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sq3rjick
53
Jun 18, 2014
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This is a fairly good deal on a great set of headphones. These (in this and their previous incarnations of the E500 and the SE530) were my daily drivers for 5 years. I still listen to them fairly often, even with my much better CIEMs. They'll always hold a great place in my heart. These are definitely mid-focused, so there's a bit of roll off in the bass and high treble. These excel at female vocals and acoustic guitars. They're decent for rock and pop, but I wouldn't use them so much with EDM, rap, or anything that has a significant bass beat. They're passable at that, but there are definitely better options in the price range if those genres will be your main focus. I might also steer clear if you only listen to classical music, although personally I think they sound great with horns.
There are several really nice things about these headphones: Shure customer support is amazing (they transitioned me from the E500 to the SE530 to the SE535, all free of charge, due to the cables fraying at the monitors; they replaced a crushed monitor for half price when it was definitely my fault...), they have replaceable cables (so you can get rid of the Shure memory wire if you don't like it, get them balanced if you desire, or add an inline remote / microphone), and there's an awesome first-party silicone sleeve from Senaphonics (that I highly recommend purchasing) that basically makes these into a CIEM.
If you were on the fence, I can definitely recommend picking them up.
Jun 18, 2014
Eccentric
0
Jun 19, 2014
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sq3rjickI listen to mainly classical - I had been told these are very good, and my experience with the SE210s are super comfortable. Why do you say that for classical one should stay away from them? What IEM would you recommend in their place? Etymotic? Thanks!
Jun 19, 2014
sq3rjick
53
Jun 20, 2014
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EccentricI recommend something else for classical (I mean, stringed classical; not brass band or opera) because these have very rolled-off highs, and a lot of the beauty in classical stringed instruments comes from the higher-frequency overtones. A violin sounds decent, but it doesn't really sound true-to-life. There's just something missing from the top end. Cymbals are another area where some of the extra shimmer / sparkle is lacking, again due to the missing high frequencies.
For horns and guitars, these things are absolutely fantastic. Listen to some Holst and they'll make you fall in love. Throw on some classic rock and just listen to the guitars. As far as what I'd recommend for classical music? The Noble 4 (or 4C / 4S) would be my go-to recommendation, followed by the 1964ears V6 (assuming you're okay spending a couple hundred more on customs / get the unadvertised universal fit model). If you're looking for roughly the same price range, I'd recommend the ER4S (although I don't personally like them; too anemic, lacking in bass, and analytical for my tastes). If you have unlimited budget, I can wholeheartedly recommend the Noble Kaiser 10. It can make literally anything you throw at it sound amazing (genre wise; it won't make those 128 kbps mp3s sound any better).
Jun 20, 2014
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