This is the flagship Shure electrostatic IEM system, the KSE1500, and it retails for $2999 MSRP.
I bought these used for around $1000 where the first and previous owner had used them for close to two years in mostly a desktop application with a Chord Mojo for some reason, even though the DAC in this is probably better. They were in good condition when I first got them, only the shell of the left earpiece had a slight wobble to it. The previous owner had had the earpieces with the attached cable RMA'ed and replaced a little less than a year before because the cable had developed a lose connection.
The sound: What can I say, subjectively this is the best thing I have ever heard. It's incredibly fast with deep extension while being flat. I thought this was my endgame portable listening experience.
The durability: This is the bad part. Over the course of little over a year I would use this together with a short micro-USB to USB-C cable connected to my phone and in my inside jacket pocket. Amazing sound experience on the go but issues started developing. The micro-USB connector of the unit would become increasingly lose such that it would lose the connection and turn off the music from the phone unless held at an certain angle. In the end the connector would completely rip off the PCB and the unit becoming unchargeable. I have opened the unit and resoldered the micro-usb back on twice now, and this third time I stopped bothering.
The shell of the earpieces increasingly deteriorated. There was a small wobble in the shell of the left ear piece when I first got them but they looked fine. But over time, using them outside, the glue holding the two shells together of both earpieces have completely deteriorated and yellowed, probably due to light and moisture. Not that I have let them get soaking wet but they have seen some light rain. Right now, the shell of the left ear piece just falls off easily, as the only thing holding them together is the small friction clip in the back.
After about a year of use the cable also started to develop a lose connection near the connector to the DAC/energizer such that if the cable wasn't held at a certain angle you would hear loud cracks and distortion or no sound at all. When the micro-USB ripped off a third time that was when this thing got put in the drawer. Now that I pulled it out for this review I think the DAC/energizer could make for a nice paperweight.
So in summary: Amazing sound, durability of the unit is poor. Not for portable use, but even then the previous owner who used it for desktop had to RMA it.
