[r31ya]

Been listening to CCA Pianist for whole day today. I think its good for acoustic songs, some orchestra and for female vocals. I am not sure if i can explain what i feel, but in energetic songs (post hardcore, heavy metal, etc (Tremonti, Darkest Hour, Trivium for example) it sounds clamped(jammed?) and feels like sound is concentrated in one place. Its like stage have length but there is no height.

Maybe its a fit problem, i tried a lot of tips, best result was with moondrop tips, because it let me put iems deeper.

PS: is it okay to discuss CCA here or should i go to CCA thread?

I remember reading about KZ higher up being string players
and some KZ IEM tuning have focus on portraying that greatly at cost other genre.

Not how true that string player rumor is
but yea, KZ flagships, things like OG AS16 and AS24 while not quite for all genre, apparently great for string instruments.

 

[Tamizhan]

PS: is it okay to discuss CCA here or should i go to CCA thread?

That thread is not active. Cca and kz have similar tuning, so it's ok to keep it together.

 

[bithalver]

PS: is it okay to discuss CCA here or should i go to CCA thread?

AFAIK KZ and CCA a "brother" companies, so feel free to discuss CCA things in this thread.

 

[bithalver]

Anyone has any idea what is inside ? https://www.kztws.com/products/new-...than-3-million-sales-from-last-classics-model
Maybe the new EDZ Pro X (or whatever it is called actually) ?

Non aff link; I am just curious.

 

[WhereAreMyEars]

I tried a 30 Ohm adaptor with the PR3. It didn't work for me, it robbed the sound of its immediacy and reduced the transient attack, making the sound a little dull.

Alright, I received my 30 Ohm adapter that I ordered before reading your experiences and I can say my thoughts are very similar, however it's not as bad as I expected, and I really think a lower impedance value (10ohm or lower, given that on PR2v2 graphs 10 Ohm already had a very significant impact) could be very promising. Unfortunately as for the cheap aliexpress ones, the lowest I found was 15 Ohm - that might still be worth a shot, but I may also try to just build my own adapter with a lower value.

 

[tmaa]

Anyone has any idea what is inside ? https://www.kztws.com/products/new-...than-3-million-sales-from-last-classics-model
Maybe the new EDZ Pro X (or whatever it is called actually) ?

Non aff link; I am just curious.

It is ZSN PRO2

 

[evasb]

It is ZSN PRO2

Waiting graphs.

 

[haudaikuwa]

Has anyone heard both the castor bass and balanced version? I have the bass version, and was wondering if the balanced is different enough, that I should buy it.

 

[PhonoPhi]

I remember reading about KZ higher up being string players
and some KZ IEM tuning have focus on portraying that greatly at cost other genre.

Not how true that string player rumor is
but yea, KZ flagships, things like OG AS16 and AS24 while not quite for all genre, apparently great for string instruments.

One of KZ original founders was a cello player. AS series are indeed as if "S" were for strings.
AS06 are my go to for Bach cello solo, when one day I will grow to it.
AS16 with its two bass drivers but quite lean bass are still a model pair for classical strings. (AS16 pro with the KZ impedance mishap happened to be better for masses).
AS24 with 8 switches offer a lot there as well - I will likely need a couple more years to fully explore them.

Has anyone heard both the castor bass and balanced version? I have the bass version, and was wondering if the balanced is different enough, that I should buy it.

Yes, different enough - with the balanced - you will get 16 progressively leaner steps from the least bass switches of the bass version.
To my ears - balanced one is a marvel.

It is ZSN PRO2

Looking forward to it, ordered right away, shipped on Dec 20 (so no way a Christmas present, at least in our woods).

Got myself little green Christmas present instead (a new hybrid oldie):

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and everything else you may celebrate!

Holiday Trivia: what IEM is in the centre below?

 

[Spiralman]

Are there any visual differences between CRA and CRA v2? I want to understand which version i have

try this one based on cavity form, also filter on the new cra has visible mesh structure, while older one is seen only under microscope.

 

[haudaikuwa]

One of KZ original founders was a cello player. AS series are indeed as if "S" were for strings.
AS06 are my go to for Bach cello solo, when one day I will grow to it.
AS16 with its two bass drivers but quite lean bass are still a model pair for classical strings. (AS16 pro with the KZ impedance mishap happened to be better for masses).
AS24 with 8 switches offer a lot there as well - I will likely need a couple more years to fully explore them.

Yes, different enough - with the balanced - you will get 16 progressively leaner steps from the least bass switches of the bass version.
To my ears - balanced one is a marvel.

Looking forward to it, ordered right away, shipped on Dec 20 (so no way a Christmas present, at least in our woods).

Got myself little green Christmas present instead (a new hybrid oldie):

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and everything else you may celebrate!

Holiday Trivia: what IEM is in the centre below?

Thank you! I'm gonna have to pick it up, cause bass edition is the best iem I've heard by a huge leap. I thought P1max and Cadenza were something. That middle iem, I don't know what it is. It don't look like anything I've seen.

 

[Marrogwar]

Holiday Trivia: what IEM is in the centre below?

KZ ZSR?

 

[markr84]

Just received the PR3 after my PR2 broke.

As expected sound awful out the box to my ears.

Just as with my PR2 however, they sound excellent EQd to oratory's usound target.

One thing I'd like to add, these are easier to drive than the PR2, so I can now get enough volume with a normal £10 usb-c dongle. However I still don't get the current required with these types of dongles. The sound is brittle and harsh at times. Plugged into my truthear shio, or my desktop amp, the sound really fills out and sounds a hell of a lot better.

 

[r31ya]

CCA Rhapsody comparison with Moondrop Blessing by Mars Chan in facebook audio group,

CCA Rhapsody vs Moondrop Blessing 3 and others with graphs.
.
I bought the Rhapsody for about 36 dollars including shipping. It's a hybrid consisting of 2x 8mm dynamic drivers for bass and 4 balanced armature drivers for midrange and treble on each channel.
.
I'll make this as short as possible and focus on sound only. The peaks at 8 to 9Khz on the graphs are measurement artifacts but inaudible to me.
.
Vs. the 320 dollar Blessing 3, Both are non-fatiguing, Both have no BA timbre and artificial sound associated with bad BA driver implementation,
.
Both have no driver incoherence issues.
.
Both are natural sounding but the Rhapsody sounds more organic while the B3 is more analytical.
.
The Rhapsody sounds smoother to my ears and on the graph ( see graphs ) but the B3 has more extension, details and resolution.
.
The B3 has less pinna gain but both are never shouty nor unnatural pinna glare.
.
The Rhapsody has more bass but the B3 has better quality bass by having clearer sounding texture and bass definition.
.
The Rhapsody has sound-stage and imaging above average for its price but the B3 has more 3d in its presentation and with more defined imaging, also has more space between the instruments.
.
Tonally the Rhapsody is on the warm side of neutral with musically enjoyable bass, The B3 is on the lean side of neutral but has an airier, faster and cleaner sound presentation.
.
If I have to choose only one, the B3 of course as I can simply add bass boost to make it complete and cannot simply add resolution to the Rhapsody, plus the B3 looks much better to me. But if I have to choose only one from my entire modest IEM collection excluding the B3, I will take the Rhapsody without hesitation.
.
The reason why I'm comparing these two sets with a big price gap is Rhapsody delivers the promise of KZ, offering sound quality comparable to much higher priced products at very affordable prices, But not quite up to 1,000- dollars (wink2x).
.
Vs. Simgot EA500, The EA500 to me sounds a little fatiguing and I couldn't listen to it for more than 30 minutes, The sound stage on the EA500 is flat and situated near your face, lacks 3 dimensionalities, brighter, lacks note weight and lacks sub-bass extension (see graph), all these when compared to the Rhapsody. In terms of resolution, they are about equal, the EA500 will sound to have more of it at first, But the more you listen, the more you realize that the EA500 is pushing the details onto your face while the Rhapsody is calmly presenting the details in front of you.
.
Vs. other sub 100 dollars IEMs,... Just buy the Rhapsody, it sounds overall better than any sub 100 dollars I've heard, I haven't heard the Tangzu FuDu and the Simgot EM6L, but I think they will fair better with the Rhapsody as they also have good graphs, But the Rhapsody can be bought for only 36 dollars, It's a no brainer and in my opinion a must buy or must try.
.
I'm still waiting for my Moondrop May, I've gathered lots of positive things about it, Now I'm wondering where it would land in this under a-hundred-dollar IEM hierarchy.
.
Happy Holidays guys, Cheers!

while i obviously sound sig preference and pet peeve came to play here and he did stated that B3 still kills Rhapsody in tech and resolution,
its still somewhat interesting comparison.
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KZ ZSN 2 (the christmas package)

first impression by Marcello Mariozi from facebook audio group

A celebration of the KZ curve.

Yes, its an improvement on the ZSN family. We got to remember how KZ revolutionize the market with the release of the ZSN, still used in many stages today as IEM for musicians.

Im not an audiophile, I analyse IEMs for stage monitoring mainly.

Extension: plenty. Its a sub-bass improvement over the latest ZSN Pro X and has plenty treble extension as well.

Balance and EQ: it sits on the more energetic side of KZ curves, pronounced V. And also treble centric, (recommended with memory foam for treble sensitives). In that sense of all “old” KZ curve models it has the best treble quality.

Timber fidelity: on par with all KZ curve IEM (ZSN family, ZS10 family and ZAX)

Detail retrieval: amazing…

Stage: good, usual for a 1+1 configuration.

Overall: the best ZSN so far. Getting really close to the ZAX. Rembering the ZAX weak spot (bass), this one is actually better in that aspect! Will take over the ZSN Pro X recommendation and risking taking over the e ZS10 Pro X!
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[Mellowship]

I was gifted a Castor (improved bass) for Xmas. After jumping out of the kz train some years ago, I am really impressed with how fun these sound, and how cool it is to tweak with the tiny dials. The foam tips are also a great addition to these IEMs.