[Slater]

It comes in a package with a variety of sizes in pairs (3.7 mm, 4 mm, 4.3 mm, 4.7 mm and 5 mm). The correct size for KZ3 is 4.3 mm. KZT has a slightly larger nozzle and uses 4.7 mm.

4mm was the correct size to use on mine. 4.3mm was too large.

https://www.head-fi.org/f/threads/k...essions-thread.698148/page-1171#post-13484497

 

[Slater]

They don't have removable cables. To detach them you'll have to disassemble the housing, then re-solder the wires when you're done. You can always use a twist tie as a chin cinch. Works well enough.

Yeah, that is a good method, or you can use the little velcro wire wrap that KZ used to include on most of their IEMs (before they switched a lot of them to a plain bread bag-type twistie). When using the velcro wrap, you only need to cut a really tiny strip, like 1/2" long and 2-3mm wide. Just enough to wrap the velcro around the wires and back onto itself. It looks a lot cleaner than using a plastic zip tie.

I can post a photo if anyone is interested in seeing what it looks like or what size strip to cut...

 

[Pete7]

4mm was the correct size to use on mine. 4.3mm was too large.

https://www.head-fi.org/f/threads/k...essions-thread.698148/page-1171#post-13484497

I did push the edges of the 4.3 mm in just a little on the KS3. Didn't think to try the 4 mm.

 

[Slater]

well i went back and attempted the slater modification on the zs3--unless i'm blind (a distinct possibility) my sample did not have the black tuning foam. however the red mesh screen, which i did remove, is acoustically impervious--it's hardly pourous at all--and undoubtedly contributed to the sorta veiled, lofi treble quality. the mod does improve things significantly.

Yeah, it is becoming more clear that KZ used the foam on some versions of the ZS3 and no foam on others. I don't know if there was no foam in early revisions and they added it in later revisions, or vice versa. It may also have something to do with the satin black vs glossy black version too.

I do know that a few people reported that their satin black ones did NOT having foam.

In any case, I totally agree with you that regardless of foam or no foam, the red screen is way too restrictive and has a lot to do with the veiled sound. I am very happy with mine once I added the stainless screen (and experienced no noticeable difference with the stainless screen vs no screen at all). Taking into account the protection having ANY screen affords, the order of preference would be:

stainless screen > no screen > red screen​

 

[Slater]

I did push the edges of the 4.3 mm in just a little on the KS3. Didn't think to try the 4 mm.

Likewise, I didn't think to squeeze the 4.3mm on there to make it fit LOL

I'm honestly surprised there's even a 4mm vs 4.3mm size at all! That's the thickness of a business card! I can't imagine the industry really needing 2 nozzle sizes so close together.

 

[Shadab Nabil]

Can anyone suggest me which kz iem to go for at around 10 bucks?
Currently confused between Ate, Ate s, Atr, zs3.

TIA

 

[SomeTechNoob]

Can anyone suggest me which kz iem to go for at around 10 bucks?
Currently confused between Ate, Ate s, Atr, zs3.

TIA

ZS3 hands down for me.

Detachable cable, better clarity, more ergonomic fit.

 

[Shadab Nabil]

ZS3 hands down for me.

Detachable cable, better clarity, more ergonomic fit.

I'm also keen to get that but I want kinda more low end & I have heard that zs3 is high oriented. Skeptical about the fit as well.

 

[ezekiel77]

I'm also keen to get that but I want kinda more low end & I have heard that zs3 is high oriented

Not sure where you heard that, but of the recent KZ "good-to-haves" (ZS3, ZST, ATR), ZS3 is the warmest and bassiest. From what I've heard myself, the ED9 is more high-oriented.

 

[probability99]

getting zs3 as well

Wanna get another normal in ear, kz in ear any good? prefer the cheaper model

 

[Shadab Nabil]

Okay.... Thanks......I can now lock on to the Zs3
Just wish my unit doesn't have any QC issues which are common among KZ

 

[SomeTechNoob]

So far I'm 4/4 good units when it comes to my KZs. Haven't really had any issues.

 

[MD Alimur Rahman]

OK so I couldn't wait Did some A-B testing on HDTracks headphone test disc flac files with KZ ZS5 vs ZST vs UE Triplefi10s shootout (my currently available IEMs) and here are my thoughts:

Sensitivity. TF10s is most sensitive and by a fair margin, while the ZST is slightly more sensitive then ZS5. I guess more DDs take more power to drive. This might also mean potentially more scalability with amping for the ZS5?

Soundstage and resolution. Listened to some jazz and the immediate difference is that with the ZS5 I feel like I'm sitting in a bigger room than the ZST. The TF10s meanwhile are very intimate, but provides more clarity and separation between instruments. There's almost an airy feel to the ZS5 vs TF10s that is similar to going from closed vs open back headphones. ZS5 has better resolution and much better separation than the ZST as mentioned in my previous post. The additional DD and BA indeed are doing their job.

Bass wise, TF10s is powerful and tight (well known). ZST and ZS5 are actually not that far apart (this may change with burn in, as my ZST is well used). ZST can rumble, but ZS5 rumbles with more separation, so the ZST bass is almost a little muddy in comparison. Neither are basshead level, but I do like the slightly stronger and more musical bass on the ZS5. I'm hoping more burn-in will loosen it up further, as the bass can sometimes sound a little tight on the ZS5 right now.

Mids the ZST and ZS5 are somewhat similar, very natural sounding for both male and female vocals. Not sure if the freq curve is biasing me, but I do get a feel there's less of a peak in mids for ZS5, more neutral sounding.
Meanwhile I've always felt TF10s were a bit too warm for female vocal dominant tracks, and this bears out here.

Treble the ZST and ZS5 are again similar, although the ZS5 does provides more detail than the ZST in the highs. High cymbals sound clearer on the ZS5 than ZST. But the main thing is that there's a track with female vocals S sounds that I can always hear some sibilance on the ZST, but this is GONE on the ZS5! For those who feel ZST was too bright/sibilant I think the ZS5 may be the ticket for you.

Overall the TF10s is quite a different animal altogether so I won't go into too much further detail. Between the ZST and ZS5, personally I feel the ZS5 improves alot on the ZST by getting rid of the sibilance, strengthening the bass and with more drivers we get better resolution and separation. Adding a wider airy soundstage with better spatial separation is just more icing on the cake.

I don't have my ZS3 anymore, but from memory the ZS5 should be closer to the ZST than the ZS3, which makes sense from a hardware perspective as well.
I tried the gold cable as well, really can't hear much of a difference (same experience with my ZST and ZS3 with the stock vs silver cable). It feels nicer than the stock, just like the silver one, but I need my mic and volume controls for daily commuting use.

Things I don't like about ZS5
- Hard angular edge design of the earbud makes it less comfy even during in my short hearing session. This does not bode well for longer listening (will try on my commute tomorrow)
- The nozzle on the ZS5 is a straight tube, while ZST has a notch. This means the tips fall off slightly more easily on the ZS5 vs ZST. With my A-B testing, there was indeed 1 time that the eartip was left in my ear when I pulled the ZS5 out
- Memory wire on both the stock and gold cables, although this is easily modded by cutting the wire out

Anyway all in all I like the ZS5 quite alot! I didn't think it was possible at this price point but the ZS5 indeed can give a performance at like 90% of TF10s level of IEMs. Add in the inline mic with volume buttons that work with ios and android and I am now one happy head-fier

Wow! So far I've been burning and listening to the KZ ZS5, since Sunday (today being Wednesday in Beijing, China) and I have to say that these are a winner! ....Well? as long as QC factors don't arise.

Amazingly for the ZS5, 3D and hi-end RES is by far the best in my collection even beating my priced M1221 and K3 HD in that certain area per say. Though, overall clarity still goes to the M1221, while the K3 HD still holds its own for a linear presentation.

I'll try to download some PIC's when I get a chance.....

What about the DAC (Fiio K1) performance for low impedance rated IEM like ZS5..Do Zs5 really need external DAC for using with a smartphone? For getting better sound quality
I heard balance armature driver sometime fluctuate the impedance level for certain frequencies. Zs5 have 2 BA.
Please light up this matter...
Thanks

 

[ricemanhk]

What about the DAC (Fiio K1) performance for low impedance rated IEM like ZS5..Do Zs5 really need external DAC for using with a smartphone? For getting better sound quality
I heard balance armature driver sometime fluctuate the impedance level for certain frequencies. Zs5 have 2 BA.
Please light up this matter...
Thanks

I think you're mixing up DAC and AMP. Impedance/sensitivity is related to power and resistance, and that's handled by the amp. ZS5, like all IEMs, is low impedance, with 2 BA + 2 DD I found them slightly less sensitive (on the same output) than ZST or my UE triplefi10s. But all 3 of these do not need more power than what a normal smartphone or DAP can provide. BAs especially do not need more power, as they require so little energy to move. DDs will need a bit more, but at normal listening levels it's not that much more. I am usually using 50% of my smartphone volume indoors and perhaps 70% when outside.

Meanwhile DAC is related to sampling and conversion. Better DACs can often provide better sound quality (assuming you have good quality files), this is independent to the amp and power requirements of your headphones.

So to your question, yes K1 could improve sound quality but it will be mainly due to dedicated DAC and not the amp. I don't know what you are referring to for BA fluctuate impedance level, but I didn't notice any issues when using my ZS5 on an amp on high gain during testing.

 

[MD Alimur Rahman]

I think you're mixing up DAC and AMP. Impedance/sensitivity is related to power and resistance, and that's handled by the amp. ZS5, like all IEMs, is low impedance, with 2 BA + 2 DD I found them slightly less sensitive (on the same output) than ZST or my UE triplefi10s. But all 3 of these do not need more power than what a normal smartphone or DAP can provide. BAs especially do not need more power, as they require so little energy to move. DDs will need a bit more, but at normal listening levels it's not that much more. I am usually using 50% of my smartphone volume indoors and perhaps 70% when outside.

Meanwhile DAC is related to sampling and conversion. Better DACs can often provide better sound quality (assuming you have good quality files), this is independent to the amp and power requirements of your headphones.

So to your question, yes K1 could improve sound quality but it will be mainly due to dedicated DAC and not the amp. I don't know what you are referring to for BA fluctuate impedance level, but I didn't notice any issues when using my ZS5 on an amp on high gain during testing.

excellent reply..thanks for the wide explanation..Fiio K1 is DAC and Amp but a budget device for entry level. I think i should get one for my smartphone to use it with Zs5 for better performance as you explained.
Thanks again