[Tawek]

Thanks. Yeah, I'm still hunting - I'm looking at 64 audio and JH Layla at the moment. My ears are just so accustomed to the Shure "house sound." I started with first edition E5's, SE535, now 846's. I also have a pair of DM6's and Campfire andro's, I just prefer the sound of the 846's over them. I was hoping maybe the KSE models would step that sound signature up a bit. Yeah the portability seems like it would suck though, I haven't given that much thought so far. Thanks!

For 1z I recommend
Spiral ear 5ult
Obravo eamt
Sony mdr ex1000

 

[echineko]

For 1z I recommend
Spiral ear 5ult
Obravo eamt
Sony mdr ex1000

Another vote for the SE5U, I'd take it over the other two (and have).

 

[bflat]

Thanks. Yeah, I'm still hunting - I'm looking at 64 audio and JH Layla at the moment. My ears are just so accustomed to the Shure "house sound." I started with first edition E5's, SE535, now 846's. I also have a pair of DM6's and Campfire andro's, I just prefer the sound of the 846's over them. I was hoping maybe the KSE models would step that sound signature up a bit. Yeah the portability seems like it would suck though, I haven't given that much thought so far. Thanks!

My first flagship IEM was the SE846. I still think it's worthy of TOTL status. I now have JH Laylas and 64 Audio Tia Fourte. Compared to SE846:

Laylas - this is universal gen 1. Both share a nice rich, lush mid. The SE846 has more impactful and liquid low end, whereas Laylas are faster and better texture. Laylas completely blow away SE846 in treble extension and definition. Soundstage is an order of magnitude better on the Laylas. I use Laylas mostly for travel due to excellent noise isolation.

Tia Fourte - combines the best of bass characteristics of SE846 and Laylas. Mid are neutral to a touch forward. Highs are pretty close to Laylas but a little less bite. Soundstage is unique. It sounds like you are listening to open back headphones so larger than even Laylas. Sound isolation is below average though so I use these for my office.

Neither Laylas or Tia Fourte are across the board upgrades for SE846, especially if you are into the "house sound" as you said. Shure is always about the vocals with a warm low end and slightly laid back treble. You might look into the Westone W80. I have not tried those myself, but in other models I've found them to be similar to Shure's tuning.

 

[ryaneagon]

My first flagship IEM was the SE846. I still think it's worthy of TOTL status. I now have JH Laylas and 64 Audio Tia Fourte. Compared to SE846:

Laylas - this is universal gen 1. Both share a nice rich, lush mid. The SE846 has more impactful and liquid low end, whereas Laylas are faster and better texture. Laylas completely blow away SE846 in treble extension and definition. Soundstage is an order of magnitude better on the Laylas. I use Laylas mostly for travel due to excellent noise isolation.

Tia Fourte - combines the best of bass characteristics of SE846 and Laylas. Mid are neutral to a touch forward. Highs are pretty close to Laylas but a little less bite. Soundstage is unique. It sounds like you are listening to open back headphones so larger than even Laylas. Sound isolation is below average though so I use these for my office.

Neither Laylas or Tia Fourte are across the board upgrades for SE846, especially if you are into the "house sound" as you said. Shure is always about the vocals with a warm low end and slightly laid back treble. You might look into the Westone W80. I have not tried those myself, but in other models I've found them to be similar to Shure's tuning.

Perfect! I did get a chance to demo the Layla, only for a day so I din't get a lot of time for A/B comparisons, I felt them to be pretty similar in low and mids, they did seem to extend more in the highs. Long story short I didn't think they were worth the money (at the time) They were also less comfortable being larger than the 846's. I'm also looking into 64 audio just not sure if I want to go the Tia route or custom route, a12t, etc. I will be using them for live use as well (drummer) so going the custom route will give me better isolation, I'm more over looking for something similar to the 846 sound signature, with a tad bit more sparkle. Cheers!

Thanks for the comparison!

 

[bflat]

Update on my K-Mod WM1z

I got this back yesterday, but want to burn in for at least 100 hrs before a thorough listen. Of course I had to try it right out of the box and the most obvious thing to me is how much more bass depth and impact I get from my Laylas. Prior to the WM1z, I generally put my bass dials at 12-1 o'clock position. On WM1z and 3.01 firmware I have to use 2-3 o'clock position for what I like. Now I have dialed the bass back to what I used before with K-Mod. It is not a coloration of sound. My Tia Fourte bass is relatively unchanged. I also tried my HD820 and it sounds a lot better in the low end with K-Mod. Still not the same as desktop amps though. I think the K-Mod helps bring out the capabilities of IEMs and headphones without coloring the sound.

More details and impressions will come this weekend. This mod is purely analog so has no effect on how the WM1z functions. You only know the K-Mod is done as you get your original Kimber Kable wires back (in case you want to reverse the mod) and a cool Music Sanctuary logo on top:

 

[llamaluv]

Denon D9200
Lavricables Ultimate Silver
WM1Z (incoming)
WM1A (outgoing)

The new Denon flagship, by the way, is f-ing great (consider that a condensed, 10-word review). It's the only reason why I bothered going for the 1Z.

 

[Quadfather]

Denon D9200
Lavricables Ultimate Silver
WM1Z (incoming)
WM1A (outgoing)

The new Denon flagship, by the way, is f-ing great (consider that a condensed, 10-word review). It's the only reason why I bothered going for the 1Z.

I want the NW-WM1Z for home listening, but will always keep the NW-WM1A for its greater portability.

 

[jonstatt]

Denon D9200
Lavricables Ultimate Silver
WM1Z (incoming)
WM1A (outgoing)

The new Denon flagship, by the way, is f-ing great (consider that a condensed, 10-word review). It's the only reason why I bothered going for the 1Z.

Have you compared the Z and A with firmware 3.0? Just wondering what prompted the change/upgrade?

 

[Redcarmoose]

Questions guys. I've been using the 846's for many years now with a Sony WM1Z, I love the paring! I've been looking at the KSE1200 & 1500 From what I can tell the difference between the 2 is the built in digital front end correct (DAC) on the 1500 correct? If that is the case, as anyone compared the WM1Z DAC to the Shure? I'd most likely be using the WM1Z 90% of the time, just trying to decide if I want to shell out the extra $.

I know everyone has their own impressions of what sounds good. But....How do the KSE compare to the 846's? Unfortunately I'm unable to demo them, of course I can return them via online, but I'm trying to avoid that. Cheers!

What are you guys using for digital out (portable use) I have a Dock for home, but If I go portable I'd like get a short WM1Z to OTG cable if possible. I also have the WMC-NWH10 digital out cable, I was hoping for something a bit more streamlined like a WM1Z to OTG cable but I'm not sure where to look. Cheers!

If you get a chance try out the Noble K-10 Encore IEMs. Nice match-up with the 1Z. I still use the original 3.5mm cable as I still need to find another cable. But after a year and a half it’s still a great combination, and somehow they keep sounding better and better? Most of my gear is more bass-centric so the Encores come-off as a breath of fresh air.........a more neutral and technically accurate tone than most of my gear; though the Encore could maybe be reserved bass wise (just Noble BA character?). Fast, midcentric and slighly warm in the mids. Smooth treble and a big soundstage. Tried the Noble Katana but found the Encore more fun? The Encore is relatively flat, but less reference than the Katana.

I would try them before buying them, due to the sound, but also the fit is not the same for everyone.

I think they excel in rock, vocal music, metal and classical/ OST. They are fun with electronic but it’s not always their forte.

 

[llamaluv]

Have you compared the Z and A with firmware 3.0? Just wondering what prompted the change/upgrade?

It was only because the D9200 sounded so good with the WM1A that I started getting curious about the Z, which naturally led to an inevitable outcome. I never heard the Z before this, and actually had no working theory in particular as to why I might pair the D9200 with the Z specifically. Just curiosity really.

I only have 12 hours on the WM1Z but I love what I'm hearing so far with the D9200. The D9200 isn't excessively warm to start with (just warm) and is very resolving, especially in the treble, so the Z is doing very nice things for it thus far.

I'm going to live with both DAPs for a while, and will hopefully not draw the conclusion I need to keep both simultaneously.

 

[OG10]

Hi Guys,

I need some advice, as you know I ordered the WM1Z from hifi-suite.de given their HRA voucher I thought it was a good buy. So they finally got my EUR payment this Monday, and I get a not saying the DHL driver was sick and it was not picked up. The following day (Today) they are saying that Sony hasn't delivered the unit yet.. Before I placed the order I asked whether they had the WM1Z in stock, and they confirmed they did. I am being advised now I will definitely get it definitely shipped this Friday. I am getting very worried now, would you just cancel if you were in my position and ask for a refund? I didn't think somewhere as big as hifi-suite would create such an issue for me. I could order it on amazon and lose out on a few Euros.. but just wondering whether its persisting with this company. If any of you have dealt with them before please let me know.

 

[Whitigir]

Hi Guys,

I need some advice, as you know I ordered the WM1Z from hifi-suite.de given their HRA voucher I thought it was a good buy. So they finally got my EUR payment this Monday, and I get a not saying the DHL driver was sick and it was not picked up. The following day (Today) they are saying that Sony hasn't delivered the unit yet.. Before I placed the order I asked whether they had the WM1Z in stock, and they confirmed they did. I am being advised now I will definitely get it definitely shipped this Friday. I am getting very worried now, would you just cancel if you were in my position and ask for a refund? I didn't think somewhere as big as hifi-suite would create such an issue for me. I could order it on amazon and lose out on a few Euros.. but just wondering whether its persisting with this company. If any of you have dealt with them before please let me know.

When it is your money, you are in the control my friend. If something is costing you your money, and inducing stress, then forget it and move on. It isnt worth it

For that said, if I were you, then I would definitely ask for a refund and order from amazon, period. But then, even if you shopped on amazon, it wouldn’t shipped out on until Friday right ?

 

[OG10]

When it is your money, you are in the control my friend. If something is costing you your money, and inducing stress, then forget it and move on. It isnt worth it

For that said, if I were you, then I would definitely ask for a refund and order from amazon, period. But then, even if you shopped on amazon, it wouldn’t shipped out on until Friday right ?

Yeah your right, even if I order from amazon its going to be on a similar time frame now. Will calm myself till Friday. Thanks dude

 

[ddmt]

here is a 2 piece solution (OTG cable + Sony Adapter)

My OTG lightning to Sony port cable that I got from taobao has arrived. Well it works with my zx300 so it should works with wm1a/z as well. The seller also sells with micro usb & usb c.

 

[Redcarmoose]

My OTG lightning to Sony port cable that I got from taobao has arrived. Well it works with my zx300 so it should works with wm1a/z as well. The seller also sells with micro usb & usb c.

Nice!