[Roscoeiii]

Yes, it’s well subpar compared to the other components of the KSE1500.

Exactly. Everything else is state of the art.

 

[haiku]

Exactly. Everything else is state of the art.

I also like my KSE1500 very much, but compared to my Layla II with Brimar Audio Labs "Supreme Reference Monarch" cable, they sound a bit anemic. But then, the Layla + Brimar cable are over 5 Grand, so that´s no surprise. Nevertheless, I enjoy listening with KSE1500 very much from time to time.

 

[Mimouille]

I also like my KSE1500 very much, but compared to my Layla II with Brimar Audio Labs "Supreme Reference Monarch" cable, they sound a bit anemic. But then, the Layla + Brimar cable are over 5 Grand, so that´s no surprise. Nevertheless, I enjoy listening with KSE1500 very much from time to time.

• The KSE sound anemic? Driven by what
• Uncluding more than 2k for just the cable...so that is quite suprise, especially given that I heard the Layla II and in my opinion it doesn't touch the KSE

 

[TYATYA]

Do you fell a big difference using the kse1500 dac vs a external dac?
How bad it is?

CS4272 in Ksa1500 is less than cs4398 dual of Ak120ii in bass depth, not much but it's there. To me, cs4272 implementation was good in ksa. Sound similar to BB Pcm1792A inside hdvd800 amp. Good balance, not tend to warm or cold

Personally I’m amazed through the entire frequency range, the KSE1500 has amazing bass, mid and treble but in a refined , detailed and let me say transparent way.
Voices and instruments are both clear and extremely balanced.
there is no punch Iike the campfire Vega, it’s more equilibrate and a real pleasure to listen to.

Looking the price of 18 BA tia driver - Foute of 64audio and then listen to it. I love kse1500 more! No dry, very smooth sound to hear from a single diaphragm.

 

[MrIEM]

I also like my KSE1500 very much, but compared to my Layla II with Brimar Audio Labs "Supreme Reference Monarch" cable, they sound a bit anemic. But then, the Layla + Brimar cable are over 5 Grand, so that´s no surprise. Nevertheless, I enjoy listening with KSE1500 very much from time to time.

I will buy you the headphone of your choice if in a properly blinded test you can hear the difference between your "Supreme..." cable and a range of properly engineered equivalents - assuming that cable isn't so poorly made it's actually a deliberate filter (probably scooping out the midtones to flatter old ears with excess bass and treble.

 

[csglinux]

I will buy you the headphone of your choice if in a properly blinded test you can hear the difference between your "Supreme..." cable and a range of properly engineered equivalents - assuming that cable isn't so poorly made it's actually a deliberate filter (probably scooping out the midtones to flatter old ears with excess bass and treble.

You dare impugn the power of the Brimar cable? Blasphemy!

 

[headwhacker]

^ why would you need a headphone at all? If you have a supreme cable making all that awesome sound

 

[JR Draper]

New KSE1500 owner here. Coming from the Shure SE846 with an upgraded Silver Dragon MMCX cable paired with the Chord Mojo + Poly amp/DAC. After 50 hours of enjoying the KSE1500, I switched back to the SE846 and it's unlistenable by comparison. The KSE1500 is that good. Demo'd everything under the sun prior to making this purchase, and I'm glad I stayed in the Shure family. The bass is NOT a disappointment IMO -- it's very detailed with amazing speed.

Like others have posted, the KSE1500 requires a good seal. I've found the Westone Star Tips to be the best, but admittedly, I haven't tried any of the SpinFit ones yet.

Classic rock sings on these. Van Halen's "Hot For Teacher" (2015 Remastered Version), "Slow Ride" by Foghat and "Your Latest Trick" by the Dire Straits are good examples of what I'm talking about. Imaging is excellent, with the soundstage extending deep to the left and right.

I can also confirm that the Chord Mojo + Poly makes the KSE1500 sound much better than the build-in DAC. Way more musical for sure.

-JR

 

[csglinux]

New KSE1500 owner here. Coming from the Shure SE846 with an upgraded Silver Dragon MMCX cable paired with the Chord Mojo + Poly amp/DAC. After 50 hours of enjoying the KSE1500, I switched back to the SE846 and it's unlistenable by comparison. The KSE1500 is that good. Demo'd everything under the sun prior to making this purchase, and I'm glad I stayed in the Shure family.

I can also confirm that the Chord Mojo + Poly makes the KSE1500 sound much better than the build-in DAC. Way more musical for sure.

-JR

Welcome to the club, buddy! If you haven't already tried, there are filter mods you can do (and alternative tips you can use) which will help the treble extension of the SE846: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/se846-filter-mod.802350/ These are worth trying if you still have your SE846, but certainly the KSE1500 is a step-up in resolution beyond any of those filter mods. To my ears, the KSE1500's resolution is a step-up beyond any other headphone (including full-sized cans) that I've ever A/B'd it against.

Enjoy!

 

[JR Draper]

Welcome to the club, buddy! If you haven't already tried, there are filter mods you can do (and alternative tips you can use) which will help the treble extension of the SE846: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/se846-filter-mod.802350/ These are worth trying if you still have your SE846, but certainly the KSE1500 is a step-up in resolution beyond any of those filter mods. To my ears, the KSE1500's resolution is a step-up beyond any other headphone (including full-sized cans) that I've ever A/B'd it against.

Enjoy!

I'll be selling my SE846s on Audiogon soon since the KSE1500 is about 10 rungs up the ladder in terms of sound quality. That said, I still think the SE846 is an excellent IEM and well worth the $1000 MSRP.

I agree with you that the Shure KSE1500 sounds better than any other headphone -- including over-ears -- I've ever heard. Before buying the KSE, I listened to the Focal Utopia, Focal Clear, Audeze LCD4, Audeze iSine20 (JUNK), Grado PS1000, Sennheiser HD 800 S, Sennheiser IE 800 and the HIFIMAN HEX V2. I had hoped to audition the Campfire Andromeda, Noble Kaiser Encore, Audeze LCDi4 and the Tia Fourte before ordering the KSE1500, but after getting used to the KSE's sound signature I can honestly say that it's an end-game IEM in my book.

-JR

 

[csglinux]

I'll be selling my SE846s on Audiogon soon since the KSE1500 is about 10 rungs up the ladder in terms of sound quality. That said, I still think the SE846 is an excellent IEM and well worth the $1000 MSRP.

I agree with you that the Shure KSE1500 sounds better than any other headphone -- including over-ears -- I've ever heard. Before buying the KSE, I listened to the Focal Utopia, Focal Clear, Audeze LCD4, Audeze iSine20 (JUNK), Grado PS1000, Sennheiser HD 800 S, Sennheiser IE 800 and the HIFIMAN HEX V2. I had hoped to audition the Campfire Andromeda, Noble Kaiser Encore, Audeze LCDi4 and the Tia Fourte before ordering the KSE1500, but after getting used to the KSE's sound signature I can honestly say that it's an end-game IEM in my book.

-JR

You and I completely agree on the Audeze iSine20 The Andromeda is a good IEM for the price (considering you don't need the electrostatic amp), but it has bad ergonomics, so fit is a crapshoot. The Encore has quite a unique sound, but it's huge - and has huge nozzles, so ditto on the ergonomics. LCDi4 is just an odd beast - some people here love it and think it's comparable to the KSE1500 in SQ, but I've never heard that from it. (If you're going to go with an IEM so large it isn't portable anymore, and is completely non-isolating, you may as well carry an open-back headphone around with you!) The Tia Fourte sounds good, but is vastly overpriced for what it is. It's also partially vented with this rather pointless Apex thing (basically a perpetuation of Adel - which was nothing more than a scam), so its isolation suffers. If you ever get a chance to do a careful A/B against any of these, I don't think you'd regret your decision to go the KSE1500 route.

 

[JR Draper]

@csglinux -- Thanks for the breakdown on those IEMs. Campfire Audio and 64 Audio are the ones I'd really love to compare to the KSE1500. I now have 7 cycles on my battery, and I've drained it to ~5% each time before recharging, so I'm 50+ hours into my listening experience. It just keeps getting better and better.

Music that really sings on the KSE1500 + Chord Mojo + Poly . . .

"Take The Power Back" (Remastered) by Rage Against The Machine
"Sloe Gin" (Live from the Royal Albert Hall) by Joe Bonamassa
"Hot For Teacher" (2015 Remastered Version) by Van Halen
"The Boys Are Back In Town" by Thin Lizzy
"Isn't She Lovely" by Livingston Taylor
"A Case of You" by Joni Mitchell

 

[MRT-Man]

Do you fell a big difference using the kse1500 dac vs a external dac?
How bad it is?

I definitely hear a difference between the KSE DAC and my AK120II. When I switch between them, there's a clear improvement in soundstage, and I believe a little more detail. It's the difference between "hmm, this sounds pretty good" to "wow this sounds awesome!". It's enough of a difference that I virtually never use my KSE without bypassing the DAC (unless I'm just using the KSE for watching a movie rather than listening to music).

 

[TYATYA]

New KSE1500 owner here. Coming from the Shure SE846 with an upgraded Silver Dragon MMCX cable paired with the Chord Mojo + Poly amp/DAC. After 50 hours of enjoying the KSE1500, I switched back to the SE846 and it's unlistenable by comparison. The KSE1500 is that good. Demo'd everything under the sun prior to making this purchase, and I'm glad I stayed in the Shure family. The bass is NOT a disappointment IMO -- it's very detailed with amazing speed.

Like others have posted, the KSE1500 requires a good seal. I've found the Westone Star Tips to be the best, but admittedly, I haven't tried any of the SpinFit ones yet.

Classic rock sings on these. Van Halen's "Hot For Teacher" (2015 Remastered Version), "Slow Ride" by Foghat and "Your Latest Trick" by the Dire Straits are good examples of what I'm talking about. Imaging is excellent, with the soundstage extending deep to the left and right.

I can also confirm that the Chord Mojo + Poly makes the KSE1500 sound much better than the build-in DAC. Way more musical for sure.

-JR

Welcome to music maniac zone.
If you just pass few times charging, wait until your 10th charging hahaha. More smooth and sweet sound makes you dont touch 846 again.
For eartips, I change time to time. For AK120ii Spinfit CPM-800 is best for me. But for SP1000 I come back to stock olive foam. Best one.

 

[plinth]

After reading the whole of this thread I reached the end on Monday and ordered the KSE 1500 from Moon Audio. They arrived on Wednesday and am delighted to report that they are exactly as described here. I use EQ flat (or bypassed on line in) and there is tons of credible lighting fast deep bass. I feel that I have heard more of the instruments than I ever have before, the true timbre and waveform of a bass drum or bass guitar string.
Right from my first listen on Wednesday I did have a problem when using my iPhone X as a source direct into the dac/amp. Even with no music playing I am getting pops that sound just like a scratch on a vinyl record. It varies form a click every few seconds to every few minutes. If I play via my Hugo 2 I have not heard the problem. By swapping out the supplied micro usb to lightning cable to use the apple camera connection kit and a cheap micro usb to usb cable it makes it much better, with crackles only heard when the iPhone X screen comes on. The problem is still there using the original cable and my iPad and my iPhone 6 plus. I do not hear it all under line in.

There certainly seems to be a problem with my supplied cable. I am not a believer in exotic cables as in all the hours of blind A/B testing I have never been able to discern a difference, let alone have a preference. I honestly cannot hear the difference between a £2000 interconnect and a £2 one. However, I wonder if any of you have heard this with the stock cable and replaced it. I updated to iOS 11.2 this morning but it made no difference. Even in airplane mode I hear the pops. Moving the wires about does not induce it. separating the amp and the phone makes no difference.

I would really appreciate some guidance.