[Ira Delphic]

  KZ R1 caught me off guard... this earphone is seriously good. Its sound signature is radically different compared to EDSE and ED8. Here are my findings (Keep in mind, I have not used R1 extensively yet, but been rocking a lot since 2 days):
 

• Comfort : R1 is most comfortable of the bunch. I can'e imagine any IEM being more comfortable than R1. It slides right into your ear, thanks to its diminutive size. Sleeping with these is very possible as R1 doesn't outside.
• Build Quality : From jack to Y split the cable is pretty good, and is of same width as EDSE's cable. I don't see tangle issue with this cable. Cable from Y split to earpieces is thinner, but doesn't seem too fragile. There are nice strain relief everywhere except the upper end of Y split. If the cable hardens in future then this spot is to be looked at. Earpieces are made of plastic and are moderately sturdy. They would break if someone happens to step on these.
• Lows : R1 has lot of sub bass and plenty mid bass. With narrow bore it becomes just too much and intrudes into mid frequencies. You want to use pretty wide bored tips with these. Sub bass is able to rumble and mid bass hits hard, both collectively slamming your eardrums. I don't see this happening with EDSE or ED8. Last time I had heard such hard hitting lows was when I tried Xiaomi Pistons.
• Mids : Very mildly recessed. Voices sound good, but a get somewhat shadowed by other instruments. No weirdness or spikes in mids though. On equal footing with EDSE.
• Highs : Highs are smooth, I see no sibilence here. Highs are crisp and in enough quantity, a bit less then EDSE.
• Soundstage : Compared to EDSE and ED8, R1 are behind in soundstage. It's narrow, but don't take me wrong, I actually loved this fact. I'll explain this in summary below.
• Misc : R1 are really sensitive and need lowest position of knob on my amp, to reach to my preferred listening levels. They do reveal noise present in Amps, which is usually hidden by earphones with less sensitivity.

 
One word comes to mind while describing R1 is 'aggressive'. Big, hard hitting bass that slams right on the eardrums is something that I had been missing from my earphone inventory. Heck, even 'Extra Bass' Sony XB90EX with 16mm diaphragm failed to produce this much quantity of lows. 
 
Listening to EDSE puts you in middle row, ED8 sounds like as if you are sitting in a back row, while R1 puts you right in the first row. It leaves impression of listening through Big speakers. Listening to EDM tracks was a wonderful experience with R1. Felt almost like being in a club.
 
R1 has been the best value for money for me. Bought it for only $4.65, shipping included.
 
Thanks @Ira Delphic for recommending R1 to me. I quite like these for their different sound, and I am quite enjoying my EDM collection with these earphones.

 
Thanks for sharing your impressions in detail! I'm glad you like the R1's!  I agree on everything you had to say. And the R1 are the only IEM's that I use (other than Pistons) that don't require tip rolling. The medium tips, for me, are just right!
 
(BTW You may recall that after I got my first pair I ordered 3 more, and only received 1 of 3. After dispute I got a refund for the 2 missing pairs - never shipped. Now I need to order more.)

 

[xrM]

Seems like the KZ-R1 with right angle plug only comes in blue and not black.

 

[EISENbricher]

  Seems like the KZ-R1 with right angle plug only comes in blue and not black.

Yeah I just saw pics and noticed that!! I wonder if sound is different as well.
 

   
Thanks for sharing your impressions in detail! I'm glad you like the R1's!  I agree on everything you had to say. And the R1 are the only IEM's that I use (other than Pistons) that don't require tip rolling. The medium tips, for me, are just right!
 
(BTW You may recall that after I got my first pair I ordered 3 more, and only received 1 of 3. After dispute I got a refund for the 2 missing pairs - never shipped. Now I need to order more.)

Yeah the default tips were nice too. 
 
Oh that's great. Currently their store is not showing any items. I wonder what happened... 
 

  I have S-018 also. R1 vs S-018 a short comparison, please? =D

kk I'll try make a short comparison today.

 

[Zoop]

my red ED8m arrived on Saturday. I havent had much time to play with them yet. i notice cable is a bit thicker than the blue ones (my un-educated guess is that the unit is the same, but they change the cable to vary the sound). my initial impression is this: 
 
the red one sounds very much like the blue ones, in terms of general rendering, but i feel they are a bit more amplifier friendly (i used Denon DA300usb with JDS Lab O2, i will try ipad and BMC pureDAC [single ended unfortunately] when i have more time).
 
like KZ described, the red ones are abit lighter on the bass compared to the blue ones. still quite deep, way more than XBA-H3, again, hit pretty hard like the momentum on-ear mk1. but may be because of the slightly lighter bass, it ((appears)) to have a tiny bit more details in the mid (especially background/minor notes). i think the best/most notable finding for me is that, at similar volume, with the blue ones i can feel the deepest bass note vibrate all the way near my throat,  the red ones cant do the same. (volume knob on O2 is around 8-9 o'clock position with 1x gain)
 
sound stage is quite wide, but not as wide as the blue ones.
 
my initial conclusion (with certain guessing) is that the red ones are more mobile friendly, and the blue may be better for desktop (full rig) uses. 

 

[ilikeiem]

  my red ED8m arrived on Saturday. I havent had much time to play with them yet. i notice cable is a bit thicker than the blue ones (my un-educated guess is that the unit is the same, but they change the cable to vary the sound). my initial impression is this: 
 
the red one sounds very much like the blue ones, in terms of general rendering, but i feel they are a bit more amplifier friendly (i used Denon DA300usb with JDS Lab O2, i will try ipad and BMC pureDAC [single ended unfortunately] when i have more time).
 
like KZ described, the red ones are abit lighter on the bass compared to the blue ones. still quite deep, way more than XBA-H3, again, hit pretty hard like the momentum on-ear mk1. but may be because of the slightly lighter bass, it ((appears)) to have a tiny bit more details in the mid (especially background/minor notes). i think the best/most notable finding for me is that, at similar volume, with the blue ones i can feel the deepest bass note vibrate all the way near my throat,  the red ones cant do the same. (volume knob on O2 is around 8-9 o'clock position with 1x gain)
 
sound stage is quite wide, but not as wide as the blue ones.
 
my initial conclusion (with certain guessing) is that the red ones are more mobile friendly, and the blue may be better for desktop (full rig) uses. 

 
After spending too much time with cheap KZ’s IEMs, I like KZ-ED8m(the blue one) + spiral ear tips the most in terms of sound quality.  No sign of harsh high. No sign of bass distortion like other KZ model. Impressive soundstage with quite good sound resolution. All you need is good source. I think ED8m is on par with $80 IEMs.   
 
BTW, ED8s (the red one) is not my taste.

 

[Zoop]

   
After spending too much time with cheap KZ’s IEMs, I like KZ-ED8m(the blue one) + spiral ear tips the most in terms of sound quality.  No sign of harsh high. No sign of bass distortion like other KZ model. Impressive soundstage with quite good sound resolution. All you need is good source. I think ED8m is on par with $80 IEMs.   
 
BTW, ED8s (the red one) is not my taste.

to me, the red ones are abit like the book shelf speakers and the blues are floorstanders. you can easily tell they are from the same family, but the red ones just doesnt dive as deep and not quite as full. but far easier to control with lesser kit.

 

[EISENbricher]

my red ED8m arrived on Saturday. I havent had much time to play with them yet. i notice cable is a bit thicker than the blue ones (my un-educated guess is that the unit is the same, but they change the cable to vary the sound). my initial impression is this: 

the red one sounds very much like the blue ones, in terms of general rendering, but i feel they are a bit more amplifier friendly (i used Denon DA300usb with JDS Lab O2, i will try ipad and BMC pureDAC [single ended unfortunately] when i have more time).

like KZ described, the red ones are abit lighter on the bass compared to the blue ones. still quite deep, way more than XBA-H3, again, hit pretty hard like the momentum on-ear mk1. but may be because of the slightly lighter bass, it ((appears)) to have a tiny bit more details in the mid (especially background/minor notes). i think the best/most notable finding for me is that, at similar volume, with the blue ones i can feel the deepest bass note vibrate all the way near my throat,  the red ones cant do the same. (volume knob on O2 is around 8-9 o'clock position with 1x gain)

sound stage is quite wide, but not as wide as the blue ones.

my initial conclusion (with certain guessing) is that the red ones are more mobile friendly, and the blue may be better for desktop (full rig) uses. 

Good impressions.I have the red ones and I agree to most of the part. Too bad my blue ones were lost by China Post. Never reached to me. I'd love to make a comparison.

 

[tremonade]

Hello. I am new to this forum. I would like to know which IEM I should buy among these two.
Knowledge Zenith ED8M or Knowledge Zenith ED Special Edition?
Only these two are available here and both costs around $7.5 here.
So please suggest me the better one. I currently use the Soundmagic ES18.

 

[EISENbricher]

Looking closer I see different numbers embossed on R1.
6 on left and 5 on right. I wonder what these can mean...

 

[Shawn71]

Looking closer I see different numbers embossed on R1.
6 on left and 5 on right. I wonder what these can mean...

very 3rd pair?.....

 

[hqssui]

Too bad it's out of stock in the Aliexpress store .. I was really tempted to get one after seeing EISENbricher's review ..

 

[Hisoundfi]

I think it's hilarious they spelled knowledge wrong on the R-1!

Ironic!

Still it's a great little earphone!

 

[Hisoundfi]

"KONWLEDGE"

 

[EISENbricher]

I have
 
S
-
018
 
also
.
 
R1
 
vs
 
S
-
018
 
a short
 
comparison
,
 
please
?
 
=
D

Just did some comparison with S-018. Here's what I can figure out.

Bass : R1 all the way. Large, rumbling sub bass and punchy mid bass. S-018's low section felt as if I was missing something.
Mids : Gotta give S-018 praise for lifelike mids. R1 aren't very behind, bit instead of playing a main role they do a job of playing support and doesn't make you feel anything lacking.
Highs : S-018 extends far in high range. R1 rolls off highs. S-018 sounds sibilent in some songs though.
Instrument separation and positioning : S-018 all the way. Listening to these I get shocks thinking as if the sound is coming from outside and remove my earphone to check.
Soundstage : S-018 is average, R1 is below average.
Misc : I always have noticed a spike somewhere at upper mids in S-018. Sometimes it bothers me.


To summarize this, R1 and S-018 sound quite different. While I was in A-B testing, I missed BIG lows when I wore S-018 and missed some details while listening to R1. For both I have used wide bore tips which I liked the most.

Hope this helps.

 

[EISENbricher]

  Too bad it's out of stock in the Aliexpress store .. I was really tempted to get one after seeing EISENbricher's review ..

It's available at around $7-$8 at other stores. 
 
http://cn1500314513.en.alibaba.com/product/60121014749-800786006/kz_r1_headphone_blue_color_plug_white_wire_music_plastic_in_ear_earphone_for_iphone_6.html
 
Still totally worth the money!
 

I think it's hilarious they spelled knowledge wrong on the R-1!

Ironic!

Still it's a great little earphone!

Hisound, do you own R1? 
 
That mistake btw... really hurts me when I see it lel