[Viber]

Whaaat? ATR lacking details and mids? No way, the ATR I have doesn` t sound like this. Maybe newer version on sale?

Yea, they are pretty boring.
They hit the ball out of the park in terms of imaging though, it's amazing how good they are for movies and video games (unless there is music in the scene )

 

[Fox2twenty]

Just switched back to zs5 from ES3.

ZS5 really has amazing Soundstage for the price. The first thing I noticed is the stereo effects are wider and the Soundstage is taller.

 

[djmakemynight]

Talking about wives, women have evolved to have a slightly different sound perception then men, with a slightly better space perception when it comes to the higher human voice pitches. It must have been of use when we were evolving as a tribal species and a given woman had to differentiate the exact timbre and location of her child among all the other tribe children in order to come to rescue. Don't take this as a deterministic point of view, please!

As for the ED12, it sounds weird indeed, and I guess your ability to differentiate lossy vs lossless might have to do with its somewhat bloated and echoing midrange - it might help revealing pontual differences in a frequency range our ears are very sensitive to, hence they should help telling the difference between the same two recordings with different levels of compression. But do you agree that the ED12 is a good IEM for music appreciation, or for some kind of music style in particular? I personally find them very unnatural - even disturbing - in the way they deliver. Voices, for instances, sound almost unhuman. Wood instruments like clarinets and oboes, lose their characteristic timbre.

Well, maybe I listen to music very softly so my ears are able to pick up the differences in the soundstage and timbre in voices and possibly dynamic range. I don't really know how to describe it but you just hear the difference.

You can try it here: http://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2015/06/02/411473508/how-well-can-you-hear-audio-quality

Just for reference, I listen on the lowest level on my V20 at night in bed. Sometimes, I even turn down the amplification to -6dB from 0 because it is too loud for me... @_@

I would definitely re-do the tests with my other KZs and see how easy it is to pick out the loseless vs lossy audio.

Regarding the ED12, what I noticed that it would push back some sounds in the back further away and bring forward some sounds that are in the front even closer.

It's like listening to a band and the vocalist is singing right beside you and the drums are playing from the backstage instead of them being on the stage together.

 

[kokakolia]

Yea, they are pretty boring.
They hit the ball out of the park in terms of imaging though, it's amazing how good they are for movies and video games (unless there is music in the scene )

I absolutely loved my ED7s until I wrecked them. Some guy on amazon says that the ATR and ED7 are basically the same. The highs and lows were gentle, and vocals sounded very close. It's very relaxing and warm sounding. That's what I like.

 

[-sandro-]

People call ATR "neutral". I call them "dull". They absorb the tiniest bit of magic in music...
I also bought ATR because of the early great impressions. I don't regret. It is always a risk doing so. We are all different.

Wow yes, I have near neutral ones like the sound magic E10 and the monoprice horrible ones and I don't see how ATR can be called neutral. I already said this, the mids sound like this: take a lossless audio file which sound awesome and convert it to 96Kbit -MP3-. That's how mids sound. Combine that with dull tuning...
I don't think a got bad one, since everything else seems as described.

 

[manjunath1915]

Has anyone tried 2 iems in 2 ears but on single cable like zs5 n es3 on same cable could share ur experience

 

[Superluc]

and the ZSE, well I'm feeling nervous as I wait.

Come on... we are talking about a damn cheap pair of IEM, buy them is like try a different pizza or sandwich

It's limits can be easily perceived, but they also have something, like the comfort, fun and warm signature, that can be very enjoyable. Is just unfair to expect them to be more resolving than more pricey and recommended equipment.
The ZS6 is already something to be more careful, at that tag price, but we already know that the ZS5 is a good pair. If the ZS6 accomplice to bring some extra kick, mids presence, and smoothness in highs, with better tonality, i may be very happy with them.

The trust can be a problem in this kind of forum, we all have different sources, perception and claims, but trust need to be gained in due time, everywhere, not only here. Just don't think that any new face is a scammer

 

[Slater]

Everytime I think I'm out...


ATR, ZSE were boths praised beyond reason by those not to be named specifically, but have disappeared of late for some reason. Now we see the flip side.
It's possible there are duds out there. But I trusted people and I feel like I was let down, never mind what I think about the sound, I spent the money because I was told they were good. I have ATR and it's pretty good, and the ZSE, well I'm feeling nervous as I wait. For the record the ATR stays at home mostly because it is a cable up and I can't see myself messying with cables when I'm in public.

So what are you looking for in an IEM? Obviously you said cable down. What other features do you require? What sound are you looking for? What genres do you listen to? What are you using to listen to the music on? Do you have an amp?

So you got a couple of duds (for you). At least you didn't invest $100 each. Get back up on the horse and lets find you something else you can enjoy. No one is intentionally trying to mislead you here. It's not like we all secretly have KZ stock, or get a dollar for every IEM we recommend.

The ZSE and ATR are still very enjoyable IEMs for a lot of people (or genres of music). You can just use them for movies or gaming. Or you can always give them to someone as a gift (or sell them both as a package on the for sale forum). A significant other, sibling, parent, friend, coworker, etc. I'm sure they would be enjoyed by most people you give them to, since at least 50% of the population is walking around in HiFi ignorance who think the only thing that exists is crappy IEMs like free apple earbuds, $5 skull candys, or dollar store earphones.

 

[Slater]

Has anyone tried 2 iems in 2 ears but on single cable like zs5 n es3 on same cable could share ur experience

I've tried to AB compare like that before and it really doesn't work for me. 1 of my ears is slightly different than the other, and besides our brains mix the sound together.

When trying to AB compare I sometimes just use a Y-splitter.

 

[Fox2twenty]

I've tried to AB compare like that before and it really doesn't work for me. 1 of my ears is slightly different than the other, and besides our brains mix the sound together.

When trying to AB compare I sometimes just use a Y-splitter.

I usually listen to a whole album before switching.

 

[Slater]

I usually listen to a whole album before switching.

Good call. Or it's good to have a set playlist of songs you know like the back of your hand.

I just use the splitter when I need speed of switching. Like if I want to quickly hear how that ride cymbal or snare drum sounds in this vs that head/earphone. It works better for full size headphones that IEMs.

Humans have terrible sound memory, so I try and reduce the length of time when comparing micro details and stuff.

 

[Fox2twenty]

Good call. Or it's good to have a set playlist of songs you know like the back of your hand.

I just use the splitter when I need speed of switching. Like if I want to quickly head how that highhat sounds in this vs that piece of gear. It works better for full size headphones that IEMs.

Ahhh ha. I see what you mean. Cymbals sound fantastic on ES3.

 

[Slater]

Ahhh ha. I see what you mean. Cymbals sound fantastic on ES3.

One of the few KZs I don't have.

 

[Mellowship]

I absolutely loved my ED7s until I wrecked them. Some guy on amazon says that the ATR and ED7 are basically the same. The highs and lows were gentle, and vocals sounded very close. It's very relaxing and warm sounding. That's what I like.

The ED7 are relaxing and warm, big bass, vshaped with slight roll off on the treble. So, a fun sound. Nothing to do with ATR.

 

[-sandro-]

So what are you looking for in an IEM? Obviously you said cable down. What other features do you require? What sound are you looking for? What genres do you listen to? What are you using to listen to the music on? Do you have an amp?

So you got a couple of duds (for you). At least you didn't invest $100 each. Get back up on the horse and lets find you something else you can enjoy. No one is intentionally trying to mislead you here. It's not like we all secretly have KZ stock, or get a dollar for every IEM we recommend.

The ZSE and ATR are still very enjoyable IEMs for a lot of people (or genres of music). You can just use them for movies or gaming. Or you can always give them to someone as a gift (or sell them both as a package on the for sale forum). A significant other, sibling, parent, friend, coworker, etc. I'm sure they would be enjoyed by most people you give them to, since at least 50% of the population is walking around in HiFi ignorance who think the only thing that exists is crappy IEMs like free apple earbuds, $5 skull candys, or dollar store earphones.

Make that > 90%.