[TheWongWrong]

Not wanting to be rude but... this is KZ thread.

Yeah sorry bout that, kinda got outta hand "°~°

 

[B9Scrambler]

Has anyone received it in this package?

That's the package for foreigners. Only those in the local Chinese market get the good stuff.

 

[Sylmar]

Well i got my ZS5 few days ago and firstly i have to agree with @ricemanhk about needing to mod out the memory cable part in order to get the best fitment. There is a day and night difference for me seriously in terms of fit without the memory cable and it appears that i can wear them longer much more comfortably.

Sound wise i wasn't quite fit to do some critical listening as i was suffering from migraine past few days but i can say it's pretty positive. Migraine could've triggered my sensitivity towards the higher frequencies so it came off a bit too bright and fatiguing to me with a very slight hint of sibilant to those very sibilant proned tracks and this may be due to partly that i wasn't getting a good fit too before i mod out the memory wire. Not sure if this is gonna be relevant but anyway treble sensitives' do take note.

Now that I'm recovering to my usual state for listening, after just a brief session it's actually quite a pleasant sound overall ,pretty balance with just a slight recess in the midrange, more of an U rather than v shape signature. Bass is quite prominent as well as treble and the overall clarity is good with a bit of warmth in overall tonality.

The bass is pretty tight and well textured. Bass notes are well defined out of all the KZ, it's more rumbly than punchy probably something between ZST & ZS3 level of bass but takes out the unwanted boominess of ZS3 and there you go, sounds just right in between.

Fitment plays a big role in bass so i'm gonna talk more about it, if you notice there's a vent hole in front at side facing our ear. If you cover the vent fully you'll find the bass being enhanced by a lot (it's a good modding point for basshead) If you don't get a good fit, the vent hole may not be covered enough to bring enough body to the bass in order to make it enjoyable therefore it explains pretty much why some Taobao reviews talked about it as bass light / shallow bass. Getting a good fit pretty much solves this or if you don't kind it at basshead level just do the tape mod.

The midrange is clear and full of details. Male vocals sounded fuller than female vocals; the upper midrange part could come off as a little bit thin for me but it's likely just a matter of preference. I've re-listened with proper fit (after modded out the memory wire) a few of those sibilant proned track i used to test and it tends to be slightly sibilant, not to the point that it will be noticeably annoying but its there.

Treble is very prominent on the ZS5 imo, forward and sufficiently bright with lots of details. Percussive instrument sounded crisp and clear. Not a hint of harshness as far as i'm listening to, pretty smooth & linear without noticeable peak. However it can be slightly fatiguing for long listening session due to too much of the treble details it's reproducing.

Soundstage is pretty decent, it's much wider rather than deeper. Good instrument separation without blur between instruments even during phase where lots of instruments coming into the mix it still handles them well.

It's actually pretty hard to imagine this ZS5 housed 2 dynamic driver as it doesn't feels so, i really thought i would get something bassier with thicker sound so what i've heard is pretty much a surprise. Would've loved it more if KZ would make a metal version for it because it feels like cheap plastic toy in my hand coz it's very light and doesn't give a solid feel, i actually don't mind paying more for a more rock solid metallic version if there is.

As usual jmho and ymmv. I believe others can definitely tell a better story about the ZS5.

That is an interesting read thanks! Looking forward to my pair. Quick question, is it easy to remove memory wire? I'm not the most technical of persons. I will try with and without taping the vent hole as well should I not get a good fit.

 

[blazinblazin]

Didn`t want to read this... well... hope it`s not so big deal and noticeable.

It's a bit recessed mid due to the larger soundstage but the clarity is there so the other freq is not overpowering the mids.

 

[Shinry]

Yeah sorry bout that, kinda got outta hand "°~°

You might want to take a look at the chinese headphones thread https://www.head-fi.org/f/threads/chinese-asian-brand-info-thread-on-or-over-ear-headphones.822184/
Short list of the last recommendations: (might miss a few)
Takstar Pro82
ISK HF2011/HP2010
CB1
Yenona, LyxPro and other clones
ISK HD9999

 

[khighly]

Didn`t want to read this... well... hope it`s not so big deal and noticeable.

They admitted Migrane/Illness. I would take it with a grain of salt until they come back with a non-sick review.

 

[Slater]

Erm actually no? Yeah as I looked back at my initial reply I can we definitely see why one would make that assumption haha, should've specified I guess. No wonder I was only getting recommendations for bluetooth headphones lol. If you feel like it, you can shoot me with some options for wired ones or a link to a budget full sized forum maybe? I listen to mainly vocal oriented stuff and occasionally classical. Something with good imaging and soundstage, vocal clarity and decent details is what I'm eyeing up. Would love it if you could provide me with some more options especially if they are better than the ones you mentioned before. Don't really mind if they are wireless or not lol. Although I hope I'm not bothering anyone with the off topic discussion though

OK, my bad. Yeah, if you don't specifically need bluetooth I would definitely get wired. Most bluetooth are tuned with a heavy v-shaped generic Beats consumer-style sound signature, in addition to the quality reduction caused by streaming bluetooth itself.

With that said, given your preferred genres, the only other piece of information that would be helpful is your budget so we can get you some good recommendations.

 

[Slater]

Well i got my ZS5 few days ago and firstly i have to agree with @ricemanhk about needing to mod out the memory cable part in order to get the best fitment. There is a day and night difference for me seriously in terms of fit without the memory cable and it appears that i can wear them longer much more comfortably.

Sound wise i wasn't quite fit to do some critical listening as i was suffering from migraine past few days but i can say it's pretty positive. Migraine could've triggered my sensitivity towards the higher frequencies so it came off a bit too bright and fatiguing to me with a very slight hint of sibilant to those very sibilant proned tracks and this may be due to partly that i wasn't getting a good fit too before i mod out the memory wire. Not sure if this is gonna be relevant but anyway treble sensitives' do take note.

Now that I'm recovering to my usual state for listening, after just a brief session it's actually quite a pleasant sound overall ,pretty balance with just a slight recess in the midrange, more of an U rather than v shape signature. Bass is quite prominent as well as treble and the overall clarity is good with a bit of warmth in overall tonality.

The bass is pretty tight and well textured. Bass notes are well defined out of all the KZ, it's more rumbly than punchy probably something between ZST & ZS3 level of bass but takes out the unwanted boominess of ZS3 and there you go, sounds just right in between.

Fitment plays a big role in bass so i'm gonna talk more about it, if you notice there's a vent hole in front at side facing our ear. If you cover the vent fully you'll find the bass being enhanced by a lot (it's a good modding point for basshead) If you don't get a good fit, the vent hole may not be covered enough to bring enough body to the bass in order to make it enjoyable therefore it explains pretty much why some Taobao reviews talked about it as bass light / shallow bass. Getting a good fit pretty much solves this or if you don't kind it at basshead level just do the tape mod.

The midrange is clear and full of details. Male vocals sounded fuller than female vocals; the upper midrange part could come off as a little bit thin for me but it's likely just a matter of preference. I've re-listened with proper fit (after modded out the memory wire) a few of those sibilant proned track i used to test and it tends to be slightly sibilant, not to the point that it will be noticeably annoying but its there.

Treble is very prominent on the ZS5 imo, forward and sufficiently bright with lots of details. Percussive instrument sounded crisp and clear. Not a hint of harshness as far as i'm listening to, pretty smooth & linear without noticeable peak. However it can be slightly fatiguing for long listening session due to too much of the treble details it's reproducing.

Soundstage is pretty decent, it's much wider rather than deeper. Good instrument separation without blur between instruments even during phase where lots of instruments coming into the mix it still handles them well.

It's actually pretty hard to imagine this ZS5 housed 2 dynamic driver as it doesn't feels so, i really thought i would get something bassier with thicker sound so what i've heard is pretty much a surprise. Would've loved it more if KZ would make a metal version for it because it feels like cheap plastic toy in my hand coz it's very light and doesn't give a solid feel, i actually don't mind paying more for a more rock solid metallic version if there is.

As usual jmho and ymmv. I believe others can definitely tell a better story about the ZS5.

Your description of the sound reminds me an awful lot like the Xiaomi In-Ear Pro HD..

 

[Slater]

You might want to take a look at the chinese headphones thread https://www.head-fi.org/f/threads/chinese-asian-brand-info-thread-on-or-over-ear-headphones.822184/
Short list of the last recommendations: (might miss a few)
Takstar Pro82
ISK HF2011/HP2010
CB1
Yenona, LyxPro and other clones
ISK HD9999

+1 to the both the list and the link recommendation!

 

[Slater]

They admitted Migrane/Illness. I would take it with a grain of salt until they come back with a non-sick review.

Yeah, but then he got over the migraine and did the review after "recovering to my usual state for listening".

 

[Slater]

Didn`t want to read this... well... hope it`s not so big deal and noticeable.

Especially with a dedicated midrange driver!

And with the sound reported as being right between the ZST and ZS3, I'm asking myself if I should really even bother getting the ZS5 (other than to simply own a quad driver). I may just wait & see how the ZSR Pro pans out, unless I'm missing something?

 

[acia]

Any comment on kz-ie80??

 

[SomeTechNoob]

Any comment on kz-ie80??

If it's not talked about, it's not worth it. My two cents. They have been out for awhile and the general consensus is that there are better options from KZ out there anyways.

 

[TheWongWrong]

That is an interesting read thanks! Looking forward to my pair. Quick question, is it easy to remove memory wire? I'm not the most technical of persons. I will try with and without taping the vent hole as well should I not get a good fit.

Very easy indeed, you can basically just rip it out with your fingers if you want. Just trim off the rubber that was over the little strip of bendy metal(which is what was giving the wire memory) nice and carefully so as to not cut up your wire or fingers.

 

[TheWongWrong]

OK, my bad. Yeah, if you don't specifically need bluetooth I would definitely get wired. Most bluetooth are tuned with a heavy v-shaped generic Beats consumer-style sound signature, in addition to the quality reduction caused by streaming bluetooth itself.

With that said, given your preferred genres, the only other piece of information that would be helpful is your budget so we can get you some good recommendations.

Thanks again for the help. Never knew that bit of information about how Bluetooth headphones are usually tuned. My budget would be nowhere over 50$.