Knowledge Zenith (KZ) impressions thread
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TLDRonin
500+ Head-Fier
I just bought a pair of second hand KZ ZS6s, and I'm honestly a little disappointed. Based on some reviews, I expected my ears to be bleeding within minutes of listening.....
But seriously, I'm trying to figure out what I'm doing wrong... I can hear up to 17 khz am, relatively young and don't hear the death treble. There's definitely A LOT of treble presence but not to the level of it causing physical pain as some people have claimed... In hindsight, I guess they were just hyperboles but the amount of people who said similar things made me think otherwise
But seriously, I'm trying to figure out what I'm doing wrong... I can hear up to 17 khz am, relatively young and don't hear the death treble. There's definitely A LOT of treble presence but not to the level of it causing physical pain as some people have claimed... In hindsight, I guess they were just hyperboles but the amount of people who said similar things made me think otherwise
loomisjohnson
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now, i don't know crinacle but i read his thread and he seems very well informed. however, most of his highly-rated iems go easily to more than a grand, which is a level with which i am largely unfamiliar and therefore can express no opinion as to their merits relative to the >$100-$200 models touted on the chifi threads. however, if you drop down to less stratospheric level i do continue believe that some of the cheapos outperform a number of their exponentially more expensive western-branded models like shure, klipsch or sennheiser.
Everybody's ears are just a bit different. I was really worried about the ZS6 coming across as harsh/fatiguing, but they get more use than any of my other KZ pairs (so far). Haven't had my ears stabbed by sound yet.
skajohyros
100+ Head-Fier
I disabled one BA in each nozzle and still find them sssibilant. Just shows we all hear things very differently.
khighly
100+ Head-Fier
People hear differently. There's absolutely zero sibilance on my ZS10's or AS10's, even highs rolled off, yet people will say they're sibilant. While the ZS6 is a screamer, it definitely isn't terrible and it's easy to get used to.
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BadReligionPunk
Headphoneus Supremus
I don't know if I could handle ZS6. I can only hear to 14khz, and ZSA which is considered baby ZS6, is too trebley for me, for extended use. I guess it depends also what you listen too. There are an awful lot of horrendously mixed Punk, Metal, JPOP and JROCK albums that get crashy, splashy and imo unlistenable on treble forward phones.
Still kinda want one though(ZS6) because they look dope AF.
On the flip side, all I ever hear is how ZST is treble hot and sibilant, but I have never heard that out of mine. ZSA is borderline, but ZST, doesn't bother me.
This hobby is kinda stupid LOL
Still kinda want one though(ZS6) because they look dope AF.
On the flip side, all I ever hear is how ZST is treble hot and sibilant, but I have never heard that out of mine. ZSA is borderline, but ZST, doesn't bother me.
This hobby is kinda stupid LOL
TLDRonin
500+ Head-Fier
Oh yeah, I always "knew" people hear differently, but this really put things into perspective.
Wait, wasn't treble supposed to get crashy, splashy and helter-skelter and all?
Also, I concur that this hobby is kinda stupid, or, at the very least, confusing.
Storyteller
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I am trebble-sensitive. My Tin Audio T2's are a bit sibilant in some tracks, I can notice it every time. I noticed piercing highs in My C630 (CI880) months ago even though I liked them very much in general. I've been using ZS6 for 3 months now without trebble pierce or sibilance after the first test-period week. Trying them for the first time was terrible, excruciating trebble. After some days using them, putting Comply foams, a new cable and blocking the vents with blu-tack, no harshness in the highs, no sibilance, fun and energetic sound every evening. This hobby is nuts.
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After paying $17 for ONE pair of authentic Sony noise-isolation M-size ear tips and $5 shipping to have them in 5”x7”x3” box...I was able to change the Audeze Cypher settings even further on my ZSA and drop the overall sound 4db and 2db...and I my ZSAs have never sounded even better. Now, I can hear acoustic nuances that I could previously hear so audibly on electrostatics, like my SR-L500. Yet, they still have the same fun sound, just in a flatter and more Cypher-opamp-appropriated sound. I can also show my impressions of this $100-total setup in one cult-pop song:
For US listeners:
For UK listeners:
For female vocalist fans:
For US listeners:
For UK listeners:
For female vocalist fans:
Slater
Headphoneus Supremus
Source, as well as amping, does make a difference on some gear.
I am demoing a really nice quad driver right now.
It definitely sounds different on my iPhone (worse) than on my xduoo X3 (better). And it sounds different when amped too (even better); the more power the better it sounds.
So give it a try on some different sources, and you may be surprised. I know I was.
You can’t just go by the manufacturer’s impedance specification (ie 16ohm = automatically fine for phone). You really should try the gear on different sources and with an amp see if there is a difference.
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Has anyone gotten the AS10s and tried taming the highs yet? I've tried the traditional foam tips and the difference is negligible. I went in the tip bores, removed the screen, and tried bits of cotton in different chambers. I figured out the bass one rather easily but the mid and high chamber is a bit different. They seem to be housed in a different chamber. I can identify at least two visible armatures with one being slightly more viewable. I tried plugging the top, more visible one and the lower one that is slightly shorter or less visible. Soundwise, I can't tell a difference between the two areas being plugged. There is a noticeable sound difference when plugging the high or lower sides and most definitely the bass side but not enough to say it's helping. To be honest, these sound like slightly bassier ZS6s or ZS10 with more treble. Which is a good thing but since using Sennheisers and the R*von*xt QT2 (which are quite much darker) the KZs are too much treble for me. I tried looking at the diagram of the AS10 drivers but I'm not sure... Thanks for any help!
Update... I found a teardown of the AS10 on youtube and it seems like the more visible armature is the mids. I'm gonna block the upper, more recessed chamber on that side a bit more and see if I get better results. I will share them if anyone is interested.
Update... I found a teardown of the AS10 on youtube and it seems like the more visible armature is the mids. I'm gonna block the upper, more recessed chamber on that side a bit more and see if I get better results. I will share them if anyone is interested.
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TLDRonin
500+ Head-Fier
Anyone have issues with a loose connector seat on the KZ ZS6s?
My left side is sturdy, but the right side is loose enough that I can jiggle the plastic part of the cable when connected. Is this serious enough to warrant a return? I bought it second hand and described as "no damage"
My left side is sturdy, but the right side is loose enough that I can jiggle the plastic part of the cable when connected. Is this serious enough to warrant a return? I bought it second hand and described as "no damage"
Several of my KZ's do this. No biggie unless your audio is going in and out. You can always pop off the housing cover and use a spacer or a dab of epoxy to steady the connector.
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