Shure SE535: Reviews and First Impressions Thread
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JMBNaples
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Anyone have any experience / comments on the use of the SE 535s and the Dragonfly Black or Red - specifically when used with an iPhone 7?
I am bored - and if I am going to use an adaptor with my Shures, at least I should use a better one. .
Thanks.
I am bored - and if I am going to use an adaptor with my Shures, at least I should use a better one. .
Thanks.
Music freak
100+ Head-Fier
I am confused whether I should go for the SE 535s. I have the HD 650 and the DT 150. I like lush liquid sound with no grain. I don't mind the bass being neutral as long as the mids are lush and smooth.
Are these that? some people say they sound shrill and grainy in the highs. Is that true?
Are these that? some people say they sound shrill and grainy in the highs. Is that true?
Mr Makarov
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If it is of any help - after comparing HD700 to SE535 -shure sound a little more clearer and with better, lush, liquid mids but treble is smooth (just a little bit thick) and rolls off quickly so the soundstage is not wide (ok, not fair comparing to HD700).
Never liked HD650 compared to HD700.
Also they (se535) sound very good with Dragonfly 1.2, Black (more detail, bass, separation, and wider soundstage) and even better with Meridian Explorer.
Never liked HD650 compared to HD700.
Also they (se535) sound very good with Dragonfly 1.2, Black (more detail, bass, separation, and wider soundstage) and even better with Meridian Explorer.
Music freak
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Thank you for your comparison.
I see you have the Titan 1. How would you compare them both? are they better sounding than the T1 technically? also, how would you compare their soundstage?
Mr Makarov
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Titan 1 have airier, wider soundstage, on that only - they win easily. But..the mids of the SE535 are to die for. Technically, SE535 sound noticeably more refined (and do not need a lot of modding like with Titan 1), imaging is better, mids are much much better (natural, more forward and very enjoyable), more natural and lush. Titan 1 have that hollowness to the sound that I do not like, bass is better quality on SE535. Ok..SE535 does everything better (specially mids)..but cant compete on the soundstage. Titan 1 just sound like an open-back headphone (just more treble than SE535). If you like the natural/orgainc sound o HD650´s mids - you will be happy with se535..and they have more clarity (even more if you remove dampers inside nozzles) than HD650 (even unamped). Just my personal opinion.
Mmet
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i believe that they are not the last word in clarity ... but they are clearer than any thing i've tried ... they are super clear and very dependable on your source ... they gave me a huge clarity level with iphone 6splus , and even better clarity with super open sound with my previous Sony walkman F806 ! ... with fiio x3 not that clear and has that type of grain of muddiness ... with my rsa predator ( dac-amp ) they gave me that weight full clear real mids .... with my previous walkman A15 they were again clear but not at the levels of F800 combination.....
i think if you want a better clarity you would spend as twice its price and the difference will not worth it at all ! ... i have them for about 3 years and till now very hesitating to upgrade them as i can't imagine a much improvement from that ...
if you can afford at least 700 $ may be you can get slightly better than it in terms of mid range clarity ...
+ keep in mind
1- that you can with extra fraction of cost to get Knowles grey or white filters to increase its clarity even more or you can put brown and green ones to make them fun sounding and slightly U shape signature but of course mids will be recessed with these last configurations ... once i put the Grey knowles in them ..i never turned back .
2- they are slightly warm iems ... pairing them with warm devices may not give you the clarity you seek.
3- their treble is not up to the price i guess but i like it as it is comfortable and non fatiguing ... etymotic has better extended treble for less money but for me i can't tolerate the etymitics fatigue they gave me.. lack of shure's midrange ..and shure gave a massive sound stage compared to the closed in etymotics ...
Sennheiser IE80 has better treble too and not fatiguing BUT don't have the 535 clear mids at all .
castleofargh
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I simply don't know how someone can tell that an IEM sounds like a fullsize headphone. for many reasons I find myself lost anytime I try to think about it.
about the titan1, IMO they're a great value and in fact they are my favorite IEM, the low end goes low and sounds like an open dynamic driver that it is, I really love that. BUT!!!!!!
- the isolation is crap while a 535 is in the leading class in term of isolation(like most shure IEMs). that's certainly something to consider when purchasing an IEM.
- I personally can't stand the titan1 without EQ. the high frequencies are too boosted for me and I remove up to 7db at one point(but then they're my favorite sounding IEM at this time^_^). to me there is a difference between clarity and exaggerated trebles. in comparison, the 535 rolls off like crazy pretty soon in the trebles, so they sound nothing alike in that respect.
if I couldn't EQ, I would take the 535 any day. and if I was using the IEM in a noisy environment, I would also take the 535 any day. my preferences under ideal conditions can't hope to dominate over practical use for an IEM. I only wish the 535 wouldn't stay so expensive that poor me had to settle for a 215.
before I stop talking about myself nonstop as if people cared, it's a matter of taste of course, but I'm against removing the damping filters on almost all IEMs. changing them can be cool sometimes, but removing them means that nothing is there to dampen the resonant frequencies of the IEM. in general this makes said frequencies less even compared to the rest of the signature, which is only rarely a desirable result(again it could be preferred, each person has his own hearing).
Music freak
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Thanks for your impressions. I am a mids lover, but I can't stand thin bass. how is the bass on these?
psikey
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When I had them I thought bass was weak. I ended up keeping my Klipsch X10i instead until I discovered the SE846's.
I'd highly suggest trying to get some cheap 2nd hand SE846's over new SE535's.
Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk
I'd highly suggest trying to get some cheap 2nd hand SE846's over new SE535's.
Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk
Mmet
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bass in these is moderate in quantity but never thin ... of course if you can put your hands on SE 846 you can get better
Music freak
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My budget does not allow me to get the se 846. Are the se535s easy to drive ?
Mr Makarov
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In terms of volume - yes they are very easy to drive, loud. Sound decent from iPhone (lacks bass), not so good from samsung smartphones (muddy), pretty good with Fiio X1 (artificial, dull, good deep bass), X3 and X5 (very natural, great mids) and surprisingly good from Walkman F series (much better than from the over-hyped Fiio X5.., in my personal opinion). They sound just great paired with Dragonfly 1.2 and 1.5 Black (better than from all Fiios and Walkmans) and also scale pretty well with Meridian Explorer (sound more refined, fuller mids, deep bass, but not wide soundstage). They respond very good to EQ if you´re interested in that so - you can EQ them to sound to your liking (Poweramp do wonders to them). Go for SE535 if you value natural, forward mids, clarity and tight bass over well extended treble (treble is very good/natural but rolls off quickly) and wide soundstage (soundstege is their weakness...compared to se846)
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