Home > Consumer Reviews > Shure SE530PTH Sound Isolating Earphones with Push-To-Hear Control

I bought these because I have have been enjoying a pair of Sennheiser PX100's for a few years, and wanted to see what true audiophile quality sound was like. I read the rave reviews about these and decided to pull out the all the stops and get the best, knowing that they would not have a lot of low end, but willing to keep an open mind about that.

I have to say the these are not what I expected at all. They are good little headphones, but the low end is WEAK. I guess you could could use other words like, "tight, but not overly stated" or something like that but don't be fooled. The bass almost non existent, and the overall sound is weak and thin.

A pair of px100's will trounce these headphones all day long on the low end. And have a much bigger and fuller and more powerful sound. If you like to 'feel' your music, and you want your music to have a deep powerful enveloping sound that can carry you away, don't expect that from these headphones. The sound is detailed and clear, but not big, full, and powerful. If you like to listen to jazz (I love jazz btw) or piano music while sipping tea with your pinky finger in the air and congratulating yourself on you fine audiophile sensibilities, these might be perfect for you.

I did also buy a pair of ultimate ears super.fi 5 extented bass. Those have bass. In fact they have more bass than my sennheisser 202 pros. But these have almost none. It's about a powerful sounding as listening to $10 alarm clock radio.

Skip the PTH model and save your money. You can pause your music and hear people talk, or just take one of the ear pieces out, they are easy to put back in. They are very comfortable But at $500 it's like buying a $20 bottle of water. At $300 it's still crazy over priced.

That said I think I will take it on the nose and keep them, because they are comfortable inside a motorcycle helmet, and sometimes I would like to hear some tunes when I ride.


*edit*

I have been using these earphones for a few months now. I have grown to like them quite a bit. The base is there, it's very 'accurate', not boomy. Try listening to massive attack, that will prove beyond any doubt that the base is there. It goes all the way down to the lowest lows, and doesn't sound muddy, it's like you can hear the actual note precisely, instead of a boom, or a thump. I really like the booms and the thumps, but as time goes on, I am learning that I also like precise bass too. It's a shame you can't have both in little earphone like this (that's not asking very much, I know...)

If you are a basshead, and you like being a basshead, and want to continue being a basshead, then these are probably not for you. They will change your idea of what good sound is.

'Sem dúvida o melhor fone do mercado, parece que a orquestra está tocando dentro da nossa cabeça, além disso, o microfone é sensacional, dá para escutar até mesmo as conversas mais distantes. SENSACIONAL!!!!!!!

Customer appreciates the quality of product and it's presentation to ensure the value of the investment. Seller provides the confidence of such a transaction especially when customers rarely get to experience the product before they buy.

Thank you.

I have searched low and high for a good pair of earbuds. These do not disappoint. However, with the good points (wonderful sound quality, excellent ambient passive noise reduction) one problem mentioned by others sticks:

The tips shipped on the earbuds did not come off too easily. In fact, I think I may have marred the outside of one of the stems trying to get the tip off. I was just about to start cutting it off as I have read others have had to do when it finally came off.

Come on SHURE, you could have taken the money spent on the fancy metal shipping case and used it to improve the quality assurance. I only hope my earbud stems survive now :-(

And yes, I KNOW that I read about this very problem from others, but considering the reputation these buds have for their unsurpassible (sp?) quality, I thought that maybe I might get missed by the "sticking tips" issue.

Oh well, just have to be extra careful from now on.

Nice compact earbuds that are very good sounding but a bit of an old style design for the price. I think the sound and quality are very good but the packaging and useability could be better. If you like buds they are great otherwise try the Bose Headphones.