Shure SE530 Earphones

It’s a well-known fact that earphones bundled with MP3 players (yes, even the iPod) look and sound plasticky, and anyone serious about music should consider replacing them. The device I’m reviewing today is meant for those who do not believe in audio compression at all; and who need to hear every nuance at the highest audible frequency. Let me warn you that the product is ridiculously expensive, so stay away if you're either broke or skeptical! The rest of us can take a look at the high-end Shure SE530 in-ear earphones.

Design and Features
These earphones have a globular structure, with the driver jutting out from the front of the round surface, tilted slightly inwards at a 45-degree angle. This is a different form factor from the regular straight protruding earbuds, and are bit more interesting. The surface of the driver housing is a reflective metallic one.

Vital accessories are included with the unit, which is a hard shell pouch. This includes a packet of different types of sleeves and a cleaning device, a thin black rod that does the necessary earwax removal from the sleeves.

There is also an external volume adjuster switch, and two extension cables. This modular design suits different styles of usage, such as MP3 players kept in a shirt pocket (short cable) or PC cabinets kept on the floor (long cable). The sleeves range from large and small rubber jobs to black foam.

These are a 36 ohm pair, which is low enough to be driven by anything. However, I have the opinion that higher impedance models have tighter bass response, and are better for the amplifier (less current is drawn). Please see below for detailed specs. The rated sensitivity is something to look into, as 119 dB is quite high!

The drivers are Shure's 'Triple TruAcoustic MicroSpeakers'. Basically the units have a dedicated tweeter and two woofers, plus a passive crossover. This sounds impressive, and as my expectations have been raised considerably, let’s get to the tests.