[MikeATL]

I agree w/music_4321 - I have the W4's and absolutely love them, and recently sold off a pair of 535s as the Shure sound didn't sit well with me. I have literally slept with the W4's in b/c I love listening to them that much. They don't have the bass emphasis that say the W3s (or IE8/SM3/etc) but it's definitely there, presented well, and I don't feel like I'm missing anything. They just blend together so well and definitely gave me the "wow" factor after listening to the 535s.

 

[Yoloni]

Hey, you started with the same IEM as me, the Denon AH-C551!
I know how you feel. I think I had the exact same feeling as you when I got those. It was 100% better than my Apple earbuds.
I've bought a Ultimate Ears Super.fi 3's a few months after I got the Denon's, and sad to say, I never liked the flat sound signature.(Head-Fi has really hurt my wallet.)
 
As IEM's became cheaper over the years, I was finally able to purchase the Triple.fi 10's for half the price of what they were selling back then. ($145, for me at least, is a very good deal for a triple driver IEM. Plus, I sold my Super.fi 3's and the currency rate helped it make around $80 in total.)
I've wanted the TF-10's ever since I got on Head-Fi, but the $300 price tag really put me off. 
Although I'm satisfied with BUYING the actual IEM, but I just can't appreciate the sound. I've encoded a lot of my music in Apple Lossless, bought the SONY tips to get the exact fit, did the flip mod to help with fit also, but it just doesn't seem WOW as the Denon's had on me before.
 
I guess you just have to actually take time to listen to them to actually know you like them. I'm thinking about getting 'dynamic' driver IEM's as I think they provide the sound signature I prefer. (IE8, Atrio M5 with MG7 driver, MTPG, MTPC are some, but they're so much expensive compared with the TF-10's
 
 

 

[IpodHappy]

Familiarity with the sonic presentation has a major impact on what sounds right.  This thread encouraged me to put in my Super.Fi 5s for the first time in about a year to listen to some electronica by Delerium.  Back when the Super.Fi 5s and the Shure e4c IEMs were my main pairs, the Super.Fi 5s were the ones I turned to for electronic music.  They were my favorites, blessed with bass extension and high end compared to the e4c's, marred by the fact that they kept falling out of my ears during exercise and the microphonics their memory wire caused. Tonight, after a few minutes, out they came.  The highs and mids were just lacking clarity compared to my current liking which has been formed by listening to the W4s for a couple of weeks, and the ambiance just didn't jump out at me.  I switched to my beloved W3s and was a bit put off by the mid bass presentation on the track I was listening to.  In went my W4s which supplied a more balanced representation.
 
Were the Super.Fi 5s terrible compared to the W4s?  No, the Super.Fi 5s are still pretty good, just not what I've grown accustomed to.  Compared to the iPod ear buds, the Super.Fi 5s are night and day superior.   On a random scale, the iPod ear buds get you 50% of the way to Nirvana.  The Super.Fi 5s get you to 90%, the W3s to 95% and the W4s to 96%.
 
It's a case of diminishing returns.
 
I suspect that the relative lack of bass in the SE535s compared to the Super.Fi 5s is what sounds off to you right now.

 

[shipsupt]

I made a similar journey, with the Shure E3 and Superfi 5 Pro and later adding the Shure 530.  The 530 took over as my IEM of choice when I was doing any "real" listening and I learned to love the sound.  When really listening the SuperFi just didn't compare, they were muddy and loose in caparison, missing the detailed mids and highs that the Shures delivered.  I kept them as my gym IEM and I still use them because I too found them to be fun to listen to when I was working out and wasn't concentrating on the details, just wanting to pump up the volume.  I just ordered some replacement cables last night since the originals were shot.  The sound signatures are quite different but for me they were/are a great complimentary pair. 
 
I happened to do some A/B listening to them just the other night as I hadn't been using either for a little over a month because I have been auditioning some HiFiMan RE-262's.  Because I always considered the SuperFi's so much fun to listen to I think I had given their SQ more credit in my mind than they deserved.  This listen really highlighted just how much better the 530's are, for me anyway.  Besides the SuperFi's powerful lows they fall behind in all other areas.
 
My general appreciation of the sound signature of the 5's has always had me wondering if the Triplefi 10 would be something to consider, possibly the fun of the 5's with better overall SQ?  I ended up going another direction and my customs are due to arrive tomorrow.  It should be interesting to see if I get a "wow" factor from them!
 

 

[QuantumXL]

In all honesty, you are comparing a UE headphone to a Shure headphone; where both of them lie on two different sound spectra. One is known for their neutrality and clarity (Shure) while the other is known for their bold sound and punch. I bought the SE535s as well and listened to them in comparison with my TF10s. However, I LOVED the TF10s. It gave an equal balance to lows and clarity. However, I naively chucked my 535s to the side and listened to my TF10s. It wasn't until I got my TF10s reshelled to TF10x8s by unique melody that I truly saw what I was missing in the 535s. Because the TF10x8 basically made clarity and bold get married with a sprinkle of highs and increased fidelity along with it. I listen to my TF10s looking for certain instruments (such as flutes and violins) coming out disappointed. So it sort of depends on your roots. If you went from SF5s to TF10s you probably would have been excited and impressed because of the included extended highs that were missing in the SF5s. If you ever do pick up a headphone/IEM with all your likings you will see exactly what the 535s has. and I cherish my 535s now. Don't give up on it yet...

 

[cn11]

Rydo1888- First off, welcome to HF. You've found your way to the rabbit hole I think. I had the AH-C551 a while back too, and liked them at the time. For me it took a much higher end dynamic driver IEM to get that 'wow factor' back you mention. I think some of what's going on is that perhaps you naturally prefer the type of impactful sound that only a good dynamic driver IEM gives you. The two you've tried are balanced armature. Have you researched IEMs like the JVC FX700, Sennheiser IE8, or the new Sony MDR-EX1000? Some food for thought maybe..... Yoloni touches on the same suggestion.

 

[Rydo1888]

Thanks guys - a lot of interesting views.
 
I am going to stick with the 535 for a couple of weeks and not listen to my 5 Pro once in that time before going to back to them and seeing if I still prefer their sound. By the sounds of things it might just take me a while to get used to the 'Shure Sound'.
 
I do listen to my music mostly in the gym each day (only time I get really) and as stated above - it may be that the 5 Pro is better suited to that environment as it is more brash and upfront and better suited to being active. For the times I am wanting to sit and appreciate the fact I can hear a singer breath, the 535's are better suited.
 
The problem is I was looking to sell the 5 Pro to part fund my 535 but I might need to keep both!
 
One thing - how do the 535 sound with a portable amp like the Fiio e1 or e5?  

 

[Rydo1888]

 
Quote:

Rydo1888- First off, welcome to HF. You've found your way to the rabbit hole I think. I had the AH-C551 a while back too, and liked them at the time. For me it took a much higher end dynamic driver IEM to get that 'wow factor' back you mention. I think some of what's going on is that perhaps you naturally prefer the type of impactful sound that only a good dynamic driver IEM gives you. The two you've tried are balanced armature. Have you researched IEMs like the JVC FX700, Sennheiser IE8, or the new Sony MDR-EX1000? Some food for thought maybe..... Yoloni touches on the same suggestion.

It sounds like I might. As I said in a previous post though the poblem with gettng IEM is that it is virtually impossible to try before you buy and given the 535 is given almost universal praise I assumed it would be a safe bet. I will consider the dynamic driver aspect - it might be exactly what I am looking for!
 

 

[shipsupt]

I've got an e5 and some 530's handy, I'll do a little listening and post what I hear.... perhaps someone else already has?  From my limited experience with it I am not expecting much of a step change, but better to test than speculate!
 
EDIT - I did a VERY scientific test at lunch... ok, fans of the e5 please don't shoot me, it was really NOT a good test, but here's what I did.
 
I strapped the e5 to my iPod (via the LOD) and listened to a selection of tracks, then I listened to the same tracks from the HPO.  Last I swapped back and forth (after matching the volumes as best I could using only my ears).  I have to say that I can hear very little difference in SQ.  I think you'd have to do some pretty critical listening to hear the subtle differences.  I spent all of an hour on this major undertaking, ha... so take it for what it's worth.
 
So, to answer your question, IMHO it sounds good with the e5 but the improvement (if any) is pretty subtle. 
 
 


 
Quote:

 
One thing - how do the 535 sound with a portable amp like the Fiio e1 or e5?