[CoiL]

I personally think they need to stop beating a dead horse and branch out with upgrades to other model lines. They've done bright treble to death. Let's mix it up with:

• a new ATE but with a graphene driver

NoooOOOOO!!! No kill for ATE !!! They are great single dynamic!!!

Just new DD lineup with graphene driver would be ok.... and long live the ATE !

They should just update ATE shells design with something similar as my FF-mod and KZ fans would have very close (~97-98%) sound to ZS5v1 (in right conditions) with half of ZS5v2 price

;P

 

[RvTrav]

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.

I have the UiiSii CM5 and believe it meets the criteria you are looking for. Gearbest has them for $26.65 Canadian .

 

[MasterDomino]

Finally got my zs3 and es3. Zs3 seems to work fine for now, but i instantly moded it xD

Spoiler

 

[oyobass]

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.

Now if KZ would release a ZS6 in anodized polished aluminum, that would be awesome!

 

[Mellowship]

Finally got my zs3 and es3. Zs3 seems to work fine for now, but i instantly moded it xD

Spoiler

Did the exact same thing yesterday to the exact same cable for my ZS3. I was using the KZ silver cable (the clear one), but got tired of looking at it turning green from oxidation, so I picked up the stock ZS3 cable and pulled the memory guides apart. One thing that astonished me was the build up of rust on one of the memory wires that was starting to damage the rubber on the cable. All my stuff is stored in dry places and I seldomly use a cloth bag filled with silica gel that I made from several small paper packages to keep things dry (the bag is then heated in the microwave to remove excess moisture - a trick I learned from professional photographers who use this method to keep their expensive lens free of fungus). So I guess the rust had developed before the item arrived. Can't complain. Chinese facilities...

 

[MasterDomino]

Did the exact same thing yesterday to the exact same cable for my ZS3. I was using the KZ silver cable (the clear one), but got tired of looking at it turning green from oxidation, so I picked up the stock ZS3 cable and pulled the memory guides apart. One thing that astonished me was the build up of rust on one of the memory wires that was starting to damage the rubber on the cable. All my stuff is stored in dry places and I seldomly use a cloth bag filled with silica gel that I made from several small paper packages to keep things dry (the bag is then heated in the microwave to remove excess moisture - a trick I learned from professional photographers who use this method to keep their expensive lens free of fungus). So I guess the rust had developed before the item arrived. Can't complain. Chinese facilities...

oxydation isnt caused by water at all, its caused by oxygen which you have a lot in air xD, those are not stainless steel or anything soo its pretty normal they will corrode, also thats quite suprising they damaged the rubber, i took it out from mine cuz i wear glasses and this actually kindof annoys me, prolly will do same to ES3 but those actually fit better if it comes to the cables with glasses, also i should use a little heat to seal the shrinking tube, but will do it later, idk how to burn-in soo i just left music running on them will pick them up in a few hours and see if theres any change, rn testing ES3 and they sounds quite nice, the ZS3 also sound quite naughty but well have to get used to them.
EDIT: well water does speed up oxydation cuz well H2O sorry for bad explanation xD

 

[Mellowship]

oxydation isnt caused by water at all, its caused by oxygen which you have a lot in air xD, those are not stainless steel or anything soo its pretty normal they will corrode, also thats quite suprising they damaged the rubber, i took it out from mine cuz i wear glasses and this actually kindof annoys me, prolly will do same to ES3 but those actually fit better if it comes to the cables with glasses, also i should use a little heat to seal the shrinking tube, but will do it later, idk how to burn-in soo i just left music running on them will pick them up in a few hours and see if theres any change, rn testing ES3 and they sounds quite nice, the ZS3 also sound quite naughty but well have to get used to them.
EDIT: well water does speed up oxydation cuz well H2O sorry for bad explanation xD

Hey, don't mind! water speeds up oxidation because oxigen is water-soluble and if moisture (i.e. water) sticks to an oxidable surface, it will increase contact area and exposition of oxigen with that surface!
I also wear glasses and the only cable with some kind of memory guiding I could find that I was confortable with was one from an unknown brand at AE, with a very thin transparent rectractible plastic that was molded in a ear-shaped form.

 

[MasterDomino]

Hey, don't mind! water speeds up oxidation because oxigen is water-soluble and if moisture (i.e. water) sticks to an oxidable surface, it will increase contact area and exposition of oxigen with that surface!
I also wear glasses and the only cable with some kind of memory guiding I could find that I was confortable with was one from an unknown brand at AE, with a very thin transparent rectractible plastic that was molded in a ear-shaped form.

my next problem is i have really small ear canals, soo i always have to pick smallest tip, the starlines on ES3 actually fit me on medium size O.o, and i just listened to this and it sounds majestic as hell. also heated the tubing in zs3 and it seems sturdy and clean cuz i havent cut it fully i guess it will be more durable , not sure about removal of the memory wire from ES3 yet :/ ah dilemmas.

 

[Podster]

To be honest I find a pair of old soup cans and a string to sound better than Skull Candies
But I get what you mean.

LOL, you have a point @bsoplinger but that just sounded so cruel In their defense as with the Dasterdly Beats and Blose they do put out sound

MHO is both Slater and the Doc have given a pretty good description of the K4's and size, fit and finish for 20 bones are top notch, little lacking in clarity and what I call mobile midrange they can hold their own at $20 with other V-shaped iem's and some a little more expensive As cheap as they are almost everyone who looks at them compliments their look

In reference to Slater's comment on them sounding good with lesser/cheaper DAPS mine have always sounded really good with my Mrobo 5

Dang, better get politically correct for the thread I'm in, Mrobo 5 also sounds pretty good with these shiny puppies

 

[bsoplinger]

I have the UiiSii CM5 and believe it meets the criteria you are looking for. Gearbest has them for $26.65 Canadian .

Amazon.com USA has them for $15.99 but not sure if the Canadian brand has but it might be worth looking.

 

[bsoplinger]

LOL, you have a point @bsoplinger but that just sounded so cruel In their defense as with the Dasterdly Beats and Blose they do put out sound

MHO is both Slater and the Doc have given a pretty good description of the K4's and size, fit and finish for 20 bones are top notch, little lacking in clarity and what I call mobile midrange they can hold their own at $20 with other V-shaped iem's and some a little more expensive As cheap as they are almost everyone who looks at them compliments their look

Dang, better get politically correct for the thread I'm in

Thanks for the reply. Yeah twas a bit cruel I get. Just that I keep hearing about how wonderful they are from people. And in their defense I guess they sound better than the complete garbage that comes free with so many products. But they really aren't a good sounding product.

I asked because of just that, how good they look when I went looking for more info about them.

And also to be politically correct for the thread… KZ has tried a few different designs for different purposes. How do we suggest to them to try making a wood bodied IEM?

 

[paulindss]

After a year of usage i decided to do Slater mod on my ZST. I also take off the memory wire of the cable. Well, i think that they got some juice and will Still be rocking for some time. I Will order a upgrade cable.

What i think that i'm hearing after the mod: The Bass os a little bit elevated, wich i did'nt think It was necessary. The mids are way more present, i think and the treble continues to be very clear. Overrall the sound is Warmer, but keeping the Clarity. I did'nt liked the bump in the Bass tho. Maybe this bump together with the mids makes the music sound too much artificial.

If i'm happy with the mod ? YES. I got a new iem. Just eq the Bass down a little bit and we are done.

 

[Podster]

Yes, I think the ZST is a shining star for KZ and the one + one setup is excellently tuned. If you read through this thread the one thing that always pops up is how the ZST does not over power in the treble as the dual BA's do and also IMO the single DD provides plenty of bass, what I get with dual DD's is just a little more refinement on the bass and mid bass ranges but when I slip back into my ZST's I rarely miss it as well. Of course this is just my ears and of course YMMV Like you and after wearing my Carbon's for a year now thought they would give up the ghost but are still working great as well as my colorful's

 

[paulindss]

After a year of usage i decided to do Slater mod on my ZST. I also take off the memory wire of the cable. Well, i think that they got some juice and will Still be rocking for some time. I Will order a upgrade cable.

What i think that i'm hearing after the mod: The Bass os a little bit elevated, wich i did'nt think It was necessary. The mids are way more present, i think and the treble continues to be very clear. Overrall the sound is Warmer, but keeping the Clarity. I did'nt liked the bump in the Bass tho. Maybe this bump together with the mids makes the music sound too much artificial.

If i'm happy with the mod ? YES. I got a new iem. Just eq the Bass down a little bit and we are done.

Just did a A/B with my swing ie800. And hell, compared to them the KZ modded has absolutely no sibilance. On my phone, in a propor source the swing it"s not that sibilant.

The sound on Zst modded is large, rounded, super loud. With a awesome Bass. But sounds artifical. And a bit agressive. Quantity is'nt quality after all.

If i like ? Hm... Yes i like it. To me they are sounding quite like what a ZS3 with better Clarity and actually a real treble response. Not muffled and dark.

Edit: right now they are the most revealing iem in my bench, while the Other's did'nt arrive. They really did'nt miss anything in the Clarity. And the elevated bass did'nt muffled the other frequencies. THESE ARE JUST ROCKING LOUD.

Link to @Slater mod: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/kno...essions-thread.698148/page-1167#post-13480650

 

[Podster]

Thanks for the reply. Yeah twas a bit cruel I get. Just that I keep hearing about how wonderful they are from people. And in their defense I guess they sound better than the complete garbage that comes free with so many products. But they really aren't a good sounding product.

I asked because of just that, how good they look when I went looking for more info about them.

And also to be politically correct for the thread… KZ has tried a few different designs for different purposes. How do we suggest to them to try making a wood bodied IEM?

After seeing some of Coil's immaculate shell work I always thought a wooden bodied ED9 would look sweet, sort of like a shell made out of No. 2 pencil! That is what the ED9 shape has always reminded me of