[Beyerfan70]

Well less than a week and my Se420's cable slider has started to just disintegrate,and both channels are not performing that well either.
Ive cleaned them but still nothing,and as far as the cable slider goes well that's just crazy as i treat my equipment like gold,and considering i payed a lot for them i'm just not pleased at all,quite strange though as my 210's are still as pristine as the day i got them.
I'm just not interested in sending them for repair as i'm a believer that things should last longer than a week,and to be honest i just want to forget about them really as its been a rather poor experience.
I'd like another set of really good Iem's but unfortunately after this i doubt it will be the 530,which it may have been if i hadn't been put off,although having said that when i tried the 530 it sounded rather boomy to me.
So as i'm not as knowledgeable about iem's as i am cans could anyone suggest a good pair that are great with rock music and classic metal....i.e Bowie,Sabbath,Quo,Rainbow,Maiden etc
I have super fi 5 pro but they really dont fit that great and sound quality imo is no better than the 3 studio,except slightly bassier.
So could anyone suggest some really good ones to cheer me up and restore my faith in iem's please.

 

[Aimless1]

Ok, so you had a bad experience with something that is manufactured. It happens to the best of us and to the best manufacturers. Should it have disintegrated so quickly? NO, of course not. Are you inconvenienced? YES, you are. But the real question when this happens is what will the manufacturer do to stand behind their product?

Considering that mistakes happen wouldn't it be better to send it back? If you didn't like the sound, fine, sell the replacement. If you did, you'll soon have the replacement pair. Shure is known for their excellent customer service ... unless you bought a pair from an unauthorized dealer.

I recently had a situation with a new travel trailer where one of the water lines was barely threaded on and blew, flooding the trailer. It happened while on vacation. Though I was inconvenienced, kudos to the manufacturer as they not only paid for temporary repairs done by a mobile repair service, they also paid to have it taken apart and replaced everything that had been damaged by the water as well. That's outstanding customer service. And I say that with alot more $$$$$ at stake than $$$ SE420s and alot more time to have things put right than it will take for a replacement pair.

BTW, I love the SE530s for rock. You might also consider triple.fis or livewires if you didn't like the SE420s.

 

[Beyerfan70]

Hmmm bit late for that bud,they are binned and gone.
But many thanks for your reply,its very much appreciated.
I'm not convinced about triple fi's as i'm not too keen on the fit of ultimate ears,and as the 530 goes,bit too boomy but having said that i did only listen to them for 5 minutes.
But then ive heard of many problems with the cable on these,unless thats been sorted now.

 

[Aimless1]

The SE530s had a known cable issue. Shure claims to have rectified it. Too soon to know for sure. I haven't had any problems, but I've only had mine for a 2-3 months.

Perhaps livewires are worth checking out. Very economical for a custom ear!

 

[Beyerfan70]

Im not sure exactly how i'd go about the livewire's as being in the uk i'm a tad limited by what i can get.
I must admit i really did like the idea of the 530's but it was the cable problem that put me off,and of course that they are a bit on the pricey side.
Of course my initial feeling that they were too boomy may have not been totally justified,you need much more time to really judge.
But they are no problem to get hold of..maybe they might warrant a serious look,as long as they are worth the price.

 

[Aimless1]

Yes, I do like them and I am quite pleased with them. Those that do not like them consider the bass muddy. There are several threads regarding the SE530. Outside of mail time across the pond, you're really no worse off ordering livewires than someone in the states ... unless there are added taxes. As I understand it, an ear impression is required (not an ear mold), sent off to livewires and then they return the IEMs to you after making them. Lengthy but pretty easy process.

There are undoubtedly other IEMs to consider and hopefully others will participate and offer their suggestions as well.

 

[Beyerfan70]

Well i thank you very kindly for both your thoughts and help.
It certainly helps as i dont have a great knowledge of iem's.

 

[BloodSugar00]

Well, I'm gona have to start by expressing my shock at just chucking away a brand new and still valuable under warranty set of IEM's like that! Wow! They were pretty pricey and, under warranty, you were perfectly entitled to a replacement, which, a already pointed out, you could of sold on for dam near the price you forked out. Inconvenienced, yes you were, but that reaction doesn't make any sense to me. Ah well, each to their own.

As far as other IEM reccomendations go, have a look into the Sleek Audio SA6's. They are small, look and fit good, seal easily, isolate well, and, although only a single balanced armature design, they utilise A LOT from that single driver and are also somewhat sound tailorable via their VQ system (interchangeable bass ports and trble tubes). Sound wise they are very, very good! Most experienced IEM users consider them up there with the big boys ie shure SE530's and UE triple fi pros. Bass is great, is lacking slighly in quantity for some (this can be addresed though- see using olive foam tips and bass port mods) but is still detailed, defined, extensive and punchy. The highs are clear, bright and shimmering, no harshness or sibilance but by no means overwhelming or fatiguing. The mid-range is this IEM's adorning feature being most upfront part of frquency spectrum, but still clear and defined, vocals sound fantastic. Overall sound presentation is considered relatively neutral, but there is enough colour and sparkle to make these hp's sound lively and musical. Microphonics are nill (with over the ear style of wearing). They have replaceable cables. A wireless adaptor is due to be released in september also.

Other IEM's you may wish to consider are:

(New) Super fi 5's (unique product to super fi 5 pros)
Klipsch Images (X5 or X10 models)
Etymotic ER4's
Westone UM2's
Futuresonic Atrios M5/M8

,which are highly regarded.

 

[Beyerfan70]

Lol its nothing new to me,a while ago i had a pair of Audio technica ES7 and they caused me so much pain that they went in the trash,of which i posted a thread on,mind you ive not had a problem since...until now but hey thats me.
thank you for your recommendations,its so helpful.
One of the phones you mentioned...the ety er4's,i was going to buy those instead of the 420's but they were out of stock.
Rather lean on the bass though so i've heard.
But aside from that i was really interested in those.

 

[FaRKle]

Quote:

Im not sure exactly how i'd go about the livewire's as being in the uk i'm a tad limited by what i can get.

That's no excuse! Just look at Baines! He's in the UK and he got his for free! They ship a good amount of Livewires to the UK from my understanding.

 

[BloodSugar00]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beyerfan70 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Lol its nothing new to me,a while ago i had a pair of Audio technica ES7 and they caused me so much pain that they went in the trash,of which i posted a thread on,mind you ive not had a problem since...until now but hey thats me. thank you for your recommendations,its so helpful. One of the phones you mentioned...the ety er4's,i was going to buy those instead of the 420's but they were out of stock. Rather lean on the bass though so i've heard. But aside from that i was really interested in those.

Do a search on those then! They are an old phone and so there will be plenty of material on them. I have never owned or litened to them but they seem to devide ppl in love and hate. This is due to their sonic character, which is most often depicted as very clean, clear, detailed and analytical, but in compromise for these attributes, a cold sound with little body or weight. I think their soundstage is regarded as small also.

 

[Beyerfan70]

I've searched about every iem there is i reckon lol,very helpful advice though.
I just end up making the wrong decisions.
Becoming rather a pain now,at this rate i'll just stick to cans as the only reason i was interested in iem's in the first place was because cans were very uncomfortable in the heat of the summer.
So this will be the last choice for them,if they aren't what i'm after then i'll suffer in the heat.
Mind you it will be something to tell the grandchildren.

 

[BloodSugar00]

Haha! Ok, if you've searched and researched o thoroughly I don't know why your asking for suggestions? Go with the sa6, se530's, westone Um2's or ety er4' and I doubt you'll be disappointed.

 

[Beyerfan70]

No i dont know either,maybe it was out of sheer desperation.lol.
Thankfully i'm feeling much better now and more relaxed.
Yes i think i'm gonna either try the ety's or the 530's,and like you say hopefully they will be great.
But thank you for your recommendations,it really has helped.

 

[BloodSugar00]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beyerfan70 /img/forum/go_quote.gif No i dont know either,maybe it was out of sheer desperation.lol. Thankfully i'm feeling much better now and more relaxed. Yes i think i'm gonna either try the ety's or the 530's,and like you say hopefully they will be great. But thank you for your recommendations,it really has helped.

No problem, glad I could help. Good luck!