I've tried every Shure and I'm not sure

[lithe1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jhmaeng /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think all three Micro Anvika shops on Tottenham Court Road (or, at the very least, the two that's not the closest from the tube station) have Shure demo kits that contain all the IEMs from the Shure range. They allow you to audition whichever one you want, although they seemed quite shocked when I said I wanted to listen to the E500s (they sell them for £420 - that's why!) Personal opinion - I actually found the E500/SE530 a little bass-heavy. Could be just a matter of not being used to it, but I actually prefer the slightly leaner sound of the E4c. That said, I only had them for about 10 minutes or so, so it's nowhere enough time to decide for sure.

If you find that the E500's are a little bass-heavy, you might want to try different tips. (If you didn't already...) Some give a tighter seal in the ear canals, which results in heavier bass. Whereas, another earphone tip, i.e., the yellow foams, may not be as bass heavy.

 

[sidewinder]

Try out the Shure E1, if you can find one. Westone seems to be making their follow-up, named the UM1. The thing is that comments on this IEM seem to be comparable to the UM2, with a fuller and more detailed sound. I didn't like the UM2, too muddy and a big recessed midrange. It's possible I don't like dualdriver IEMs, same story with the E5, and I think the E500 won't be any different. Some reviewer thought of the E3 to be the follow-up of the E1, so you might stick with that one, cause I think the E1 is the best of all IEMs I've owned. It has a single driver, but it has excellent bass, midrange and treble, (much) more natural and real compared to other 'high-end' IEMs. The Etymotic ER4 comes closest, but has a harsh and tin sound imo.

 

[Febs]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrdeadfolx /img/forum/go_quote.gif You didnt try em all brother, you didnt try the E5,

... or the SE210, SE310 or SE 410. Based on the OP's description of what he likes, one of these might fit the bill.

 

[Kabeer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jhmaeng /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think all three Micro Anvika shops on Tottenham Court Road (or, at the very least, the two that's not the closest from the tube station) have Shure demo kits ......

Thank you

.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrdeadfolx /img/forum/go_quote.gif You didnt try em all brother, you didnt try the E5, which is my personal fave of the pack.. and since they go a little cheaper these days (used at least), theyre a good find. I recommend givin em a shot.

Have you compared it to an e500? Whats your opinion?

 

[Thade]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Febs /img/forum/go_quote.gif ... or the SE210, SE310 or SE 410. Based on the OP's description of what he likes, one of these might fit the bill.

I may end up going that way but I'm not crazy about the new "form factor".

The E3s are starting to grow on me a bit so I may end up keeping them or maybe even giving the E4s another shot. Either way, I think a little EQing is in order which means new MP3 player. I listened to a little "White Wedding" yesterday. Good example I guess of a tune that's fairly simple: nice beat & vocals. Smooth as silk. Shuffle over to some GNR with guitars, clanging, vocals... and thing get a little "congested" for lack of a better word, almost noise rather than music.

I appreciate all of the feedback. I didn't realize "upgrading" would be so difficult but what the heck, I got the cash

 

[thesupreme1]

I'm not sure but maybe you should of let them had an overnight pink noise session before making your decision.

 

[mrdeadfolx]

Quote:

Originally Posted by thesupreme1 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm not sure but maybe you should of let them had an overnight pink noise session before making your decision.

Pink noise doesnt do anything for armature drivers, they sound the same out of the box as they would a year in.

 

[Thade]

Update: The Zen Xtra/E3 combo is much better than the shuffle/E3. Even with no EQ it's a bit smoother, warmer and less harsh. The "Rock" EQ is better and I haven't messed with custom EQ settings yet. Makes me wonder how E4s would sound on the Zen

Now all I need is something a bit more portable with a signature similar to the Zen Xtra

 

[Thade]

double post..

 

[jinx20001]

hi this is my first post here on head-fi and would like to say im a big fan and currently own the shure se530 and the ultimate ears super fi 5 pro,my main reason for leaving this message is because ive seen a few comments that earphones such as the shure e2 have the same frequency response as the shure se530,indeed this is true but its all about how the earphones/driver/s deliver the frequencies,the main difference is ofcourse the se530 has 3 drivers in each peice and these drivers are tuned and honed to deliever the frequencies as accurately as possible,so there you have it most earphones will deliever similar frequencies but not all deliver them pitch perfect and beautifully,this is what seperates the big boys of the headphone world to the average joes,ive gotta say im a big fan of both shure and ultimate ears,and both deliever great earphones all the way through the range,no sony could ever come close,and even sennheiser and bose are losing ground and these are some of the biggest names in the business

 

[Stoney]

I worked for months to get a balanced sound with low-distortion treble out of the E500. The tips, and their aim, make a huge difference.

For one, the triflanges aimed away from my eardrum, so the treble dropped away. I trimmed them, I cut them, I even tried single flanges made from the triflanges. I tried everything that came with them, plus the new foamies, plus some more....

What I ended up back with was the small gray flanges. I trimmed a couple of mm from the stem so that the tube just pokes out of the flange. You see, there is a resonance between my eardrum (I assume) and the transducer. The farther away the driver is, the lower in frequency this resonance. It can make sibiliance, or if closer/higher, a brightness. So, I get them as deep and close as possible to push the resonance high in frequency where natural damping and hearing loss make it less of a problem.

Once in, I adjust the aim a bit to get lowest treble distortion.

Having finally gotten clear, open sound....

The E500 still sounds bass heavy and dark when used on my home system which is damn flat. So, for my iPod, I use "acoustic" EQ, which seems just right. The bass tightens up, the treble extends without being forward, and midrange sounds more flat. I'm happy... but I'm tied to using a source with EQ. Oh, well....

 

[judas391]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thade /img/forum/go_quote.gif yeah, the title was just me being witty

shuree...