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Shure SE 535 Sharp "S" Sound

post #1 of 18
2/4/12 at 1:48pm
Thread Starter 

The Problem: I've found that for pretty much all track I can detect an extremely audible hiss/sibilance. However, as it turns out this happens no mater what audio source I listen to, no matter where the tracks have been downloaded from, no matter what headphones/IEM I use. It's frustrating.

Is it possible to have extremely simbilance prone ears?  

 

 

Partial Solution: The more I listen to different audio equipment, the more I'm convinced its a problem with my ears. On the up-side, I recently got my FiiO E17. To conclude, I think the DAC in it helps with the sibilance a lot, even more so than EQ'ing the sound. Instead of being unbearable, it's MUCH more tame and just there. It isn't a complete solution, but its satisfactory to me.

 

Thanks for the outstanding replies to this thread everyone!


Edited by A Kennedy4 - 2/24/12 at 7:42pm
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post #2 of 18
2/4/12 at 2:20pm

It could be your source (CD Player, portable player, DAC, sound card, etc.) instead of your particular headphones. I've heard both of those mentioned headphones extensively (listen to SE535's all day every day) and have never noticed even a hint of sharpness (ie "silibance) with them. What sort of source are you running to the headphones? And yes, depending on source, amping the headphones (more so the Senns than the Shures) can help with all sorts of distortion problems...

 

 

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post #3 of 18
2/4/12 at 2:30pm
Thread Starter 

Thanks for the reply,

 

I listen to these through my iphone 4 mainly. All the songs are encoded in MP3 V0.  As far as the genres, I listen to pretty much everything but metal. I don't notice the sharp S sound when listening to ambient music because there is no vocals. But any time there is vocals, it is very distinct and kinda hurts my ears. Im looking to get the Fiio e17 when it comes out. Will that ease the simbalance?

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post #4 of 18
2/4/12 at 2:49pm

I have the older version, SE530, and I get this, too. My sources are the J3 and Iphone 4. It's worse with the J3.

 

 

I don't get it on all songs with vocals, like you do, but it definitely happens on a few of them. Some albums were unbearable and I can't listen to them anymore. It seems to be the poorly mastered ones.

 

With the J3, I have to EQ the higher frequencies down a notch. This was surprising because I thought the treble was supposed to be recessed with the particular headphone. 

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post #5 of 18
2/15/12 at 6:19pm
Thread Starter 

I've found that for pretty much all track I can detect an extremely audible hiss/sibilance. However, as it turns out this happens no mater what audio source I listen to, no matter where the tracks have been downloaded from, no matter what headphones/IEM I use. It's frustrating.

 

Is it possible to have extremely simbilance prone ears?  

Reply
post #6 of 18
2/15/12 at 6:22pm

Could it be the quality of the track? Did you try lossless files?

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post #7 of 18
2/15/12 at 6:24pm
Thread Starter 

All tracks are either in 320 kbps MP3, V0 MP3 or FLAC. Ripped from CD or downloaded from a trusted source for well ripped, non-transcodes

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post #8 of 18
2/15/12 at 6:33pm

I had this problem with the 535's initially anyways. Not the 530's. What I did for a while is to use the Triple flange tips. This will help

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post #9 of 18
2/15/12 at 6:50pm
Thread Starter 

But the sibilance occurs no matter what I source, audio file, or audio eqiupment I use 

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post #10 of 18
2/15/12 at 6:56pm

that could just be the nature of the headphones, you can correct it by EQ'ing down around the 8khz range, or change the tips because it could also be resonance

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post #11 of 18
2/15/12 at 7:03pm
Thread Starter 

Eqing my music has been the only thing that has helped

 

Changing the tips didn't do much for the sibilance 

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post #12 of 18
2/15/12 at 7:08pm

i would suggest just getting a refund next if you still cannot seem to correct it, or make it to your liking

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post #13 of 18
2/15/12 at 8:59pm
The triple flange is the only tip that I don't get that painful sound, I'm use to it by now, but I was very uncomfortable at the beginning to use the triples but you get use to int and worth the cleaner sound. The sound was unbearable with all the other tips. Also the triples give you the best isolation.
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post #14 of 18
2/16/12 at 1:34am
Since it looks like that this isn't a audio file or a source problem i would suggest getting a refund.
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post #15 of 18
2/16/12 at 8:44am
Quote:
Originally Posted by A Kennedy4 View Post

Hello everyone, I was wondering if hearing a sharp/piercing S sound is normal. It like over powers any other frequencies, and occurs whenever an artist says a word with a "s" in it. Is this a case of what an unamped IEM sounds like? I also hear it from my Senn HD 600 too. What can I do to fix it?

 

EDIT: I've found that for pretty much all track I can detect an extremely audible hiss/sibilance. However, as it turns out this happens no mater what audio source I listen to, no matter where the tracks have been downloaded from, no matter what headphones/IEM I use. It's frustrating.

 

Is it possible to have extremely simbilance prone ears?  


Yes! People that have this, (and I think I used to) are better with phones like   1. Westone UM3X (Still have outstanding Mids),  2. Westone 4 Balance, 

 

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