Where to go from here?

[elnero]

I've come to a crossroads, when I was somewhat forced into downgrading to one phone some of the sting was taken out of it because I thought I'd found the perfect all-rounder for my preferences and budget in the E500's. I'm a bit of a basshead, I like my mids as well and I?m quite sensitive to sibilance so the overall balance of the E500's suits me, I know it's not the perfect phone and there's better on the market but I've always found them to be a satisfying listen that has allowed me to focus on the music not the equipment.

Although the E500's satisfy me sonically I recently fell victim to the cable cracking problem, not only that but one of the soft plastic pieces at the top of one of the housings came completely away incidentally revealing another crack which, from the greening of the wire, appeared to be older than the one I noticed a the other side a few days before. Shure and SF Marketing here in Canada were an absolute pleasure to deal with; SF Marketing got me a replacement pair of SE530's within a week without any hassle. I?ve also read some comments from Sugarfried that suggest the problems should be resolved now but if it continues they will be replaced regardless of warranty status. That all sounds good but what about the soft plastic piece above the driver coming away? In my research it seems a less problem but one some others have had as well. So even though I love the E500's and Shure's customer service has been impeccable I'm still left wondering at the wisdom of having all my eggs in one basket. Given the reason for downgrading to one phone in first place was finances, if the E500's were to break again out of warranty, depending on the circumstances, it seems there might be a possibility they wouldn't be replaced and I'd be up shit creek without a paddle so it seems prudent at this juncture to explore other options.

Sonically I tend to prefer good tonality and decay, a more liquid midrange but by the same token I've played bass and cello so I value a decent bottom end that has sufficient weight, punch and PRaT. The treble region has always been a source of contention with me; I like a clean clear treble but not to excess as I'm sensitive to that region and can easily find it distracting especially if there is exaggerated or overly hot sibilance. My favourite cans outside of the E500's have been the RS-1's and W100's. The W100's I loved for their liquidity and captivating musicality but an upper midrange coloration finally got the best of me. In some ways I preferred the RS-1's to the E500's, in particular their PRaT and those mids, but the RS-1's proved to be too damn finicky, in particular the treble became an issue that I could never quite solve without affecting other areas. In addition I found my ears would ring excessively after any amount of time with the RS-1's and that really started to concern me. If I were to change anything sonically about the E500's it might be for a bit more of a liquid midrange, possibly a tighter, snappier bass and I wouldn't be opposed to a bit more in the treble as long as it doesn't become distracting and/or exaggerate sibilance.

To be honest I'm not sure what I'm looking for, the E500's have served all duties from outside on the go, to work, to home and their even the first phone I've found that I can lie down with so another IEM but one with at the very least replaceable cables and a more solid construction, seems to be the logical choice. Until recently I've had some tip/comfort issues with the E500's though so had been toying more with the idea of a full-sized phones for home and/or work and a cheap IEM for on the go outside. I retried the black olive tips though and I don't seem to get the burning sensation I did first time round, they're reasonably comfortable and, with the exception of the treble, sound better than the modified tri-flanges I had been using but which had started to cause excessive itching in my ear canal so the comfort thing seems to be less of an issue than it was. If I were to go with something other than an IEM for main use I'd give preference to a closed phone although under the right circumstances I wouldn't be opposed to open.

I should also not that I just recently received the Pico, it's serving quite admirably as both source and amp so given my budget constraints I don't see that changing any time soon. On the subject of budget I should also note that if I do this I would be limited to what I can get for the E500's on the used market and I can probably come up with around $100 by selling a couple of small items.

Due to those budget constraints I'd prefer to not get into a whole bunch of buying and selling to try things so I'm hoping with the advice of the experienced members here that I might be able to narrow the field down as much as possible beforehand.

[Dusty Chalk]

First of all, even out of warranty, Shure has one of the best customer service deals around -- flat rate. You should find out what it is in Canada. I believe in the US it's something like $30.

Secondly, Sennheiser HD580/600.

[n_maher]

If it were me I would not try to solve a problem that doesn't exist yet. You like the E500/530, have essentially a brand new pair, and I'd bet that Shure will treat it like your warranty reset with the new headphones. I see no reason to buy or sell anything.

[elnero]

First of all, even out of warranty, Shure has one of the best customer service deals around -- flat rate. You should find out what it is in Canada. I believe in the US it's something like $30.

Secondly, Sennheiser HD580/600.

I'm not sure what you mean about the flat rate, are you talking out of warranty replacement? If so I believe the deal on the earlier models was great but when I was checking the US website it looked like the replacement charge for E500/530's was $350, you do bring up a good point and I should talk to Sugarfried to clarify this, if it was actually under $100 or something like that then I'd just stick with the E500's.

Other than the RS-1's and W100's I was going to mention some of the other phones I've had or tried in the past that I didn't like so much but felt I was already yangin' on too much as it was. I have owned the HD580 and 600's in the past and also had an extensive audition of the HD650's as well. There are parts of their sound that I like but others not so much, I'm one of those that feels they need a rather beefy amp before I even start to like them plus I'm not terribly fond of their attempt at a speaker-like soundstage presentation, I tend to prefer the closer more onstage feel of Grado's or the in your head presentation of IEM's.

I do have access to the HD650's and K701's for that matter, through another local guy. I'm hoping to borrow them at some point soon to refresh my thoughts on the 650's, give the 701's a proper audition and see how both fare with Pico. Having tried the various Senn iterations in the past though I don't hold much hope that they'll fare much better this time round.

[elnero]

If it were me I would not try to solve a problem that doesn't exist yet. You like the E500/530, have essentially a brand new pair, and I'd bet that Shure will treat it like your warranty reset with the new headphones. I see no reason to buy or sell anything.

I see your point although I highly doubt Shure would treat the warranty as if it were reset, that would be a first in my experience. I did email Sugarfried with some questions after I got the replacement pair but never heard back from him. I scoured the threads regarding the cable problems and found that Shure's answer was that yes, they found a problem with cables and the chemistry of some people (or something to that effect) was causing the cable to harden and crack. They've said they've fixed it but have not let on from what date this change has occurred so some people are still having problems and no one knows if their replacements have the new cable compound or not.

My concern is a little convoluted I suppose, it's not so much about the cable but other aspects like the soft plastic pieces at the top of the driver housing coming away. Because I didn't have a receipt they went by the date code on the phones themselves to determine that they were less than two years old so I don't know what happens next time round if something like those soft plastic pieces come away again. I should probably clarify exactly what will happen in different instances as my assumption so far has been that in those cases I'd be left with a broken headphone that I couldn't sell or would take a severe loss on in which case I'd be left with nothing.

[Dusty Chalk]

I'm not sure what you mean about the flat rate, are you talking out of warranty replacement?

Their flat rate for repairs -- which, with IEM's, means replacement 9 times out of 10. According to this page, it's $325 for yours. It's $50 for the e2c's, which is what I have, so maybe that's what I was thinking. Alas.

I have owned the HD580 and 600's in the past and also had an extensive audition of the HD650's as well. There are parts of their sound that I like but others not so much, I'm one of those that feels they need a rather beefy amp before I even start to like them plus I'm not terribly fond of their attempt at a speaker-like soundstage presentation, I tend to prefer the closer more onstage feel of Grado's or the in your head presentation of IEM's.

Yeah, me, too, on both counts.

[elnero]

Well I sent off an email to SF Marketing and have yet to get a response but considering the info in this'>http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/my-se530s-broke-again-i-need-your-help-287409/"]this thread I'm not holding out much hope.

I've been talking with Jason at Sleek Audio about their newly available SA6 IEM, it's seems like a very interesting, well thought out design that's worth a try.

I was also thinking about trying a cheaper full-sized headphone, an HD580 would probably be the best in the $100-150 range but I've been there, done that. I'm not opposed to giving them another try but I also think there may be others like maybe Beyer's DT531 or the AKG's K240 which I haven't heard yet. I've seem to remember hearing that the new DT770's are much more balanced than before and might be worth a shot as well. What are peoples thoughts on those? They would go in conjunction with something like the SA6 or another IEM in that general price range but I'm still open to hearing any suggestions for something more expensive that might meet my preferences.

[strid3r]

You might like the DT531's. It has good PRaT and punch and has a slightly forward midrange. I don't know about finding a pair though. I think dc was selling one?

[elnero]

You might like the DT531's. It has good PRaT and punch and has a slightly forward midrange. I don't know about finding a pair though. I think dc was selling one?

Do you know what they fit like? I apparently have a very small head because I've had problems with fit in some designs, looking the DT531's I can't tell exactly what they might be like in this regard.

[strid3r]

Do you know what they fit like? I apparently have a very small head because I've had problems with fit in some designs, looking the DT531's I can't tell exactly what they might be like in this regard.

Which designs have you had issues with? I have a medium/circular head and they have a good amount of clamp pressure. The leather headband is adjustable on the sides and the earcups are on hinges, so I don't think you would have an issue...

[elnero]

The Audio Technica 3D wing design while reasonably comfortable never seemed to quite fit right, always felt big and a bit loose on my head so I found myself constantly adjusting them. There are some others that I can't quit think of but they've had similar, although not the same, headband designs as the 531's. Even my RS-1's I had almost down to the very bottom.

[laxx]

The Audio Technica 3D wing design while reasonably comfortable never seemed to quite fit right, always felt big and a bit loose on my head so I found myself constantly adjusting them. There are some others that I can't quit think of but they've had similar, although not the same, headband designs as the 531's. Even my RS-1's I had almost down to the very bottom.[/]

Doesn't that mean your head is huge?

[elnero]

Doesn't that mean your head is huge?

I guess it depends on what you look at as bottom. I mean the poles are pushed almost to the bottom so that the headphone would be close to the smallest position.

[laxx]

Oh. I don't know how to wear a Grado correctly. I have a big head, almost max out my K701's, but at the same time, I wear my RS-2's the same as you, basically unextended.

[elnero]

An update for anyone interested, I received a pair of Sleek Audio SA6's last night and initial impressions are quite positive. They're quite tiny, light and very comfortable.