Some do consider the SE530 to be a bit laid back. It sounds like you want something a little more forward, aggressive, engaging. You may not specifically want something mid-centric, but you sound like you just don't want recessed mids. You may opt for something well balanced, maybe even on the warm side since you do seem concerned with bass still despite mainly worrying about mids. There is some range of interpretation here though. I can't read your mind. You have to tell us in great detail exactly what you want. By great detail, I do mean great detail, like a 500 word essay kind of detail just on the sound you want to hear out of the earphone if you could have your ideal sound.
Outside of doing that though, I do quite like the e-Q7. It's well balanced, energetic, not forward but right there and visceral. It's not passive listening. The mids are balanced with the rest of the frequency range, the bass is not heavy but there and with good presence. Treble might be slightly emphasized, but a foam tip can soften it up some if needed. It is mild though, so don't get scared by that comment. I've only just recently got a hold of a e-Q7 for myself, and it has quickly grown on me and has become in my mind one of the top few earphones out there for balance and just doing a lot of things right. There are certain earphones that will do certain things better, and there are a lot of well balanced earphones out there, but the e-Q7 is up there among the top. In terms of do everything total package, this is one of the top.
The RE262 is a new earphone. Some people own it because they bought the HM-602 music player. The RE262 came "free" with it. A fellow head-fier allowed me to demo his pair. Being a fan of the RE252, I anticipated great things from the RE262. One of the best things about the RE262 is the driver it uses. It seems to be a very long throw, very efficient driver that has effortless dynamics. It has tremendously low distortion and very, very high resolution and detail. The sound is mid-centric, at least what you notice most. The frequency response is actually well balanced. The bass is clean and transparent and dynamic. It doesn't carry some of the heft you would expect, so your focus stays more towards the midbass and mids. I wouldn't really call it lean, but the bass is clean and with a short note. The high, effortless dynamics prevent it from outright sounding lean though. Treble is smooth. It's well extended and actually slightly emphasized (to my ears), but it doesn't sound that way due to it being almost laid back in presence. The sensitivity is there, but you don't get a piercing, super crisp and edgy sound that some earphones have. It's more mellow and pleasant. What makes this special is the driver used is absolutely amazing. It is so good it is ridiculous. It's like high end home audio driver good, very clean, very transparent, effortless, and extremely high resolution, and it sounds so effortless doing it. It's dynamic, revealing, engaging, and pleasant all at the same time. It's really quite good. The sound comes across a little colored though due to the way the notes are presented, but it's a very likable color and subtle enough not to really sound off for most music. A few of these will pop up in the For Sale section as the H-602 owners decide to sell them. It will eventually pop up on Head Direct's website once they officially go on sale.
What about the midrange king of kings, the SE530? Well, I personally don't like it. It has a wow factor. The midrange is really, really good. The rest, meh. Treble is recessed (fixed on the much, much pricier SE535). The bass is good for upper bass but rolls off and almost disappears for deep bass. Frequency response charts say otherwise, but compared to more bass capable earphones, there is no comparison. The SE530 is completely lacking on the bottom end in presence. Even if the sensitivity is there, it just can't fill out a note. When I owned a pair a year ago, I literally couldn't hear a 30Hz tone with them even with a massive amount of EQ boost. 40Hz was barely audible, and it wasn't a good 40Hz note either. 50Hz and above was ok, but it it really only does well once you're above 100Hz. Being so mid focused, it becomes sort of a one trick pony. It's kind of a "wow, these sound really amazing" but then becomes "man these really are lacking on the top end bottom end." For a triple driver earphone, I simply find that unacceptable. It's what I'd expect from a single BA earphone, not a triple BA earphone. I seriously expect more coverage and is specifically why I'd buy a product using more drivers. I will say the SE530 has a very natural, life-like sound. The realism is really good, however the quick decay on the notes lean out the presence on the lower frequencies and almost creates a ghostly realism lacking the fullness and body you would expect in the lower frequencies. In the end, I think there are better earphones. I understand Shure is offering a "sound" and has a loyal following of users buying that that sound. Shure really doesn't want to mess up what they have and what they offer, so they are trying to maintain that sound signature. I understand that. But, I think in the last couple years, other products and even products of a much lower cost have blown them away. the SE535 is an improvement but a costly improvement.
The DBA-02 is bright and lean, not mid-centric, not bassy at all. I've owned a pair breifly. The treble was great, but the bass driver is very lean. The W2, UM2, W3, UM3X, SM3, and I'll toss the Triple.Fi 10 in there too as we discuss are more V shaped in response. If you want mids, these are not the first choices as they will not offer that kind of response and presentation without some EQing. They may be good earphones, but they don't really offer the presentation at least I think you're looking for and may require EQing to get you where you want to be.
I will toss in an additional budget level item, the Sleek Audio SA6. If you want an mid-centric earphone, this is a great option at a low cost. The sound is very transparent and airy, clean, and natural. It's not the bassiest, but does respond well to EQing (ex. turning on bass boost). Treble sensitivity is there, but the sound is smoothed making for a pleasant top end. The compact size is light and disappears from perception. The sound is unique and something you really can't get in another earphone on the market. I may wait a little while though on this earphone if it sounds like something you might be interested in. Sleek is rolling out their new SA6R to replace the SA6 and the new dual driver SA7 in the near future. These will be the next generation products from Sleek, so you might just opt to wait for now.
