are the w3 really better than shure se530?

Mar 15, 2009 at 11:55 PM Post #46 of 90
I've just given up on the SE530 after having my replacement phones themselves needing replacement after just six months due to : cable tear right below the phone...and it's the second time...
It's a shame considering the price...those phones are badly designed and QC is unacceptable. How hard is it to design a cable?
My W3 are due in in a couple of days. I hope the sound is at least as good...and the cables better (not hard)!
 
Mar 16, 2009 at 12:44 AM Post #47 of 90
I've spent a lot of time with both IEM. My conclusion right now is that the W3 are a better all rounder. This is because of many factors. Firstly, the highs in the W3 are some of the best you'll find on a ear monitor. The Shure SE530 sometimes feels clouded and lack air. The Westone 3 sometimes gets a little too bottom heavy for me, but its not absurdly heavy, just a little thicker in the bottom than I'd like. The Shures often lack a touch of really deep extension. I think both bass presentations have room for improvement, but the Westone 3s are slightly more fulfilling for most music. Midrange.....The Shures have a gorgeous midrange which is somehow devalued by the absence of really gorgeous highs. The Westones I'd say do not show as liquid a midrange, but the midrange is still excellent here. One thing I do notice with the Westone 3 is the far better channel separation than the Shures. The cable on the W3 is dramatically better than the Shure as well in terms of it resting on your ears. There is no clear winner. I can't say the Westones wipe the floor with the Shures, I certainly see how someone could prefer the Shures. I would imagine if everyone in the world had both pairs, the Westones would be slightly favored, its just a guess though. I feel if the bass were everso slightly tighter on the Westones, one could call them perfect. They are about 85% there
 
Mar 16, 2009 at 1:20 AM Post #48 of 90
Quote:

Originally Posted by DavidMahler /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I've spent a lot of time with both IEM. My conclusion right now is that the W3 are a better all rounder. This is because of many factors. Firstly, the highs in the W3 are some of the best you'll find on a ear monitor. The Shure SE530 sometimes feels clouded and lack air. The Westone 3 sometimes gets a little too bottom heavy for me, but its not absurdly heavy, just a little thicker in the bottom than I'd like. The Shures often lack a touch of really deep extension. I think both bass presentations have room for improvement, but the Westone 3s are slightly more fulfilling for most music. Midrange.....The Shures have a gorgeous midrange which is somehow devalued by the absence of really gorgeous highs. The Westones I'd say do not show as liquid a midrange, but the midrange is still excellent here. One thing I do notice with the Westone 3 is the far better channel separation than the Shures. The cable on the W3 is dramatically better than the Shure as well in terms of it resting on your ears. There is no clear winner. I can't say the Westones wipe the floor with the Shures, I certainly see how someone could prefer the Shures. I would imagine if everyone in the world had both pairs, the Westones would be slightly favored, its just a guess though. I feel if the bass were everso slightly tighter on the Westones, one could call them perfect. They are about 85% there


X2 I have owned both and you are right on. I prefer the W3 in the end.
 
Mar 16, 2009 at 1:46 AM Post #49 of 90
Quote:

Originally Posted by DavidMahler /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I've spent a lot of time with both IEM. My conclusion right now is that the W3 are a better all rounder. This is because of many factors. Firstly, the highs in the W3 are some of the best you'll find on a ear monitor. The Shure SE530 sometimes feels clouded and lack air. The Westone 3 sometimes gets a little too bottom heavy for me, but its not absurdly heavy, just a little thicker in the bottom than I'd like. The Shures often lack a touch of really deep extension. I think both bass presentations have room for improvement, but the Westone 3s are slightly more fulfilling for most music. Midrange.....The Shures have a gorgeous midrange which is somehow devalued by the absence of really gorgeous highs. The Westones I'd say do not show as liquid a midrange, but the midrange is still excellent here. One thing I do notice with the Westone 3 is the far better channel separation than the Shures. The cable on the W3 is dramatically better than the Shure as well in terms of it resting on your ears. There is no clear winner. I can't say the Westones wipe the floor with the Shures, I certainly see how someone could prefer the Shures. I would imagine if everyone in the world had both pairs, the Westones would be slightly favored, its just a guess though. I feel if the bass were everso slightly tighter on the Westones, one could call them perfect. They are about 85% there


Give the SE530s a try with the yellow foamies installed.
 
Mar 16, 2009 at 2:23 AM Post #50 of 90
To the OP: in the end, I really think you'll be satisfied with your se530s. Don't second guess your ears after reading the opinions of others. When it comes to the upper tier iems such as these, it really comes down to user preference. Some may feel the highs of the se530 to be recessed, and the highs of the W3's to be perfect. Others may feel that the highs of the se530 to be perfect and the highs of the W3's to be sibilant. (of course tip selection with both iems plays a big factor) Bottomline imo is if you feel content with your se530, then don't worry about what others feel about them or other iems. Sit back, enjoy, and run away from head-fi before you get upgraditis and buy W3's, ie8's, customs, etc.
smily_headphones1.gif
 
Mar 16, 2009 at 3:39 AM Post #51 of 90
Quote:

Originally Posted by jaykay /img/forum/go_quote.gif
To the OP: in the end, I really think you'll be satisfied with your se530s. Don't second guess your ears after reading the opinions of others. When it comes to the upper tier iems such as these, it really comes down to user preference. Some may feel the highs of the se530 to be recessed, and the highs of the W3's to be perfect. Others may feel that the highs of the se530 to be perfect and the highs of the W3's to be sibilant. (of course tip selection with both iems plays a big factor) Bottomline imo is if you feel content with your se530, then don't worry about what others feel about them or other iems. Sit back, enjoy, and run away from head-fi before you get upgraditis and buy W3's, ie8's, customs, etc.
smily_headphones1.gif



i think i'm the type to find the w3 sibilant.
my hearing is very sensitive
i'm the type of dude who cringes when i hear styrofoam rubbin.
or when someone bites a fork painful.
the w3 will hurt me
smily_headphones1.gif
 
Mar 16, 2009 at 4:06 AM Post #52 of 90
Quote:

Originally Posted by Deulce /img/forum/go_quote.gif
i think i'm the type to find the w3 sibilant.
my hearing is very sensitive
i'm the type of dude who cringes when i hear styrofoam rubbin.
or when someone bites a fork painful.
the w3 will hurt me
smily_headphones1.gif



I think you'll be really happy with your se530. Btw your signature is hilarious. I came to this site for reviews on a pair of ksc75 I bought from radioshack for $10..now look at me..haha
beerchug.gif
 
Mar 16, 2009 at 4:13 AM Post #53 of 90
Quote:

Originally Posted by jaykay /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I think you'll be really happy with your se530. Btw your signature is hilarious. I came to this site for reviews on a pair of ksc75 I bought from radioshack for $10..now look at me..haha
beerchug.gif



i wonder how many of us have been seduced the same way.
i started out with Sennheiser PC-150, a gaming headphone
then i just got more interested in better sound

so i bought the RS-1 from Grado. then the Beyer DT880 Pro. (i need an amp for it, badly.)
I returned the grados. $625 wow.
now i'm interested in IEMs. It's hard to run the track with Beyers. everyone will think i'm a freak.

btw...my signature used to say "whoa these headphones must be good....i'm getting a hard on"
one of the headphone supremos asked me to change it. lol
 
Mar 16, 2009 at 5:24 AM Post #54 of 90
I got a chance to compare the W3 and the se530's. To be honest the W3's have a great WOW factor. Switching to the W3's from teh SE530's you go.. HOLY CRAP now that's sound.... but after a while I got tired of squinting and covering my ears (obv knee jerk reaction) to some sibilant moments. Yeah yeah I know try this try that and I did. At the end of the day after making mods and trying the W3's with the mods you end up with a pair of headphones that stick out (thus removing any comfort/form factor that you get from the housing and design) and a pair of headphones that sound 95% the same as the shures. Tamer high end but with a deeper low end and a midrange that's just a notch below the shures. So basically for me to enjoy the W3's I'd have to turn them into SE530's and give up their lush midrange for bass extension (which I later found wasn't as great as the IE8). So at the end of the day, Se530's did it for me (and yes even with all the mods so please don't say try the yellow foamies/blackfomies/brownfoamies/cutout some earplugs/customs/ surgically attach the drivers to your ears etc. etc. etc.) But if you're on the end that doesnt have a *natural* problem with the sibilance from the W3's or have created a mod that does not require you to have them stick out of your ears then I think the W3's should beat the Se530.
 
Mar 16, 2009 at 5:50 AM Post #55 of 90
Quote:

Originally Posted by pdupiano /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I got a chance to compare the W3 and the se530's. To be honest the W3's have a great WOW factor. Switching to the W3's from teh SE530's you go.. HOLY CRAP now that's sound.... but after a while I got tired of squinting and covering my ears (obv knee jerk reaction) to some sibilant moments. Yeah yeah I know try this try that and I did. At the end of the day after making mods and trying the W3's with the mods you end up with a pair of headphones that stick out (thus removing any comfort/form factor that you get from the housing and design) and a pair of headphones that sound 95% the same as the shures. Tamer high end but with a deeper low end and a midrange that's just a notch below the shures. So basically for me to enjoy the W3's I'd have to turn them into SE530's and give up their lush midrange for bass extension (which I later found wasn't as great as the IE8). So at the end of the day, Se530's did it for me (and yes even with all the mods so please don't say try the yellow foamies/blackfomies/brownfoamies/cutout some earplugs/customs/ surgically attach the drivers to your ears etc. etc. etc.) But if you're on the end that doesnt have a *natural* problem with the sibilance from the W3's or have created a mod that does not require you to have them stick out of your ears then I think the W3's should beat the Se530.


i really like how you explained that right now.
so much better than what i've read in other threads.
 
Mar 16, 2009 at 5:54 AM Post #56 of 90
Quote:

Originally Posted by fntms /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I've just given up on the SE530 after having my replacement phones themselves needing replacement after just six months due to : cable tear right below the phone...and it's the second time...
It's a shame considering the price...those phones are badly designed and QC is unacceptable. How hard is it to design a cable?
My W3 are due in in a couple of days. I hope the sound is at least as good...and the cables better (not hard)!


I know what EQ and SQ is.
what is QC?
 
Mar 16, 2009 at 2:03 PM Post #59 of 90
Much bigger wow factor with W3 but I prefer SE530 for the long haul. It's more balanced and does better with more types of music. I found W3 too muscular sounding, the recessed midrange made vocals sound "off", bottom end a little too hard to control and treble a little siblant on too many recordings. Certainly not a bad IEM by any means. It's a personal preference thing.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 1 (members: 0, guests: 1)
Back
Top