[oak3x]

I had the same impression of the se530, and returned them... Like yourself, I also own the Ety ER-4P's, so I know where you are coming from.

If you like the Eyt sound / presentation, the IEM you would really appreciate are the Utimate Ears Triple.Fi 10's (I have owned these as well).

 

[jinx20001]

Quote:

Originally Posted by oak3x /img/forum/go_quote.gif I had the same impression of the se530, and returned them... Like yourself, I also own the Ety ER-4P's, so I know where you are coming from. If you like the Eyt sound / presentation, the IEM you would really appreciate are the Utimate Ears Triple.Fi 10's (I have owned these as well).

x2 you sound as if you would enjoy the triple fi more, bout time oak posted something to the point

 

[tstarn06]

Risking the wrath of some, I suggest you try the Atrio M5s, if you want solid, smooth bass (not bloated) and more balance overall than Etys or Shures (though I have never owned a pair of Shures). Without saying anything else, just read the Atrio M5 thread. Peter D also has them, and he could add some info. Many Atrio owners are very happy with their sound (they are from FutureSonics, and are dynamic driver powered).

Anyway, they can be had for $130, which means they might not be as high-end enough for some, but worth a listen. Again, at least read over the Atrio thread, don't just take my word for it. I owned the Etys and sold them once I burned in the Atrios and AB tested the two.

 

[jinx20001]

atrio's are great but will still give an over bassy sound to ety ears, i stick by the triple fi as offering great highs close to ety's with good bass

 

[tstarn06]

At that price point, I forgot about the triple-fi as an alternative (haven't heard them either, but too much for me to plunk down. Would love to try a pair otherwise.)

 

[mink70]

Quote:

Originally Posted by oak3x /img/forum/go_quote.gif If you like the Eyt sound / presentation, the IEM you would really appreciate are the Utimate Ears Triple.Fi 10's (I have owned these as well).

Oak--I've been wondering about the Triple Fi's, as most discussions of the top IEMs bring them up. Do they have an obvious flaw, too? Are they as analytical as the Etys, or are they more fun?

Sounds like you don't own the Triple Fi 10's any more? Did you eventually prefer the ETYs?

 

[gtp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mink70 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I feel the same way, and I have to say I'm pretty amazed that a company as established as Shure would release a $550 pair of ear canal phones with such a far-from-flat frequency response.

Tt is the Shure signature to have great, forward mids and rolled off highs. This describes the SE310. Then up the scale is the SE420, with an added woofer to boost the low end. Next is the SE530 with two woofers to really boost the low end. The reason the flagship has really boosted lows is that for 98% of people, bass=good sound. The average person's ears aren't trained enough to discern good mids and highs, but the average person can definitely hear/feel bass. The Shure reps who visit this site have said that the SE310/E4 is the flattest, and you get more bass hump as you go up the product line.

 

[mink70]

Thanks gtp. So does anyone actually prefer the 310s over the 530/Etys?

It seems like both the Ety ER-4s and the Shure 530s do something pretty special, with major flaws. Where do the triple fis fit? Do they do anything the others don't?

 

[gtp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jinx20001 /img/forum/go_quote.gif mids and lows rule on the se530, funny how yet another person to complain came from listening to ety's...nuff said, people who listen to ety first love the sound and then hate anythin with more bass

Sorry, not true once again. I love my Etys, but I also LOVE bass (see those DT770s in my sig?). I just EQ the Etys so the bass is very similar to the SE530s. In fact, this is why I am still looking at newer IEMs, because I want something with Ety highs/mids, and SE530 lows. So the point is that Ety lovers do not hate anything with bass or hate bass in general. To put it more positively, Ety lovers simply love the detail mids and highs more and are willing to either EQ or deal with less prominent bass. DONE!

 

[gtp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mink70 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks gtp. So does anyone actually prefer the 310s over the 530/Etys? It seems like both the Ety ER-4s and the Shure 530s do something pretty special, with major flaws. Where do the triple fis fit? Do they do anything the others don't?

There was one poster who did prefer the SE310, but I can't remember who it was...maybe try searching.

Your second statement is correct (though I wouldn't say major flaws), there is no perfect IEM yet. Both the Etys and the Shures come close, though.

 

[eruditass]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gtp /img/forum/go_quote.gif Tt is the Shure signature to have great, forward mids and rolled off highs. This describes the SE310. Then up the scale is the SE420, with an added woofer to boost the low end. Next is the SE530 with two woofers to really boost the low end. The reason the flagship has really boosted lows is that for 98% of people, bass=good sound. The average person's ears aren't trained enough to discern good mids and highs, but the average person can definitely hear/feel bass. The Shure reps who visit this site have said that the SE310/E4 is the flattest, and you get more bass hump as you go up the product line.

i can't really imagine wanting more bass than e4's except in noisy environments, but i am so eager to try out the e500's for sub $300 nowdays. my question is how does it compare other than the frequency response? resolving, details, timbre, etc?

perhaps this can be my journey into the real head-fi from isolation-fi and i can stick with the e4cs. (i don't like the er-4's ergonomics.)

 

[jinx20001]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gtp /img/forum/go_quote.gif Sorry, not true once again. I love my Etys, but I also LOVE bass (see those DT770s in my sig?). I just EQ the Etys so the bass is very similar to the SE530s. In fact, this is why I am still looking at newer IEMs, because I want something with Ety highs/mids, and SE530 lows. So the point is that Ety lovers do not hate anything with bass or hate bass in general. To put it more positively, Ety lovers simply love the detail mids and highs more and are willing to either EQ or deal with less prominent bass. DONE!

now your just being silly, ety's with bass similar to shure e500's no im afraid not, the more bass you put on that single driver the more impact it has on mids and highs thats ''DONE''. theres more to mids than the details of the mid-highs, there are mid-lows which are not very prominent on the ety's and highs are amazing on the ety's.

what i meant is MOST! ety users for a longer period of time find it hard to go to very warm sounding IEM's. that dont mean every ety user so why say once again i am wrong, theres so many different kinds of bass and mids an highs, and im not saying the ety has no bass. im saying it dont have the impact and prominance like the shures do, so once again instead of disagreeing with me,post more to the point next time.

im getting fed up of people getting offended by my love for e500's, yes i love them and yes i prefer them over ety's and most ultimate ears products but i never ever say that any earphone is rubbish or worthless, too many people get offended by my posts because i dont use these stupid

smilies, when in fact im simply stating what i love about the shures and where they improve on others.

the only reason i defend the e500 so much is because out of my whole list of iem's tested they are the right ones for me...over ue10 pro's and livewires and all that i prefer my shures, i always say these opinions meaning to my ears, and if someone says they dont like warm sound ill point them in another direction...simple! get used to it and stop wasting mine and others time complaining about my posts

 

[Doc Sarvis]

I own both SE530s and Etys. I think the real issue is that, after listening to one for a while, the other sounds dramatically different until you get used to it. Both are excellent, and equally valid approaches.

 

[mink70]

Jinx, you keep saying that listeners who don't care for the sound of the Shures are simply too "blown away" by their bass to appreciate them, or that they don't like bass, or that they are comparing them to the bass-deficient Etys or something else.

My problem with the Shures is not just the quantity of the bass but the quality--humped, bloated, inaccurate to anything like a good recording or live music. That's not a technical fault, but Shure's own decision. The frequency response chart Shure itself publishes shows a curve that's +5 db up to 200 cycles and that plummets to -30 db at about 10,000 cycles (=711]http://www.headphone.com/technical/p...phID[]=711).

It's great that you like the Shures and have decided that they are the best, just lay off the "it's so good you guys can't handle it" angle, OK?

 

[Dexter Morgan]

To the OP, don't jump ship yet. I have a suggestion that has worked wonders for me. First I should tell you, I originally had no problem with the bass of the 530s. This was probably because of my limited experience with headphones/IEMs. One day I tried switching my tips and HOLY GOD they sounded like a different pair of IEMS. Everything was just so cleaned up and more transparent... crisper treble, life-like detail, more depth and "connected" soundstage. The overall presentation just became so much better in terms of balance. It made me realize that the culprit (at least for me) isn't treble-rolloff... "it's all in there," it's just being overpowered by the bass. It also explained to me how people can have such different impressions of universal IEMs: sound preferences aside, these things really can vary based upon variables that change from person to person... the only way to eliminate these being customs.

But I'm telling you, the difference I heard is what I'd expect going from a universal to a custom. I've never tried a custom, but this is how good I would expect it to sound.

Here are my suggestions for you:

1. Make sure you are not pushing the tip too far into your ear. Coming from the Etys, you are no doubt used to being earnally probed. The 530s are not meant to go deep. They don't like philosophical conversations. So keep it shallow. They should rest at the entrance of your ear canal.

2. Try using the yellow-foam old-school tips. Make sure they are not too worn out, as getting a good seal is paramount, and these things wear out fast. I was using the black olive foamies before, and they are of course wonderfully durable, easy-to-insert and easy to get a seal with. But there is just something about them that was causing the bass to muck everything up. It was coloring everything, almost as if it needed to be contained but was instead bleeding onto everything else. Well, for me, the yellow foamies made sure the bass only colored "within the lines."

Unfortunately, I can't promise that you'll be able to achieve this for yourself. I have given this recommendation to a few others, and so far have not heard anything back like, "OH MY GOD, THIS IS AMAZING." I hope you'll be my first. I think it has a lot to do with the shape of your ear canal. Hopefully yours is similar to mine