Question about the Shure SE530 (and others from the shure line)

Question

I'm seriously thinking about buying this product, but before investing $300 product, I have a few questions to ask, preferably towards people who have used the SE530 model.

1. How comfortable is this earphone when used for long periods? I've tried a number of earphones, mostly the lower kind ($60 is the most expensive one I have ever purchased), and all of them causes some type of ear fatigue at the very least. How many hours can you wear this particular model for comfortably?

2. How does it feel when you use it, as in, what "feeling" do you get in your ears? Does it feel as if a big fat piece of earpiece is stuck in your ear, does it feel comfortable, as if nothing is lodged all the way in your ears, etc?

The earphones that I've used in the past have all been uncomfortable to use, at the very least. I'm looking for an earphone that I would be comfortable to use around the house. With the lower-end, cheap models, I would basically take them off as soon as I get home in favor of my crappy laptop speakers for music listening, solely based on the comfort level.

3. Which model would you recommend to buy? Is the SE530 model truly worth $300 , or is it better to simply buy other models that are only $100-$200, speaking in terms of relative performance and comfort?

4. How would you rate this product for use while exercising? Would the cables bounce around or move all over the place, etc?

Thanks!

Answer 1

Well to begin with, the SE530 model is $500, not $300.

You're talking about the SE310 model!

I own the SE530PTH model which cost me about $500+

1.  I don't really wear earphones for long because I get paranoid if I don't listen to my surrounding for a long time.  Most time I ever wear a pair is for about 2 hours.  I never got tired of wearing them.

2.  It all depends on your ear, really.  When I put my SE530's in my ear, I felt like I couldn't hear ANYTHING outside, which is why they're called Sound Isolating.  I just pushed it into my ear and started moving it around until I felt comfortable.

3.  Honestly, from my experience, it's not THAT much of a difference from the $120 model.  The only time you'll HEAR a difference is when you listen to the $120 model and the $500 model.  And the comfort lvl, it all depends on what ear pieces you use, each model uses the same earpieces.

4.  While exercising?  Each Shure earphones have a THICK wire.  It's NOT a great pair of earphones to exercise with, honestly.  They wires remind me of the wire of a mouse, to me, it's that thick.

I would recommend the $120 model.  It's called the SE110!

By the way, it's almost 1 AM so I may have some poor grammar shown, too sleepy!