[Holypal]

i wasn't using foams before, didn't like them, but am getting used to them now with zs6 (together with an easy eq on 11kHz).
a so easy EQ is enough to tame the highs when using silicone tips.
i much prefer zs6 rather than zs5v1. find them more suitable to almost every track i listen to. zs5v1 is good, but found issues with more tracks, dunno why, maybe the absence of crossover and extreme low impedance have something to do with that.
however, guess if you refuse to use foams and can't/don't-want to do a simple eq, better to look for other phones than zs6.

Probably the distortion of zs5v1...

 

[xrk971]

My order of my third ZS5's just came. This one from GearBest and... surprise it came in a white paper box. Different than the black box with clear lid that the first two came in. A quick inspection of the nozzle reveals dual balanced armatures aimed right into the ear canal. So now I will be able to compare the two. What's interesting is that the box says that the impedance is 14ohms. Not 8 as reported by someone else. I will listen and report back. Or was 8ohms the "no crossover" impedance of V1's?

 

[vector84]

Could I damage my KZ ZS6 while using them with my asus Xonar STX on the 300 ohm setting?

Edit: Except for the oblivious of having to high volym

http://reference-audio-analyzer.pro/en/report/amp/asus-stx.php

Yes, you may risk to damage them. The power output on a 16 ohm load is too much.

Power = voltage * current, current = voltage / resistance, so if not current limited, power = voltage^2 / resistance.

IE barring current limitations, power is volume.... there is no added risk besides the volume level itself.

300 ohm mode is the middle gain value on that card (+12dB)? As per the data that Superluc linked, low gain should have enough power to drive them to sufficient volume, so unless you're trying to listen to extremely high DR live recordings at full concert volumes, I'm not sure what you'd stand to gain besides added noise and distortion from turning up the gain...

But can it do damage besides too much volume? I don't see how it would... though too much volume itself is obviously a very real risk.

 

[vector84]

My order of my third ZS5's just came. This one from GearBest and... surprise it came in a white paper box. Different than the black box with clear lid that the first two came in. A quick inspection of the nozzle reveals dual balanced armatures aimed right into the ear canal. So now I will be able to compare the two. What's interesting is that the box says that the impedance is 14ohms. Not 8 as reported by someone else. I will listen and report back.

ZS5v2 should indeed be around 14 ohms nominal as it includes a similar (probably the same?) crossover as the ZS6.
(ZS5v1 is around 4 ohms, you might be thinking of ES3/ZSE @ 8 ohms)

At least they're getting closer to reality with their specs

 

[Aevum]

thats curious,

On my Sony NW-A35 the Kz5 V1 sounds good at around 65/120 while the KZ6 was at 55/120, meaning lower impedanc.e

 

[vector84]

thats curious,

On my Sony NW-A35 the Kz5 V1 sounds good at around 65/120 while the KZ6 was at 55/120, meaning lower impedanc.e

You are confusing impedance with sensitivity. Impedance and sensitivity tend to correlate because of the way sensitivity is typically specified (dB/mW), but they are not directly related quantities.

Impedance is just an electrical property (the AC equivalent of resistance). The only reason it comes to play in sensitivity is because we typically specify sensitivity in dB/mW, but output sources typically attempt to reach a given voltage at a specific output setting, so the amount of power they supply will then depend on the impedance they are driving (Ohm's law). This then is where the confusion comes into play - lower impedance means "easier to drive" as in requiring less power to reach a given voltage (but more current), this is not a measure of sensitivity however, this is purely an electrical property. Then given a certain power value, sensitivity is the measure of how much sound pressure (dB SPL) is produced. Sensitivity can also be specified in dB/V to avoid this confusion, but those are less common than dB/mW measurements because they are typically lower numbers (and bigger = better, right?!)

And yes, the ZS6 has a higher sensitivity than the ZS5v1, you can search this thread for posts by @hakuzen with the relevant data.

 

[hakuzen]

Impedance (and phase) curves of ZS5 v1 and ZS6.

Note that ZS5 v1 impedance at 1kHz is 4.8Ω! (ZS6 is ~14.5Ω).

ZS5 & ZS6:


ZS5:


ZS6:

My order of my third ZS5's just came. This one from GearBest and... surprise it came in a white paper box. Different than the black box with clear lid that the first two came in. A quick inspection of the nozzle reveals dual balanced armatures aimed right into the ear canal. So now I will be able to compare the two. What's interesting is that the box says that the impedance is 14ohms. Not 8 as reported by someone else. I will listen and report back. Or was 8ohms the "no crossover" impedance of V1's?

ZS5v2 should indeed be around 14 ohms nominal as it includes a similar (probably the same?) crossover as the ZS6.
(ZS5v1 is around 4 ohms, you might be thinking of ES3/ZSE @ 8 ohms)

At least they're getting closer to reality with their specs

@xrk971 : you asked me how i measured impedance & phase curve time ago, and answered you. repeated same measurements twice more times: you can trust them, or measure them by your own.
like @vector84 says, ZS5v1 is 4.8ohms at 1kHz, and about 4.5ohms at 60Hz. ZS6 is ~14.5ohms at 1kHz. error is less than 0.2ohms, aprox.
i'll measure impedance of ES3 and ZSE (and ZST, ZS3, ATE, ATR, ED9...) and shall post their curves.
added again the curves here, to save you searching in the thread.
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/kno...essions-thread.698148/page-1546#post-13774060

Edit: ZS5v2 are near to arrive here. shall measure them, but expect a very similar curve (if not identical) than ZS6, like @vector84 says. kz fooled us with ZS5v1 specs and overall info. nice to see v2 is fixing that.

 

[jpgr]

My Zs6 arrived yesterday and are currently in the process of being burnt in. I listened for an hour, with the large silicon tips, and didn't notice any treble spike. The supplied headphone lead is springy, tacky to touch and just weird.
Upgrade cable on order but they don't sound bad for a budget pair of iems.

 

[JayceOoi]

Yeah... KZ ZS6 @ $24.99 is back again with this code - KZZS611
https://www.gearbest.com/earbud-headphones/pp_770863.html

 

[ivo001]

Looks like the cable with the nice plugs for KZ is avaiable now And just $7.31!
https://www.aliexpress.com/store/pr...604.html?spm=2114.12010615.0.0.4d2dfae6tWuE1c

Bit dissapointed I could not find that during the 11.11 sales when i bought another cable (https://www.aliexpress.com/item/New...32831364422.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.CNr6wR)

 

[Holypal]

Looks like the cable with the nice plugs for KZ is avaiable now And just $7.31!
https://www.aliexpress.com/store/pr...604.html?spm=2114.12010615.0.0.4d2dfae6tWuE1c


Bit dissapointed I could not find that during the 11.11 sales when i bought another cable (https://www.aliexpress.com/item/New...32831364422.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.CNr6wR)

Don't be disappointed. I actually prefer the one you bought than the first one.

 

[trumpethead]

Good for You... BUT... what about ppl who do not use faoms at all and have low impedance source gear? ZS5 will probably fit them better

Very true, it is a Beautiful thing to have these options so we can personalize our preferences and get the best out of our purchases. I have both and love then both bit differently... I guess it's sorta like having kids...lol

 

[ivo001]

Don't be disappointed. I actually prefer the one you bought than the first one.

Why is that? Do the metal plugs make them too heavy? Quality looks very nice.

 

[kiler]

Why is that? Do the metal plugs make them too heavy? Quality looks very nice.

Decisions have to be made now... I need a new cable for my ZS5 but don't know which one of the two silver cables to pick

 

[Slater]

Decisions have to be made now... I need a new cable for my ZS5 but don't know which one of the two silver cables to pick

Get the 6-wire braided one chief. I have all of the different KZ cables. There is no question.

Even my 13 year old daughter said the other night “cool wire dad, where did you get that?” Do you have any idea what it takes to impress a teenager in this day and age haha?

Just plan on trimming the end off with a razor blade or xacto. It takes 2 seconds. Be sure to mark the orientation of the cable beforehand, so you don’t mix up which direction is which and end up plugging them in out-of-phase. I use a sewing needle and scratch a small “U” on the metal for the side of the pins that has the rounded “U” part. Because once you trim off the plastic, you can no longer tell which is which.

If you have no clue what I’m talking about, check the link in my signature and it will become clear.