[breezy_amar]

Hi all. I own the SE530's. i am thinking of upgrading to the SE535 for its larger soundstage and clearer highs, but i just wanted to know a few things. i am very happy with the sound signature of the SE530's, having just the perfect amount of lows, mids and highs for me. could anyone confirm whether or not the sound signature has changed? i know that the highs have become crisper, but i wanted to know whether they have been brought more forward too? im hoping they are still at the same level  as the SE530's. and can anyone also confirm if the bass is equal or pushed further back? thanks

 

[s1rrah]

Quote:

Hi all. I own the SE530's. i am thinking of upgrading to the SE535 for its larger soundstage and clearer highs, but i just wanted to know a few things. i am very happy with the sound signature of the SE530's, having just the perfect amount of lows, mids and highs for me. could anyone confirm whether or not the sound signature has changed? i know that the highs have become crisper, but i wanted to know whether they have been brought more forward too? im hoping they are still at the same level  as the SE530's. and can anyone also confirm if the bass is equal or pushed further back? thanks

If your happy with the SE530's, then stick with the SE530's. Personally, I think the differences are so small that a 500 dollar upgrade would be a bit much for myself. But that's me. I'm poor and practical and a realist when it comes to this pursuit. 
 
That said.
 
Had I money shooting out of my various orifices, I would most certainly buy some ... just to have them for the most part ... and not so much cause I'd expect a huge difference over my current 530's.
 

 
Practical though I may be, I'm also a collector ... and if I've the money to collect something ... I'll collect it. But in crunch time (like now) ... I'm a firm believer in the wisdom of "if it's not broke, don't fix it."
 
Best and, have fun mang.
 
.joel

 

[MacedonianHero]

Quote:

It also shows the 530 having better mids and more extended treble than the 535.  Shane never said the bass was lacking in FR but in body and texture which correlates to my hearing of the 530.  The curve shows you what exists and where, it doesn't show you what it looks or sounds like.  I may know that a Monet is showing at the Getty, doesn't mean I'll like what I see when I get there.

 
Ah...and if read my initial comments I was only referring to the bass impact. Shane accidentally took that out of context and extrapolated to much more of the SE535's spectrum/signature. I was simply returning my comments back to their initial context.

 

 

[Anaxilus]

Quote:

Ah...and if read my initial comments I was only referring to the bass impact. Shane accidentally took that out of context and extrapolated to much more of the SE535's spectrum/signature. I was simply returning my comments back to their initial context.

 

Gotcha.  Don't mind me, I got lost on the way to the DBA thread.  

 

[MacedonianHero]

Quote:

Gotcha.  Don't mind me, I got lost on the way to the DBA thread.  

No worries...I think I could have worded my post a little better anyway to make that more clear.
 
I just want to confirm, there are NO one size fits all IEMs/headphones....none.

 

[Anaxilus]

Quote:

I just want to confirm, there are NO one size fits all IEMs/headphones....none.

Well duh, look at your sig!  

 

[MacedonianHero]

Quote:

Well duh, look at your sig!  

Exactly.

 

[rawrster]

It just looks like one main headphone and earphone with a lot of backups in case they break

 

[ericp10]

Excellent points @ Shane
Quote:

[size=10pt]It's all personal preference, taste, experience, physiognomy, hearing, etc., but any way you look at it, it's all 'personal'. There are few absolutes in this world, and there are no absolutes when it comes to the way people will hear or interpret the sound. (And that, my friend is an absolute!

). Arguments over how IEM's sound, and the irritation (if not outright anger) that can erupt is futile and somewhere that these discussions should not go.[/size]
 
[size=10pt]One can disagree with how their ears and brain interpret sound, but what they say is for them and their experience only. It may jibe and agree with others, but either way it’s just for their ears and the person next to them may grab the exact IEM, with the same eartip and get good fit and hear / interpret it completely differently… using the same source, DAC, Amp, etc.[/size]
 
[size=10pt]Hearing is just one of the vast amount of variables out there. Mr. Thin-and-Anemic may be listening to 128k MP3’s through a POS DAC/Amp, and Mr. Rich-and-Lush could be going straight from LP’s through ultra-mega high-end equipment… Point being that it’s too varied out there for any consistency or constant.[/size]
 
[size=10pt]Now… all that being said, I really liked the SE535, but they were not for me. I had fit and comfort issues (insertion, cable thickness and wire, etc.). I also found that the sound was (to my ears) too mid-centric. Beautiful mids, to be sure, but lacking good highs and sparkle as well as having any sonority or fullness in the bass. But again… that’s just how I heard them.[/size]
[size=10pt]My points of reference are acoustic instruments and how they sound to me. The Sax, Violin, Cello, Piano, Horn, Guitar… whatever… didn’t sound as I know them to sound… to me. Real instruments, in real spaces making real sounds should sound a very particular way. It’s what I know, and unless an IEM can produce the sounds I know well… accurately… then they are not for me.[/size]
 
[size=10pt]If an IEM or full-sized can produces acoustic instruments ‘naturally’, but has other flaws (like flabby bass, or sibilant highs, for example), they obviously get sold as well.[/size]
 
[size=10pt]What winds up sticking around as the perfect can for me, has a 40% (just a guess) chance of being of equal value to anyone else.[/size]
 
[size=10pt]shane[/size]
 

 

 

[shane55]

Quote:

 
Ah...and if read my initial comments I was only referring to the bass impact. Shane accidentally took that out of context and extrapolated to much more of the SE535's spectrum/signature. I was simply returning my comments back to their initial context.

 

Actually, I quoted Eric10's comment and was blathering semi-coherently about my own deep-seated beliefs on the matter of personal preference and hearing, more than commenting on any other particular post (well... until the one that followed).
 
And as for the 'the graph backs me up...' What it may back up is how you hear things, and I can certainly appreciate that. It certainly seems accurate as to how I hear the highs. But it is not universal. Obviously for me and some others, the low end doesn't sound as it looks.
 
shane

 

[beatmaker234]

Questions
 
1. How long do the Shures 530 or 535's last? I take great care of  my items and always use the carrying case. I'm hoping with spending this much they last for 5-10 years.
 
2. For the Shure 535's how much money will it be to replace a cable if i ever need to?
 
3. Do these sound good with hip-hop/rap and rnb??
 
Thx

 

[Spyro]

 
Quote:

Questions
 
1. How long do the Shures 530 or 535's last? I take great care of  my items and always use the carrying case. I'm hoping with spending this much they last for 5-10 years.
 
2. For the Shure 535's how much money will it be to replace a cable if i ever need to?
 
3. Do these sound good with hip-hop/rap and rnb??
 
Thx

If you take care of them they should easily last 5-10 years.
 
Not sure a replacement cable cost has been determined yet but with a 2 year warranty, you are in good hands with Shure.
 
I would say they sound fine with those genres but you could do better.  If that is your music style I would recommend W3 instead wholeheartedly.

 

 

[s1rrah]

Quote:

Questions
 
1. How long do the Shures 530 or 535's last? I take great care of  my items and always use the carrying case. I'm hoping with spending this much they last for 5-10 years.
 
2. For the Shure 535's how much money will it be to replace a cable if i ever need to?
 
3. Do these sound good with hip-hop/rap and rnb??
 
Thx

 
Can't speak towards the 535's but I've been a SE530 owner for about three years now.
 
My current pair is brand new. I sent in my previous 1.5 year old pair for warranty service for cable issues (it was my fault, really, the cable problem but [blush], I pretended it wasn't). 
 
That said ...
 
I consider the SE530's extremely durable. I use mine every day in very demanding outdoor environments while working my day job on the port of Houston. Very dusty environs, very very hot environs, sometimes very cold environs. I have never used the clam shell. When not in use, I simply wrap the entire cable and IEM's around my player and stow it in my backpack. As I said ... this was a trouble free arrangement for 1.5 years until I did something stupid and busted a cable (IE > my recent warranty return). Really, I have put my SE530's through daily hell and they never hiccup'd. No (naturally occurring) cable problems, no sound problems, etc.
 
And if what I've read about the SE535's holds true? Then I expect them to be just as, or more so, durable.
 
I'm happy with the SE530's (although I'd like to demo a pair of SE535's) and so I won't be upgrading.
 
But never mind the "bally hoos" regarding fragility. In my experience (Senns, Sonys, Westones) ... the SE530 cables (and likely the SE535's) are the thickest, most durable and strongest cables I've encountered on an IEM. They're really pretty damn beefy compared to other variants.
 
Good luck on your quest.
 
Best.
 
.joel.

 

[immtbiker]

The 500's and the 530's had a history of the cable tearing where it connected to the cans. I assume the cable on the 535 will address this problem.

 

[beatmaker234]

sweet thx for the replys.
im getting my se535's tommorow CANT WAIT