Shure SE535

Shure SE535 review

There are three types of earphones; those that look good, those that sound good, and those that look and sound awful.The Shure SE535 earphones sit firmly in the second category. Stylish and good-looking they are not, but they do sound utterly fantastic.At £350 they're certainly not cheap. If you're looking for some iPod-replacement earphones these probably aren't for you. They're bulky and can be a tad fiddly to put in your ears.But if you're an audiophile or at the very least someone who appreciates well-rounded, natural-sounding high-bitrate music, these earphones are brilliant.The units themselves are fairly chunky. They need to be – each one contains three separate drivers - two woofers and a tweeter in each one. This makes music played through the SE535's shimmer with crystal clarity.The highs are crisp and clean, the bass is deep and silky smooth, while the oft-forgotten midrange is full-blooded, meaty and wholesome.It's only when you treat yourself to a pair of earphones like this that you realise how good music can sound. That said, if you're listening to low-bitrate MP3s, you needn't bother.These earphones show up the inadequacies of compressed music more than any other earphones out there.