[LouisArmstrong]

  A step down in what ways? What was missing in the Shure, or what did you find that the Layla did better? These will be very useful for folks choosing between the two. 
 
Agreed that the wires are a concern. For Shure.

The top while quite revealing is not in any way more transparent than the Layla. In fact, the top is not quite layered as well as Layla and it seems that details that I used to hear with my high end multi driver BAs are somewhat missing, or more "mixed together" if you would. Some may call that a more coherent sound but to me some details are just lacking, which is quite surprising from an electrostat (again I can't help comparing it with my experience with the SR009 at home). It may be because I am too used to BA IEMs. I tried some pop, some jazz and even some orchestral music (if  Star Wars soundtrack counts), but none of them seems to be able to make the Shure stand out from the Layla, both in the details department and in the full-body sound department. The bass is a pleasant surprise though - never expected electrostats can produce this kind of bass, although still a bit shy when compared with Layla's bass turned to max, let alone my dynamic driver IEMs like the ASG 2.5 or the XB90Ex.
 
Overall a pleasant experience, but I just can't find something in the KSE1500 that makes it best other top-end IEMs that I have extensive experience with (Layla and K10) or have auditioned. Whether the price is justifiable really depends on one's budget and values, but if I were to comment, I would say probably yes, because its price with the DAC and amp unit is about the same as the Layla, while Layla is just a pair of IEMs, nothing more - and its sound is quite close to the Layla. But, to me, after the audition for around half an hour, Layla is the clear winner - and the Layla was straight from an iPhone 6S+. I wouldn't blame it on the environment as I would say the isolation was quite good and the eartips the shop provided fitted quite well.
 
Bottom line - I kept an open mind when I walked into the shop and thought I might purchase it even if it were clearly better than the Layla in only one or two aspects (I was thinking the Stax kind of transparency), just for the bragging rights. I didn't.

 

[Roscoeiii]

 
The top while quite revealing is not in any way more transparent than the Layla. In fact, the top is not quite layered as well as Layla and it seems that details that I used to hear with my high end multi driver BAs are somewhat missing, or more "mixed together" if you would. Some may call that a more coherent sound but to me some details are just lacking, which is quite surprising from an electrostat (again I can't help comparing it with my experience with the SR009 at home). It may be because I am too used to BA IEMs. I tried some pop, some jazz and even some orchestral music (if  Star Wars soundtrack counts), but none of them seems to be able to make the Shure stand out from the Layla, both in the details department and in the full-body sound department. The bass is a pleasant surprise though - never expected electrostats can produce this kind of bass, although still a bit shy when compared with Layla's bass turned to max, let alone my dynamic driver IEMs like the ASG 2.5 or the XB90Ex.
 
Overall a pleasant experience, but I just can't find something in the KSE1500 that makes it best other top-end IEMs that I have extensive experience with (Layla and K10) or have auditioned. Whether the price is justifiable really depends on one's budget and values, but if I were to comment, I would say probably yes, because its price with the DAC and amp unit is about the same as the Layla, while Layla is just a pair of IEMs, nothing more - and its sound is quite close to the Layla. But, to me, after the audition for around half an hour, Layla is the clear winner - and the Layla was straight from an iPhone 6S+. I wouldn't blame it on the environment as I would say the isolation was quite good and the eartips the shop provided fitted quite well.
 
Bottom line - I kept an open mind when I walked into the shop and thought I might purchase it even if it were clearly better than the Layla in only one or two aspects (I was thinking the Stax kind of transparency), just for the bragging rights. I didn't.

Thanks. No doubt you will not be the last to prefer other IEMs to the 1500s. And for everyone making the hard decision of what to buy, these impressions will be most helpful. 

 

[robm321]

Louis Armstrong, 
 
Thanks for the comparison. Where did you listen to them? If they are bettered in every way by the Laylas, then they most likely will be a flop considering the price. I don't think people fee the DAC/amp justifies much. The amp is necessary and the DAC appears to be a mediocre afterthough. I just wonder how they produce a stat that has good top end detail but lacks midrange detail? I expected the Layla's to have more weight and a thicker sound. They sound very thick in general (a bit too much for my taste), but more detail? That was a surprise.  
 
Anyway, thanks again for the impressions. Maybe the earlier impressions by owners of Layla and KSE 1500s were caught up in FOTM excitement? Because you're impressions were just the opposite of theirs. 

 

[Roscoeiii]

  Louis Armstrong, 
 
Thanks for the comparison. Where did you listen to them? If they are bettered in every way by the Laylas, then they most likely will be a flop considering the price. I don't think people fee the DAC/amp justifies much. The amp is necessary and the DAC appears to be a mediocre afterthough. I just wonder how they produce a stat that has good top end detail but lacks midrange detail? I expected the Layla's to have more weight and a thicker sound. They sound very thick in general (a bit too much for my taste), but more detail? That was a surprise.  
 
Anyway, thanks again for the impressions. Maybe the earlier impressions by owners of Layla and KSE 1500s were caught up in FOTM excitement? Because you're impressions were just the opposite of theirs. 

We will see many impressions and some of them will be conflicting probably. Can't weigh in here since I have never heard Laylas. But we've got a lot of experienced HeadFiers here in this thread who are not likely to get caught up in FOTM excitement. Positive reactions vs Laylas should not be written off as FOTM, nor should the impressions of Louis Armstrong or anyone else that prefers other IEMs. 
 
I mostly hope that the reasons for preferences one way or the other are clearly communicated, since that is most helpful in triangulating what IEM is right for you. Short of listening. So yeah, audition or find a seller with a good return policy if at all possible. 

 

[robm321]

Preference is one thing, but he clearly stated less detail vs Layla while others stated its more detailed. That's a clear difference. Both can't be right. 

 

[Idsynchrono_24]

This is HF. Give it a year or so and I'm sure the FS will be flooded with these things at around 60% to 50% of MSRP. Nothing is safe from that. No real sense in being an early adopter of anything anymore IMO. That aside, I never for a second believed that these would in any way, be largely superior to the top crop of phones that are currently around. I dunno, I just don't think there's any more meaningful detail that can be extracted from a recording that something like a UERM can't. I think tone/presentation/weight is of paramount importance anyway, so if the 1500 nails that, then it's definitely doing something right. Can't say I'm all that pleased to hear that it's just shy of Layla's bass when dials are set at max though, I mean What man. 

 

[LouisArmstrong]

Yes it was quite clear to me that the Layla had better details despite having a more full bodied or "thicker" sound. The Shure is more like a boosted version of the er4p but there was no doubt I heard more things layered through the Layla. I listened to a song where the two singers were singing two sets of completely different lyrics at one point. With the Layla I could pick out the lyrics of either voice easily but with the Shure it was harder to do so.

 

[Joe Bloggs]

Preference is one thing, but he clearly stated less detail vs Layla while others stated its more detailed. That's a clear difference. Both can't be right. 

Why not? It's not as if everybody is listening to the same Layla or the same KSE1500. Everyone would have to fit different eartips on the KSE1500. For the Layla's part, fitting that many drivers in each earpiece must be a fresh engineering challenge with each pair of ear impressions, and probably solved differently in terms of how far each driver ends up from the ear canal. In conclusion, I don't think everyone is hearing the same things from the two phones, even in relative terms, let alone absolute terms.

 

[csglinux]

But, to me, after the audition for around half an hour, Layla is the clear winner - and the Layla was straight from an iPhone 6S+.

It's a brave person that dares to post on Headfi that an iPhone sounds better than even the cheapest budget DAP Thanks for the feedback!

 

[Kunlun]

I'm surprised he bucked what a number of other people found, and heard the layla having more details out of an iphone than the kse1500.

Seems like something may not have been quite right, but it's hard to say.

 

[musicday]

A little video from CES is on YouTube.

 

[Roscoeiii]

I'm surprised he bucked what a number of other people found, and heard the layla having more details out of an iphone than the kse1500.

Seems like something may not have been quite right, but it's hard to say.

Again, I don't want to disparage anyone's experience. Time will tell as more people listen. We'll see how many agree with this impression from a 30 min audition. Most important is that all interested HeadFiers walk away with a product they are very happy with, whether or not it is the 1500s.

 

[Roscoeiii]

A little video from CES is on YouTube.

Link please.

 

[musicday]

A little video from CES is on YouTube.

Link please.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEvoBi7NHbQ

 

[expat852]

LouisArmstrong, you have noted lackluster sound with the KSE1500 using the onboard DAC.  I found the same, which made sense after reading in this thread that the KSE1500 uses a Cirrus Logic CS4272.  As you might imagine, DAC technology and SQ evolves rapidly and there has been a great deal of progress since this DAC was released more than a decade ago (http://www.cirrus.com/en/products/pro/detail/P1045.html).  Given that the onboard DAC is quite disappointing I would urge you to give the KSE1500 another try vs. your Laylas using a high quality DAP and the analog input - you may be pleasantly surprised.