this level quality, and for this price, you just can't go wrong. See less

their paces with my Rio Karma loaded with tunes I personally ripped using CDEX and Lame at a high bitrate. I used material ripped from MFSL Ultradiscs, DCC and Sony Superbitmap discs as well as other good, dynamic recordings and remasters. I never knew IEMs could sound this good! The E500s were audio bliss on a stick. There were excellent highs, mids and lows, all crystal clear and accurate without distortion. One of the most amazing things about them was the soundstage. With good source material, I could hear different instruments as if they each had a direct line into my brain. You could easily hear the difference between good recordings and masterings and ones that are not so great. I was sold on the spot. To verify my new opinion, I had certain other guys at the office (who are also appreciative of quality audio) listen to them, and they were just as amazed. We all apologized. He let me borrow them overnight. That evening I listened to them on the train home and then literally went crazy listening to everything I could, including some 24-bit DVD audio on my home system. I listened to them all night. Broken wires or not, I did not want to return them the next day.

So in a nutshell, I loved them, but I could not justify spending the money on the SE530s... Here I thought my Sennheiser CX300s were good... errr.. but not SE530 good. They were just not in the same league.

So I watched and waited here at Amazon and in about two weeks the price dropped $40 to $390. Alright, I had enough! That was my cue to buy!

That was a few weeks ago and I have no regrets.

The sound isolation is really good, easily blocking out most outside sound when using the supplied foams. Also, the foams are comfortable (for me) and I can leave them in for hours without fatigue. The result is that you tend to listen to the music at a slightly lower volume since the outside noise is so well blocked. But if you do want to crank it, the SE530s can handle it. I use them every day during my commutes on the train. They were definitely worth the money.

My only criticism (other than the price) is with the wires. The wires are too thick, heavy and stiff in my opinion. I wish they were more like the thin, light, extremely flexible silicon type wires like the ones on the Sennheiser CX300s. I don't know what Shure was thinking using these. As I said earlier in the review, my friend's E500's stiff wires were damaged after a year and I can see that happening with these too. Good thing the the SE530 have a two year warranty. I substituted the long extension that came with them with a highly flexible extension that came with a pair of Sonys... so much lighter and better.

Overall the wire situation is a small negative compared to a very big positive of the amazing sound reproduction.

One of the other reviewers here said it, don't listen to these headphones if you don't plan on buying them. If you love audio, once you listen through these SE530s, you cannot ignore them.

******* UPDATE: 10/9/2007 *******

I'm still amazed at just how good these sound. I've been using them every day during my daily rail commute to and from NYC from the suburbs. The isolation level they provide is amazing! Using the supplied foam ear pads, I can honestly say that it almost doesn't matter if the chick next to me starts yapping on her cell phone or if a group of tourists is having a loud conversation - I won't hear 'em. With these on, you are in your own world. You will notice some outside sound between songs or during very quiet passages, but for the most part, if you are using the foams and they are inserted correctly, you will be very well isolated. Highly recommended for commuters. The wires still suck though.

******* UPDATE: 7/30/2008 *******

Its been ten months since I purchased these SE530s and every day I use them, I'm glad I did. I use them on an almost daily basis during my commutes to and from the office and the sound quality has been nothing less than outstanding for both music and movies. The fact that you get all this clarity and resolution along with full bass AND that almost all outside noise is blocked makes them truly great. I cannot imagine better sounding headphones for any price. I have to laugh when I see people wearing bulky, full-sized headphones on the train - I would not want to to do that.

So, I've had no regrets regarding the investment... that is, until today. Today I noticed what I knew was inevitable... one of the wires has developed a crack in the insulation near the black molded rubber strain relief and has exposed the copper conductor beneath. Upon further inspection, the other wire is showing signs of imminent cracking in the same region. I have been so very careful as to only pull them out of my ears via the back of the drivers near the strain relief and frankly, I cannot imagine how I could have treated them any better and not had this happen. I know that I predicted that this *exact* thing would happen in my initial review (see above and in the comments section) but it sucks now that it actually did. I still cannot understand how Shure could be using these stiff, inflexible, poorly performing wires on an otherwise fine set of super-premium earbuds. Now I have to return them under warranty for replacement. I called Shure and they want me to ship the 530s back to them, insured, with my proof of purchase from an authorized dealer (which Amazon is) along with their RMA form and I should see a replacement in *TWO WEEKS,* maybe more. TWO WEEKS? For $400+ headphones I expect better service than this. They will not cross-ship me a new pair either as they are "not set up" to do that. Shipping them back will likely cost me at least $20 with the insurance.

The worst part of this is that I fully expect that I'm going to receive a brand new pair with the same issue waiting to happen again over the course of normal use. I know this because my friend from the office, who originally introduced me to the SE500s (which are almost exactly the same as the SE530s), is now on his... get this... *FIFTH PAIR* of SE500/530s - as four sets have developed the same exact wire cracking issue within a period of only two years. I did some poking around on the internet and there are even other reviews here on Amazon that detail the *exact* same issue. WTF is Shure thinking? I can walk down the street to any electronics store and buy a $30 set of buds with wire that will not have this issue... how is it that a $400+ super-primo set does? You can't tell me that other people aren't returning them... FIX THE ISSUE WITH THE WIRES, SHURE!!!

I'll update this review again when I receive my replacement pair.

******* UPDATE: 4/21/2009 *******

I swapped out for a new pair of SE530s in December, 2008 - I'm not going into the mechanics of that, but I didn't go through Shure. The wire on this pair is definitely different than the wire on my first pair. ... See less

through the Shure SE530s.

As a matter of personal preference, I am not using the Push-To-Hear part although I did find it to be a convenient way of switching to outside sounds/noise when you choose to.

There are other alternatives to these pair. But I seriously doubt they could provide significantly better quality.
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good IEMs sound like without using a bunch of subjective terminology, but here's perhaps a practical example from my experience. My first step into a "higher quality" headphone was the sony mdr v700dj. The first time I used those I thought they sounded amazing. Of course, they are a very different product from an IEM, but they now sound like garbage to me. If you are moving up from your favorite pair of over the ear monitors to ear buds, maybe that'll be a valuable anecdote for you.

I use a set of the rubber tips that comes with the 10s and find the fit to be just fine. They are not uncomfortable and I don't feel a need to fiddle with them once they're in. I do not use the built in mic, so I have no comments regarding its quality.

If you want to spend about 1/2 the price and still be very happy with your IEMs, I would recommend the super.fi 5 pros. But if you have the money to spend or are looking to upgrade from your existing IEMs, I highly recommend the triple.fi 10. See less

or jogging - they cancel out too much road noise and would leave you not able to hear approaching cars.

Some other reviews complain of tinny sound but I have not experienced that. See less

synth in the EBM and I want to taste every flavor in the voxing of those voices. So, I go and buy myself a pair of MDRW24V's and I'm set.

There are a few reasons I SWEAR by this design, and one of the more prominent ones (besides the in-the-ear design) is the volume control. The reason I like it is because it: (1) gives me an easy way to turn the player up when I'm too lazy to reach for the remote (2) gives me a back-up in case I break the remote or I accidentally get my player stuck on "hold" and I'm too busy to fish out the player or (3) because it allows me to override the sound restrictions that are there to safeguard my hearing on my discman and to make it louder. All of these work wonders, too, because I'm really not prone to listening to the noises that are manufactured by my fellow human beings. I'd rather drown out the Muzak when walking through the mall and I'd rather have an override switch that turns up the volume quickly if I'm approached by people I don't want to hear. Taking this and coupling it with an in-the-ear design works wonders, too.

Besides that, they are durable, they don't blow out all that often, and you should honestly replace your headphones AT LEAST once a month anyhow - and more if you use them like I do. During the time that you own them, you shouldn't have to worry about durability issues, about its ability to carry sound, and you also shouldn't have to worry about something newly designed that looks nice but that hurt when you wrap it around your ears. Here you have the answers to all your listening needs because Sony products last! See less