Just updated the review in a variety of ways, including adding a + to the for the money.

Nice review that covers all the bases both aural and physical. While not a fan of IEM’s or, for that matter, any object going into my ear canal, I do occasionally use them for outdoor walks. And the isolation to ambient noise can be big plus in our increasingly noisy environments. Your mention of HD800 / 600 give me a fair idea of how they would sound to me as I own both. And I’m with your godmother on recorded piano sound.

You wrote, "UNBALANCED: There is no option for balanced sound". Do you mean balanced input? For output, note that the cable has a 6-pin connector. I believe that by their nature, electrostatic drivers are required to be driven balanced.

Thank you, that is exactly what I meant. I don't know the engineering details of electrostatic drivers.

Your masterful use of the English language made this review a very pleasant read. I wasn't that interested in the IEMs but I kept on reading. Great job!

I'm an English teacher by training. Some things come with the territory

My main complaint is the DAC. It's not up to the quality of the earbuds. I did a test bypassing the DAC in the KSA's DAC with a Chord Hugo, the difference-- even with a Hugo V1-- was other-world-knock-you-down astounding. The Shure rep told me they've been trying to find a partner for an integrated DAC, the current one is an off the shelf chip, he explained, "We're in the headphone business, not the electronics business."

Your review has electrostatc clarity. One of the best reviews ever. Thanks for investing the time to research and write it.

I've seen the DAC concern raised continually on the review thread. It may be that my ears are not sophisticated enough to distinguish a good from a great DAC. It may also be that classical music is less picky about its DAC in this chain. I will compare the internal DAC with the Bimby further and update my review if my impressions change.

Very nice review, the only bad of the DAC/AMP is that only does 24/96, what when you have 24/176.4 and onwards or DSD 128 (5.6MHz) and above. I do listen only to Classical music and have arround 100 HR albums

I can't say that I listen to classical music 99% of the time. I do that with rock and it's sub-genres. 1% or less would be more accurate. Haha! But nonetheless, this is a very classy review and I enjoyed reading it! If I had $3000, which I don't, I just might invest in a complete system - a DAP, a headhone amp, full-size headphones, in-ears (that do not cost as much). That's just me though.

I think you pretty much nailed it. Great review

100% convinced of it, listened to it today again, bought it, together with lcd4i and obtavo eamt1c, this is a v nice addition and compares in itself very well with the likes of sr007 or final audio d8000. Disclaimer also here 99%+ opera. Regarding HR records - play them at 96k, works very well.

Now why did I actually buy it? Well I like sr007 and the final, but travelling with an entire atomic plant became more and more a challenge. Ksa 1500 = very small at 98% quality

Given the recent announcement of KSE1200, I added a few thoughts about it.