KZ DQS - 1DD iem

TLDR version on YouTube: TDLR - KZ DQS

The DQS have been sent to me directly by KZ. You could say that they were in exchange for this review but in this case, they just said that if I had time and wanted to, that they would appreciate it if I reviewed them.

I have not had any further communication with KZ about these IEMs, so there have been no requests or comments made. I will, as always, do my best to be unbiased and share my honest opinion on these IEMs.

I was going to link to the official page for these IEMs (on my blog), as I usually do in these cases, but I am not quite sure what that link is. The person who reached out to me is from kzhifi.com, which is a website that seems to be an official KZ brand web. At the same time, I have previously dealt with kz-audio.com, which also seems to be an official KZ brand web. Both webs share the same street address (at least that is what I understand from their contact pages) but have different phone numbers, so I am confused

However, seeing that the DQS don’t seem to appear on the kzhifi page but do appear on the kz-audio page, I am going to link the latter of the two. I apologize to the person who sent these to me if I am linking the wrong page, please let me know if I am.

You can find the KZ DQS link by visiting this review on my blog (link at the end of this post)

All of the links I share are always non-affiliate but in this case, I am not even sure who I am linking to, so no need to mention that I receive nothing from clicks or purchases made via the above link.



Intro…

I haven’t really been following KZ lately and although I reviewed the PR1 a few months ago, I really am not up to date on their latest releases. I am sure there have been a few as KZ are usually pretty consistent with new releases and seeing that they reached out to me in late November or early December about the DQS, I am not sure if this is still one of their most recent models or not.

The previous DQ models (DQ6 & DQ6S) that I have tried have been marketed as triple DD’s (emphasis on marketed) yet the DQS is a single dynamic driver. It also uses a semi open shell design and is available, with or without mic, for just over 15€ (at least that is the price on the KZ Official store on Aliexpress which kz-audio sends me to when clicking “buy now”, so I am still just as confused ).



Presentation…

The DQS arrive in the typical KZ style, a small white box from which a cardboard tray slides out revealing the IEMs beneath a clear plastic cover.

Underneath the top layer, we get the cable, 3 sizes of the “star” style KZ tips and the warranty card.

Nothing different from so many other KZ models we have seen in the past.



Build and aesthetics…

The build also follows the usual KZ style, with shells that resemble the other previous DQ models such as the DQ6 and DQ6s, along with some other models. I have to say that as far as the exterior build is concerned, I have never experienced any issues with KZ IEMs and I have no reason to think these will be any different.

The faceplate is different in aesthetics to previous models, this time with a brass coloured mesh type grill behind the openings in the plastic face plate. This does give them a very open back look. I can’t say if they are actually as open back as they look from the outside, it is difficult to tell from their publicity images and I am not going to take them apart to find out.

In general I don’t have any real issues with the build and aesthetics, they are not something I think looks amazing but they are not boring either. As far as comfort, as with other KZ models that use the same shell shape, I find them to work well for me, even for longer periods.



Sound…

All tracks mentioned are clickable links that allow you to open the reference track in the streaming service of your choice (YouTube, Tidal, Spotify, etc.)

As usual, let’s take a look at the graph of the DQS in comparison to my personal preference target.



Starting off at the bottom, we can clearly see that there is a very large boost in the whole bass range, which continues to climb the lower we get. The lower ranges actually remind me a lot of the PR1 that I reviewed not too long ago. In fact, the measurements of both sets is very similar all the way up to around 1kHz.

While this is obviously way above my preferences in the lower ranges, it is actually not as bad as it looks on paper. The subbass, while excessive on tracks like “Chameleon”, is fairly well controlled and it does not take over the whole sound. “Royals” does come across a bit more boomy and “loose”, seeming to place more emphasis on that slight “dirty” rumble that the track has.

The midbass is also fairly well controlled, especially when looking at how much there is. It is not overly bloated and while it does affect the lower mids a little, it doesn’t become an uncontrolled muddy mess. In fact, even “Crazy”, which is a track that soon shows an overly present and boomy midbass (in the form of reverb in the lower guitar notes), is quite listenable on the DQS. I honestly expected the lower end to be far worse than it is and was pleasantly surprised.

Would I pick this tuning in the lower end? Well, no, but I didn’t find myself wanting to get them out as soon as possible either.

The dip in the center of the mids is noticeable when focusing on it but in general it doesn’t stand out as being overly recessed in this area. Some tracks will show this more than others, with specific voices or instruments that have their fundamentals in the 600 to 800Hz range taking a little bit of a step back but it is certainly not something that stands out on all tracks.

The rise into the higher mids is very smooth and is almost perfect, as far as tuning, for my tastes. It works well to bring vocals forwards but is not overly harsh and doesn’t really affect the vocal range dynamics either.

Sibilance is well controlled, with Paul Simon in “Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes”, who can be both harsh and sibilant, being fairly well controlled. The typical “Code Cool” shows just a hint of sibilance on some words but not all “S” and “T” like on many other more sibilant models.

The upper treble is where things are not quite up to par in my opinion. There is a noticeable roll off in these upper ranges with a peak to give the IEMs a bit of air and a sensation of more detail. Unfortunately that peak can come across as quite harsh on occasions and make the treble range a little brittle and unforgiving.

Details are not really excellent. They are not terrible but I wouldn’t class them as being a strong point of the DQS. They are acceptable and you don’t feel like half the music is missing but they are not doing to be something to sit down and analyze music with.

Soundstage is rather narrow overall and while the image placement is ok, the narrow soundstage and lack of detail make things like “Bubbles” difficult to appreciate, everything seeming to blend into one rather than specific layers being separated.



Isolation is surprisingly good for a set of semi open IEMs, showing to be above average in the whole frequency range. This is one of the things that leads me to think that they are not as open as the vents would have us think.



Conclusion…

I can’t say that the DQS aren’t a good set of IEMs when I consider the fact that they are 15€. They are not my personal taste in tuning and I find that there are other IEMs around a similar price that I would pick over them but that doesn’t detract from what they do offer at this price point.

A set of IEMs that I have recommended a lot in this ultra cheap bracket (15€ or less) are the CCA CRA, also made by KZ. I actually prefer the upper mids tuning on the DQS over the CRA but, as I have mentioned before, I am not a fan of overly boosted low end and the DQS add another few dB to the CRA which are already way above my preferences. However, various people have mentioned that the CRA have received a "silent" revision, so I can't vouch for how they sound now.

Details and soundstage are not the best, along with that sizzle in the treble range, but seriously, these are standing out due to the amount of good options in the budget range that we have received lately. I am sure that there will be many people out there that love a lot of bass and find the DQS to meet their tastes, offering them a lot of enjoyment for very little money.

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As with all my reviews, this review is also available in Spanish on my blog (www.achoreviews.com) and on YouTube (www.youtube.com/achoreviews)

All FR measurements of IEMs can be viewed and compared on achoreviews.squig.link

All isolation measurements of IEMs can be found on achoreviews.squig.link/isolation

The DQS looks cool and it is comfortable in my ears, the isolation is good when music is playing. The box is typical minimal and more than enough to securely hold the contents. inside is star-tips and a rugged cable that is pretty good.

Sound:
Bass:
Bass is the DQS specialty. While not overpowering it has an authoritative punch and give a deep well controlled impact with texture and decent speed. both Mid and Sub have a little elevation but nothing Bass head or fatiguing.

Mids:
Midrange is warm and lush, there is good body, and they are forward. There's is a slight recession on older rock tracks, but this is minimal and normal on a V-shaped IEM.

Treble:
Highs are well extended with an airy and detailed presentation, no harshness or fatigue here just pleasant and accurate.

Soundstage:
The staging is a natural field, it has good depth but is only moderate in width. There is great separation and clarity with accurate imaging.

After thoughts:

The DQS is proof that KZ is always trying to improve each new IEM is tuned to be enjoyable but also better than the last.
I think KZ fans will like this one there is a lot of new players and this one is a good choice for those that like the signature.

Disclaimer: Thank you and kudos to KZ for arranging this review unit, all herewith are based on own observation with no affiliation nor obligation, noob observation - please enjoy.

Packaging / Presentation :

Packaging wise is standard KZ small little white cardbox. IEMs are metal alloy built with semi open vent on faceplate, bottom is resin. This package comes with 3 pairs of KZ starline silicon tips in S M & L. The stock cable is the new improved OFC brown color flat high purity copper.

Equipment used / Music choices :

ASUS Laptop WIN 11 with Spotify Connect to

• Ifi UNO DAC to FSA Beyond HD Amplifier 6.35SE and Supplier HD Linear Supply
• Topping DX3PRO DAC to Topping Amplifier L30 6.35SE
• ifi Zen Dac v2.0 interconnected to ifi Zen Can 6.35SE/4.4BAL

Sony walkman A55 with Fiio A5 Portable Amplifier 3.5SE

LG G7+ 3.5mm SE with Shangling UP5 2.5bal/3.5SE/4.4bal BT LDAC



Music Tracks - variety of EDM, pop, jazz, country, instrumental, classical, audiophile male/female, chinese / cantonese favourites.


Some of tracks used -
Need you tonight - INXS,

Jack and Diane - John Mellencamp,

I'm Good - David Guetta and Bebe Rexha,

Dancing in the Dark - LOLO,

Dire Straits – Money For Nothing,

AHA- Hunting High and Low,

Camomile - Fields of Gold,

Chicago – If You Leave Me Now,

Depeche Mode - Strange Love,

Ed Sheeran - I Don't Care,

Glass Tiger - Thin Red Line,

Symphony No.5 in C Minor by Beethoven,

Bubbles – Yosi Horikawa, etc..

Sound Impression :

Tonality and Timbre - sounds organic and natural and smooth. The new single dynamic driver seems to be quite good and capable.


Bass – the bass transient speed is fast and snappy. The bass is actually well controlled and accurate, kick drum and strikes are quite precise.

Mids – both male and female vocals are natural and forward sounding with good weight tone.


Treble - instruments separation and imaging are clear and concise, accurate and precise, yet not sibilant, cymbals and high hats are good, extend well and enough micro detail.

Soundstage is considered moderately wide in width, depth and height. Instruments seperation and imaging is good. Resolution and precision is good.


All testing are done using the stock starline tips and stock cable.

Comparison to BLON BL03
I have specifically bought and kept the BLON BL03 as my reference set to do A/B comparison to all budget single dynamic driver set.

The KZ DQS has scored pretty high score against the BLON BL03 in terms of timbre, tonality, bass, mids, treble, soundstage, imaging, instrument separation amd weight tone.


Final Thoughts

This is a good tuning set for those that enjoy fast amd snappy Bass. Mids Vocal are represented well, crisp and clear, bright and quite organic. Treble highs are well extended with good micro details and resolution at the price point.