Top end earphones?

LeoN88

LeoN88

LeoN88

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29 Jan 2007
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So i bought a pair of Shure SE530's a little over a year ago and unfortunately because i had bought them off of ebay and even though they were new shure are refusing to replace the broken pair i have due to that the seller is not a verified one (they come with a two year warranty).

After having a couple of pairs of shure's i'm looking to go to another brand such as UE because of this but was just wondering if anyone here has ever had a pair and how they compare to the shure's in both build quality and of course sound. Which are the best to go for bearing in mind the majority of music i listen to is dance. If there are alternative brands please let me know!
Not looking for headphones just in-earphones

Looking to spend up to £500 don't really want to go much more only if its really worth it..
 
I bought a pair of Shure SE310's 3 years ago and the service I received from them was impeccable.

Mine are breaking at the moment, and they are unable to replace them because the earphones are a sealed unit but will let me trade them in and get money off my next purchase.

I highly recommend them again, just buy from a proper seller this time
 
Deep said:
I bought a pair of Shure SE310's 3 years ago and the service I received from them was impeccable.

Mine are breaking at the moment, and they are unable to replace them because the earphones are a sealed unit but will let me trade them in and get money off my next purchase.

I highly recommend them again, just buy from a proper seller this time
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Well the first pair i had from shure were the e5c's which again i had bought off of the bay and when i had a problem with them they gave me a replacement pair without any problems.. but now there coming out with all the excuses that there are fakes around and so need verfied sellers.. yet i'm sure if i gave them a part number on the side of the wire they could surely tell that they are not! just very frustrating especially as i recently bought custom moulds for the earphones as well!!
 
LeoN88 said:
So i bought a pair of Shure SE530's a little over a year ago and unfortunately because i had bought them off of ebay and even though they were new shure are refusing to replace the broken pair i have due to that the seller is not a verified one (they come with a two year warranty).

After having a couple of pairs of shure's i'm looking to go to another brand such as UE because of this but was just wondering if anyone here has ever had a pair and how they compare to the shure's in both build quality and of course sound. Which are the best to go for bearing in mind the majority of music i listen to is dance. If there are alternative brands please let me know!
Not looking for headphones just in-earphones

Looking to spend up to £500 don't really want to go much more only if its really worth it..
Click to expand...

Ortofon EQ-7's
 
Wow.. has Shure's build quality decreased or something? I have a pair of E3C's that are over 5 years old now and they are every bit as good as the day they were bought and they get use at least 6 out of 7 days of the week.

I'd strongly suggest spending less money on something low to mid-range maybe £40 if you are trashing them, then at least you can replace them and not feel like you have wasted money on a pair at £100+ which you cannot get replaced.
 
I've got 2 pairs of SE530s and both sets have the rubber gator over the wire connecting to the earbud coming loose but there's no sign of them not working.

I've tried so triple fis and they were certainly good but the SE530s are the best and definitely the most comfortable earphones I've tried.

Although to be honest if I actually had to pay for them I'd probably go with lower end Shures, I've got some SE110s too which I used to use in the gym and they seemed very similar, especially for MP3s.
 
Journey said:
Wow.. has Shure's build quality decreased or something? I have a pair of E3C's that are over 5 years old now and they are every bit as good as the day they were bought and they get use at least 6 out of 7 days of the week.

I'd strongly suggest spending less money on something low to mid-range maybe £40 if you are trashing them, then at least you can replace them and not feel like you have wasted money on a pair at £100+ which you cannot get replaced.
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Well the first pair i had (e5c) just stopped working all of a sudden. got a new pair but then i left them on the aeroplane a couple years back :( so would probably still have them if it wasn't for that!

For the current pair the left earphone piece gradually decreased in volume and now you can't hear it at all however the right ear works perfectly well.

But i genuinely do look after the damn things always put them in the hard case once used so i guess its just bad luck..

Now i don't mean to come across as a snob here but since listening to earphones of this standard if the qaulity isn't equal to or better i'll just be craving another pair. Its made me appreciate music more and how it should be listened to :) but unfortunately theres a cost for it..:rolleyes:
 
LeoN88 said:
Now i don't mean to come across as a snob here but since listening to earphones of this standard if the qaulity isn't equal to or better i'll just be craving another pair. Its made me appreciate music more and how it should be listened to :) but unfortunately theres a cost for it..:rolleyes:
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Well in that case I would go buy the Shure SE535's I am pretty shure (see what I did there :p) you can get these from a listed Shure reseller for around £390.

Oh an bad luck leaving them on a plane, that plain sucks :p
 
Journey said:
Well in that case I would go buy the Shure SE535's I am pretty shure (see what I did there :p) you can get these for a listed Shure reseller for around £390.

Oh an bad luck leaving them on a plane, that plain sucks :p
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i see what you did there.. :p
 
AtticusFinch said:
Just interested why you only want in ears (as I haaaate them personally) when headphones open up an array options at the mid-market £400-600 level?
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mainly because i will be using them for anything and everything be it walking down the street, home use, holiday at the beach and at the gym.
i also enjoy the snug fit you get and the way that they cut out outside noise.

If i had the money i would buy headphones as well solely for home use but would much rather buy a top of the range in-earphones than split it down the middle for an additional set of headphones.
 
Shamrock said:
Maybe research the Earsonics SM3 on head-fi? They seem to be everyones current favourite top-tier universal IEM, or "flavour of the month" as they say on head-fi.

I got a pair for £300 and so far I'd say they are a big improvement over my IE8's and MTPCs.

Here is one review: http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/494988/earsonics-sm3-a-thorough-review
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Just been reading up on that definately interested and seems that they shine through with vocals, how do they fair with dance music with an upbeat tempo and low bass and high trebles?
 
I will put in another good word for shure.
I had some E3C's and they were brilliant. They broke at the jack (I have a bad habbit of winding them around my iPhone and stuffing it in my pocket) - I simply rang them up and they sent me a pair of SE425's as a replacement lol.
Sound quality is AMAZING (seriously, it was like I was carrying around my *very* nice stereo in my ears) and thats just from the SE425 (and the old E3C). If you are willing to go up to £500 I can only imagine how good the SE535's are (and they are £30 under your budget).
As for you saying the left one has gone quiet and stopped working - this may be a stupid suggestion but have you taken the ear plug off and actually cleaned the little tube? It can easily get filled with ear wax that basically blocks the sound (you have a cleaning kit that comes with the headphones normally).
I honestly think your best bet is to stick with shure and just buy them direct from them.
 
LeoN88 said:
Just been reading up on that definately interested and seems that they shine through with vocals, how do they fair with dance music with an upbeat tempo and low bass and high trebles?
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I listen to a lot of electronic, specifically DnB and Dubstep, so I guess you can class those as "dance" genres. The bass has very good impact and extends deep. I'd say it has less quantity than my IE8's with the bass knob on full but that's to be expected! So I do use the bass boost on my portable amp for bassier music.

Isolation is far better than both my IE8 and Coppers.

A few people comment that the highs seem recessed, they seem fine to me, maybe not as extended as the coppers. I've only got the stock tips currently but people say different tips with wider nozzles can increase the treble.

Overall it has a neutral signature that fits the music thats playing. I was worried about spending so much on IEMs with a neutral sig when I favour the fun V-shaped sig of my IE8 and coppers, however, I do not regret it one bit. They sound much better and more refined than my other iems and respond very well to any EQing you might wish to do on them.

I'd say look at all the threads on head-fi you can to decide whether these are for you. There is a thread comparing the SE535s to the SM3.
 
I bought some Sennheiser IE8's about a year ago and im very pleased with them just had to mess around with finding the right tip!!

There definitely worth a look. Because there quite bassy they obviously sound fantastic when put through a proper amp but I also find the quality from the IPhone is quite pleasing aswell because it adds a bit of warmth to the sound.

Bare in mind because there a dynamic driver they need quite a bit of listening to sound there best.
 
LeoN88 said:
That was the company that i used to make custom moulds for my se530's will definately do the same again be it getting a custom made set for my ears only or like i did before and get a universal pair and buying some custom moulds afterwards to replace the standard tips
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I've got Westone custom molds on my UM2s but I've going to get some ACS ones soon.
 
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