[googleli]

One more thing, not trying to be sarcastic but it is what I hear. The shallow but loud bass of SE530 does sound like fart, literally, for some bass sound. Imagine listening to a lively and musical female voice (though lacking the details that the Westone 3 / ER4P may provide), but you constantly hear the fart coming rom the bass -the loud but shallow bass. I don't know whether that is the reason why some people say SE530s are "fun to listen to", but it certainly is not my cup of tea.

To someone who said Westone 3's bass is not as good as SE530 - DUMP THE TRANSPARENT EARTIP that came preinstalled with the Westone 3. RIGHT NOW. I mean THROW IT AWAY. I suspect those are dummy eartips just for protection sake during packaging. When I bought Westone 3 I couldn't wait and tried those on... And crap, I thought, "is it what the W3 supposed to be?" It sounded like a $5 earbud you get from the flea market. Not only it lacked bass, but the whole freq range is just crap, the mids and highs were even worse than SE530 (no offence here SE530 fans, just an illustration). But then I tried the Shure-like tips and the triple-flange and started to appreciate.

After 500 hours+ I can say the Westone 3 is way better than the SE530, at least to me. Personally I prefer the triple-flange. The sound stage may not be as good as the foam tips or the Shure-like tips, but it gives the smoothest mid and is great for you to listen to female voice, while providing bass much much deeper than SE530.

Listening preferences are mostly subjective, but to say the least, I think the Westone does have way more solid and deeper bass than the SE530 does, from an objective perspective. The mid-range sound signature is a matter of preference and I can understand why some people still say they are the best, because SE530 is really musical and lively in the mids. But I am a detail person, so SE530 was a big disappointment for me.

Heck, I even made custom shells for my SE530 (because of broken cable, of course) and it sounded better due to better noise isolation but its weaknesses were still there. The only reason you would get the SE530 is you like its sound signature, but anything beyond that, there is another high-end earphone beating it:

Details: ER4P (mids and highs, way better)
Smoothness in mid: Westone 3
Bass: Westone 3 (Bass)
Sound Stage: TF10 Pro

The fact that the SE530 is recessed but not too bad in each department, however, does not render it a "balanced" earphone. The TF10Pro and Westone 3 are much more balanced, whereas SE530's mid (which is lively but coarse) is compromised by its "farting" bass. On the other hand, the ER4P lacks bass (which is still much deeper than SE530). so it is not so well balanced - after all it is a 2-driver unit.

I am really looking forward to listening to CK100. 2 mid-high drivers and 1 bass driver certainly sounds attractive - but would its bass be as weak as ER4P's? I really want to find out. If there are any Japanese buddies here who have tried them out, please let me know. Many thanks!

 

[VoLTaG3]

Quote:

Originally Posted by googleli /img/forum/go_quote.gif One more thing, not trying to be sarcastic but it is what I hear. The shallow but loud bass of SE530 does sound like fart, literally, for some bass sound. Imagine listening to a lively and musical female voice (though lacking the details that the Westone 3 / ER4P may provide), but you constantly hear the fart coming rom the bass -the loud but shallow bass. I don't know whether that is the reason why some people say SE530s are "fun to listen to", but it certainly is not my cup of tea. To someone who said Westone 3's bass is not as good as SE530 - DUMP THE TRANSPARENT EARTIP that came preinstalled with the Westone 3. RIGHT NOW. I mean THROW IT AWAY. I suspect those are dummy eartips just for protection sake during packaging. When I bought Westone 3 I couldn't wait and tried those on... And crap, I thought, "is it what the W3 supposed to be?" It sounded like a $5 earbud you get from the flea market. Not only it lacked bass, but the whole freq range is just crap, the mids and highs were even worse than SE530 (no offence here SE530 fans, just an illustration). But then I tried the Shure-like tips and the triple-flange and started to appreciate. After 500 hours+ I can say the Westone 3 is way better than the SE530, at least to me. Personally I prefer the triple-flange. The sound stage may not be as good as the foam tips or the Shure-like tips, but it gives the smoothest mid and is great for you to listen to female voice, while providing bass much much deeper than SE530. Listening preferences are mostly subjective, but to say the least, I think the Westone does have way more solid and deeper bass than the SE530 does, from an objective perspective. The mid-range sound signature is a matter of preference and I can understand why some people still say they are the best, because SE530 is really musical and lively in the mids. But I am a detail person, so SE530 was a big disappointment for me. Heck, I even made custom shells for my SE530 (because of broken cable, of course) and it sounded better due to better noise isolation but its weaknesses were still there. The only reason you would get the SE530 is you like its sound signature, but anything beyond that, there is another high-end earphone beating it: Details: ER4P (mids and highs, way better) Smoothness in mid: Westone 3 Bass: Westone 3 (Bass) Sound Stage: TF10 Pro The fact that the SE530 is recessed but not too bad in each department, however, does not render it a "balanced" earphone. The TF10Pro and Westone 3 are much more balanced, whereas SE530's mid (which is lively but coarse) is compromised by its "farting" bass. On the other hand, the ER4P lacks bass (which is still much deeper than SE530). so it is not so well balanced - after all it is a 2-driver unit. I am really looking forward to listening to CK100. 2 mid-high drivers and 1 bass driver certainly sounds attractive - but would its bass be as weak as ER4P's? I really want to find out. If there are any Japanese buddies here who have tried them out, please let me know. Many thanks!

I don't know what you're saying about the Shure SE530's BASS farting and whatnot...

The BASS from these earphones are realistic to me and blend very well with the rest of the sound spectrum. When the BASS hits from these earphones I can feel the pulse in my head which is a very satisfactory feeling. What people don't realize is that the Shure SE530's are among the most versatile earphones to date. They can be EQed in any shape or form and the drivers wont give one hint of distortion. If you want more BASS you got it If you want more HIGHS you got it with the Shure SE530's and a quality EQ.

What Shure wanted to aim for with the SE530's was what you will hear at a concert not studio monitoring. In a concert would you hear highs that detailed? No. You will mostly hear the guitars, vocals, and drums which is what the SE530's are known for excelling in...

If you do want those crystal clear defined HIGHS please make use of an EQ, believe me you will be amazed at what the Shure SE530's are capable of in consumers hands.

 

[ElEsido]

Does anyone know how the Phonak Audéo compare to those earphones mentioned already?

 

[Arjisme]

Quote:

Originally Posted by googleli /img/forum/go_quote.gif One more thing, not trying to be sarcastic but it is what I hear. The shallow but loud bass of SE530 does sound like fart, literally, for some bass sound. Imagine listening to a lively and musical female voice (though lacking the details that the Westone 3 / ER4P may provide), but you constantly hear the fart coming rom the bass -the loud but shallow bass. I don't know whether that is the reason why some people say SE530s are "fun to listen to", but it certainly is not my cup of tea.

Thanks for posting your further thoughts. It definitely helped me understand where you are coming from and gave me a frame of reference for considering your perspective.

The description you provided above is potentially useful to anyone who has not heard the SE530. Since hearing is subjective, I will throw in my own thoughts: the SE530 bass sounds nothing like what you described. It is deep, balanced and controlled. It is not a basshead bass. It won't shake your inner core. But it is abundantly present and a pleasure to hear.

Also, while you can cite one attribute or another that different IEMs do better, a given IEM is a package deal. The SE530s offer a very good, top end offering. They will not be universally loved by every listener, but then what IEM will be? You can take any IEM and point to another that beats it in one particular way.

So, this thread was not about whether this individual or that likes the SE530 vs. other offerings, but whether the SE530 is still a top ranking IEM. As far as I can see from the thousands of opinions voiced on this site, it is.

 

[tstarn06]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ElEsido /img/forum/go_quote.gif Does anyone know how the Phonak Audéo compare to those earphones mentioned already?

Some who own both (or have heard both) prefer the Phonaks. For example, headphoneaddict has posted that her prefers the Phonaks over the "stock" SE530s (he has a modded pair too).

I just can't say how many own both the 530s and the Phonaks.

I own another phone mentioned in this thread, the Westone 3, and right now at least, I prefer the sound sig of the Phonaks. I keep trying to compare the two, and one specific factor, clarity (no other word describes it), makes me favor the PFes over the W3s. Can't speak for any other high end IEMs. Oh, I also favor the Phonaks over the Klipsch X10 for sound.

 

[mark2410]

i still say the bass on the 530 is the best ive ever heard, its so smooth, deep and controlled

 

[tstarn06]

I'll probably never get to hear it, so many GD phones to buy these days. I would like to hear the 530s, for sure. Same with TF10. But I opted for W3s, so that's gonna do it on that level for me. Of course, I got lucky with the PFEs in terms of price for performance (since I just paid $94 for them).

 

[Jensen]

SE530's bass is not farty at all. I owned both the Westone 3 and SE530 at the same point in time and listened to them back to back for long periods of time.

The short of it is I sold the Westone 3.

The long of it is that the Westone 3 does have nice solid deep bass, but whether a product of the three way design or just the Westone engineer's preference, the W3's sound signature was not my thing.

It was like an earphone made for trance music or something. It seemed to have a V shaped frequency curve that overemphasized bass and created a fatiguing amount of treble. It was really good for some genre's (bass heavy stuff), ok for some, and awful for others. Whereas the SE530 seems much more balanced and genre neutral.

 

[VoLTaG3]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jensen /img/forum/go_quote.gif SE530's bass is not farty at all. I owned both the Westone 3 and SE530 at the same point in time and listened to them back to back for long periods of time. The short of it is I sold the Westone 3. The long of it is that the Westone 3 does have nice solid deep bass, but whether a product of the three way design or just the Westone engineer's preference, the W3's sound signature was not my thing. It was like an earphone made for trance music or something. It seemed to have a V shaped frequency curve that overemphasized bass and created a fatiguing amount of treble. It was really good for some genre's (bass heavy stuff), ok for some, and awful for others. Whereas the SE530 seems much more balanced and genre neutral.

The Shure SE530 has more of a slight V shape upside down curve. Like a premature lower case n......lol.

 

[Beyerfan70]

It still bewilders me how on earth the 530's were and indeed still are considered a top iem.
If you break it down the isolation is the worst of any of the shure line,they have virtually no treble and they cost way to much.
I'm glad someone mentioned the farty bass because it really does sound like that,in fact it's nearly comical,a bass guitar does not sound like that!
I can remember listening to electric light orchestra's discovery and laughing at how the bass sounded on the song confusion it was like kelly groucutt had bad wind,so i changed pretty quickly.
If shure went for a sound with the 530 that was close to a live performance i'd love to know who they saw that sounded like that cause i'd go,it would be really funny.
I've been to loads of gigs and never heard a sound like these iems produce.
In all seriousness though they really are a complete con because they really dont perform considering the price they are.
I personally felt really cheated as the rest of the shure line up has some great sound,i dunno what they were thinking with these.
Dont get me wrong if they were about £50/60 they would be worth it for a back up,but for a rrp of over £300 no.
Give me Er4p,ie8 or 310 anyday.....all great value and perform great.

 

[VoLTaG3]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beyerfan70 /img/forum/go_quote.gif It still bewilders me how on earth the 530's were and indeed still are considered a top iem. If you break it down the isolation is the worst of any of the shure line,they have virtually no treble and they cost way to much. I'm glad someone mentioned the farty bass because it really does sound like that,in fact it's nearly comical,a bass guitar does not sound like that! I can remember listening to electric light orchestra's discovery and laughing at how the bass sounded on the song confusion it was like kelly groucutt had bad wind,so i changed pretty quickly. If shure went for a sound with the 530 that was close to a live performance i'd love to know who they saw that sounded like that cause i'd go,it would be really funny. I've been to loads of gigs and never heard a sound like these iems produce. In all seriousness though they really are a complete con because they really dont perform considering the price they are. I personally felt really cheated as the rest of the shure line up has some great sound,i dunno what they were thinking with these. Dont get me wrong if they were about £50/60 they would be worth it for a back up,but for a rrp of over £300 no. Give me Er4p,ie8 or 310 anyday.....all great value and perform great.

Wow I've never heard such lies.....ever!

 

[thechungster]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beyerfan70 /img/forum/go_quote.gif If you break it down the isolation is the worst of any of the shure line

In comes some possible flaming, and it's probably you never got a right seal on it...

 

[Beyerfan70]

Quote:

Originally Posted by thechungster /img/forum/go_quote.gif In comes some possible flaming, and it's probably you never got a right seal on it...

Flame as much as you like,I had no problem getting a seal.
Give an opinion on a popular product that isn't thumbs up and every fanboy jumps out the woodwork.
Rofl!

 

[Jensen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beyerfan70 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Flame as much as you like,I had no problem getting a seal. Give an opinion on a popular product that isn't thumbs up and every fanboy jumps out the woodwork. Rofl!

Well, I own the Shure's and know how good the isolation is. So, here's the thing, if you are so obviously wrong about something - as in this case where the exact opposite of what you said is true... then I tend to throw out your entire opinion as worthless. It's like you pointed at a red brick and told me it was green, then decided to give me your informed opinion on the many facets of brick coloring.

Don't take it personally though, I did the same thing with the professional ilounge review that stated that the SE530 had more treble emphasis than the Westone 3. I had both and know that to be an out and out lie.

The interesting thing is that the ilounge review seemed to favor the SE530 over the W3, but I still didn't respect the review after the writer made that comment. Guess I'm not a very good fanboy.

 

[Beyerfan70]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jensen /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well, I own the Shure's and know how good the isolation is. So, here's the thing, if you are so obviously wrong about something - as in this case where the exact opposite of what you said is true... then I tend to throw out your entire opinion as worthless. It's like you pointed at a red brick and told me it was green, then decided to give me your informed opinion on the many facets of brick coloring. Don't take it personally though, I did the same thing with the professional ilounge review that stated that the SE530 had more treble emphasis than the Westone 3. I had both and know that to be an out and out lie. The interesting thing is that the ilounge review seemed to favor the SE530 over the W3, but I still didn't respect the review after the writer made that comment. Guess I'm not a very good fanboy.

You're not too bad lol.
I owned em too and compared to my other shures they dont isolate as well,i'm talking bout 110,210,310 and 420 all of which ive owned at one point or another.
But hey i'm a shure sound fan myself,i love the warm sound,i just dont think the 530 cuts it.
If you like em then thats cool,its all subjective and no ears are the same but its always nice to hear people happy with their phones. I never thought my iem journey would end but thankfully it did with the beautiful 310 and my er4p's.