[FluidDruid]

Hi,
 
Has anyone here ditched a set of Shure SE530s for something else? What would you recommend?
 
A bit of background:
 
My fourth(!) pair of SE530s has just given up the ghost. The first three suffered the dreaded cracked cable issues, and the filters in this fourth set have become brittle and fallen out, which has destroyed the bass, and made the treble a little too harsh for my taste.
 
Until now, I've been sending them in for replacement under warranty, but Shure UK have said that the warranty (now nearly 4 years old) won't cover a fifth replacement. They have offered a discount on the new SE535s, but given the problems I've had with the 530s, I'm inclined to look elsewhere. (I don't understand why they keep dying; I clean them regularly, never drop or knock them, and keep them stored in their case whenever I'm not using them. I do use them very frequently though; several hours a day every weekday.)
 
I use them to listen to 320kbps MP3s on an iPod Classic at my desk at work. As for musical genres, I listen to pretty much everything, but particularly enjoy female fronted symphonic metal (Within Temptation, Nightwish, Delain, etc).
 
At home, I do most of my listening on a set of Sennheiser HD650s, and although they're totally different to the Shures, I'm quite a big fan of their signature too. Anything that sounds somewhere between the two would probably suit me quite well.
 
I don't really have a shortlist, but I'm considering the IE8s, X10is, that sort of thing. My budget would be around £200.
 
Thanks!
 
 

 

[DaBomb77766]

The SE530s are known to be extremely fragile and break a lot.  On the other hand, the SE535s have a replaceable cable and aren't known to break quite as much...though people have reported cable failures, but that's what the replaceable cable's for.

 

[joelk]

Since you enjoy the sound signature of the Shures, why not consider having them reshelled custom?  I did this through Fisher Hearing for about $150 including the deep ear impressions made by an audiologist.
 
The earphones sound better than ever.
 
Joel

 

[FluidDruid]

Thanks for the suggestions.
 
I briefly looked into reshelling before I posted here, but as far as I can tell, this would be at least as expensive as a new pair of IEMs. I live in the UK, so Unique Melody seem to be the popular choice, but with cables and moulding, their option is well over £200
 
That's not to say that I'm completely opposed to the idea. It may well be that it's better value for money overall if the sound quality of the reshelled 530s would be better than a new pair of IEMs...

 

[yello131]

the IE8 is very different to Shur's sound sig.
IE8 is Dynamic transducer vs Shure BA
Similar sound sig of Shure is Ortofons e-Q7 or its newer and cheaper e-Q5 which is priced under 200 in UK at iheadphones.
If you looking for similar sound sig of IE8, I can suggest FX700, Radius W#2, some of this are priced higher then 200 pounds
 
 

 

[yello131]

BTW, for Vocals Ortofons are fantastic IEMs.
There are quite a few reviews on Headfi, check them out

 

[jinx20001]

i ditched mine for the IE8, i wanted something with replaceable cables, sounded good and could rock my head distortion free and above all i wanted something i wasnt afraid to use, my se530 spent 80% of their life in the case once the warranty was up and now i can relax and have my earphones around my neck knowing the cables first off wont crack, and even if they did i could replace them myself.
 
i have to be honest the IE8 doesnt sound quite as... clinical as the shures, theres the sence the shures are made for artists and the IE8 made for listening and enjoying. so its really up to what you want from your headphones. if you listen to music the IE8 do it and do it well.
 
one thing i will say is i never ever have to EQ the IE8 up, if anything just down to tame the bass for classical music, whereas the shures i found myself EQing the shures up slightly when a tune came on i just knew was suppose to hit harder.

 

[davidcotton]

Quote:

Hi,
 
Has anyone here ditched a set of Shure SE530s for something else? What would you recommend?
 
A bit of background:
 
My fourth(!) pair of SE530s has just given up the ghost. The first three suffered the dreaded cracked cable issues, and the filters in this fourth set have become brittle and fallen out, which has destroyed the bass, and made the treble a little too harsh for my taste.
 
Until now, I've been sending them in for replacement under warranty, but Shure UK have said that the warranty (now nearly 4 years old) won't cover a fifth replacement. They have offered a discount on the new SE535s, but given the problems I've had with the 530s, I'm inclined to look elsewhere. (I don't understand why they keep dying; I clean them regularly, never drop or knock them, and keep them stored in their case whenever I'm not using them. I do use them very frequently though; several hours a day every weekday.)
 
I use them to listen to 320kbps MP3s on an iPod Classic at my desk at work. As for musical genres, I listen to pretty much everything, but particularly enjoy female fronted symphonic metal (Within Temptation, Nightwish, Delain, etc).
 
At home, I do most of my listening on a set of Sennheiser HD650s, and although they're totally different to the Shures, I'm quite a big fan of their signature too. Anything that sounds somewhere between the two would probably suit me quite well.
 
I don't really have a shortlist, but I'm considering the IE8s, X10is, that sort of thing. My budget would be around £200.
 
Thanks!
 
Might be worth accepting the se535's in part ex and see if you can get more for flogging on a new set.  Incidentally the x10 i's (I'm still tempted by those)seem to regularly go for around £160 atm on amazon.co.uk.  Prices seem to drop from £189 (which is still pretty good compared to the rrp of £230!)to as low as £159.00.

 

 

[FluidDruid]

@jinx20001 - Thanks for the reply. Out of interest what sort of music do you find works best on the IE8s?
 
I'm leaning towards the Senns. I love my HD650s, and the IE8s are about half the price of the SE535s at the moment.
 
@davidcotton - That's not a bad idea. Shure want about £260 for the part exchange. If I can get more than £260 + whatever shipping my 530s to Shure costs for a new pair of 535s then I might look into that.

 

[ZARIM]

Sennheiser IE8 are amazing because durability, replaceble cable, huge soundstage and powerful bass.

 

[joelk]

Hello again,
 
I own the Senns and they have terrific sound.  However, they don't isolate very well in any sort of noisy environment.
 
The re-shells from Fisher Hearing isolate, have absolutely terrific sound and replaceable cables.  May I suggest that you look into just how much it might cost to send your old Shures to Florida for the service?
 
Obviously, you'd have to have impressions made by a UK audiologist.
 
Joel

 

[calipilot227]

I'd say either try the SE535 (much more durable, replaceable cables) or the Westone UM3X RC (cheaper, better bass and treble extension).

 

[FluidDruid]

Well I've taken the plunge and ordered a set of IE8s (not having a decent set of IEMs has been driving me mad).
 
They're by far the cheapest in the UK, and I'm curious to see how they compare to the SE530s (and my HD650s at home). If they're no good, I'll send them back or sell them on and try one of the other options suggested (maybe do a bit more digging in to how much reshelling would cost, or just go for the UM3Xs or SE535s, as with my part exchange on the SE530s they'd be about the same price).
 
I love IEMs, but it's frustrating that I can't really try before I buy
 
Thanks for all the help! I'll let you know how I get on.

 

[DaBomb77766]

Quote:

Well I've taken the plunge and ordered a set of IE8s (not having a decent set of IEMs has been driving me mad).
 
They're by far the cheapest in the UK, and I'm curious to see how they compare to the SE530s (and my HD650s at home). If they're no good, I'll send them back or sell them on and try one of the other options suggested (maybe do a bit more digging in to how much reshelling would cost, or just go for the UM3Xs or SE535s, as with my part exchange on the SE530s they'd be about the same price).
 
I love IEMs, but it's frustrating that I can't really try before I buy
 
Thanks for all the help! I'll let you know how I get on.

Where'd you buy them from?  You should be careful if they're too cheap - only buy them from authorized resellers, there are a lot of fakes out there.

 

[FluidDruid]

I bought them from Amazon.co.uk (directly, not one of their third party resellers) for about £170, so I should be OK. I did see them available cheaper, but not from a store I recognised.
 
The Westones and the Shures (with part exchange) are both ~ £260, which is a fair jump. It may turn out that the extra cash is worth it, of course, but I figured that for the price I might as well try the Senns, at least in the short term.