[Slater]

Those VJJB K4 look interesting. I'm a sucker for wood IEMs. How do they sound? Worth blowing $20 to get a pair?

They are made very well, really glossy and nice looking wood (not 'rough' looking wood like a lot of wood IEMs), and are comfortable to wear. I like them a lot. Nice v-shape, great bass, very smooth sounding, easy to drive, EQ and amp well. They aren't the most detailed, which a lot of people hold against it, but I like having some smooth sounding IEMs in my collection, because they're forgiving of lower quality sources ('low-fi heroes' if you will). They're quite fun to listen to. I really should listen to them more than I do (one of the downsides to having a large IEM collection).

There is a few different colors of wood, and a mic (K4S) vs non mic version (K4). They all sound the same though, so get whatever one is the cheapest of the bunch (usually non-mic).

 

[HungryPanda]

I did the tape mod on my green ZS6's and it sounded pretty good. Then listened to my unmodded red ones and prefer the unmodded one. I think the vent hole is designed to press against your ear, taping just mimics this

 

[NeonHD]

Can anyone here suggest me a budget IEM that has the big spacious soundstage and vivid imaging from the ZS6, but with a more relaxed, natural-sounding, yet detailed treble?

It's sad to say, but I'm not using my ZS6 as often as my ED9, mostly because my selection of music simply doesn't sound well with that exaggerated peak in the 10Khz area.

I'm thinking about selling my ZS6 now.... and I can't believe I even ordered the bluetooth cable for this.

 

[HungryPanda]

I could answer but that would be an earbud EMX500

 

[DocHoliday]

Those VJJB K4 look interesting. I'm a sucker for wood IEMs. How do they sound? Worth blowing $20 to get a pair?


As mentioned above I love wooden IEMs. I wear my BossHifi B3s over ear. Just switch left and right so that the nozzles point the correct way and can be inserted into my ears. I don't mind when the violins are on the wrong side of the stage.

If you decide to try the Urbanfun Hybrid be careful with your purchase. They make a beryllium DD that looks similar (perhaps identical) and a number of sellers on Aliexpress.com aren't very good at distinguishing between the models. Some even lump them together in the same product page as 3 'color' choices: the green hybrid, black hybrid and the beryllium DD version.

The VJJB K4, though not perfect, can be a lot of fun.The only drawback, IMHO, is the lift in the mid-bass; that aside, they are very energetic. When they were released two years ago, few people recognized that the K4 ($20) were a great alternative to the ever-popular Sennheiser Momentum In-Ear ($100). Let's add insult to injury - why don't we, the K4 was built better than the Momentum as well. The three different color combinations offered were excellent, but the "ebony" K4 took the cake with it's exquisite dark ashy grey polished wood.

VJJB was on a roll with a few decent releases, but haven't been able to keep pace with Knowledge Zenith, Tennmak, UiiSii and a few others that have made more progress. It would be nice to see them get back in the game with another IEM fashioned from wood.

I think they are worth $20, depending on your appetite for mid-bass, but you asked Podster so it's best to defer to him for your answer.

 

[Selenium]

My ZS6 review is up.
https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/kz-zs6.22686/reviews#review-19751

 

[Slater]

My ZS6 review is up.
https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/kz-zs6.22686/reviews#review-19751

Very nice review mate - well done.

I did find one minor error. The ZS6 nozzle is aluminum, not plastic (the one on the ZS5 is plastic). I'll leave it up to you if you want to correct the info in your review or not.

You can see it here - in it's raw machined aluminum form, before being anodized black.



See the 'installed' nozzle approximately in the center of the photo, as well as the 'bare' nozzle at the bottom at 6 o'clock.

 

[bsoplinger]

The VJJB K4
…
I think they are worth $20, depending on your appetite for mid-bass, but you asked Podster so it's best to defer to him for your answer.

Your answer is appreciated. I only quoted because that was the first mention I'd seen of that model or for that matter the company.

 

[bsoplinger]

Just a heads up. George-gearbest posted a bunch of KZ coupons over on the Gearbest deal thread. Quite a few of the more inexpensive models and the Bluetooth cables also. Very limited quantities for the coupons.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/new...9-xiaofang-19-99.832367/page-84#post-13995616

 

[fluteloop]

me gusta

 

[hydroid]

Got my ZSR yesterday and all my excitement turned into disappointment after listening to them. OOTB, it sounds very bright and piercing to my ears. Initially thought that the ZST is a lot better because the highs are just right and not overly-presented. I'm happy with the bass though since it has the ZS3's bass quantity, IMO.

Then, I decided to do some mod by cutting 4 tiny pieces of earbud foam (1mm by 1mm size) and stuffed them on all the BA's nozzle. Bigger than 1mm sounds muffled/veiled to me. Left the ZSR playing the pink noise the whole night and Voila, I must say the mod made a huge difference. It tamed the highs, not sibilant anymore and at the same time maintained the sparkle/details at least same as the ZST's or even better I guess.,


After the mod, I can say that I'm completely satisfied on how it sounds. I can hear the combination of ZST's highs and ZS3's bass. Crisp midbass as well. Not as rumbly and deep as my IT01's subbass but just right amount according to my taste. I'm still new to this hobby and not too technical to make a detailed comparison but listening to ZSR(after the mod) side by side against the ZST and ZS3 using LG v20, Aune M1s and Zishan Z1, I felt that it's an upgrade to me. Thanks to the community for sharing all the information and your modding experiences.



Update: I know it's a bit late but I just have to give credit to @Slater for his zst mod that served as a guide to this zsr nozzle mod.. I stumble upon his zst mod long time ago when I was still new to the community and somehow forgotten that he is the one who started these great idea. Once again thanks bro..Cheers..

 

[Selenium]

Very nice review mate - well done.

I did find one minor error. The ZS6 nozzle is aluminum, not plastic (the one on the ZS5 is plastic). I'll leave it up to you if you want to correct the info in your review or not.

You can see it here - in it's raw machined aluminum form, before being anodized black.



See the 'installed' nozzle approximately in the center of the photo, as well as the 'bare' nozzle at the bottom at 6 o'clock.

Oh wow thanks. It even feels like plastic but that's probably due to the tip. It isn't as cool to the touch as the rest of the housing.

 

[Toastybob]

Can anyone here suggest me a budget IEM that has the big spacious soundstage and vivid imaging from the ZS6, but with a more relaxed, natural-sounding, yet detailed treble?

It's sad to say, but I'm not using my ZS6 as often as my ED9, mostly because my selection of music simply doesn't sound well with that exaggerated peak in the 10Khz area.

I'm thinking about selling my ZS6 now.... and I can't believe I even ordered the bluetooth cable for this.

Ostry OS300 (black) ear tips (and brain burn-in) were enough to tame the ZS6 treble for me.

 

[Toastybob]

I think I have a KZ curse. After my left ZS5 nozzle fell off and apparently damaged the BA drivers, and the ZSR arrived but have nozzles too large for my ears, my two week old left ES3 suddenly stopped working. I tested with multiple cables, no sound out of the left side at all. I had heard of this happening to recent ZS3s, but not ES3s...

On a positive note, with larger ear tips I can just barely insert the ZSR and wear them like "on-ear monitors".
I haven't done extensive comparisons and I don't consider myself experienced enough to comment on the sound in detail, but at least with this configuration they sound much better to me than the ZST, closer to the ZS6. Vocals seem noticeably louder than ZST.

 

[Slater]

Oh wow thanks. It even feels like plastic but that's probably due to the tip. It isn't as cool to the touch as the rest of the housing.

If you touch it to your lips you'll feel the coldness easier, as your lips are much more sensitive and the skin is very thin.

You can also very gently drag it across a tooth. When it's metal it will feel "grainy", but plastic will feel slippery.