[Bartig]

Thought I'd check in with an update on my ED16 now I've had them for a bit.

Bit peed off that I can literally only use one style of tip on these, being a Sony hybrid type thing in a large.
Absolutely no other tips will seal, which is a pity as isolation is probably among the worst out of my collection, but hey ho swings and roundabouts I guess, Just a tad annoying.
And I'm still not sold on the shell design, way to sharp at the bottom.
Be careful putting these in as they can hurt.

I've noticed with these the more time I've spent with them that some songs can sound a touch boring....not that being a bad thing as it could be the recording, but these definitely benefit from a warm sounding player.
Not that they are bright in anyway either, but as they are somewhat balanced and tend to be a touch on the "Cold" side, the warmer player helps them to shine, For me anyway.

The bass is nice tight and punchy and goes deep when needed.
Mids are full clear and full of detail.
The treble is nice and detailed too with a lititle roll off and not fatiguing In any way.
Actually you could certainly use these as a stage monitor for sure, they are very suited for this.

All in all I'm quite pleased with them, most definitely better than my ZSR by quite some way, and a very pleasant musical sounding monitor.

Funny. I received my ED16 yesterday and after the first hours of listening, I don't think they're definitely better than the ZSR. The sound may be more balanced, but the highs are also rolled off more and there's a bit less pronunciation to the music, I think. Less spacious, less instrumental separation. The ZSR just had 'it' when I first put them in, the ED16 didn't.

Good to know, if you compare ZSR with ES4 it's like night and day difference.

This is my first time I'm trying IEMS and just for £20 ZSR is surprisingly beautiful sounding iems ever made imo.

I think the ES4 needs proper burnin then it might open up the sound, for now I think I just wasted my £10 lol.

I'm now waiting for my XDUOO XD05 then ill find out how they really perform with good headphone amps, I will post my impression soon.

When I first put the ZSR in and there wasn't much praise for them, I thought: time will tell how good these are. It's already coming.

As for the ES4: they're decent. I'm afraid I may think the same of the ED16. But let's give it some more tracks...

 

[maxxevv]

Funny. I received my ED16 yesterday and after the first hours of listening, I don't think they're definitely better than the ZSR. The sound may be more balanced, but the highs are also rolled off more and there's a bit less pronunciation to the music, I think. Less spacious, less instrumental separation. The ZSR just had 'it' when I first put them in, the ED16 didn't.

Same here, they didn't impress me on the first few hours of listen. And they seemed a little bit sibilant.

Shall put them on burn-in over the weekend and see if there's any difference.

 

[dhruvmeena96]

OK...

Well I noticed a trend in KZ.

Coming from Bass side IEM, they thought trebly is new market and shooting all high red...they released ZST (which still had KZ bass). They moved the treble region up on frequency and dB overkill to pass CE High Red standard (not Japan society, they both have same logo....and KZ didn't opt for certification as the price would have gone higher).

Now they are moving towards balanced and studio approach slowly from ES4 and ED16 and ZSA....something which can be really called HiFi..

The guy who compared Noble X to ES4...bro, are you fool(no offence)....noble X is full BA, plus it is Knowles BA and not KZ or Bellsing BA... I worked with sonion and I know those crazy parameters that sonion and Knowles use which Bellsing or KZ can't even reach...

That twang of guitar was due to very tight response and correct BA impulse(noble is very good at it) which create a harmonic reverberation (fundamental tone) which dynamic can't do...

Well, let's see what KZ throws at us after this generation...

 

[deaftpunk]

well damn, after all the ES4 praise and hype I had jumped the gun and ordered one, now people are calling it muddy and mediocre I hope it exceeds my expectations, I'll tell you guys if it beats my trn v20's

 

[Mellowship]

well damn, after all the ES4 praise and hype I had jumped the gun and ordered one, now people are calling it muddy and mediocre I hope it exceeds my expectations, I'll tell you guys if it beats my trn v20's

Chronic problem with KZ appreciations around here: the hype is high, the following impressions aren't. I'm so glad I haven't bought any KZ since I got hold of two ZS5 mk1...

 

[Qualcheduno]

well damn, after all the ES4 praise and hype I had jumped the gun and ordered one, now people are calling it muddy and mediocre I hope it exceeds my expectations, I'll tell you guys if it beats my trn v20's

Rule of thumb with chi-fi: always wait at least one month after the first impressions.

 

[KainHighwind]

well damn, after all the ES4 praise and hype I had jumped the gun and ordered one, now people are calling it muddy and mediocre I hope it exceeds my expectations, I'll tell you guys if it beats my trn v20's

I think it depends on the taste, some people said ZSR is very piercing, but some said it is good, I have ES4 and think it's good, better than my ZS5v2, bass is full and punchy, no piercing treble.

 

[mbwilson111]

Rule of thumb with chi-fi: always wait at least one month after the first impressions.

Except for some of us who like to check out new things and be among the first to provide those impressions. Someone has to give those first impressions But, yes, wait if money is tight or you don't want to have many too iems cluttering up your house... and your life...lol.

 

[monitoringsound70]

I have ZSE, ED9(black), and a Swing IE800; I like the Swing and ED9 a lot (ZSE sounds too dark for my liking, but I still use it for sleeping due to its form factor). Im looking to purchase the ES4 or ED16 now as Im looking for something which provides better sound insulation for daily commuting use, and I wonder if these IEMs have better than average sound insulation versus those wear down type? Currently using IE800 for daily commuting use as ZSE and ED9 with their open back design seems to introduce more environment sound. Thanks if anyone can answer my question.

Of the two The ES4 has much better isolation than the ED16, because the shell of the 4 is larger and fits flush in your ear.
The 16 is much smaller and a weird shape, plus the nozzles are very short and so doesn't isolate as well.
However the 16 is so much better sounding.

 

[mbwilson111]

Of the two The ES4 has much better isolation than the ED16, because the shell of the 4 is larger and fits flush in your ear.
The 16 is much smaller and a weird shape, plus the nozzles are very short and so doesn't isolate as well.
However the 16 is so much better sounding.

I agree with all of that. Lucky for me that I don't care about isolation. In fact, I really prefer less isolation... so I can hear the doorbell when the postman comes with more iems...

 

[monitoringsound70]

I agree with all of that. Lucky for me that I don't care about isolation. In fact, I really prefer less isolation... so I can hear the doorbell when the postman comes with more iems...

LOL

 

[fluteloop]

Rule of thumb with chi-fi: always wait at least one month after the first impressions.

I do this. My reasoning in my mind is because it takes about a month of casual listening for burn-in (which I am a devout believer in).

 

[Danfish98]

Actually that is the same company I have been told. I looked at the photos... it is not the same as the one in my photo. If you look carefully at mine you will see that the red stem sticks out beyond the bottom of the grey silicone. In this one from ali the red stem is completely inside the grey part. I have about a million of these Mine are in the second photo. I only have the one pair and have no idea where they came from.

Yep the first photo is what I got.

 

[CoiL]

ES4 is under QC issue, and some people are getting under damped Q factor Balanced armature leading to lower mids being cleaner and upper mids being loose, creating blurry nature.

Source?
Should I get another ES4? I don`t want and I don`t belive I got faulty unit.

 

[chechu21]

Any colour in particular? I've ordered a black one.