[Ike1985]

On a serious note though, a couple of people have told me that the KSE1500/KSE1200 is more resolving and transparent than the U18.

Yes but KSE doesn't have near the quantity of sub/lower mid bass A18t with M20 has, deal breaker. Need mah bass.

 

[junix]

On a serious note though, a couple of people have told me that the KSE1500/KSE1200 is more resolving and transparent than the U18.

KSE1200 will most probably be my next purchase..

Tried and loved the KSE1500 but I didn’t like the “not very 2017 DAC” and now the KSE1200 seems made for me (+SP1000 or H2). I just hate the form factor of the amplifier ..would have preferred a longer and thinner execution. (We’re talking about amplifiers, don’t even try guys!)

@Ike1985 you have to try them, imho the bass is just right and follows splendidly the rest of the tuning.. move to M15 for an hour and then try the KSE (M20 to KSE would be too much difference and you wouldn’t adapt so easily).
The KSE are an engineering marvel!

 

[Roscoeiii]

I was pleasantly surprised by the KSE bass. And that was coming from the 846s, a bass heavy headphone. Seal is key for KSE bass though. Custom Sensaphonics tips helped there. Not to mention that you have built in EQ on the 1500.

 

[kubig123]

Correct, the KSE has a great bass, not overwhelming, but still very energetic, precise and quick.

 

[twister6]

Yes but KSE doesn't have near the quantity of sub/lower mid bass A18t with M20 has, deal breaker. Need mah bass.

Ike, that is a neutral natural transparency of KSE1500/1200 (as I heard it) where nothing is boosted or colored or enhanced. for those who prefer this kind of tuning. I heard it briefly the first time at CanJam NYC a few months ago and really enjoyed it. Didn't like the idea of a permanent DAC/amp companion, KSE1200 is more manageable, but still adds bulk if you are looking for an absolute portable setup.

 

[twister6]

I was pleasantly surprised by the KSE bass. And that was coming from the 846s, a bass heavy headphone. Seal is key for KSE bass though. Custom Sensaphonics tips helped there. Not to mention that you have built in EQ on the 1500.

Yeah, I recall the same, again from a brief testing, where I got a better low end response with foam tips vs silicone olives. Coincidentally, the same is happening with RA C CU i'm testing now, which has a lot of resemblance in sound to KSE1500 (just more neutral bass and a little more elevated peak around 12k). I went from where the heck is RA bass? with silicone tips to a pleasant rumble with UE900s foam tips.

 

[Sonicears]

It sounds like what you're looking for is lots of treble articulation counter-balanced against a guttural bass response that adds some body into the midrange..

fitear air 2...

When it comes to 1) dynamic driven bass, 2) vocal body 3) clarity/resolution-driven signature, I think this is one of those situations where you have to pick 2 out of 3. At least, I can't think of any iem that will match all 3 requirements. A brighter signature will automatically come at the cost of vocal body, and there still aren't many hybrids in the top-tier segment.

On a serious note though, a couple of people have told me that the KSE1500/KSE1200 is more resolving and transparent than the U18.

Goor morning. Thank you all for all the helpful responses. Now I am mainly looking at custom earphones as I the rubber tips tend to be rather uncomfortable in my ears. It is not painful, but when worn for Long it starts to cause a very sore feeling in the canal. I have tried changing sizes but it does not help. So the shop suggested I use customs which is why I am limited to custom brands.

I am so sorry but because English is not my main language I may not be very clear in my earlier statement. I also do not like lots of high notes that makes the IEM sharp. It Also surprised me that @flinkenick mentioned the Dita dream. I was meeting a Friend from France who was passing through my city and he has a dream. I liked that bass which is not hard but very layered and deep but still precise in its reverberation. I was using the track ‘Lose yourself to Dance’ and the bass reverberations was very deep. I felt but almost could not hear the bass reverberations at some parts of the song, and the bass did not sound muffled as it stopped accurately. However the mids felt too thin, and it felt a little too high at some points. It is not good for my vocal songs. But that is a bass quality that I am looking for. I want bass to be ‘gutteral’, but accurate in its image. I also don not want too much treble, as it can be too sharp to be comfortable over time.

However, I also tried the Legend X, it has a mid and high that was good, but it does not have the quality of a good bass. The bass was a lot, but it was sounded strange to me. It was not precise and was lacking definition. I was using my friend’s Chesky test disc which had a track with a lot of fast and changing notes, and the bass of the Legend X was unable to be precise in keeping up with the changes. It is sad as I like the vocal and the high, but the whole earphone sounded too muffled to be considered. I also felt that the EE lineup has that same muffled issue. The signature of the EE is nice, but it sounded like how it would if my speaker positions were changed or I change where I sit in the room. It was as if the notes did not stopping precisely leading to a sense of muffled sound. I think that this is why I think that the Legend X sounds muffled as the bass was not stopping and reverberating past the song’s intended mastering.

I would like to try the KSE as well if it is more resolving and transparent than the U18, but is there a custom of it? It looks like it only has universals. I want to try the N8 but I think they did not have a unit for people to try. I know about the N8, but why is it not in 64 audio’s product list? I went to their website but did not see it there. The audio 64 page also does not have many people talking about their sound impressions of their custom N8 earphones.

 

[474194]

I was pleasantly surprised by the KSE bass. And that was coming from the 846s, a bass heavy headphone. Seal is key for KSE bass though. Custom Sensaphonics tips helped there. Not to mention that you have built in EQ on the 1500.

Wow, I haven't looked at the Sensaphonics website since I was debating between purchasing the UE10 versus Sensaphonics 2X-S. Acrylic versus Silicone...

Is this the correct custom sleeves?

https://www.sensaphonics.com/for-shure-earphones

It may take a while until they add KSE1200 on the list. KSE1200 is the same size as the KSE1500 or just a bit smaller?

 

[Deezel177]

Goor morning. Thank you all for all the helpful responses. Now I am mainly looking at custom earphones as I the rubber tips tend to be rather uncomfortable in my ears. It is not painful, but when worn for Long it starts to cause a very sore feeling in the canal. I have tried changing sizes but it does not help. So the shop suggested I use customs which is why I am limited to custom brands.

I am so sorry but because English is not my main language I may not be very clear in my earlier statement. I also do not like lots of high notes that makes the IEM sharp. It Also surprised me that @flinkenick mentioned the Dita dream. I was meeting a Friend from France who was passing through my city and he has a dream. I liked that bass which is not hard but very layered and deep but still precise in its reverberation. I was using the track ‘Lose yourself to Dance’ and the bass reverberations was very deep. I felt but almost could not hear the bass reverberations at some parts of the song, and the bass did not sound muffled as it stopped accurately. However the mids felt too thin, and it felt a little too high at some points. It is not good for my vocal songs. But that is a bass quality that I am looking for. I want bass to be ‘gutteral’, but accurate in its image. I also don not want too much treble, as it can be too sharp to be comfortable over time.

However, I also tried the Legend X, it has a mid and high that was good, but it does not have the quality of a good bass. The bass was a lot, but it was sounded strange to me. It was not precise and was lacking definition. I was using my friend’s Chesky test disc which had a track with a lot of fast and changing notes, and the bass of the Legend X was unable to be precise in keeping up with the changes. It is sad as I like the vocal and the high, but the whole earphone sounded too muffled to be considered. I also felt that the EE lineup has that same muffled issue. The signature of the EE is nice, but it sounded like how it would if my speaker positions were changed or I change where I sit in the room. It was as if the notes did not stopping precisely leading to a sense of muffled sound. I think that this is why I think that the Legend X sounds muffled as the bass was not stopping and reverberating past the song’s intended mastering.

I would like to try the KSE as well if it is more resolving and transparent than the U18, but is there a custom of it? It looks like it only has universals. I want to try the N8 but I think they did not have a unit for people to try. I know about the N8, but why is it not in 64 audio’s product list? I went to their website but did not see it there. The audio 64 page also does not have many people talking about their sound impressions of their custom N8 earphones.

Almost all the other options we mentioned are available in custom form, so it shouldn't be a concern. The comments you've made regarding the Dream and the Legend X suggest either a lack of burn-in or a significant lack of power from the source. May I ask what DAP you were using to try them? The KSE1500 is universal only, but you can get custom ear tips for them from Sensaphonics, Snugs, Ambient Acoustics, etc. The N8 is currently unreleased. 64Audio estimate June to be the release date, but there are quite a few impressions (including my own) of the N8 on 64Audio's thread from people who've heard it at shows like CanJam.

 

[San Man]

However, I also tried the Legend X, it has a mid and high that was good, but it does not have the quality of a good bass. The bass was a lot, but it was sounded strange to me. It was not precise and was lacking definition. I was using my friend’s Chesky test disc which had a track with a lot of fast and changing notes, and the bass of the Legend X was unable to be precise in keeping up with the changes. It is sad as I like the vocal and the high, but the whole earphone sounded too muffled to be considered. I also felt that the EE lineup has that same muffled issue. The signature of the EE is nice, but it sounded like how it would if my speaker positions were changed or I change where I sit in the room. It was as if the notes did not stopping precisely leading to a sense of muffled sound. I think that this is why I think that the Legend X sounds muffled as the bass was not stopping and reverberating past the song’s intended mastering.

You are probably the first person to ever describe the LX bass in that manner. It's strange that you found the Dream bass to be as you described but yet the LX bass was not up to par, as, to me, I ranked the bass as follows: LX>Galaxy V2>Dream. Of course we all hear differently, but there has to be a logical explanation to your problem.

Did you get a good seal on the LX in your ear?
What tips were on the LX?
What cable?

Almost all the other options we mentioned are available in custom form, so it shouldn't be a concern. The comments you've made regarding the Dream and the Legend X suggest either a lack of burn-in or a significant lack of power from the source. May I ask what DAP you were using to try them?

As Deez also asked, what DAP or source did you use to test both units?

 

[474194]

Ran into a interesting Google Talk "Jerry Harvey: "The Rise of the In-Ear Monitor":

​

 

[Deezel177]

Ran into a interesting Google Talk "Jerry Harvey: "The Rise of the In-Ear Monitor":

​

Used to listen to this talk all the time. Really interesting insight from the man who somewhat jump-started the whole industry. Plus, the guy who chose to ask an electronics-related question looking dumbfoundedly confused as Jerry Harvey rattles off his cross-over technology is one of the funniest things ever.

 

[474194]

Used to listen to this talk all the time. Really interesting insight from the man who somewhat jump-started the whole industry. Plus, the guy who chose to ask an electronics-related question looking dumbfoundedly confused as Jerry Harvey rattles off his cross-over technology is one of the funniest things ever.

I've been out of the CIEM loop so my first exposure to... Pretty kewl JH gives a shout out to SE Asia a few times and recognises that trend in that important market.

 

[Tawek]

Goor morning. Thank you all for all the helpful responses. Now I am mainly looking at custom earphones as I the rubber tips tend to be rather uncomfortable in my ears. It is not painful, but when worn for Long it starts to cause a very sore feeling in the canal. I have tried changing sizes but it does not help. So the shop suggested I use customs which is why I am limited to custom brands.

I am so sorry but because English is not my main language I may not be very clear in my earlier statement. I also do not like lots of high notes that makes the IEM sharp. It Also surprised me that @flinkenick mentioned the Dita dream. I was meeting a Friend from France who was passing through my city and he has a dream. I liked that bass which is not hard but very layered and deep but still precise in its reverberation. I was using the track ‘Lose yourself to Dance’ and the bass reverberations was very deep. I felt but almost could not hear the bass reverberations at some parts of the song, and the bass did not sound muffled as it stopped accurately. However the mids felt too thin, and it felt a little too high at some points. It is not good for my vocal songs. But that is a bass quality that I am looking for. I want bass to be ‘gutteral’, but accurate in its image. I also don not want too much treble, as it can be too sharp to be comfortable over time.

However, I also tried the Legend X, it has a mid and high that was good, but it does not have the quality of a good bass. The bass was a lot, but it was sounded strange to me. It was not precise and was lacking definition. I was using my friend’s Chesky test disc which had a track with a lot of fast and changing notes, and the bass of the Legend X was unable to be precise in keeping up with the changes. It is sad as I like the vocal and the high, but the whole earphone sounded too muffled to be considered. I also felt that the EE lineup has that same muffled issue. The signature of the EE is nice, but it sounded like how it would if my speaker positions were changed or I change where I sit in the room. It was as if the notes did not stopping precisely leading to a sense of muffled sound. I think that this is why I think that the Legend X sounds muffled as the bass was not stopping and reverberating past the song’s intended mastering.

I would like to try the KSE as well if it is more resolving and transparent than the U18, but is there a custom of it? It looks like it only has universals. I want to try the N8 but I think they did not have a unit for people to try. I know about the N8, but why is it not in 64 audio’s product list? I went to their website but did not see it there. The audio 64 page also does not have many people talking about their sound impressions of their custom N8 earphones.

I will recommend oBravo eamt2c with 1z over all IEM (I have se5ult , Fad x-g , ex1000, shure se 535 )

 

[weishayuelfjj]

Are there any TOTL monitors that can rival A18t with regard to clarity/transparency/resolution?

22-driver IEM developed by Faudio in Hong Kong will launch pretty soon.