[evillamer]

For me it had to be the Shure SE530:

Reasons:

Build Quality:
1st pair cable cracked less than 1 year of use. Replacement pair broke(with proper care this time) within 1 year of replacement.

Bad Customer Service:
Shure won't replace the cracked replacement unit but offered to sell me a new unit at discount price(which I can buy a brand new IEM for US$50 more.)

Disappointing upgrade:
During it's initial release, SE530 was marketed the first 3 armature universal IEM in the market. Although it had good mid-range that really shines and is way better than the E3c, the frequency response wasn't that great, the dual-armature UE Super-fi 5 Pro I owned had more bass and also more airy high-end. And not to mention that the old ER4p kicks the ass out of the SE530 in treble response too.

Now after comparing the SE530 with the newer 3 armature universal IEMs in the market like UE TF10, Westone Um3x(and even the Westone 3)... My take on the Shure SE530 is that it is the worst IEM i owned for price i paid.

The Westone Um3x that i am using now, cost less than the SE530 current discounted price and does perform like a 3 armature IEM should and with the same level of comfort, just less the accessories.

IEMs owned:
Etymotics Er4p
Shure E3c
Ultimate Ears Super-fi 5 Pro(1st gen)
Shure SE530
Westone Um3x (current)

 

[Zalithian]

Probably the E2C's or Shure SE210's. They were both pretty bad.

I don't love my CX400's but they were super cheap and they're comfortable so I guess they're not too terrible.

 

[nkk]

My god, consider yourself luck if the worst you have heard is the shure e530 (should that not be SE530 or E500)?

By a wide margin, mine is the altec lansing uhp336. Boomy bass, poor resolution and just plain uncomfortable.

-Nkk

 

[Ra97oR]

Shure SE530 is the worst high-end IEM I've heard. The treble is just not there at all. I prefer SE420 to it by a huge margin. Now got an UE TF10Pro.

 

[evillamer]

Opps, edited to SE530

The Shure SE530 is definately not the worst iem I heard. The SE530 sounds really good all things consider as an IEM, but judging from the overall aspect of ownership like price/performance, intended market and user satisfaction, it falls short.

This could be worst I heard so far:
Notebook Headset H165 But it only cost me US$10. so the logitech isn't not the worst i owned.

 

[metabaron]

Uhmmmm...the Shure line is pretty bad all around, i used to own the 110 and 210 and they both were outperformed by headphones that cost far less. Currently i have the ath cks70 it kicks the ass of both of them. The klipsch X5 is probably the harshest IEM that I have ever owned, so much that I sold it after a week of use as I couldn't stand it. Currently I have the um3x as well, which came with a loose cable but Westone honored the warranty, although they sent me twice the wrong IEM, and then they sent me and invoice for the 3x. Don't know if their customer service is normally this unorganized, seems that one department has no idea what the other does. Great IEM though.

 

[MrGreen]

CX300.
Just terrible all round IMVHO

ER4p/s is the best

 

[Spyro]

Strange....I would probably take SE530's over stock earbuds or EP630's, or even E2C's.

Perhaps this thread should be about worst IEM ever heard based on expectations.

 

[rawrster]

i had some cx300 that was pretty bad. i think the second pair i owned might have been fake however. it was too bassy, muddy, worst microphonics by far and I dont like the J cord that much.

I would say the rest of the iem's ive owned or heard are pretty good value. They were much better than the cx300 but also most of them were much more expensive but they have been good values until I went and got an upgrade.

 

[mark2410]

"the dual-armature UE Super-fi 5 Pro I owned had more bass and also more airy high-end"

did you actually read anything about it before you bought it? more bass and more treble does not a better IEM make

 

[Scott549]

I had the UE Super.fi 5 Pros, and I ended up returning them. They probably weren't the worst I've had, but I have more negative memories about them than any other IEM I've tried. They were uncomfortable, and the sound signature was very odd -- it was literally painful when I turned the volume up. I almost gave up on IEM's after I heard those.

 

[evillamer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mark2410 /img/forum/go_quote.gif "the dual-armature UE Super-fi 5 Pro I owned had more bass and also more airy high-end" did you actually read anything about it before you bought it? more bass and more treble does not a better IEM make

I bought the SE530 very shortly after it was released. (as my Super-fi 5 pro was undergoing repairs, TF10/UM3x/W3 did not exist back then) thus that was the the SE530 is the only "upgrade" path i had, other than upgrading to a custom. While more bass and more treble doesn't make a better IEM, what i was disappointed was the limited range given the triple armature design of the SE530(especially when you compare it with other triple armature iem or good dual armature of today).

 

[ljokerl]

Expectations are a bitch but when you have zero expectations and an IEM still manages to sound like crap, we have a winner.

Enter: AudioSource IEBAS.

 

[MrGreen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spyro /img/forum/go_quote.gif Strange....I would probably take SE530's over stock earbuds or EP630's, or even E2C's. Perhaps this thread should be about worst IEM ever heard based on expectations.

The thread title says "the worst you've owned so far"

 

[Francisco]

My expectations were high after reading so much about the Koss Plug on Headwize and here. I bought them and they sounded like I was underwater. Bought them from an official dealer but they sound like they weren't.