Knowledge Zenith (KZ) impressions thread
May 25, 2017 at 10:45 PM Post #17,836 of 63,670
Hi guys,

I have been reading up on the KZ ZS5 and have a few questions...

1. Understand that some of you have purchased it as a package with the gold cable. Have been searching on AE for similar packages but all of those available come only with silver cable as an option. Does the gold cable need to be purchased separately?
2. The ear phones look really angular in design. Has anyone experienced discomfort over prolonged periods of usage? I know this really depends on individual but would like to get some feedback all the same.
3. There seems to be 2 retail boxes available. A bigger rectangular box without window and a smaller box with a window. Are the contents similar in both retail boxes? With ear buds, ear hook and stock cable?
4. How well does the cable connect to the phones with the 2-pin connector? With my current IEMs, I do accidentally pull on the cables sometimes. I hope these are secure enough not to come loose with a bit of tugging...

Thanks!

1. Taobao stores are selling packages with either silver or gold. I guess AE just doesn't have enough gold cables yet, as the silver cable is the exact same one as the ZS3 silver cable.
2. With the memory wire intact, there's some discomfort. But after taking the memory wire out, it's much better for me. Still not as comfy as ZS3/ZST, but I wouldn't say there's any discomfort even after an hour or 2 of use.
3. I haven't seen the smaller box before. All the pics online from others and my own box as well are the big cardboard box.
4. Extremely tight, the wire will NOT come out without a fair amount of force

You can also see my previous review posts and pics for further info.
 
May 25, 2017 at 11:23 PM Post #17,837 of 63,670
1. Taobao stores are selling packages with either silver or gold. I guess AE just doesn't have enough gold cables yet, as the silver cable is the exact same one as the ZS3 silver cable.
2. With the memory wire intact, there's some discomfort. But after taking the memory wire out, it's much better for me. Still not as comfy as ZS3/ZST, but I wouldn't say there's any discomfort even after an hour or 2 of use.
3. I haven't seen the smaller box before. All the pics online from others and my own box as well are the big cardboard box.
4. Extremely tight, the wire will NOT come out without a fair amount of force

You can also see my previous review posts and pics for further info.
I had asked about the "gold" cable few days back and KZ told me they temporarily discontinued the "gold" cable. I'm not sure why as they never give a reason for that but that explains why "gold" cable is no longer available. If you notice some of those Taobao store that had launched the ZS5 the earliest also no longer sell the package with "gold" cable, likely no more inventory of it.

As my usual browsing on China Alibaba i did come across 100% similar design cable and according to them it's a silver plated cable within but just gold colour material that gives the gold appearance. I think KZ may be using the same material as well. That factory even have various colours: blue, pink, red etc.. and available for various connection type BUT excluding the ZS3/ZS5 & ZST connection so apparently yes it is proprietary to KZ.
 
May 25, 2017 at 11:29 PM Post #17,838 of 63,670
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KZ ZS5 measurement
Nice! That's pretty fast you got yours. So how does it sounds ? A comparison with the TFZ KING would be great !
 
May 26, 2017 at 12:28 AM Post #17,839 of 63,670
I had asked about the "gold" cable few days back and KZ told me they temporarily discontinued the "gold" cable. I'm not sure why as they never give a reason for that but that explains why "gold" cable is no longer available. If you notice some of those Taobao store that had launched the ZS5 the earliest also no longer sell the package with "gold" cable, likely no more inventory of it.

As my usual browsing on China Alibaba i did come across 100% similar design cable and according to them it's a silver plated cable within but just gold colour material that gives the gold appearance. I think KZ may be using the same material as well. That factory even have various colours: blue, pink, red etc.. and available for various connection type BUT excluding the ZS3/ZS5 & ZST connection so apparently yes it is proprietary to KZ.

Yeah seems the gold cables are all gone now, and I'm glad I got the gold one in the first batch heh.
I also agree from physical appearance wise it looks gold/yellow and not the same color as with the gold alloy plug. So I would also suspect it's still a silver plated cable with some gold sheath on top. They are not stupid enough to use more expensive materials without improvement in performance...

But appearance-wise, the gold cable is awesome match with the blue...
 
May 26, 2017 at 2:05 AM Post #17,840 of 63,670
Ordered the ZST, has anyone tried the bluetooth cable for the ZST? Is it worth the purchase? Or should I just buy a ZS3 instead of a bluetooth cable?
 
May 26, 2017 at 3:09 AM Post #17,841 of 63,670
Makes it look nice is about all. I find the silver cable to be only slightly more durable than the stock one. Different cables don't change sound quality, especially unshielded cables like these.
well yeah, in my opinion I'd think it wouldn't change anything in terms of sound either but I wouldn't mind hearing what some people might think changed after using a different cable. Anyways, how did you come to find out that it's more durable? Did you do some kinda test or is it just an assumption?
 
May 26, 2017 at 4:37 AM Post #17,842 of 63,670
Hi guys, today I received a message from AliExpress seller from the "Tendway Electronic Store". They told me that the original packaging of the KZ ZS5 is sold only to their local Chinese customers. As I am a foregner they can only send me the other packaging( check the image below ).
Do I accept the deal? I'm affraid they might be fake but giving the fact that I payed only $22 I might accept the deal...

What do you think guys?

1392745503_254353923.jpg
 
May 26, 2017 at 4:41 AM Post #17,843 of 63,670
Hi guys, today I received a message from AliExpress seller from the "Tendway Electronic Store". They told me that the original packaging of the KZ ZS5 is sold only to their local Chinese customers. As I am a foregner they can only send me the other packaging( check the image below ).
Do I accept the deal? I'm affraid they might be fake but giving the fact that I payed only $22 I might accept the deal...

What do you think guys?

1392745503_254353923.jpg
I wouldn't worry too much about packaging. I've had lots of times gotten IEMS in packaging that was different to what I was expecting but it was the genuine item every time.
 
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May 26, 2017 at 5:25 AM Post #17,846 of 63,670
I'd rather have the Chinese packaging as well but perhaps we get a cheaper packaging to compensate for the costs of international shipping? It would make sense.

Generally, giving the option to pay more for the better packaging never hurts. I'd probably take the cheaper packaging in all honesty, but then again I might pay a few bucks more to cover the shipping. In the grand scheme of things, however, I'll just be putting this in my KZ case anyways.
 
May 26, 2017 at 6:56 AM Post #17,849 of 63,670
Hi guys, today I received a message from AliExpress seller from the "Tendway Electronic Store". They told me that the original packaging of the KZ ZS5 is sold only to their local Chinese customers. As I am a foregner they can only send me the other packaging( check the image below ).
Do I accept the deal? I'm affraid they might be fake but giving the fact that I payed only $22 I might accept the deal...

What do you think guys?

1392745503_254353923.jpg


Just cancelled my order from NiceHCK

The new packaging just plain bad.

Why would KZ do this ?
 
May 26, 2017 at 7:06 AM Post #17,850 of 63,670
Hi guys, today I received a message from AliExpress seller from the "Tendway Electronic Store". They told me that the original packaging of the KZ ZS5 is sold only to their local Chinese customers. As I am a foregner they can only send me the other packaging( check the image below ).
Do I accept the deal? I'm affraid they might be fake but giving the fact that I payed only $22 I might accept the deal...

What do you think guys?

That's a bummer. The foreigner packaging is the same as that for the ZS3, ED12, and ZST so highly unlikely it's fake. Like others said, probably helps keep shipping costs down.
 

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