[Terran Earthson]

Damn ZST, after approx a month of use, cable near of it's plastic connector started to rupture, new cable on ali worth 8$, which is pretty expensive considering that i bought ZST on gearbest for 10$. Is new cable worth buying, and if so which one? or should i just acquire new pair of ZST's again?

 

[jeromeaparis]

Damn ZST, after approx a month of use, cable near of it's plastic connector started to rupture, new cable on ali worth 8$, which is pretty expensive considering that i bought ZST on gearbest for 10$. Is new cable worth buying, and if so which one? or should i just acquire new pair of ZST's again?

On ebay, you will get the ZST silver cable for 5$

 

[loomisjohnson]

Joker has updated scores and it's at the top of the thread where it says
A more up-to-date, interactive, sortable version of this thread can now be found here.

He scores the VC1000 9.2/10 and he spends weeks with each iem he reviews in rotation. To some extent a reviewer has to leave out his/her preferences out of it so the reader can get an idea of it's sound signature and it's performance against other similar signatures.
So if you were to listen to an iem, let's say the ZS5 for a few days straight then switch to a dual twfk you'll want to put the twfk under the hammer. The strength of a twfk imho is the treble. You have to spend big bucks to get treble that performs better (in general). Hmmm, Altone 200, T-peos H300, CK100, VE Duke spring to mind, The first two will be a little too hot for most.
I havn't heard a cheapish chi-fi iem come close in the treble to these or the dual twfk's i've tried. Even my Gleam 8BA (DZ8) sounds a little rolled off next to these but it comes close.

@Vidal this is not an attack, this is just some thoughts and I hope a few find it interesting.

I thank you for your hard work in reviewing and it reminds me that the H-fi community came together and threw in $5-10 dollars each to buy Joker a TOTL.
He ended up getting the UM Miracle custom from memory. And we should band together and do this for you, so you can have a reference point for your scoring system. Where the totl will hopefully be the 10 and the rest can be adjusted against that.

it would be very interesting if joker, whose credibility is beyond reproach, would evaluate the "cheapish chifi iems" and rate them relative to his others (and correspondingly for vidal to rate some of joker's more mainstream iems relative to his others). as i've stated, i personally find that the newer, cheaper chifi stuff generally outhit the more mainstream, pricier ($100-200) stuff of a few years ago, tho i don't pretend to be an expert.

 

[vad0s]

Hi, I am looking for new pair of earphones. I prefer V-shaped bassier sound. I had zircons before I lost them and I reálný like their sound. Could you please suggest me some? I was thinking about getting ZS3. Is it a solid choice or is there any better option? Thanks for your help

 

[SpiderNhan]

GearBest has got the ZS5 on presale. First 100 pieces are $26 with coupon code "KZZS5"

https://www.head-fi.org/f/threads/gearbests-headphones-thread.832367/page-11#post-13536681

 

[Vidal]

Hi, I am looking for new pair of earphones. I prefer V-shaped bassier sound. I had zircons before I lost them and I reálný like their sound. Could you please suggest me some? I was thinking about getting ZS3. Is it a solid choice or is there any better option? Thanks for your help

Boarseman KR49i would be my choice working on a similar budget

 

[B9Scrambler]

I think they're good looking earphones. Terrible isolation though. Vents are hidden absolutely everywhere around the seam where the two pieces of the main housing connect.

​

 

[Skullophile]

Those vents let you hear the other two drivers. lol

Seriously I can't wait until you crack them open to prove if it's true or not.
Take one for the team and dismantle them bro.

 

[B9Scrambler]

I've got a second pair incoming. Once I confirm the blue and grey models sound the same, which at some point will undoubtedly come into question because color changes signature , I'll probably snoop around a bit. Unless of course I really like them too much to destroy a perfectly fine pair...

 

[Cya|\|]

I think they're good looking earphones. Terrible isolation though. Vents are hidden absolutely everywhere around the seam where the two pieces of the main housing connect.

Thx. This convinces me even more to wait for the zs pro. I was wondering why no one was talking about isolation...now maybe it's clear why.

 

[B9Scrambler]

Thx. This convinces me even more to wait for the zs pro. I was wondering why no one was talking about isolation...now maybe it's clear why.

I was pretty surprised at just how poorly they isolated. Tried a number of different silicone tips which made next to no difference. Haven't tried foams yet. Well below average isolation levels for sure though. Regardless, I don't really care all that much. How they sound is what's important and so far I'm pretty (read: very) content. Not hearing the large sound stage others have noted though.

 

[ricemanhk]

I was pretty surprised at just how poorly they isolated. Tried a number of different silicone tips which made next to no difference. Haven't tried foams yet. Well below average isolation levels for sure though. Regardless, I don't really care all that much. How they sound is what's important and so far I'm pretty (read: very) content. Not hearing the large sound stage others have noted though.

Strange, I don't have any isolation problems when the earbuds are seated well, I think they are on par with ZST (which also had vents) and most of my other IEMs. ZS3 was a bit more isolated than these 2, but then soundstage was almost non-existent. My triplefi 10s still isolate the best, but that has no vents (to my knowledge) and again quite limited soundstage.

I think nobody else talked about isolation because it wasn't a problem for them?

 

[B9Scrambler]

Strange, I don't have any isolation problems when the earbuds are seated well, I think they are on par with ZST (which also had vents) and most of my other IEMs. ZS3 was a bit more isolated than these 2, but then soundstage was almost non-existent. My triplefi 10s still isolate the best, but that has no vents (to my knowledge) and again quite limited soundstage.

I think nobody else talked about isolation because it wasn't a problem for them?

Was just an observation.

 

[VinceHill24]

Strange, I don't have any isolation problems when the earbuds are seated well, I think they are on par with ZST (which also had vents) and most of my other IEMs. ZS3 was a bit more isolated than these 2, but then soundstage was almost non-existent. My triplefi 10s still isolate the best, but that has no vents (to my knowledge) and again quite limited soundstage.

I think nobody else talked about isolation because it wasn't a problem for them?

I like you didn't face any isolation problem largely because it fits well after i've modded out the memory wire. I did the mod few days after and to me personally the difference is day & night in terms of comfort, fit & isolation. One problem with the vent hole facing ear is that everyone's not gonna hear it the same depending on our internal ear structure and how much of it is being covered, that pretty much explains why there's some inconsistencies in our impressions.

 

[kokakolia]

it would be very interesting if joker, whose credibility is beyond reproach, would evaluate the "cheapish chifi iems" and rate them relative to his others (and correspondingly for vidal to rate some of joker's more mainstream iems relative to his others). as i've stated, i personally find that the newer, cheaper chifi stuff generally outhit the more mainstream, pricier ($100-200) stuff of a few years ago, tho i don't pretend to be an expert.

Well, there's more to that story. Earphones that used to cost $100 several years ago are now under $50. The Marshall Mode is a great example. This earphone was definitely overpriced at $100 and is now a steal for $40. This is my "Goldilocks" pair and I wouldn't see myself buying anything else. Unfortunately, most reviews online are mixed because they took into consideration the $100 price tag. They don't sound like $100.

And now you have Chinese IEMs going "premium" and selling for $30. The value proposition isn't so amazing anymore.

And this is hard to realize when you don't have a mega IEM shootout with updated prices.