which IEM is a lot better than Shure SE535? (I have 535 I want better)

Westone 3 will have more of a U-shaped sound sig with quite a bit more bass and a little crisper treble and a litter bigger soundstage.

 

Most all other universal IEM's with big bass you will be sacrificing detail but I may stand to be corrected.

 

$1000?  Custom IEM.

 

Unique Melody Mage, JH Audio JH11, Thousand Sound TS842.

 

Every midbass heavy IEM sacrifices detail in the midrange, it's the physics of the overall frequency response. You can have the most linear, fastest bass around, but it's midrange coloration is the result of mibass presence. All the responses Ive seen of the W3 show a midbass hump, joker heard it as well. Those with subbass boost instead of a midbass boost maintain that detail, but may sound out of place and incoherent down low if subbass is too far off from the midbass. 

 

Many of the much pricier suggestions are just assumed to be better, people usually correlate price with performance but this is mostly not the case IME. What's better is just too broad as you haven't provided an elaborate your definition of better. If you want more bass there are plenty of IEMs out there with more bass, but you also have to know how that changes the sound and what else you will like to keep or change as a result. Play with EQ a bit, that may help you break it down. Also going from BA to dynamic is a pretty big change that be interpreted as more enjoyable, they are slower and warmer. 

Edited by Inks - 3/5/12 at 7:02pm

what about the jh16?

Customs are a big gamble though, just because he's in the budget doesn't always make it the better choice, there's more to consider. You can just go for something like the W4 which isn't that too far off the SE535 with more depth and punch in bass. It's a safer choice and the need to upgrade won't be as big since it's such a complete universal in ergonomics. 

This might sound silly... Instead of the Westone 4 or 3, try the UM2. I find the UM2s bass and soundstage to have very good presentation. The bass feels meaty and powerful. I actually prefer the UM2 over the 3 and 4, but not the UM3x

Nono he definitatly meant $100. In which case get sum turbine pros ;)

 

(sarcasm)

Yeah, who in the world would spend $1000 on earphones!??!!

 

 

Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)

 

Yes customs are a gamble but I would still highly recommend the UM Merlin.

My vote for Westone 3 or Westone 4. I found them little better than se535.

Sm3v2 or ex1000 are way better in my opinion with more bass than the 535 but with that budget id go for the um merlin, you can check the akg 3003 as well
Edited by Kurdt-bada - 3/6/12 at 4:57am

Unique Melody Merlin Merlin Merlin Merlin Merlin Merlin Merlin Merlin Merlin Merlin Merlin Merlin Merlin Merlin Merlin 

Heard both, have W4 - honestly if you HAVE to get something different the W4 is the way to go if not willing to take the gamble on customs (because the ES5 is TOTALLY in your reach at 1000). 

 

That being said, I love the W4 but it's not a LOT better than the Shure 535. It's just different and one could only call one better than the other by preference. I'd probably listen to a few different IEMs and see the kind of sound you like: for example with that kind of money, you could probably get both the high end phonak and the W4 and see which you like better. OR you can take the k3003 for a while, although it's slightly outside of your budget. 

 

There are a lot of things to consider, but with a budget like that, you are bound to find the sound you want; if not with one IEM, then with two - I know I went through the same phase before ending up with both the W4 and UM3X to cover all of the genres I listen to.