[astro21]

Hello all,
 
I am new to this forum.  I just graduated from Etys ER4Ps to Shure SE535s, which I find to be very good.
 
I'm trying to determine which sleeves to use (Shure or third-party) to obtain the best noise isolation on the SE535s.  Currently I am using the sleeves that came on with the buds (I believe medium sized black foam sleeves).  They fit fine in my ears but I'm wondering what people on this forum think are better sound isolating sleeves for Shure buds.
 
Thanks in advance,
Astro

 

[maggior]

I just got a pair of Shure 315's which I believe have the same sleeve selection as the 535s.  The other night I tried out each set and found that the sleeves installed out-of-the-box were the best overall.
 
Here's a quick rundown of my impressions:
- Silicon "olives" - too flimsy and wouldn't stay in my ears well.  I had a hard time getting a good seal, so the sound quality suffered as well.
 
- Triple Flange - Too uncomfortable to put in an wear with no sound quality improvement.  Very very isolating.
 
- Yellow Memory Foam - I found these to be the most comfortable and had great sound quality equal to the factory installed sleeve.  The downside for me is I wear these when going to sleep and the end of the sleeve would poke me in the ear when lying on my side.
 
- Factory installed foam - Overall I like these best.  They are easy to get in since you only have to push them in - they don't require you so roll them between your fingers to squish them like the yellow foam sleeves.  You get as good of a seal as with the yellow memory foam sleeves, so the sound quality is good.  And you can rest the side of your head on a pillow and be perfectly comfortable.
 
BTW, welcome to the forums - it's a lot of fun here.  As is customary, I should also say "sorry about your wallet".  .

 

[astro21]

Thank you very much for your reply!
 
Today I tried to remove the sleeves but they seem stuck to the IEMs. I tried to twist and pull but the things wouldn't come off! Have you had the same issue with your Shure IEMs?

 

[s1rrah]

Don't force the tips. You can break the nozzle. Just put them in the freezer for about 20 minutes and the tip will twist off easily.
 
Also, on the question of tips and isolation.
 
The default Shure black foams *are* indeed meant to be rolled between your finger and then inserted quickly so as to allow them to expand to fit your ear canal, exactly as with the yellow foamies but the default black foamies aren't quite as malleable. I also find these black foam tips ("olives") to yield the best seal when inserted properly. 
 
I think the second best isolation (and to my ear, slightly better sound) comes with the yellow foamies however. The one drawback to the yellow foamies is the fact that they can make my inner ear canal itch but it's manageable.
 
And remember, if any of your tips get dirty/gross over time, just wash them with some dishwashing liquid and then let them dry. I've had my same foam tips for well over a year now and they are as good as new.
 
Good luck!
 
.joel.

 

[maggior]

On mine, the tips were on there pretty good.  I grabbed the end of the tip and twisted and just as it felt like I was approaching the "too much pressure" threshold, they gave way and spun easily.  I read someplace that once you remove them the first time that it isn't as hard later on.  The freezer idea mentioned by s1rrah I've read elsewhere too.  If I wasn't able to get them off by twisting, I was going to try the freezer method.
 
It seems the black foam tips are the ones referred to as "olives".  I thought the black silicone tips looked more like olives given their more round appearance.  Now I know.
Whether or not the black foam tips have to be rolled prior to insertion must depend on your ears.  These tips, unlike the comply tips I've used in the past, have a shiny and slightly slippery finish to them.  I'm able to push them in my ear and they slide right in and compress as they insert.  Whatever works, right?
 
I'm still getting used to putting these things in since they are a little awkward with the stiff wire and the position with the wire going up rather than down.  If I rolled the foam before putting them in, the foam would have fully expanded by the time I got these things positioned to insert.
 
I'm glad to hear you can get these tips to last up to a year with cleaning and care.  They feel like they are pretty robust.
 
Astro - good luck and enjoy your new buds!

 

[dejainc]

I use the tri flange tips exclusively now. I tried all the other tips and none of them work for me. I did have to chop off bits of the tip so that everything fits properly. 

 

[spill]

Just received a set of SE535s to replace some E4Cs that have nearly disintegrated over five years of daily use at the office as well as weekly sweaty workouts.  Loved the sound quality when paired with the black cone foams.   Hated the fact that I had to have them serviced three times for cable issues, but that's another thread.
 
At some point when I ran out of medium black cones/olives, I used the spare largest size cones I had left over and got used to the size increase.  The better seal they gave the E4s was a plus as well. 
 
However, I'm getting the impression that the ergonomics of the 535s aren't allowing the same foams to be inserted quite as far as with the slimmer body housing that the E4s have.
 
Don't necessarily want to turn this into a Comply option only post (I've never used anything but the Shure foams), but looking at their page for the Shure compatible sleeves, it looks like the Tx-100 is the closest match to the black cones in the OEM packages given that they have the coating to help those of us running short of Q-Tips.  The P-Series though look to be a bit longer than those, at least in the pictures.
 
Long question short, would these help with the seemingly shorter amount of "tip" that can be inserted into the ear canal using the 535s over the OEM black foams?  Any drawbacks other than the lack of the same coating (not a big deal).
 
Thanks for any info.

 

[Freefallr4545]

Shure 530 owner for several years, now 535's No doubt the triple flange provide the absolute best isolation period. For stuck olives, the Freezer thing never appealed to me, what I simply do, is carefully pry off with fingernails on each side. This was suggested to me here and it sounded real strange and unsafe, but they slip right off this way

 

[Spyro]

I find complys and olives a bit uncomfortable with SE535.  I ended up using the triple flaanges, cutting off the smallest flange and leaving about 3/16" of the stem on.  Sound, isolation and comfort is superb!

 

[Tronz]

Quote:

Don't force the tips. You can break the nozzle. Just put them in the freezer for about 20 minutes and the tip will twist off easily.
 
Also, on the question of tips and isolation.
 
The default Shure black foams *are* indeed meant to be rolled between your finger and then inserted quickly so as to allow them to expand to fit your ear canal, exactly as with the yellow foamies but the default black foamies aren't quite as malleable. I also find these black foam tips ("olives") to yield the best seal when inserted properly. 
 
I think the second best isolation (and to my ear, slightly better sound) comes with the yellow foamies however. The one drawback to the yellow foamies is the fact that they can make my inner ear canal itch but it's manageable.
 
And remember, if any of your tips get dirty/gross over time, just wash them with some dishwashing liquid and then let them dry. I've had my same foam tips for well over a year now and they are as good as new.
 
Good luck!
 
.joel.

Wait... What?!?! Isn't this harmful to the electrical components inside the earphones due to condensation? I would never put a pair of $400+ IEM's in a freezer, lmao.
 
 

 

[PureRocker]

I also had some trouble removing the tips. I finally accomplished it using the fingernail method. After you do it a few times, it gets a lot easier. You do have to be careful not to break them. The Shure SE535's are a great step on the way to full on custom monitors. My only complaint about them is that they sometimes feel like they are about to fly out under fairly hard headbanging loads. They have never actually come out, but it can be a little distracting. My next step is going to be JH Audio Model 13's...

 

[TheGomdoRi]

Mod the triple flange to a double flange and it fits perfectly

 

[beraken]

Definitely the comply foam tips
you may buy it from there offcial website and there is couple of promo code you may find

 

[jlbrach]

the comply p tips provide the best isolation for me and i have tried everything over and over....in fact the comply p tips with the 535s come as close to the etymotics in terms of isolation as anything i have ever used....from what i read the miliary uses comply p tips to save soldiers hearing

 

[uchihaitachi]

I like the foam ones!