[Flavio T]

On June 6th I visited Shure headquarters in Niles, IL. At the end of the day, Matt Engstrom and Kevin Spiegel were nice enough to set up a demo of the NEW Shure E500PTH earphones for myself and my wife.

The E500 was surprisingly light. Matt told me it is the lightest earphones ever manufactured by Shure. He also told me of the importance and long thought process that was choosing the correct and best location for the drivers. This will be the first Universal fit Triple Driver earphones to be built.

I was very impressed by the sound. The mids and lows had a lot of definition. When compared to the Shure E5c, I thought they had a much better mid range which in my opinion was where the E5c lacked. The comfort and fit are superior to the E5c. They made in my opinion the best earphones of their line so far. As soon as we receive our stock I will make sure to test the E500 extensively against the Westone UM2. There is a good presence and definition of mids and lows without obscuring the highs. It has a balanced output but with definition. In general there is a trade off between sounding balanced, warm and "musical" with having to accept a bit of "muddiness". With the E500, Matt and the cool folks at Shure accomplished warmness, balanced sound with clarity and excellent definition on the mid range and low range.



The cable of the E500 is only about 12-15 inches long which then connects to a female jack on the end of the cable (I’m guessing 3-4ft. cable) that comes from the Push-To-Hear device which then connects to the iPod or any other portable player. The PTH piece is very well built, sturdy. It has a belt clip and it has a recessed knob for the volume of the music that plays on the background once you push the Shure PTH so that the outside sound can be captured by the built-in microphone. Matt told me that the design of the knob was done that way so that the background volume could not be changed by accident or easily as you should have to do that just once. Once I pushed the button I could hear the conversation around me and the music was playing at a very low volume on the background. Awesome feature! I bet this device will be the most desired accessory of in-ear earphone owners. Unfortunately the PTH sold as a separate accessory will not be out until end of the year. The E500 does come with the PTH accessory.

The Shure E500-PTH is now in stock.

 

[ayt999]

nice photos.

 

[Flavio T]

Thanks ayt999.

 

[jtevol1]

Flavio, how much better are the Shure E500 over the UE super.fi5?

 

[Flavio T]

I love the sound of the UE 5PROS but they are a bit bulky for my ears.

Sound wise I have to say the E500 has a much stronger stage presence. The mids are clear, strong but not overemphasized.

In my opinion, I would have to say the Shure E500PTH is better than the 5PROs.

They kind of got the best from both worlds this time. They sound warm, musical without being muddy and that's a first as far as all other earphones we have.

 

[darkninja67]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flavio T They sound warm, musical without being muddy and that's a first as far as all other earphones we have.

That is not what my wallet needed to hear. There goes another $500.

Thanks for the impressions Flavio.

 

[nabwong]

Quote:

Originally Posted by darkninja67 That is not what my wallet needed to hear. There goes another $500. Thanks for the impressions Flavio.

Ramen for life! Our body will be well preserved when we're gone.

 

[KenW]

Anxiously awaiting a sponsors email telling me these are in and I'm up at the plate!!

 

[joakim]

thanks! thats what i wanted to hear. i have preordered a pair that will kick my E5C

 

[Flavio T]

Our first shipment of E500 left Shure yesterday, Thursday, and we should have them here by Tuesday or Wednesday at the latest.

That will take care of our older pre-orders but we are not sure yet how many of them.

Thank you.

 

[Flavio T]

[size=small]Tomorrow, Wednesday August 2nd we will have stock for new orders placed now.[/size]

 

[nightmedia]

I have to listen more to them, but here's my first take.

I used the following system:
- Headroom desktop portable / custom PS, output from PC digital out
- IAudio X5
- Direct PC output (SB Audigy)

I compared them to:
- Beyer DT880
- Sony SA5000
- Shure E4c

The bass is a bit punchier than the DT880, but seems a bit muddy. Definitely better bass than the others, they have here something going. I recall having a better bass on the HD650, but I forgot them in the office, so I could not compare them.

The midrange is very good, close to the E4c - I guess that's matter of taste, and what you're listening to.

The highs are not as good as the DT880, but are very well defined, and seem better than SA5000 and E4c.

I seriously doubt they would need burn-in, as I did not notice a difference in burn-in for the E4c's.

They are LOUD. They are by far the headphones that put out the loudest sound given any type of source. For example, on a Iaudio X5, I have the E500 at 22, and have to turn it to 30 to get the same output on the E4c.

They are also hard to overload. Where your ears give up, these babies just start. I guess if you're into rap music and getting rid of your hearing at an early age, these headphones are your best shot at it...

You do need a very good sound source. They are unforgiving to low-res MP3 as they are to crappy sound outputs. A very good amp makes a lot of difference.

I tried with direct connections to the PC / portable player too. Iif the PC gives you static, or the track has some residual noise, you do hear it, loud and clear, more so than the other headphones -- I have about the same problem with the SA5000.

I saw some comments that these are lighter - they seem the same weight as the E4c to me, they are just a bit bigger, so I guess that gives the impression of being lighter.

They are very comfortable, I have to give them that. It is easier to put them on and take them off than the E4c. There is no cable noise, and since the cable is thinner than the E4c, they are definitely easier to handle.

The gizmos that come with them are more than you would ever need to connect to anything and everything. They come with all combinations of sleeves and sizes, 2 adapter cables, 1 adapter with volume control, 1 full size jack adapter.

There is a filter removal tool, but no replacement filters in the package. I guess these could be ordered separately. They do not have separate sound conduits for the drivers, it's all through one filter.

They come with an oval profiled black case, similar with the case from the E4c's, but just a bit bigger, so it can accomodate the PTH adapter.

The PTH adapter takes one AAA battery (included). I put in a rechargeable Ni-MH, and works just the same. The PTH itself is very well built, very solid, and has no switching noise between direct and the microphone loop. The microphone is built into the female plug that hangs just about the heart level, facing downwards, and picks the surrounding sound pretty well, without catching any cable noise. There is also a shirt clip that can be moved up the cable as needed, but is rather loose.

Are they worth $500?

To really get the best out of them, you need a good sound source, preferrably a good amp, and that's something you just don't have with you on the street.

If you are listening in the office, like I do, and you have a good system, they are worth it, especially for the PTH gizmo, that saves you taking them out of your ears when somebody stops by. But then you are better off with HD650/DT880, at least then people DO see that you are listening to something, and will rather not bother you in the first place.

If you listen on the road, get the E4c and save a bundle, since with a mediocre sound source and environmental noise, the E4c sound better.

The only argument at this time would be the bass response, which with the proper sound source is outstanding.

If anybody wants pics, I could take some macro shots, just let me know.

 

[Flavio T]

Thanks nightmedia.



P.S. We have E00 in stock for new orders and we will beat any lower prices from authorized dealers that have them in stock.

 

[Flavio T]

Monday August 28th we will have stock for new orders placed now for the Shure E500 Earphones.

Thank you.

 

[stevesurf]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flavio T I was very impressed by the sound. The mids and lows had a lot of definition. When compared to the Shure E5c, I thought they had a much better mid range which in my opinion was where the E5c lacked.

At the annual meet, I had a chance to demo the e500's and I totally agree with the better Mids and Bass definition observation. I remember listening to a couple of acoustic pieces and was just blown away with the clarity, accuracy and spacious sound. I love my e4s, but I see how the e500s would extend my listening time. Shure is to be commended with a great design job as well.

Now all I have to do is save a few...