Sennheiser IE8 or Shure SE535

[Raffi]

Hi i'm a bit stuck in which pair of headphones to get Sennheiser IE8 or Shure SE535. I listen to music everyday and have a pair of Bose Mobile In-Ears (MIE2i) but i would like a new pair that are better than the Bose headphones. I have got it down to these two pairs. I think i sould go for the IE8s after what a read on the gadget show but i would like other peoples opinions and expert opinions to help me choose. I like bass but i also like it well balanced and crystal clear sound.

So What would you go for Sennheiser's IE8s or Shure's SE535s and why would go for them

Many thanks

Raffi

[aamaro1971]

Hey Raffi,

Let me try to help you. I own lots of in ear monitors, from your Bose MIE2's to Sennheiser IE7 and IE8 or MM80i and Sure Se110 , Se210 and Se425. All this, because i love music but above all i am a drummer and that's the main reason for the big amount of money i spend with this stuff. I am also a surfer and i compare my search for the perfect headphones to the search for a perfect wave. The conclusion after almost 40 years of life is that perfection only lasts a day and on the second day you are already thinking on what will come next!

So with this in mind, your Bose MIE2i are good for nothing crap, there is too much bass even for a drum player! You mentioned SE535 and IE8 and right now i guess those are two of the greatest choices and since we are talking i would tell you to consider the SE425 also because they really sound great. As for audiophile talk, forget it! There is no way any musician is recording music in a way you will experience the real sound of instruments and the reason for that is that it is mainly impossible. As for "balanced" sound and that kind of stuff, it also is a bunch of crap. It is true, nonetheless, that balanced sound is great, simply not to listen to music! Balanced sound is great for playing music! The ones i use for playing are the SE210's and sometimes the SE110's. And why? Because i don't get tired and they isolate enought on e-drums or amplified acoustic drums. Do i ear the real sound of my e-drums? Yes. Could you ear every detail of an acoustic drum? No way! That's why you only use one ear piece on acoustic drums.

Back to recorded music. I will only talk about drums because it is my instrument but i guess this aplies to all. There are millions of possible combinations of drum sets. Wood snares, metal snares, hundreds of cymbal sets, etc etc... so if a monitor was perfect you'd be able to say if the drummer was playing a set of Paiste cymbals or Sabyan or Zildjian,wouldn't you? Well, this is to tell you that you should choose for yourself taking into regard your own way of listening to music.
The IE8 are a great pair of headphones, not too good for playing drums though but in my opinion a Top choice for listening to music. I like them for almost every kind of music ranging from Elvis Presley to Manowar and Iron Maiden and Nickelback but also EMINEM and DMX and for crying out loud Jack Johnson, Ben Harper and Mat Kearney... well, i guess they are good all around. As for Shure, SE425's and SE535's are also great if you get them to seal perfectly in your ear canal. Right now i am using the SE425's and the only problem is that Apple isn't giving me enough juice from my iPod and iPhone 4 to make them really work. Anyway, when i am listening to the Blues, for example Albert Collins, BB King or John Lee Hooker or Big George Jackson the SE425's sound like a million dollars!

Conclusion: do not trust any expert, try for yourself and judge an IEM according to your own taste in music and sound. Don't ever think that audiophiles are exceptional beings, most of the time they don't even enjoy music as the most beautiful expression of the best mankind as to offer. And don't ever forget, if drums aren't punching hard they are not drums as much as an audiophile may want them balanced

Hope i helped confusing you even more

Originally Posted by Raffi

Hi i'm a bit stuck in which pair of headphones to get Sennheiser IE8 or Shure SE535. I listen to music everyday and have a pair of Bose Mobile In-Ears (MIE2i) but i would like a new pair that are better than the Bose headphones. I have got it down to these two pairs. I think i sould go for the IE8s after what a read on the gadget show but i would like other peoples opinions and expert opinions to help me choose. I like bass but i also like it well balanced and crystal clear sound.

So What would you go for Sennheiser's IE8s or Shure's SE535s and why would go for them

Many thanks

Raffi

[Raffi]

Just thought i would update you. I ended up getting the Sennheiser IE8 and have been really good and nice highs and nice Bass. i wear them nearly everyday the only thing i have noticed that when you start to sweat or if your ear is a little bit waxy then tend to slide out. so i have decided to get a pair of custom sleeves for them which i cant wait to get my hands on and try them out. Thanks for the advise i have given my Bose headphones to my mum and she's happy with them. i picked them up the other day and put them in they felt uncomfortable and was hardly any bass, the headphones i once thought were great are now rubbish. One day i hoping to get a pair of Ultimate Ear headphone but that will be a few years down the line.

[mart3]

Hi there,

Where did you get your sleeves from?

[Ian Hifi]

Sennheiser have a good spares and accessories catalogue.


Sennheiser Eartips for IE/CX Earphones Medium (5 Pairs)

£14.95

There are most models catered for at this link

[ShaunG]

Originally Posted by mart3

Hi there,

Where did you get your sleeves from?

I have custom sleeves for my Sennheiser IE8 from ACS.

ACS use a soft silicone material that gives a more comfortable fit than the hard acrylic material used by some other custom sleeve manufacturers.

[Raffi]

Originally Posted by mart3

Hi there,

Where did you get your sleeves from?

I got my sleeves from ACS, when i put them in for the first few days they were a little bit uncomfortable. However after 3 days they were comfortable, and gave amazing sound quality and excellent isolation.

Just one word of advice is don't got to boots to have your impressions taken, i went there and after 3 attempts of ear impressions i walked out because none of them were good enough.

I went to UniversalDB in Stockport and there was a guy called Paul who was brill. He took my impressions ONCE and phoned me a week later, fitted them and told me how to look after them and let m lose with my music outside.

[burton]

I could never get along with my IE8's so got rid of them, funny as I didn't lose much as they had gone up in value when I first purchased them.

Anyway I loved the sound but I just couldn't get along with over the ear design and bulk of them.

I have a pair of Image X10i and love them find them alot better to the IE 8's if you haven't tried some others then please try as you might not get along with them, sound is awesome but just how they sat was enough for me to not have them more than a month.

[Raffi]

haha thats the thing i love about the IE8s is the over ear design. i can wear them and no one even notices.