New toy = Geek post

Yesterday I was at Sunway Pyramid. For those who haven't been there lately and haven't seen Sunway Pyramid's new wing, please do make an effort to go there. It is really amazing, haven't seen a mall with this type of finishing. I don't know how to describe it, but they actually try to make it feel as though you're shopping in Venice or some similiar city. With all the nice old fashion lighting, and with the fake sky, it's really very unique. Makes you feel...happy.

Like all the newer malls, the new wing of Sunway Pyramid is actually a higher end shopping arcade. You can find all your really expensive brands there, but still not as much as Pavillion or Mid Valley "Gardens" though. But it was more than sufficient for me, because, someone told me that "Machines" opened another outlet there, and it is even more complete than the "Machines" in MidValley. By "complete", I mean they even brought in earphones like the great and almighty rediculously expensive Shure SE530! Even "Epicentre" of Pavillion don't have that model.

The great and beautiful Shure SE530, available at Sunway Pyramid new wing - "Machines". They have limited stock, if you're interested, prepare RM3k!

So, stupid me decided to take a drive all the way to Sunway Pyramid after I heard that they actually have a demo unit available for people to test it out!!

And when I say stupid, I'm really stupid. After auditioning it for a good 30 minutes...or more, well, let's just say that I'm now about RM2.6k+ poorer.


Oh so beautiful..

Yes, I bought the great and almighty Shure SE530!! It really wasn't a hard decision after listening to it, because; if you read my earlier review on my Shure SE210, I said: "This earphone (Shure SE210) sounds better than sex", well, this Shure SE530 literally made what I said earlier an understatement! This was beyond that, and to pay this amount for something this...magnificent...it was reaaaly worth it!! There goes my budget and the money I was putting aside for the new Nokia N95 8GB, but like I said, this is worth it!

Let's move on with a review..


Aesthetics..

Nice, proper metal box.

Unlike the Shure SE210 which I've to use a scissors meant to cut up bones to open up the pacakaging, the Shure SE530 was packaged much more sensibly! Just open up the outer plastic box and I'm greeted with this really nice metal box, which looks more like a covered Memo Pad from the side. Don't believe me? See this..


Looks like a memo pad box. No?

Open it up, and I'm greeted with this beauty..


Beautiful..

For this model, Shure throw in abit more stuff compared to the SE210.

You get the same semi-hard casing; 40cm extension cable; and the packet of different sizes of sleeves.
The extra stuffs are the in-line volume control; a short 8cm extension cable; 3.5mm to 1/4" converter and a aeroplane adapter.


Shure SE210 and Shure SE530

Compare the Shure SE530 to the SE210, the SE530 seems to be abit too big for standard earphone size, and abit too heavy too. But I guess that's the trade off for getting high quality sounds from a small package. Even though it's quite heavy, it is still very comfortable to wear; just make sure you get the proper size sleeves, or else it will not only be uncomfortable, but will also sound terrible.

Sound quality..
So how does this really expensive set of earphone sound? Well, do I even need to say it again? Really, no words can describe it.

The Shure SE210 is a earphone with amazing clarity. One problem with it is, because it only uses a single driver to try to reproduce frequency all the way from the low 25hz all the way to the high 18.5khz, it's only natural for it to be weaker on the mid to lower frequency. But like I said on my last review, the earphone sounds very natural and non bias to any frequency, it just does everything well. Well...but nothing more.

Now, in the case of the SE530, it uses not 1, but 3 drivers to reproduce frequency from 18hz to 19khz.
"Optimized for listening to high-quality recordings and lossless formats, the SE530 utilizes three balanced armature drivers—one dedicated tweeter and dual woofers. Additionally, integrated passive crossovers ensure that high and low frequencies remain distinct and defined. The result is an incredibly wide and detailed soundstage, distinguished by precision highs and robust bass. This innovative triple driver configuration is first in class for universal fit, sound isolating earphones."

The bass produced by this earphones are really a experienced to be felt. Yes, felt, not listen. Listening to the same "Dave Weckle, Vinnie Colaiuta & Steve Gadd" Drum solo battle on this earphone gave an totally different experienced compared to listening to it with the Shure SE210 or my AE Aego M speakers. This earphone can really really pump deep rumbling bass out, and it does it with incredible detailed too! Most earphones that can produce this kind of bass will lose out on it's high end clarity, but not for this earphone, as it have another driver to take care of it.

In the end, this earphone is so much more detailed compared to the SE210. I didn't know it was possible for the SE530 to unleash more hidden sounds from the same songs. Take "Photograph" by Jamie Cullum as an example; did you know on the 14th second, you can actually hear a chair creaking in the background while he in-haled after singging the first verse? It sounded so obvious and like "right-there" with my SE530, but when I try to listen out for it through my Aego M, it was barely anything. Another one I discovered, is "Hide and Seek" by Imogen Heap. Between 2:26 and 2:27, you can hear a guy in the background saying a two syllabes word which I believe it to be: "Slow-ly". Even the Shure SE210 couldn't pick this up, this is how much more detailed the SE530 is.

This may sound funny, but to be honest, the song which made me decide that I must have this earphone when I was auditioning it was "Cartoon Heroes" by Aqua. I actually accidentally stumbled upon that track and it sounded so so good, especially when they add in all the sound effects in the background, like the sound of space ships attacking each other, or the sound of the submarines and the underwater sound, it really suck me into the music.

However, there's one drawback by using this earphone on your iPod, or any other portable mp3 player. Because it uses 3 drivers and it's rated a high 36ohms impedance at 1khz, most built in amp on most mp3 player will suffer to power this earphone. You still can listen to it, infact my iPod Touch could power it to ear-shattering volume, but the problem is you can actually hear it straining, and will sort of strain the sound quality together. Hence, many people recommend to get a head-phone amplifier when using with the Shure SE530. So, I decided to get the very popular "Little Dot" headphone amp. I ordered the Little Dot Mark 1 amp, now I just need to patiently wait for it to arrive. Till then, just have to listen at a softer level.

Little Dot Mark 1 amp to power my Shure SE530

To sum up, this is really a incredible earphone and you really get what you paid for. I truly say this earphone will sound astonishing for ANY type of genre, and it will even satisfies those bass head people. So if you're like me, who wants the best clartiy and detail possible from a earphone, but at the same time also want it to pump out deep and solid and powerful bass for the slightly more lala self in you, then there will be no other earphone in the market which can beat this!

Solid and powerful lows with warm sounding mids paired together with smooth, crisps and detailed highs. There you have it, the Shure SE530.

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If you think the Shure SE530 is crazy, then you should take a look at this...

Sennheiser Orpheus with Sennheiser HE-90 headphones. USD$20,000.00. The world's most expensive headphone set, and perhaps the best sounding too??
One thing for sure, it really really looks too good to be worn on your head!