[raypin]

mmm......transportable, yes. Portable no. AK player + KSE.

 

[piercer]

When I was at Canjam in London last year my favourite earphones were the electrostatics that I listened to. In particular some kind of Califotnia surfing named valve amp with some square stax I think it was - really wish I could remember the name.
 
The sound was exactly the kind of sound I like. For this reason alone I have ordered a pair of KSE1500's. I am hoping that they have the electrostatic sound signature that I heard!
 
Unfortunately the UK seems to have a supply problem and I will have to wait about a month for them... Hope its worth it.

 

[Music junky]

Hi! I took a pair of shure olives and cut off the screen . Push the black foam back and nip off the tip . Removing any obstrution. The SQ! Becomes brighter! Base becomes puncher! Be sure to remove the olives before you moddify . Just so you dont damage your kse.

 

[csglinux]

That fits with my general experience that more foam = better isolation, but also more acoustic damping, and therefore (slightly) lesser SQ.

Interesting mod, Music Junky! Do you notice any less isolation with your pruned eartips?

 

[raypin]

Mmm...can you post a pic of your modded olives?

 

[Music junky]

[ATTACHMENT=2056]
[/ATTACHMENT]I clipped off the earwax screen only. Leaving all the black olive foam intact. Maintaining all the isolation.

 

[Yubacore]

  When I was at Canjam in London last year my favourite earphones were the electrostatics that I listened to. In particular some kind of Califotnia surfing named valve amp with some square stax I think it was - really wish I could remember the name.
 
The sound was exactly the kind of sound I like. For this reason alone I have ordered a pair of KSE1500's. I am hoping that they have the electrostatic sound signature that I heard!
 
Unfortunately the UK seems to have a supply problem and I will have to wait about a month for them... Hope its worth it.

 
That would be Blue Hawaii SE, http://www.head-fi.org/t/439657/headamp-blue-hawaii-special-edition and Stax SR-009. Arguably the best (and possibly most expensive) sound out of a headphone south of the new $50k Sennheiser Orpheus.

 

[tassardar]

The sr009 and blue Hawaii is fantastic. Heard it at canjam recently. The thing is kse1500 mids is not as sweet as it (eq get you there half way) and you lose the sound stage to a full headphone. Though I think details and clarity the kse1500 probably can beat it due to isolation which is really hard to get in open cans. That said its 10k vs 3k here so you do pay for it...

 

[tmarshl]

I own the SR009 + BHSE and am extremely happy with the combination.  I was hoping that the KSE1500 would give me a little of that performance in a mobile version.  So far, from reading all of the reviews (Singapore CanJam as well) I am afraid that I will be disappointed, as the included DAC doesn't seem to be world class.  It was suggested that I could use my Chord Mojo's DAC in the stack to overcome this, but iPhone 6 > Mojo > KSE1500 doesn't seem very portable  Imagining myself in an airplane seat with all of these wires and boxes doesn't sound like fun.  I would suggest that Shure and Chord could collaborate in a TOTL portable solution.

 

[piercer]

  I own the SR009 + BHSE and am extremely happy with the combination.  I was hoping that the KSE1500 would give me a little of that performance in a mobile version.  So far, from reading all of the reviews (Singapore CanJam as well) I am afraid that I will be disappointed, as the included DAC doesn't seem to be world class.  It was suggested that I could use my Chord Mojo's DAC in the stack to overcome this, but iPhone 6 > Mojo > KSE1500 doesn't seem very portable  Imagining myself in an airplane seat with all of these wires and boxes doesn't sound like fun.  I would suggest that Shure and Chord could collaborate in a TOTL portable solution.

 
Yes it was the Blue Hawai - totally loved the sound
 
Imagine a hugo with builtin KSE1500 electrostatic output - hmmmmm. Or A&K make an AK380 amp that supports them. Would be so nice if they all played together (except for my poor abused wallet that is).
 
Or Shure should just release an amp section for the KSE1500 without the DAC...

 

[tassardar]

To put it simply, the kse1500 is as good as the source that feeds it. If you feed it the same thing as you feed your sr009/bhse you won't be disappointed. 3k getting you a dac amp and earphone is not much different from any TOTL. To put into perspective, to make Layla great you need the mojo. Together they out price the kse1500.

The kse1500 needs a source that has good synergy. In fact my most enjoyable source with it is a centrence dacport which is cheaper then most daps this days So testing out with the different daps and get base on what you enjoy and not the price is the best way to use the kse1500.

 

[AxelCloris]

The Mojo makes an excellent portable DAC for the KSE1500. At the Chicago meet a few weeks back I listened to the Shure fed by my Questyle DAP and from the Mojo. On several songs I preferred the Mojo to the QP1R's DAC. I'll confirm your thoughts that the built-in DAC is not world class but it doesn't need to be. It's there should you need it, and it doesn't sound bad, but using another DAC and feeding that into the KSE1500 will give you better results. I think the using Shure's DAC with an iPhone is fine for casual travel, but when you want the best you'll need a good DAP or other source to feed the amp.

 

[goodvibes]

  I'm still reading all of these posts, but I have just two words to say to you (if somebody already hasn't)
 
Capacitance and Inductance
 
Entirely different thing at 200V.

They have, I know and not so hard. The extra effort would be how to make it thin, flexible, durable and with low resistance. Resistance matters as well  but that's simply a function of gauge and material. Without a shield or odd config, the capacitance and inductance are not really a practical obstacle at 4'.The only way to limit capacitance is to add distance between the conductors. It can be accomplished by a thicker cable or using thinner conductors but none of that is rocket science. There's no magic here. I'm sure they worked hard on the cable but not so much due to its electrical characteristics. There are no magic pills here and 200v of low current AC is also not demanding.

 

[robm321]

  I own the SR009 + BHSE and am extremely happy with the combination.  I was hoping that the KSE1500 would give me a little of that performance in a mobile version.  So far, from reading all of the reviews (Singapore CanJam as well) I am afraid that I will be disappointed, as the included DAC doesn't seem to be world class.  It was suggested that I could use my Chord Mojo's DAC in the stack to overcome this, but iPhone 6 > Mojo > KSE1500 doesn't seem very portable  Imagining myself in an airplane seat with all of these wires and boxes doesn't sound like fun.  I would suggest that Shure and Chord could collaborate in a TOTL portable solution.

 
I'm not sure its fair to compare the $2,500 DAC that is feeding your home set up with the included Shure DAC. 
 
You're point is very valid about the portability. It's kind of a home set up that you can hook to your phone on the go sacrificing a bit, I guess? 

 

[tmarshl]

   
I'm not sure its fair to compare the $2,500 DAC that is feeding your home set up with the included Shure DAC. 
 
You're point is very valid about the portability. It's kind of a home set up that you can hook to your phone on the go sacrificing a bit, I guess? 

I didn't mean to imply that I expect anywhere near the performance of my home setup in the KSE1500.  I would be happy with a reasonable compromise, one that was truly portable [not a 3-box stack].   But from reading the reviews so far, it appears that Shure put most of their investment in the electrostatic iems and amp, and the DAC was the weak link in the system.  This is a pretty universal opinion from those that have heard the setup.  I guess I will need to hear it for myself before laying out $3K.