I've caught up on this thread. Nice review tienbasse thanks for that, very informative.
I have a problem with the stock light grey cable in that it's about 5cm too short and does allow me to wear my 535's at the back of the head style which I like. So I have Belden cable for ~$50 (microphone cable rewired to accept Shures), it's super thick and very uncomfortable portably. Microphonics are a big problem. But sitting still at the office or at home it gives better sound than the stock cable. Ultra bright highs that I find in the stock cable are dulled down slightly without losing resolition making it more pleasant overall. The bass is significantly increased in depth and extension. Sound stage is wider too on the Belden. Overall the sensitivity on the Beldens are much better than the stock cable. but as said the comfort is a real drawback and I now have purchased a stock Shure clear cable and have been using that lately only for it's length. Overall it was an excellent buy for $50 imo.
I have also put in a order for the (older version) Furutech cable and I am disappointed to read your review of them. Never mind, they were only $30 and I was thinking of using them to fix my venerable E2C's which the cable has died on.
Now about amplification and bass! YES ditch the E7 and move up to a RSA Tomahawk (or better). I had an E11 and the hiss was too much for me. Also on certain tracks on high end I found the E11 distorted noticeably. The Tomahawk is a FAR FAR superior product. It has a deep dark silent background and enhances some tracks which are acoustic or acapella. The biggest thing I've noticed is the bass on the Tomahawk. It is deep and strong, authorative I think is the right word. Now having used the Tomahawk I honestly don't believe the bass on 535LTD is actually lacking, I feel that those who think it is have inadequate amplification - Honest! On some tracks it is very strong and deep, not at all lacking. Accurate is the best word for it. Of course it can't thump like a headphone can simply because of driver size, but it certainly gives good reproduction of that thump. Even with the E11's 2 bass boost switches (which just made everything muddy and boomy) the Tomahawk is still superior bass wise. It's tighter and more defined.
Bottom line the base is not quite the same as my KEF 12inch sub by any means, but I feel it is more than enough and most important, accurate, and not at all lacking.
Also bad in ear fitment is a big killer of base, make sure you are using the right sized olives for your ear. Proof: turn your music on, squeeze the olives in your fingers and insert them in your ear. You will hear the bass continually increase while the olives expand in your ear canal. The way to check they are fitted properly is when you pop them out, the shape should be distorted slightly by your ear canal, that's how you know they have expanded to fit your ear canal properly. If there are folds when you pull them out, they are too big, go one size down or you didn't squeeze them before putting them in your ear. If there are no shape distortions when you pull them out, then they are too small, try the next one up.
While on this subject of bass, I also noticed a big difference from 320kps MP3 and ALAC Lossless when it comes to bass (amongst other things). There is simply more of it and greater extension on lossless. It's that big of a difference I've ripped all my music into lossless and ditched all my compressed music. Also not all bass is the same, what I mean is the source recording plays a big role. I find that there are some CDs just don't have that extra dimension in bass, even though they are all lossless ripped. Example: Fleetwood Mac's greatest hits has more thumping bass than Live's Awake album, which is a light metal rock band! It's weird but I can only attribute this difference to recording source. If not done right, it just doesn't sound good no matter what amps/headphones you have...
The other big difference between E11 and Tomahawk is resolution overall. Quite simply the Tomahawk is like a chlorinated pool compared to a muddy river that is the E11! I feel it is that big of a difference. Acoustic guitar, cymbals, voices, echo effects, so much resolution that was not there before. It's night and day.
So to end with my point: the difference between cables is negligible compared to the difference a good amp makes. save your money and buy a good amp! I am that certain that I'm looking into buying a RSA SR-71B and recabling for balanced output to the Shures. Rip your music to Lossless (free upgrade!)
In the next coming week I have ordered 1) A gen 5.5 iMod 2) a Fostex HP-P1 so I will let you know how source DAC makes a difference... till then happy listening!
Edited by Lillee - 2/16/12 at 4:23pm
