Before I even start this review, let me first say sorry for my broken English and grammatical mistakes.
The KZ PR1 Pro is directly sent by KZ in exchange for my honest review,
Just in case you're interested on this IEMs after reading this review, you can get it here
Aliexpress:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004965009239.html
Lazada:
https://www.lazada.co.id/products/i...863640.table_online_product.19.114f4edfzbTmeM
Unboxing
Unboxing experience is pretty simple generic typical your KZ IEMs with simple packaging
Inside the packaging you get :
- SML Foam Tips
- 8 Strands Upgraded SPC Cable 3.5mm
- IEM itself
Build Quality
Lets start with the shell, faceplate is made from glossy metal, backside of the IEM I believe is made from transparent acrylic / plastic? also for the mesh / grill, I don't know if its for tuning purpose designed like that or only for aesthetic.
Not the most premium built IEM ever, but it works.
For the cable, it comes with upgraded 8 strand KZ SPC Cable, its supple and soft, for the connector, i believe it use 0.75 type c KZ connector / QDC
As for the foam, I don't really know what brand do KZ use for the PR1 Pro, it doesn't look like the one that KZ usually sells.
Fitting
The fitting on PR1 Pro is very comfortable, no wonky shape like other planar IEMs, pretty straight forward plug it to your ears then boom, great sound! (more on that later) I can easily wear the PR1 Pro for long hours without any discomfort on my ears.
SOUND
Sound Tested Using :
Redmi Note 9 Pro, FiiO K7, Moondrop Click, Stock Foam and Final Type E Eartips, Stock Cable
Apple Music Lossless, and offline FLAC files
Genre : J-Pop, J-Rock, Anisong, Jazz, EDM, Rap, Metal
Such as : Ado, nZk (Sawano Hiroyuki), LiSA, Aimer, Misia, Adieu, Yoasobi, Tielle, SennaRin, Hoshimachi Suisei, Ellegarden, One Ok Rock, Polkadot Stingray, Survive Said the Prophet, indigo la End, Reol, Tiesto, 2Pac, Biggie, Trivium, Plini, and much more
As for eartips, I personally dislike using foam tips, but I do try both foam and tip rolling, the sound on stock foam tips I do found it somehow has a bit bloated bass and harsher upper treble, so I use the Final Type E eartips for more comfort and the rest of the review.
Tonality in General : I'd say the PR1 Pro is Neutral with bass boost, balanced, very dynamic sounding, heavy slamming bass, not overly forward mids, and zero peaks forward treble but not presented in the usual v-shaped manner.
Bass : Boosted sub – mid bass, tight, punchy, thumpy.
IMO the PR1 Pro has really good bass quality, you can feel the heavy slams, rumble but at the same time, the bass is well controlled, speedy, and tight.
Sub bass is deep, has good rumble, mid bass slams hard and full bodied, it also has great sense of physicality, you can feel the bass moves air to your ear canal.
I remember the exact day this unit arrived, out of the box trying the PR1 Pro for the first time, when the music starts and bass slams, I instantly smiles and nod my head, “whoa, this set has really good bass”.
Mids : I love the mids on this sets, tested on song such as “Lady Funky – Misia “ It sounds full, has good note weight, a bit warm, vocal sounds right, not shouty, not sibilant, inviting but kept at a distance.
Mids on this set is very musical, instrument such as trumpet sounds correct, if planar usually present mids on analytical manner, the PR1 Pro has more musicality on it.
Treble : No peak at all, very good extension, airy, has good clarity, forward but smooth at the same time, never tiring for long listening.
Timbre : Yep it has that planar sheen because it is a real planar unit.
Technicality :
Detail Retrieval & Resolution: On par with sets like dioko, which means it has great details for its price, tho some might say dioko has better details due to its unnatural peak on the 8khz region forcing the treble to stands out like a sore thumb.
Soundstage : Huge, grand, symmetric in size (width and depth) tracks like Nier Automata OST, Genshin Impact OST is really enjoyable to listen on this set.
Imaging : Very great for the price, i dare say it “almost” sounds holographic, you can easily visualize the instruments and vocalist on their place.
Positioning & Separation : You can easily pinpoint any instrument / foot steps if you're into gaming (tested on Valorant) with this set.
Separation is also very good, remembering that this set has heavy bass, even on busy tracks such as Love (feat. pH-1) – indigo la end, the sound is not congested at all, you can discern what sound is playing on the background easily.
Transient & Decay : It has speedy and snappy transient thanks to the planar unit, as for decay its a bit on the shorter side.
Pairing :
PR1 Pro for a planar set is not very heavy to drive, you can just plug it to your phone and enjoy, but it does scale if you use better gear.
For me, the PR1 Pro has more synergies with warmer source.
Comparison :
Moondrop Stellaris :
Overal presentation of the Stellaris is more analytical, bright, but with better detail retrieval and resolution if compared directly with the PR1 Pro.
Stellaris has more neutral but wonky sound signature, it has less overall bass, peak on 2khz making the vocal sounds nassaly and instrument more specificaly electric guitar too intense.
Treble on Stellaris is also peaky, especially the peak around 8khz making vocal sounds sharp and unnatural, fitting on Stellaris is also more challenging because it affects directly how the Stellaris sounds (check my review for more detail on that matter)
7Hz Salnotes Dioko
Dioko to my ears is a lean sounding set, more or less same bass quantity as Stellaris and has weird 8khz peak that make edge of every notes sound sharp.
Mids presentation on Dioko is pushed back compared to the PR1 Pro (if your Dioko come with the correct filter that is)
Treble on Dioko to my ears sounds unnatural and forced because of the peak around 8khz, sure it might affect the perception of detail retrieval, but in a forced manner like throwing it to your face.
Technicality wise Dioko win only on detail retrieval that is also because of how forced the treble is presented on that set.
The PR1 Pro
replaced both Stellaris and Dioko as my portable EDC planar IEM for me.
HiFiMan Sundara
Just for the sake of overall planar comparison, the PR1 Pro if compared to full sized headphone such as Sundara, it has the exact same planar characteristics, nothing is lost on the PR1 Pro, just different tuning and different price point and different form factor.
Sundara has HRTF / Diffuse field-ish tuning compared to the PR1 Pro bass boosted profile.
Bass on Sundara is clearly FLAT but still has that punchy planar bass.
Mids on Sundara is more forward compared to the PR1 Pro and overal sound presentation of the Sundara is more focused around mids area / mid-centric.
As for the treble Both Sundara and PR1 Pro treble is well extended without any weird peak, both has good clarity and brighness to it but the PR1 Pro is a bit smoother to my ears.
Technicality wise Sundara easily beats the PR1 Pro on all aspects, but i found myself picking up the PR1 Pro more often than my Sundara because of how fun and dynamic sounding the PR1 Pro is.
Conclusion / TLDR ;
IMHO, I can't find a fault or a reason on not to recommending the PR1 Pro especially at this price besides wishing it comes with a pouch for carrying the IEM, but for the sake helping the community :
The KZ PR1 Pro is recommended for individual who :
- Wants a Planar IEM
- Wants Allrounder Dynamic and Fun Sound
- Prefer More Musicality Presentation
- Is On a Tight Budget
The KZ PR1 Pro is NOT recommended for individual who :
- Prioritize ultimate detail retrieval (get Stellaris)
- Wants More Premium Build Quality
- Is Allergic to Bassy IEMs
thats all from me, thanks for reading and again, forgive my weird English and grammatical mistakes.
*note : I might edit this later for correcting the English / Better Picture
-littlenezt