OT, but Etymotic “deep insertion” designs still provide outstanding isolation… That is, if you can stand it !!!Etymotic still exist with ER4-SR and ER4-XR.
OT, but Etymotic “deep insertion” designs still provide outstanding isolation… That is, if you can stand it !!!Etymotic still exist with ER4-SR and ER4-XR.
I guess you wanted to say "uninformed".I'm not an IEM user, but I've been following all the reviews - does seem like expensive IEM's are a thing of the past for informed buyers! We do alright!
Nope it's informed. He meant that buyers who know better will no longer go for expensive iemsI guess you wanted to say "uninformed".
The 535 IEM ignores much of the research that indicates listener preference
The majority of artists will travel with their own IEMs for hygiene reasons. Custom ear moulds used to be only for higher tier acts thing due to the expense however in these days of 3d printing the costs have come down so not sure how widely used they are these days.Thanks for reviewing what is positioned as a professional IEM.
I would be interested to hear about high level artist and studio/stage professional preferences. Do artists travel with their own IEMs? Are they using custom earmolds? Do studios/stage companies bring an assortment?
Nope it's informed. He meant that buyers who know better will no longer go for expensive iems
I got the point, it is a question of grammar, "expensive IEM's are for... uninformed buyers" was my interpretation.I'm not an IEM user, but I've been following all the reviews - does seem like expensive IEM's are a thing of the past for informed buyers! We do alright!
Thank you for that information. ASR is a great resource because of professional expertise.The majority of artists will travel with their own IEMs for hygiene reasons. Custom ear moulds used to be only for higher tier acts thing due to the expense however in these days of 3d printing the costs have come down so not sure how widely used they are these days.
I listen to every headphone and speaker. My judgement fully includes that. Compare my EQ to without and I assure you vast majority people prefer them corrected with EQ. Indeed, that is what research shows. Of course some like more or less bass/treble. This is why EQ is something you may need to have.The Harman curve is sacrosanct here but is not the only way to skin a cat; maybe it does make female voices sound more ‘inviting’, but listen to well recorded acoustic bass through such a speaker or headphone and I’m sorry but acoustic bass just doesn’t sound like that.
This is a review, listening tests, EQ and detailed measurements of the Shure SE535 Limited Edition in-ear-monitor. It is on kind loan from a member and costs US $404.
View attachment 415861
I like the look and feel of the IEM and with larger tips (as shown), it fit my ears well. The cable is microphonic but sitting stationary, it wasn't too bad.
Let's see how it performs.
Shure SE535 Limited Edition Measurements
Let's start with the IEM frequency response and comparison to our target:
View attachment 415862
As expected from the brand, bass response is flat. I was surprised by the treble shortfall though. This is going to make it pretty bland sounding. EQ would be mandatory:
View attachment 415863
Bass correction will be easy. The treble correction will be hard to do manually but I tried (see next section).
Dynamic range is excellent allowing the IEM to get quite loud but there are a few imperfections:
View attachment 415864
View attachment 415865
Group delay is more or less uneventful as is typically the case with IEMs:
View attachment 415866
Impedance is low but fairly variable:
View attachment 415867
Sensitivity is excellent though so just about any source should be able to drive it:
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Shure SE535 Limited Edition Listening Tests and EQ
Out of box tuning was "OK" on first female track I listened to. It wasn't until I developed the few filters that I realized how much better fidelity can be had:
View attachment 415869
Turning off the EQ made the sound very recessed, lacking any excitement. With it, my reference tracks all sounded very good. With volume at just -50 dB on my RME ADI-2 Pro, the IEM is sipping power even with my EQ and its negative gain.
Conclusions
The 535 IEM ignores much of the research that indicates listener preference. In absolute sense, it doesn't seem to bad, resulting in a non-fatiguing sound. But EQ it to proper target and you realize how much enjoyment is missing that could be there. The cost would have been a bit high a few years ago but now, you can get superb IEMs for $50 and less, leaving the Shure no where to hide.
I can't recommend the Shure SE535 Limited Edition IEMs.
Shure SE535 Limited Edition
Shure SE535 Limited Edition Harman Full EQ
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Preamp: -12.10 dB
Filter 1: ON PK Fc 28.3 Hz Gain 9.53 dB Q 0.32
Filter 2: ON PK Fc 213.8 Hz Gain -2.34 dB Q 1.09
Filter 3: ON PK Fc 2510.8 Hz Gain 3.54 dB Q 2.64
Filter 4: ON PK Fc 4517.1 Hz Gain 6.15 dB Q 2.64
Filter 5: ON PK Fc 7752.2 Hz Gain -7.39 dB Q 5.99
Filter 6: ON PK Fc 12679.5 Hz Gain 12.11 dB Q 1.09
They always sounded like a mid-heavy, exceptionally boring IEM to my ears. This is yet another graph confirming that subjective impression. Hard pass!
That is correct. There are some small filters that can be changed in the sound tube. I have the tool and the filters for the standard version somewhere, I haven't tried changing them though. I am curious how you find the sound of the 846s vs the 535s?Thanks for the excellent review, Amir.
I Have the SE425, SE535 (standard version) and SE846. I'm fairly sure that the SE535 LE version has a different response curve and was catered for the Far Eastern market, according to the UK distributor I spoke to when buying my 535s. I may be wrong, however.
In humans, a generation is considered 25 years, in dogs about 3-4 and in IEMs around 1-2. So this IEM measures like from several generations from the past, absolutely not competetive, neither in target adherence nor in price. At least the distortion is quite low....