[Jeremypsp]

Quote:

Well it seems it is indeed my source. So I guess now is that hard question. I like the feel of the Shure / Westone style IEMs, but I need something for on the go with my Galaxy S. I was thinking maybe the Westone 1 would have the least hiss? 
 
I tested the se535's with my laptop and the hiss was mildly annoying, but not bad. On my desktop with X-Fi sound card it is barely audible.
 
I really hate the options of an attenuator. I tried the one that came with the se535s and sure, it works, no hiss, but also less sound quality. Seems dumb to spend $$$ for these IEMS and then have to use an attenuator, thus defeating your purpose. 
 
I was thinking perhaps something inferior in sound quality, but not total crap, ie - Westone W1 perhaps?

Westone 2 or UM2 will do a better job. 

 

[Mooses9]

Quote:

I've been thinking about it. I worry an amp would make the base volume level even higher and I've always got it on 1 or 2 most of the time, plenty loud for me... or am I thinking about this the wrong way?
 
Also, does USB out to an amp basically bypass the source making it more of a file storage & playing device with all of the audio coming from the amp as far as quality goes?

 
correct me if im wrong but are you asking if you use a Line out directly to a amp from a usb does it bypass the internal amp of the source. if thats what your asking. yes if you use a line out to the amp the source acts more or less as a user interface for the music ie: storage,mp3 player, ect
 
if you use a mini to mini 3.5mm cable from the source to the amp its like amplifying the source amp. this can be done. but when you use the lod and have a decent amplifier, the sound quality will be  better.
 
with that being said if you went with a decent amp, and the 535 the hiss will go away. but that really depends on the amp you choose, for instance:
 
i went tried the fiio e5 and stock cable and its a hissy amp i hated it....i then tried the fiio e7 and the amp the image was darker without music, no real noted hiss from it even with the music off but iem's plugged in and volume all the way up, no real hiss to speak of. then i went with a ibasso d2 - boa and this amp has no hiss at all.
 
im not sure if you tried the se535 with a amp yet, but imo amped the 535 are improved greatly, if you like the 535 the hiss issue can be solved by a amp.
 
downgrading imo would be a downfall, but again its up to you

 

[PANGES]

Honestly, if you're going to blow $200 on new IEM's, you might as well just spend that $200 on a decent DAC/amp. You haven't complained about the sound signature of the SE535's so I'm assuming you actually like them. If that's the case, you shouldn't sell and buy new IEM's. You'd end up wasting more money that way. It'd make more sense to spend $100-200 on a DAC/Amp. Something like a Fiio E7 at ~$80 would solve your problems. I'm just randomly throwing that DAC/amp out there, but there's plenty of options. My macbook pro is incredibly hissy with all of my IEM's, and a DAC/amp makes that go away. Check out the FS section! 
 
edit: It's been a long time since I've owned the SE535's, but also keep in mind that you may need something with a lower gain or digital volume control that wont be too loud and have channel imbalance at lower listening levels. Here's a short list of amp's I've tried that work well and don't work well with very very sensitive IEM's (some are on the more pricey side, but some aren't. I'm just throwing it out there anyways):
 
Work:
RSA Predator
Leckerton Audio UHA-6S (I'm sure the Leckerton Audio UHA-4 will work even better, and it's $199 new)
Fiio E7
Headstage Arrow 12HE (1G) <-- no DAC
Pico Slim <--- no DAC
 
Doesn't work:
JDSLabs C421
Practical Devices XM6 (unless used with the impedance feature)

 

[PANGES]

Quote:

I've been thinking about it. I worry an amp would make the base volume level even higher and I've always got it on 1 or 2 most of the time, plenty loud for me... or am I thinking about this the wrong way?
 
Also, does USB out to an amp basically bypass the source making it more of a file storage & playing device with all of the audio coming from the amp as far as quality goes?

 
Also,
 
USB out to an amp requires a DAC in between, which basically replaces your laptop/computer's sound card. As for the amp making your base volume levels too high, see my post above. I've had the same issue and I've tried multiple different amps- some with good results! I doubt the SE535's are as sensitive as some of my IEM's, so it's worth a look.

 

[reticon]

Ah, OK, thanks guys I appreciate it. Still working through things, but yes I do love the sound of the Shure se535's. I mean they are like the perfectly eq'd IEM to my ears, they do nothing wrong, except hiss and that is really my problem, not theirs.
 
I got a Cowon J3 and things are a little confusing right now. It is the quietest source I've owned. As an mp3 player I was surprised after reading all the reviews on it. To me it is the easiest one to use. I mean it takes a few hours of noodling, but I can navigate it faster than my laptop or tablet now.
 
The weird thing thing I am dealing with no is my Sennheiser HD 380 Pro's which sound amazing on my laptop, tablet, desktop, etc... they don't sound as full on my Cowon. Sure I could add on the BBE junk for some big fake sounding bass, etc, but maybe it is an impedence issue. For example my wife's skull candy $20 cheapy ear buds sound terrible on everything, LOL, except the Cowon! I know my 380 pro's are rated at 50 Ohms, and I'm sure the skullcandy earbuds and my Shure are 16-32 ohms. <shrug>

 

[Jeremypsp]

Quote:

Ah, OK, thanks guys I appreciate it. Still working through things, but yes I do love the sound of the Shure se535's. I mean they are like the perfectly eq'd IEM to my ears, they do nothing wrong, except hiss and that is really my problem, not theirs.
 
I got a Cowon J3 and things are a little confusing right now. It is the quietest source I've owned. As an mp3 player I was surprised after reading all the reviews on it. To me it is the easiest one to use. I mean it takes a few hours of noodling, but I can navigate it faster than my laptop or tablet now.
 
The weird thing thing I am dealing with no is my Sennheiser HD 380 Pro's which sound amazing on my laptop, tablet, desktop, etc... they don't sound as full on my Cowon. Sure I could add on the BBE junk for some big fake sounding bass, etc, but maybe it is an impedence issue. For example my wife's skull candy $20 cheapy ear buds sound terrible on everything, LOL, except the Cowon! I know my 380 pro's are rated at 50 Ohms, and I'm sure the skullcandy earbuds and my Shure are 16-32 ohms. <shrug>

I guess there really is no way to solve hissing, especially when you're using a DAP, an amp will just make it worse. Does the SE535 hiss on the other sources you have owned? If not getting a cheap player like the Sansa clip may help. 

 

[Tronz]

Get the JDS Labs Objective 2 amplifier. Hiss problem = solved. If the source feeding the line out to the Objective 2 has audible levels of distortion, than you'll still hear hissing through the O2. The O2, in itself, has ZERO hiss.

 

[Zoom25]

I am getting a hiss/noise floor on the SE 215 on my Macbook Pro, Fiio E10, Fiio E10. It's silent from Blackberry Bold 9000, IPad 4th Generation (Retina) and JDS Labs O2. The O2 is the cleanest with these IEMs. Also considering a SE535 in the future.

 

[Orkboy]

Ah, OK, thanks guys I appreciate it. Still working through things, but yes I do love the sound of the Shure se535's. I mean they are like the perfectly eq'd IEM to my ears, they do nothing wrong, except hiss and that is really my problem, not theirs.

I got a Cowon J3 and things are a little confusing right now. It is the quietest source I've owned. As an mp3 player I was surprised after reading all the reviews on it. To me it is the easiest one to use. I mean it takes a few hours of noodling, but I can navigate it faster than my laptop or tablet now.

The weird thing thing I am dealing with no is my Sennheiser HD 380 Pro's which sound amazing on my laptop, tablet, desktop, etc... they don't sound as full on my Cowon. Sure I could add on the BBE junk for some big fake sounding bass, etc, but maybe it is an impedence issue. For example my wife's skull candy $20 cheapy ear buds sound terrible on everything, LOL, except the Cowon! I know my 380 pro's are rated at 50 Ohms, and I'm sure the skullcandy earbuds and my Shure are 16-32 ohms.

Well you're definitely going to need to amp the hd380s to get a good sound with your Cowon. Not the case with the se535s though, they should sound great straight out of the Cowon. You didn't say if the Cowon resolved the hiss issue. I use my se535s with a Cowon C2 and get absolutely no hiss whatsoever.

As for bbe, give it a go, I really enjoy it, and I normally don't even like to eq. I wouldn't dismiss it as "fake crap" anyway, but granted it's not to everyone's tastes.

 

[drewfig]

hey guys i hope someone will answer here. i recently purchased an SE535 LTD-J, after a few weeks i noticed a good amount of hiss on my right channel (left channel is very much okay) especially on peak in electric guitars. Even Footloose from Kenny Loggins hisses. The worst song that i played was a FLAC 16/44.1 of That's What You Get by Paramore specifically in the portion right after the first chorus and there's like a mini solo strumming of the lead guitar with distortion, it hisses a lot there (1:13 - 1:17) . When I play Jazz songs and Bob Marley there's no hiss at all. What's alarming is that it's only on my right earphone that's hissing.
 
I use Fiio X3 as my DAP. I use flac 16/44.1 and I use 24/96 wav for my Jazz songs. 
 
 

 
 
 
 
p.s i am also asking this via shure customer service.

 

[higbvuyb]

  hey guys i hope someone will answer here. i recently purchased an SE535 LTD-J, after a few weeks i noticed a good amount of hiss on my right channel (left channel is very much okay) especially on peak in electric guitars. Even Footloose from Kenny Loggins hisses. The worst song that i played was a FLAC 16/44.1 of That's What You Get by Paramore specifically in the portion right after the first chorus and there's like a mini solo strumming of the lead guitar with distortion, it hisses a lot there (1:13 - 1:17) . When I play Jazz songs and Bob Marley there's no hiss at all. What's alarming is that it's only on my right earphone that's hissing.
 
I use Fiio X3 as my DAP. I use flac 16/44.1 and I use 24/96 wav for my Jazz songs. 
 
 

 
 
 
 
p.s i am also asking this via shure customer service.

Try plugging the left earpiece into the right cable, and vice versa to rule out the player itself. If you now get hiss on the earpiece labelled L, then it probably isn't the IEMs.

 

[drewfig]

wow, that was fast. i'll get you back on this. will listen very carefully 

 thanks

 

[drewfig]

okay after a long listening session.. i found out that the hiss is on the earpiece L as you instructed (a little faint compared with the original cable position). I also recalled my old Sennheiser HD439 hissing on the right side as well using this DAP

 

[Tom22]

  Well it seems it is indeed my source. So I guess now is that hard question. I like the feel of the Shure / Westone style IEMs, but I need something for on the go with my Galaxy S. I was thinking maybe the Westone 1 would have the least hiss? 
 
I tested the se535's with my laptop and the hiss was mildly annoying, but not bad. On my desktop with X-Fi sound card it is barely audible.
 
I really hate the options of an attenuator. I tried the one that came with the se535s and sure, it works, no hiss, but also less sound quality. Seems dumb to spend $$$ for these IEMS and then have to use an attenuator, thus defeating your purpose. 
 
I was thinking perhaps something inferior in sound quality, but not total crap, ie - Westone W1 perhaps?

maybe try the cable from fiio ? i have no idea but just a thought

 

[higbvuyb]

  okay after a long listening session.. i found out that the hiss is on the earpiece L as you instructed (a little faint compared with the original cable position). I also recalled my old Sennheiser HD439 hissing on the right side as well using this DAP

It's probably the player hissing a little bit on that side, and the SE535's being sensitive enough to pick it up. You can try an attenuator, but that will change the sound. See if the hiss is different from other sources.