Jaybird X4 (2018) vs Shure SE535

The Jaybird X4 (2018) is a great Canal Earphone for its $84 asking price.

The Shure SE535, however, while a reasonable product for $349, doesn't stack up against its competitors quite as well. If you're considering Canal Earphones in the $290 range, you might want to check out some better options.

The Jaybird X4 (2018) was loved by reviewers at PCmag, a highly trusted source that performs reliable in-depth testing. It did great in its "The Best Bluetooth Headphones for Running" roundup where it was named its "Best for Audiophiles", which, in itself, makes it a product worth considering.

Moving on to the Shure SE535: it was unable to reach the very top of any roundups from sources that conduct reliable and unbiased testing. Nonetheless, it still managed to impress reviewers from a number of such sites, like The Verge, Techradar, TrustedReviews, CNET, Head-fi, What Hi-Fi?, and Reviewed, enough for them to include them on those lists.

We analyzed all of the review data that we could find on these two Canal Earphones. First, we examined sources that tested and scored both of these products - Techradar favored the Shure SE535 over the Jaybird X4 (2018), whereas reviewers at TrustedReviews haven't shown a preference for either.

Then we took a look at which sources liked them the most - we found that the Jaybird X4 (2018) was best received by Android Central - it gave it a score of 9, whereas the Shure SE535 got its highest score of 9.4 from reviewers at The Verge.

Lastly, we averaged out all of the reviews scores that we could find on these two products and compared them to other Canal Earphones on the market. We learned that both of them performed far better than most of their competitors - the overall review average earned by Canal Earphones being 7.4 out of 10, whereas the Jaybird X4 (2018) and Shure SE535 managed averages of 8.3 and 8.7 points, respectively.

Due to the difference in their prices, however, it's important to keep in mind that a direct Jaybird X4 (2018) vs. Shure SE535 comparison might not be entirely fair - some sources don't take value for money into account when assigning their scores and therefore have a tendency to rate more premium products better.