Having spent a week with these earphones I’ve found myself thinking that probably A6 is what LZ has been trying to create for few years — hybrid model, showing the best side of each of three drivers types that are used here. Yes, you've got it right, this model uses a dynamic driver, four balanced armatures and piezoelectric super twitter simultaneously. Sounds intriguing, isn't it?
Before I proceed, I would like to thank LinsoulTech for providing me a review sample in exchange for my honest opinion. IEMs can be purchased in their stores on Amazon or AliExpress for about $310. Nice touch: you can choose a version with MMCX or 2 pin connector.
Some time ago I already tested LZ A5, it was a nice model, featuring traditional schema: DD + few BAs, but it was a fairly ordinary model, being on par with many other hybrid models existing on the market.
A6 plays in the totally different league. Creators have added a new piezoelectric driver for super high frequencies, completely revised proprietary tuning filter system and added impedance toggle, that also has a great impact on sound. This allowed A6 to make a big step forward, offering buyer new level of sound.
Packaging, build quality and appearance
Before I proceed to the most interesting part of my review, I’d like to devote a few words to the packaging, accessories, and design. The box is rather simple: red cardboard inside of black "sleeve" made of… you’re right, cardboard. Inside you will find IEMs themselves, red storage case with zipper, cable, 6 pairs of silicone tips, 1 pair of foams, manual, warranty card and 9 pairs of filters (one pair is already attached to A6). Maybe it's not the biggest set of accessories that you may find, but it's pretty acceptable at this price range.
Build quality of IEMs is really good. They are made of metal, the shape is nice and ergonomic, so it will fit the vast majority of users. Spouts are medium-sized, so sound isolation is on a normal level, but for really noisy environments it could be not enough. Earphones are made to look simple and minimal, simple black color with silver bezel, but build quality makes them look stylish and "expensive".
There is the “Loudness” button on the front panel of earphones, and in its pressed condition it will reduce the impedance of A6, increases the output volume and makes the sound more "saturated". I really like this idea, as it's the most convenient way to change the sound on the go, and I'd like to see more such toggles in the future.
Cable is simple, plain rubber isolation looks minimalistic, compared to other models of Chi-Fi market, but cables’ quality is good. It's soft enough, not getting hard when it's cold and has practically zero microphonic effect. Also, it looks really reliable, but of course it can be proven only over time, so let us see if it lasts a whole year.
Sound Impressions
Now, let's move to the sound, and I'll start with a few preliminary notes
- LZ A6 requires short burn-in, about 10 hours
- If it doesn’t sound in your ears, try different tips with them, I've got the best result with tips from Trinity Audio IEMs accessories set
- LZ A6 are among those models that benefit from cable change, for example, FiiO's LC-2.5C made lows tighter and more impactful
- try all stock filters, in manual they are ranged from less bassy to most bassy, but my subjective listening results differed from that list, so I tried them all, and most of all I liked red and black filters, but you know, "da red goez fasta", so I ended with them.
General signature of these earphones is really impressive, all drivers are doing their best to showcase their strong sides. IEMs have really good coherence, bands overlaps are almost indistinguishable.
Bass, represented by 10 mm dynamic driver is powerful and impactful. It's not as fast as pure balanced armature one, but the resolution is nice anyway. It's good in representing textures and nuances of the lowest octaves of instruments. Depth is also good, but in general, LZ managed to balance the quantity of bass really well. A6 has a slight accent on lows, and you can alter it with filters, but with any tuning, I may call them bass-heavy, it's just a nice, weighty bass. As an example, I can name Juno Reactor — Tempest. This composition has interesting low rumble in the intro part, swiping from left to right and vice-versa. A6 represented this effect in a really impressive way as well as all other trance beats of this track.
Mids are the responsibility of 2 balanced armatures, and once again you get the best of their world: resolution, good level of micro contrast, but without being too dry and clinical. The sound has proper weight, giving all instruments realistic bodies and making vocals sound lifelike. You can tune the number of upper mids with filters, having different "flavors", from aggressive to a bit relaxed. The imaginary stage is bigger than average, A6, probably, aren't the most spacious sounding IEMs, but they are definitely on the "roomy" side of staging. The separation and layering are just nice, as well as 3D positioning. I’ve chosen Snarky Puppy's "Molino Molero" as a sample track to test this — really instrument-intense track with lots of different effects, and BA drivers of this IEMs handle that without issues.
Treble is a product of cooperation between balanced armatures and piezoelectric tweeter. That gives LZ A6 a really impressive extension, combined with nice resolution and realism. These IEM's treble goes far beyond human ear's limit, but recent scientific studies showed that people can distinguish high-res recording even without being able to hear ultrasonic frequencies, so, probably, extension beyond 20 kHz makes some sense. Anyway, properly balanced treble makes A6 a real charm in representing overtones and sounding super impressive on timbre-rich instruments. From another point of view, you should select tracks properly as the compression or other treble-related issues are represented without compromises here. Besides that, treble has a perfect amount, good resolution and realistic decays. Attacks are a bit sharper than they should be, but it's not doing any harm to the overall realism of that range. "Caravan" from "Whiplash" OST shows this all great here: it is a really cymbal-intense track that will cause many IEM to suffer from insufficient treble resolution, but LZ A6 are passing this test without any problems.
Selected Comparisons
FiiO FA7 and FH5 I mention these models only because they share the same price range. Sound signatures are quite different, both FiiO models have more bass, making them less linear in representation.
Dunu DN-2000 This hybrid model is still a great offering, despite their "age": fun V-shaped signature, with a bit more accent on lows and mids then LZ A6. And LZ IEMs offers better depth and treble extension.
FLC8n Another model with tuning options, but tuning here is more precise, as you can separately tune bass, sub-bass, and middle/treble ratio. FLCs are a bit more resolving on mids, but the extension is better on both ends with A6.
Summary
LZ created a really potent model with a technical and engaging sound that will please many fans of representation that balances between fun and realism.
P.S. I also made a video version of this review for those who prefer more visual approach