[sno1man]

I lost my Shure E4c's recently and now I have an opportunity to buy a set of Shure E500.
 
I know they are a few years old, but these are still sealed in the box. The question is if the new 535 are worth twice the price.
 
Will be used unamped with an ipad and nano 5g.
 
Opinions?

 

[Noyan]

The difference between $200 IEMs and $400 IEMs is so subtle that it is probably not worth 200 extra dollars, in my opinion.

 

[SolidVictory]

The Shure E4C is a single BA IEM, while the E500 is triple driver (two low, one high), so the sound improvement will be rather drastic. However, for your case, I would go with a newer model IEM from either Shure or another company, since the E500 is slowly aging.
 
I used to have the Shure E4C and I still use it from time to time, it has an overall great signature (especially for a single BA IEM) and a killer midrange--one of the best I've heard. I think a good upgrade over the Shure E4C is either a very good dynamic IEM (like the Hifiman RE-262, Monster Turbine PRO, Sennheiser IE8, Radius DDM) or a double/triple balanced armature IEM (Fischer DBA-02, Shure SE425/SE535, EarSonics SM2/SM3, Westone 2/3/UM3X, etc.). 2-way BA IEMs are pretty well received on these forums, so you don't always have to plop down $250+ for a triple-BA IEM.

 

[cardozo]

The SE500 is exactly the SE530, wich has the same sonic characteristics as the SE535. For everything I've read, some people find difficult to diferentiate the audio characteristics between the SE530 and SE535.

My opinion: If you have the money, get the SE500. Awesome IEM.
 
Cheers,
 
Peter

 

[sno1man]

Thanks Cardozo and Solid Victory for your useful (if slightly conflicting ) responses.
 
I really like the sound of my E4s and thus Shures were my first thought and these 500 seemed like a good deal. So tougher question, narrowing this down. Would i be happier with the 500 series or the 425's ?
Thanks again

 

[TheGame21x]

From what I've heard, the 500 is sonically superior to the 425 in every way.

 

[cardozo]

I've had the SE420 and I still have an SE530.

Being quite succinct, the SE420 is a boring version of the SE530. The SE420 is flat and accurate, while the SE530 is engaging and extremely fun!

 
Cheers,
 
Peter