Just received my warranty replacements this week. Don't know what the production date is, but it took 'em about 3 weeks to get here due to they said they were backordered. I would guess this means they're fairly new. But the wiring still looks identical. And, in fact, it appears that after only a few days, the part of the wire that goes around the ear is already starting to form a little in the shape of my ears.
If I were you, I wouldn't baby 'em at all. If they're gonna set up and then break, I would think you'd want 'em to do it before the warranty expires. And from what I've heard, the 2 year warranty is renewed every time you receive a new pair. So as long as they keep replacing 'em, I've got no problem... that's as long as they break within the 2 years. Maybe they'll get the problem resolved eventually. They may have huge backstock. And it's probably no easy task to retool for different wiring. So it may be cheaper for them to send out replacements at this point. Once they have the manufacturing part down, I bet these things aren't all that expensive to make. Hopefully they'll get the problem resolved in the near future. At least they have great warranty service.
I placed my order for Westone 3's, so as long as mine last until Westone get's their's out, I'm happy. I'm hoping the Westones really do it for me. I like the sound of the SE530s, but I still would like a tad more low end oomph!. Like I imagine the UM2s would sound... only better. So I'm gonna try to wait on the 3s. And hopefully Westone will get the longevity of the IEMs down a little better than Shure has with the SE530s.
