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

I recently purchased the Shure 530-PTH headphones. I have had previous headphones
from Shure, so I was familiar with the behind the ears style. The sound quality has been fantastic. While I am not a true audiophile, it is clear that the sound quality is top notch. The PTH (push to hear) is a nice feature especially if you will be listening to your headphones and there is a good chance somebody may want to talk to you every so often. You don't need to remove the headphones, simply use the PTH microphone to hear the person and have a normal discussion and when done, simply turn the PTH off and your music is still playing for you. I also bought the iPhone microphone piece seperately and it is great because it allows you to talk to a person on the phone without having to remove the headphones. Most importantly, pressing the button on the iPhone adapter allows you to speak your commands, so you don't even need to remove the phone from your pocket in order to call somebody. Keep in mind that you can get the headphones for a much better price at places such as amazon or ebay, got mine for ~$330 with the iPhone adapter. You will not regret getting these headphones.

First off, I don't give reviews because I simply don't care or want to take the time to do it (time is precious), but this product compelled me to do so. Oh, and BTW, this is my very first product review.

One word on sound quality......AMAZING!!!!!!

If there was another word that I could use to describe it, I would...but I can't.

I've had experiences with audiophile/high end cans (cans are slang for head/earphones), and these top the list beating out a beloved pair of Grados and some other honorable mentionables.

What makes these cans so special is how they seperate instruments/sounds/voices from one another. Like others have mentioned before, if there is a flaw or something in the recording, these cans will let you hear it. For example, I listened to a live recording of an artist singing acapella and these cans picked him taking a slight breath before he sang a chord and even picking up a door closing in the background!!!!! My other cans never did that!!!!! Like others have said, these cans maybe the closest thing to listening to music live because it seperates and brings out the details of your music with unparralleled clarity.

It also reproduces all frequencies of bass with extreme prejudice.....meaning, when your music hits the bass notes, it's clear and distictive with no distortion. For those of you who complained about lack of bass, it's obvious you did not have a good seal in your ears. The standard ear pieces that are on the cans when you receive them did not give me a good seal so the bass response was lacking. I immediately replaced them with the small yellow round foam earpieces (you'll have to buy those seperately from SHURE), and the bass was back with full force. Unlike most cans that are boomy and bass-overloaded, these cans reproduce bass with clarity and definition.

One last comment I want to leave is: Yes, these cans cost alot....infact 4 times more expensive than a regular "good" set you would find in your local best buy or walmart. These cans are only for people who appreciate music and want to experince it to it's fullest. Having them in my ears and listening to music that I've already listened to in the past, your music feels brand new because your hearing things in your music that you've never heard before. Amazon.com has these cans at an amazing price, go price them around the internet and you'll soon discover that they cost $500 bucks!!!!! Still, at almost half the price, they are still expensive, but it is worth every penny. Trust me, your ears will thank you for it later. HAPPY LISTENING!!!!

I like the sound of the earphones, especially the bass. The length of the cord is too short though. It comes with extenders but then the connector is bulky and placed in the middle of my chest which is annoying. Obviously it was made to be used with the optional PTH connector which I got but don't like. With the PTH, I have all these cords hanging everywhere. Overall good sound but the cord situation was poorly designed.

Due to the price I figured they could not be that good, but I wanted to try them and I am glad I did. I was overwhelmingly surprised! Perfect Highs, Mids, and Bass, and very comfortable and attractive. I have not been able to remove the ear foam tips yet but I think I am being too careful; the tips it came with are perfect but there is a package of other sizes and types. I have tried several types of IEM's (In-Ear-Monitors) and found the sound quality or comfort to be lacking in all, but these sound and feel amazing. I had hoped to dislike them and return them for a less expensive set but I can't do it; it is the very best sound I have heard in an IEM. And, the PTH (Press-To-Hear) device works great and very unique. Is well worth the slight difference between the IEM alone and the IEM w/ PTH. PTH is a very nice added feature Shure provided, is easy to use, and the only one I have seen. Shure 530PTH is a superior product that is probably priced right at $297 and seems to go down every day since I bought these ($283 today). These are for the audiophile and traveller, not for playtime or work-out time; a Lexus is not for mud-bogging. I highly recommend their purchase through Amazon using PRIME shipping; best pricing, return policy, and security. I do not work for Amazon or Shure, I am just a happy patron.

Never been addicted to music until now. The sound coming out of these is simply amazing. Different length cables are awesome because I can avoid extra wiring hanging around.

Strongly recommended.

I had a couple of issues with them.

1 - Some of the sleeves that came with the earphones were squeezed so hard in the packaging that they are damaged
2 - The PTH device is bulky, cabling becomes a mess, and the battery door doesn't close right which makes the battery fall out a lot.

I contacted Shure with my issues and they responded that they will take care of them. I really hope the replacement PTH doesn't have the battery falling out issue.