[b-e.n]

Hey,
I'm new here, my name's Ben, I'm not a pro at any of this, I just have a few questions.
About a year ago I had the Shure E3c's and though they were great except for songs that had a lot of drums or bass. They broke so I bought the Bose QuietComfort 2's which I have heard a lot of good things about. Yes, they are quite expensive but I just wanted good headphones to listen to. I really love the sound-cancelling on flights, it works great. Now, what bothers me a lot is that they are extremely bulky. So i started thinking about getting in-ear headphones. I am currently looking at the Shure SE530's. Now will these be a big improvement over the Bose? All I really care about is the fit, the sound quality, and the size. I'm not going to drop 500 bucks for earphones that have the same sound quality as the Bose. That is my main concern (apart from the size). Do you guys think it's worth it? Do you have any other suggestions? I have an iPod Classic 80GB that works great, I get a bit of a hiss with the Bose but it's not too bothering. I know nothing about portable amps and all, will I really be able to take advantage of the Shure SE530's sound quality with my iPod Classic?
Thanks a lot!

 

[hockeyb213]

the shures sound fine out of a ipod classic as I have both but ofc an amp will improve upon it.

 

[Samjones]

Hi,
Well I think i can give you a few helpful things to think about as I've owned the QC3s and upgraded (yes, upgraded alot) to the SE530s for almost the exact same reasons as you.

First off the SE530s sound absolutely amazing, they really are a high end product. It also sounds like you'd rather not bother with an amp, which for the SE530s is fine. They will sound better with an amp but due to size and the overall quality of them you might not need one (due to preference)

It will definately be an upgrade. Bose is overpriced by anyones standards and when you get a good listen on the SE530s you'll see why.. I mean, you really really will.

The fit of the SE530s if pretty easy (they come with a wide range of different sizes and styles of earbud) and when fitted properly sound can be just as effectively (or better) blocked out.

Just note that from an Ipod the SE530s will still hiss, but only very slightly, just so you know that won't change.

So, I really recommended getting the shures, I've never looked back to Bose except, with anger. Shures; they're small/portable and sound incredible!
Good luck!

 

[b-e.n]

Thanks for the quick answers! I'm pretty sure i'll get these this week end, if I have a bit of money, I'll buy a portable amp. I'm sorry I posted another Shure SE530 thread, I have noticed a lot of them in the past few minutes. Also, a few review sites have mentioned a "burn in" time with these earphones. How much time does it take to burn them in to get the best sound? I also used to own the E3c's as i mentioned a bit earlier. When I used to use them, I would get crazy with cleaning my ears with cotton tips because when I wouldn't, i would get a bit of wax on the earbuds and I was worried that this wax would block the sound. Is this something to worry about? should i be cleaning my ears all the time?
edit: I forgot to add: How do the Shure SE530's compare to the Sennheiser PXC450's? I know the Sennheiser's are headphones but if you were to choose between the two for sound quality, which one would it be?

 

[straden]

bose in ear has boomy base compare to se530, resulting much warmer sound. and ipod doesn't have enough bass but se530 still has enough bass (to me atleast)
but se530 will have much more details and you will hear things you didn't notice on your bose.

 

[neezee]

you can find em used/new for less than 500 at the sale section of the forum...

 

[hockeyb213]

heck you can buy them for like 390 brand new on amazon which includes the warrantee

 

[mas215]

There's no comparison. The SE530 have much, much better sound than the overrated Bose. For noise canceling, I prefer the AudioTechnica ANC7, which are a fraction of the price of the Bose QC2/3, and for me better sound and better noise canceling. Plus, the ANC7s work w/out a battery, the Bose requires a battery. The sound isn't as good w/out a battery, but at least you can still use them.

But the Bose don't come close the SE530, the difference is literally night and day. Bose has great marketing, high price, so people think if they are spending so much it must be good. Not true. For around $125 you can buy the Audio Technica's and believe me you won't be sorry, but nothing, except other high end IEM's, compare to the SE530s. Don't waste your money on Bose.

 

[Samjones]

Yeah, not gona write what mas215 just said, again.. just yes, 100% not bose!

 

[b-e.n]

alright cool, this is all very reassuring. so i think i'm going to get the shure se530's unless someone comes up with better earphones. I'm looking at prices around 500 bucks, maybe even 600. i'm really mainly looking to buy the best earphones I can get with half a thousand dollars. Otherwise, I'll head over to best buy or circuit city tomorrow. I'd rather get the package in person and pay an extra 100 bucks and not have to bother with lost packages/broken earphones/customer service and have to wait an extra 3 weeks to get them. I'm sick of all that.

 

[hockeyb213]

triple.fi 10's are right there with the shure's I would heavily consider those also personally I own both and prefer the triple.fi's

 

[qt11]

apologies for jumping in on this thread, however I'm also looking for a set of earphones to go with an ipod. I'm running rockbox therefore typically use lossless audio.

People mention a hiss with the se530 and an ipod, however pleascould someone define what this hiss is and how noticeable it is...

I'm about to order the se530's however i'm not prepared to spend the money only to listen to a hiss which is going to bug me...

Cheers
A

 

[b-e.n]

they seem to say the hiss is mainly a problem with the touch and the nano but i'm not too sure, someone else will probably be clearer. i'm sure i saw it somewhere though. I'm getting these tomorrow, and i'm getting a portable amp as well to sort of get the full experience. can anyone recommend a good portable amp i can use with my ipod classic 80gb and shure se530? i don't care about the price.

 

[Samjones]

The hiss really is minimal, at the start of a listening session you notice it so so slightly, It's not a "hiss" more of a very quiet "air"
once the music is playing its non existent, and when you stop listening you can no longer hear it (well.. at the volumes I'm using )
Yeah, really no biggie


Oh. and a really good amp which was made with the SE530s heavily in mind is the RSA tomahawk
http://www.raysamuelsaudio.com/products/tomahawk
=]

 

[qt11]

thanks guys, much appreciated