Home > Consumer Reviews > Shure SE530 Sound Isolating Earphones

I have used over a dozen top of the line IEMs including the UE10s, Sensaphonics 2XS, UE Triple-Fi's, Etymotic ER4P/S, Westone UM2, Sony EX700LP, Shure SE420, etc.

From my experience, the Shure SE530 not only are the most comfortable, but offer the best sound signature for most listening experiences. Their sound reminds me of the vinyl records I grew up with. It reduces the digital harshness of portable players. And is still good enough to be used in a serious audiophile system.

For the most accurate listening experience I refer you to the Ultimate Ears UE10s....and possibly their newer UE11s which I have not heard. These two IEMs are at least 3 times the money of the Shures. And from my experience are not as comfortable. Think about it, would hard plastic shells be as comfortable as supplanting foam into the ear?

Anyway...I've come to prefer the Shure sound signature overall. The midrange is the best I've heard on a headphone. The sound is extremely smooth. The decay of notes seem to melt into one another as if it were real live music. The soundstage is fairly realistic. Moreso than any other IEM I've heard.

One issue you may have with the Shures, is if you listen to classical music and are very used to extremely open and accurate sound presentations, the Shures may be a little dark for you. I listen to a lot of classical music. I'll tell you this, I too prefer generally and open and extremely airy sound presentation for this, but the Shures handle classical music brilliantly regardless of their airy shortcomings.

For rock, jazz, reggae, hip hop, country......I refer you to these monitors as there is no rival for them. Due to a very honest bass response and beautiful midrange the Shures are most pleasing monitor I have heard for that variety of music. I promise you, that if you are coming from a consumer vantage point of Bose products and other Apple Store offerings, the Shures will make you cry of amazement. The Bose products are very dishonest in their presentation and really cloud the music prefering to emphasize a visceral experience....much like a subwoofer. The Shures are quite visceral in their impact but somehow allow for a much more honest and less boomy presentation. I have never heard a single Bose headphone that would please any listener even half as much as these Shures.

If you are coming from a audiophile standpoint where you are already aware of great audio products and are just doing some IEM comparisons, let me say that if you like the sound of Sennheiser's top of the line products (HD600s / 650s) then you will love how similar the Shures are. The midrange presentation of the Shures may even slightly surpass the Sennheisers, but the Sennheisers have a bit more extended treble range.

Let me also say: IEMS are generally not comfortable. The concept of cramming something in your ear canal is just not a comfortable thought. Shures are about as comfortable as IEMs can get. They come with what is known in the audio world as "Black Olive Foams" these foams contour comfortably to the shape of your canal but have a smooth surface that does not irritate the canal. This is also very important: With whatever ear canal phone you buy DO NOT feel the need to cram the monitor uncomfortably in the canal. You won't do damage to the ear canal of course, BUT I truly believe with the right sleeve on the IEM nozzle, you can achieve a seal just by entering the very opening of the canal. As long as the foam or plastic sleeve is covering the entry of the canal, the bass response will not escape, you don't need to force the monitor uncomfortable up the canal.

Overall, I find that the Shures SE530 are great for the digital generation because their sound presentation simply makes the bright sound of digital mastering these days sound more organic and emotional. Something that has to be heard to be understood.

Also....these IEMs are extremely sensitive, meaning they can get really loud.....use caution, they don't need to be blasted and like most other headphones (and especially IEMs) blasting them for long hours will impact your hearing response if you do it often.

Hope I have been helpful in you deciding on your purchase. I will say this.......there may be a better IEM for some needs, but there certainly is no better all rounder, and in my opinion, the Shures handle no music I've thrown at it poorly.

I'm a composer who owns a recording studio and deals with audio for a living. Listening to music constantly is not only a passion, but a requirement of my profession - so I'm understandably concerned with quality sound. But since it IS a business, I must also work within a budget. For this reason, I hesitated to buy these earphones.

First let me say, my iPod is my constant companion. Because I am required to write music in virtually any style at a given moment, I try to immerse myself in a wide variety of material. This makes it difficult to choose earphones by reading reviews. The frequency response of some models is good for some styles, but not for others...too much bass...too little bass...too much midrange, so vocals don't cut through...not enough highs, so cymbals don't sparkle. So for the past few years, I settled on the relatively inexpensive Etymotic ER6i's. They're not perfect for everything, but really, really good for most things. They're extremely light and their noise isolation is excellent. I viewed them as the absolute best solution for the money.

Then one day an unexpected royalty payment showed up...for almost the exact amount of a pair of Shure SE530's. I figured, "This is the universe telling me I should have a pair of these." So I bought them. And how do I like them?

In three words...they're almost unbelievable.

If you're reading this, you're no doubt struggling with the same dilemma I had...how do you guage what something SOUNDS like from a bunch of WORDS? Sound is subjective - at least outside the rigorous monitoring requirments of the recording studio. (And even there, you'll hear lots of opinions about which speakers are "more accurate.) What appeals to one person may sound absolutely awful to another. So, I offer only one humble professional's opinion.

The Shure SE530's are better than my Etymotic's by a factor that I couldn't have predicted. (I must add, I haven't heard Ety's higher end offerings.) The sound of the 530's is open and detailed. The mids are perhaps slightly softer than I'm accustomed to hearing on my studio's reference monitors, but in a very pleasing way. I actually see this as a benefit when listening for long periods. The highs have all the air and sparkle I could ask for, and the bottom end is a revelation - warm and natural. I know it's a cliche', but I hear things in my favorite recordings that I never heard before. The differences between compressed (AAC/MP3) and uncompressed (WAV/AIFF) files are much more noticable. I'll probably have to get an iPod with a bigger hard disk, because I'm going to have to start to using higher bandwidth files!

While I've learned a fair amount about things how work in the studio, I don't know a lot about the mechanism of in-ear monitors. But I know how they sound. I have no idea how Shure does it, but if I HAD to...I think I could mix on these babies. They're that comfortable - and they sound that good.

The sound quality is great. It is also comfortable specially with the new black foam. However, the cable quality is rather poor. After one week of regular wearing, it starts to break. I can see a visible scratch on it. I had a pair of Ultimate Ears Super.fi 5 Pro for one year, regardless of sound quality, I can definitely tell that the overall quality is better than Shure SE530. For a $400 earphone, I suggest Shure spend a little more to build a durable cable.

I won't add to what's already been said about sound quality -- I agree; it's outstanding.

My Shure 530's have been in use all day, every day. They're plugged in to an iPod or else they're plugged in to a cell phone with Shure's adapter/ microphone. Why carry a second hands-free device when you've spent all that money already?

They're resting in my ear canal, just like you'd expect. I'm not "hard" on them -- no yanking them around. No leaving them in a tangled pile at the bottom of the briefcase. They're either in my ears, or neatly coiled.

BUT THE INSULATION HAS PULLED AWAY AT BOTH ENDS -- THE EAR BUD END, AND THE JACK END -- LEAVING BARE WIRE EXPOSED, AND LEAVING THE WIRE ITSELF AS THE ONLY MECHANICAL STRENGTH. I'VE HAD TO REINFORCE WITH ELECTRICAL TAPE -- UGLY, AWKWARD, EMBARRASSING! BUT IT'S EITHER THAT OR SPEND ANOTHER $400 TO HAVE THE SAME THING HAPPEN AGAIN.

HOW CAN YOU CHARGE THIS MUCH, DELIVER THIS MUCH SOUND QUALITY, AND STILL HAVE THE TERRIBLE RUGGEDNESS/ RELIABILITY THAT I'VE EXPERIENCED?

I purchased my first pair of quality headphones about 5 years ago, the Shire E3C's. I was amazed by what I heard. I was able to hear each individual instrument of the music I was listening. Additionally, they provided very solid noise cancellation. They had a thick but flexible wire construction that far outlived any other pair I had owned up until then. After 3 years, the wires began to fray and I had cracked the earphone. I had heard a lot about the flagship line of Shure headphones - the SE530. I had spend $130 for my E3C's, which made me hesitant at spending $500 on the 530's. After some thought, I decided to get these. I figured that for such quality sound, it was worth it. I also found it for $300 from a third party seller on Amazon, which made me feel more comfortable about the purchase.

My First Impressions

The sound was better than my EC3's, but not by that much. Yes the base was stronger, and the music sounded truer, but if you have a cheap pair, then going to a good pair is huge. Going from good pair to an even better pair is not that beneficial (unless you have VERY sensitive ears). I notices though that Shure had changed the wire construction. The EC3's had one long very durable wire. The 530's have a short wire that reaches about the midway to your chest. The extension cable seems thick and strong but has failed on me twice. Thankfully, that is replaceable. The short earphone cables are thin and weak. I have noticed that all of the SE models have this design. I am perplexed that Shure would do this when they had an incredible design before this.

Replacements

I had used my 530's for about 4 months when the headphone cable totally frayed. I contacted Shure who told me that since I had purchased it from an unauthorized seller, it was not under warranty. They told me however that they would replace it out of courtesy which was nice. I got a new pair about a week later. It's now about 9 month later and the wire has frayed again. I feel that Shure has totally dropped the ball on the construction of this. It does not have the durable feeling the old Shure headphones had. I was considering finding an old E3C or E4C on eBay, but have decided against that. Now I will go to another company and hope Shure does a better job next time. Honestly, I expected more from such a Brand name. I am sadly disappointed.