Shure SE535LTD RED

General Information

The SE535 Special Edition utilizes Triple High Definition MicroDrivers - a dedicated tweeter and dual woofers for incredibly spacious sound and rich bass. A newly tuned acoustic network delivers enhanced high frequency performance, while a distinctive red and gray color scheme offers an exclusive look.

Latest reviews

manukmanohar

100+ Head-Fier
Pros: Amazing Mids, Excellent comfort plus good isolation
Cons: Lacks treble extension, sub-bass rolled off, Pricey
Shure SE535 Reds have served me very well over quite a long period now. It has been one constant while I shuffled through other earphones. This review is long overdue, but better late than never :)

Intro:

Although these are not having a metal housing, they still feel solid, and have held up remarkably well. The pre-included cable, while having very good build quality, has become quite stiff, and I use it with other MMCX cables now.The only thing which I’m afraid of, and am very careful with are the nozzles, which have a very small diameter and are very long. However, this long nozzle ensures also means that with the right tips, it gets rather good isolation while still being very comfortable to wear for long periods.

I love red colour, and these look gorgeous in shiny red. :) (and the colour has also held up very well). Over this long period, I have use the IEM with a lot of sources including LHL Geekout V2+, iBasso D14, SMSL M8/Sapphire, various Bluetooth cables including NiceHCK HB1, and directly through One Plus 5, Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge Exynos phones. I have found that having a good DAC, definitely improves the sound for better, but it works decent directly from the phones, if necessary.

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Sound Quality:

Importance of tips: This was the first IEM where I encountered significant different in overall SQ depending on the tips. I remember, the first time I tried playing these with the stock silicone tips and being very disappointed. There was basically no-sub bass (say in songs like Limit to your love or Teardrop). It was only after I got my spinfit tips, that I was actually able to enjoy these earphones. I find using foam tips to be cumbersome because of the setup time (in office use, I might have to unplug/plug them more frequently), so didn’t spend much time with the foam tips, but remember that the olive tips also hadn’t worked.

So, how do these sound? Off the bat, what impresses you most is the amazing mid-range response. It picks up lots of micro-details, and is overall exceptional for any songs with prominent vocals. The bass quality is rather good, except for the sub-bass region, where it is not able to extend that well into sub-bass region(but still decent). Overall bass quantity, I found to be slightly lacking for my taste (+2-3 DB in 40 hz region was good enough), and although it is quite fast, it is not able to generate the bass slam.

Treble is where Shure SE535 Reds are supposed to differ most from the standard SE535’s. But, even with the improvements, I still felt there was treble roll-off. Any songs with large dynamic range such as classical, orchestra, many soundtracks, suffered a bit, as it was not able to fully bring the “liveness”.

It terms of soundstage, these have great imaging and slightly above average soundstage volume. Instrument separation is very good, and the music never sounds congested, even when it gets very busy.

Verdict:
These have been my daily drivers for long periods, while I cycled through other IEMs. (admittedly lower priced ones). One of the main reasons for the same has been that it is able to deliver the combination of good sound quality (great mids), good isolation and excellent comfort.

I have had the pleasure to try a lots of IEM’s, but unfortunately most of them have been in the sub-250 USD and a very few are in the above 1000 USD range. Because of this, I can’t claim to give a direct comparison with its competitor in this range. However, I have a feeling it would really struggle if judged solely based on sound quality in the 500 USD range, as I see lots of promising IEM’s now that cost much lesser, and outdo it in some aspects.

So, overall I feel at this price, you are likely to get a better IEM now if you are looking just for great SQ(especially if you don’t like the treble rolloff), but have seen this IEM go for half (or below) the price used, where it may have a strong value proposition. (Wanted to rate it 3.5/5 because of that)
vishal2410
vishal2410
Your right...if you can scavenge for them in the used market for 200-250$...they are quite a steal...nice review !!!

Dte102

New Head-Fier
Pros: Clarity is great, Mids are great, Highs sound good as well, Execelent soundstage, Detachable cables.
Cons: Lacking in the bass department
So I decided to jump ship from my old SE215s to the SE535LTDs.  Originally I thought these IEMs sounded like crap and I thought I got a chinese copy or something.  Though then when I attached one SE215 bud on one ear and a 535 bud on another, I came to realize that wow the 535 is lacking in the bass department compared to the SE215s.  I decided to screw it and keep them and burn them in to see how the sound changes. 
 
Sound:
 
After burning these guys in, it's safe to say that these were a great investment, the sound stage is excellent, the highs are crisp and the in house shure mids are great as always.  Listening to one of my favorite bands Yes, the acoustic guitar is so crisp and clear I get goosebumps every time I listen to them, and the vocals mixed in just give me a sense of high thanks to their clarity and great sound.  As stated before, these IEMs are lacking a bit in the bass department but turning up the bass in your EQ should fix the problem.
 
Comfort/Isolation:
 
I've always liked Shure's IEMs because they were always comfortable in my ear and I can usually listen for an endless ammount of hours.  Shure's regular olives are great isolators and feel great in the ear as long you put them in correctly.  I'm using UE900 wires that I've modded so that they don't have the memory wire from my 215s, but the stock wires that come with the IEMs are pretty good and comfortable when I worn them, though some people may not find the memory wire comfortable to wear.
 
Anyways, these were a great investment and I'm glad I've bought them, the only reason why I wouldn't recommend buying these are if you're a bass head, you'll most likely will not enjoy these IEMs.

erisearth

New Head-Fier
Pros: Everything
Cons: Nothing
Most people are looking for assurances that the reviewer of a product is qualified, so allow me to indulge briefly: I'm a lifelong musician, sound engineer, and headphone enthusiast/general audiophile. I love music not only for the artistry and quality of arrangement, musicianship, etc, but also for the beauty of sound that comes from the recording/mastering process, ultimately delivered through your speakers or headphones.

The first thing most listeners will notice with the 535's is their phenomenal mid-range response, which is largely out of style in most of today's popular (read: crap) audio products. The tight, clean bass is delightfully present in the mix without clouding over other ranges. The treble is bright and organic, not harsh and overpowering. The improved bass response, build design, and crossover sets these apart from earlier and lower models (I actually did an A/B test with the 425s vs 535s since I own both - the 535s won by a huge margin). I love cranking these puppies up...it feels like the music is emanating FROM MY BRAIN. Make sure you get a good seal on the 535's and they will change your life. Boom.

I have been very loyal to Shure for the past 5 years or so for their honest sound, quality builds, and great customer service. I had the E4G's and SE425s for several years, and when the cord broke on the former pair, they shipped me a brand new pair without question.

Bottom line: these aren't for "pop" audio listeners looking for destructively rumbling bass and over-cranked, shimmery highs. Try Bose, you will be more happy with the inaccurate replication of the music. For those seeking full, powerful, honest sound with a great build and innovative features, buy these and don't look back.

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