1. Posted: Jul 26 2008

   I've been considering these and the Triple-Fi 10s by Ultimate Ears for a while, as well as customs such as LiveWires. However, I did not want to pay the usual going price, around $450 or so. They go on Ebay for $300 and up. So when I saw them here on Amazon (actually one of the "other" sellers) for $323 shipped overnight, I bit the bullet. The sound? At first I was sorely disappointed at the sound, trying all tips one after the other. Then I read the correct way of using the memory foam olive tips (compress before inserting into ear!), and voila. The phones sound so good, that I've twice run down the battery on my iPhone, while listening to Pandora and AOL Radio! I guess the point is that anyone who buys these phones should not expect sonic nirvana out of the box. It does take some time to try out the tips and listen for a while with each type and size to find the best one for you. I think from my reading on [...] that most people will find the memory foam olives to provide the best comfort and sound. It also takes more than a few tries to find the best position for the phones, as far as how far in they go, whether the cord goes over the ear or straight down, etc. The good thing is that once you get the hang of it, its a snap to find the same position again. A lot of people complain about the pronounced mid-range and rolled off highs, and I agree, the highs seem slightly rolled off as compared to my Senn HD600s for example, but to my old ears, they sound just fine. All in all, I'm very pleased. I still love my Senns with a dedicated amp, but for portable listening, with iphones or the like, these phones are highly recommended.

2. Posted: Jul 19 2008

   Just like everyone else in this review, I wanted a replacement for my Bose noise cancelling headphone that broke after using it for a little more than two years. I didn't really have much complaints about the headphone, it sounded great, noise cancelling was working beautifully. But once the plastic broke, I just decided to splurge and get the best earphones, since I was thinking that lugging those bulky headphones around was a bit silly. Reading various reviews, I ended up getting SE530PTH. For some reason the vendor I purchased from had cheaper price on SE530PTH than SE530, so I bought a pair of SE530PTH. When I received mine, I opened the package, connected to my iPod Classic (6G) and started play music. Hmm. The music actually sounded very good, but I was expecting absolute heaven, since most of the reviews raved about these earphones. Thinking that I might have made a huge mistake, I checked Shure website. There, it had a proper care and usage for these earphones. Yes, yes, now I understood, those olive like foam needs to be compressed, and yes I would have to hold them in my ear and wait until the foam expands. Then I properly inserted those earphones in my ear, and the sound improved a lot. Ok, it sounds good, but these things are being sold for $500. I was thinking I would pay $200 for them, but not $500... Feeling disappointed, I used them for a few days using my iPod, and then I realized that I've never tried them with other audio systems. So, I thought what the heck, I'll use the plug converter for my stereo and see if I can hear anything different... OMG!!!!!!!!!! The music that came out of my stereo system was absolutely positively the best I have ever heard, everything was clear, bass was so rich, and I can almost visualize instruments playing right in front of me. I was so taken by this revelation, I tried all different types of music, classic, opera, rock, house... They all sounded fantastic! I was discovering instruments and notes that never registered before. Then I went back to iPod. WHAT A DISAPPOINTMENT! I just never realized how much mp3 would deteriorate the sound, and how much CDs retained the quality of music. The same exact tunes actually sounded so different with these earphones. I am actually regretting hundreds of dollars I've spent on buying mp3 or iTune music. With these earphones I can actually hear, and tell the difference! Now I am in a very strange situation. I have this fantastic $500 pair of earphones with iPod that I use to travel with, but I don't want to listen to iPod with these amazing pieces of earphone. I am actually considering buying another pair of cheaper SE110 earphones so that I can use them with my iPod to not be able to hear the difference.... Noise reduction property of SE530 is superb, but I believe this is largely from the foam earpieces that are blocking the noise from outside during the music playback, so SE110 should do the same trick. I think I'll use SE110 for my iPod and save my SE530 for more serious listening. Well, I really don't consider myself to be an audiophile, but I was able to, and did hear the difference in the sound quality between iPod and CD using SE530. Now that I know how big of the difference there is, I am not even sure I would ever want to listen to iPod at home. I'd have to dig up my CD collection once again, and listen to them using these wonderful earphones... (Although the cord is a little plasticky and feel like it will fray if I overused them.. And PTH is not that great. It's ok. I can hear my own breathing through PTH... And the carrying case doesn't hold everything but the earphones themselves... I guess nothing is perfect.)

3. Posted: Jul 12 2008

   The bottom line is quality costs money. It's why a Lexus costs more than a Ford, and it's why a Montblanc pen cost more than a Cross. If you've ever driven a Lexus or used a Montblanc pen then you know what I'm talking about. I will leave it to the experts to explain the technicalities of why these earphones are so good. For me, it's the sound. And I think in the end that is what it must be for everyone. I bought some Bose TriPort In-Ear Headphones - Headphones ( ear-bud ) - black and used them for about a month. The bass was good but the high end was muffled, including the singer's voices. You can really hear the bass, but I knew that this is not what good, quality sound is all about. The high end gets muffled to bring out all the bass. It doesn't sound right. I listened to both the Shure SE410 and the Shure SE530 before I bought. I got the PTH (push to hear option) when I went for the SE530s. The sound was just better on the SE530 earphones. Some reviewers question whether it is worth the extra money to get the top of the line. Even if the difference is $200 or $300, then I say you have to go for the best, the SE530. The reason is that it is just better sound. If you must justify the cost, then cut out coffee for a month, or walk a few places (if possible, and without any danger of getting killed) instead of driving. It won't take you long to save $300. I've been using these for my MP3 player, and they are remarkable. And if you look at some of the other reviews -- if you use CDs or higher quality MP3 songs -- then the difference is even more remarkable. You know you can justify buying these if you want to. Your friends will think you are crazy for spending so much until you let them listen. Then you can rest easy because you just justified what you thought was an insane expenditure. You have the last laugh. A Tip for Inserting the Earphones: If you hook the wire of the earphones over your ear before you insert them you will find they are much easier to put in your ear. They will be hanging down at just the right angle, and you just push them in. I found this out quite by accident one day when I looped the cord over my ears first.

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