[audionab]

Looks like a fancy ZST with metal nozzle and faceplate. I couldn't find the driver configuration but I'd expect new drivers too.

i am predicting that these pairs will be treble cannons

 

[khighly]

Great question. I don't have a real answer for you, unfortunately. Given that this is KZ's first IEM with such a complicated crossover, and given KZ's very low sale margins, I'd imagine that the manufacturing tolerances for this IEM are quite loose. I want to get my hands on a "sibilant" pair of AS10s and A/B compare them to my pair. That way I'd have a more conclusive idea of whether or not it is a user problem or a manufacturing quirk.

I would bet it's wildly varying capacitor/resistor values using cheap low tolerance components. They work fine, but can swing +-10%. They should be hand picked and measured, but I doubt they are at the margins they're running at.

 

[Slater]

I would bet it's wildly varying capacitor/resistor values using cheap low tolerance components. They work fine, but can swing +-10%. They should be hand picked and measured, but I doubt they are at the margins they're running at.

Agreed. Some nice melf resistors would do wonders.

 

[wind016]

I could buy into this. Power source could totally be an issue. Many of us use the TRN bluetooths. I almost exclusively use mine. When I do use wired, I don't use an amp. Could be that the larger BAs are underpowered. I don't really seem to have that issue with the dynamic drivers. I wonder if a larger BA requires more juice? I'm definitely no expert in audio but have been an end-user of early bluetooth, larger home stereos, and custom car audio for many years. I'm still fairly new to iems though.

Oh! One other thing... What do y'all think of TFZ? Are they similar to ibasso or something? Single large graphine drivers. I just grabbed the TFZ Queen and the KZ BA10. Gonna try and compare those the AS10 and return the rest. My iems are starting to pile up and have gotten to the point where I'm going to have to give some away to friends and family. Too many of my KZs sound similar and it's getting rather redundant.

I got the TFZ Exclusive Kings. They are awesome. They perform about as good as the ZS10 to me but more comfortable. There is a big treble peak I need to EQ out. But the treble doesnt get that distorted. Its just loud. May buy a Tone king next. I'm just trying to find a detailed, comfortable, nonsibilant, affordable Iem. It is hard but fun.

As10 and Ba10 are the cream of the crop in the KZs?

I add ZS10 to that. To me it is more detailed than the AS10.

 

[C2thew]

holy crap i just had a revelation.......

(using lg v20 which has a high quality dac)

THE ZS10's and the TRN BT3 are a match made in heaven. The recessed mids of the ZS10's are pulled forward when paired with the TRN bluetooth headphones. I mean the sound suddenly comes alive!!!! It almost sounds like a ZS3 with less bass but a huge amount of detail. The ZS10's become much more pleasant to listen to compared to when they are wired.

If anyone has the ZS10's with the TRN BT3, you will understand that there is a huge bump in sound quality. I just didn't realize it was this much.

The ZS6's on the other hand... meh. Regretful purchase that I would not do again. I can't go back to those ever again.

I'll go ahead and test the BT3's with my old ultimate ears triple fi 10 and report back.

 

[khighly]

The ZS6's on the other hand... meh. Regretful purchase that I would not do again. I can't go back to those ever again.

I'll take them!

 

[Mellowship]

The ZS4 arrived.


First impressions:

Didn't lost time with the cable, put them on the cable I was using with my ZS5, startline tips on, Hidizs Sonata USB-C DAC to smartphone.
Got to take them off in less than a minute.

Only time it happened was with the ED12.

Awfull.

Extreme sibilance.

The kind you can't manage.

Got home, gave it another try with foam tips and my main DAP, the FiiO X3 II.

They are quite enjoyable. Sibilance is gone for the most part.

Bass is strong like ZS3 strong, but doesn't cut into the mids. It has more subbass than ZS3 and less midbass.

Mids are good with the somewhat midcentric FiiO. But are slightly recessed. Male voices seem a little far away. Female are there, but not as lush as with the ATE v1.

Higs are quite good. They amount for a spatious and well defined presentation. Lots of detail. Thanks to the BA, I guess.

First impressions are that it is a V-shaped fun sounding pair of very comfy, very isolating earphones, but might be source dependant. And tip dependant. I am still afraid to try them again with the Sonata.

The nozzles are very different from the ZS3 indeed. They are narrower but with a fat lip.

Let's see what comes from this...

 

[Mellowship]

The ZS4 arrived.


First impressions:

Didn't lost time with the cable, put them on the cable I was using with my ZS5, startline tips on, Hidizs Sonata USB-C DAC to smartphone.

Got to take them off in less than a minute.
Only time it happened was with the ED12.
Awfull.
Extreme sibilance.
The kind you can't manage.

Got home, gave it another try with foam tips and my main DAP, the FiiO X3 II.

They are quite enjoyable. Sibilance is gone for the most part.

Bass is strong like ZS3 strong, but doesn't cut into the mids. It has more subbass than ZS3 and less midbass.

Mids are good with the somewhat midcentric FiiO. But are slightly recessed. Male voices seem a little far away. Female are there, but not as lush as with the ATE v1.

Higs are quite good. They amount for a spatious and well defined presentation. Lots of detail. Thanks to the BA, I guess.

First impressions are that it is a V-shaped fun sounding pair of very comfy, very isolating earphones, but might be source dependant. And tip dependant. I am still afraid to try them again with the Sonata.

The nozzles are very different from the ZS3 indeed. They are narrower but with a fat lip.

Let's see what comes from this...

Update:
Don't know what was wrong with the Hidizs Sonata when I tried it sooner, but I don't hear the same excruciating sibilance now. I remember when I connected it to the smartphone, it froze for some seconds, which it never did before. A faulty connection?
I am listening to the ZS4 now through the Sonata, went through 2 typically sibilant but excellent albums (Us, Peter Gabriel; Graceland, Paul Simon), and everything is fine, sibilance is what I would expect with just any other earphone.
So, my bad. I find the ZS4 very enjoyable, really. That feeling when using the ZS3 and thinking "this is so comfy, I wish it had a more resolving sound", is finally tamed.

 

[wind016]

holy crap i just had a revelation.......

(using lg v20 which has a high quality dac)

THE ZS10's and the TRN BT3 are a match made in heaven. The recessed mids of the ZS10's are pulled forward when paired with the TRN bluetooth headphones. I mean the sound suddenly comes alive!!!! It almost sounds like a ZS3 with less bass but a huge amount of detail. The ZS10's become much more pleasant to listen to compared to when they are wired.

If anyone has the ZS10's with the TRN BT3, you will understand that there is a huge bump in sound quality. I just didn't realize it was this much.

The ZS6's on the other hand... meh. Regretful purchase that I would not do again. I can't go back to those ever again.

I'll go ahead and test the BT3's with my old ultimate ears triple fi 10 and report back.

That explains a lot. I use all my IEMs with the TRN BT3 and APTX setting. I agree with the ZS6. I don't even remember where I put them. Are the ZS10 mids even that recessed? I didn't like the ZS10 at first because I felt it sounded more distant but I just think it has to do with having a larger soundstage than most IEMs.

 

[sino8r]

I got the TFZ Exclusive Kings. They are awesome. They perform about as good as the ZS10 to me but more comfortable. There is a big treble peak I need to EQ out. But the treble doesnt get that distorted. Its just loud. May buy a Tone king next. I'm just trying to find a detailed, comfortable, nonsibilant, affordable Iem. It is hard but fun.


I add ZS10 to that. To me it is more detailed than the AS10.

That's why I got the TFZ Queen. Supposedly, more dark than the rest and has more mids. I guess we'll see. I imagine they are all dark compared to KZ's being single graphene drivers. Too bad there isn't much info on them here or on their own site. They're more of a mystery than KZ for sure. I'd really wish these manufacturers would have better descriptions. All we can do now is buy them, read a review, or attempt to guess the sound by counting drivers. By Monday, I should have the BQEYZBQ3, TFZ Queen, BA10, and the AS10 I got this week. I'll try and give a comparison between all 4. You seem to like similar sound as myself so I'm sure you and some others might be interested. The BQEYZBQ3 and TFZ Queen are supposed to be bassy/mid centric. Not really sure about the BA10. I imagine it's similar to the AS10 but with all the conflicting reviews it's hard to say for sure. I'm really curious about how it will fit.

 

[rfsux]

Did KZ change their ZS10’s tuning in the past months? Do they sound the same as the pre-order ones?

 

[jibberish]

Came home to find the ZS4 had been delivered this week while I was out of town. That. Bass. Tho.

Seriously should be an instant recommendation for people looking for cheap basshead IEMs that are also very capable in all other regards -- they really slam. As others have noted, the cable is really nice too. Really looking forward to giving these a workout this weekend, not convinced on the proper tips for them quite yet.

 

[tripside]

Came home to find the ZS4 had been delivered this week while I was out of town. That. Bass. Tho.

Seriously should be an instant recommendation for people looking for cheap basshead IEMs that are also very capable in all other regards -- they really slam. As others have noted, the cable is really nice too. Really looking forward to giving these a workout this weekend, not convinced on the proper tips for them quite yet.

Small size foam tips work well for me.

 

[Mellowship]

Came home to find the ZS4 had been delivered this week while I was out of town. That. Bass. Tho.

Seriously should be an instant recommendation for people looking for cheap basshead IEMs that are also very capable in all other regards -- they really slam. As others have noted, the cable is really nice too. Really looking forward to giving these a workout this weekend, not convinced on the proper tips for them quite yet.

Yes they are bassy, in a good way.

While I use some sort of silicone tips in the ZS3, to "open up the sound" (presently some Rock Zircon in the oldest and better one, and Sony hibrids in the newest, for the ZS4 I went with foam tips a size smaller than what I usually wear, for this kind of shell needs to rotate a bit while inserting, unlike the zs5. With larger tips it wouldn't rotate to a perfect fitting. I just tried some silicone tips, a varied assortment of them, and the majority world harshen the sound around the 5-7khz.


Here's the family! Notice the black exclusive pair of kz5 and the grey with kz usb-c DAC cable. Both are v1.

Next kz will probably be the as10. When the price falls.

 

[sino8r]

Did KZ change their ZS10’s tuning in the past months? Do they sound the same as the pre-order ones?

I don't think so. Some people were reporting that the mids come alive with a trn bt3 bluetooth set. I'm not sure I've experienced this because I've used the TRN bluetooth almost exclusively. I never thought the mids were lacking just vocals for me.