[Podster]

Love the "IronMan" moniker for those reds.

Yeah these photos show them as a bit darker than I pictured them. As long as they have that satin sheen and even more refined sound, then I'm all in and maybe for more than one.

HiFiChris had a notion a few pages back about KZ's choices and your comment about more juice may confirm his suspicions.

Did a little research for you. Did someone say green?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B078...+ZS6+green&dpPl=1&dpID=41gUWTE08gL&ref=plSrch

.....and you know those have to be the ZS6(i)!

What say you when comparing the "IronMan" to the Pewter on these tracks? No rush.

THX for the Green pair link, guess I could have just ordered them thru NiceHCK on ALiEx! I'll try to do some cross comparisons with these cuts later today, the finish is satin and a darker Pewter which I'm liking. Still way lighter than the black, here's a shot of one in my ears so please excuse an old man and his hairy ears

Man is that ever a scary sight

 

[kuko61]

I made a photo of an open KZ ZSR. I had to open it, because the 2pin connector has been 180° rotated
I had only a phone, sorry for lower quality.

 

[B9Scrambler]

THX for the Green pair link, guess I could have just ordered them thru NiceHCK on ALiEx! I'll try to do some cross comparisons with these cuts later today, the finish is satin and a darker Pewter which I'm liking. Still way lighter than the black, here's a shot of one in my ears so please excuse an old man and his hairy ears



Man is that ever a scary sight

Haha! Nice ears Podman. There is a reason I always mod shots of any phones in my ears to black and white; my ears are always bright red and I look ridiculous

 

[Podster]

Haha! Nice ears Podman. There is a reason I always mod shots of any phones in my ears to black and white; my ears are always bright red and I look ridiculous

Yes, I resembles that comment I'm pretty amazed at the definition my iPhone 6 has however I did apologize to the squeamish when I posted that hairy beast

 

[chrispl0x]

Wassup ya'll! I've been lurking this thread for a few weeks now, and I realized I made an account years ago, so I finally logged in and joined the fun 8)

I got a pair of KZ6 around Christmas time and I've been loving them so far. Recently, I was looking into getting another KZ iem - either the Zs3, ZST, or ZSR. DocHoliday's ZST review on Amazon got me to order them last night, and they should be coming in tonight! Ima be breaking those in tonight and comparing them to my zs6

 

[nkramer]

welcome chris!

 

[DocHoliday]

Wassup ya'll! I've been lurking this thread for a few weeks now, and I realized I made an account years ago, so I finally logged in and joined the fun 8)

I got a pair of KZ6 around Christmas time and I've been loving them so far. Recently, I was looking into getting another KZ iem - either the Zs3, ZST, or ZSR. DocHoliday's ZST review on Amazon got me to order them last night, and they should be coming in tonight! Ima be breaking those in tonight and comparing them to my zs6

Welcome to the thread!

Sorry for your wallet!

Most of us here have a benign addiction that empties our wallets everytime Knowledge Zenith releases a new model, which is often.

KZ releases them and we scoop them up. The veterans here collect KZ's like Beanie Babies, but get far more use out of these collectibles than a Beanie Baby collector ever could.

At the moment you've started off with KZ's flagship IEM, the ZS6.

The ZST is an excellent IEM, especially at $20, but the ZS6 outperforms it in build and sound signature.

The ZS3, again, is a very good IEM and is the most comfortable IEM that have ever graced my ears, but the ZS6 outperforms it by a country mile.

The ZSR is the newest of the bunch and, thus far, there is one official review by Wiljen and a first impressions comment by B9.

Wiljen:
https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/kz-zsr.22905/reviews

B9's comments:

ZSR in the house. 1st impressions, all of which are just my opinion and subject to change as I spend more time with them;

- Like the other KZ hybrids she's got some sizzle in the treble; more than the ZST but less than the ZS6
- Bass is more restrained than I was expecting; decent extension that's not quite as good as the ZS6; more textured and dynamic than the ZST, and about on par with the ZS6
- Mids are physically more forward but not really any more prominent than they are on the ZS6 or ZST; has a bit of added warmth/weight which makes them really quite nice
- What is this space? These sound even larger than the ZS6 though not quite as accurate with imaging, or with quite as good of layering or separation; ZST is completely outclassed here
- ZS6 is still better with picking up micro-details, esp. in the mids
- This housing is butt ugly imo (got it in black) and really thick, like, fully wireless iem style bulk
- I can see the two vents on the bottom being blocked by some ears depending on how they sit; doing so seems to lead to less overall bass quantity but I need to test that more
- Personally I like the ZS3's housing a lot more

Overall? So far so good. As long as you're okay with a bit more treble than what the ZST offers, this feels like a decent step up from that model. Also feels like a good alternative to the ZS6 due to the lessened treble energy, though it's not so much less that the treble sensitive out there will be okay. Still too agro for you methinks. If you want something less treble-heavy, ZS3 or ZST are probably still the way to go.

I think the ES3 is worth a mention here, but until I get a hold of the ZSR I can't really comment on whether or not one should have both the ZSR & the ES3). Both sport the 10mm dynamic driver and one balanced armature that focuses on treble. The ZSR contains an additional balanced armature that focuses on the midrange and the ZSR driver housings with their bulbous faceplates contribute to a wider soundstage. As a collector of KZ's my vote is too have both (ZSR & ES3), but I'm sure not everyone collects KZ's, so........

At any rate welcome to the thread and hope you enjoy your KZ's as much as we do.

As always, sorry about your wallet.

 

[B9Scrambler]

ES3 is pretty darn nice and def worth a mention. Still need to pick up a set.

 

[DocHoliday]

ES3 is pretty darn nice and def worth a mention. Still need to pick up a set.

I really like it....a lot. It's sort of a slightly warmer ZST (warmer vocals and deeper bass) . There's more micro-detail than the ZS3, but slightly less than the ZST. All of those who find the ZST treble to be a bit much should be looking directly at an ES3. KZ clearly had them in mind when releasing it. The bass isn't as clean, but it definitely performs. I imagine the ZSR sub-bass is the equivalent since it's the same 10mm driver.


I plan on doing a review of them, but the BA in my right earpiece is damaged. Sure, I'll open 'em up and try to fix it, but for a proper review these should be replaced.

....and true to form, I'll be ordering more. I hope they issue an ES3 in that deep red they used for the ED12. KZ could get some use out of that color (we know the ED12 sales were abysmal) while the rest of us can get a new color option. Win-Win in my eyes!

 

[Limjialok]

Hi guys. 2 questions
1) I have a zsr and ZSE. Should i buy a zst or es3 to use with the bluetooth kit?
2) any current coupons for gearbest?? I found a coupons 2 weeks ago for my zsr whoch brings the cost from $21.99 to $16.99, sweet!

 

[riffrafff]

Great. Thanks to you guys, I've ordered a pair of ES3s. Geeze.

 

[DocHoliday]

ES3 is pretty darn nice and def worth a mention. Still need to pick up a set.

BTW, I read your DM5 review and found the same anomaly that you did.
Outside of vocals, the center was just dead space which I've never experienced with an IEM before. When you couple that dead space with the DM5's strident tendencies in the higher frequency range. .....

.....well, let's just say I'm not a fan, which is unfortunate because it had other attributes.
.....and like Brando says, it "could've been a contender".

With all that said, I'd take my ES3 over the DM5 eight out of ten times, even though it's slightly less refined. The DM5's separate drivers really give it the upper hand when it comes to definition, but it's shortcomings are simply too obvious to overlook. The only time things get uneasy with the ES3 is if a track is mastered with mid-bass that's laid on a bit too thick.

 

[CoiL]

ES3 is pretty darn nice and def worth a mention. Still need to pick up a set.

To me, ES3 shells look exactly like Fonge T01 which are quite uncomfy for me, so, ES3 is no option for me. But I wonder what drivers it has inside - anyone has pic?

 

[nofacemonster]

This is an all too common issue with the KZ 2-pin models, and is usually caused by accidentally plugging in the cable backwards. The plug will technically "fit" when plugged in backwards, but the only thing holding it in is the friction of the pins (allowing it to separate & fall apart at any time). Plugging one side in backwards will also cause that side to be out of phase.

When both plugs are oriented properly and seated fully, it takes an incredible amount of force to unplug them. There is a tight mechanical fitment due to the plug's shape - curved on one end and flat on the other - and it's designed to fit like a key in a lock.

They fit so tightly together that they'd easily get pulled out of the ears before the plugs would get detached from the IEM itself (like if riding a bike and the cable gets caught on a tree for example).

Not sure if that's what happened to yours, but if so don't feel bad because it's happened to others.

I've included the following photo (replacing my previous crude drawing LOL), so hopefully people can double check their ZS3/ZST/ZS5/ZS6/ZSR/ES3/ED12 connections to make sure they're correctly oriented.

I just discovered that my KZ ZS5 had been plugged wrong way all this time, the left channel i plugged facing the L outwards. but when i plug them correctly L marking on the wire turns inward while R marking turns outwards on the R channel. I hope i am correct.

 

[Wiljen]

Watch the orientation of the jack in the earpiece too as KZ has been known to just slap them in without paying any attention to which way they are turned. I had one set of Zs6 where the two earpieces were in opposite orientations. . Luckily those are easy to take the face off of and reverse one.