Torula Yeast
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Nov 16, 2006
- Posts
- 164
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- 10
This reply may seem kinda random, but here goes...
So far as the Shures seeming uninvolving, I can think of two things that might be contributing to this impression.
One, if you're used to full-sized headphones, IEM's may have a hard time measuring up. IEMs pump sound directly into your ear canal, whereas headphones rest on or around your ear, thereby involving the pinnae (the folds of your outer ear) into the shaping of the sounds you hear, which is much more as nature intended. Not that some don't prefer the sound of IEMs. But there ya go.
Second, the Shure e530s are a rather neutral sounding monitor; that is, they feature less of the sound coloring that gives the "sizzle" to many personal listening devices such as headphones. The e530s were meant more for pro artists and recorders to get a sense of the sound of a performance/recording sans the tints of portable and home listening systems. To many, this type of sound will come across as boring.
Where I become concerned is where you desribe the Shures as uninvolving yet quickly fatiguing. This makes me wonder if you aren't in fact listening to these IEMs with the volume too loud. A neutral a device as the e530s should perhaps sound dull after as spell to the uninitiated ear, but not tiring. Check your volume level while listening to your phones. You should be able to hear (somewhate) normal conversation with these on if you're not listening too loud. When you hit that volume level, apply it to your Shures.
So far as the comfort level, well, I am also inclined to think you'd find a ported IEM such as the UE super.fi 5 EB preferable, as their ability to deliver more bass rests on their ability to allow air to circulate between your ears and the outside world, thus allowing for less pressure difference between your inner ear and the outside world.
Me, I'd prefer a pair of Grado SR60s to the Shure e530s any day unless sound blockage was the majore requirement; in the latter case, I prefer the e530s to any other IEM I've heard.
So far as the Shures seeming uninvolving, I can think of two things that might be contributing to this impression.
One, if you're used to full-sized headphones, IEM's may have a hard time measuring up. IEMs pump sound directly into your ear canal, whereas headphones rest on or around your ear, thereby involving the pinnae (the folds of your outer ear) into the shaping of the sounds you hear, which is much more as nature intended. Not that some don't prefer the sound of IEMs. But there ya go.
Second, the Shure e530s are a rather neutral sounding monitor; that is, they feature less of the sound coloring that gives the "sizzle" to many personal listening devices such as headphones. The e530s were meant more for pro artists and recorders to get a sense of the sound of a performance/recording sans the tints of portable and home listening systems. To many, this type of sound will come across as boring.
Where I become concerned is where you desribe the Shures as uninvolving yet quickly fatiguing. This makes me wonder if you aren't in fact listening to these IEMs with the volume too loud. A neutral a device as the e530s should perhaps sound dull after as spell to the uninitiated ear, but not tiring. Check your volume level while listening to your phones. You should be able to hear (somewhate) normal conversation with these on if you're not listening too loud. When you hit that volume level, apply it to your Shures.
So far as the comfort level, well, I am also inclined to think you'd find a ported IEM such as the UE super.fi 5 EB preferable, as their ability to deliver more bass rests on their ability to allow air to circulate between your ears and the outside world, thus allowing for less pressure difference between your inner ear and the outside world.
Me, I'd prefer a pair of Grado SR60s to the Shure e530s any day unless sound blockage was the majore requirement; in the latter case, I prefer the e530s to any other IEM I've heard.