[purk]

Very lucky indeed.  I've been trying to convince my wife to buy me the JH13 or 16pro but due to recent economy, I've settled with another Shure E530 for another year until making a switch.

 
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Yeah, I'm a pretty lucky guy. 

 
Funny, she's the one who got me into this hobby as my home theater system sits unused beside me because "it's just too loud for her and the kids...especially after bedtime" which is normally 8:30pm.
 
I'm a big Shure SE530/5 fan and with the Westone 3s are the top 2 IEMs I've ever heard/owned. I do love their silky and forward mids...next to my T1s, they are the best I've heard.

 

[Spyro]

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From a frequency response point of view, I didn't find the SE530 to be deficient of highs.  From my own testing, I found it to pretty flat and extended using a pink noise track to tune EQ, something I have done for basically every earphone I've owned.  However, when listening to music, the upper end treble does sound recessed.  From a general audio perspective, this tends to indicate more of a factor related not to output but to phase or distancing from the ear.  It seems to represent a time domain delay of audio information to the ear relative to lower frequencies.  It's merely a guess as I know no specifics to the actual design of the earphone, however it's the main effect of time delay when output levels are not the reason.  This kind of stuff is a natural byproduct of electronic crossovers though.

Yea, I think you may be right on this as I made an accidental discovery.   The swivel connector on the cable is allowing for more tip options to me that I use to not be able to use.  In other words, previously, as soon as the cable would shift from any momement, the housing would shift a bit too and possibly dislodging the tip in your ear losing the seal somewhat.  With the swivel cable connector system, the housing doesn't budge one bit even with lots of movement.  The cable takes the brunt of the movement, not the housing.  I'm using the smallest flex sleeve right now.  When fully placing the sleeve onto the end of the nozzle, the end of the nozzle is almost all the way to the end of the sleeve and is therefore closer to the ear.  I am getting all the treble I need with no siblance.

 

 

[ericp10]

Well, I've owned the older version of this Shure for over two years until I recently gave it to a friend of mine. I will have to say that if the sound hasn't been tweaked, then yes, it is a ripoff for the price. You can get a way better sounding - and cheaper - 3 armature drivers earphone with the Earsonics SM3. From my memory, the ES530 didn't come close to the sound quality of the SM3.

 

[rawrster]

If it does sound the same then I don't really understand their thinking. The SE530 is still on the market and can be had for around $250. The biggest competition to the SE535 would be the older model in the SE530 at a much cheaper price. I don't see them selling too many of these at this high price and not much change in sound unless they revise their pricing to a more competitive one.

 

[MacedonianHero]

The SE530s are discontinued and their price is a "clearance" price. Just for clarification.

 

[Young Spade]

Yea well I mean they can't come out with top tier IEMs (being as big of a company that they are) and only charge~300 for their IEMs when they already have top tier ones out can they? You have to remember that a lot of it is appereance; and sadly most people think that the more it costs, the better it is; hence Bose selling tons of headphones. 
 
I do agree that they cost too much for being the same as something already out but without removable cables but I can find reasoning behind it. Will I get a pair? Heck no. 

 

[Spyro]

For clarification purposes, 

1. I think it is safe to say that the re-positioning of the drivers in the housing would have to alter the sound signature.  Since it has been about a year for me since SE530, I simply can't say yes or no as far as a sound change.  Someone with both would need to do an A/B.  Hopefully Earphone Solutions will do this soon when they test SE535 which they will.
2. I have confirmed that the housing itself is slightly narrower and more flush and slightly smaller.
3. Just these changes above will certainly affect the fit and as we know, the fit is crucial to the sound.
4. I also want to add that this clear version I have certainly looks and fits like a custom set-up, especially with the newer housing look and the new cable connectors.  Looks very expensive actually.
   
5. Also noticing that with the fit I am getting, the sound truly is very balanced top to bottom.  W3 is more fluid and liquid sounding where SE535 has that rawer live music sound to it and is actually a little more realistic where W3 (as great as it sounds) sounds a bit more "manufactured."  The more forward sounding midrange of SE535 will make it sound a bit more fatiguing for long periods at higher volumes. 

 

[MacedonianHero]

Agreed. I wouldn't have bought a pair either (but my wife did get them for me anyway). But I would hardly equate BOSE to Shure.
 
Let's also not forget that the SE530s were selling for $400-$500 (at least here in Canada) before the 2010 CES and their announcement of the SE535. So the $300 price tag was really only to bleed off their obsolete inventory.
 
The MSRP for the IE8s is still around $450.

 

[Young Spade]

I wasn't equating, I was just throwing another company out there that sells overpriced headphones. I know Shure makes better headphones and is a "better" company in my opinion. 

 

[mitkooo]

It surely looks great. Thanks for the impression, homefully someone can compare them to SE530. 

 

[MacedonianHero]

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I wasn't equating, I was just throwing another company out there that sells overpriced headphones. I know Shure makes better headphones and is a "better" company in my opinion. 

Cool...just making sure. We are both in complete agreement then! Cheers!

 

[mvw2]

Spyro, by distancing I don't mean the earphone as a whole.  Rather I'm suggesting individual driver placement within the earphone.  If the tweeter driver is further back, it will add a small amount of delay and recess the sound.  Crossover setup can also affect phase and delay sound.  These things can create that recessed signature.  Now placement within the ear will play a roll too.  The dual port Triple.Fi 10 has a rather significant influence on placement within the ear.  The SE530 isn't a dual port, so the sound should blend together better.  Tip choice and placement in the ear do of course play a role, and you need to test and figure out what works better.  I'm a big fan of Olive tips, so I personally never used anything other than Shure's stock tips.

 

[TobaccoRoad]

I just skimmed through the thread so apologize if already mentioned, but SE535 is basically SE530 with a better cable right?

 

[ccfoodog]

Yep, sounds like it.
 
-john

 

[Spyro]

Quote:

I just skimmed through the thread so apologize if already mentioned, but SE535 is basically SE530 with a better cable right?

...and a smaller and thinner housing and a different placement of drivers to "tweak" the sound a bit...but still trying to figure out the sound tweak.