KZ DQ6
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Price: $25
Disclaimer:
I bought these with my own money from amazon to use them for my own use. This review will be as unbiased as possible and this review is not affected by any outside influences. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Specs:
Brand: KZ
Model: DQ6
Wear: In-ear
Interface: 3.5mm plug
Pin Type: 0.75mm 2PIN
Impedance: 24Ω
Sensitivity: 112dB/mW
Frequency Range: 20Hz-40kHz
Detachable Cable: Yes
Whether with Mic: Optional
Unit configuration: 10mm dual magnetic dynamic unit; 6mm single magnetic dynamic unit*2
Product Weight: 30±3g
Cable Length: 125±5cm
Color Options: Silvery/Grey
Overview:
For something by KZ from late 2019, they are not talked about a lot. It utilizes 3 dynamic drivers which are very unique from the company and is the only KZ iem to use this configuration as far as I know. The 10mm double magnetic driver for bass and the 6mm single magnetic driver for the mids and highs. Its encased is a custom iem design housing using resign and a metal faceplate on the back.
Unboxing:
The usual and same KZ unboxing experience with the DQ6 on top and the accessories below in a bag. The box has a picture and the name on the front, a design that is simple but effective for the price range. The ear tips are unusable and need to be replaced. I use the spinfits cp 100. The cable, a 2 core braided cable that tangles and is ok if you don't have anything else to use.
Build Quality:
The DQ6 feels solidly built and the resin and metal are put together nicely with the overall design one of my favorites. It has a molded feeling to it which fits my ears nicely with a fin protruding from the body not bothering me but may bother some with smaller ears. It fits my ears tightly and securely. They fit in my ear and don't protrude as much as other iem's. Sound isolation is a little above average for my ears. I like how when I take them out of my ears I have to pull them a little bit. There's a vent on the back of the faceplate below the logo and another smaller vent on the resin in front of the main driver. The nozzle is small with a little lip at the end but I haven't had any issues with tip rolling. The nozzle is also made from metal.
Sound Equipment:
Cable: KZ Gold Silver and Copper Mixed
Source: Samsung Galaxy A51 5G, Spotify download highest setting
Spin Fits CP100 tips
Sound:
Bass:
For a triple dynamic driver configuration, this iem is not the bass beast one might assume but a nice well-controlled but still impactful bass. On tracks that demand fast bass, it doesn't have trouble but isn't the fastest around. The texture is what really shocked me and bass guitars with that growl sound great on this pair of iem's. It favors sub-bass over mid-bass but still has a decent serving of mid-bass and I don't find it lacking for most tracks. The sub-bass has a nice presence when needed for songs that call upon it. I would rather the bass have more weight but that might just be a personal preference. Impact here is very satisfying and distinct. This is not bass head but should satisfy the average listener.
Mids:
The mid-range is a little recessed with the v-shaped signature of the DQ6 and I would like a more low mids presence. The mids are decent and have enough presence for most songs. Some songs make me want more weight for the mids like on guitars and a little more overall weight would be to my liking. On a technical level, mids have ok detail and texture and they are focused in the middle of the soundstage even though to me it sounds a little towards the left side sometimes. They have less presence than the bass and treble and are ok considering the price. Vocals are on the thin side along with some instruments such as brass. Overall the mids have nothing special and are average for what they are.
Treble:
Treble was the thing is was going to be interested in being the first iem I would use utilizing dynamic drivers for treble aside from BA's and magnetostatic drivers. The treble is less clear and detailed compared to its BA's counterparts but has a more natural feeling. I've always felt BA's to have more impact for treble than their dynamic driver counterpart. My biggest gripe with the highs and this iem as a whole is the sibilance that it has. Some people seem to notice this and others don't on this pair and I normally don't consider myself treble sensitive. The is roll off and doesn't reach as far as others but the treble is nice tonality-wise and still has a little dynamic performance when not plagued by sibilance. There is some detail but not as pronounced as some other iem's with BA's.
Technicalities:
The sound stage on the DQ6's is very wide probably due to the vent on the faceplate but lacks depth and a more 3-dimensional feeling. The micro detail is present not the best and not the most defined but pretty good for dynamic drivers. Imaging on this is exceptional for the price and I can pinpoint instruments with good accuracy.
Comparisons:
CCA NRA: The NRA has more mid-bass presence and the mids outperformed the DQ6 in my opinion with it having a lesser v shape. The highs are a little more impactful on the NRA due to the magnetostatic driver. I prefer the DQ6 due to the lack and sub-bass roll-off on the NRA. The sound stage on the DQ6 is wider than the NRA but more depth on the NRA which had me looking behind me sometimes. The DQ6 fits me vastly better than the NRA which sticks out from my ear and doesn't have as much support as the DQ6.
Conclusion: The KZ DQ6's are a good daily driver for most types of music and doesn't lack too much of anything for me to feel like I'm missing out on anything. Being the great all-rounder it is and being a good performer compared to some other hybrids with BA's. The overall v signature is good with good technicalities to back it up. I would recommend this to anyone whos not a neutral head or a super bass head but other than that a good entry to Iem's from KZ.
Disclaimer:
I bought these with my own money from amazon to use them for my own use. This review will be as unbiased as possible and this review is not affected by any outside influences. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Specs:
Brand: KZ
Model: DQ6
Wear: In-ear
Interface: 3.5mm plug
Pin Type: 0.75mm 2PIN
Impedance: 24Ω
Sensitivity: 112dB/mW
Frequency Range: 20Hz-40kHz
Detachable Cable: Yes
Whether with Mic: Optional
Unit configuration: 10mm dual magnetic dynamic unit; 6mm single magnetic dynamic unit*2
Product Weight: 30±3g
Cable Length: 125±5cm
Color Options: Silvery/Grey
Overview:
For something by KZ from late 2019, they are not talked about a lot. It utilizes 3 dynamic drivers which are very unique from the company and is the only KZ iem to use this configuration as far as I know. The 10mm double magnetic driver for bass and the 6mm single magnetic driver for the mids and highs. Its encased is a custom iem design housing using resign and a metal faceplate on the back.
Unboxing:
The usual and same KZ unboxing experience with the DQ6 on top and the accessories below in a bag. The box has a picture and the name on the front, a design that is simple but effective for the price range. The ear tips are unusable and need to be replaced. I use the spinfits cp 100. The cable, a 2 core braided cable that tangles and is ok if you don't have anything else to use.
Build Quality:
The DQ6 feels solidly built and the resin and metal are put together nicely with the overall design one of my favorites. It has a molded feeling to it which fits my ears nicely with a fin protruding from the body not bothering me but may bother some with smaller ears. It fits my ears tightly and securely. They fit in my ear and don't protrude as much as other iem's. Sound isolation is a little above average for my ears. I like how when I take them out of my ears I have to pull them a little bit. There's a vent on the back of the faceplate below the logo and another smaller vent on the resin in front of the main driver. The nozzle is small with a little lip at the end but I haven't had any issues with tip rolling. The nozzle is also made from metal.
Sound Equipment:
Cable: KZ Gold Silver and Copper Mixed
Source: Samsung Galaxy A51 5G, Spotify download highest setting
Spin Fits CP100 tips
Sound:
Bass:
For a triple dynamic driver configuration, this iem is not the bass beast one might assume but a nice well-controlled but still impactful bass. On tracks that demand fast bass, it doesn't have trouble but isn't the fastest around. The texture is what really shocked me and bass guitars with that growl sound great on this pair of iem's. It favors sub-bass over mid-bass but still has a decent serving of mid-bass and I don't find it lacking for most tracks. The sub-bass has a nice presence when needed for songs that call upon it. I would rather the bass have more weight but that might just be a personal preference. Impact here is very satisfying and distinct. This is not bass head but should satisfy the average listener.
Mids:
The mid-range is a little recessed with the v-shaped signature of the DQ6 and I would like a more low mids presence. The mids are decent and have enough presence for most songs. Some songs make me want more weight for the mids like on guitars and a little more overall weight would be to my liking. On a technical level, mids have ok detail and texture and they are focused in the middle of the soundstage even though to me it sounds a little towards the left side sometimes. They have less presence than the bass and treble and are ok considering the price. Vocals are on the thin side along with some instruments such as brass. Overall the mids have nothing special and are average for what they are.
Treble:
Treble was the thing is was going to be interested in being the first iem I would use utilizing dynamic drivers for treble aside from BA's and magnetostatic drivers. The treble is less clear and detailed compared to its BA's counterparts but has a more natural feeling. I've always felt BA's to have more impact for treble than their dynamic driver counterpart. My biggest gripe with the highs and this iem as a whole is the sibilance that it has. Some people seem to notice this and others don't on this pair and I normally don't consider myself treble sensitive. The is roll off and doesn't reach as far as others but the treble is nice tonality-wise and still has a little dynamic performance when not plagued by sibilance. There is some detail but not as pronounced as some other iem's with BA's.
Technicalities:
The sound stage on the DQ6's is very wide probably due to the vent on the faceplate but lacks depth and a more 3-dimensional feeling. The micro detail is present not the best and not the most defined but pretty good for dynamic drivers. Imaging on this is exceptional for the price and I can pinpoint instruments with good accuracy.
Comparisons:
CCA NRA: The NRA has more mid-bass presence and the mids outperformed the DQ6 in my opinion with it having a lesser v shape. The highs are a little more impactful on the NRA due to the magnetostatic driver. I prefer the DQ6 due to the lack and sub-bass roll-off on the NRA. The sound stage on the DQ6 is wider than the NRA but more depth on the NRA which had me looking behind me sometimes. The DQ6 fits me vastly better than the NRA which sticks out from my ear and doesn't have as much support as the DQ6.
Conclusion: The KZ DQ6's are a good daily driver for most types of music and doesn't lack too much of anything for me to feel like I'm missing out on anything. Being the great all-rounder it is and being a good performer compared to some other hybrids with BA's. The overall v signature is good with good technicalities to back it up. I would recommend this to anyone whos not a neutral head or a super bass head but other than that a good entry to Iem's from KZ.
When DQ6 first came out, it didn't quite land on my radar.
I was new to IEMs back then, and my primary source of information was zPolt's channel. He loved them, but whenever he added them to one of his sound comparisons, DQ6 was by far the worst IEM in every single one of those to my ears.
Almost a year later, in September 2021, I started hearing about them again, this time courtesy of my friend @RikudouGoku, who started hyping the DQ6 as the best IEM under $300, if you apply a simple mod - cut a piece of earbud foam into 16 parts, and put one of those parts into each of the DQ6's tips. I am normally not the modding type, but the mod seemed so easy, and Riku's claim so outlandish that I had to go and test it. A couple weeks later, the DQ6 arrived, and...
...it was a mess. First of all, the stock tips are some of the flimsiest, thinnest pieces of crap that I have ever encountered. They did not manage to create a seal in my ears at all. After experimenting with some other tips (Sony EX11, KZ Starline, Spinfits CP145), I found the Starlines to offer the best fit - why didn't KZ bundle them with the IEM? No idea mate.
After settling on the Starline tips, I found the sound... Terrible. Awful. Disgusting. It had potential, there were good parts to it (bass response seemed decent, at least), but I absolutely hated them. So I decided to try Riku's mod. I cut up some earbud foams, put them in the nozzles, and...
Okay, what the absolute fudge was that?
The mod sounded so simple and stupid, and I didn't believe it would actually do anything, but... It did.
Suddenly, instead of sharp, music on the DQ6 started sounding warm and soothing. I fell asleep listening to them, and by the morning, I fell in love.
However, the foam mod wasn't perfect. The foams kept sliding out of the nozzle, and I had to put them back in after every single listen. That was annoying enough for me to disqualify the mod. I tried another one of Riku's inventions (used the filter from my Tanchjim Hana 21), but the sound wasn't as good, and the mod was even more finicky.
That's when I had an idea of my own - don't foam tips tend to reduce the treble? Coincidentally, the Polish reseller included some with my DQ6, so I put them on, and... Bam. This was it. They sounded almost exactly the same as they did with the foam mod. I fell in love all over again. That's why, despite usually clowning on the idea of reviewing modded products, my DQ6 will have 2 scores: for silicone (Starline) tips and foam tips. The rationale being: the stock tips are unusable, so you will have to tip-roll anyway. Why not show you just how much more you can get out of this set by just using some good old foams.
All The Disclaimers:
I bought the DQ6 with my own money, nobody is paying me for this opinion, and I'm basing the rating on a comparison with over 60 different transducers (IEMs, Open Earbuds, Headphones), most of which can be found here:
Szymon's Cracked Sound Tier List
You can find a detailed explanation of how my tier list works in my Etymotic ER2XR Review, but as a tl;dr:
I use two rating systems. The Sound Tier is based on sound ONLY, meaning a B Tier transducer sounds better than a C Tier transducer, regardless of the price or anything else. The Star Rating is my overall recommendation, and includes things like price, value, fit, accessories and everything else that could weigh on a product being recommended or not.
As much as I try to be objective, the tier list will inevitably be a little biased towards my preferences - I like a sound signature closer to neutral or warm neutral, and listen to a variety of genres, but mostly rock, metal and acoustic, and probably 75% of vocalists on my playlist are male.
With all that said, let's get to the review!
Build and Accessories
The DQ6 is an immediately very interesting set, because it uses a configuration that's not often seen in the IEM world: 3 Dynamic Drivers. The main driver here is the notorious XUN DD, KZ's very own large dynamic driver, which takes care of the bass and mids here, with two smaller DDs taking care of the treble.
The first thing that stood out to me about this IEM is that wow, it is a lot smaller than the pictures make it look. I expected a behemoth the size of ThieAudio Monarch, but it's actually on the small side. It's a typical for KZ resin shell and aluminium driver combo, which is not a knock against them - it works, is durable, and feels appropriate for the price. As for the design, I got sent a black unit by mistake, and I'm actually kind of glad - the matte black faceplate and smoked resin look great in person.
As for the accessories, you get the typical KZ cable, which is ffffiiiine. It's better than something like the wiry mess included with the Blon 03, but nothing close to the soft cable included with the Tin T2. It's okay, serves its job and doesn't get tangled easily, but I would personally look towards getting a nicer cable down the line.
The included eartips are just awful, though. They are short, thin and flimsy, and I couldn't get a seal with them however I tried. Not that you'd want to anyway, because the sound without foam tips, is... How do I put it nicely.
Stock Sound
Just don't bother. I tried it with regular tips (Sony EX11) again for review purposes, and was borderline scarred for life. In Clean by Taylor Swift, her vocals were incredibly shouty and annoying, the tonality of her vocals also sounded completely wrong. The mbira, which is a sort of hand piano instrument, does not draw your attention here, unlike the real DQ6 (we'll get to it). The bass response is very nice, but overshadowed by the other issues. In DiE4u by Bring Me The Horizon, the vocal is instantly sharp, piercing and very sibilant. The presentation is very muddy, but curiously, lower notes of electric guitars sound better than with foam tips, I presume due to a more prevalent 6k. In Nothing's Gonna Hurt You Baby by Cigarettes After Sex, the bass guitar sounds amazing... Until the vocal comes in and makes your ears bleed.
Stock rating:
Tier: D+
(Tuning: D-, Technicalities: B+)
Sound Signature
When you put foam tips on the DQ6 (or mod it with tuning foam, but I think changing tips is way simpler) it tames the unnecessary peaks in the upper mids and treble, changing the signature to more of a warm neutral kind of tuning. And a damn good at that. The bass shelf is almost 1 to 1 with the one found on the best IEM I have ever heard - the $1700 Sony Z1R. The midrange is similar as well, and the tuning difference between the two shows up mainly in the treble region, where the Z1R is not only better extended, but also brighter.
That is extremely impressive for an earphone that will cost you only about $30 with the required tips. But how does it actually sound?
In short, excellent. It works for pretty much any genre - rap songs like No Name by NF and E-Girls Are Ruining My Life by Corpse are incredibly engaging. Pop songs like 3AM by Charli XCX and Drinks by Cyn sound amazing with very natural and realistic vocal tonality for the female vocalists, while Nothing's Gonna Hurt You Baby by Cigarettes After Sex sounds warm and comforting. Faster tracks like Drum Go Dum by K/DA pull you in with simply perfect rendition of the vocals, but keep you hooked with the drums, which, due to the elevated mid-bass of this set give the track an almost tribal vibe.
But where this set REALLY shines is rock and metal. Tracks like Supremacy by Muse sound not only engaging, but also very "full" in that every part of the spectrum. The electric guitar, the bass guitar, the kick drums, the cymbals and the vocals are all represented in perfect quantities, you don't feel like there's too much or not enough of anything. This is true in a bunch of other songs like Am I Evil? by Metallica (which I prefer on the DQ6 over IEMs like the excellent in its own way $700 ThieAudio Monarch) or Kingslayer and DiE4u by Bring Me The Horizon. I'm especially impressed by DQ6's play back of the latter, notoriously hard song - it is very easy for this song to sound thin and shrill, but the KZ avoids that, giving enough body to Oli Sykes' vocals and keeping the weeping electric guitar >just< forward enough without making it piercing.
This is touching a little on the technical performance of this IEM, but a lot of times when you have a warm neutral set, the treble becomes buried under the bass and mids, but I am pleased to say that it is not the case here. Things like the mbira in Taylor Swift's Clean not only comes through cleanly, but puts you in a state of awe with its amazing timbre, as do the trumpets and female vocals in Dull Flames Of Desire by Björk.
The tonality here is so well balanced that I feel like a shill writing it, but thankfully I have found one issue with it during my review process that I can complain about - there is a dip around 6kHz which makes some lower male vocals and lower electric guitar notes sound kinda veiled, almost recessed in the mix. This didn't bother me often, but in Kingslayer in particular I would have liked more energy for the electric guitar's and Oli's vocals, especially considering how excellently the DQ6 handles Babymetal's female vocalist in that very song. In No Name that dip manifested itself as a lack of crispness in the initial vowels of words, which is extremely important in rap. It didn't *ruin* the song, but it was definitely noticeable.
For the EQ peeps out there, a 4dB peak filter at 6k should fix the issue and make the tonality legitimately TOTL, but I am not an EQ person, so I had to "put up" with only an A+ tuning. Fortunately, DQ6 makes it easy because of its amazing bass.
Bass
Let us not beat around the bush, the bass response is why you get the DQ6. Not only because of the quantity, it's actually less bassy than something like the CCA CRA or Blon 03. What DQ6 has over these two, though, is the bass quality. The texture and detail in the bass response is something frankly mind-blowing at this price point, easily beating out more expensive IEMs like the Tanchjim Hana 2021 or Fiio FH5, neither of which is a slouch when it comes to it, either.
Whether the bass is coming from a real instrument, like the kick drums in Supremacy by Muse, or from a synthesiser, like it is in Clean by Taylor Swift, the sheer amount of texture makes it easy to get lost in the music. There is also a very present sensation I like to call the bass blanket effect, where it feels like the bass envelops you completely. This is a combination of tuning, soundstage and bass quality, and of all the IEMs I have ever heard, only the Sony IER-Z1R does that better than the DQ6. For example, in Nothing's Gonna Hurt You Baby the bass guitar feels like it's resonating through your entire body, as does the kick drum in Sleep On The Floor by The Lumineers. It's great.
That said, while the quality is great, the tuning is what some people might take issue with. For me personally, it matches my basshead target exactly, but bassheads might complain about the focus on mid-bass rather than sub-bass (the bass is more "musical" than "strong") and "muh clean mids" people might complain the fact that it does sometimes bleed into the midrange, like in Clean, or in Out Of My Head by Charli XCX.
That said, one think no one is going to complain is the bass extension - the low sub-bass rumble is very present in Drinks by Cyn, Time by Hans Zimmer and Leaving Earth from the Mass Effect 3 soundtrack by Clint Mansell.
For me, the bass presentation is damn near perfect. It is strong and physical when it needs to be, but it doesn't force itself on you when it shouldn't. It's warm, engaging and enveloping, and makes songs like Drum Go Dum a complete blast to listen to. I would call the KZ DQ6 "the midhead's basshead set". If, like me, you are part of the #nobassgang and prefer a more neutral kind of tuning, spending $30 on the DQ6 and a set of foam tips is the ideal way for you to have an option for when you *do* want some bass in your life.
Midrange
The midrange here is definitely not a "clean" one, like you would get in a Harman-tuned IEM.
It is instead very natural, organic and warm. Going from a more neutral set like the Tin T2 to the DQ6 feels kind of like taking my HD600 and plugging them out of a solid state amp and into a tube amp. Even though you know this is not how the music is supposed to sound, it somehow sounds more real.
Aside from the aforementioned issue where some male vocals can sound a little veiled and lost in the mix, like in Kingslayer, the tonality is spot on, and most other vocalists like Charli XCX and Chester Bennington from Linking Park sound just like they should, as does the acoustic guitar in Something In The Way by Nirvana from their MTV Unplugged album, exhibiting wonderful, natural timbre. A great song that showcases how natural instruments sound on the DQ6 is Supremacy, because of how many are there. But whether it's the strings, the electric guitar, the various drums, the bass guitar, or Matt Bellamy's vocals, all of them sound great.
Detail in the midrange is inconsistent, though. Generally, the lower a sound is, the more detailed it will be. A great few great examples are songs with multiple vocalists like the aforementioned Out Of My Head by Charli XCX and Tove Lo, where Charli's vocals are much more detailed than Tove Lo's. Detail is excellent in some songs that stick to lower tones, for example Oft gefragt by AnnenMayKantereit, where the male vocals and Piano come through more detailed than on my Hana 2021, and then it's nothing to write home about on some others. Kinda hit or miss.
Treble
You would expect this to be the worst part of an IEM focused on mid-bass and lower mids, but no. After a detail slump of sorts in the lower mids, the treble picks up the pace. It's fairly obvious where the treble drivers take over, because higher-pitched sounds like the electric guitars in Supremacy have good detail to them. Nothing outstanding, but more than adequate for the price and competitive with sets like Hana 2021 and Etymotic ER2XR.
Curiously enough, while earlier I said that in some songs with multiple vocalists the lower vocal would be much more detailed, the opposite is the case in Girl Like Me by Black Eyed Peas and Shakira. Will.I.Am and Shakira's normal singing vocals hit the DQ6's "blind spot", but when Shakira start singing in a higher pitch, there suddenly is way more detail in her vocals. Kinda weird.
As for extension and texture, it's decent. In Drinks there is way more shimmer than when listening with something like the ER2, but still not enough for my taste.
The tuning of the treble is generally okay, but the 6k dip really makes itself known in songs like Neon Church by Tim McGraw, where both his vocals and the acoustic guitars sound strangely muffled.
Technical Performance
Okay, but SURELY I'm out of positive things to say about this budget meme by now, right?
...right?
Well, not quite. See, the technical performance on the DQ6, aside from the lack of detail in the upper midrange, is also excellent. The transients here are generally on the heavy side, but fast enough that the earphone never feels bloated. The guitar plucks at the start of A Place of My Head by Linking Park are thick, but crisp.
Crisp is also how I would describe the imaging. In Letter by Yosi Horikawa you are easily able to pinpoint the location of the pencil as it writes a letter all around your head, all over the soundstage...
...and the soundstage is the biggest strength of the DQ6. It is one of the largest, most grandiose soundstages in any IEM. Period.
Bloody period.
It's just amazing. The songs that benefit the most are live arrangements like Nirvana's Unplugged version of Something In The Way, or Björk's The Dull Flame Of Desire. These songs are normally quite disappointing when I use IEMs for them, but the DQ6 manages to give them the space they need to sound their best. So, as we come towards the resolution of this review...
...I need to mention that the resolution on this earphone is also very good for the price. This, finally, is something where more expensive IEMs like Fiio FH5 and Hana 21 start making up some ground in that they are a bit better than the DQ6. The DQ6 is still very resolving though, more so than something like the ER2XR, It manages to separate all the instruments on quite demanding songs like Oft Gefragt and Am I Evil?, which, in my opinion, is absolutely essential for playing busy metal songs like the latter.
The resolution is also helpful in songs that would normally collapse in a worse IEM with similar tuning (like the legendary Blon 03) because of the bass bleed, like the Drinks song I mentioned earlier. Despite a very similar tonality between those earphones, I would much rather listen to this song on the DQ6, because it feels significantly less bloated here.
Conclusion
I feel weird giving reviews as positive as this one. Working a large chunk of my life as a salesman, I started reviewing gear as a hobby in which I could finally be critical of products, instead of talking only about positives. So writing this review felt as if I was selling stuff again instead of reviewing it, but I just can't help singing the praises of this IEM. At this price, it offers insane value, and could be endgame for many people, especially those who use EQ and can boost up the 6k dip I mentioned multiple times in this review. So where will the DQ6 place in my tier list?
Tier: A+
(Tuning: A+, Technicalities: A-)
Value Stars: * * * - worth a blind buy
BUT!
Even though it places near the top of my tier list and I give them all 3 value stars...
I would wait before pulling the trigger on this one.
Why?
Well, first of all, there's the CCA CRA. According to my friend and fellow reviewer @RikudouGoku, the CRA is not as strong as the DQ6 in the bass and soundstage, but is a better all-rounder, doing great even in areas the DQ6 struggles, like upper-midrange detail. Not to mention, it can be worn without foam tips, unlike the DQ6. I have received my CRA last week, but didn't have enough time to fully form an opinion on it yet, especially with another IEM I find even more interesting arriving a day later.
Second of all... Let's get the elephant out of the room. KZ has just announced the DQ6S, a collaboration with another friend of mine, whom I cannot mention on this forum, so I'm just going to talk about the product itself. What the DQ6S is is an attempt to achieve the tonality that the original DQ6 has while using foam tips, but make it accessible to people who do not wish to use them. I do not have it with me yet, but I will try to get a review copy soon enough, and I am proud to say that I have provided feedback on the tuning in order to get it as close as possible to what foam tips make it sound like.
(Just as a disclaimer, I have no monetary stake in the DQ6S, so I have no veiled interests in hyping it up. The person doing the tuning just figured that since I (along with Riku) was one of the people responsible for making the DQ6 popular again, I would be a good person to ask for feedback.)
On that note, the budget space is getting really spicy. Besides the CRA and DQ6S, in the coming month I will also be reviewing the mystery IEM mentioned later. In February, as part of the #nobassmonth, I will also be reviewing some earbuds, including the oft-hyped LBBS, and taking a look back at a headphone that DankPods singlehandedly made sell out everywhere - the Grado SR60e.
The next month is shaping up to be really exciting, so if you want to stay in touch, you should follow me here (I still haven't figured out if that is even an option on head-fi, I should really look into it, hm) and on my YouTube Channel.
I was new to IEMs back then, and my primary source of information was zPolt's channel. He loved them, but whenever he added them to one of his sound comparisons, DQ6 was by far the worst IEM in every single one of those to my ears.
Almost a year later, in September 2021, I started hearing about them again, this time courtesy of my friend @RikudouGoku, who started hyping the DQ6 as the best IEM under $300, if you apply a simple mod - cut a piece of earbud foam into 16 parts, and put one of those parts into each of the DQ6's tips. I am normally not the modding type, but the mod seemed so easy, and Riku's claim so outlandish that I had to go and test it. A couple weeks later, the DQ6 arrived, and...
...it was a mess. First of all, the stock tips are some of the flimsiest, thinnest pieces of crap that I have ever encountered. They did not manage to create a seal in my ears at all. After experimenting with some other tips (Sony EX11, KZ Starline, Spinfits CP145), I found the Starlines to offer the best fit - why didn't KZ bundle them with the IEM? No idea mate.
After settling on the Starline tips, I found the sound... Terrible. Awful. Disgusting. It had potential, there were good parts to it (bass response seemed decent, at least), but I absolutely hated them. So I decided to try Riku's mod. I cut up some earbud foams, put them in the nozzles, and...
Okay, what the absolute fudge was that?
The mod sounded so simple and stupid, and I didn't believe it would actually do anything, but... It did.
Suddenly, instead of sharp, music on the DQ6 started sounding warm and soothing. I fell asleep listening to them, and by the morning, I fell in love.
However, the foam mod wasn't perfect. The foams kept sliding out of the nozzle, and I had to put them back in after every single listen. That was annoying enough for me to disqualify the mod. I tried another one of Riku's inventions (used the filter from my Tanchjim Hana 21), but the sound wasn't as good, and the mod was even more finicky.
That's when I had an idea of my own - don't foam tips tend to reduce the treble? Coincidentally, the Polish reseller included some with my DQ6, so I put them on, and... Bam. This was it. They sounded almost exactly the same as they did with the foam mod. I fell in love all over again. That's why, despite usually clowning on the idea of reviewing modded products, my DQ6 will have 2 scores: for silicone (Starline) tips and foam tips. The rationale being: the stock tips are unusable, so you will have to tip-roll anyway. Why not show you just how much more you can get out of this set by just using some good old foams.
All The Disclaimers:
I bought the DQ6 with my own money, nobody is paying me for this opinion, and I'm basing the rating on a comparison with over 60 different transducers (IEMs, Open Earbuds, Headphones), most of which can be found here:
Szymon's Cracked Sound Tier List
You can find a detailed explanation of how my tier list works in my Etymotic ER2XR Review, but as a tl;dr:
I use two rating systems. The Sound Tier is based on sound ONLY, meaning a B Tier transducer sounds better than a C Tier transducer, regardless of the price or anything else. The Star Rating is my overall recommendation, and includes things like price, value, fit, accessories and everything else that could weigh on a product being recommended or not.
As much as I try to be objective, the tier list will inevitably be a little biased towards my preferences - I like a sound signature closer to neutral or warm neutral, and listen to a variety of genres, but mostly rock, metal and acoustic, and probably 75% of vocalists on my playlist are male.
With all that said, let's get to the review!
Build and Accessories
The DQ6 is an immediately very interesting set, because it uses a configuration that's not often seen in the IEM world: 3 Dynamic Drivers. The main driver here is the notorious XUN DD, KZ's very own large dynamic driver, which takes care of the bass and mids here, with two smaller DDs taking care of the treble.
The first thing that stood out to me about this IEM is that wow, it is a lot smaller than the pictures make it look. I expected a behemoth the size of ThieAudio Monarch, but it's actually on the small side. It's a typical for KZ resin shell and aluminium driver combo, which is not a knock against them - it works, is durable, and feels appropriate for the price. As for the design, I got sent a black unit by mistake, and I'm actually kind of glad - the matte black faceplate and smoked resin look great in person.
As for the accessories, you get the typical KZ cable, which is ffffiiiine. It's better than something like the wiry mess included with the Blon 03, but nothing close to the soft cable included with the Tin T2. It's okay, serves its job and doesn't get tangled easily, but I would personally look towards getting a nicer cable down the line.
The included eartips are just awful, though. They are short, thin and flimsy, and I couldn't get a seal with them however I tried. Not that you'd want to anyway, because the sound without foam tips, is... How do I put it nicely.
Stock Sound
Just don't bother. I tried it with regular tips (Sony EX11) again for review purposes, and was borderline scarred for life. In Clean by Taylor Swift, her vocals were incredibly shouty and annoying, the tonality of her vocals also sounded completely wrong. The mbira, which is a sort of hand piano instrument, does not draw your attention here, unlike the real DQ6 (we'll get to it). The bass response is very nice, but overshadowed by the other issues. In DiE4u by Bring Me The Horizon, the vocal is instantly sharp, piercing and very sibilant. The presentation is very muddy, but curiously, lower notes of electric guitars sound better than with foam tips, I presume due to a more prevalent 6k. In Nothing's Gonna Hurt You Baby by Cigarettes After Sex, the bass guitar sounds amazing... Until the vocal comes in and makes your ears bleed.
Stock rating:
Tier: D+
(Tuning: D-, Technicalities: B+)
Sound Signature
When you put foam tips on the DQ6 (or mod it with tuning foam, but I think changing tips is way simpler) it tames the unnecessary peaks in the upper mids and treble, changing the signature to more of a warm neutral kind of tuning. And a damn good at that. The bass shelf is almost 1 to 1 with the one found on the best IEM I have ever heard - the $1700 Sony Z1R. The midrange is similar as well, and the tuning difference between the two shows up mainly in the treble region, where the Z1R is not only better extended, but also brighter.
That is extremely impressive for an earphone that will cost you only about $30 with the required tips. But how does it actually sound?
In short, excellent. It works for pretty much any genre - rap songs like No Name by NF and E-Girls Are Ruining My Life by Corpse are incredibly engaging. Pop songs like 3AM by Charli XCX and Drinks by Cyn sound amazing with very natural and realistic vocal tonality for the female vocalists, while Nothing's Gonna Hurt You Baby by Cigarettes After Sex sounds warm and comforting. Faster tracks like Drum Go Dum by K/DA pull you in with simply perfect rendition of the vocals, but keep you hooked with the drums, which, due to the elevated mid-bass of this set give the track an almost tribal vibe.
But where this set REALLY shines is rock and metal. Tracks like Supremacy by Muse sound not only engaging, but also very "full" in that every part of the spectrum. The electric guitar, the bass guitar, the kick drums, the cymbals and the vocals are all represented in perfect quantities, you don't feel like there's too much or not enough of anything. This is true in a bunch of other songs like Am I Evil? by Metallica (which I prefer on the DQ6 over IEMs like the excellent in its own way $700 ThieAudio Monarch) or Kingslayer and DiE4u by Bring Me The Horizon. I'm especially impressed by DQ6's play back of the latter, notoriously hard song - it is very easy for this song to sound thin and shrill, but the KZ avoids that, giving enough body to Oli Sykes' vocals and keeping the weeping electric guitar >just< forward enough without making it piercing.
This is touching a little on the technical performance of this IEM, but a lot of times when you have a warm neutral set, the treble becomes buried under the bass and mids, but I am pleased to say that it is not the case here. Things like the mbira in Taylor Swift's Clean not only comes through cleanly, but puts you in a state of awe with its amazing timbre, as do the trumpets and female vocals in Dull Flames Of Desire by Björk.
The tonality here is so well balanced that I feel like a shill writing it, but thankfully I have found one issue with it during my review process that I can complain about - there is a dip around 6kHz which makes some lower male vocals and lower electric guitar notes sound kinda veiled, almost recessed in the mix. This didn't bother me often, but in Kingslayer in particular I would have liked more energy for the electric guitar's and Oli's vocals, especially considering how excellently the DQ6 handles Babymetal's female vocalist in that very song. In No Name that dip manifested itself as a lack of crispness in the initial vowels of words, which is extremely important in rap. It didn't *ruin* the song, but it was definitely noticeable.
For the EQ peeps out there, a 4dB peak filter at 6k should fix the issue and make the tonality legitimately TOTL, but I am not an EQ person, so I had to "put up" with only an A+ tuning. Fortunately, DQ6 makes it easy because of its amazing bass.
Bass
Let us not beat around the bush, the bass response is why you get the DQ6. Not only because of the quantity, it's actually less bassy than something like the CCA CRA or Blon 03. What DQ6 has over these two, though, is the bass quality. The texture and detail in the bass response is something frankly mind-blowing at this price point, easily beating out more expensive IEMs like the Tanchjim Hana 2021 or Fiio FH5, neither of which is a slouch when it comes to it, either.
Whether the bass is coming from a real instrument, like the kick drums in Supremacy by Muse, or from a synthesiser, like it is in Clean by Taylor Swift, the sheer amount of texture makes it easy to get lost in the music. There is also a very present sensation I like to call the bass blanket effect, where it feels like the bass envelops you completely. This is a combination of tuning, soundstage and bass quality, and of all the IEMs I have ever heard, only the Sony IER-Z1R does that better than the DQ6. For example, in Nothing's Gonna Hurt You Baby the bass guitar feels like it's resonating through your entire body, as does the kick drum in Sleep On The Floor by The Lumineers. It's great.
That said, while the quality is great, the tuning is what some people might take issue with. For me personally, it matches my basshead target exactly, but bassheads might complain about the focus on mid-bass rather than sub-bass (the bass is more "musical" than "strong") and "muh clean mids" people might complain the fact that it does sometimes bleed into the midrange, like in Clean, or in Out Of My Head by Charli XCX.
That said, one think no one is going to complain is the bass extension - the low sub-bass rumble is very present in Drinks by Cyn, Time by Hans Zimmer and Leaving Earth from the Mass Effect 3 soundtrack by Clint Mansell.
For me, the bass presentation is damn near perfect. It is strong and physical when it needs to be, but it doesn't force itself on you when it shouldn't. It's warm, engaging and enveloping, and makes songs like Drum Go Dum a complete blast to listen to. I would call the KZ DQ6 "the midhead's basshead set". If, like me, you are part of the #nobassgang and prefer a more neutral kind of tuning, spending $30 on the DQ6 and a set of foam tips is the ideal way for you to have an option for when you *do* want some bass in your life.
Midrange
The midrange here is definitely not a "clean" one, like you would get in a Harman-tuned IEM.
It is instead very natural, organic and warm. Going from a more neutral set like the Tin T2 to the DQ6 feels kind of like taking my HD600 and plugging them out of a solid state amp and into a tube amp. Even though you know this is not how the music is supposed to sound, it somehow sounds more real.
Aside from the aforementioned issue where some male vocals can sound a little veiled and lost in the mix, like in Kingslayer, the tonality is spot on, and most other vocalists like Charli XCX and Chester Bennington from Linking Park sound just like they should, as does the acoustic guitar in Something In The Way by Nirvana from their MTV Unplugged album, exhibiting wonderful, natural timbre. A great song that showcases how natural instruments sound on the DQ6 is Supremacy, because of how many are there. But whether it's the strings, the electric guitar, the various drums, the bass guitar, or Matt Bellamy's vocals, all of them sound great.
Detail in the midrange is inconsistent, though. Generally, the lower a sound is, the more detailed it will be. A great few great examples are songs with multiple vocalists like the aforementioned Out Of My Head by Charli XCX and Tove Lo, where Charli's vocals are much more detailed than Tove Lo's. Detail is excellent in some songs that stick to lower tones, for example Oft gefragt by AnnenMayKantereit, where the male vocals and Piano come through more detailed than on my Hana 2021, and then it's nothing to write home about on some others. Kinda hit or miss.
Treble
You would expect this to be the worst part of an IEM focused on mid-bass and lower mids, but no. After a detail slump of sorts in the lower mids, the treble picks up the pace. It's fairly obvious where the treble drivers take over, because higher-pitched sounds like the electric guitars in Supremacy have good detail to them. Nothing outstanding, but more than adequate for the price and competitive with sets like Hana 2021 and Etymotic ER2XR.
Curiously enough, while earlier I said that in some songs with multiple vocalists the lower vocal would be much more detailed, the opposite is the case in Girl Like Me by Black Eyed Peas and Shakira. Will.I.Am and Shakira's normal singing vocals hit the DQ6's "blind spot", but when Shakira start singing in a higher pitch, there suddenly is way more detail in her vocals. Kinda weird.
As for extension and texture, it's decent. In Drinks there is way more shimmer than when listening with something like the ER2, but still not enough for my taste.
The tuning of the treble is generally okay, but the 6k dip really makes itself known in songs like Neon Church by Tim McGraw, where both his vocals and the acoustic guitars sound strangely muffled.
Technical Performance
Okay, but SURELY I'm out of positive things to say about this budget meme by now, right?
...right?
Well, not quite. See, the technical performance on the DQ6, aside from the lack of detail in the upper midrange, is also excellent. The transients here are generally on the heavy side, but fast enough that the earphone never feels bloated. The guitar plucks at the start of A Place of My Head by Linking Park are thick, but crisp.
Crisp is also how I would describe the imaging. In Letter by Yosi Horikawa you are easily able to pinpoint the location of the pencil as it writes a letter all around your head, all over the soundstage...
...and the soundstage is the biggest strength of the DQ6. It is one of the largest, most grandiose soundstages in any IEM. Period.
Bloody period.
It's just amazing. The songs that benefit the most are live arrangements like Nirvana's Unplugged version of Something In The Way, or Björk's The Dull Flame Of Desire. These songs are normally quite disappointing when I use IEMs for them, but the DQ6 manages to give them the space they need to sound their best. So, as we come towards the resolution of this review...
...I need to mention that the resolution on this earphone is also very good for the price. This, finally, is something where more expensive IEMs like Fiio FH5 and Hana 21 start making up some ground in that they are a bit better than the DQ6. The DQ6 is still very resolving though, more so than something like the ER2XR, It manages to separate all the instruments on quite demanding songs like Oft Gefragt and Am I Evil?, which, in my opinion, is absolutely essential for playing busy metal songs like the latter.
The resolution is also helpful in songs that would normally collapse in a worse IEM with similar tuning (like the legendary Blon 03) because of the bass bleed, like the Drinks song I mentioned earlier. Despite a very similar tonality between those earphones, I would much rather listen to this song on the DQ6, because it feels significantly less bloated here.
Conclusion
I feel weird giving reviews as positive as this one. Working a large chunk of my life as a salesman, I started reviewing gear as a hobby in which I could finally be critical of products, instead of talking only about positives. So writing this review felt as if I was selling stuff again instead of reviewing it, but I just can't help singing the praises of this IEM. At this price, it offers insane value, and could be endgame for many people, especially those who use EQ and can boost up the 6k dip I mentioned multiple times in this review. So where will the DQ6 place in my tier list?
Tier: A+
(Tuning: A+, Technicalities: A-)
Value Stars: * * * - worth a blind buy
BUT!
Even though it places near the top of my tier list and I give them all 3 value stars...
I would wait before pulling the trigger on this one.
Why?
Well, first of all, there's the CCA CRA. According to my friend and fellow reviewer @RikudouGoku, the CRA is not as strong as the DQ6 in the bass and soundstage, but is a better all-rounder, doing great even in areas the DQ6 struggles, like upper-midrange detail. Not to mention, it can be worn without foam tips, unlike the DQ6. I have received my CRA last week, but didn't have enough time to fully form an opinion on it yet, especially with another IEM I find even more interesting arriving a day later.
Second of all... Let's get the elephant out of the room. KZ has just announced the DQ6S, a collaboration with another friend of mine, whom I cannot mention on this forum, so I'm just going to talk about the product itself. What the DQ6S is is an attempt to achieve the tonality that the original DQ6 has while using foam tips, but make it accessible to people who do not wish to use them. I do not have it with me yet, but I will try to get a review copy soon enough, and I am proud to say that I have provided feedback on the tuning in order to get it as close as possible to what foam tips make it sound like.
(Just as a disclaimer, I have no monetary stake in the DQ6S, so I have no veiled interests in hyping it up. The person doing the tuning just figured that since I (along with Riku) was one of the people responsible for making the DQ6 popular again, I would be a good person to ask for feedback.)
On that note, the budget space is getting really spicy. Besides the CRA and DQ6S, in the coming month I will also be reviewing the mystery IEM mentioned later. In February, as part of the #nobassmonth, I will also be reviewing some earbuds, including the oft-hyped LBBS, and taking a look back at a headphone that DankPods singlehandedly made sell out everywhere - the Grado SR60e.
The next month is shaping up to be really exciting, so if you want to stay in touch, you should follow me here (I still haven't figured out if that is even an option on head-fi, I should really look into it, hm) and on my YouTube Channel.
This review was originally posted on my blog and is available in Spanish (and English), with all my reviews, on Acho Reviews Blog and also in Spanish on Acho Reviews YouTube
Let me start out by saying that the KZ DQ6 was sent to me free of charge by a seller on AE, they have not requested anything specific except for an honest review, but as always, it is good to be aware of the fact that it hasn’t cost me anything to try these IEMs. To see the link to their site, please visit the version of this review published on my blog.
Intro…
Something new from KZ is not a surprise, however, something from KZ that is different to anything I have tried from the brand before is!
The DQ6 is the latest release from KZ (unless they have released anything since I received them, which is also possible) and is not the usual KZ hybrid offering. This is a multi-driver IEM, 3 drivers to be exact, it just so happens that all three are Dynamic Drivers, rather than the usual DD+BA that we see on KZ multi-driver models.
I am someone who really likes DD, especially for the bass and lower mids, and some of the best timbre I have heard in IEMs has come from Dynamic Drivers. This means that I was actually excited to try out this new offering from KZ, I mean, if 1x DD is good, 3x must be better no??
Also, as another break from the usual KZ, the shape and style of the shell has changed, making these a set of IEMs that I certainly wouldn’t recognize as KZ upon first glance.
Anyway, let’s look at them one step at a time and see whether they are something to get excited about or not.
Presentation…
The presentation of the DQ6 is not one of the things that has changed. They arrive in the typical KZ fashion, in a small and simple white box. Inside the box we find the IEMs in the typical plastic moulded shape, along with the cable and a selection of tips.
So, it really isn’t any different to the usual KZ packaging.
Build and aesthetics…
Here is where the DQ6 stand out as being different. Instead of the usual KZ shape with either a metal or plastic faceplate (depending on model), they have kept it similar but with a redesign to the shape.
The font plate is smaller and of a different shape than usual, made of metal, with the KZ logo stamped into it (not printed) and a small vent at the bottom.
The rest of the shell is clear, on this set, and has what seems to be a more ergonomic shape to it. On the part of the shell that fits into your ears, KZ has shaped it with a protrusion that helps hold the IEM in place and make sure it is always positioned the same.
This is very similar to the way custom IEMs are made, using the shape of one ear to position and hold the IEM correctly. Now, in my case, this is actually quite comfortable. The protrusion did irritate me for a short while but once I got used to it, I actually liked it. However, I can see this being very different for people with different anatomies, so you would really need to try these out to find out if they are comfortable for you. Luckily, KZ seems to have experimented with this shape on a budget model first.
I don’t see any glaring faults with the build quality, so I have no reason to believe that it will last any less than other KZ models.
Another thing that has changed are the included tips. Due to the redesign of the shape, the insertion is less than before, meaning that tips are shorter and seem to aim to create the seal right at the beginning of your ear canal. In my case, I didn’t get along with this very well.
When using the included tips, I had to opt for a large in one ear and a medium in the other, something that I have never found with any other IEMs or tips (that I can remember). I also got the sensation that they could move at any time (not something that can really happen but they gave me the sensation). In the end, after working through multiple types of tips, I settled on some large silicone tips with a rigid core and not as shallow as those included with the DQ6.
Sound…
As I said at the beginning, I am a fan of Dynamic Drivers, therefore a triple DD set up is something that intrigued me. It also means that KZ should be able to avoid that slightly metallic timbre up top that appears in their hybrid models, although, being honest, they have improved a huge amount in that regard anyway. But BA are not the subject here, the triple DDs are.
In the subbass category, songs like “Way Down Deep” by Jennifer Warnes or “No Mercy” by Gustavo Santaolalla prove that there is plenty of extension and a fair bit of presence in the lowest regions. Anyone who has been following my reviews will know by now that I am not really a bass head but I do like it to be there when needed, and in the case of the DQ6, it is certainly there when needed.
That probably makes sound like it is highly boosted in the lowest of regions but that is not really the case. There does seem to be a bit of an elevation in the subbass as it doesn’t show any signs of roll off and at the same time provides the sub-bass rumble that is needed, be it the songs above or others. I really enjoyed the low end rumble on “Royals” with these IEMs.
The remaining bass frequencies are also slightly boosted over the mids but again, not too much, or at least not too much for my personal tastes with most music. If the track does have a large bass boost in its recording, then the DQ6 can present this as too much bass, but that is not really the fault of the DQ6.
The transition into the mids is decent, without much of a bleed, except in cases like those mentioned above, where the track has too much bass in its recording. In those cases, it is not really bleed but more of an excess that overshadows the lower mids.
In the case of well recorded music, or at least music that is not overly boosted, the lower mids are actually quite pleasurable, with a nice tonality to them. There is a nice body to the lower end of acoustic guitars and the like, without overshadowing the vocals. For example, “Tears In Heaven” by Eric Clapton (Live Version) I found to be pretty well balanced.
Moving through the mids, I don’t really have any complaints at all. They seem to be nicely balanced and with good presence throughout. They are not as lush as the mids on other alternatives but they are far from offensive in any way.
In fact, my first real complaint comes when we reach the sibilance range, as the DQ6 is a little hot for my tastes in this range. After playing around with tips and settling on those that I mentioned above, the sibilance is reduced to a level that is just slightly too hot for my tastes but I can cope with.
The highest of frequencies do roll off slightly and I would prefer them to extend slightly more and present a little more air up top, but to be honest, they don’t do a bad job and certainly don’t leave me with the feeling that a LPF has been added (which some other models do).
As far as speed and definition, again, the DQ6 do a pretty decent job. They are not detail monsters, nor do they push it at you, but they do have more than enough to present you with the feeling that the music is complete, there seems to be nothing missing. The speed with which they do this is also quite decent, even on complex passages, the dynamic drivers hold their posture and don’t fall apart. Again, these are not IEMs that are going to leave you open mouthed with their speed and definition, but they won’t leave you complaining either.
Conclusion…
The DQ6 are something that risks being different from the rest, and I like that. It is nice to see KZ trying other things lately rather than just their hybrid designs with more and more drivers.
Personally, I am a fan of the looks (they resemble IEMs found on many stages) with the fit and comfort suiting me quite well. This is obviously something different for each and every person.
As far as sound, I think they do a good job for their price, which is around 20€. I am a fan of dynamic drivers and this one has 3, so I should be happy right? I mean, the sound is not perfect and there is room for improvement in various places, but in general the sound is pleasant and more than acceptable for the price range.
The only real part of the sound that irritated me was the sibilance I found excessive with the majority of tips but with the ones I ended up using, it is lowered to an acceptable (although still not great) level.
At the end of the day, I think that the DQ6 are a good buy at their 20€ price range and I am happy to have spent some time with them.
SenyorC
Let me start out by saying that the KZ DQ6 was sent to me free of charge by a seller on AE, they have not requested anything specific except for an honest review, but as always, it is good to be aware of the fact that it hasn’t cost me anything to try these IEMs. To see the link to their site, please visit the version of this review published on my blog.
Intro…
Something new from KZ is not a surprise, however, something from KZ that is different to anything I have tried from the brand before is!
The DQ6 is the latest release from KZ (unless they have released anything since I received them, which is also possible) and is not the usual KZ hybrid offering. This is a multi-driver IEM, 3 drivers to be exact, it just so happens that all three are Dynamic Drivers, rather than the usual DD+BA that we see on KZ multi-driver models.
I am someone who really likes DD, especially for the bass and lower mids, and some of the best timbre I have heard in IEMs has come from Dynamic Drivers. This means that I was actually excited to try out this new offering from KZ, I mean, if 1x DD is good, 3x must be better no??
Also, as another break from the usual KZ, the shape and style of the shell has changed, making these a set of IEMs that I certainly wouldn’t recognize as KZ upon first glance.
Anyway, let’s look at them one step at a time and see whether they are something to get excited about or not.
Presentation…
The presentation of the DQ6 is not one of the things that has changed. They arrive in the typical KZ fashion, in a small and simple white box. Inside the box we find the IEMs in the typical plastic moulded shape, along with the cable and a selection of tips.
So, it really isn’t any different to the usual KZ packaging.
Build and aesthetics…
Here is where the DQ6 stand out as being different. Instead of the usual KZ shape with either a metal or plastic faceplate (depending on model), they have kept it similar but with a redesign to the shape.
The font plate is smaller and of a different shape than usual, made of metal, with the KZ logo stamped into it (not printed) and a small vent at the bottom.
The rest of the shell is clear, on this set, and has what seems to be a more ergonomic shape to it. On the part of the shell that fits into your ears, KZ has shaped it with a protrusion that helps hold the IEM in place and make sure it is always positioned the same.
This is very similar to the way custom IEMs are made, using the shape of one ear to position and hold the IEM correctly. Now, in my case, this is actually quite comfortable. The protrusion did irritate me for a short while but once I got used to it, I actually liked it. However, I can see this being very different for people with different anatomies, so you would really need to try these out to find out if they are comfortable for you. Luckily, KZ seems to have experimented with this shape on a budget model first.
I don’t see any glaring faults with the build quality, so I have no reason to believe that it will last any less than other KZ models.
Another thing that has changed are the included tips. Due to the redesign of the shape, the insertion is less than before, meaning that tips are shorter and seem to aim to create the seal right at the beginning of your ear canal. In my case, I didn’t get along with this very well.
When using the included tips, I had to opt for a large in one ear and a medium in the other, something that I have never found with any other IEMs or tips (that I can remember). I also got the sensation that they could move at any time (not something that can really happen but they gave me the sensation). In the end, after working through multiple types of tips, I settled on some large silicone tips with a rigid core and not as shallow as those included with the DQ6.
Sound…
As I said at the beginning, I am a fan of Dynamic Drivers, therefore a triple DD set up is something that intrigued me. It also means that KZ should be able to avoid that slightly metallic timbre up top that appears in their hybrid models, although, being honest, they have improved a huge amount in that regard anyway. But BA are not the subject here, the triple DDs are.
In the subbass category, songs like “Way Down Deep” by Jennifer Warnes or “No Mercy” by Gustavo Santaolalla prove that there is plenty of extension and a fair bit of presence in the lowest regions. Anyone who has been following my reviews will know by now that I am not really a bass head but I do like it to be there when needed, and in the case of the DQ6, it is certainly there when needed.
That probably makes sound like it is highly boosted in the lowest of regions but that is not really the case. There does seem to be a bit of an elevation in the subbass as it doesn’t show any signs of roll off and at the same time provides the sub-bass rumble that is needed, be it the songs above or others. I really enjoyed the low end rumble on “Royals” with these IEMs.
The remaining bass frequencies are also slightly boosted over the mids but again, not too much, or at least not too much for my personal tastes with most music. If the track does have a large bass boost in its recording, then the DQ6 can present this as too much bass, but that is not really the fault of the DQ6.
The transition into the mids is decent, without much of a bleed, except in cases like those mentioned above, where the track has too much bass in its recording. In those cases, it is not really bleed but more of an excess that overshadows the lower mids.
In the case of well recorded music, or at least music that is not overly boosted, the lower mids are actually quite pleasurable, with a nice tonality to them. There is a nice body to the lower end of acoustic guitars and the like, without overshadowing the vocals. For example, “Tears In Heaven” by Eric Clapton (Live Version) I found to be pretty well balanced.
Moving through the mids, I don’t really have any complaints at all. They seem to be nicely balanced and with good presence throughout. They are not as lush as the mids on other alternatives but they are far from offensive in any way.
In fact, my first real complaint comes when we reach the sibilance range, as the DQ6 is a little hot for my tastes in this range. After playing around with tips and settling on those that I mentioned above, the sibilance is reduced to a level that is just slightly too hot for my tastes but I can cope with.
The highest of frequencies do roll off slightly and I would prefer them to extend slightly more and present a little more air up top, but to be honest, they don’t do a bad job and certainly don’t leave me with the feeling that a LPF has been added (which some other models do).
As far as speed and definition, again, the DQ6 do a pretty decent job. They are not detail monsters, nor do they push it at you, but they do have more than enough to present you with the feeling that the music is complete, there seems to be nothing missing. The speed with which they do this is also quite decent, even on complex passages, the dynamic drivers hold their posture and don’t fall apart. Again, these are not IEMs that are going to leave you open mouthed with their speed and definition, but they won’t leave you complaining either.
Conclusion…
The DQ6 are something that risks being different from the rest, and I like that. It is nice to see KZ trying other things lately rather than just their hybrid designs with more and more drivers.
Personally, I am a fan of the looks (they resemble IEMs found on many stages) with the fit and comfort suiting me quite well. This is obviously something different for each and every person.
As far as sound, I think they do a good job for their price, which is around 20€. I am a fan of dynamic drivers and this one has 3, so I should be happy right? I mean, the sound is not perfect and there is room for improvement in various places, but in general the sound is pleasant and more than acceptable for the price range.
The only real part of the sound that irritated me was the sibilance I found excessive with the majority of tips but with the ones I ended up using, it is lowered to an acceptable (although still not great) level.
At the end of the day, I think that the DQ6 are a good buy at their 20€ price range and I am happy to have spent some time with them.
SenyorC
