[csglinux]

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.

Congrats and welcome to the KSE1500 owners' club I've often found USB to be a bit hit-or-miss w.r.t. RFI/EMI. From a phone, it can vary a lot from carrier to carrier (and type of cellular connection). I hate to bash Apple, but... Ok, just kidding! I love to bash Apple. I used to be the biggest Apple fan boy, but Apple made it very clear over the last couple of years that they don't give a rats ass about audio. That, plus their general software QC has been going down the toilet. I'm only saying that because I have no issues at all going from my LG V30 via USB into the KSE1500, even with all its radios blazing. The Hugo 2 does have a better DAC than the V30 (but not by a huge margin), so you're sorted for home use. For portable use, you could try one of those RFI-shielded USB cables? They've never worked for me, but if they work for you, it might be cheaper than trading in your iPhone X for a V3

 

[plinth]

Thanks for the welcome. The strange thing is that this does to sound like normal RFI/EMI and is something being transmitted as digital data through the lighting port. I do have the short usb cable with a ferrite core on it that came with the Hugo 2 or Mojo. Let me try that. One day Apple will see a market in hifi audio and then they will invent it for us. Hard for them to have much credibility considering the Air Buds. And I dare not even mention their Beats purchase. Can you imagine a world where they had purchase Shure instead. The electrostatic amp would be built into the iPhone and the KSE1500 would ship with every phone. I suspect then we would welcome you back to the fold.

 

[JR Draper]

I only have 50 hours on my KSE1500, but not have I heard what you described. I use an iPhone 8 Plus to Bluetooth Spotify or Tidal to my Chord Mojo + Poly. Via the KSE’s Line-In I can hear popping if the Input Pad setting set to -20db. If I use the USB input it has a dead quiet noise floor.

I don’t know if the issue is the iPhone X or the KSE1500, but Drew at Moon-Audio has always been fair to me. Send him an email and I’m sure he’d be happy to work with you to troubleshoot or replace your unit altogether.

FYI, Moon-Audio has a promo on the KSE1500 through Sunday 12/3/2017 that’s $449 OFF MSRP. Use coupon code “SAVE” to apply to discount. I ordered a SECOND one on Friday the price is so good (Christmas gift for my audiophile Dad).

 

[plinth]

I only have 50 hours on my KSE1500, but not have I heard what you described. I use an iPhone 8 Plus to Bluetooth Spotify or Tidal to my Chord Mojo + Poly. Via the KSE’s Line-In I can hear popping if the Input Pad setting set to -20db. If I use the USB input it has a dead quiet noise floor.

I don’t know if the issue is the iPhone X or the KSE1500, but Drew at Moon-Audio has always been fair to me. Send him an email and I’m sure he’d be happy to work with you to troubleshoot or replace your unit altogether.

FYI, Moon-Audio has a promo on the KSE1500 through Sunday 12/3/2017 that’s $449 OFF MSRP. Use coupon code “SAVE” to apply to discount. I ordered a SECOND one on Friday the price is so good (Christmas gift for my audiophile Dad).

How kind of you to respond. It was that offer appearing this week that prompted me to buy the KSE1500 from Drew. I have written to him, this is precisely why I like to buy from reputable dealers.

One piece of the puzzle might be my own muppetry. I am testing listening to Mark Knopfler’s excellent Tracker Deluxe edition and I am getting the occasional shriek in the audio like a taxi radio being picked up in a speaker cable. I looked at the source and I had forgotten that I bought the 192/24 bit version. How is it even playing if the max is 96khz. I would change album but I cannot bring myself to turn it off. It just sounds so good.

I am using the input pad at -10dB but no problems at all.

 

[csglinux]

Can you imagine a world where they had purchase Shure instead. The electrostatic amp would be built into the iPhone and the KSE1500 would ship with every phone. I suspect then we would welcome you back to the fold.

Sigh. We can dream

I am testing listening to Mark Knopfler’s excellent Tracker Deluxe edition and I am getting the occasional shriek in the audio like a taxi radio being picked up in a speaker cable. I looked at the source and I had forgotten that I bought the 192/24 bit version. How is it even playing if the max is 96khz.

I am using the input pad at -10dB but no problems at all.

Love Mark Knopfler's stuff <3

The input pad is only relevant if you're using the line-in. The 192/24 thing is a bit weird, but my KSE1500 will play 192/24 FLAC through the internal DAC just fine without any complaints or issues. I presume there's some software down-sampling going on somewhere. I don't think there's any intrinsic problem there. I doubt your KSE1500 is to blame for this RFI. I strongly suspect one of the radios in your phone. Have you tried putting your iPhone X in airplane mode and then trying to play through USB to the KSE1500 DAC?

 

[TYATYA]

Thanks for the welcome. The strange thing is that this does to sound like normal RFI/EMI and is something being transmitted as digital data through the lighting port. I do have the short usb cable with a ferrite core on it that came with the Hugo 2 or Mojo. Let me try that. One day Apple will see a market in hifi audio and then they will invent it for us. Hard for them to have much credibility considering the Air Buds. And I dare not even mention their Beats purchase. Can you imagine a world where they had purchase Shure instead. The electrostatic amp would be built into the iPhone and the KSE1500 would ship with every phone. I suspect then we would welcome you back to the fold.

Hahah you complain toooo much for such a product.
My whish is much more easier for shure : I want kse1500 to have TIDAL app and wifi. That is enough, and maybe possible to do at same small size.

 

[plinth]

Sigh. We can dream



Love Mark Knopfler's stuff <3

The input pad is only relevant if you're using the line-in. The 192/24 thing is a bit weird, but my KSE1500 will play 192/24 FLAC through the internal DAC just fine without any complaints or issues. I presume there's some software down-sampling going on somewhere. I don't think there's any intrinsic problem there. I doubt your KSE1500 is to blame for this RFI. I strongly suspect one of the radios in your phone. Have you tried putting your iPhone X in airplane mode and then trying to play through USB to the KSE1500 DAC?

Airplane mode makes no difference, still the incessant popping. Weird that even when no music is playing the screen coming on and off causes the interference.

 

[csglinux]

Airplane mode makes no difference, still the incessant popping. Weird that even when no music is playing the screen coming on and off causes the interference.

Apple! Tsk! ::rolling_eyes_emoticon::

 

[kubig123]

Airplane mode makes no difference, still the incessant popping. Weird that even when no music is playing the screen coming on and off causes the interference.

did you tried to use a different source?

if I'm not mistaken somebody had the same problem you had in a past thread, when he updated to the iPhone 7 the popping ended.
also which cable are you using?

 

[plinth]

did you tried to use a different source?

if I'm not mistaken somebody had the same problem you had in a past thread, when he updated to the iPhone 7 the popping ended.
also which cable are you using?

I am using the short lighting to micro USB cable that came with the KSE1500. I recall in this thread that some people got a popping that was caused by the wire going to the earpiece breaking down; that was my first fear when I turned them on and heard the popping. However, it is not possible to induce the sound by any mechanical means, i.e. manipulating the wires or moving the phone closer to the amp.

I have heard the same sound on my iPhone 6 plus and my iPad Air2. I am flying back to the UK tonight so I may try and watch a film on my iPad Pro using the KSE1500 to try and spot a pattern. I get the sense that the sound is not random but relates to a background activity being done on the phone. They are often in couplets with five seconds between. Using the camera connection kit and a different cable did seem to make difference but now I get the "accessory using too much power" so I have to turn off charging, but I certainly was not getting that message yesterday morning.

I am using the Onkyo Music player on my iOS devices to play the hi-res music. What do other people use. However, I get the sound with no music playing so I doubt that the app is causing the popping. I do manually stop all other apps and turn on airplane mode but I still get the sound.

 

[kubig123]

I am using the short lighting to micro USB cable that came with the KSE1500. I recall in this thread that some people got a popping that was caused by the wire going to the earpiece breaking down; that was my first fear when I turned them on and heard the popping. However, it is not possible to induce the sound by any mechanical means, i.e. manipulating the wires or moving the phone closer to the amp.

I have heard the same sound on my iPhone 6 plus and my iPad Air2. I am flying back to the UK tonight so I may try and watch a film on my iPad Pro using the KSE1500 to try and spot a pattern. I get the sense that the sound is not random but relates to a background activity being done on the phone. They are often in couplets with five seconds between. Using the camera connection kit and a different cable did seem to make difference but now I get the "accessory using too much power" so I have to turn off charging, but I certainly was not getting that message yesterday morning.

I am using the Onkyo Music player on my iOS devices to play the hi-res music. What do other people use. However, I get the sound with no music playing so I doubt that the app is causing the popping. I do manually stop all other apps and turn on airplane mode but I still get the sound.

That’s really weird.
Another possibility could the a defective KSE, if you had the chance try also another unit.

Good luck and let us know.

 

[TYATYA]

I am using the short lighting to micro USB cable that came with the KSE1500. I recall in this thread that some people got a popping that was caused by the wire going to the earpiece breaking down; that was my first fear when I turned them on and heard the popping. However, it is not possible to induce the sound by any mechanical means, i.e. manipulating the wires or moving the phone closer to the amp.

I have heard the same sound on my iPhone 6 plus ..

No problems my unit runs with ip6.
My note5 run ok on it too. But my note5 doent work properly with hdvd800 amp. Pops and click continuosly.
When I alt note5 by other samsung model, it was ok, no pops.
I cant say which was NG device. Or may be it just conflick some how and nothing defective, just nit match.
My samsung note5 still work ok with another amp hdvd800 on a try at shop, other firmware used

 

[plinth]

Tyatya,

That is really interesting. I was hoping it would just be the cable as I hear the noise as I plug it in. I assume that Shure in the UK will look after me rather than have to ship the device back to Moon Audio. When I get back to the UK I can conduct more extensive testing.

 

[plinth]

I took my iPhone X and my KSE 1500 to Shure UK today. By the time I had got there the spare KSE1500 had gone out but we did try a new cable and the popping stopped. Sure then tried with the old cable and they could hear it immediately, swapping it back and it stopped. I left with the new cable and a happy heart.
Sadly this evening, the popping is back, only with the iPhone X and never using my Hugo 2. Both Share and Drew think that the KSE1500 is not compatible with the iPhone X, or at least it isn't until Apple fix the issue. Are there any X users out there having no problems? I cannot really understand why the Hugo 2 does not hear the pop but the KSE1500 does.

 

[csglinux]

The Hugo 2 has really good shielding. Apple doesn't give a rat's ass about audio. Sadly

I feel your pain, because that iPhone X is otherwise a really beautiful device.