[Shure or bust]

The kse 1500's acrylic housing shape hurts my inner ear in an hour or so. Compared to the se846, which I can wear for hours without discomfort. The Layla ii &
tia Fourté wins against the kse 1500 in comfort for me.

 

[MRT-Man]

Personally, I don't have an issue with the housing. But I guess everyone's ears are different.

I have another issue, which is that an issue has developed with the cable. The sound cuts out from time to time, if the cable is positioned in certain ways. Thankfully they're under warranty, although it makes me apprehensive about what their long-term longevity will be like. I'm hoping this was just a random issue, or an issue on early production runs which has since been resolved...

 

[spook76]

Personally, I don't have an issue with the housing. But I guess everyone's ears are different.

I have another issue, which is that an issue has developed with the cable. The sound cuts out from time to time, if the cable is positioned in certain ways. Thankfully they're under warranty, although it makes me apprehensive about what their long-term longevity will be like. I'm hoping this was just a random issue, or an issue on early production runs which has since been resolved...

I had the same issue and sent my earphones back to Shure and they replaced them promptly.

I think the issue is that like all electrostats you are dealing with a solid core cable to handle the voltage. Solid core cables are very delicate like the famous Tralucent Audio Uber cable although not an electrostat cable but still solid core. After my first KSE cable broke over 14 months ago I have never had an issue as I handle my cables carefully. Do not let any kinks or permanent bends develop in the cable as that was what led to the break in my case. Smooth the cable out when you begin and end your listening session and you should be fine.

 

[bmichels]

Testing another portable electrostatic solutions against the Shure KSE1500 : the Kingsound M-03 + Stax SR009

Report to come soon, but the Kingsound/Stax 009 combination really sound better than we expected. Really a good surprise !

 

[MRT-Man]

I had the same issue and sent my earphones back to Shure and they replaced them promptly.

I think the issue is that like all electrostats you are dealing with a solid core cable to handle the voltage. Solid core cables are very delicate like the famous Tralucent Audio Uber cable although not an electrostat cable but still solid core. After my first KSE cable broke over 14 months ago I have never had an issue as I handle my cables carefully. Do not let any kinks or permanent bends develop in the cable as that was what led to the break in my case. Smooth the cable out when you begin and end your listening session and you should be fine.

I'll certainly be more careful with them, when I get my replacement pair, although at the same time I don't want to have to baby them excessively. I dunno about you guys, but I listen to the KSE at work, on trips, when I go for long walks... they get a lot of use. Given the price tag, I would hope to get several years of enjoyment from them, so I hope they can survive normal wear and tear. I know Shure is a good company and wouldn't charge me full retail for a replacement, even if I was off warranty, but still.

My cable does have kinks, which I can't fully smooth out. Maybe one of the kinks caused excessive tension on one of the wires, where it joins the connector. Or maybe my pair just happened to have an unusually delicate cable.

 

[jscmd2000]

Testing another portable electrostatic solutions against the Shure KSE1500 : the Kingsound M-03 + Stax SR009

Report to come soon, but the Kingsound/Stax 009 combination really sound better than we expected. Really a good surprise !

How do you like the Kingsound M-03 so far? Very interested here since I've been eyeing SR009 and BHSE for some time now... if I can travel with 009s, makes it more appealing.

 

[bmichels]

How do you like the Kingsound M-03 so far? Very interested here since I've been eyeing SR009 and BHSE for some time now... if I can travel with 009s, makes it more appealing.

The battle was done last weekend. With a premium source: a NAGRA HD DAC

Of course the BHSE won, much more details and transparency, BUT.... the M-03 is really much better sounding than expected, with deep & strong bass (It played with authority the intro of Mahler Symphony N°3) !

It is a surprising little amp, definitively worth to carry with a SR009 for a (rainy) week-end for example.

 

[bosiemoncrieff]

I listened to the KSE1500 yesterday at a store at SFO. Somewhat harried manager really tried to make the sale, giving me 10% off (which is nothing compared to the discounts down to ~2k that I regularly see here), but I'm glad I got ~15 minutes to listen. Straight out of my iPhone 6 Plus, the DAC seemed pretty good. However, at very high volumes, there was severe distortion. This was not a problem kept at a more reasonable volume, but I was a little surprised that such a high end system had such a glaring flaw.

Overall, I was impressed by the gobs of detail. Oodles! Buckets and heaps and steaming piles! I think it exceeded HD800 on detail retrieval. It sounded simply amazing for the Nacht der Liebe in Tristan, ditto the confrontation of Siegmund by Brunnhilde in Walkure 2.4. Vocals were thrillingly transparent and complex orchestral passages were handled with total authoritah. The Pollini Beethoven (I listened to 25, first mov't) sounded quite thin. This could be a problem in the recording (it's exceedingly hard to record the piano faithfully) but although I felt like the notes were all rendered accurately, something in the lower mids sounded sucked out.

 

[jscmd2000]

The battle was done last weekend. With a premium source: a NAGRA HD DAC

Of course the BHSE won, much more details and transparency, BUT.... the M-03 is really much better sounding than expected, with deep & strong bass (It played with authority the intro of Mahler Symphony N°3) !

It is a surprising little amp, definitively worth to carry with a SR009 for a (rainy) week-end for example.

The battle was done last weekend. With a premium source: a NAGRA HD DAC

Of course the BHSE won, much more details and transparency, BUT.... the M-03 is really much better sounding than expected, with deep & strong bass (It played with authority the intro of Mahler Symphony N°3) !

It is a surprising little amp, definitively worth to carry with a SR009 for a (rainy) week-end for example.

You have all the toys I like... and Mahler is my favorite composer. His 3rd is one of my favorites, heck I love them all! Now, are you selling your BHSE or SR009s? Why?

 

[jude]

I listened to the KSE1500 yesterday at a store at SFO. Somewhat harried manager really tried to make the sale, giving me 10% off (which is nothing compared to the discounts down to ~2k that I regularly see here), but I'm glad I got ~15 minutes to listen. Straight out of my iPhone 6 Plus, the DAC seemed pretty good. However, at very high volumes, there was severe distortion. This was not a problem kept at a more reasonable volume, but I was a little surprised that such a high end system had such a glaring flaw...

@bosiemoncrieff, make sure you're not overdriving the KSE1500 amp's input, which is quite sensitive. I posted some KSE1500 tips / tricks, which I suggest you check out at the following link:

Shure KSE1500 Tips / Tricks



​

 

[bmichels]

You have all the toys I like... and Mahler is my favorite composer. His 3rd is one of my favorites, heck I love them all! Now, are you selling your BHSE or SR009s? Why?

Great man think alike . And No I am not selling my BHSE.... until HeadAmp comes with his new "all tubes" TOL design. (I am however selling my Eddie current ED445)

 

[bosiemoncrieff]

@bosiemoncrieff, make sure you're not overdriving the KSE1500 amp's input, which is quite sensitive. I posted some KSE1500 tips / tricks, which I suggest you check out at the following link:

Shure KSE1500 Tips / Tricks



​

I was getting the signal straight out of my lightning port. Do you mean to say that it was sensitive to its own DAC?

 

[jscmd2000]

I was getting the signal straight out of my lightning port. Do you mean to say that it was sensitive to its own DAC?

No no, only if you are using the amp. Only if you are using "line in" from another dac like mojo or dap.

 

[jude]

I was getting the signal straight out of my lightning port. Do you mean to say that it was sensitive to its own DAC?

No, @bosiemoncrieff, I'm sorry for misunderstanding your setup. I don't know why you were getting distortion then. As @jscmd2000 said, my suggestion about the input pad has only to do with the use of the KSA1500's analog input.

 

[bosiemoncrieff]

It may be unfair to compare a battery powered e-stat amp to the BHSE, but part of the reason for getting the KSE1500 is to be able to omit that expenditure. In the back of my mind, I have some desire to get a baby orpheus and SR009 (or, even better, the original Omega), and a 2k deal on the shure IEMs would be a lot more palatable than that.