[djmakemynight]

I came to head-fi looking for cheaper alternatives. When I found this thread, it felt like I struck gold.

Started out with the ATR and before I knew it, I have half a dozen KZ IEMs. Telling myself I need to stop on this KZ addiction, I decided to read other threads. Ended up with more IEMs..

I guess such is the life of a head-fier..

To be continued...

p.s. I forgot to put on my IEMs when writing this.

 

[Slater]

You haven't considered the playback source of the different people reporting different things.

The ZSE and ZS5v2 sound different using different sources based on my own tests. Its not a stretch to say that different people report different things may also be attributed to different playback sources have different characteristics. Thus contributing to the differences in opinion on the ZS6 either.

And a lot of people seem to jump to conclusions on the sound characteristics without giving their earphones ( whichever phone and model that may be, not just KZ) sufficient time to bed-in.
I would highly recommend downloading a pink noise track and let it do the burn-in on infinite loop playback for at least overnight before making up your minds on whether the sound signature is to your liking. Its just setting it to a listening volume and let it play be it a cheap MP3 player or the laptop jack, while you sleep or do your other stuff.

There's no "brain-burn" so to speak when you do it that way.

Listen to them again after the overnight session and see if you like them or not and them decide. The bass came a little 'wooly / loose' for both the ZSE and ZS5v5 OOTB, they both tightened up after a few short hours of burn-in.

Patience is often gold in this.

Good point about the source.

We already know that impedance has an impact on frequencies, but here’s an example of odd quirks with 1 dac/source vs others doing weird things with certain frequencies (in @waveriderhawaii case, a dropout at 16k using his phone).

Edit: Sorry, I forgot the link: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/chi...phones-and-iems.820747/page-860#post-13825759

 

[Slater]

ZS5, black box, ZS5 white box. Both came with pronounced highs out of the box. Both are V.2. ZS6 green, same thing. BUT.. with 40-50 hours playing in high volume, treble satle down in a big way. Only diference between 5 and 6 is that 6 has more definition in bass. For my ears I found mids beter on 5s. Everithing other is the same.

Tested on:
Denon high end receiver, SACD Player, ProJect turntable, ortofon, stanton, shure.
SMSL SAP VI, laptop, Oppo player
Native instruments traktor dj 2, laptop
flacs (pop, rock, house, chill, jazz), blue note and chesky cds, and records

Just give them time! Treble will come down for shure.

Funny you should mention the bass definition on the ZS6 vs ZS5. I was just thinking about that yesterday (because my ZS5 v2 arrived). I was expecting the ZS5 v2 to sound nearly identical to the ZS6, so I was surprised that the ZS6 had a noticeable difference in bass.

Well, I ran across this photo a few days ago that has the ZS5 v1, ZS5 v2, and ZS6 all lined up. And low and behold you can see that the inside vent (ie the 'bass vent') is about 50% smaller on the ZS6 than on both the ZS5 v1 and ZS5 v2. (Click photo for larger view)


I had already tested sealing my ZS5 v1's vent hole with tape in the past, and didn't like the change at all (the bass became bloated and introduced driver flex). I went back today and redid the tape mod, this time only covering 1/2 of the hole with tape. Low and behold, there was the bass improvement I was hoping for! The bass sounds exactly like the ZS6 now. I liked it so much, I did it to both of my ZS5s (v1 and v2).

I assume micropore tape could also be used, but I wanted more control over the exact size of the vent hole (to exactly match the ZS6 hole). Micropore tape is porous, but it's anyone's guess what the surface area of the hole ends up being in the end.

 

[vector84]

With the exception of the Zs5, I haven't seen any Kz product that wasn't between 16 and 32 Ohm and thus source matching for all the Kz products should be pretty straight forward.

ZSE, ES3: 8 ohms

Also 3dB of roll-off is the industry standard for entirely inaudible to the average listener. But the average head-fi'er is not the average listener.

 

[Wiljen]

ZSE, ES3: 8 ohms

Also 3dB of roll-off is the industry standard for entirely inaudible to the average listener. But the average head-fi'er is not the average listener.

Learn something new every day, I thought the ES3 was 16 Ohm. Don't have the ZSE so cant speak to that one.

 

[Podster]

Funny you should mention the bass definition on the ZS6 vs ZS5. I was just thinking about that yesterday (because my ZS5 v2 arrived). I was expecting the ZS5 v2 to sound nearly identical to the ZS6, so I was surprised that the ZS6 had a noticeable difference in bass.

Well, I ran across this photo a few days ago that has the ZS5 v1, ZS5 v2, and ZS6 all lined up. And low and behold you can see that the inside vent (ie the 'bass vent') is about 50% smaller on the ZS6 than on both the ZS5 v1 and ZS5 v2. (Click photo for larger view)


I had already tested sealing my ZS5 v1's vent hole with tape in the past, and didn't like the change at all (the bass became bloated and introduced driver flex). I went back today and redid the tape mod, this time only covering 1/2 of the hole with tape. Low and behold, there was the bass improvement I was hoping for! The bass sounds exactly like the ZS6 now. I liked it so much, I did it to both of my ZS5s (v1 and v2).

I assume micropore tape could also be used, but I wanted more control over the exact size of the vent hole (to exactly match the ZS6 hole). Micropore tape is porous, but it's anyone's guess what the surface area of the hole ends up being in the end.

Good call @Slater , I've never thought once to compare those bass ports! Might solve the highs for some people because if your bass is not crisp and precise it adds to any peakiness IMO Going to try it as I've not put my ZS5's back in since getting my ZS6's

 

[Wiljen]

interesting to me that the Zs6 in that picture has molded in pillars for the BAs to center on, while the ZS5 has nothing positioning the ba in the nozzle. That certainly suggests that there never was a Zs6v1 in the plan with the same drivers as the early Zs5 as those pillars would make it impossible to position the single ba against the wall as shown.

 

[vector84]

interesting to me that the Zs6 in that picture has molded in pillars for the BAs to center on, while the ZS5 has nothing positioning the ba in the nozzle. That certainly suggests that there never was a Zs6v1 in the plan with the same drivers as the early Zs5 as those pillars would make it impossible to position the single ba against the wall as shown.

It's difficult to make out in that picture because they left all the gluey mess, but the ZS5v1 also has a flattened ledge that the BA is adhered to in the same position as the molded pillar of the ZS6.

But the idea that the ZS6 was going to be configured differently comes from the internals which still have a cutout for a missing buried BA.

 

[HungryPanda]

@Slater I'll give this a try for sure

 

[wastan]

Has anyone verified that KZ has been using the same BAs through the entire run of ZS5 versions?

 

[Slater]

Who's tested multiple samples and how many did they test? I only ask because I'm doubtful that anybody has bought dozens of the same earphone and 2 or 3 is statistically insignificant.

@hakuzen and @HiFiChris both tested more than one sample from different lots, colors, and distribution points purchased over the span of several weeks. While not statistically a valid sample size, if you make some assumptions about the number of production lots, it is enough to draw some conclusions.

The Japanese guy linked in this @Toastybob post bought (4) ZS6 alone, just to make sure there were no sonic differences between them. Who knows how many ZS5v1 and ZS5 v2 he bought:

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/kno...essions-thread.698148/page-1634#post-13822380

Translated version summaries and interpretations here:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/kno...essions-thread.698148/page-1635#post-13822920
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/kno...essions-thread.698148/page-1635#post-13822477

 

[vector84]

Has anyone verified that KZ has been using the same BAs through the entire run of ZS5 versions?

I'm pretty sure the early disassemblies done on ZS5v1 confirmed KZ's internal specs: a BA marked 1205 (don't know if it was marked KZ) in the nozzle, and a KZ 30095 in the body.
The ZS5v2 / ZS6 contain two KZ 30095s

Annoyingly most of the original teardown videos have been taken down though.

 

[Podster]

[QUOTE="vector84, post: But the idea that the ZS6 was going to be configured differently comes from the internals which still have a cutout for a missing buried BA.[/QUOTE]

What, there's a missing or buried BA jkjk LOL

 

[Slater]

Good call @Slater , I've never thought once to compare those bass ports! Might solve the highs for some people because if your bass is not crisp and precise it adds to any peakiness IMO Going to try it as I've not put my ZS5's back in since getting my ZS6's

@Slater I'll give this a try for sure

1 other mod which I haven't done yet but plan to is removing the tape inside the ZS5 (both versions). They omitted the tape in the ZS6, and I remember at least 1 HF user (@ReBreaker) had removed this tape and commented about how it made improvements (specifically, improving the recessed mids and making vocals more natural).

Update: Here's @ReBreaker's post (a 1st time member too - dude has some nice skills I'd like to see more of his mod work/ideas around here): https://www.head-fi.org/threads/kno...essions-thread.698148/page-1457#post-13734048

I always thought the tape was there to prevent the wires from shorting out against the internal pins (solder joints) of the 2-pin connector. But the ZS6 has no such tape, and the internal wiring and spacing between components is basically the same.

Therefore, the tape is specifically placed over the driver/magnet vent of the smaller 6.8mm (midrange) driver to seal it off (recessing the mids to a more v-shaped tune).

Here's you can see the tape between all 3 versions (click for larger view):

Note: He also vented the rear cover, but the ZS5 already has numerous vents along the shell seam (absent in the ZS6). So while this change certainly contributed to some of the changes he heard, I think the tape removal allowing that midrange driver to breathe contributed the lion's share of the midrange differences.

 

[Slater]

What, there's a missing or buried BA jkjk LOL

haha, don't feed the bears man LOL