[moseboy]

Definitely. If his ear canals are too small for the tips he tried, then that's probably why they sounded that way to him.

 

[htsource]

Thank you, just wanted to make sure as my experience with different tips were completely opposite.  He didn't get a chance to try different tips, just a quick listen with the tips already attached to the phones.

 

[Pianist]

Quote:

Nope, I'm pretty sure he said he's a mids guy.

 
He said " I guess," so he's not even sure who he is. I attempted to analyze who he is, based on my experience with many IEMs and headphones, including the SE535s. Since I consider SE530 to be a very natural and balanced sounding IEM and Triple.fi as having an unnatural V-shaped curve and poor crossover design, I came to the conclusion that he is a person who likes a balanced, natural sound and dislikes unrealistic sound that does not represent what music sounds like in real life. Now, just to clarify, when I say a headphone sounds natural, I mean that it is able to reproduce the sound of real instruments and voices accurately - close to what they sound like to our ears in real life. Synthesized sounds cannot be natural or unnatural in principle, so electronic music or other music that uses synthesized sounds cannot be used as a valid material to evaluate the realism of sound reproduction. What I am getting at here is that "natural" is indeed not such a subjective quality as many may think because I think that most humans with normal hearing hear the world similarly meaning that a headphone that is able to reproduce natural instruments faithfully should sound similarly faithful to all people with normal hearing... well that is provided we all get the same perfect fit with IEMs, which is impossible, so... IEMs will always sound different for different people, even the exact same model, but there is nevertheless an objective quality to their sound that is the level of realism that can be perceived with a perfect fit... But what is a perfect fit? All tips also color the sound in some way... hmmm... ok, but if one gets at least a solid seal with, say, the stock tips that were designed specifically to the IEM, then maybe... but maybe not... so the only conclusion I can make for now is that all IEMs have a certain objective level of realism in their sound and so if I found the SE535 comparable to HD800 in realism, (when I compared the two using music with real instruments in it obviously AND provided I know what these instruments sound like in real life, which I do), that doesn't mean that it is just because of my preference, but because SE535 actually does sound as realistic as HD800. But then the source matters too... If HD800 was plugged into an even higher quality source, it could distance itself from SE535. Hmmm.... But when I listened to SE535 and HD800 I actually felt like I was there with the musicians. Could that be an argument? I mean if I feel like I am "there," could I feel even more like I am there? Well, I don't think so, unless my other senses get involved too. lol

 

[MaxwellDemon]

Quote:

I'm a proud owner of SE535 for about 2 weeks now, got my friend interested and he got a set tonight as well.  First impression he said was too much bass and rolled off highs!  Could the tips make too much bass?  In my case, when I had the wrong tips, it actually sounded tiny and no bass, kinda completely opposite of what he described.

I have only got my SE425 yesterday... but I am starting to have a nagging feeling that the entire IEM line from Shure has a slightly rolled off high signature. They are most definitely not bassy though. I came from the Ety's, a little too used to the clinical and bright sound they often offer. So, I am hoping that these will psychologically burn in a little better (and also technically burn in), making the highs just a bit tighter and clearer. Right now, the 425 just sounds very buttery smooth to me, which can be a good thing to the people that really love their mids.
 
I hope to be able to do a 535 vs. 425 comparison this weekend by the way. Hopefully I'll have the time to check on the 535s.

 

[D4R]

@MaxwellDemon
 
I own both.  If you stick the triple flange on either (modded to a double flange: kept the small flange and trimmed out the largest flange, kept the long stem trimmed by a small amount) and then a/b them, there is a big difference in the treble and the bass.  The 535 has more treble sparkle and on certain songs like Trent Reznor's Almost Home for the Social Network movie, the bass feels like it's a very high quality subwoofer attached to your skull.  Not the same bass as the 750dj, Q40, or the IE8 for that matter.  But dear god amazing coming from such a small piece of equipment.  Do an a/b with the black olives and the bass flattens out considerably, at least with my ear canals (won't seal right unless I use the big olives but they get painful after a bit of time).  I think I'm lucky that I get a seal with the triple flanges, modded or un-modded.  All the other sleeves don't do the job.  BTW the triple flanges are darker when un-modded.
 
my 2 cents. YRMV

 

[MaxwellDemon]

I was expecting the difference to be in the sparkle and the bass, judging from their frequency graph. Glad to see that the reality isn't too far off.

I tried a molded triple-flange tip last night, and I think I prefer these IEM with the medium size Shure olives. They fit perfectly into my ear... listening to them in the train at the moment.

 

[D4R]

Quote:

I was expecting the difference to be in the sparkle and the bass, judging from their frequency graph. Glad to see that the reality isn't too far off.

I tried a molded triple-flange tip last night, and I think I prefer these IEM with the medium size Shure olives. They fit perfectly into my ear... listening to them in the train at the moment.

Lucky you!  They are so much more comfortable over the triple whites especially for lengthy use.

 

[cardozo]

I have the same opinion. For me, the SE530 features a condensed sound, with little soundstage, very far from a 3D presentation. Moreover, I see no problems with their bass and treble. For me, it suffers from lack of general clarity.

This is a weird IEM, which has balanced armature drivers, but plays like a dynamic driver headphones!

I use my Shure with Comply Foam and a Cowon J3 player, properly equalized.
 
Cheers,
 
Peter
 
Quote:

Not a bad fit at all. I get a great fit in comparison with the SE535s and medium olivesas well. just in comparison, the sound stage feels a bit too compressed between the two  
Maybe different ear canals hear it differently?

 

[MaxwellDemon]

Quote:

Quote:

I was expecting the difference to be in the sparkle and the bass, judging from their frequency graph. Glad to see that the reality isn't too far off.

I tried a molded triple-flange tip last night, and I think I prefer these IEM with the medium size Shure olives. They fit perfectly into my ear... listening to them in the train at the moment.

Lucky you!  They are so much more comfortable over the triple whites especially for lengthy use.

Funnily enough, I actually use the unmodded triple flanges for my Ety's. However, the angling of the SE425 (I assume I'll have the same problem with the SE535) prohibits me from using those. However, I definitely agree that the triple flanges aren't very comfortable for lengthy use. In the span of two hours, I have to pull my Ety's out at least twice, so my ears can readjust for a bit.

 

[Pianist]

Quote:

I have the same opinion. For me, the SE530 features a condensed sound, with little soundstage, very far from a 3D presentation. Moreover, I see no problems with their bass and treble. For me, it suffers from lack of general clarity.

This is a weird IEM, which has balanced armature drivers, but plays like a dynamic driver headphones!

I use my Shure with Comply Foam and a Cowon J3 player, properly equalized.
 
Cheers,
 
Peter

 
Classic "symptoms" of a bad fit if you ask me. I did not hear such problems when I got a great fit with the Shures. And I heard many headphones so I have experience. SE530 does not sound condensed and has great soundstage and clarity, but are a huge a pain in the behind to get the right fit with IMO. Custom tips are the only way to get a consistently great sound out of these IEMs IMO.

 

[communic]

Quote:

Quote:

Nope, I'm pretty sure he said he's a mids guy.

 
He said " I guess," so he's not even sure who he is. I attempted to analyze who he is, based on my experience with many IEMs and headphones, including the SE535s. Since I consider SE530 to be a very natural and balanced sounding IEM and Triple.fi as having an unnatural V-shaped curve and poor crossover design, I came to the conclusion that he is a person who likes a balanced, natural sound and dislikes unrealistic sound that does not represent what music sounds like in real life. Now, just to clarify, when I say a headphone sounds natural, I mean that it is able to reproduce the sound of real instruments and voices accurately - close to what they sound like to our ears in real life. Synthesized sounds cannot be natural or unnatural in principle, so electronic music or other music that uses synthesized sounds cannot be used as a valid material to evaluate the realism of sound reproduction. What I am getting at here is that "natural" is indeed not such a subjective quality as many may think because I think that most humans with normal hearing hear the world similarly meaning that a headphone that is able to reproduce natural instruments faithfully should sound similarly faithful to all people with normal hearing... well that is provided we all get the same perfect fit with IEMs, which is impossible, so... IEMs will always sound different for different people, even the exact same model, but there is nevertheless an objective quality to their sound that is the level of realism that can be perceived with a perfect fit... But what is a perfect fit? All tips also color the sound in some way... hmmm... ok, but if one gets at least a solid seal with, say, the stock tips that were designed specifically to the IEM, then maybe... but maybe not... so the only conclusion I can make for now is that all IEMs have a certain objective level of realism in their sound and so if I found the SE535 comparable to HD800 in realism, (when I compared the two using music with real instruments in it obviously AND provided I know what these instruments sound like in real life, which I do), that doesn't mean that it is just because of my preference, but because SE535 actually does sound as realistic as HD800. But then the source matters too... If HD800 was plugged into an even higher quality source, it could distance itself from SE535. Hmmm.... But when I listened to SE535 and HD800 I actually felt like I was there with the musicians. Could that be an argument? I mean if I feel like I am "there," could I feel even more like I am there? Well, I don't think so, unless my other senses get involved too. lol

 
That analysis is fundamentally flawed as it implies that a lofty bottom end is synonymous with an unnatural sound. I have never heard the SE535;s so most of what I state is conceptual but I can paint a pretty decent picture of its sound sig based on the reviews in this thread. 
 
For the sake of argument I will reluctantly agree that synths are 'unnatural' sounds. I will also assume any sound that requires electrical input as unnatural too. That being said, take a musical piece consisting of just a glockenspiel and double bassoon, two 'natural' instruments. I can safely state that while the SE535 may easily reproduce the glockenspiel it would no doubt struggle to reproduce the double bassoon in its lowest octaves. I say this because even the TF10 can't do it. It just is not able to dig deep enough with enough power to accurately manufacture what is heard in real life. Though, I can safely say it would fare better than the SE535 at doing so.
 
Now, if you mean 'natural' to stipulate sounds bereft of deep bass then by all means I would imagine the SE535 are as natural as they come but I actually do like listenning to orchestras were deep, powerful, sometimes chilling bass is present and I can assure you there will be many others too. So in essence, if most of your music, 'natural' or not, is geared towards mid and higher freqs or you just don't like deep bass then, of course, earphones like the 535 will be your cup of tea and dare I say, sound 'balanced'. If the SE535 had similar bass to, at the very least an UM3X, I would have bought it in a heartbeat as not many iems I have heard get close to pullingl off orchestras with deep bass instruments. Usually why I mostly use headphones with that type of music. 
 


 

 

[cardozo]

Hi Pianist!
 
I already have some experience in our audiophile world and believe me, this characteristic has nothing to do with the fit of the headfone... And going further: I like my in-ear headphones, when used with Comply (or Shure Olives) placed in a not so deep insertion, just to raise the soundstage a bit more and bring a little "air" to the sound .

It can be a physical characteristic of mine, but I do not notice much difference in sound when I put the headphone completely inserted in the ear or placed in a more shallow insertion. And in this case, I prefer the shallower, for comfort reasons and increased soundstage, as stated above. And of course there is a limit to this. Ultimately, I think that the insertion is in the middle between deep and shallow, if you know what I mean.

And before you ask, the bass are not affected because they are exactly the same both ways. And this is how I use with my SE530, ER4P, RE-0, etc..

Finally, I believe that many of these sonic differences really have to do with the physical characteristics of each one of us.
 
Peace for all,
 
Peter
 
Quote:

Quote:

I have the same opinion. For me, the SE530 features a condensed sound, with little soundstage, very far from a 3D presentation. Moreover, I see no problems with their bass and treble. For me, it suffers from lack of general clarity.

This is a weird IEM, which has balanced armature drivers, but plays like a dynamic driver headphones!

I use my Shure with Comply Foam and a Cowon J3 player, properly equalized.
 
Cheers,
 
Peter

 
Classic "symptoms" of a bad fit if you ask me. I did not hear such problems when I got a great fit with the Shures. And I heard many headphones so I have experience. SE530 does not sound condensed and has great soundstage and clarity, but are a huge a pain in the behind to get the right fit with IMO. Custom tips are the only way to get a consistently great sound out of these IEMs IMO.

 

[shane55]

[size=10pt]Wow... I wish I didn't find it necessary to jam IEM's in as deep as possible. But I find that it increases the bass and decreases any ambient artifacts which appear to be 'reflection' based. I also find that Comply's assist in that regard (aside from being more physically tolerable).[/size]

 

[cardozo]

Dear Pianist,
 
Just to complement what I wrote, my ER4P (the "S" version even more) can show an almost faithful environment where the music was recorded and this has nothing to do with soundstage itself. Its something bigger. The positioning of the instruments is faithful and even the size of the studio can be deduced by the reverberations of the different sounds, not to mention the tonal accuracy, which is close to perfect. The ER4P/S, to me, is almost a precision sound instrument, which is so faithful to the sound that was recorded.

For me, the SE530 would need to have a higher impedance, just to expand your soundstage and improve the ambience of music. Nothing as big as Etymotic P to S adapter, which makes the sound like we're in a cave, but an increase of about 30 ohms would already be more than enough to bring another life into this headphone.
 
Ultimately, for me, this low impedance is the price to pay for the selection of Shure, to make it suitable for use in portable devices.
 
Cheers,
 
Peter

 

[cardozo]

I agree.
 
And making a shallow insertion, external sounds really affect the sound produced by the headphone.

In my case, I always hear them at home in a very quiet environment. Thus, it ceases to be a problem.
 
Cheers,
 
Peter
 
Quote:

[size=10pt]... But I find that it increases the bass and decreases any ambient artifacts which appear to be 'reflection' based...[/size]