[mrodav]

I currently own a pair of Shure Se-115's, and am looking for an upgrade, my budget is around £200 ($300)

From listening to the shures

Pros:
Good midrange
Really good isolation

Cons:
Lack of bass emphasis
Rolled off highs

I listen to lots of different types if music, but mainly Electronic, House, Dubstep, Hip Hop and occasionally indie.

I would like the IEM to have improved bass and an improved soundstage mainly, whilst keeping the isolation so they can be used comfortably on planes etc.

So far I have seen the IE8's which seem to have everything I want except the isolation, and I have seen that I could get a used pair is Se-530's which have everything expect emphasised bass.

Which IEM would you recommend? On the move they will be driven by an iPhone, at home they will be driven by a hifi amp.

Cheers

Mike

 

[ProjectDenz]

I don't think the SE530 has a lack of bass emphasis. I think it's just nicely controlled and gives a nice extension and punch when the music calls for it. Midrange is very forward which is nice for vocal tracks and I think it also does well with electronic, trance and dubstep.
 
The TripleFi10 has a good bass emphasis with nice punch and a sparkly treble and excels in electronic, house and dublstep, but has a recessed midrange which was a bit annoying for me with vocally related tracks.
 
SE530 is a better allrounder.
 
IE8 is really bassy which might suit electronic, house and dubstep, but had a pretty veiled midrange due to the booming bass which made vocally related tracks sound veiled and distant.

 

[mrodav]

Cheers,
The Se-530's seem like the best option at the moment, has anyone else got any opinions on this?

Mike

 

[davidcotton]

Just make s(h)ure that the cables are in decent condition.  One of the problems was that the wires are susceptible to cracking.  Of course you could always get them and have them reshelled into customs at a later date if you want to.
 
Good luck.

 

[ZARIM]

The Sony XBA3, XBA4, Westone 3, UM3x, Earsonic SM3, Sony EX1000 are recommended and they all are very detailed in mids, highs with good punchy bass and offers above average isolation. BTW sennheiser IE8/IE80 are very good sounding with punchy bass and huge soundstage(highly recommended).

 

[tdshain]

You should look into the Aurisonics ASG 1.2

 

[mrodav]

Thanks for all the suggestions

I'm still leaning towards the shures

How bad is the cable issue with them? Did they fix it with the Se-535's?

Mike

 

[ProjectDenz]

Quote:

Thanks for all the suggestions
I'm still leaning towards the shures
How bad is the cable issue with them? Did they fix it with the Se-535's?
Mike

 
The cable issue was fixed from batches made in 2009 and after, so it should not be a problem unless you grab a very old one.  I really would recommend getting the SE535 because of its replaceable and tank like cable.

 

[mrodav]

Thanks

The only problem is that the se535's are a lot more expensive from what I have seen, are they worth the upgrade or are they just a se530 with a removable cable?

Mike

 

[ProjectDenz]

Essentially the same with a few minor tweaks. Although in the long run the SE535 is much better because the cable will eventually give way and you can just replace it on the SE535, instead of having to look to repair the cable with SE530 or buy a new iem.
 
This happened to me with the SE530, except I just had it turned into a custom instead.

 

[Jeremypsp]

Yes, I think the SE535 would be worth the difference since the SE530 got tons of reported issues on their cables. If not, you can go for the Westone 4s. 

 

[mrodav]

Thanks,

Are there any other suggestions of headphones that have removable cables?

Mike

 

[tdshain]

Quote:

Thanks,
Are there any other suggestions of headphones that have removable cables?
Mike

Check my previous post. Aurisonics is doing some pretty amazing things with sound. Also the 1.2 will be upgradeable in then near future, so if you love it and decided you want to improve on the sound from there, it'll be a fairly painless process.

 

[LFC_SL]

Westone UM2. Great fun iem. Comes with replaceable cable option, though Westone cables are amongst best in industry anyway.
 
Saying that Phonak are a bit of a sleeper hit these days and slowly developing a following. If you can travel then give hifiheadphones a call about demo availability

 

[Huxley]

For those genres the yamaha eph-100 are worth a look.