Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Money Well Spent!!, 5 Feb 2008
If you are reading this review you probably already have a good idea that these phones are special. They are indeed special, read on!!
Ok, I'm here again with yet another review on earphones but unlike the other reviews I think unless someone buys me Westones new Triple version of the UM1/2 as a gift I will not be reviewing any more in the near future. Why?, because I believe these are as good as it gets!
I can make direct comparisons between these and their nearest rival the Ultimate Ears Triple Fi's because for a time I had both. The Triples I bought 5 months ago and loved to bits but then I was bought the SE530's by Santa this year and really couldn't justify £500 worth of phones so I spent a while deciding which I liked more with a view to waving one goodbye.
Let me tell you this was a tough decision because both sets shine but in different ways. The Triple Fi's have an instantly likeable warm, wide soundstage, robust deep lows and very detailed highs. I loved them the moment I put them in. The Shures were different, we fell in love over a period of time. To begin with I couldn't get the right seal (lacking base). So initially I was dissapointed as I had high hopes after reading other reviews. I knew they were good but try as I might I couldn't get an acoustic seal, so I went back onto reviews and blogs for a couple of hours and low and behold I had the answer. The secret to the seal is either custom molds instead of the generic tips (on order from Audiorelief) or the foam tips inserted correctly. Compress the foam tip and insert the phone whilst lightly pulling the ear up and back to open the canal, loose the ear and let the foam decompress for about 15 seconds and the outside world just dissapears. Then you can really hear the true quality of these phones.
The detail and separation in all genres needs to be heard to be believed but don't bother with these unless you are listening to stuff ripped at either 256kbps or above. Ideally music should be in a lossless format to get the full benefit these have to offer.
If money is no object the SE530's are the best you can get, they compare with the Triple fi's but shine in a different way. The Triple fi's are fantastic and have quite a heavy, robust output but with very detailed highs. The Shures shine in the midrange dept like no other phones I've tried or owned which overall gives the impression of clearer separation and detail, base is more natural and tight than the Triple fi's. If I had to rank what I've owned it would go like this:
1. SE530's (Using now with custom moulds from Audiorelief - Unbelievably good)
2. UE Triple Fi's (Only slightly second to the SE530's because of the midrange)
3. Q-jays (Superb everyday phones withe more detail and more natural base than the Super fi's)
4. Sennheiser HD595 (I use these at home with C & C Box+ portable amp, these take some beating but are open so unfortunately everyone can hear your music - I use them when alone)
5. UE Super Fi Pro 5's in 'Red' (Base heavy like their big brother but superb phones, I paid £80 new)
I use the 530's with an 80gb ipod and a C&C box + Portable Amp and in all my years experience I do not beleive that portable listening can get any better than this.
So I sadly waved goodbye to the Triple Fi's recently (thanks Dr. Willman for purchasing these) and I'll continue my beautiful love affair with the Shures (for now anyway.....)
|
|
|
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
They left me speechless!, 27 Jul 2007
Think of your favourite artist. Have you heard their music? I thought that I had listened to my collection until I bought a pair of Shure Se530's.
Some time ago I moved from the earphones that were supplied with my .mp3 player to Shure E2C's which is probably the biggest improvement you can make for the money. Finally I could hear with real clarity, especially on the train as a result of their excellent noise reduction ability.
After a couple of years use I decided to take the plunge and pay what is top dollar for the rather expensive Se530 units.
Words now fail me - It is hard to describe just how good these earphones are. The twin bass units provide a fullness of sound that I have rarely experienced outside of studio quality headphones. The midrange is strong and the treble is religously reproduced.
If you want to really treat yourself and you are serious about your music then these earphones are a must.
|
|
|
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Flawless Music Reproduction, 21 May 2008
I have previously had Grado SR60's; the cord on these bent and the audio in the left ear crackled and fizzed. I replaced these with a pair of Shure E2c's; much more portable and decent sound but they lack definition and bass in comparison to the Grado's. These lasted me 2 years until recently the cord cracked around the ear and again the audio has gone from the left ear.
I read a lot of reviews on many headphones and chose to take the plunge and fork out the cash for Shure's `top of the range'!
From the start, I must say I am very impressed with the quality of the headphones, the packaging, presentation and build quality are all very high and they need to be for the price.
Most importantly, the sound. Firstly, I wasn't too impressed, after reading all the reviews I thought that I would be blown away with the sound, as I was when I first wore Grado headphones, this wasn't the case at all.
I know how to fit these headphones - I've had e2c's before and I know a seal within the ear is vital to the enjoyment of your music. Despite all of the many fittings that come with these headphones I still felt that the fit wasn't as secure as my older, cheaper e2c's. After a week of trying various options I chose to stick with the grey medium silicon tips, although the recommended `earplug' sponge attachments are more comfortable and offer marginally better sound isolation I find them looser, harder to secure and `dampen' the sound reproduction.
After a week of use I have come to the conclusion that these earphones are `understated'. I was expecting deep and involving bass and detailed crisp sound reproduction, instead, I am surprised, even shocked. For all these years I have been listening to a sound that is so far removed from the original it has taken me a week to realise. I have been thinking that these headphones are failing to reproduce the sound correctly when I couldn't be further from the truth. These headphones produce a sound that is now `alien' to me. My music doesn't involve heavy bass as it used to, it now offers a `true' bass, astonishing clarity, the highs are tremendous and the mid range, flawless.
These headphones are shocking, in terms of price, in terms of quality, in terms of sound reproduction. I am now forced to re-learn my music, as I should have 3 years ago. Amazing, worth the cash but do not under any circumstances expect these headphones to create anything other than what was originally recorded by the artist - if you are disappointed in these headphones it is only because your current headphones have been letting you down and teaching your music to you incorrectly.
If you demand the best music reproduction on the move, buy these.
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
![Planet Earth: Complete BBC Series [Blu-ray]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/510skVE8%2BuL._SL500_SS90_.jpg)
With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is). 
Amazon Home