[Inks]

Not anytime soon i'm almost sure. They took very long to release the 535s really doubt they'll replace their new model so soon it will hurt it a lot.

 

[ryan.d]

I agree. It took shure four years to add a 5 to the se530s...you can calculate how long they need for your model~

 

[rawrster]

There's no need to make another model. I'm assuming there shouldn't be much cable issues with this due to detachable and they can now sell detachable cables instead of sending a new earphone so I'm sure lots of money is to be made out of these. Expect something in 3-4 years or so

 

[IpodHappy]

 
Quote:

 
 
The E500 & SE530 are exactly the same IEM, there was a difference in packaging, accessories or something but the IEMs themselves & the sound are identical.

Actually, there is a noticeable difference in sound signature between my e500 and SE530 sets.  My SE530s are about 2 years younger than the e500s, have less bass presence than the e500c and a more extended high end.  I think there may have been some adjustments and changes along the way between the manufacturing date of the e500s and SE530s.  I had a similar experience with my E500s vs. SE530s as nxmehta has had with his E500 vs. SE535--less bass, more high end.
 
Or our filters have changed a bit after years of use.
 

 

[music_4321]

^^ This is the very first time I've seen someone mention that there's a sonic difference between the E500 & SE530. I even seem to recall that Shure had confirmed they were the same IEM but the latter had extra accessories or something:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/217835/shure-e500-and-se530#post_2631155
 
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/415654/e500-and-se530-not-exactly-the-same#post_5539802

http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/216272/e500-phased-out-to-se530-leakage-problem-solved-sugarfried/15#post_2612818
 
But, hey, I've only owned the SE530 & SE535 and not the E500.

 

[nxmehta]

Quote:

^^ This is the very first time I've seen someone mention that there's a sonic difference between the E500 & SE530. I even seem to recall that Shure had confirmed they were the same IEM but the latter had extra accessories or something:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/217835/shure-e500-and-se530#post_2631155
 
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/415654/e500-and-se530-not-exactly-the-same#post_5539802

http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/216272/e500-phased-out-to-se530-leakage-problem-solved-sugarfried/15#post_2612818
 
But, hey, I've only owned the SE530 & SE535 and not the E500.

I wish I could have someone else over to my house to listen to my E500s and SE535s and confirm how crazy different they sound... I mean I'm certainly not an expert on headphones (still learning a lot of the vocabulary used here!) but they are very different to me.
 
There is a chance that my E500s have just degraded in the 5-6 years that I've had them.  There are two spots on the E500 cable that have cracked that I have sealed up with some electrical tape.  They are both on the left wire however, and I don't notice difference between the left and right.
 
Differences I've noticed so far:
 
- SE535 soundstage seems much bigger than the E500s.  I've never really listened to phones with a large soundstage before, so I had to do some searching to figure out why it felt like the music was coming from so far away rather than inside my head, and obviously I hit the 'soundstage' term.  I find that distance to be a little distracting when I'm listening.  I lot of times I'm listening while working (programming), so it's weird to hear things all over the room.
 
- SE535 mids are very strong for me.  After listening for more than 30 minutes my ears start to ring.  Is that a common thing?  Anyways, it's like listening to different music!  I mean when I listen to The Police, with my E500s I mostly focused on drums (my favorite instrument, especially with Stewart Copeland playing them), but now I have to strain over the loud vocals and guitar to hear them.
 
- SE535 highs are really clear.  Cymbals seem much more alive than on the E500s.  I think though that maybe the soundstaging helps with that?  Cymbals seem clearer to me when I can point to the spot in the room where they are coming from.
 
I'm just an amateur here, and there's a chance that either of my phones are somehow damaged, but that's what I'm hearing.  I'm thinking about looking into the IE8s to see if I like those better.  What I'd really like to do is just recable my E500s, but I don't want earmolds.  I found a pretty cool forum thread (non english) with pictures, but I'd have to do some serious practicing with my soldering iron before attemping this: http://player.ru/showthread.php?p=664263#post664263 .  Plus, I'm not sure where the guy got the socket parts.

 

[music_4321]

^^ I believe every word you say. Please note I was talking about the E500 & SE530 being the same IEM and having the same sound, NOT the SE530 (which I did own in Nov 2008) and the SE535.
 
From what I can remember of the SE530s, I hated the treble, rolled off -- NOT the SE535, quite the contrary, not rolled off but I found it just a little too bright for my taste but more acceptable than the SE530's treble. And I do remember more bass (after nearly 2 years of not owning them) on the SE530 while the new SE535 bass seems rather anemic.
 
As for the IE8, I personally found it a much more enjoyable listen than the SE535, more balanced on the whole. I know someone here already called the IE8 a basshead's IEM - I do NOT agree, though bass quantity is clearly above that found on the SE535. I personally found the bass a little (ONLY a little) much at times (and find the UM3X a more balanced and refined IEM). But, I did enjoy the IE8 plenty of times the few days I had them.
 
At the time I had the IE8s I only had my $850 ES3X (customs) to comapare, and the ES3X are the best IEM/ headphone I've ever heard, and obviously they were better than the IE8s, but the IE8s were not such a let down as was the SE535 (and Earsonics SM3, another recent popular top-tier IEM round these forums). I did not expect to like the IE8 as much as I did. I only bought them because I managed to get a VERY good deal on Amazon.co.uk for a genuine pair - note there are A LOT of IE8 fakes, so, if by any chance you decide to get those, you MUST make sure you get them from an authorised dealer; I got them directly from Amzon.co.uk, and NOT from Amazon Market place, where they also sell lots of fakes.

 

[Onza]

I liked my IE8s a lot, the only thing that frustrated me was the over prominence of the mid bass. On some tracks it was ok, but often it crept into the rest of the frequency, clouding the music. Certain DAPs made the IE8 more enjoyable though, for example I preferred listening to them on my Clip+ compared to my iPhone 3GS. Having said that, the mid-bass could be Eq'd down if there was interest.
 
Aside from the mid-bass the IE8s are great phones, excellent build quality (best built IEM I've had prior to the SE535) and a good sound overall. One thing I particularly liked about them was their soft yet extended treble, before owning the IE8s I used to prefer really crisp treble ala the UE TF10s. The IE8s demonstrates great treble that isn't overly bright and fatiguing.
 
I do have to say that I disagree that the SE535s are in any way anemic sounding. IMO they are anything but anemic - the bass is very clear and present, and from testing/monitoring the bass goes pretty low too. However it does lack the quantity of bass that the IE8s deliver, but then on balance I think they are a  much more balanced phone.
 
P.s. once the bass dial on the IE8s are turned up to max they quickly turned into a basshead IEMs 

 

[gopack87]

So for the last week, I've been listening to these via my Clip+.  It sounded very good unamped from the clip and is a great rig to use for jogging/walking.  But earlier today I received a 5.5 G Ipod 80GB and connected it to a Meier Stepdance via an ALO Lod.  Wow!  It is easily the best sounding portable rig I've ever heard!  The biggest improvement I've noticed is bass impact and soundstage becoming even wider.  Really loving these iems.  (Sorry for the newb impressions)

 

[music_4321]

 
Quote:

 
I do have to say that I disagree that the SE535s are in any way anemic sounding. IMO they are anything but anemic - the bass is very clear and present, and from testing/monitoring the bass goes pretty low too. However it does lack the quantity of bass that the IE8s deliver, but then on balance I think they are a  much more balanced phone.
 
P.s. once the bass dial on the IE8s are turned up to max they quickly turned into a basshead IEMs 

Oh, bass is there alright on the SE535 but, in my view, it definitely lacks impact & body and does not extend as low as it does on the UM3X (and ES3X and CK100). Brian Eno's "On Land" & "Apollo" are 2 good examples where the SE535's bass simply does not deliver the goods at all. On 'On Land', in particular, the low frequencies reach very, very low. The IE8 could not deliver a convincing bass either, though it wasn't as bad as the SE535, but the IE8 sounded a little muddy/ congested at times. There are other recordings, quite a few in fact, where the bass just didn't cut it on the SE535s.
 
I agree that the IE8 has excellent treble, never piercing, harsh or too bright, yet with plenty of detail. I liked more the way all 3 frequencies blended on the IE8 than the SE535.
 
One thing, though, about the IE8 is that isolation isn't as good as the SE535/ UM3X and a good fit may prove more difficult as reported by many - I was lucky to get a perfect fit from the get go.
 
As for build quality, the CK100 is the best universal I've ever come across, but it doesn't come with detachable cables, but the quality of its cable & strain relief are EXCELLENT, having no microphonics ans lots of flexibility unlike the SE535's beautiful & strong yet quite stiff and microphonic cable. The CK100s, along with the UM3X are the best sounding universal IEMs I've ever heard. The IE8 has excellent build quality and a great cable too.

 

[D4R]

 
Quote:

The IE8s demonstrates great treble that isn't overly bright and fatiguing.

P.s. once the bass dial on the IE8s are turned up to max they quickly turned into a basshead IEMs 

Gotta agree with those two points about the IE8.  My E500 sounds fantastic (and the cable is beginning to get stiff - oh, no!), but every once in a while, you pop in the IE8 and the presentation is completely different.  A very very good different

Keeping the bass knob at the minimum setting is good enough for me.  At the max setting the throbbing from the bass can be irritating.

 

[DiamondHead]

Quote:

when do you guys think shure will release their next high end iem lik the 600 or 635 for example??
im about to get the shure 535's but i'm willing to wait if in a couple months a newer iem comes out.

I dont see that happening.

They took 3 years to release the SE535 since the SE530's release.

 

[Photofan1986]

^  Yeah and since they saw that a slight update to their SE530 made them sell like hot cakes for a pretty hefty price tag, there is no use for Shure to make a really new iem (hear, with newer, better technology) for now.

 

[IpodHappy]

Quote:

^^ This is the very first time I've seen someone mention that there's a sonic difference between the E500 & SE530. I even seem to recall that Shure had confirmed they were the same IEM but the latter had extra accessories or something:

I was very surprised to find the difference in SQ between the e500 and SE530s.  I read many of these same posts before I got the SE530s, which were to be a backup pair for my aging e500s.  I then did an extensive search to check for the existance of SE530 counterfeits, and a near microscopic examination of the two side by side.  They're not counterfeits, yet the sound signature is different.  Again, I can suppose there have been some manufacturing changes in couple years that separated their manufacture, or aging of the e500 filters.  I have duplicates of two other IEM models in my list which have no differences in their sound signature (2 Triple.Fi 10s and 2 Super.Fi 5s).
 

 

[jaredalv]

OK - so again, this is my first foray into high-end (for me) IEM's.  The Shure 535's blew me away, as they were the first I'd ever heard.  Now that I've had the UM3X's for a bit, I have to agree with music_4321's hard-headedness

and say for my own preference that the low-end presence in the UM3X's is too big of a factor to not like these over the 535's.  I will say that the UM3X's may not be as bright as the 535's, just my impression, but that doesn't mean that they're lacking high-end.  It's just not as pronounced as the 535's.  The 535's sparkle in your ear, high-end crispness is everywhere - the UM3X mutes that a little, but not to the detriment of the music, it just doesn't bring it forward so much.
 
And the 535 bass is pretty anemic in comparison.  I'm really surprised at the gap between these two.  Low-end definitely goes to UM3X.
 
Mids are a push.
 
>>>
 
As to build-quality, I'm also beginning to enjoy the more portable/compact feel of the UM3X's.  The cord is indeed non-microphonic, and it stays out of the way a little better than the Shure cord.  I'm still undecided on whether or not I prefer the Shure olives or the Westone foamies - in fact I may have to try the Large Westone foamies because the fit's not as snug as with the olives.  Or I might just try the olives on the UM3X - do they fit?  I haven't yet tried.
 
The Shure's feel and look like the higher-end equipment.  They just LOOK expensive.  The UM3X gives the impression, side-by-side, of being cheaper.  But once you get past the packaging and the feel of everything and just sit with your eyes closed and listen - the UM3X's win for me.
 
>>>
 
Hard-core audio-philes ignore this next part.  

 
I do find that I prefer to choose a slightly toned-down bass EQ setting on my iPhone for acoustic jazz pieces - 'Acoustic' in particular.  And that in both IEM's I prefer the sound of either the 'Electronic' or 'Classical' EQ setting depending on the genre I'm listening to.  As stated before, portability is pretty much item #1 with me as I'm always on the go, so don't hate on me for using an iPhone without an amp.  

 Anyway, the EQ settings lend a slightly more refined sound to my ear.  The EQ off is a little flat to me.
 
>>>
 
The 535's are brilliant - but they're missing too much low-end for me.  I'm going to return the 535's and keep the UM3X's.  And they're $100 cheaper.  

 
Thanks again music_4321 for insisting.  Too bad again that it took me to a 3rd pair of these before I heard their true richness.
 
 
jaredalv

 
Quote:

 

jaredalv,

Thanks for your comments & impressions - glad you seem to have finally found that 'magic' sound on a fully working pair of UM3Xs that I (and others) have been talking about.

And yes, keep those impressions coming!