[Jwm48324]

ALO Super Cotton. I don't know if they still make them anymore. Ping Ken and see if has any left.



That's what I do usually....AK380 LineOut with input padding @ -10dB. Some albums, I have to go to -20dB and manually control the volume.

Yes

 

[madFloyd]

Well I am going to return my KSE1500s.  They just sound 'ok' to me, nothing special.  While I knew the bass might be weaker than my SE846s, I expected to be wowed by the midrange and highs.  Perhaps it my ears, perhaps its my source (AK240 ss), or maybe I'm shortchanging them on break-in, but I still hear distortion and the soundstage is more open and wider on my SE846s.
 
On the bright side, I saved myself a ton of cash.

 

[tassardar]

Well I am going to return my KSE1500s.  They just sound 'ok' to me, nothing special.  While I knew the bass might be weaker than my SE846s, I expected to be wowed by the midrange and highs.  Perhaps it my ears, perhaps its my source (AK240 ss), or maybe I'm shortchanging them on break-in, but I still hear distortion and the soundstage is more open and wider on my SE846s.

On the bright side, I saved myself a ton of cash.

Did you run your ak240 on line out? Ak over loads the kse1500 in line out. This can be rectified by using manual volume on the ak240 and reduce it by about a 1/4 or using input pad -10 on the Shure.

Also did you try the other tips? Only olive tip work for me hmm.

I have a Friend that also didn't quite like the kse1500 citing as too boring.

 

[Roscoeiii]

Did you run your ak240 on line out? Ak over loads the kse1500 in line out. This can be rectified by using manual volume on the ak240 and reduce it by about a 1/4 or using input pad -10 on the Shure.

Yeah, you shouldnt be experiencing dustortion. Sounds like a gain issue.

 

[csglinux]

  Well I am going to return my KSE1500s.  They just sound 'ok' to me, nothing special.  While I knew the bass might be weaker than my SE846s, I expected to be wowed by the midrange and highs.  Perhaps it my ears, perhaps its my source (AK240 ss), or maybe I'm shortchanging them on break-in, but I still hear distortion and the soundstage is more open and wider on my SE846s.
 
On the bright side, I saved myself a ton of cash.

 
I can't hear any distortion from my KSE1500, unless it's on the recording. Make sure you don't play it at crazy-high volumes and make sure your KSE1500 meters aren't going into the red if you're feeding it the LO from the AK240.
 
Let me know what genre of music you listen to - I'd like to send you some recommendations of recordings to listen to with both your SE846 and KSE1500. I can't argue about the ton of cash you'll save, but I want you to at least know what you're missing and be miserably sad once you've sent your KSE1500 back

 

[madFloyd]

I made sure that the SE1500 meters were mostly in the green, sometimes in the yellow. 
 
I flipped on the Line Out setting but oddly enough the volume on the AK240 still functioned.  I kept it around 110 to 120.
 
The distortion I refer to occurs with my SE846's as well, so I think it's the AK not either headphones.  Same with sibilence.
 
I listen to classical, jazz, classic rock, prog rock.

 

[tassardar]

It sounds like your recording has problem. AK shouldnt clip. Not unless you running at max.
 
Inside the shures, there is a EQ, you can try one of them which is to remove sibilence. DE-ESS. try it out. 

 

[jonstatt]

  Well I am going to return my KSE1500s.  They just sound 'ok' to me, nothing special.  While I knew the bass might be weaker than my SE846s, I expected to be wowed by the midrange and highs.  Perhaps it my ears, perhaps its my source (AK240 ss), or maybe I'm shortchanging them on break-in, but I still hear distortion and the soundstage is more open and wider on my SE846s.
 
On the bright side, I saved myself a ton of cash.

 
Sounds like a faulty AK240 if you are hearing distortion with SE846 as well. Don't forget with the KSE1500s resolving capability, distortion will "interfere" even more than with the SE846 which will totally saturate the brain from perceiving soundstage. I also have both IEMs and the soundstage of the KSE1500 is better in my evaluation than the SE846

 

[Eroica4th]

Kse1500 will not be advisable if u use badly mastered recordings which is something unfortunately is everywhere.

I used to judge the equipements but when i learnt that it is about the mastering, i start to use low end equipments for cheaply mastered recordings just to avoid hearing clipping and whatnot that can be easily noticable with high end equipements.

So in the end if ur major music library involve recordings that sucks ( sorry to say that word ) SE846 and an ipod will suffice to enjoy em.

 

[jonstatt]

So in the end if ur major music library involve recordings that sucks ( sorry to say that word ) SE846 and an ipod will suffice to enjoy em.

 
SE846? In that case we can lower the standard to Beats headphones (shock, horror, banned brand on Head-Fi alert)

 

[Eroica4th]

SE846? In that case we can lower the standard to Beats headphones (shock, horror, banned brand on Head-Fi alert)

Hahaha i really meant the dap significance. But still beats with ipod for low quality music is good.

What is the purpose if u get high end expensive and senstive equipements to listen to bad quality songs.... u will only enjoy showimg them off. In the end it is ur money and u can do whatever u want.

But dont complain about one of the masterpiece and state of the art iem that is unfair...

 

[husamia]

So to enjoy quality music not just purchase the KSE1500 but also listen to quality recordings? I know it might be dumb question but how do we find quality recordings? (I know it's off topic is there a thread about this)

 

[Eroica4th]

So to enjoy quality music not just purchase the KSE1500 but also listen to quality recordings? I know it might be dumb question but how do we find quality recordings? (I know it's off topic is there a thread about this)

We have to agree first on this " no one can judge your purchases.. u r free to buy whatever u like"

Wisely, you wouldnt buy high end equipements to listen to bad recordings there are alot, and then say that ur equipements are bad.. that is an insult really to the manufacturer and their engineers.

Good quality recordings exist and you can search for them. ( song format doesnt matter you can have dsd with bad mastering and flac with good mastering)

 

[csglinux]

  I know it might be dumb question but how do we find quality recordings? (I know it's off topic is there a thread about this)

 
Not a dumb question at all - very pertinent, especially to a thread dealing with hyper-resolving IEMs.  The only objective measure I'm aware of is the dynamic-range database: http://dr.loudness-war.info/ But this is only a small part of the problem. It doesn't tell you how cleanly the instruments/vocals, etc., were captured or recorded to being with. For some bands (e.g., Coldplay) ****ty-quality, distorted recordings are an integral part of their style. I agree with the earlier post that DSD or "hi-res" gives you zero guarantees about the recording. There are hi-res versions of crappy 60s & 70s recordings widely available for sale online, and also "hi-res versions" which are nothing but CD masters padded with zeros in order to justify a 50-100% price hike. (Even for genuine hi-res files, >44kHz sampling rates are a waste of time/money, unless it's a song your dog really likes. 24+bit depth could be useful, but in most cases probably isn't, because the noise floor in the recording usually far exceeds that of even a 16-bit dither.)
 
Here's an example of the kind of crapshoot we're dealing with. Both the following 22 s samples are from bit-perfect CD rips (according to the AccurateRip database) of Yes' 1971 album, Fragile, exactly 4 minutes into South Side of the Sky; the second is just from a later remaster:
 
https://www.dropbox.com/s/hqww1fwzkocptp5/South%20Side%20Of%20The%20Sky_CD1_Sample.flac?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/vrn6mfp3bic0wfb/South%20Side%20Of%20The%20Sky_CD2_Sample.flac?dl=0
 
Hear the difference?! If you'd bought the first CD, you might be disappointed with your headphones
Unfortunately, I'd say unless you get a recommendation on a good recording, it's caveat emptor.
 
I'd love to hear others' thoughts on this. Is there a "good-quality-recording database" online somewhere?

 

[spook76]

So to enjoy quality music not just purchase the KSE1500 but also listen to quality recordings? I know it might be dumb question but how do we find quality recordings? (I know it's off topic is there a thread about this)

What kind of music do you enjoy and maybe I can help.

Forget the KSE1500 or any equipment, the master is the most important link in the audio chain. I have bought the same album two and three times for a better master. The same holds true for high resolution music if the master is poor more bits is not going to make it any better. It is the reason streaming music is a fools paradise because with streaming you lose total control of the master.

Post script: listen to the poster above me @csglinux
We both just bought Big Big Train's 'English Electric' for the third time because the new version was remastered for greater dynamic range and the difference is striking.