[JoeyRusso]

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Could people make some more comparisons and detailed comments about the bass quantity and quality as compared to other earphones that you have?
 
Thanks

Keep in mind that the following statements are according to my ears with my system.. (PC - Foobar2k - USB - D4 DAC/Amp using only flac files) both IEM's equipped with Shure Olive's... 
 
Compared side by side with my Westone 3's there's no comparison for me.  The 535's lack detail, extension and sustain below 100 Hz.  
 
 For songs like the Black Eyed Peas - "Boom Boom Pow" the 535's sound like a quality 6 x 9 speaker or bookshelf speaker and the W3's sound like a separates system with subwoofers or full size speakers.  There's no life or excitement for me.  The synth bass just isn't reproduced the way it's meant to be heard, for me anyway.
 
 On Fergie's - "Clumsy" it's pretty much the same thing. The punch is adequate, but it lacks depth and sustain.
 
It's not just the pop genre, I hear the differences everywhere...
 
On Yo Yo Ma's rendition of Bach's Suite for Solo Cello No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1007: I. Prélude.. The cello lacks the natural timbre, sustain and depth it should have in the lower region.
 
The 535's mid forward signature should slaughter the W3's with classical music, but they don't capture the full picture painted by the orchestra for me. The 535's are just too polite.
 
On Diana Krall's - From This Moment On (same album title), the bass line is fantastic on the W3. It's liquidy smooth, detailed and never lost in the mix.  With the 535's it sounds flat and lifeless to me, it falls too far back in the mix at times.  "I was doing all right", from the same album,  just sounds cold on the 535's. With the W3's it's like being there. 
 
Even with Metal the 535's can't compare.  Any songs that involve drop tuning and a 5 string bass comes up short.  The body just isn't there.  The "wall" of sound (rhythm) that should be there just doesn't reach my ears.
 
My latest test involved the "Heartbeat" test track from Head-fi and HDtracks Open Your Ears..  The W3 sounds more natural and has more depth and body, the 535 reproduces the sound, but once again, falls short for me. 
 
The 535's match the W3's in the ability to reproduce notes down to 20 Hz (using SineGen), it's just the way they're presented that sounds off to me.
 
Don't get me wrong, the W3's aren't perfect.  The bass can and does intrude and overwhelm at times.  It's just that I feel they reproduce bass in a more natural way (decay/sustain/timbre) than the 535's.  The 535's are technically as proficient as the 535's, it's just the way it's reproduced or presented that falls short for my ears.  As they say, your mileage may vary.

 

[Young Spade]

Fair review between the two phones, however, I feel like I should say that the SE535s aren't really... Made to sound exciting as you say they are. I think z few people might take this the wrong way because I cant quite find the right words to say but the W3s drivers are tuned to hsve that exciting sound you know?

For me, the se535s sound the Best with music that is intimate and powerful, not exciting as the black eyed peas or other techno,rap,pop music sounds. Now don't get me wrong, I love the sound im getting from these phones with all genres of music but back when I had my triple.fi 10s I knew they were made for that music that can just get you excited.

And again, I'm not disregarding your review or anything because I can completely see where you are coming from with the comparison, just throwing my opinion on the phones out there too. For the longest now vie thought about buying a pair of w3s to compliment the se535s but I don't feel like spending the money; he'll Christmas is right around e corner though.

 

[JoeyRusso]

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Fair review between the two phones, however, I feel like I should say that the SE535s aren't really... Made to sound exciting as you say they are. I think z few people might take this the wrong way because I cant quite find the right words to say but the W3s drivers are tuned to hsve that exciting sound you know?

For me, the se535s sound the Best with music that is intimate and powerful, not exciting as the black eyed peas or other techno,rap,pop music sounds. Now don't get me wrong, I love the sound im getting from these phones with all genres of music but back when I had my triple.fi 10s I knew they were made for that music that can just get you excited.

And again, I'm not disregarding your review or anything because I can completely see where you are coming from with the comparison, just throwing my opinion on the phones out there too.

For the longest now vie thought about buying a pair of w3s to compliment the se535s but I don't feel like spending the money; he'll Christmas is right around e corner though.

Oh I completely agree that the W3's are definitely tuned for fun over balance.  There's no denying that at all.  And it may seem that I'm bashing the 535, that's not the case.  I'm just being extremely or overly critical of them.  I wanted them to be a perfect compliment to my W3. I may have burdened them with my own high and false expectations.  They are close, but not exactly what I was hoping for.  I love their mids and I've brought the highs up a few db's with EQ.  It's down low where they let me down. I'm satisfied with the 535's impact and range.  It's the decay/sustain that I miss.  If they had just a hair more, they'd be just what I was looking for.  The note just needs a little more hang time.  EQ can't help me there.  When the W3's get to be overpowering, I can EQ them down a few db and still have body and (decay) sustain.  I can de-tune fun, unfortunately I can't add sustain (length of note) or more fun with EQ. 

 
I love the 535's for acoustic music (Jack Johnson, Priscilla Ahn, Acoustic Alchemy) and most classical.  They also do well with vocal focused music (Andrea Bocelli, Sara Brightman).  It's just that the other 95% of my library is metal, rock, pop, techno and jazz.  
 
If someone could combine the mids of the 535 in with the W3's lows and highs, I'd buy it and be done.. 
 
Oh and make sure Santa knows you may want to add the W3 to your ear arsenal.. it's not too late.. 

 

[MacedonianHero]

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Fair review between the two phones, however, I feel like I should say that the SE535s aren't really... Made to sound exciting as you say they are. I think z few people might take this the wrong way because I cant quite find the right words to say but the W3s drivers are tuned to hsve that exciting sound you know?

For me, the se535s sound the Best with music that is intimate and powerful, not exciting as the black eyed peas or other techno,rap,pop music sounds. Now don't get me wrong, I love the sound im getting from these phones with all genres of music but back when I had my triple.fi 10s I knew they were made for that music that can just get you excited.

And again, I'm not disregarding your review or anything because I can completely see where you are coming from with the comparison, just throwing my opinion on the phones out there too.

For the longest now vie thought about buying a pair of w3s to compliment the se535s but I don't feel like spending the money; he'll Christmas is right around e corner though.

The bass extension on the SE535s is flat to 10Hz and the human ear can really only reach down to 20Hz, so statements that the W3s go deeper make no sense to me. I owned both at the same time and continually find that the bass on the recording is what I hear on the SE535s, on the W3s, I hear Westone's interpretation of the bass...tuned up with a hump that can bleed into the mids. The treble is the same. I consider the W3s the fun anime version of the recording; while the SE535s are an open window to what the artists intended.
 
Now these are universal IEMs and the proper tip and positioning is key with all of them, so that might be another reason. Again, these are all preferences and I prefer the SE535s....so much so that I eventually sold off my W3s due to lack of head time.

 

[JoeyRusso]

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Fair review between the two phones, however, I feel like I should say that the SE535s aren't really... Made to sound exciting as you say they are. I think z few people might take this the wrong way because I cant quite find the right words to say but the W3s drivers are tuned to hsve that exciting sound you know?

For me, the se535s sound the Best with music that is intimate and powerful, not exciting as the black eyed peas or other techno,rap,pop music sounds. Now don't get me wrong, I love the sound im getting from these phones with all genres of music but back when I had my triple.fi 10s I knew they were made for that music that can just get you excited.

And again, I'm not disregarding your review or anything because I can completely see where you are coming from with the comparison, just throwing my opinion on the phones out there too.

For the longest now vie thought about buying a pair of w3s to compliment the se535s but I don't feel like spending the money; he'll Christmas is right around e corner though.

The bass extension on the SE535s is flat to 10Hz and the human ear can really only reach down to 20Hz, so statements that the W3s go deeper make no sense to me. I owned both at the same time and continually find that the bass on the recording is what I hear on the SE535s, on the W3s, I hear Westone's interpretation of the bass...tuned up with a hump that can bleed into the mids. The treble is the same. I consider the W3s the fun anime version of the recording; while the SE535s are an open window to what the artists intended.
 
Now these are universal IEMs and the proper tip and positioning is key with all of them, so that might be another reason. Again, these are all preferences and I prefer the SE535s....so much so that I eventually sold off my W3s due to lack of head time.

Agreed... personally I hear nothing below 20 Hz and change.. 
 
I may be referring to depth incorrectly. I've half-ass tested/listened to them both with a sine wave generator from top to bottom and they both reach my limits on the low end (around 20.25 Hz). It's not really the depth, it's the weight of the note or length (sustain?) they achieve at the low end.  It's hard to put into words what's missing to me, but this is as close as I can come:
 
 I have a recording (CD) that I personally played bass on that sounds flat (one dimensional?) with the 535's. Are the W3's bumped up??  Yep, Big time!!!!  But they are closer to me, than the 535's when it comes to reproducing the groove (if you can  call it that) that the drummer and I laid down that night. Do either one compare to my HD600's??  Not even close. The Senn's almost take me back to that time and place (except for the smell in the studio - the singer ate mexican earlier that day - LOL).  The W3's aren't accurate, they are inflated (volume level) at both ends, but their decay/sustain or weight of note sounds better to me.  Your mileage may vary...

 

[andgold]

Dear JoeyRusso, Macedonian Hero and rest of friends.

I am reading your posts regarding bass and SE535 with great interest, as it is my first IEM choice for next Xmas. Durability and mic accessory make it a great option for me.


My concern for not deciding yet is if they will perform bass with enough punch. I don't consider myself a bass fanatic, but when I listen to a symphonic orchestra I love feeling the brass section resonate in my ears, a little rumble presence makes me feel there.

To make a comparison in the on ear models, Bowers P5 achieve this for me, Beyer T50P not enough (it is their only con for me).

Finally I use just an iPhone and don't like its EQs.


My question is: Must I discard the SE535 in favour of W3?


Thank you!

 

[MacedonianHero]

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Fair review between the two phones, however, I feel like I should say that the SE535s aren't really... Made to sound exciting as you say they are. I think z few people might take this the wrong way because I cant quite find the right words to say but the W3s drivers are tuned to hsve that exciting sound you know?

For me, the se535s sound the Best with music that is intimate and powerful, not exciting as the black eyed peas or other techno,rap,pop music sounds. Now don't get me wrong, I love the sound im getting from these phones with all genres of music but back when I had my triple.fi 10s I knew they were made for that music that can just get you excited.

And again, I'm not disregarding your review or anything because I can completely see where you are coming from with the comparison, just throwing my opinion on the phones out there too.

For the longest now vie thought about buying a pair of w3s to compliment the se535s but I don't feel like spending the money; he'll Christmas is right around e corner though.

The bass extension on the SE535s is flat to 10Hz and the human ear can really only reach down to 20Hz, so statements that the W3s go deeper make no sense to me. I owned both at the same time and continually find that the bass on the recording is what I hear on the SE535s, on the W3s, I hear Westone's interpretation of the bass...tuned up with a hump that can bleed into the mids. The treble is the same. I consider the W3s the fun anime version of the recording; while the SE535s are an open window to what the artists intended.
 
Now these are universal IEMs and the proper tip and positioning is key with all of them, so that might be another reason. Again, these are all preferences and I prefer the SE535s....so much so that I eventually sold off my W3s due to lack of head time.

Agreed... personally I hear nothing below 20 Hz and change.. 
 
I may be referring to depth incorrectly. I've half-ass tested/listened to them both with a sine wave generator from top to bottom and they both reach my limits on the low end (around 20.25 Hz). It's not really the depth, it's the weight of the note or length (sustain?) they achieve at the low end.  It's hard to put into words what's missing to me, but this is as close as I can come:
 
 I have a recording (CD) that I personally played bass on that sounds flat (one dimensional?) with the 535's. Are the W3's bumped up??  Yep, Big time!!!!  But they are closer to me, than the 535's when it comes to reproducing the groove (if you can  call it that) that the drummer and I laid down that night. Do either one compare to my HD600's??  Not even close. The Senn's almost take me back to that time and place (except for the smell in the studio - the singer ate mexican earlier that day - LOL).  The W3's aren't accurate, they are inflated (volume level) at both ends, but their decay/sustain or weight of note sounds better to me.  Your mileage may vary...

Hi Joey:

I'd give this website a try. I find it helpful when trying to discern overall balance, bass depth and treble extension:
 
http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/jw/hearing.html
 
Just start off on a low volume first.

 

[JoeyRusso]

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Fair review between the two phones, however, I feel like I should say that the SE535s aren't really... Made to sound exciting as you say they are. I think z few people might take this the wrong way because I cant quite find the right words to say but the W3s drivers are tuned to hsve that exciting sound you know?

For me, the se535s sound the Best with music that is intimate and powerful, not exciting as the black eyed peas or other techno,rap,pop music sounds. Now don't get me wrong, I love the sound im getting from these phones with all genres of music but back when I had my triple.fi 10s I knew they were made for that music that can just get you excited.

And again, I'm not disregarding your review or anything because I can completely see where you are coming from with the comparison, just throwing my opinion on the phones out there too.

For the longest now vie thought about buying a pair of w3s to compliment the se535s but I don't feel like spending the money; he'll Christmas is right around e corner though.

The bass extension on the SE535s is flat to 10Hz and the human ear can really only reach down to 20Hz, so statements that the W3s go deeper make no sense to me. I owned both at the same time and continually find that the bass on the recording is what I hear on the SE535s, on the W3s, I hear Westone's interpretation of the bass...tuned up with a hump that can bleed into the mids. The treble is the same. I consider the W3s the fun anime version of the recording; while the SE535s are an open window to what the artists intended.
 
Now these are universal IEMs and the proper tip and positioning is key with all of them, so that might be another reason. Again, these are all preferences and I prefer the SE535s....so much so that I eventually sold off my W3s due to lack of head time.

Agreed... personally I hear nothing below 20 Hz and change.. 
 
I may be referring to depth incorrectly. I've half-ass tested/listened to them both with a sine wave generator from top to bottom and they both reach my limits on the low end (around 20.25 Hz). It's not really the depth, it's the weight of the note or length (sustain?) they achieve at the low end.  It's hard to put into words what's missing to me, but this is as close as I can come:
 
 I have a recording (CD) that I personally played bass on that sounds flat (one dimensional?) with the 535's. Are the W3's bumped up??  Yep, Big time!!!!  But they are closer to me, than the 535's when it comes to reproducing the groove (if you can  call it that) that the drummer and I laid down that night. Do either one compare to my HD600's??  Not even close. The Senn's almost take me back to that time and place (except for the smell in the studio - the singer ate mexican earlier that day - LOL).  The W3's aren't accurate, they are inflated (volume level) at both ends, but their decay/sustain or weight of note sounds better to me.  Your mileage may vary...

Hi Joey:

I'd give this website a try. I find it helpful when trying to discern overall balance, bass depth and treble extension:
 
http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/jw/hearing.html
 
Just start off on a low volume first.

Thanks Hero (especially for the warning.. LOL)  That's an excellent tool for sure..  I volume matched the W3 and 535 with the 1kHz tone and then matched the volumes of the other tones to the 1kHz tone.  Check these out...
 

 
and then the 535:
 

 
Very cool tool, and if anything now I know where to apply EQ to both to tame them when or where needed.
 
Again, it's not the technical ability of the 535 to reproduce the same tones or notes that I have issue with, it's the way they're presented that I find different.  They can be volume matched and EQ'd to be very similar, but I think it's the decay that I like better with the W3's (down low).  The bottom has more body and sustain to me.  Other than that, I can't fault the 535's anywere else.
 
On a side note... I found the trouble spot for my ears.. it's around 9kHz...  that's where any IEM can cause me fatigue.  There's an unnatural or natural resonance that raises the volume level in that area in my canal.  Now I can go play with EQ and see if I can make all my IEM's and can's more enjoyable.  

 
Thanks Hero.. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

[MacedonianHero]

^^
 
No worries. I often use it with my full sized cans and SPL meter, but to be honest I've never tried it with IEMs.

 

[JoeyRusso]

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^^
 
No worries. I often use it with my full sized cans and SPL meter, but to be honest I've never tried it with IEMs.

That's next.. LOL  You've created a monster.. 

 

[aangen]

I broke down and ordered a pair today. I originally bought the SE500 model. When the cables shredded (out of warranty) I paid  the flat rate repair cost and got a brand new pair of 530's. Last week I noticed the cable starting to fray on that pair so guess what Shure, you get rewarded with an order of a brand new pair. And when the cables fail on my existing pair of 530's I'll probably do the flat rate thing again. Now I know how a fish feels. when it is really hooked good. Got a sub $400 price with free shipping. Swell?
 
UPDATE:
The 535's arrived today, they are nicely built. They seem to fit better than the 530's, not that the 530's didn't fit well. The cable seems robust near the headphones themselves, but weak down near the "Y" which is where my current 530's are failing. At least now they are replaceable. In early listening they sound a bit muddy in comparison to the 530's. I think they need some exercise before I know for certain. I do like the swivel disconnects and the new shape. Yes.

 

[fumi]

Hi guys, I'd like some advice about purchasing the Shure SE 535. 

For the last four years, I've been using the UE Super-Fi 5 Pro but I'm now tired of having to keep replacing the cables. Even handling them really carefully always results in the wiring oxidising eventually. The last set I bought never got wet once or really exposed to any kind of moisture and yet they still went bad and the sound in one channel became intermittent. Does anyone else find this with UE replacement cables?

Anyway, with that in mind, I'm wondering if after four years I should upgrade to the Shure SE 535. Would they be a significant sonic improvement over the UE Super-Fi 5 Pro?

I've been hearing that the cable construction on these is very good. 

Any advice would be most appreciated. 

Regards. 

 

[Young Spade]

AHi guys, I'd like some advice about purchasing the Shure SE 535. 

For the last four years, I've been using the UE Super-Fi 5 Pro but I'm now tired of having to keep replacing the cables. Even handling them really carefully always results in the wiring oxidising eventually. The last set I bought never got wet once or really exposed to any kind of moisture and yet they still went bad and the sound in one channel became intermittent. Does anyone else find this with UE replacement cables?

Anyway, with that in mind, I'm wondering if after four years I should upgrade to the Shure SE 535. Would they be a significant sonic improvement over the UE Super-Fi 5 Pro?

I've been hearing that the cable construction on these is very good. 

Any advice would be most appreciated. 

Regards. 

Well I cant compare the two phones directly but having the phones I can provide some input; the SE535s are great phones, very neutral with forward, powerful mids. For a lot of people going to. Somewhat neutral headphones for the first time, it might take a while to get used to that sound signature with forward mids; it took me about a week coming from the K702s and it took a while to get used to the UM3Xs back earlier this year( they have somewhat the same sound signature as well$

Umm....when going into top tier headphones, probably the most important deciding factor is the preferred sound signatur; for instance, both the W3 and the 535s are amazing headphones but some people prefer one over the other for various reasons.

Lol so after that long rant, what's your preferred sound signature and what type if music do you like?

 

[fumi]

Well, I'm not really sure about a signature, I guess. Just a nicely balanced sound with incredible attention to detail.
I mainly listen to Rock & Electronic music.
Thanks for replying to my query!

 

[htsource]

Glad to be a new owner of the SE535, I tried Monster Copper Pro but these Shure SE535's are in different level.  SE535 is much more natural than the Monster, and more balanced bass.  I like the design where you put the wires over the ears, fit better and fairly snug to the ears!  The removable cable is a plus as well, will get the handsfree option next!  Are there any upgraded cables for this phones yet
 
Gotta go back now to read all 103 pages, just so excited that I tried and settle for these phones!  These are my first set of in-ear phones, moving the head seems to bring a lot of noise or touching the cable, not sure if there's much to avoid that.