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If you already own the E500 or SE530, you can safely save yourself the cash this time around ... If you're getting into the high-end monitor market for the first time, though, the SE535s need to be on your short list.

Anyone looking for ultracompact headphones with top-notch sound quality should consider the Shure SE530 Sound Isolating Earphones. This set will cost you a pretty penny, but it'll be worth it.

The Shure SE535s may well cause your wallet to spontaneously combust, but they offer top-flight sound quality and are comfortable to wear.

If you have something over £400 to spend on a pair of earphones, cost be damned, then the Shure SE535s are without a doubt the best you can buy and we recommend them unreservedly.

These earphones are brilliant, and if you can afford them they'll do your music justice in ways most earphones can only aspire to.

The Shures’ price made us think hard about giving them five stars. In the end the superior performance of their closest peers such as Grado's GR10 was enough to knock the Shures down, but there’s still much to love.

If you can stomach the high price and are looking for an audible step up, the Shure SE535s sound like nirvana and there’s a lot of the fun in trying to find what’s been hiding in your music.