Thought I'd write a little about my impressions about the following IEM's. It will be short and I am too lazy to write much or test it on all sorts of songs side by side =). So don't look at this as a review, just impressions from someone who owns all three and have listened to them all shuffling through the same collection of songs.

Sennheiser IE8


Ultimate Ears Triplefi 10vi


Shure SE530



Sennheiser IE8
Great single driver IEM for broad range of music. Best sound-stage of the 3, has a bass booster but I normally keep it at the lowest level. Very solid base and sticks with Sennheisers sound signature which some find muzzled. I personally don't think it is.

Ultimate Ears Triplefi 10vi (the 10 and 10vi is the same, the vi has a mic on the cable and supports iPhone etc)
These IEM's have 3 drivers so they provide more detail than the IE8s. They lack the punch of the IE8's but they excel in the mids. Great IEM's for rock and anything with a lot of string instruments.

Shure SE530
Another great triple driver IEM, great detail but can get very bright with certain genres of music. They are similar to the TF10's in that it also can't match the bass of the IE8's, the SE530s have a bit less bass than the TF10s. Where they excel is in vocals, I also find they provide better positional sound. You can identify where each instruments are much better than the IE8 and TF10's.

Cable quality/practicality
IE8 has the best cable in terms of being out of the way and having the less microphonics. The insulating material is not rubbery so there are not tangles.

TF10's cable is on the stiff side. It constantly tries to flex back, for example I find I have to rotate my stereo jack so cable is leaning towards me, else it pops outward and can catch on things.

SE530's cable has been the subject of a lot of negative comments. People have complained the cables crack not long after using them. I have heard Shure has redesigned the cable but I can't say if the pair I have has the new cable or the old one. I can say these IEM's come with a load of attachments. You get the IEM's on a short cable that reaches from your ears down to the chest, from there you will need to attach another extender cable. This extender cable is very thick, easily twice as thick as the cable on the other two IEMs. My guess is 2mm.
You also get volume attachment, a spliter or some sort and various adaptors. I apologise but I usually just rip these open get what I need and go without playing with the little bits and pieces so can't provide more detail.
*Note the SE530 is the only IEM of the 3 that does not have detachable cables to the earpieces.

Fit/comfort
All three IEMs fit over the ear as this provides the less microphonics as it holds the cable and prevents it from banging on your neck/chest as you are moving around.
For comfort I'd rate it from them. SE530 > IE8 > TF10.

to be continued...

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Laptop: i5 Macbook Pro - X25-M
Desktop: Koruki's i7 Gulftown Watercooled build
Headphones: Sennheiser 650/800 - IE8 - UE TF-10vi - SE530

Thanks for the review, I'm finding it hard to replace the sleeves....

update：took me a while with the aid of the end of a paper clip. These earbuds are indeed comfortable to wear, and sound is just great. A big thank you for recommending it mate.