[shane55]

Interesting. Several of us either now have, or will have the SM3 and SE535.
I wonder how many will:
Keep both
Sell Both
Sell the SM3
Sell the SE535
 
The incoming DBA-02 will be the catalyst for my choice.
 
shane

 

[DaEMoNteNTAcLe]

i'll vote for se535..

 

[music_4321]

Quote:

Interesting. Several of us either now have, or will have the SM3 and SE535.
I wonder how many will:
Keep both
Sell Both
Sell the SM3
Sell the SE535
 
The incoming DBA-02 will be the catalyst for my choice.
 
shane

If I end up selling both (just returned my one-week-old IE8s), I may decide to get the UM3X again, specially now that it comes with a detachable cables, which was the main reason why I went from the W3 to my ES3X - cable issues.

 

[Slackboy72]

Umm I'm not wading through 45 pages to find out (too lazy) but which is better UM3X or 535?

 

[Spyro]

Music_4321:  As would be the case with most any new IEM, be sure to allow a few days (or a week) for SE535 to break-in.  Still not sure if I am a true believer in burn-in but the more I listened to SE535 the more I felt the treble continued to open up.  Could just be my ears adjusting though too.
 
As I posted to Genesis just a page or so back, I clearly prefer the SE535 to UM3X because it is slightly brighter showing a bit more treble, the soundstage is wider and it is more open sounding.
 
I've had SE535 since the day it came out and I still love it and have probably listen to my W3 for about 10 minutes since.  W3 has been clearly retired to nothing more than a back-up at this point which is a shame as I have 16 months of warranty left on it.

 

[music_4321]

^^ Spyro, yes, I'm not a true believer in burn-in either, but rather believe more in the particular physical & psychological conditions present at any given moment when listening to any (new or old) IEM.

These are expensive IEMs and I'll definitely give both (SM3s & SE535s) a fair chance. I'm not exactly looking forward to the prospect of having to sell two top-tier IEMs and then possibly purchasing a new pair of UM3Xs. As far as looks and build-quality goes, the SE535s look very promising. The 64" detachable cable is a serious added bonus. Mind you, the SE535 are not cheap.

Funny how both Westone and Shure finally listened to those of us who kept insisting on detachable cables for such expensive products. I guess both companies also realised it was better for them to just replace a broken/ faulty cable than to ship a whole new IEM instead, which normally meant all new packaging & accessories plus added shipping costs.

 

[goodvibes]

Your ear has a short memeory and if you use more than one phone it blows the brain/ear memeory thing all together. Your ear will accomidate a sig but it will happen in about the first 10 mins you listen to any product but it will need to do it again every time it's used so I agree with the physical & psychological conditions present at any given moment  assessment but not to the point of placebo. Break in is real but can vary a lot by product. Lets call it IMO but I've compared two 530s and could easily pick the green one from the used one blind.

 

[scrane]

 
Quote:

Umm I'm not wading through 45 pages to find out (too lazy) but which is better UM3X or 535?

um3x.
 

 

[Spyro]

Quote:

Funny how both Westone and Shure finally listened to those of us who kept insisting on detachable cables for such expensive products. I guess both companies also realised it was better for them to just replace a broken/ faulty cable than to ship a whole new IEM instead, which normally meant all new packaging & accessories plus added shipping costs.

Yea, I think much of it too, is just the evolution of IEM's.  I would imagine in time, pretty much all IEM's over $200 range will have detachable cables as everyone else catches up.  Must be more cost-effective too.
 

 

[TheJudge]

Quote:

Your ear has a short memeory and if you use more than one phone it blows the brain/ear memeory thing all together. Your ear will accomidate a sig but it will happen in about the first 10 mins you listen to any product but it will need to do it again every time it's used so I agree with the physical & psychological conditions present at any given moment  assessment but not to the point of placebo. Break in is real but can vary a lot by product. Lets call it IMO but I've compared two 530s and could easily pick the green one from the used one blind.

In the absence of any empirical evidence to support it, I will call it your opinion.

 

[goodvibes]

That's fine in general but blind picking a green from used se530 is somewhat empirical. It did become difficult to pick once there was a couple hundred hours on the new pair.

 

[Danz03]

Thanks for the review, glad to hear the Shure had done something about their cables at last. I had a pair of SE530 3 years ago when they first came out, I was quite happy with them but within 7 months of using, the cable was already breaking up, then 2 weeks later, one of the sound tubes (what the foam tip connects to), broke off! I bought a pair of Westone UM2 after that, and they were so hard wearing that after 2.5 years of rough using (including using them at the gym everyday), they were still holding up fine. But a week ago, the cable of my UM2 got caught by a machine at the gym and it gotten quite a rough tuck. Now the left channel is a little unstable, think I somehow damaged the cable inside the mini-jack. The guys at my earphone shop were recommending me the Shure535, especially the cleared ones, the cable and construction seem to be quite tough and well designed, so I'm thinking of giving them a go. So everyone here thinks the UM3X are better?

 

[Danz03]

I think you are right. I remembered I was very disappointed when I first got my SE530 (I was using a pair of E4C before that), I thought the E4C were so much better in comparison. I didn't really know anything about burning-in IEMs back then, but after about a month or 2 of using them, the sound of the SE530 were so much better; there were so much more details in the hi-mid and high frequencies they were like a different pair of earphones altogether.

Your ear has a short memeory and if you use more than one phone it blows the brain/ear memeory thing all together. Your ear will accomidate a sig but it will happen in about the first 10 mins you listen to any product but it will need to do it again every time it's used so I agree with the physical & psychological conditions present at any given moment  assessment but not to the point of placebo. Break in is real but can vary a lot by product. Lets call it IMO but I've compared two 530s and could easily pick the green one from the used one blind.

 

[shane55]

I noticed very little break-in on theSE535. They pretty much sound the same now as the first time I put them on.
I noticed a huge amount on the SM3. I almost put them immediately for sale when I first listened to them.
 
I know my test tracks very well and I know what to listen to and for. There is very little psychoacoustics associated with these. Specific details that I listen for couldn't be heard at first with the SM3's, but became more clear with time and subsequent listenings. That's not psychoacoustics. No long straight periods of listening, but during the 24 hour break-in period (off-head), I would check in on them and listen for the same clues again and again. There were definite changes on overall tonality and detail. I was not simply 'getting used to' the sound.
 
It's a mechanical device. We have had this discussion over and again. Many, many individuals will claim break-in when it's truly only psychoacoustics, but there are several of us who understand the difference and know how to avoid it's pitfall.
 
shane

 

[shane55]

Quote:

Thanks for the review, glad to hear the Shure had done something about their cables at last. I had a pair of SE530 3 years ago when they first came out, I was quite happy with them but within 7 months of using, the cable was already breaking up, then 2 weeks later, one of the sound tubes (what the foam tip connects to), broke off! I bought a pair of Westone UM2 after that, and they were so hard wearing that after 2.5 years of rough using (including using them at the gym everyday), they were still holding up fine. But a week ago, the cable of my UM2 got caught by a machine at the gym and it gotten quite a rough tuck. Now the left channel is a little unstable, think I somehow damaged the cable inside the mini-jack. The guys at my earphone shop were recommending me the Shure535, especially the cleared ones, the cable and construction seem to be quite tough and well designed, so I'm thinking of giving them a go. So everyone here thinks the UM3X are better?

Did they actually say the 'clear' ones sound better?