[tnmike1]

Just went on Earphone Solutions' site and they're raving over the new Shure SE420. At a price of $350, they're on the higher end of IEMS, and feature "dual truacoustic micro speakers" (this off the Shure promo) and apparently have dual drivers for better sonic presentation.

So, all the hype and info is on Earphone's site. question is: has anyone heard these guys? And if so, how do they compare to Etys, Westone's higher end product, etc??

 

[gjc10212]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tnmike1 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Just went on Earphone Solutions' site and they're raving over the new Shure SE420. At a price of $350, they're on the higher end of IEMS, and feature "dual truacoustic micro speakers" (this off the Shure promo) and apparently have dual drivers for better sonic presentation. So, all the hype and info is on Earphone's site. question is: has anyone heard these guys? And if so, how do they compare to Etys, Westone's higher end product, etc??

A few members have, search for SE420........ there not great, or worth the retail price imo.

 

[rbui]

being new headphones, it will be a bit harder to find a consensual opinion on how they sound, but as mentioned above, they really are overpriced considering their sound. if you are interested in buying these, it might be best to spend a bit more or less and get the se530s or triple.fi IEMs.
as for the SE420, you should give this thread a look

 

[tnmike1]

rbui: thanx for the link. actually, I'm holding off for the new Westone 3s. Don't mind dropping a few hundred, but would like them to be FAAAR superior to my Ety 4ps for that kind of money

 

[tykimson]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tnmike1 /img/forum/go_quote.gif rbui: thanx for the link. actually, I'm holding off for the new Westone 3s. Don't mind dropping a few hundred, but would like them to be FAAAR superior to my Ety 4ps for that kind of money

If you like Ety 4ps, both of the SE530 and Westone 3s may be better but WILL NOT BE FAAAR SUPERIOR to the Ety 4ps.

 

[robm321]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tykimson /img/forum/go_quote.gif If you like Ety 4ps, both of the SE530 and Westone 3s may be better but WILL NOT BE FAAAR SUPERIOR to the Ety 4ps.

Agreed - I don't think there is an IEM that is FAR superior to the Etys

 

[IEMaddict]

There is review of the UE triple.fi on Trustedreviews.com and they compared the triple.fi to the se420 because they are pretty much in the same price bracket. According to the review, the Triple.fi is a big step up in sound when compared to the SE420. I would probably recommend the Triple.fi aswell, I have them and they are my favorite set of headphones. Some people also prefer them to the SE530 because they are more neutral and more detailed.

 

[dura]

Problem with the 420s IMO is their marketing position. If you want/don't mind multiway IEMs and are willing to spend a few hundred, why not add some cash and f.i. go for the famous 530s?

 

[tnmike1]

How does anyone KNOW the Westone 3s won't be far superior when they haven't been released?? From my reading, they have triple drivers. As for the "famous" 530s, understand again from reading they aren't far above what I have already. Just a 500 with a slight remake.

Guess I wait for the Westone 3, buy them with a return guarantee and see what happens

 

[rbui]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tnmike1 /img/forum/go_quote.gif As for the "famous" 530s, understand again from reading they aren't far above what I have already. Just a 500 with a slight remake.

I thought Shure SE530s and Shure E500s were the exact same product? The only difference are the model numbers, and the fact that the SE530s don't come with the PTH (push to hear) accessory. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong

 

[soozieq]

I'm not sure, I think the only difference is the accessories, 530 has the new black olive tips, while 500 has the yellow foamies, and the PTH is not on the 530. . . I think. The drivers/innards are exactly the same, so there's no difference in the sound at all. But it's confusing when Shure say the "SE Series offers a diferent sound signature than the E Series" because the SE530 and E500 are the same inside and definitely don't 'offer' a different sound signature in relation to each other.

 

[rbui]

Quote:

Originally Posted by soozieq /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm not sure, I think the only difference is the accessories, 530 has the new black olive tips, while 500 has the yellow foamies, and the PTH is not on the 530. . . I think. The drivers/innards are exactly the same, so there's no difference in the sound at all. But it's confusing when Shure say the "SE Series offers a diferent sound signature than the E Series" because the SE530 and E500 are the same inside and definitely don't 'offer' a different sound signature in relation to each other.

that sounds right, I remember reading that they were identical IEMs, just with different accessories/packaging and such. When I first heard of the SE530s, the thought struck me that perhaps Shure had re-released the E500 or made a new one entirely. The marketing tactics seem a bit deceiving, but maybe that's just me

 

[soozieq]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rbui /img/forum/go_quote.gif When I first heard of the SE530s, the thought struck me that perhaps Shure had re-released the E500 or made a new one entirely. The marketing tactics seem a bit deceiving

Yes, I had the E500s and sold them 'cos I wasn't keen on the sound signature. When I saw the SE series offered a 'different' sound signature', I thought about buying the SE530. . . until I read that it was the 'renamed' E500. They should correct that just to avoid confusion. Some people will just read 'different sound signature' and not know that it's the same headphone

 

[artmaltman]

I heard the SE 420 at the San Jose show and thought they were outstanding. You might prefer them over the SE 530 if you find the 530 a bit bass heavy. Both of these Shures had a lot of treble detail, seemed linear and musical, with good bass detail. I'm pretty happy with my UM2's, but the UM2's are definitely a little bit euphonic by comparison, with a looser bass, on the iPod anyway, and less treble "air". I do feel that the UM2's are more forgiving on lesser quality recordings or low bit rate recordsing than the 420 or 530 are. That is, I was left unsure that a 420 or 530 would be appropriate for someone using an ipod at 128 bit rate. I felt that the 210 or 310, single driver units, were less demanding of the quality of the original source material.

Overall I liked the entire Shure SE line - which surprised me a bit, given that I'm very critical. But as I said, I think you need to match the unit to the quality of the source.

As for value of the Shure units - are they priced right - well they are not priced too low, IMHO, for their sound quality. I don't think the pricing is outrageously high for the quality, but I think that's very subjective.

Finally, I should also mention that I find the generation two of the nano and shuffle rather lean sounding, and so a slightly bass-heavy unit like the UM2 is a good fit. The gen one units of nano and shuffle, and all the hard drive based units seem to have a sonic signature that is less lean, to my ear anyway.

Art

 

[jinx20001]

i have heard the se420 and i own the se530,in my experiences ive had the pleasure of listening to many and a few earphones that compare with the se420,in my opinion if you consider these se420 you may aswell save and get the se530 because you can take with you the comfort of knowing you have some of the best iem's available (that is considering you like the sound signature,i do!) the se420 are great no doubt about it and very nice sounding but you cant go wrong with the ue super fi 5 pro for considerably less,if you can stand the hideous design,i had the 5 pro and they are heavier on bass than my current se530,im my opinion just save for better or save your cash and settle for just as good sound in the 5 pro,im not sure about westone um2 but they are suppose to be great,as for the difference between the e500 and se530,you do get better tips which are very nice and comfortable,another plus for the new se range,but they are on sale seperately,price is fair for the se range,but the se420 is entering a wide ball park of dual driver kickass phones,which is why a bit more for triple driver isnt a bad idea,i got my se530 very cheap with pth on amazon,well...i say very cheap but it was much cheaper than list price and considering quality i couldnt be happier