[GeeksReviewsNet]

 
Many people have thought of the Shure SE530 and Shure 535 sounded the same but I assure you that they are never the same. There are also some people that said the Shure SE535 is not worth it anymore with the released of newer high end IEM in the markets. However I find that Shure SE535 still haven't lose their ground yet against other newly developed high end single BA drivers or 3 balanced drivers headphone in the latest market. 
 
PRO:
Replaceable Cable
Highly detailed sound
Very realistic sounding
Wide Soundstage
Balanced sounding
Can enjoy music with least investment (Does not need amp)
 
CONS:
Not fast enough for certain music but faster than slow
Soundstage not enough height
Bass a bit too tight
Sound Signature does not attracts you on first listen. Requires some time to know how good they are.

 

[mrip541]

I've used Etymotic ER-4s for years. I picked up 535s recently and on first listen out of a mobile device wasn't terribly impressed, but have since discovered that it's all about the source and amp quality. Straight out of my Droid the ER-4s generally sound better, but plugged into my dac/amp with lossless files the 535s are clearly better. This experience leads me to believe that many people don't drive them properly and therefor say they lack bass/have the mids too forward.

 

[ProjectDenz]

It's all about the fit. When I had a poor fit with my SE530's the treble sounded harsh, mids bloated and the bass was light. I tried a pair of Atrios bi-flange tips and the treble is not harsh anymore (but still rolled off a bit), mids are now nice, forward and lush and the bass has a nice weight to it.
 
Now I'm getting them molded into customs (the cable broke) because I know I will enjoy these more with my portable rig more than any of my other universals or customs (I don't want to take my JH13 outdoors).

 

[Burgerri]

Quote:

 
 
Many people have thought of the Shure SE530 and Shure 535 sounded the same but I assure you that they are never the same. There are also some people that said the Shure SE535 is not worth it anymore with the released of newer high end IEM in the markets. However I find that Shure SE535 still haven't lose their ground yet against other newly developed high end single BA drivers or 3 balanced drivers headphone in the latest market. 
 
PRO:
Replaceable Cable
Highly detailed sound
Very realistic sounding
Wide Soundstage
Balanced sounding
Can enjoy music with least investment (Does not need amp)
 
CONS:
Not fast enough for certain music but faster than slow
Soundstage not enough height
Bass a bit too tight
Sound Signature does not attracts you on first listen. Requires some time to know how good they are.
 
In depth reviews in my site. This will provide an alternative viewpoints and probably answering some misunderstanding in Shure SE535.
 
 

 
Nice site and interesting review....good to see a fellow country man doing such good stuff. +1
 
 

 

[vinnievidi]

Nice review.  I went back and forth on the SE535 for a long time--I owned them on 4-5 separate occasions--but now am immensely happy with them. At first I thought they were too forward in the mids and slightly boring, but now I find the bass to be perfect for my tastes, the attention and clarity in the mids a treat (especially for stringed orchestral instruments and guitars), and the whole package to be more exciting compared to the W4, my second favorite IEM.

 

[spkrs01]

An excellent review, unbiased and and very honest!
 
I have the SE535ltd so signature maybe slightly different from the stock SE535 which funnily, I have never liked on the few occasions that I had heard. I bought the W4 over the stock SE535.
 
My feelings towards the 535 is and using an analogy, was the great Tubes v SS debates in the 1990s. I like SS in the 1990s and still do now. I found the Shure to be very much in the Tube camp. What you described is very much a Tube sounding amp of the 90s.
 
 
PRO:
 
Very realistic sounding
Wide Soundstage
Balanced sounding
 
CONS:
 
Not fast enough for certain music but faster than slow
Soundstage not enough height
 
 
 
And ofcourse the lush and rosy mids of the 535. I found the bass like you, my description was woody sounding, if that makes sense.
 
Since the Noughties the convergent of sound signatures in Tubes and SS amps has arrived. Much better for me as there were many qualities of Tube amps that I would have loved to have in my rig. Namely immediacy, nuances, better micro dynamics and textures in which Tubes have an abundant of, and I would say the SE 535 too.
 
Many cons of the 535 can be eliminated through the swapping out of cables with 3rd party efforts, I have a thread debating one such cable.
 
I do find that red 535, so probably the stock one too, to be coloured and imposes it's signature much more than say the W4 my only comparison, which is much more revealing and resolving. However, not necessarily better! I think I have attained what the 535 is fully capable of with a pure silver cable, whilst the W4 is still shining with a much more expensive silver/gold hybrid, which when fitted on the 535 shows no real signs of improvements.
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

[GeeksReviewsNet]

Quote:

It's all about the fit. When I had a poor fit with my SE530's the treble sounded harsh, mids bloated and the bass was light. I tried a pair of Atrios bi-flange tips and the treble is not harsh anymore (but still rolled off a bit), mids are now nice, forward and lush and the bass has a nice weight to it.
 
Now I'm getting them molded into customs (the cable broke) because I know I will enjoy these more with my portable rig more than any of my other universals or customs (I don't want to take my JH13 outdoors).

I have to agree fits does plays a role but I think the impression I'm getting is not from fit but the drivers itself. It's good to know that you enjoy it so much until you are willing to custom it. I do plan on doing it as well just to find out how they would sound but the cost is too much for me.
 
 

 
Quote:

I've used Etymotic ER-4s for years. I picked up 535s recently and on first listen out of a mobile device wasn't terribly impressed, but have since discovered that it's all about the source and amp quality. Straight out of my Droid the ER-4s generally sound better, but plugged into my dac/amp with lossless files the 535s are clearly better. This experience leads me to believe that many people don't drive them properly and therefor say they lack bass/have the mids too forward.

I think the Shure SE535 is more sensitive to your recording quality than dac or amp changes. I've moved it between several dac and amp I find it still retains majority of the original sound. But of course a weaker source such as iPod and phone will still make it sound terrible. The bass and mids changes are most likely the sound signature of the your setup. Do you prefer your ER4 or SE535 or both for different occasion?
 
 

 
Quote:

Nice review.  I went back and forth on the SE535 for a long time--I owned them on 4-5 separate occasions--but now am immensely happy with them. At first I thought they were too forward in the mids and slightly boring, but now I find the bass to be perfect for my tastes, the attention and clarity in the mids a treat (especially for stringed orchestral instruments and guitars), and the whole package to be more exciting compared to the W4, my second favorite IEM.

I agree, the Shure SE535 won't have the wow factor against other newer IEM but they present a very good clarity on upper mids to treble which gives it an impression of realism.
 

 
Quote:

An excellent review, unbiased and and very honest!
 
I have the SE535ltd so signature maybe slightly different from the stock SE535 which funnily, I have never liked on the few occasions that I had heard. I bought the W4 over the stock SE535.
 
My feelings towards the 535 is and using an analogy, was the great Tubes v SS debates in the 1990s. I like SS in the 1990s and still do now. I found the Shure to be very much in the Tube camp. What you described is very much a Tube sounding amp of the 90s.
 
 
PRO:
 
Very realistic sounding
Wide Soundstage
Balanced sounding
 
CONS:
 
Not fast enough for certain music but faster than slow
Soundstage not enough height
 
 
 
And ofcourse the lush and rosy mids of the 535. I found the bass like you, my description was woody sounding, if that makes sense.
 
Since the Noughties the convergent of sound signatures in Tubes and SS amps has arrived. Much better for me as there were many qualities of Tube amps that I would have loved to have in my rig. Namely immediacy, nuances, better micro dynamics and textures in which Tubes have an abundant of, and I would say the SE 535 too.
 
Many cons of the 535 can be eliminated through the swapping out of cables with 3rd party efforts, I have a thread debating one such cable.
 
I do find that red 535, so probably the stock one too, to be coloured and imposes it's signature much more than say the W4 my only comparison, which is much more revealing and resolving. However, not necessarily better! I think I have attained what the 535 is fully capable of with a pure silver cable, whilst the W4 is still shining with a much more expensive silver/gold hybrid, which when fitted on the 535 shows no real signs of improvements.
 
 
 
 
 
 

Hmm. Woody, that's strange I have a different impression instead. To me it sounded more SS with a very realistic sound. Doesn't sound woody or tube to me. Maybe you can give the ortofon EQ7 a try. They do sound very tubey.
 
 

 

[spkrs01]

Quote:

Hmm. Woody, that's strange I have a different impression instead. To me it sounded more SS with a very realistic sound. Doesn't sound woody or tube to me. Maybe you can give the ortofon EQ7 a try. They do sound very tubey.
 
 

Are we talking about just the Bass or the 535 as a whole?
 
As a whole it is a very euphonic sounding IEM simply because of it's spectacular lush mids, therefore very much a tubey type sound of the 90s and definitely not a SS signature! 
 
If you are describing that the Bass is very reminiscent of a SS amp again I couldn't disagree more. There is not enough weight, depth and deepness to the bass for it to even have an association with a SS sound. To me with the stock cable, it is very woody sounding without texture nor decay that usually renders what good bass is. Leading on to a soundstage which is small in three dimensional terms compared to it peers. Although width is impressive, but for depth and height perception, it is deep bass that creates this illusion.
 

 

[GeeksReviewsNet]

That must be a tube with a good highs for you to get that impression. Sadly I don't have much experiences with tubes. Most likely I do own a more woody sounding Crossroads Woody 2 which gives me a more woody sound or you use a tubes in testing or it is due to different way of burn in. For me it sounded SS with a very realistic coloration but not natural kind of way. To me the EQ7 is more tubey kind of sound. Maybe you should give EQ7 a try since you like tube sounds.

 

[Boombastic88]

Believe it or not, I actually tried these out a couple hours ago at a stand at the airport of all places. As one of the members said, they don't have an immediately attractive sound. The mids sounded congested and had some glare and the highs were lacking. I thought the weakest point of he se535 was the soundstage. It seemed collapsed and everything sounded like it was caught in one space. Detail was very nice though and bass seemed deep and impactful for a BA headphone. This was my first experience with any Shure headphones and they left me wanting more especially for the prices. I also tried the se325(I think, whichever 300 model they make), which, oddly enough, sounded to me like a slight improvement over the 535. More treble presence and less mid glare. Soundstage was almost identical and bass and detail was still very good but with a little less bass presence. Just my first impressions.

 

[GeeksReviewsNet]

 
Quote:

Believe it or not, I actually tried these out a couple hours ago at a stand at the airport of all places. As one of the members said, they don't have an immediately attractive sound. The mids sounded congested and had some glare and the highs were lacking. I thought the weakest point of he se535 was the soundstage. It seemed collapsed and everything sounded like it was caught in one space. Detail was very nice though and bass seemed deep and impactful for a BA headphone. This was my first experience with any Shure headphones and they left me wanting more especially for the prices. I also tried the se325(I think, whichever 300 model they make), which, oddly enough, sounded to me like a slight improvement over the 535. More treble presence and less mid glare. Soundstage was almost identical and bass and detail was still very good but with a little less bass presence. Just my first impressions.

That is a bit weird. Maybe faulty unit, weak source or it could just be that you don't like the sound. Usually people preferring better bass will opt for the SE215 instead of the SE535. I have to say SE215 is really a close representation of SE535 for a fraction of the price. It is a very good value earphone. I believe the Shure is more suitable for people preferring clarity and details over fun factor which may have been one of the reasons that they do not get as much love.
 
 

 

[Boombastic88]

I guess I don't really like the shure sound. But again, I only tried them for a few minutes.

 I do however love the sound of the westone UM series. I tried the UM2 and loved it. Made my Klipsch image s4 sound like crap.

 

[Peterlovemusic]

so,what's the sound signature like?can you describe them?

 

[Peterlovemusic]

I want to get the 535 after all my exams?is it worth to go for the 535 rather than not the 425?
 
I listen to classical music,pop and jazz,I would choosing an IEM can handle the various music genres well.
 
Thanks a lot!

 

[GeeksReviewsNet]

The sound signature is on the balance side (Not neutral) with a warm mids like the SE530. However the SE535 has a better treble so the concentration is on the mids and highs giving it a very realistic vocals. Bass is more on the thumping side and doesn't extent low enough to give you the vibrating sensation. I recommend you the SE535 for the genre you have stated but don't expect it to handle every genre like dubstep, trance and other fast song. On most cases it can handle quite well. 
 
I've never personally heard the SE425 but from what I've heard, they are more on the neutral side. So it may not be too suitable for the genre you are listening to because they require a bit of warm mids.