These are the first "serious" earbuds I've purchased. I was going to replace my AKG K240 headphones which are getting old, but wanted to try IEMs as this seems to be the direction that "mid-fi" is moving towards. After seeing how inexpensive these are, I figured why not try them. (I can always buy more over the ear headphones!) But I had read about the dreaded "treble spike" and wondered if I would be able to hear this, or if it would bother me.
So I received them, and WOW that's harsh out of the box. Extremely pronounced upper mid-range. Cymbals, trumpet, and upper strings seem front and center, and bass was lacking across the board. Ouch. I knew this couldn't be how these were designed to sound. My crappy Skullcandy buds didn't have this issue. On the plus side, these have a WIDE soundstage. Instruments are seperated very well, which allows you to hear new things from old recordings.
Here's how I fixed the treble problem:
1. Low tech fix first. I placed two tiny pieces of of electrical tape over the exterior "vents". Since the tape is the same color as the IEMs (black) its not noticeable. So now I have more of a "sealed" IEM. Not sure how much this helped however.
2. I hooked them up to my AUNE T1 Mk2 headphone DAC/amp. This helped give me some lower end balance. I have the Tube DAC running from my Samsung S8 phone using the USB connection, otherwise the Tube doesn't come into play. Amplification isn't really needed with these, its just to get that warm Tube sound we like!
3. Purchased the upgraded "silver" cable. Fancy. Wasn't sure this would make a huge difference, but everyone was complaining about the crappy stock cable. And now I have a spare.
4. Changed the stock eartips for Comply Comfort Plus Premium Foam tips. I got the assorted size package for $22. That's Half the cost of the IEMs, and you know what - totally worth it. These change the sound quality of the ZS6's more than anything. Highs are still there, but they behave now. Bass is MUCH more present, but not overbearing, except perhaps with hard rock / metal. They sound divine with Classical, Jazz, and pop.
I am now enjoying these IEMs as they were meant to sound - warm, detailed, full soundstage, and good with every genre of music I throw at them. They are more comfortable now, and that's very important for someone replacing a pair of on-ear headphones with IEMs. Do they sound like a $350 IEM? Dunno, but they sound better than the $68.00 total I invested. (Am not counting the cost of the Aune T1, had that for a few years.)
Cheers!
So I received them, and WOW that's harsh out of the box. Extremely pronounced upper mid-range. Cymbals, trumpet, and upper strings seem front and center, and bass was lacking across the board. Ouch. I knew this couldn't be how these were designed to sound. My crappy Skullcandy buds didn't have this issue. On the plus side, these have a WIDE soundstage. Instruments are seperated very well, which allows you to hear new things from old recordings.
Here's how I fixed the treble problem:
1. Low tech fix first. I placed two tiny pieces of of electrical tape over the exterior "vents". Since the tape is the same color as the IEMs (black) its not noticeable. So now I have more of a "sealed" IEM. Not sure how much this helped however.
2. I hooked them up to my AUNE T1 Mk2 headphone DAC/amp. This helped give me some lower end balance. I have the Tube DAC running from my Samsung S8 phone using the USB connection, otherwise the Tube doesn't come into play. Amplification isn't really needed with these, its just to get that warm Tube sound we like!
3. Purchased the upgraded "silver" cable. Fancy. Wasn't sure this would make a huge difference, but everyone was complaining about the crappy stock cable. And now I have a spare.
4. Changed the stock eartips for Comply Comfort Plus Premium Foam tips. I got the assorted size package for $22. That's Half the cost of the IEMs, and you know what - totally worth it. These change the sound quality of the ZS6's more than anything. Highs are still there, but they behave now. Bass is MUCH more present, but not overbearing, except perhaps with hard rock / metal. They sound divine with Classical, Jazz, and pop.
I am now enjoying these IEMs as they were meant to sound - warm, detailed, full soundstage, and good with every genre of music I throw at them. They are more comfortable now, and that's very important for someone replacing a pair of on-ear headphones with IEMs. Do they sound like a $350 IEM? Dunno, but they sound better than the $68.00 total I invested. (Am not counting the cost of the Aune T1, had that for a few years.)
Cheers!
