Dear all,
 
I've recently received my Shure se535, which is a fantastic sounding IEM, and it is also my first high class IEM at all. However, I can hear a lot of background hiss from the se535 when I connected to my my MacBook Pro. I have also tried to connect to my home use DAC and HPA, I can still hear some hiss from my home rig, but a lot lesser than the MacBook Pro. Are there any suggestion that I can do to decrease the background hiss? I had order a Cowon J3, but still on the way to my place :-D. 
 
Regards,
Roger

Get a physical attenuator. Ultimate Ears includes a nice one with their universal IEM toolkit (US$20) sold on their website.
 
For my JH16s and all of my low-impedance IEMs, it eliminates the noise from my macbook pro's headphone out. I think that you will see similar results with your SE535. If you're hearing noise from your DAC/Amp setup, then the SE535s might be sending you a message that your components may not be up to snuff

Quote:

albertnam said:

Get a physical attenuator. Ultimate Ears includes a nice one with their universal IEM toolkit (US$20) sold on their website.
 
For my JH16s and all of my low-impedance IEMs, it eliminates the noise from my macbook pro's headphone out. I think that you will see similar results with your SE535. If you're hearing noise from your DAC/Amp setup, then the SE535s might be sending you a message that your components may not be up to snuff

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Which is a good idea, I've just search on the ultimate ears' website, and only US$20 to let my SE535 producing a cleaner sound. Thanks.

I could get a great sound out of my Walkman A829 with the Shure's but the background hiss with the A829/SE530's was too much for my liking.
 
I tried the UE's one first but think it was 200Ohm (did test with multimeter) mainly for airplane use and restricted volume too much needing the mp3 player to be on max. Then read I needed a 75Ohm one and bought one made to order from a recommended ebay seller in Japan for £29 If I recall. Apparently you need a special type of attenuator material (sold rather than lamminated I think) to reduce impact on sound quality.
 
They do work, totally eliminating the hiss but also still flatten out the sound loosing the Crystal edge the SE530's deliver. The included Shure adapter (with thumbwheel) is not too bad actually.
 
I'm now with SE535's & iPhone 4 and fortunately the iPhone has no background white noise at all and is a superb combination. 

I actually bought an J3 for myself because of the low background noise, and very satisfy with that!!