies through.

Bit happier now. Thanks