Your greatest high end audio purchase!!!

Nice thread.

I bought some used Shure KSE1500 IEM electrostatics, a few years back.  They have a decent DAC built into the eStat amplifier provided that can be bypassed when listening via the line out (2.5mm single ended) output, if you have a DAC you want to utilize already.  The DAC kicks in when listening via the USB port to your computer, or phone, and the amp can be charged off your computer USB port while in use.  They're in-ears, and provide something like 30dB isolation, I can attest they do a great job isolating outside sound, which helps blacken the background quite a lot when listening.  They're fairly durable, not a delicate hi-fi item, which i value. Also, they're not going to bother anyone in your office, as open-backs or even some close backs would. also great in church or funerals :)

Some users say they lack bass, but they don't (frequency response digs down to ~10Hz), you can clearly hear/feel that sub bass on electronic music with bass information that deep, its all there.  Rather they lack "slam" other headphones/IEMS may have. I would just call the bass quality fast and accurate, and extremely detailed, as are the mids and highs. I listen to everything (acoustic jazz to classical to rock, death metal and rap, some audiophile recordings)... The KSE1500's compliment everything i listen to through them.  I'm sure there are  headphones that sound better, but not at this price range. They reveal everything that was intended by the recording, the most dense mixing/mastering all of a sudden, you just "get it." Doesn't matter if it's heavily produced or the most bare bones audiophile touch . They make everything sound great.

Cons:
Some folks don't like IEMS, or do not like listening through headphones at all.

The amp that comes with the IEMS can be cumbersome when trying to use them in a portable situation.

These (and possibly all Electrostats in general?) sound most engaging at higher volume, past comfortable listening levels. Maybe that just my opinion...

Shure KSE1500's can be had new $3,500, or can be found used around $1,000-$1,500. They also make a KSE1200 that is the same setup, without the onboard DAC. Some prefer those if they already have a high end DAC as part of their existing system.

Highly recommended. Happy New Year all.

audioman58:  My speaker cables are JPS Labs Superconductor 3, which  I purchased over 13 years ago.  The Superconductor 3s are so compelling to me in their excellence that they have withstood the test of time, and I've had no inclination to replace them.  I use a couple of Shunyata Sigma ethernet cables in my system, which I did not replace for the same reasons I didn't replace my speaker cables.   With my latest upgrades, and with the combination of Audioquest, JPS Labs and Shunyata cables in my system, I was able to successfully achieve the highest level of sound quality ever, in any audio system that I've ever owned.  This was just my own personal audio journey experience that I thought I'd share with others.

Happy listening.  

A Lynx Hilo mastering ADC/DAC/headphone amp, purchased in 2013.  I'm a composer and audiophile, and purchased this for recording a high-end piano, after first seeing it mentioned in an issue of The Absolute Sound praising its DAC, the headphone amp, and the ADC (for transferring vinyl).  Among recording and mastering professionals, this unit continues to be know for its exceptional purity and transparency.  I recently embarked on a 10-year upgrade to my recording system, and my first thought was simply to upgrade the Hilo.  Lynx replied, however, that the one I bought today would be the same as one I would purchase today!  After extensively testing ADCs by Merging Technology, Prism, Lavry, and Ayre, I found that each has a different sound regarding balance of frequencies contributing to timbre, the impression of presence (close or more distant), and the width of the soundfield for each sound.  The Hilo continues to stand tall among these, with great purity of tone, perhaps capturing the nuances of timbre the best of  these ADCs.  My comments about the ADC results of the Hilo applies equally to the DAC:  since it is intended to be a mastering device (mastering typically involving playing a recording through a DAC, processing it in some creative way, and then re-recording it with the ADC, the DAC had to be designed to be exceptional -- at least as good as the DAC.  The headphone amp has its own DAC, is very clear, and powerful enough to handle the Sennheiser and Beyerdynamic headphones I use for headphone analysis (and Audeze LCD Xs, but they are low impedance and easy to drive).  

Should have proofread!  Sorry for errors!  Most importantly, I meant to say that Lynx said that if I purchased a new Hilo today it would be technologically the same as the one I purchased in 2013 --  so you could buy a used older one in good condition and get the essential equivalent of a new one.

CJ PV10AR