On June 6th I visited Shure headquarters in Niles, IL. At the end of the day, Matt Engstrom and Kevin Spiegel were nice enough to set up a demo of the NEW Shure SE530PTH earphones for myself and my wife.

The Shure SE530PTH was surprisingly light. Matt told me it is the lightest earphones ever manufactured by Shure. He also told me of the importance and long thought process that was choosing the correct and best location for the drivers. This will be the first Universal fit Triple Driver earphones to be built.

I was very impressed by the sound. The mids and lows had a lot of definition. When compared to the Shure SCL5, I thought they had a much better mid range which in my opinion was where the SCL5 lacked. The comfort and fit are superior to the SCL5. They made in my opinion the best earphones of their line so far. As soon as we receive our stock I will make sure to test the SE530PTH extensively against the Westone UM2. From what I was able to listen the SE530PTH may well become our new Editor’s Choice. The main difference in the sound is the presence and definition of mids and lows without obscuring the highs. It has a balanced output but with definition. In general there is a trade off between sounding balanced, warm and “musical” with having to accept a bit of “muddiness”. With the SE530PTH earphones, Matt and the cool folks at Shure accomplished warmness, balanced sound with clarity and excellent definition on the mid range and low range.

The cable of the SE530PTH is only about 12-15 inches long which then connects to a female jack on the end of the cable (I’m guessing 3-4ft. cable) that comes from the Push-To-Hear device which then connects to the iPod or any other portable player. The PTH piece is very well built, sturdy. It has a belt clip and it has a recessed knob for the volume of the music that plays on the background once you push the Shure PTH so that the outside sound can be captured by the built-in microphone. Matt told me that the design of the knob was done that way so that the background volume could not be changed by accident or easily as you should have to do that just once. Once I pushed the button I could hear the conversation around me and the music was playing at a very low volume on the background. Awesome feature! I bet this device will be the most desired accessory of in-ear earphone owners. Unfortunately the PTH sold as a separate accessory will not be out until end of the year. The SE530PTH does come with the PTH accessory.

The third shipment of the Shure SE530-PTH will be in stock on August 1st.

Just a side by side comparison, shape wise the UM2 and the SE530 are very similar. The SE530PTH earpieces are lighter than the UM2. The SE530PTH is more round and the fit and comfort are excellent.

UM2 has slightly stronger bass and the SE530PTH has stronger mids with a bit more detail on that range. I was glad to see the memory wire (as in the SCL5) go. Some people loved those wires but not me.

I am right now listening to some smooth jazz using the Shure SE530PTH earphones with the Westone ComplyTips.

I started with the sleeves that came with the SE530PTH but frankly, in my case, the ComplyTips are unbeatable because they seal but without the vacuum feeling which often makes me a bit dizzy.

I'm not an audiophile (I think -- I do own a Manley pre-amp integrated, Snell speakers, Lexicon amplifier and pre and some other stuff which IMHO was expensive, but I know many guys here have much more $ invested in cables alone ) and I don't read response curves, which I have been told are of less importance with in-ear earphones since your ear canal acts as a speaker cabinet and everybody's ear canal is different, so excuse my humble opinions here. They are merely empirical and not technical.

The SE530PTH headphones has definitely more definition than the UM2 on the mid range. I'm sorry if I can't describe it correctly. The E4 had a lot of definition but it was just too crispy. Even harsh with some songs which some would perceive as bass shy. The SE530PTH has definition, especially on the mids, which the SCL5 did not. Matt had explained to me when we first tested the SE530PTH at Shure that the SCL5 had lots of low and high because that's usually what the musician needs on stage. The Shure SE530PTH is a much better performer than the SCL5.

The comfort and fit is comparable to the UM2 with an edge to the SE530PTH because where the cables bend and touch your ears is not felt as it is with the UM2. The earpieces are extremelly light. The cable is also very light. I was always a fan of light cables. I don't think they have to be heavy and thick to be good. Westone proved that. With the Etys it's different as you can say the cables are light AND fragile and give a lot of microphonics.

Using the ComplyTips with the SE530PTH earphones I get NO microphonics from the cable. If you are chewing ice, than in my case, it's a thunder inside the head, no matter which earphones you are using.

Because of your question, I just popped the UM2 in. Man, do I love the UM2?

I will say by running this 2 minute test, the UM2 has a stronger bass and the SE530PTH has more detail on the mid range. The UM2 is also more efficient but I think I'm enjoying the sound of the SE530PTH more.

Sorry but between switching earphones which takes almost a minute, it's hard to do a good comparison between these two. We will be better equipped to do a good side by side next week.

• Driver type: Triple balanced armature drivers
• Sensitivity: 119 dB SPL/mW
• Impedance: 36 ohms
• Weight: 30g (1 oz.)
• Frequency Range: 18Hz-19 kHz
• Input Connector: 3.5 mm (1/8”) gold-plated stereo plug

• SE530 Earphones
• Zip Carrying Case
• Push-To-Hear Control
• Modular Cable Options
• 1/4" Adapter
• Level Attenuator
• User's Guide
• Shure 2 Year Warranty Replacement or Repair
• Fit Kit
• FREE EarphoneSolutions Instructions and Tips on How To Get the Best Sound Exclusive