Hello folks, this is my review with these great earbuds and iems from Toneking and the latest offering from Blon, the BL-03. Sorry if this review isn't focus to one product.




Toneking Unicorn


Build quality- Very light and durable, The stock cable however are not the same quality, easily gets oxidized and had a bit of that sticky feeling out of the box. Foamies are a must when using the Unicorns as it helps bring a more fuller sound and a better fit..

Fit- Keeps falling out without foams depending on your ear size, and as expected, isolation is very poor, almost no outside noise blockage at all.


Sound Signature: Stock

Bass- Like majority of earbuds this cant reproduce subbass that well, about 40hz and below and it starts to roll off but not in a drastic way. other than that it has a very good response from above 40hz onwards, bass is snappy and has a good texture to it. Has a midbass elevation that adds warmth.

Midrange- Warm but natural sounding have a more intimate presentation, a little muffled when compared to others.

Treble- Mellow treble but still has good amount of air, very good for longer listening.

Soundstage- Due to its more open presentation is has a more wider feeling and resembles a full sized headphones huge sound. Imaging is on par with the others, but because of its lack of isolation microdetails are less audible.

The Unicorn has a huge and open sound, offers wide stereo soundstage with great imaging, though not as resolving as the other Tonekings but still retains the organic house sound. But I would not recommend it if your prefer hip-hop, edm or other similar genres that requires a hard hitting low end.



Nine Tails/ 9way


Build quality- The metal housing of the drivers looks and feels durable, the finish is not perfectly smooth which I personally would've wanted but nonetheless its a solid build and feels more premium compared to the others. Same with the cables, however it's not soft enough nor flexible, the weave is just too tight imo. Also shows a slight oxidation after 2 months of use.

Fit- Made my ear soar for the first 2 weeks but gets more tolerable over time, as of now my ears had almost adjusted to it, I could use it for an average of 4 hrs. before I can sense pain again. Isolation is pretty good for me personally. Could block the outside noise almost completely and could be better when using cables with memory wires as it helps a more deeper insertion and a snug fit. While using the stock cable, there are some occasions were the iem just pops out of itself.


Sound Signature- The 9way sound signature really depends on its filters, it could go from v-shape to neutral, so I will just describe its sound signature using the Default filters and tips.

Bass- Have a proper amount down to 20hz with natural decay and satisfying rumble but the subbass doesn't go really low like the sw iii, has a slight midbass hump that doesn't intefere too much with the midrange.

Midrange- Recessed around 500hz-1khz making the sound thin and lacks body specially female vocals, the rest are properly tuned, very clear and resolving.

Treble- Unstable in this department, at first it sounded relatively organic, but listening more critically, it has a spike at 8khz. This is more audible when using silicons or comparing it straight away to sw iii treble response, it starts to sound proper at 10khz above for that wider stage with good amounts of air.


This is my listening observations from all the filter combos using spinfit tips cp100 (m) which I use rather than its stock tips since it somewhat fixes the mids but not the treble issues, might be not accurate since some of the filter combos I only spent a few minutes of listening.



1. bronze rear + bronze front/ Default tuning- midrange still needs more body, vocals are forward sounding, has the right amount of bass with a slight midbass hump.

2. bronze rear + blue front- same to default but better treble response and lesser forwardness in vocals.

3. bronze rear + red front- same to default with more midbass hump, recessed mids and treble.

4. blue rear + bronze front- adds a few db between 2khz-4khz, adds more clarity and forwardness to vocals, not shouty but can get too energetic, reduces midbass hump

5. blue rear + blue front- Similar to blue rear + bronze front with lesser coloration to midrange. (More balanced tonality but vocals have a closer presentation)

6. blue rear + red front- Similar to red rear + blue front, but a bit narrower sounding, almost similar in bass response, darker treble.

7. red rear + bronze front- More bassy vs. Default, a bit v-shape in sound.

8. red rear + blue front- Very similar to blue rear + blue front but a bit laid back vocals and treble, midbass should be more prominent but I cant audibly hear the difference (Good for longer listening)

9. red rear + red front- Elevated lows with a huge midbass hump, recessed mids and darker treble vs. Default.

Sounstage- Less wider than the sw iii, but it's more immersive and engaging. Imaging is great but the sw iii still delivers the most accuracy on microdetails.

The Nine tails gives an immersive listening experience. Delivers fun bass response, midrange with great clarity, the music is more engaging and exciting. Any tuning issues, whether dips or peaks can be solved using the tuning filters itself or tip rolling so its not a major problem. It's a modders delight and nightmare at the same time.





ShockWave III (fixed cable ver.)



Build- Durable yet light, so light that it felt cheaper when compared to the Nine Tails, almost the same weight to the Unicorn, the fixed cable is average, quite flexible and sturdy but has microphonic issues, also showed oxidation near the part of the cable where it touches the ears after a month of use. I also think the seller might gave me the older batches of sw iii since it doesn't come with the shark fin tips.

Fit- Since my ear canals are small for the stock tips, the foams wont fully fit in my ears leaving the sw iii to somewhat float and doesn't have the best seal, fortunately the lightness helps to keep it in staying. Isolation is average considering my ear canal issues with the foam tips. So for anyone who have smaller ear canals like mine, get some smaller foam tips.

Sound Signature: (with preffered tips)

Bass- Contradictory to its name, it ain't a Bass-oriented iem (the mmcx ver. might be more suited for that). It has the most accurate reproduction and can go ridiculously low when the music only requires it to, much like how good speakers could do, with no audible distortion or excessive decay, very controlled and dynamic with excellent texture.

Mids- One of the most realistically tuned midrange, and very well distinct, super consistent vs. the others specially at more complex songs and louder volumes were the vocals could get more shouty, no noticeable coloration, no dips or peaks.

Highs- Best resolution and extension, totl tuned treble, neutral and airy with perfect finesse. One of the best cymbal crashes reproduction. Burn in will help reduce the initial treble harshness/grain, giving an overall smoother sound (toneking said themselves that burn in adds 10% more smoothness, although its true, I'm just not so sure about that 10% ), slight sibilant and harshness occurs when using majority of the silicon tips so foam tips is more preferred.

Soundstage- The widest out all the earphones in this review, but its spaciousness really depends on the song itself, there are times that it sounded narrow other times you will amazed how far the sounds are coming from. Imaging is super accurate and easier to determine where the instruments/voices are coming from, down to the very little details on the background.

The Shockwave iii is an enlightenment to me to what a true high fidelity audio is like, a reproduction much faithful to its source. Well controlled, perfectly textured low-end, flat midrange and a very smooth and clean treble presentation yet still not forgiving in poorly recorded tracks, its a step ahead in almost everything; resolution, imaging, microdetails, instrument separation, consistency, transparency, dynamics, speed, you name it, the sw iii can do it. This is the best iem Ive heard so far in terms of sound quality and technicality.


Now, just recently, One of my new favorite chinese brand, the blon with its new iem, bl-03, has been gaining more attention and got very positive feedbacks, its one of the chepeast iem you could buy right now that offers decent sound quality and decided to include it in this review, however I think its getting overhyped, just my personal opinion and Ill give the reasons as to why. I have been using it for the past 3 months and comparing it side by side against my modified 9way. These are my thoughts and as to why I consider the Nine tails to be the better one.

Lets go straight right away with the blon bl-03 sound. (Note: Cable swapping and tip rolling is a must since the stock ones are crappy, heck even the writings in its box is questionable like a failed Google translation) Changing the tips to foams effectively improves the mids and highs, I find the bl-03 to sound best using foam tips.

Blon BL-03


Bass- More prominent subbass, but lacks that full bodied bass response and texture, unlike the 9way or Unicorn its midbass is recessed which even gives a colder tonality.

Mids- Dry and thin specially in higher pitched female vocals when using silicons. Using foams tips, the vocals is energetic, but not far to neutral response kinda similar to 9way using bronze filters but refined.

Highs- Grainy when using silicons, on Foam tips its a proper accentuated treble, not piercing or overly bright, no sudden dips or peaks unlike the stock 9way. However it leans on the colder side and sounded artificial to my ears.



Vs. Nine Tails

BL-03 soundstage is considerably wide but lacks depth. Texture, layering and instrument separation is better on 9way, the subbass on the blon is great, but overall sounded incomplete in general as it lacks natural warmness which doesnt sound right. Overall the bl-03 lacks the realistic tonality that Im hearing on the 9way, every sound reproduced is more natural on Tonekings, the bl-03 has a very good frequency response and good extension on both ends but I just dont feel any emotion when listening to the bl-03 and It gets boring after a while. Maybe its just me who isn't a fan of cold sounding earphones now. If you prefer the cold tuning and somewhat more transparent sound, the bl-03 maybe the better choice. But for music and pleasurable listening experience I prefer the modified Ninetails more. The price difference is huge but so is the sound quality, just my humble opinion.

Edit: My unit might actually had been tuned different to majority thats on the market since most folks say it leans on the warmer side instead.
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My Conclusion:

For a person with mild ocd like me, the Nine Tails is such a nightmare of an iem to play with. All in all, its a well engineered single dynamic driver iem capable of producing various sound signature you could think of and with the right configuration and mods, it can give you an amazing listening experience and with a more premium build. The Unicorn, whilst lacking in some aspects, carries that similar organic signature with a more open sound and when modded, its one of the best budget earbuds Ive heard so far. Talking about more in technicalities and pure sound prowess, the Shockwave iii is the clear winner. A perfectly tuned hybrid iem that represents the true high-end audio at a budget price, the only downside? its cables, and the fact thats its non-detachable just hurts, but with regards to sound quality alone? I think Im done with iems, this is it, unless Toneking gets crazier and makes a sw iii in a custom iem body and detachable connector and thats a definite end game for me (Im looking at you v10). All these three delivers lifelike sound unlike the majority of the earphones on the market today. Toneking knows how and what music should sound like. Wp mr. Z

As for the blon bl-03, that brand continues to impress. It keeps on giving great products at unbelievably cheap price. I wish they keep this trend and gain more recognition in the future I just hope they make their future iems with a more realistic tuning approach. As of this time, Faaeal have made their move and released the faaeal Hibiscus which is also a carbon nanotube driver iem, now thats a better battle for the Blon.

(this review will be focused only on build and sound, so no pictures on unboxing or anything, sorry.)

First of all I really dont understand how these headphones got good reviews on amazon and here in headfi (tho 1 comment sums up my whole review)



these things sounded like a pair of beats no kidding, too much mid-bass without the presence of sub bass, muffled mids, meh highs etc. hyping products like these makes me lose my trust in this org, too many people hyping things up then turns out its crap, but anyways heres my take on the Archgon Delicato and also serves as a warning for those who planning on buying this.

So first, the Build quality. Really not much anything negative to say on how these were built, at a price of which I bought these for (60$) its more than what I expected. Quality plastics were used with some metal parts for the headband. good and comfy pleather pads and headband. although I really didnt like the added rose gold accent. Images for the headphones can be find here on this thread- https://www.head-fi.org/threads/archgon-delicato-over-ear-hi-res-headphones-impressions.880507/. <bogus thread imho>.

And the Important thing the sound. Its pretty much what you would here on a pair of beats or other generic bass centered cans, Its like they've just a assembled a pair of headphones with a solid build + rhodium plated drivers but didn't even tried listening to it, what a waste.

Bass- super bloated mid-bass with only minimal sub-bass, covers the whole freq spectrum.
Mids- muffled, slightly recessed
Highs- average, but with those mid-bass overpowering it...oof

Soundstage is relatively small, its a very intimate pair of headphones, with details slapping into your ears. Imaging is decent.

Its been a week since I have these but cant even listen to it for over an hour, So....Ive tried to find the problem that makes this headphones sound bad, and what Ive found is that;

-the pads, although are of good quality, its totally a mismatch with these headphones, it adds too much mid-bass and muddiness to the sound signature, ruins the whole frequency. I would suggest replacing it with velours. Tried putting a hybrid one but the results are awful, pleather would work too but not all, ordered at least 5 different kind of pleather pads but none of them suits. till I slapped my good ol' b8 pads, modifications inside needs to be done also. what I personally did is by covering the bass port. then poke 3 needle holes on the 4 holes covered with a black tape. sounded way more natural with an overall warm signature which I expected to sound like in its stock form, mids are now slightly pronounced which i prefer and highs have more sparkle to it. no certain frequency overpowering the others.

-the drivers, are rhodium-plated. first time hearing these kind of a driver but the resolution is almost on par with the ones I have in my b8 which are beryllium alloy. but I personally still prefer those. One major issue that these drivers cant do its the reproduction of 60hz down to 20hz, heck it even says it can go as low as to 5hz but i doubt it. Starts to crackle when I turn the volume up to around 80%

Conclusion:

The Delicato had some potential in them, but still doesn't reached my expectations and based on the reviews that other people commented, its pure BS.

My v80 just arrived today, So this is only my first impressions with them.

Pros: The build. its very durable and the cable is also nice. however i dont like the stock silicon tips, its just like the ones you get on kz's, needs to change it. detail retrieval and Imaging is very good, sub-bass is boosted but not overblown, its tight and well-controlled, isolation is also great.

Cons: Lacks accessories, Very sharp at the highs that are intolerable for my ears, also very sibilant especially at female vocals, also the mid-bass bleeds into the mids making the sound a bit too thick for my taste, the mids are not badly recessed its just that is gets overlaid by too much mid-bass. not very good for vocals overall. only good for certain genres like hip-hop, rap, edm..

Sound quality ootb is a dissapointment, it sounded very unnatural, if without the harsh highs it sounded almost identical to my kz zs3. the soundstage is narrow. mid-bass is more than enough. To sum it up this is a very v-shape sounding iem, personally not a fan of it, but this might be perfect for some. Trn suggets to burn it in to achieve its true tonality but for now...its meh. if this wont get better overtime then I highly suggest you skip buying this one...for now.


edit: Final thoughts,


After 24 hours of break in period which trn suggested, the harsh highs and mid-bass bleeds didn't improved, although mids smoothened up, but thats all I can really notice. female vocals still sounded thin, grainy, sometimes distorted and unnatural, I highly suggest listening to 0:30-0:33 of Loona's "favorite" song its a kpop song that is heavy on female vocals and high freq background instrumentals:



Sibilant even at well recorded songs, and the more I listen to it, the worse the headaches that i get. Thankfully it synergizes well with my zishan z3+burson v5iD. colored mids and roll-offed highs complements the trn v80, but its sibilance can't be helped, worse than my grado honestly.

edit: another good example of songs that doesnt go well with trn v80, for the man below the reply section, since you think one genre is better than the other and personally considered the kpop genre as trash, you may want to consider listening to this.







if you still consider the v80 to be "fairly balance" after listening to these songs, then...¯\_(ツ)_/¯


Although tips rolling will help, and in my case it did, found this little silicone tip lying around and tried it, pretty much fixes the high freq distortions and sibilance, gives an even better detail retrieval but at the cost of soundstage and depth, and bass quality.







Conclusion: the trn v80 was a good opportunity for it to be a well tuned iem, unfortunately the great tuning stops at sub-bass. Seems like their beta testers can't hear higher frequencies and doesn't like female vocals. instead they went in for a consumer grade V-shape sound signature which will wow you at first but eventually get bored at it the more you listen to other genre of songs. I hope they fix it with their next release of their flagship model iem.

In search for a budget grado-like iem/earbud I've come to bought this one just to try it out, I've read Igor's review on this one on his website and pretty much sold to it and fortunately it stays true to his conclusions. but it has some major flaws.



it looks really good, I just wish they've use other color for the cable, i don't hate blue its just that it doesn't work well with silver. (edit: they released a new version with a silver cable)



its feels sturdy and built on quality materials but the metal finishing is not that quite clean, the cables also feels strong but has very little strain relief, better be careful.



having foam tips and without delivers different sound signature that might suit your needs depending on what you like. for me I can't really tell whether I like the one with or without as it has both advantages and disadvantages that I really wished it applies on both.




without foam tips:

transparent and open sounding, but sacrifices low frequencies, this is the one of the most anemic bass ive ever heard in an iearbud.The mids has a huge peak at 2k that overpowers other frequencies, its overly emphasized and fatiguing at some songs, but beneficial at some situations, the resolution is great but not over the top. The highs however is somewhat mellow, maybe bcoz of that overpowering 2k peak.

with foam tips:

the foam tips really helps on bringing up the 250hz-500hz making vocals sound warmer and fuller. unluckily frequencies like 120hz-20hz is still meh. this earbuds definitely lacks sub-bass which is the major disappointment. the transparency is still there though it's still better without the foam. High frequencies remains the same.

With all that said I usually use it with foam tips since it help the music to sound fuller and it fits better in my ears at the expense of sounding narrower than without the foams.

It's a like a mini grado buds, but every unique characteristics the grado have (2khz peak, bass-lite) is being exaggerated by the headroom ms16. but after all that I'm still pleased cause they didn't have those sibilance the grados have, treble region is more forgiving and the one thing I really like about the ms16 is the openness and transparency. it sounded big and spacious unlike other iems or earbuds I've tested.

The Cons:

Now that one thing that I really hate about the ms16 (I hope this issue only occurs on my own unit) is that it acts weirdly on smartphones, the volume controls doesn't work, the earbuds itself doesn't work unless i restart my phone but after that when I unplug it then plug it again it doesn't work again, now i have to restart my phone again in order to use it. It's annoying as hell that's why it doesn't deserve 5 stars. but using it via laptop or dap, it works just fine. idk why is that happening tho I'm really confused. Because of that problem, I would probably not recommend it as a portable choice if you're using smartphone as your source.

Another bad thing is the bass distortion, with the disappointment of the lack of bass, it distorts at high to extremely high volumes. even at some songs that I run on about 60% volume that has huge amount of low frequencies (e.g Mind of the Free-Juno Reactor) the distortions is noticeable. this earbud don't perform well on heavy bass songs.

This item gave to me by Mr. Carlos from Burson Audio in exchange for my honest opinion, btw im brutally honest i dont care if i bought it or someone gifted it as long as its bad, it bad, so you can count on me, i also have a relatively good hearing capabilities, ive only started to care about good quality audio last year, never bought headphones nor speakers during that time, so my ears are not exposed to loud music or anything (can still hear till 17k-18k at most) so some small details that the burson v5i dual can bring, i could notice.

I paired it up with my zishan z3 which i think is a good compliment with this op-amp, as it balances the things i dont like in the z3 tho the sonic difference with the stock op-amp is not too drastic like "wow!" i could say that its an improvement in the overall sound quality.


It fits nicely with the z3, no problems with that.

the v5i dual is bulky but still fits in the z3 with ease, tho some smaller budget dap, it will be a problem.


Btw, before i notice the improvement, it took 2 days of continous use non-stop, i dont know if this op-amp benefit in burn in(?) since the first few hours of it, didnt notice the difference it sounded like the stock op-amp on the z3 which has a shy mids and highs that would make any songs a bit dark and warmy (i didnt like that personally). But after that 2 days, i a/b test them again with the stock op-amp and also with the unused v5i dual, (I have 2 of them, only one is in use) and thats when i realized im hearing the change.

Sound: One thing that I really like the most is the emphasis in the midrange, its elevated but not forward sounding (different from the mids sound signature of the grado which is elevated and forward that might be fatiguing in long hours of use). highs are also now lively and airy which i personally prefer unlike the stock op-amp , the only downside i heard so far is that the mid-bass are subdued, ive noticed it when i played some bass-heavy songs, those "boom" in the music are significantly lessened, this would be a no-no for the basshead type of people, but not for me, i really liked it since the vocals would shine. Now this changes can be easily equalized by the built-in equalizer in the zishan z3, you would think its not worth the buy for this product, I also thought of that but there are still a few things that v5i dual gives that the eq cant provide.

There is a unique reverb or maybe soundstage(?) im not really sure, its making some of my songs sound artificial, but in a good way. its more of like giving the song a 3-D representation versus the typical stereo sound effect (however the effect is only minimal). Aside from that, it adds more lushness and smoothness to the overall sound signature. definitely a huge plus for me since a one of my headphones exhibits sibilance, and listening to them via z3+v5i dual is a blessing to my ears.

So, to sum it up:
(both op-amps have the same degree of details and resolution)
z3 with stock op-amp LM4562NA - warm, flat bass response, dull sounding due to recessed mids and highs
z3 with V5i dual op-amp - 3-d representation, mid-bass-lite, smoother and lively.

If your finding a balance sounding op-amp, this is not for you, this adds color to your music which is a personal preference, It would be a direct similarity with grados, its either you love it or hate it. fortunately i like how they bring color tk the music so this op-amp is for me. Its a true high fidelity op-amp, its clean sounding, details and resolution are great, imaging are accurate, and those added smoothness to the music is just so nice to listen at.

btw, I also reviewed the zishan z3 in its stock form(https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/zishan-z3.22970/) Ive said it there that it doesnt bring a smile to my face, but with z3+v5iD...... : )


Conclusion: Is it worth the buy? well, that is for you to decide, $39 (i dont know if it includes shipping) is a lot, you could buy 2-3 budget iems, which will make you think twice of buying it, this also the reason i rated it 4.5 stars, but for those who has some extra budget and money is not your concern, i recommend it, its not a waste of money, it brings changes to your listening experience, its worth.

Once again thanks for Mr. Carlos for this free trial, this product is definitely not snake oil or anything like some other products are, this one actually works and its great. if this product goes down to a lower price and readily available to lazada, shoppe, aliexpress (i live in asia) i would definitely buy.

Personally for me, i dont understand the hype for daps cause i dont hear any step-up in sound quality with my other audio sources. its more like of a sidegrade instead. maybe more expensive and well engineered daps would put a smile on my face. but not this one, but in terms of portability and ease of use this one takes the cake, tho a major downside is the battery life.

Build: i dont see any problem. its easy to dissassemble and quality of materials are good. overall good. it also looks subtle which i prefer, but one problem for other people is that the buttons in the z3 are loose.

Sound: they are on the neutral side at most. bass are full and flat, no bleeds on the low mid frequencies so its all good, the sad part for me is the mid frequencies of this dap, they're too much recessed for me, even pairing it up with my grado which is known for having an elevated mids in its sound signature sounded flat. but having said that, the two of them makes a great combo for a balanced, warm, and lush music listening experience. but another problem is the highs also being shy, resulting to the openness of the sound being narrowed down but not fully eliminated. luckily the details are still here, and its well represented with great resolution. its also has a clean background, no hissing whatsoever.

now for the worst part of this dap, that most of you will not like is the problem in the software. its still in v0.2 so i hope future patches would fix this problem. the problem is. your music will skip a sec before it started playing, its kinda annoying to me since its makes your listening experience incomplete at the very start, it pisses me of so much, even if used as a dac for laptop and phone, the problem still persist.

Conclusion: a lot of reviews here in headfi prefer the sound quality of zishan over other budget daps like walnuts, ruizu, etc. thats why i cancelled some of my order and decided to buy only one dap to test instead, i also got curious about the AK4490 chip, but to be honest, in terms of pure sound quality, my zenfone does the better job in audio reproduction and ive used many many smarthpones in the past this by far is the most clean, detalied, and balanced in all of them. im guessing they're using hi-res dac, but im not really sure, the only upper hand that the z3 have is to power up high impedance headphones and iems up to 300ohms, and being easier to use when travelling. other than that i dont see any advantages for it only lasts 8hours of music playback. Just my advice for people out there whos planning on buying daps for the sound quality upgrade alone, i suggest go to the more expensive ones that would deliever. However i spoke a person here in headfi, and he said z3 is better to be paired up with higher impedance headphones and iems, so maybe, just maybe, my head gears are the ones at fault here. and since i dont have any iems or cans above 100ohms, i cant really tell. i hope other headfier with high impedance headphones and iems would review this also for a complete review of this one.

First of all its sounded relatively v-shaped, soundstage is wide, imaging is fine. But the midrange is recessed and grainy. bass are not solid but treble is decent but quite sibilant and harsh at some songs, the detail retrieval is decent however the resolution is just ok.

To resolve this personal issues I did some modifications. I suggest you try to mod the ISK-hf2010 if youre not satisfied with its default sound signature.

Build quality on this cans though is great, its built like a tank, you can abuse this one and dont care at all, materials used are quite sturdy but lacks appeal and aesthetics.The wires are quite long, feels cheap but still tough. pads are quite itchy at first so it needs more time to break in. pads on the headband are decent, you wont feel any pressure. The head size in this headphones are quite small, I have a small head but im using it on scale 7 (max 8) or maybe its just me, also the headband adjustment doesnt lock tightly so at some point you need to adjust it back again.

This is I think the best closed-back headphones u could buy at below 100$ that competes high-end headphones, and the fact that its only rated at 16ohms it wont need diesel engine to run this thing compared to other expensive ones.

Eveything of the way it sounds is amazing, the bass are controlled and engaging it can go deep as the music requires it to be, mids are smooth and full and natural, and treble is sparkly but not harsh, not even a bit. To my ears, this headphones sounded a little bit on the bright side, but at the same time its analytical and accurate sounding. soundstage is decent but not wide and engaging (typical of closed backs) and instrumental separation are also great.

Sibilance is non-existent even at bad recordings, aside from that, the looks of this headphones is just excellent. build quality is not also an issue. you wont see any plastics outside, all wood,rubber and metal. but i wont suggest taking it outside, its too heavy and the leather pads gets easily warm if your environment is above room temp.

The only downside is the quality control, well its a chinese product after all so.... mine have an issue with stereo channel being reversed, to fix the issue i bought 3.5mm to rca adapter then connect to another rca to 3.5mm adapter to reverse it back to normal

Conclusion: I think the reviews aside from mine says it all, no need to explain further, its a no brainer to get this headphones, it got everything seriously. just make sure to check the stereo channel first before the return period ends.

this is my first iem that i bought because i just recently destroyed my free earbuds on my phone. i dont usually like iems because of the way that its too close to your ears, it may be irritating for me, and yet it did. the kz zs3 for me is very uncomfortable at first, but after a few days of pain and torture my ears started to adapt and i can now listen for it for a significant amount of time.

the sound quality of this headphones is close to neutral, but with the added bass boost it sounds dark on some certain songs. i also did the slater mod which is to remove the tuning foam inside, the only minor thing i notice is the high mids or the low treble (whatever you called it) is a bit recessed or laid back to my hearing. its sometimes being overwhelmed by the lower frequencies, which can be a good or bad thing depending on what you like, personally its a downside for me since it removes the microdetails of the song, but it causes less fatigue on longer sessions. the treble is not harsh, its quite good actually, theres no sibilance here which is great. Imaging and soundstage is just average.

for the build quality, its acceptable but not that great, but it will guarantee you to last a long time, but the thing i hate about this design is that its not for everyone. since i have smaller ears compared to everyone im having difficulty of using it at first, it really is painful on the top and back of my ears and the soreness may last for hours. so what i did is train my ears to endure the pain and after a few days it adapted. so for everyone who has larger ears than me its not a problem.