[plonter]

Hi,,like the title says i simply LOOOOVE my HF5, i think they are very high quality iems,taking my full sized headphones as a reference (RS1,DENON AHD5000,ATH-M50) they are on the same level,or very close.
anyway,i am looking to get the shure SE425 also.  the HF5 bass is wonderfull,right on the spot for me.  but i hope maybe the shure will give me some added bass to the sound and a little different sound signature just for the fun. 
right now the SE425 look like the perfect choice for me.    i want to hear some opinions and some comparisons between the HF5 and the SE425.  do the SE425 sound a little more upscale?  the do cost double the price after all
 
I am selling my full size home rig (headroom ultra micro stack) and going to stay with my cowon j3 (and probably x7 soon) alone.  because i found that i am satisfied with the sound i am getting.

 

[plonter]

still interested in hearing some opinions about the SE425.  and another interesting thing,,i found a store in my country that sells the older shure models (se420,se530)  in almost half the price!
so,should i take the se530 or the se425?        (I used to own both se530 and se420 in the past)

 

[kiteki]

Does the HF5 sound like the ER-4?
 
 

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Quote:

So,should i take the se530 or the se425?        (I used to own both se530 and se420 in the past)

Which one did you like better? The sound is continually improved but the sound signature is generally the same across generations of the 5xx and 4xx.
 
But just to add my notes on the older models, the 530 is easier to drive and get loud, and is very smooth - no rough edges - but the strong bass and lower midrange make for less treble detail. Sounds good on saxophones and cellos, not particularly inspiring with electric guitars. 420 on the other hand needs a little EQ boost off my S9 on the midrange (I don't really add bass) just to bring it out a bit (just +1 on bands 2 and 3 with 1, 4 and 5 flat) but the electric guitars on power metal are intoxicating. Diana Krall might sound better on the 530, but Floor Janssen is better on the 420. 
 
 

 

[plonter]

I don't know exactly how much the graphs tell the "truth" about the real sound of headphones/earpones,but when i look at the headroom's graphs i can see that the se425 have a little more bass than the HF5, and the rest of the spectrum is almost the same.  and that's a good thing for me,becase i already find the HF5's bass very satisfying...smooth and have a lot of punch,
but sometimes i wouldn't mind just having a mind blowing bass with a little different texture for genres like electronic music.  and i think that the se425 is just the ticket for me,keep neutrality but not neglecting the bass dept'. 
if i wanted a completely neutral sound i would get the ETY ER series to improve upon my HF5.
the reason i want the se425 is because i am looking for a lightly different sound sig with nice bass but still keep it neutral. 
 
I remember at the time that i had both se420 and se530 that i liked the se530 better,but back than i was a noobie and didn't like neutral so much,  i looked only for super strong bass and stuff, but now things are a little different.

 

[kiteki]

The SE425 is a little dark in the highs, but I think it's a nice IEM.
 
You've already heard the SE420 and SE530, why not try a different brand?

 

[plonter]

trying another brand is taking a risk.  i already know that the shures sound very good.  dark treble is not a problem since the bbe viva in the j3 will take care of it, it will give the se425 the extra sparke they miss.  I think that the se425 would be perfect.

 

[nikp]

Quote:

The SE425 is a little dark in the highs, but I think it's a nice IEM.
 
You've already heard the SE420 and SE530, why not try a different brand?

Don't fix it if it ain't broke. 

 

 

[kiteki]

Well, I enjoyed the SE425 more than the SE535 that's for shure!

 

[ZARIM]

The Shure SE425, SE420 are good sounding IEMs and has slightly different sound signature than HF5.