[wquiles]

Newbe here - trying to learn more

For reference, I have an 7-8 year Sen-580's which sound to me about perfect, specially once I build my own desk and portable amps for it. However, size-wise we all know the Sen's are not really "portable".

My first "really" good earphones were the UE 5 pro's. Really great sound, balanced, natural, but the fit was not the best after an hour or more, and since I was itching for an upgrade, looking for even better sound (my 580's are great to my ears and are therefore my basis), I recently ordered the Shure SE530's given that they have so many great ratings not only for fit, but also for sound quality - the best "universal fit" in several web sites.

So I get the SE530's, and after a week or daily (after work) A-B-A-B comparisons, I am disapointed in the SE530's. Yes, fit wise they are great, a definite improvement over the UE, but after all of the reviews I was (naively?) expecting the Shures to sound even better. At least to me they did not. Don't get me wrong, they are not "crap" or bad, but the mid/higher freq. were "soft" or attenuated. I have read that some reviewers of the SE530 commented on the "different" higher freq. performance, but at least to my ears something is not quite "right".

I tried both MP3's and Flac files from my PC, and 192/320K MP3's from my Ipod - pretty much the same results. Christina Aguilera, Kelly Clarkson, and Celine Dion did not sound "normal" to me. If I go back to the 580's or the UE 5 pro's, they sound normal again. Is this weird? Uncommon?

I decided to order the UE Triple 10's for a last ditch to my "upgrade" dreams, and they should arrive late this week, so this weekend I will be able to do the "final" comparison to see what I will keep and what I will return/sell.

I am getting great bass and solid seal with the Comply/foam tips, so it is not fit from one model to the other. It is not the slightly louder volume of the UE over the SE530 either, and the source material is the same while doing the A-B tests. Any advice you can give me, or should I simply continue trusting my ears and my gut feeling as to what sounds "right"?

Thanks in advance

Will

 

[cebseb]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wquiles /img/forum/go_quote.gif the mid/higher freq. were "soft" or attenuated. I have read that some reviewers of the SE530 commented on the "different" higher freq. performance, but at least to my ears something is not quite "right".

Hmmm... that's quite odd. My first pair of IEMs were the UE 5 pros which I then sold off to purchase my current IEMs, the shure 530s. Shures are known for their "aggressive" (read: GREAT) mids and even though the highs were a bit rolled off, I found them to be much more present and accurate the UE 5 pros since the bass somewhat drowned them out at times.

Quote:

Christina Aguilera, Kelly Clarkson, and Celine Dion did not sound "normal" to me. If I go back to the 580's or the UE 5 pro's, they sound normal again. Is this weird? Uncommon?

If this is the type of music (vocaly female oriented) you typically listen to then maybe Shures aren't the best fit for your taste.

Quote:

I decided to order the UE Triple 10's for a last ditch to my "upgrade" dreams, and they should arrive late this week, so this weekend I will be able to do the "final" comparison to see what I will keep and what I will return/sell.

well, let me save you from the suspense. You're going to keep the UE Triple 10s.

Quote:

Any advice you can give me, or should I simply continue trusting my ears and my gut feeling as to what sounds "right"?

They're your ears so stick with what you think is best!

Good luck Will!

 

[SBD]

idk but from what I heard (I heard a LOT, trust me) the sf5p are really "fun" and have generally "good" sq. lol that's all I'm going to say except I personally think shure has very little bang for the buck. Everything I read about shure is worse quality than competitors.

I don't know why some people like shure's? I guess it's the sound signature.

 

[jinx20001]

i loved the super fi 5, i really did, so fun so powerful, i got the se530 and was dissapointed, but after extensive listening the bass was much cleaner and tighter, the mids detail was astonishing and the smooth highs complemented the mids and highs completely,awesome phones.

the triple fi are great also giving an overall more detailed sound than super fi 5 but still suffer from not so detailed mids

 

[jinx20001]

oh and the UE triple fi are not louder than se530's check out the spl stats

 

[Sheynkman]

Ive gone through a bunch of IEMs. I have to say that the only thing that will pry me away from my se530s will be the next top of the line Shure release or customs..... or both

Getting a good seal is very important. You do need to get used to them if you only listen to huge phones and speakers. They are accurate but not cold and the bass is very tight for something of that size. I guess you can call me a Shure fan boy but I really did give Etys and UEs a try before coming back.

I listen to various electronic music (anything from trentemoller to the buddha bars...so good fidelity.... not head mashing music) as well as offbeat hip hop (roots, diggable planets, mos def, etc). Your mileage may vary.


OT: how do you get customs for se530s???

 

[jinx20001]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sheynkman /img/forum/go_quote.gif Ive gone through a bunch of IEMs. I have to say that the only thing that will pry me away from my se530s will be the next top of the line Shure release or customs..... or both Getting a good seal is very important. You do need to get used to them if you only listen to huge phones and speakers. They are accurate but not cold and the bass is very tight for something of that size. I guess you can call me a Shure fan boy but I really did give Etys and UEs a try before coming back. I listen to various electronic music (anything from trentemoller to the buddha bars...so good fidelity.... not head mashing music) as well as offbeat hip hop (roots, diggable planets, mos def, etc). Your mileage may vary. OT: how do you get customs for se530s???

westone or sensaphonics will make the custom tips for you the same way you would get custom monitors, you have impressions made at your local audiologist, send them off to westone or sensaphonics and there you go. I may get some custom tips myself because in most cases my se530 are prefered to my ue10 pros's

 

[wquiles]

Thanks much for the great feedback

Sounds like I am going to have some fun this weekend trying to compare these and trying to keep one!

jinx20001 - I am also planing to get the custom "tips" as you have. Did you consider any other outfit besides sensaphonics? The other companies that I found were:

1) The Earplug Store's custom tips (ear canal of full molds):
PerfectFit<font size="1">(TM)</font> Optional Accessory For Any Brand of Isolation Earphones<br><font size="2">Perfect Your Isolation Earphone System: Add Custom Fitted Ear Molds!</font> - Earphone Accessories


2) Averysound:
Custom Molded Audio Earpieces from AverySound.comCustom iPod Earpiece, Custom MP3 Player Earpiece, Custom CD Player Earpiece


They are both about $115 for the custom molds - kind of hard to decide between both of these!

Anything in particular why you selected the sensaphonics?

 

[wquiles]

Well, I received the Triple.fi's yesterday, and after two nights of comparing SE530 to the Triple's, I have only one question to the group: Who wants to buy an absolutely mint set of SE530's with extra new tips?

The jump from cheap earplugs to the super.fi's was really like day and night. Going from double drivers to triple drivers is not a night and day difference, but it is a very nice upgrade nonetheless. The truth is that both of these triple drivers are awesome.

The main differences to me regarding the triple drivers from Shure and the UE were fit, efficiency, and music signature/tone. Fit-wise, the Shure's with the Comply foam tips that I bought are absolutely awesome, and hands down the winner here. In terms of efficiency (loudness at the same volume level), they are both close, but I can hear the Shure's slightly louder than the UE's. In regards to the sound, although most folks give the slight nod to the Shure's, to my own ears, with the music I like, I give the UE a light nod, so I am keeping the triples and letting somebody else enjoy the Shure's. So in the end, it is mostly a subjective decision - I liked the UE's a little bit better.

Thanks much to everyone for the feedback and recommendations - much appreciated

Will

 

[IEMaddict]

I went from Super.fi to Triple.fi and all I have to say is MY GOD!! The TF10 is a BIG BIG step up from the Super.fi. As far as fitment, mine fit me perfect now, when I first got them though, they didnt, I had to keep adjusting them. They seem to have adapted to my ears rather than the other way around. Maybe its cause I dont bend up the earloops. I set them to fit me perfectly when I got them and I havent bent them since, so I guess the earloops have slowly(overtime) bent to fit my ears perfectly. When Im done using them I put them back in the hockey puck lookin case without bending the earloops. It was kinda tricky to do at first, but now, its easy to pack them up.

 

[Spyro]

Yup the E4 to SE530 jump is nothing like the SFP to TFP jump. I think the later is a far more significant sound change while the former keeps the exact sound sig and simply adds a bassier, fuller sound.

While foamies, olives, complies give the best fit I find them to be a pain in the ass as far as cleanliness and hassle of putting in and out. I like the super fast insertion of the UE's (if the fit works for you). I'm using smallest single flange.

 

[deusofhearts]

Never tried either se530 or triple.fi's but I can probably already assume I'd prefer the triple.fi sound signature. That being said, I have a pair of se530 on the way so hopefully they'll be so good I won't have to sell them off