Advice

[babbu]

Hi guys. I am planning to buy some new IEMs for my Ipod. Could you please advice as to what I should choose between the following, which I understand are all great: Shure SE530, Ultimate Ears Triple Fi10 or Super Fi5 Pro, Sennheiser IE8 and Sleek Audio SA6. Also, shoud I buy a portable amp? If so, which amp should I buy without spending too much money? BTW, I prettly much listen to all kinds of music. Many thanks in advance!!

 

[K_19]

Super fi 5 Pros and SA6 do not really belong in the group with the rest, and are about a tier below. As for the other 3, to break it down briefly:

IE8: Biggest soundstage, a lot of bass, good balanced presentation after burn in, less isolating. Detachable cable.

SE530: Great mids, deep rich bass, seals well and is usually comfortable, has cable issues.

Triple fi: Most neutral out of the three, good highs, somewhat recessed mids, various comfort issues due to their size. Detachable cable.


As for amping, none of the three really requires one. For all intents and purposes if you want to use them casually, you're better off not getting any at all (but if you want to get multiple headphones/IEMs then it may be worthwhile looking into).

 

[cn11]

babbu-
Welcome to Head-Fi, and sorry bout the wallet! You've started down a long expensive road! Thankfully you're choosing between some of the best universal IEM's, so you won't have too much upgraditis going on I don't think (unless you start to crave a custom- look out). I think the SF5 pro and Sleeks are the two that are a bit behind the rest of your choices, of course price is a bit lower with those too. I don't have enough experience with a variety of amps personally to be able to comment for you there.

Good luck.

 

[Spyro]

Among that list, SE530. Probably the best all-arounder right out of the box. A small percentage of people (5%?) had cable cracking issues but Shure has fixed this about 18 months ago so you should be fine.

 

[babbu]

Thank you guys. I live in Europe and I found the IE8 for 190 pounds? Do you think it's a good deal? Do I need to buy other brands' foam tips? Shure 530 are 235: are they worth 50 ponds more than the ie8? Thanks again!

 

[Spyro]

A lot of guys like myself don't want to fuss with having to burn in IE8's for 3 weeks non-stop for them to sound right.

 

[babbu]

Thanks Spyro. What happens if I don't burn them for so long? Can I just use them and burn them "on-the-go"? Do you think that's a good deal? Or would you do the extra mile for the 530?

 

[robojack]

Quote:

Originally Posted by K_19 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Super fi 5 Pros and SA6 do not really belong in the group with the rest, and are about a tier below. As for the other 3, to break it down briefly: IE8: Biggest soundstage, a lot of bass, good balanced presentation after burn in, less isolating. Detachable cable. SE530: Great mids, deep rich bass, seals well and is usually comfortable, has cable issues. Triple fi: Most neutral out of the three, good highs, somewhat recessed mids, various comfort issues due to their size. Detachable cable. As for amping, none of the three really requires one. For all intents and purposes if you want to use them casually, you're better off not getting any at all (but if you want to get multiple headphones/IEMs then it may be worthwhile looking into).

I very strongly disagree with your statement, as the SA6s are easy competitors to the SE530s, and should not be grouped with the SF5 Pro. They are easily the same tier as the SE530s, TF10s, and Image X10s (which they have been closely compared to). Have you even heard a pair of these? Go on any thread (particularly the SA6 appreciate thread, which used to be heavily visited), and you'll see they've been directly compared to with the SE530s and TF10s. In many instances, people have preferred the SA6s to the SE530s and TF10s, including myself. In fact, many who have owned SA6s have moved to onto Sleek's custom monitors, which feature the same driver, but better fit and isolation. Don't be fooled by the lower price tag, Sleek Audio makes a mean set of IEMs.

 

[hydrocyanic]

consider sennheiser has kevlar in their cable, that should be the most durable among the three.

 

[K_19]

Quote:

Originally Posted by robojack /img/forum/go_quote.gif I very strongly disagree with your statement, as the SA6s are easy competitors to the SE530s, and should not be grouped with the SF5 Pro. They are easily the same tier as the SE530s, TF10s, and Image X10s (which they have been closely compared to). Have you even heard a pair of these? Go on any thread (particularly the SA6 appreciate thread, which used to be heavily visited), and you'll see they've been directly compared to with the SE530s and TF10s. In many instances, people have preferred the SA6s to the SE530s and TF10s, including myself. In fact, many who have owned SA6s have moved to onto Sleek's custom monitors, which feature the same driver, but better fit and isolation. Don't be fooled by the lower price tag, Sleek Audio makes a mean set of IEMs.

I've actually had a chance to borrow my friend's SA6 not too long ago along with the PK3, which I briefly traded with my SF5pros and the SR60 just to sample each other's gear for about two weeks. Definitely wanted to try them as they were, at one time, THE FOTM (figure of speech, not meaning to say they're bad in any sense). After my listen, I was impressed at the price/sound ratio, but still felt that they were behind the SE530 and the W3*. I personally rated them to be slightly better than the SF5pro, roughly around the Phonaks, which I immensely enjoy but still feel is bit behind the W3/IE8/530/TF group. Purely my opinion of course, and I'm sure there are lot of preferences among those who tried it that feels the same way, and conversely other way around. Should have mentioned IMO in the original post (and I always say "from what I've heard" if I haven't heard the headphone before).

If the budget isn't an issue (and from how OP went about his post, doesn't seem to be), then I feel that SE530/Triple fi will give you a better overall SQ. albeit not by that much, but still better. IMO.

But of course there is a lot of research for the OP to do and is up to him to make his own decisions, so argument on the flipside is also always good.

* = Could have been due to the port setup that my friend had, admittingly. I only borrowed the SA6 themselves and not the extra ports, so maybe that'd have changed things.

 

[babbu]

What is PTH on Shure 530? Is it important? Are these different from regular 530s?

 

[Spyro]

Quote:

Originally Posted by babbu /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks Spyro. What happens if I don't burn them for so long? Can I just use them and burn them "on-the-go"? Do you think that's a good deal? Or would you do the extra mile for the 530?

You could but depending how much you listen it could take many months. Most that have heard these without proper burn-in have not been very impressed with the sound. Everyone is different but I want something to sound great when I buy it. It would be like buying a brand new car and having it run like crap until you had 10K miles on it. No thanks...

 

[K_19]

Quote:

Originally Posted by babbu /img/forum/go_quote.gif What is PTH on Shure 530? Is it important? Are these different from regular 530s?

PTH stands for Push-To-Hear device, which is just a glorified mic, really. It allows you to hear outside noises without taking your 530's off. For all intents and purposes, it's a gimmick that many find cumbersome to use because of its unwieldy size. Most people feel that it's not worth the $50 extra that they go for since the 530 package is otherwise exactly the same.

 

[babbu]

ok so 530 or TF10? The cable issue on the 530s kind of scares me... Soory for all these questions and thanks again for the good advice!

 

[K_19]

Quote:

Originally Posted by babbu /img/forum/go_quote.gif ok so 530 or TF10? The cable issue on the 530s kind of scares me... Soory for all these questions and thanks again for the good advice!

Few things:

- As much as the cable issue with the SE530's are real, it has been addressed for most part by Shure as Spyro stated earlier with the newer cables. And even if it does go wrong, as long as you purchase it from an authorized retailer, you will have the full two year warranty on it.

- People have a lot of fit issue with Triple fi 10 because of their size. If you value comfort as much as sound than that's something you should really think about.

- SE530's have some treble roll-off. If you like sparkly highs and "fun" sound then you are better off going with the Triple fi.

- Conversely, if you enjoy vocals and deeper extending bass and "smooth" overall presentation then 530's are more for you.