Kotori Audio Zephyr

General Information

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nikbr

1000+ Head-Fier
Kotori Audio Zephyr - Excitedly Looking Forward to More From This Brand
Pros: Good accessories, understated but interesting looks, deep but comfortable fit, midcentric tuning with bass and treble as support and not overdone, overall experience with Kotori Audio
Cons: Glossy black shells (subjective), large shells for a 1+1 hybrid, not a basshead/treblehead set
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This hobby is an escapist's dream. Escape from daily routine and distress that's causing you via something as sincere and everlasting as listening to music. I believe that the power of music is still not fully understood since it works in mysterious ways. Allow it to do its magic on you and let your worries dissolve in melody.

Having had the possibility to try so many different sets in a relatively short time I felt obliged to go ahead and express my gratitude by trying to help some lost souls out there, just as I was when I first stumbled upon this weird hobby about wired earphones – so yesteryear! … I thought. Possibilities are seemingly endless and only by getting to meet the right people did I manage to jump onboard the train heading the 'right' direction without getting off-track thousands of times along the way. Make sure to understand the helping person's preferences and you too can find your footing and hit the ground running in no time.



Quick Intermezzo About Me

I won't bore you for too long with personal trivia, however my quick & short background resume goes as follows. Currently I am 27 years old and more in awe of sheer power of music by the day. I have always been moved by music just that slight bit more than average, I'd say. My spending started with a roughly 200€ Bose bluetooth speaker back in my first grade of highschool. What an extraterrestrial thing that was in early 2010s. And it keeps on playing to this day – a true testament of quality. Also sounded fantastic back then, nowadays … yeah, not so much. Lots of BT speakers, TWS, car audio speakers, IEMs, etc., later bring me to this day when I truly consider myself an audiophile. What brings me the most joy beside listening to music is singing, so I am currently participating in a choir and challenging myself with solo vocal covers (check the links in my signature to hear my projects). Unsure where all this leads, but the journey itself is marvelous and life is nothing but a journey.

My preference lies somewhere in the neutral camp with just an ever so slight tilt towards warmth, but I try to keep an open mind and truly appreciate any outliers that dare do it differently and succeed. Our ears vary, so do our brain and tastes. I am an advocate for respectful discourse, especially in topics that don't even have many objective undeniable truths. Audio is one of those.

My most listened genres are, in no particular order: jazz, singer/songwriter, slow-paced electronica, ambient, rock, metal, blues, trance, techno & pop.


Disclaimer: I have received the Kotori Audio Zephyr directly from Kotori representatives. Even if I wanted to shill this to the moon and back, I am way too mindful of others' money to overly hype stuff that does not deserve it, so there's that.

Price and date of release are still TBD, however feel free to check out their official site here: https://kotoriaudio.com/collections/earphones


How My Reviews Are Structured

I will start off by mentioning the packaging, accessories, design & comfort, then continue by placing the showcased IEM in my special trademarked graphs & graphics, give it a score on certain qualities, and describe the main sound categories to reach the final star score. Those that are seriously considering the Kotori Zephyr, please do not hesitate to ask for any specifics you want me to answer via private messaging.

I have left the set to burn-in for 50+ hours and listened to songs of varied genres to better convey what one can expect from the Zephyr. As sources I have been using my FiiO BTR7, Venture Electronics Megatron, iBasso DX180, and Venture Electronics RA2B-FE AMP + Prime DAC (in short, called the 'VE Stack'). Certainly no lack of power and quite a different taste on all. Listening was (mostly) done at a volume ranging between 75-85dB. I am using the Moondrop Spring tips and Tripowin Noire cable, but the stock cable is very good too.

Here is the quick and rough description of how I understand various star ratings:

Do not even think about it :star2:
It has too many drawbacks and gets demolished by competition :star2::star2:
This item has the potential but feels a bit too bland and has multiple issues :star2::star2::star2:
Wonderful item with rare and mostly subjective drawbacks :star2::star2::star2::star2:
Eargasmic performance with all the aspects covered at an incredibly high level :star2::star2::star2::star2::star2:

Keep in mind these ratings are certainly affected by the item's price in the overall assessment too. Sometimes that will result in slightly higher score than based solely on my scoring of bass, mids, and treble, while other times it results in a slight penalty if I deem the item a tad overpriced.

In layman's terms - anything rated below 4 stars overall does not get a space in my regular rotation and is either stored and revisited some time later again just to see if my thoughts have changed, or it gets gifted.


I am still catching my stride on how to describe the sound aspects in a clearer way. It is a slow but enjoyable learning curve. I am attempting to make my reviews as ballast-free as possible. The graphics were the step in the right direction, I feel. Capturing the essence of sound characteristics in a less wordy way is next on the list. We all have our own busy schedules and I understand reading a review for 15+ minutes is in (nearly) no-one's interest.


Let's Get Going!

... but before we do, a quick word.


I have always liked companies like Kotori that seemingly come out of nowhere and stir up the market. This release is bound to raise some dust and get Kotori on the map. What really proves to me that they mean business is the insanely in-depth and professional-looking product overview presentation they shared with me, their thought out packaging, and how they happily addressed any questions I had in a constructive manner. Potentially ruffling some feathers here, but this is certainly not always the case in this fast-paced hobby where most seem to be focused on making a quick buck instead.

... OK, back to scheduled programming


Packaging, Accessories, Design & Comfort


Nothing to complain about. The box itself is pleasant to look at with the shapes on the outer sleeve and then the sweet little birdie that is their logo right on the box itself. The layout of items in the box is different and keeps the IEMs hidden from eyesight for longer. A minor nitpick - the actual piece of cardboard that needs to come out of the box to get full access to all items is a bit fiddly and could be rethought.

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The splitter is very nicely designed, but just a tad too bulky in my opinion. I like the L- connector and how this cable handles.

These are an interesting fit with their deep insertion that needed some playing and tip rolling to fit me well. Oh but when they got seated well, they really got seated well. These are now among my comfiest sets that also isolate about as good as passive isolation can.

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Next to the Penon Voltage on the left you can see how much longer the nozzle is on the Zephyr. Thankfully it's aimed very well and allows a fantastic, custom-like fit with the correct tips.

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I'll leave the design for you to decide, but in person these have a nice matt grey faceplate that looks class, while the rest of the shell is dark black plastic which I'm not the biggest fan of, but if that's what's needed for the shell to be shaped this way, so be it.

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Graphics, Graphs & Scores


A warm-leaning midrange-dominant musical set with okay technicalities. Rare sort of set for sure. And, as I like to say, the world is better thanks to it.

As mentioned a little earlier, I have worked on trying to cut down on wordiness and all excess gibberish and rather improve upon my nikbr trademarked graphics to truly be able to compare IEMs visually since that offers an easier-to-comprehend, more interactive and simply more appealing experience.

These truly cover most topics in a pretty straight-forward manner.
I have described each of these in a bit more detail in my previous reviews. If anything remains unclear, here I am at your service.

Six Basic Traits
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Magic Balance Boards
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Soundstage Measurement Tool
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Quarter Circle Playground
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Laidback and neither trebleheady nor bassheady – this is midrangeheady (what a catchy term, I know).

Overall scoring looks somewhat strict, but it was not easy for the Zephyr. It's always tough to put sets like this into a preformed scoring template and expect perfect scores.

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Sound Descriptions

The obvious quartet of categories will be divided into a few important aspects. It is impossible to just proclaim the bass as great or not, there are levels to this hobby and since you're reading this review, you've obviously fallen deeper into this rabbit hole than many.


Bass
(some songs I used: Soldier of fortune by Deep Purple, Summer by Emeli Sande, I'm in Love by Ayo, House of the Rising sun by alt-J&Tuka, Infinity by DJ Pastis&DJ Ninu&Wasi Distorsion, Kuwait by Mazde, Drum solo by Manu Katche, Hislerim by Serhat Durmus&Zerrin, Animamundi by The spy from Cairo)

Quantity vs quality: This won't win as the bassiest nor the most surgical of bass sets. But that's not what it's set out to achieve. And don't get me wrong, while this is far from basshead territory, it never feels completely lacking. It also does sufficiently well in quality aspect for me to not be turned off because of it.

Rumble: Precisely the thing that won't be too impressive while still covering the lowest octaves well enough. It is a bit devoid of that pure devilish rumble that some lust after whereas others just get scared of and feel it's overbearing. Depending on the day and mood I can be in either camp. When I don't want to have my brain turned into an omelette, the Zephyr does wonderfully.

Attack: While both the onset and offset of a punchy bass note are not too finely delineated, it's certainly a decently punchy set and replays kickdrums in a cool way. The anger some of those kicks seem like they carry is impressive.

Decay: Not sure if that's the titanium membrane, but it's a bit on the stiffer side not really feeling like it slowly stops vibrating, but tilting more to the BA side of decay presentation where it's a bit less wet and flowy.

Boominess: None. Thankfully. I'm pretty alergic to that and it is one of the areas that I feel still separates great IEMs from meh ones. It's also the thing that 'regular' folks who aren't as sound-picky as us probably find impressive and mix up with actual quality bass. Not us, we know better.

Bloatedness: Certainly not a bloated set. And the only currently available graph shows that very well.



Mids
(some songs I used: Creep by Haley Reinhart, Rosita by Coleman Hawkins&Ben Webster, Vidda by Ole Edvard Antonsen, Long after you are gone by Chris Jones, Writing's on the wall by Tom Ball, Dream on by Morgan James, Lonely island by Amble, Exhale the ash by Ulcerate, Free bird by Lynyrd Skynyrd, Eyes don't lie by Tones and I, All about you by Sophie Zelmani)

Timbre: Getting this right is crucial in overall acceptance of any set. Always a sensitive topic. Timbre is not an easy one to unfold and pack into these little forms we call words. We also have a different understanding of 'correct timbre'. Hearing the instruments in multiple settings and played by different artists is a must to really get familiar with their intricacies. While it's not perfectly natural to my ears, it also does not stick out and become annoying at any point on the Zephyr. Bass guitar is a touch unrefined and hihats can get a little splashy.

Forwardness: Very forward in their tonal balance, but they stay mixed into the stage at all times, so never too forward in placement. I like it, different to our usual balance where bass and treble are above the mids.

Clarity: Not what I'd count as one of its strengths, but it is not a weakness either. Despite mid-fowardness, there is just a slight veil which depends on what I drive it with too. VE Stack for example adds a good amount of bass while also opening the mids which allows them to breathe better and seem clearer.

Vocals: Male vocals are very well rounded and emotional, while females can seem a bit lacking due to that upper midrange. I do, however, prefer this slightly tamed approach over overdoing the upper mids and risking a shouty and thin sound. So females might sound a bit grainier and huskier than usual. Their placement is very good. Never overflown with the rest of the mix.

Note weight: I'm most sensitive to how the piano is played back. Hearing a grand piano live you can tell just how much body each note carries and how rich it is in under- and overtones. Note weight is one of those risky topics and it quickly segregates the field in two camps, those that prefer a thicker, rounder note weight and hence a more analog approach, and those preferring all-BA sets because those usually have a quicker, less hefty character and a more digital sound. Mind, those are very very severe simplifications of this layered, 50-shade-of grey topic just to carry my point across. This is a pretty lightweight piano playback since it does not have much low end to really feel dense and lush. However, none of the notes feel hollow or too feathery. A reduced note weight overall, but skillfully done.



Treble
(some songs I used: Vidda by Ole Edvard Antonsen, Want by The cure, All about you by Sophie Zelmani, Morning bird by Sade, Animali in Marcia by Gianluigi Trovesi, Ain't no love in the city by Robert Haglund, Barbados by Arne Domnerus, Oh Dear by Sophie Zelmani, Liberty by Kerenza Peacock&Timothy Ridout&Hum Watkins, Shivers by Ed Sheeran)

Crispness/sharpness: A mix of multiple qualities hidden all the way from upper mids high up into treble. There is no straight-cut rule to tackling this and having it fit all ears and preferences. No sharpness ever. Crispness is there however, and it's most likely down to that low treble or presence region that looks scary on the graph, but totally acceptable and a non-issue upon listening. It does mean that cymbals will be a bit more zingy and metallic than elsewhere. Trumpets feel lively and ringy as they should.

Sibilance: Not here. You should really go digging for it. That's why I think the pronounced 4-5kHz and then a scoop out up to 8kHz might be an interesting thing to experiment and perfect further.

Naturalness: Just slightly metallic in overall feel, which might take away some naturalness, but it improves other areas. Still, I would not really recommend it for exclusively acoustic, especially percussion-heavy jazz, recordings.

Air: It does not extend too far up into mystical territory that no one hears yet we do and that's most likely down to the fact it is a single BA that is helping the DD but cannot be asked to do everything.


Technicalities

Soundstage
: A very touchy subject with no objective truths, highly affected by source, and incredibly different from one pair of ears to another. Skipping the effect of our pinna, as IEMs do, is both a blessing and a curse. One has to figure out for themselves what tricks their brain into placing objects furthest away from their actual point source. This feels nicely tall and has no real ceiling, so vocals sit high up and proudly carry the song's flag. Width and depth won't be too jaw dropping, though.

Imaging: Potentially the most crucial technical aspect in IEMs. And this is the reason why I feel soundstage might be just a bit overhyped. The outer edges of where the sound is coming from are not as important to me as their localization and size of the image. Give me a more intimate soundstage with better presented individual sounds over a huge soundstage with more diffused imaging any day of the week. This images very nicely, especially in less crowded songs. Following individual performers and 'seeing' them throughout their gig is not too challenging.

Detail retrieval: A subject that should be cut into even smaller subjects to cover more easily, but I will try to explain it in one. Macro- and microdetails is how they are usually referred to. Macrodetails will be the larger items we can look into. Maybe something like a clap. How well is that clap separated and detailed in its onset and offset. While microdetails would mean delving even closer into that clap – how crisp is it, any minute detail that stands out, possibly the person is wearing rings and those hit each other when clapping. Another one of those that is neither a huge dealbreaker nor a new trendsetter. It sits right there in the middle, somewhere in the average camp. Guitar plucks or lip smacks will remain hidden for the most part.

Cohesiveness: Such an important and often overlooked quality. We focus on bass, mids, treble, etc., but do they work together as a team or is it a bunch of talented individuals pulling to their sides? It never gets out of place. All elements function as a team. While bass and treble are a bit held back compared to most of what's on the market today, they happily follow and stay on duty.


Extra

Fun factor
: This is not the most fun of pairs in the usual way. This will be fun to those who value something different with mids in the forefront. Not as fun for bassheads, trebleheads or naturaltimbreheads.

Q: What kind of source to pair it with?
A: Something revealing that aids the bass to clean it just that little bit more.

Q: What genres are its strength/weakness?
A: Hm, difficult to answer, but purely instrument-based or low bass stuff wouldn't be my pick for this one. It likes male vocals in any accompaniment.


Comparisons

Meet the contestants. AFUL Explorer (1DD+2BA), BQEYZ Cloud (1DD+PR), FitearxQDC SuperiorEX (1DD).

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Zephyr is a more refined Explorer with (even) less boomy bass and better, snappier midbass kick. Midrange is more open on the Zephyr while the Explorer has a thicker and more noteweighty feel. The clarity is easily Zephyr's for the taking, most likely due to the 4-5kHz boost, but the BA would seem to be of better quality in the Zephyr too, since it easily feels more resolving in the treble. Where Explorer makes back some ground is on naturalness and soundstage width. Zephyr wins.

Against the Cloud, the Zephyr feels like it has lots of bass. But the bass of the Cloud is more to my liking in terms of cleanliness. The Cloud does seem more natural and detailed as well, but that's mostly down to the more usual pinna and the surrounding FR area – so that will be tough to judge in A/B comparisons. That said, the Cloud is not nearly as fun in its character as the Zephyr and fits worse with much less isolation. In terms of staging, Cloud feels even more open and one of those that's easy to mistake for earbuds. Not an easy one to settle. Ultimately, I prefer the slightly more delicate approach of the Cloud.

And finally, the more expensive, but recently discounted SuperiorEX. The Zephyr has a better controlled bass with less bloat and bleed into the mids. Those are far better on the Zephyr too in my opinion. Treble is splashier and less refined on the SuperiorEX. It's more or less a one way street in this comparison. SuperiorEX claws its way back into this battle by being the more natural sounding set with sweeter piano playback as a whole and having a more speaker-like presentation where sound seems to be floating around and having more surfaces to reflect off of. Easy W for the Zephyr.


Summing Up The Kotori Audio Zephyr

Coming in at a very well judged price point it does do so much well. Ultimately, whatever I had mentioned as negatives, is nitpicking and very much down to personal preference. I could wholeheartedly recommend this set to those who are not on any extreme of this hobby, be it bass-, treble-, or timbreheads. But if you value midcentric daring tunings and wish for a set that fits custom-like with two well implemented high quality drivers, this is one to consider.


Thanks for reading and stay wonderful.

Comments

ToneDeafMonk

Previously known as TheDeafMonk
I didn't know what to think about the graph but what I can say is this thing is super special.

That Titanium Driver is super speedy and fast with great texture and decay and 1 Knowles BA is keeping up

$ It will be less than you would expect 😉

#AntiHarmanGang rejoice!

Wow what a tuning! 😀
Looking forward to sharing my review!
 

flicker10

New Head-Fier
I didn't know what to think about the graph but what I can say is this thing is super special.

That Titanium Driver is super speedy and fast with great texture and decay and 1 Knowles BA is keeping up

$ It will be less than you would expect 😉

#AntiHarmanGang rejoice!

Wow what a tuning! 😀
Looking forward to sharing my review!
do it fast
 
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