[Jacob ISR]

Not the ZMF cable - the PL-PL for the shure amp with Viablue connectors

 

[Jacob ISR]

Im also looking for the SHURE KSE amp Pinout anyone has a clue??

 

[TYATYA]

Ground breaking LFE and such high speed, no decay string sound... on the link below.
Not many hp/ie can reproduce.
Listen by your kse!

 

[vr1]

I try in a reverse way. I have a adpter that allow my Kse to use Stax amp. I have try it on d50 and d10, they work perfectly and even sound better than the original amp.

Hi, Jesse
Could you clarify what you mean by "even sound better than the original amp, what is the original amp? I am deciding between KSE1500 vs D10 + sr-003 Mk2. I would like to hear some comment from you. Thank you in advance.

 

[garmer]

hi, kindly let me know the brand and type of your amp as shown in this picture. thanks

When I'm lazy using/setting up my full size desktop set, at least this will do for me.

 

[Jackomik]

It's the stock amp of the kse1500.
AK SP1K (source) > ifi micro idsd BL (DAC) > KSE1500 Amp. > Kse1500 IEM.

 

[TYATYA]

Any one have used 580V bias amp (example Stax) to feed Kse inear?
Extra voltage stepdown transformer 3/1 is required or is it ok if drive w/o transformer but lower the volume?

 

[SilverEars]

Fit is horrible with these. Tips suck. These are just classic (or old and dated) Shure design with narrow bore tips, etc.. It's hard to get good sound with these due to fit, and what's also bad is the nozzle. It's too narrow to fit my other tips. I really dislike Shure tips.

I recall back in the days when Triple-Fi, Westone, and Shure were the big audiophile iems. These days, there are much better fitting iems then the classic Westone or Shure fit, which is just dated and just not as universal.

Also, I've done some reading here, and I think @iDesign made some points about preferring ER4. I see his points about the upper frequencies. Just look at the measurements, there's a big freakin crater in the treble area. No issue with bass however. I dislike ER4 bass or should I say hardly any bass.

 

[Jacob ISR]

Fit is horrible with these. Tips suck. These are just classic (or old and dated) Shure design with narrow bore tips, etc.. It's hard to get good sound with these due to fit, and what's also bad is the nozzle. It's too narrow to fit my other tips. I really dislike Shure tips.

I recall back in the days when Triple-Fi, Westone, and Shure were the big audiophile iems. These days, there are much better fitting iems then the classic Westone or Shure fit, which is just dated and just not as universal.

Also, I've done some reading here, and I think @iDesign made some points about preferring ER4. I see his points about the upper frequencies. Just look at the measurements, there's a big freakin crater in the treble area. No issue with bass however. I dislike ER4 bass or should I say hardly any bass.

Well i totally disagree with you,
Fit - is very personal for each person. This is why there are so many IEMs on the market and this is why there are many tips to solve the problem.
I have the KSE1500 for 3 years now and was one of the first to buy them when they came out... - they are the ONLY one that fit perfect on my years! WHY? - Becausei have small year canal and i use Comply tips that do the magic.
I also do MODs to the tips so their fit is perfect.

Regarding the measurements .... man.. those IEMs are the most accurate on the planet - EVERY FR is perfect !!
One thing a lot of users dont know or forget - KSE 1500 need about 200 hours of burn-in - this is a MUST.
I did not do it when i bought them and i straggled a lot of time to fix the FR and the bass response - then after a ear (when i got smarter ) i did this and ... what a change..

Second - u must replace the stock PL-PL 3.5mm cable - do a high quality one - it affect dramatically on the sound and the dynamics performance.
Third - ENJOY

About the tips - the Comply tips are long so i have added a few pictures here to show what I've done.

I cut the inner bore plastic from both sides.
I also cot the foam from top to s they will be shorter.
Cutting the bore plastic from the bottom (without the foam) - remove the stopper and allow the tip to go all the way of the IEM body, resulting a perfect fit and seal.

THX to all.

THX to all.

Jacob

 

[siruspan]

Also, I've done some reading here, and I think @iDesign made some points about preferring ER4. I see his points about the upper frequencies. Just look at the measurements, there's a big freakin crater in the treble area. No issue with bass however. I dislike ER4 bass or should I say hardly any bass.

To have an opinion is one thing but saying things that just aren't true is another

Ety's have more presence in midrange from 3khz to say 5khz which I agree as Ety's have more forward and very close vocals. However treble starts from 8khz and there the KSE have more of it and they have way better extension after 10khz even up to 20khz. Saying that KSE have crater in treble area is just stupid. There is also a matter of quality of the highs which are simply unmatched. They are so clear, clean, grain free and effortless. Not even electrostatic drivers from Sonion (which are in fact electrets) can keep up.

 

[Jackomik]

Found a way to fine tune the " already awesome " KSE1500. Fine tuned to my liking and preference. Well, they're still... awesome.

 

[iDesign]

Fit is horrible with these. Tips suck. These are just classic (or old and dated) Shure design with narrow bore tips, etc.. It's hard to get good sound with these due to fit, and what's also bad is the nozzle. It's too narrow to fit my other tips. I really dislike Shure tips.

I recall back in the days when Triple-Fi, Westone, and Shure were the big audiophile iems. These days, there are much better fitting iems then the classic Westone or Shure fit, which is just dated and just not as universal.

Also, I've done some reading here, and I think @iDesign made some points about preferring ER4. I see his points about the upper frequencies. Just look at the measurements, there's a big freakin crater in the treble area. No issue with bass however. I dislike ER4 bass or should I say hardly any bass.

The measurements are a good reference point but it is important to remember the perception of sound is also greatly influenced by the seal, shape, and size of the ear canal— so we have to respect everyone’s unique experience and opinion. The Etymōtic ER4 series are inserted deeper into the ear canal than the KSE1500 and is generally better for small ear canals. Some foam tips and Sensaphonics custom sleeves aren’t ideal for KSE1500 users with small canals because the driver will protrude from the ear. While I feel the KSE1200 is an excellent system, it isn’t perfect, and the biggest issue is in the treble spike which even Crinicle noted.

 

[TYATYA]

To have an opinion is one thing but saying things that just aren't true is another

Ety's have more presence in midrange from 3khz to say 5khz which I agree as Ety's have more forward and very close vocals. However treble starts from 8khz and there the KSE have more of it and they have way better extension after 10khz even up to 20khz. Saying that KSE have crater in treble area is just stupid. There is also a matter of quality of the highs which are simply unmatched. They are so clear, clean, grain free and effortless. Not even electrostatic drivers from Sonion (which are in fact electrets) can keep up.

I mostly found nothing unsmooth in sound during sine sweep by below EQ.
In this EQ, 45Hz and 3k band is not importance. But 6750 band is serious to my ears. 9k is just to refine the peak.

Yes! kse has a narrow peak at some where 8k-9k ON PAPER.
To my ears, center freq is 6750, which is quite lower than 8k or 9k.
I got nothing improve if set center at 8k or 9k.
W/O eq, kse still very flat from 30 to 7k

 

[HoodedHoodlum]

I wonder if Crinacle remeasured these. I noticed that his notes changed. Before, it used to say "Easily at the top in terms of resolution, but necessitates foam tips for proper tonal balance". It makes me wonder as to what tips he used for measuring them. I do notice more treble energy with silicone tips, as opposed to the Olives. But it's not something that bothers me.

Also, by "Easily at the top in terms of resolution", I wonder if he means they truly are are the top, as in first place, or more in a general sense.

 

[siruspan]

They are very picky in terms of tips. On silicone they tend to have treble spikes most likely due to resonance. This is much more pronounced than in the other iems with wider tip size. I use them with Comply TS200 with the adapter.

Can't say what Crinacle means but I've also tested fair share of TOTL iems like Legend X, Tia Fourte, Khan and so on and I would say that in terms of resolution and detail retrieval they are the best espacially that how efortless they do everything. Others to achieve such a high level often feel strained and fatiguing in the long run. KSE however are not the most exciting or spectacular iems like some other U or V-shaped competitors. There are others that are warmer, sweeter, more exciting or with bigger soundstage but KSE render the most realistic and true to life sound imho.