[JPizzzle]

Hi everyone,


This is my first post in any type of audiophile forum-looking forward to learning a lot and getting to know you all.  I have always enjoyed music-and have been recently thinking of taking this pleasure to a higher level.  My situation is as follows:


No lossless music- best I have is likely 256kbps AAC


No portable amp


I also play some electric guitar and have a beautiful tweed fender amp for that


Mac user-itunes-
Would mostly be using a 32gb iPhone 4 and 64gb ipad


 


I have once owned a pair of shure headphones back in 2001-they were white with yellow foam tips-did not enjoy them because of the noise when touching and moving the earphone cable.  


Currently using apple's in ear headphones.


 


I have been looking at headphones in the 200-300 range, and figured instead of getting some gimmick one's like the tour beats by dre, that i might put my money in an investment.  Unfortunately, I've been reading that the se535's sound horrible with non-lossless music.  I would be willing to convert my CD'S to lossless and future music acquisitions.  I was just wondering what you guys would do in my situation.  I have the money to spend on them, but the question is if I should.  I've been reading that these are excellent in ear isolations for $500.  I was thinking of getting the clear ones-but worried that they might look like some type of hearing aid .  I'm 26 y/o MS level therapist going for my Psy.D, so i'm not in any audio related industry or musical industry.  Just a hobby.  Thanks in advance.


 


JP

 

[lazard]

Most people can't hear the difference between 256kbps VBR / 320kbps CBR MP3s and lossless.  I used to own a pair of SE530s and they sounded great even with MP3s.

 

[ramadugu]

Hi,
 I'm not great at analyzing the music for the quality. I listen to Indian music a lot. All I can get is 320kbps and rock (PF, Led Zepp, Metallica) in lossless format. I use Triple Fi's (custom fit from Fisher Audio, Fl). All I can say is 256kbps is not bad at all with Triple Fi's and during a flight layover, I went an audio store and used SE530 (SE535 was not available back then) to listen my lossless music and 320 kbps music. Both were good. Some people cannot distinguish between 256 and above kbps and lossless and I'm one among them. May be audiophiles say that I'm dumb. But this is my experience. Regarding SE535, I think they will be very good. But there is a first impressions thread in Head-Fi and try to read it. Many people said they are good.
 
Hope this might give at least an idea for you.
 
Regards
Sai

 

[dweaver]

can't go wrong with the 535 but also look at the Earsonics SM3, read up on both and decide based on what you like in an IEM which one you want.

 

[JPizzzle]

Hey thanks for the feedback guys! I was reading different user opinions stating that the se530s have hiss on lower grade files. So that has me a little worried. Also I know a lot of people recommend a portable amp to use with iPhone or whatever, but I feel that this would be cumbersome or unattractive when I don't have a bag with me. Is an amp really necessary to fully appreciate the sound from the headphones? I guess my fear is that I'd be buying these buds and my regular music would sound average or worse due to the sensitivity of the headphones.



I also will check out the headphones mentioned above. Thx!

Ps i would also be ordering from amazon and would have 30 days to try out

 

[lazard]

IEMs don't need amps...it's more of a luxury than a necessity.  The iphone has enough juice to drive the SE535.

 

[Anaxilus]

The 535 is one of many IEM's designed to run ampless.  In fact sometimes it could be a problem.  If a 535 sounds better w/ an amp its because it changed the sound signature, not because it gave it the power it was craving.  Unless the player is anemic.

 

[JPizzzle]

Great info! Thx guys, I'm happy to hear that since I don't wanna carry around another device. You guys have been really helpful. Now gotta decide between bronze and clear!

 

[JPizzzle]

Anyone know what's the upgrade life on a set like this? How long one would typically hold on to a set like this before upgrading (obviously subjective question). Thx again

 

[Anaxilus]

If you like the sound of the 535 and with those cables 5-7 years?  Unless you keep reading these threads I'd say 1-2 months.

 

[IpodHappy]

The hiss type noise you will hear with the SE535s can be a function of the source you are using.  The SE535s are very efficient, meaning they put out a lot of sound for very little power.  If the amplifier stage of your player has a less than pristine noise floor, you'll hear it in your SE535s.  For example, my E500s were the first IEMs which highlighted the noise of my IPODs.  Previous active noise isolation phones I purchased, such as the Bose QC2s and the Sennheiser PX250s had inherent hiss due to the amplification stage of the noise cancellation circuit.  The first IEMs I purchased, ER4S and the E4Cs weren't too sensitive and didn't show up the background noise, but the next, the E400Cs, did.  The Ipod 5.5G was pretty bad with background noise.  The Ipod 6G reduced the noise floor greatly. 
 
Unless you spend quite a bit of time training your ears, you won't notice much difference between AAC bit rates down to 160kbs compared to loss less conversion.  Yes, there is a difference, but you won't notice it until you learn what to listen for and then listen carefully.
 

 

[JPizzzle]

Ok so not so worried about hiss as much, and happy to see that the buds are built for some time. going through this forum has made my purchasing decision a bit tougher though. I now am also looking at the weston 3, sm3 and um3x. Eeek anyone of those that is a clear winner

 

[IpodHappy]

I haven't heard the SM3s, which are currently recommended by quite a number of members as the best IEMs they've every heard.  However, comparing the SE530s, the UM3Xs, and the W3s as thumbnail sketches:
 
W3: Fun sound signature.  Long bass extension, though with a mid bass hump.  Nice treble extension.  Mids a bit recessed.  Great microphonics.  Great isolation.  Nice sound stage.
 
UM3X: More neutral than the W3s.  Less mid bass hump.  More mid range.  More rolled off high frequency than the W3s.  Sound stage that is a bit more enclosed, but still retaining good ambience.
 
SE530s: These are considered the king of mid range, meaning they really pull out vocals.  To my ears, their sound signature is similar to the UM3Xs, minus the UM3Xs nice bass extension.  The microphonics of the SE530s are higher than the UM3X or W3 due to the larger diameter cable.  I don't use the SE530s as much as either the W3s or UM3Xs since I prefer the stronger bass of these latter IEMs.

 

[ZARIM]

SM3 are clear winner due to it's rich details in mids, highs and bass with wider soundstage, great instrument separation, placement and micro details. The next upgrade over SM3 canbe custom JH13Pro, JH16Pro( and they compete well with very high end full size headphones setups like Sennheiser  HD800, Ultrasone Edition 9.

 

[JPizzzle]

From what I've been reading the sm3's seem to be preferred over the se530 and other non-custom iem's.  I haven't seen many people comparing the se535's specifically to the sm3's.  The se535 have had improvements when compared to the 530 beyond just the removable cable.  However not many people have gotten a hand on these since they are so new.  For some reason I keep leaning towards them and can get them new for 409.99.  Even though it shouldn't matter, I do prefer the look of the shures.  I dunno why i'm leaning towards them when so many people recommend the sm3's perhaps it's the looks.  we'll see. thx again guys
 
ps the jh are out of my price range for now