[Griffith]

I have a question about the Zst
Are the black ones
http://m.gearbest.com/on-ear-over-ear-headphones/pp_533515.html
And different from the colorful ones?
http://m.gearbest.com/earbud-headphones/pp_598797.html

 
They are the same. I have both and can confirm it.

 

[metonedeaf]

I bought the black ZST because it was available and cheaper. I figure that any difference between the two (color and black) is minuscule at best and more of just perception


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[wgrish7]

A one month update on my KZ ATE's.
Highs are not harsh. Mids are pushed bad quite a bit. Bass is muddy and not detailed.
Overall, there is little detail in the sound.
The build quality is nice, though. I like the cable material and 90 degree angled jack. The housing is quite big, and using the Comply isolation, the housing sticks out of your ears too much. So I was forced to use short silicone tips, which bring a downside of the phones not staying in my ears well. Speaking of isolation, the ATE's is not good at all.
 
I want to compare the ATE's to the DZAT DF-10's. I just got the DF-10's in today, and the first impression resulted in the ATE's being tossed in the trash. The DF-10's have much more detail in all ranges. The sub-bass is more present, not protruding into the mids and highs, even with the use of silicon tips. The isolation is 10x better, even with silicon tips. They are lightweight. Twice the price, three times the sound.

 

[khighly]

  I'm looking for something with punchy bass and clarity, similar to the Xiaomi Hybrids (Gen 4). Would these be similar or better? If not, what other KZ IEMs are similar?

You might actually try the ZST. I think the first person to give you a recommendation may have a broken pair of ZST. HDS3 is never really mentioned as a top contender in KZ land. The ZST colorfuls are bright, detailed, with a fair amount of detailed and accurate bass, plenty of soundstage, and they perform great. Top of my ChiFi list.

 

[CoiL]

  A one month update on my KZ ATE's.
Highs are not harsh. Mids are pushed bad quite a bit. Bass is muddy and not detailed.
Overall, there is little detail in the sound.
The build quality is nice, though. I like the cable material and 90 degree angled jack. The housing is quite big, and using the Comply isolation, the housing sticks out of your ears too much. So I was forced to use short silicone tips, which bring a downside of the phones not staying in my ears well. Speaking of isolation, the ATE's is not good at all.
 
I want to compare the ATE's to the DZAT DF-10's. I just got the DF-10's in today, and the first impression resulted in the ATE's being tossed in the trash. The DF-10's have much more detail in all ranges. The sub-bass is more present, not protruding into the mids and highs, even with the use of silicon tips. The isolation is 10x better, even with silicon tips. They are lightweight. Twice the price, three times the sound.
 

Wow... haven`t seen so bad ATE impressions. Which version did You get? S or 5th gen? 
Almost seems like You have a bad unit. What is Your source gear and what tips are You using? Maybe bad fit causes problems.

 

[Lord Rexter]

I bought the black ZST because it was available and cheaper. I figure that any difference between the two (color and black) is minuscule at best and more of just perception


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

This is good to know, thank you for your input.
 
PS: I remember reading somewhere that the KZ ZST black version was a little harsh, so KZ tuned the ZST Pro version to address that issue.

 

[ricemanhk]

All the current ZST black and colorfuls are tuned the same, the only difference is the color of the housing.  Of course there could be differences at the individual unit level, but that's more due to QC issues.
 
Some say early batches of the black was tuned differently, but since there's no way to check whether a particular set is an early batch unit or just by chance a poor QC unit, so there's no way to confirm or disprove this.  
 
There is also no ZST Pro officially, KZ calls both ZST and only adds the color version to the name.  Some online resellers call the colorfuls ZST Pro and sell them at a higher price, but the driver is the same.  Official KZ taobao store is selling both at the same price.

 

[Mus1c]

Wow... haven`t seen so bad ATE impressions. Which version did You get? S or 5th gen? 
Almost seems like You have a bad unit. What is Your source gear and what tips are You using? Maybe bad fit causes problems.

its must be the new one

 

[Keller1]

 
You might actually try the ZST. I think the first person to give you a recommendation may have a broken pair of ZST. HDS3 is never really mentioned as a top contender in KZ land. The ZST colorfuls are bright, detailed, with a fair amount of detailed and accurate bass, plenty of soundstage, and they perform great. Top of my ChiFi list.

I don't have a broken ZST, the ZST does not have punchy bass. OTOH, HDS3 is very punchy, not as detailed, and about as bright as a ZST.
If you want punchy bass, you should stay away from the ZST, if you want rumbly bass, the ZST is excellent.
 
The ZST is more durable and better built but the HDS3 is 4.50 Dollars/Euros.
The HDS3 is more practical however since it's tiny.
 
The ZST is the obvious pick in terms of sound quality but the HDS3 has a different sound signature that's extremely fun rather than the ZST's analytical bright*ness.

I recommended it because the HDS3 is the most punchy KZ I own out of the few i have.
 
edit: * - wrong description.

 

[ricemanhk]

 
I don't have a broken ZST, the ZST does not have punchy bass. OTOH, HDS3 is very punchy, not as detailed, and about as bright as a ZST.
If you want punchy bass, you should stay away from the ZST, if you want rumbly bass, the ZST is excellent.
 
The ZST is more durable and better built but the HDS3 is 4.50 Dollars/Euros.
The HDS3 is more practical however since it's tiny.
 
The ZST is the obvious pick in terms of sound quality but the HDS3 has a different sound signature that's extremely fun rather than the ZST's analytical neutralness.

I recommended it because the HDS3 is the most punchy KZ I own out of the few i have.

Either your ZST does have problems, or your music/hearing preference is extremely V shaped, as the ZST is no where near neutral, it's pretty W shaped.
Bass is quite evident (assuming you have a good seal), and sub-bass falloff is also somewhat severe, hence I wouldn't consider ZST's to have rumbly bass.  Just to be clear, punchy bass for me is normally describing strong bass and rumbly/boomy bass is describing strong sub-bass, and I would not consider ZST having significant sub-bass due to the falloff.
 
That said, I haven't tried HDS3 so I can't compare the 2.  Perhaps the HDS3 indeed is much more V shaped and thus you find the ZST to be neutral?

 

[Drakis]

Just received my ZST colour... WOW!
 
OOTB i notice it has more detail than ZS3, bass it not so obvious, it's more of a rumble.
As it burns in, let's see how much better it can get.

 

[Keller1]

  Either your ZST does have problems, or your music/hearing preference is extremely V shaped, as the ZST is no where near neutral, it's pretty W shaped.
Bass is quite evident (assuming you have a good seal), and sub-bass falloff is also somewhat severe, hence I wouldn't consider ZST's to have rumbly bass.  Just to be clear, punchy bass for me is normally describing strong bass and rumbly/boomy bass is describing strong sub-bass, and I would not consider ZST having significant sub-bass due to the falloff.
 
That said, I haven't tried HDS3 so I can't compare the 2.  Perhaps the HDS3 indeed is much more V shaped and thus you find the ZST to be neutral?

Yes. I meant it was clear/bright/analytical, not neutral, my bad on that one.
 
What i have with my ZSTs [ got a black and pink one, both identical signature] is distinctly rumbly and not punchy, whereas the HDS3 lacks in the sub-bass but is extremely punchy.
 
I wouldn't call the sub-bass on the ZST rolled off at all, and i'd say that it's lacking in the midbass, which is the punchy part.

 

[LaughMoreDaily]

  Just received my ZST colour... WOW!
 
OOTB i notice it has more detail than ZS3, bass it not so obvious, it's more of a rumble.
As it burns in, let's see how much better it can get.

Let us know how it goes, in comparison. I just ordered the ZS3 because it was about $10 US on Gearbest, while the ZST is double the price elsewhere.

 

[Drakis]

  Let us know how it goes, in comparison. I just ordered the ZS3 because it was about $10 US on Gearbest, while the ZST is double the price elsewhere.

I got mine on Aliexpress from H&Q Electronic Store, for €12,65 (USD13,35).
From what i am experiencing, ZS3 sounds more cloudy than ZST.
On ZST i can hear extra details coming from the same sound files.
Try to hear Beck Mutations album (Pono Remastered version, 24 bit/ 96 Khz FLAC files) on both and you'll hear the difference i'm talking about.

 

[rad7]

Maybe, I am treble sensitive and don't like harsh highs, but I don't find ZSTs to be comfortable when I wear them for extended periods of time. I ordered ZS3 from gearbest as it is just $10. I know that they are not going to be as detailed and clear as the ZSTm but I hope I will like them. They are getting good praise on these threads.