difference between E500 and SE530?

[gnychis]

Hey all,

I was wondering what the difference between the E500 and SE530 is? The shure website seems to say the SE530 is its "new name" ... but they are more expensive than E500s.

Thanks!
George

 

[Judge Crandall]

There's no difference.

 

[gnychis]

thanks judge, why are they so much more expensive then....

you can find E500s for ~$300, you're looking at like $400 for the SE530s. Marketing move?

 

[gtp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gnychis /img/forum/go_quote.gif thanks judge, why are they so much more expensive then.... you can find E500s for ~$300, you're looking at like $400 for the SE530s. Marketing move?

Hi George,

This has been discussed many times. The E500 was the first to come out, as part of the E series. Then when the SE series was released, the E500 was re-released as the SE530 - the flagship of the new SE series. The earphones themselves are identical.

The E500 were discontinued and heavily discounted (e.g. I read they were ~$200 at Fry's) and now you can find them for ~$260 NOS.

The E500 all came with PTH, while PTH is an option with the SE530.

Some E500 suffered from cable-splitting problems, but it seems that was fixed with the SE530.

Oh yeah, and the warranties are different. See Shure's website. The E500 has a much more generous warranty (transferable, not required to be from an AD, etc), while the stated SE-series warranty is tighter (non-transferable, must be from an AD, etc).

Hope this is all the info you need.
George

 

[gnychis]

Hey George,

Ahhh thanks, this makes sense

I'm lucky to have not had the cable problem so far yet, and I'm ~2 months in now. I was happy to hear the sponsors on the forum say that they put the E500 cables under a lifetime warranty due to the problem.

Sucks on the warranty though... transferable warranties are like gold for head-fi'ers with us swapping equipment like its our job

After playing with the PTH, I don't think its that great. It just cuts the volume quickly, which I can do even better by hitting pause on my player. I've been thinking of selling it.

Thanks again!
George

 

[Arjisme]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gtp /img/forum/go_quote.gif Some E500 suffered from cable-splitting problems, but it seems that was fixed with the SE530. Oh yeah, and the warranties are different. See Shure's website. The E500 has a much more generous warranty (transferable, not required to be from an AD, etc), while the stated SE-series warranty is tighter (non-transferable, must be from an AD, etc).

The cable for the SE530 is/was the same as the cable for the E500. Due to issues with the cables splitting, Shure redesigned the cables for the entire SE line of IEMs. So newer SE530s will have this new cable, but older ones will not. I don't know if Shure is still manufacturing E500s now, but if they are, they would have the new cable too.

As to the warranty, Shure will replace your SE530s if they experience the cable splitting, even if they are out of the 2 year warranty window (if you live in the US). Also, the SE530/E500, like Shure's other IEMs, have a manufacture date printed on the plug. Shure's old warranty stated you needed to send in a receipt for warranty service, but in fact you did not HAVE to. If it was absent, they relied on the manufacture date printed on the plug to determine if they are covered. I would be extremely surprised if that is not still the case with the SE line of IEMs. What that means, then, is that you will not be required to have a receipt, will not have to prove you bought from an AD, or that you are the original owner. But, that also means your warranty period begins with the manufacture date, not the date you aquired the phones.