[Hitesh]

The microphonics on the stock cable were borderline unbearable for me, because I use them mainly when I'm doing stuff outside and moving around. I ordered the silver replacement cable in the hope to get rid of the cable noise. I love the IEMs though. They sound a hell of a lot more expensive than they are.

Oh well this confirms it I guess.
Have you received the silver cables ? Any decrease in microphonics ? These are the cables, right ?

Personally I didn't encounter any microphonics after removing the memory wire. Helped big time, also in comfort.

I had to google what memory wire. So it's like a plastic tube meant to protect the twisting cables ? How did you remove it ? Is it safe ? Can it be put back ? So many questions lol

 

[Francisk]

That's very odd.
I have a picky ear too. I don't think any Chi-Fi sounds that good and the color of sound on the ZS3 is not my cup of tea , but your impressions are like a super exaggerated list of their shortcomings.
To me, the ZS3 are not even that bassy. They are more warm than bassy.

They can actually play metal music, almost no chi-fi can handle electric guitars.

My impression of the ZS3 is honestly how I hear it and I for one don't like to exaggerate my opinion. If there's anything that's exaggerating, it's definitely the ZS3 bass and if you think that ZS3 is not that bassy then I really have doubt in your hearing.

 

[YCHANGE]

OOTB the ZST sounded a great match with my Cowon PM2 and the ZS5 also continues the trend. The ZS5 just sounds efortless across genres. ZST excels at a close yet clear type of sound while ZS5 has more depth, fullness, and extension.

 

[Viber]

My impression of the ZS3 is honestly how I hear it and I for one don't like to exaggerate my opinion. If there's anything that's exaggerating, it's definitely the ZS3 bass and if you think that ZS3 is not that bassy then I really have doubt in your hearing.

HOW DARE YOU INSULT MY HEARING?!?!

lol just kidding...

The bass is elevated, i'll agree with that, but it doesn't take over the entire spectrum like you are suggesting.
When I hear a song, i hear all the instruments,the imaging is very good, i can enjoy electric guitars, the isolation is top notch... What more should i expect from sub 50$ Chi-Fi,really? should i analyze live Classical concerts in 24/96 with these?

You can write down a song or two which suffer from these bass symptoms so i can check it out.

 

[nihontoman]

ok, the one song I can remember sounded pretty bad with ZS3 and pretty good is this one:



as for the microphonics on the sock cable on zs5, yeah it is their and pretty noticeable..

 

[Sylmar]

I've tried the ZS3 on different sources, even from weak sources without amp and it sounds even worse.

Shame they don't work out for you. At least they are not expensive and you didn't throw out a lot of money.

I had to google what memory wire. So it's like a plastic tube meant to protect the twisting cables ? How did you remove it ? Is it safe ? Can it be put back ? So many questions lol

The memory wire is the metal strip housed in the plastic tubing close to the connectors leading to the IEMS. It is used to keep the wire in a certain position around your ear. You can remove it by finding the end of it and pierce the tubing where the strip ends. You can then just pull the wire from the cable towards the connectors. Then gently pull them out of the connectors (I used pliers) and remove the remaining tube from the cable.
Once you have located the metal wire it is pretty easy to do.

 

[vladstef]

So, when I first got my ZS5 I noticed that stock cable sounded much better than silver one and didn't even bother to experiment until today. I was confused because the difference was immense. So I started plugging cables one way or the other and it turns out that silver cable has polarity issues. The best and only normal result was plugging one side normally and other side by reversing the cable so that the L/R letter faces towards the head and not away from the head. The thing that bothers me is that I can't hear a clear difference when choosing which side to plug in differently, I get pretty much the same result regardless of the side. One way is obviously the right way and the other makes them both have reversed polarity. I find it hard to believe that "upgrade" cable has this kind of problem, what are the chances that stock cable actually has polarity issues and inside wiring of one of the ZS5s is also wired in a wrong way so that it cancels it out (I'd say none)?

 

[IamMe90]

So, when I first got my ZS5 I noticed that stock cable sounded much better than silver one and didn't even bother to experiment until today. I was confused because the difference was immense. So I started plugging cables one way or the other and it turns out that silver cable has polarity issues. The best and only normal result was plugging one side normally and other side by reversing the cable so that the L/R letter faces towards the head and not away from the head. The thing that bothers me is that I can't hear a clear difference when choosing which side to plug in differently, I get pretty much the same result regardless of the side. One way is obviously the right way and the other makes them both have reversed polarity. I find it hard to believe that "upgrade" cable has this kind of problem, what are the chances that stock cable actually has polarity issues and inside wiring of one of the ZS5s is also wired in a wrong way so that it cancels it out (I'd say none)?

Well, I had the same problem with the silver cable (although I hadn't resolved it yet-I thought I tried all the combinations, but I was also a few beers deep, so maybe I effed it up lol! I'll have to try again), but the stock cable sounds fine the way it is. I even made a post about it here a couple days ago. But not everyone seemed to agree with me - maybe we just got unlucky with our cables? Or maybe we just got REALLY unlucky and our ZS5s are wired the wrong way per your probably-implausible theory? Lol I dunno man

 

[vladstef]

Well, I had the same problem with the silver cable (although I hadn't resolved it yet-I thought I tried all the combinations, but I was also a few beers deep, so maybe I effed it up lol! I'll have to try again), but the stock cable sounds fine the way it is. I even made a post about it here a couple days ago. But not everyone seemed to agree with me - maybe we just got unlucky with our cables? Or maybe we just got REALLY unlucky and our ZS5s are wired the wrong way per your probably-implausible theory? Lol I dunno man

I am pretty much sure it's just the silver cable, the simplest explanation is the right one. I tried as much as I could to isolate which side of the cable is reversed, but this is difficult as either of the options sounds correct to me and if I'd had to choose one that is wrong, it would be left. Try to plug left one reversed and right one normally with the silver cable. I can hear some improvements to the sound in the upper frequencies compared to regular cable (maybe less dynamic overall), and I truly wanted to hate this cable and not use it, so I am not biased towards it in that way. It's definitely only worth for the looks/durability, otherwise, I would never get it for sound. Perhaps it has slightly different impedance compared to stock cable and it manifests with ZS5s which are already very source sensitive and require more power than expected.

 

[themindfreak]

My impression of the ZS3 is honestly how I hear it and I for one don't like to exaggerate my opinion. If there's anything that's exaggerating, it's definitely the ZS3 bass and if you think that ZS3 is not that bassy then I really have doubt in your hearing.

I used to own ZS3 too. I do agree that it is too bassy or rather too warm for my liking and it seems most people here actually like it quite alot. To me it muddies the mids thats for sure but some people here actually like its musicality. The main selling point about the ZS3 is its musicality. Even though there is so much bass and weak mids and highs, its musicality forgives the rest of the spectrum. Although I have to admit I didnt like the ZS3 myself and sold it off. Btw if you dont like the ZS3 I don't suggest trying the Fonge T01 earphones from Vidal's website. They are basically the exact same signature just that the Fonge T01 may just have slighly more engaging vocals.

 

[ridwan47]

Do I need to burn in ZS5? If so, how do I do it? How long? Suggest me some tracks.

 

[Francisk]

HOW DARE YOU INSULT MY HEARING?!?!

lol just kidding...

The bass is elevated, i'll agree with that, but it doesn't take over the entire spectrum like you are suggesting.
When I hear a song, i hear all the instruments,the imaging is very good, i can enjoy electric guitars, the isolation is top notch... What more should i expect from sub 50$ Chi-Fi,really? should i analyze live Classical concerts in 24/96 with these?

You can write down a song or two which suffer from these bass symptoms so i can check it out.

I have to agree with you on the fantastic isolation of the ZS3 but I'm afraid I have to differ on the sound quality. The elevated level of bass of the ZS3 is just too much for me. In fact I have to use a one size smaller Comply T400 on the ZS5 to tame it's bass and smooth out the high peaks. To me, the ZS5's bass level is already a bit over the top for me that's why I prefer the bass response of the ZST. Using the Comply T400 tips cuts out too much highs on the ZS3 even after the Slater mod so that wasn't a solution for me. It doesn't matter what tracks I throw at the ZS3 because it all sounds bad to my ears. My friend's ZS3 should be arriving soon and I shall check his unit just to make sure if my ZS3 is faulty. Until then, my opinion of the ZS3 still remain unfavorable unfortunately.

 

[Francisk]

Shame they don't work out for you. At least they are not expensive and you didn't throw out a lot of money.

Yes, I totally agree with you that the price of the ZS3 is not an issue and no serious loss here. I was just underwhelmed by it's sound after hearing all the high praises by many here.

 

[Sylmar]

Do I need to burn in ZS5? If so, how do I do it? How long? Suggest me some tracks.

In my personal view they are immediately enjoyable out of the box. I didn't burn them in.

 

[nihontoman]

Do I need to burn in ZS5? If so, how do I do it? How long? Suggest me some tracks.

not sure there will be a difference. you could try, certainly won't do anything bad to it