Checked. The other model is the ZS3E.
And here is the ZS10 Pro among some other similarly housed earphones; ZSN, C10, and ZST. Quite similar to the ZSN. That chrome finish sure does shine.
Sorry, that was a typo, I meant to say single DLC DD.
Great review! Thanks for that. From what I can gather from it...I'm now leaning more towards the ZS7. It's just kinda ticking more of my boxes.I’ve done some extensive listening between the KZ ZS7 and KZ ZS10 Pro. Let me just say first I’m not a fan of the memory wire on the ZS10 Pro. It is way too loose and doesn’t hold the iem in place, fortunately I swapped the cable for another KZ cable I had in my collection. Most of my testing was done with my Hidizs AP80, Lotoo Paw Gold, and Burson Soloist.
KZ10 Pro Sound
The treble is detailed, with good extension and air. The timbre is darker and laid back. There is a slight grain but not that noticeable for the price range. Compared to the ZS7 it is less bright, less energetic, with a similar level of detail just a different presentation. As a side note I don’t find the treble in the 7 to be offensive since it’s a bit rolled off.
The mids are very similar to the ZS7, a bit more present and forward. The V shape overall isn’t as sharp as with the ZS7. There is no upper mid emphasis as with the 7, this area is clearer, vocals are cleaner.
The bass has a nice low end grunt to it, it has good texture, and control, the quantity to my ears is less than the 7, which sounds more punchy and dynamic in comparison. I find the 7 more “boomy” and I don’t mean that in a negative way. I will break in the 10Pro more but I suspect this won’t change much.
The soundstage is wide and spacious even more so than the 7, which I found wide to begin with. When the JH Roxanne and Angie came out people used words to describe them like “out of head experience, headphone like” regarding the soundstage, and I don’t think the 10Pro is quite there, but the soundstage is on the edge of being headphone like. The stage also has good depth, imaging, layering, and positional cues and instrument separation are also a step above the 7. I was impressed with the instrument positioning and separation is excellent.
In technical abilities it is for the most part better than the Zs7, but I prefer the more aggressive, punchy dynamic sound of the ZS7 personally, even though it has less clarity and separation. The ZS10 Pro is more laid back sounding, more detailed with better imaging, separation, and a great soundstage.
The ZS7/ZS10Pro reminds me of owning the Denon D7000 and the Fostex TH900. They both had a V shaped signature, the Fostex was clearer and cleaner but a bit too “reference” (I know these aren’t reference phones, but you follow my idea), while the D7000 was the more fun phone with less technical abilities.
The ZS7 reminds me of a custom I owned a long time ago that was one of the first hybrid customs the Thousand Sounds TS842. It had a deep dynamic driver with the Ety ER4P treble/mids on top.
Hope this helps anyone in the fence and honestly you can’t go wrong with either iem or you can own both like me lol, and it won’t cost you an arm and a leg. I love listening to new gear and testing out new toys, I’m waiting on the CCA20 next.
Damn...I'm still in a quandary. The biggest thing stopping me from buying ZS10 PRO is the connectors and cable upgrade options. As much as I like the sound impressions of the Pro, I absolutely HATE the fact that I can't easily upgrade the cable, cause of that weird C type connection method. You got me leaning towards the 7. I know that I could get a 0.78 balanced to fit, and a got one just ready to use. The 7 wouldn't need me to buy an upgraded cable, since I already have one. So now my question is...is the 7 smaller than the ZS10 Pro, and which has the longer stem/nozzle?I’ve done some extensive listening between the KZ ZS7 and KZ ZS10 Pro. Let me just say first I’m not a fan of the memory wire on the ZS10 Pro. It is way too loose and doesn’t hold the iem in place, fortunately I swapped the cable for another KZ cable I had in my collection. Most of my testing was done with my Hidizs AP80, Lotoo Paw Gold, and Burson Soloist.
KZ10 Pro Sound
The treble is detailed, with good extension and air. The timbre is darker and laid back. There is a slight grain but not that noticeable for the price range. Compared to the ZS7 it is less bright, less energetic, with a similar level of detail just a different presentation. As a side note I don’t find the treble in the 7 to be offensive since it’s a bit rolled off.
The mids are very similar to the ZS7, a bit more present and forward. The V shape overall isn’t as sharp as with the ZS7. There is no upper mid emphasis as with the 7, this area is clearer, vocals are cleaner.
The bass has a nice low end grunt to it, it has good texture, and control, the quantity to my ears is less than the 7, which sounds more punchy and dynamic in comparison. I find the 7 more “boomy” and I don’t mean that in a negative way. I will break in the 10Pro more but I suspect this won’t change much.
The soundstage is wide and spacious even more so than the 7, which I found wide to begin with. When the JH Roxanne and Angie came out people used words to describe them like “out of head experience, headphone like” regarding the soundstage, and I don’t think the 10Pro is quite there, but the soundstage is on the edge of being headphone like. The stage also has good depth, imaging, layering, and positional cues and instrument separation are also a step above the 7. I was impressed with the instrument positioning and separation is excellent.
In technical abilities it is for the most part better than the Zs7, but I prefer the more aggressive, punchy dynamic sound of the ZS7 personally, even though it has less clarity and separation. The ZS10 Pro is more laid back sounding, more detailed with better imaging, separation, and a great soundstage.
The ZS7/ZS10Pro reminds me of owning the Denon D7000 and the Fostex TH900. They both had a V shaped signature, the Fostex was clearer and cleaner but a bit too “reference” (I know these aren’t reference phones, but you follow my idea), while the D7000 was the more fun phone with less technical abilities.
The ZS7 reminds me of a custom I owned a long time ago that was one of the first hybrid customs the Thousand Sounds TS842. It had a deep dynamic driver with the Ety ER4P treble/mids on top.
Hope this helps anyone in the fence and honestly you can’t go wrong with either iem or you can own both like me lol, and it won’t cost you an arm and a leg. I love listening to new gear and testing out new toys, I’m waiting on the CCA20 next.
Thank you for 2 things. First, this is exactly what I've been looking for...a KPE owner who has both that and the KZ ZS10 PRO. I appreciate you posting your views. Second, (even though I don't share your opinion on the KPE...I'm one who holds this iem in highest regard), I applaud your courage to state that you like the ZS10 PRO more. That's exactly what I have been looking to read. I'm looking for an iem that's less expensive than the KPE, but still sounds good, with a slightly different sound sig for everyday use on the go. I still hate that KZ has all these weird 0.75 2 pin configurations, but your views have me now leaning towards the ZS10 PRO, instead of the ZS7. The 10 Pro is more expensive when I add in the balanced upgrade cable, but I'm thinking the sound might be more for what I'm looking for.
Sigh...you are making it harder on my wallet, but for me, the truth is I really want a less expensive version of the KPE. My "financial head" says just get a KS7 for less than $50 CDN from Aliexpress and that's it (I already have a 2.5 balanced cable that would fit). My heart (which says I probably won't be happy with anything that won't at least give me the sound quality of the Kanas Pro), says spend the extra $40 CDN and get the ZS10 PRO with balanced cable that fits. Guess I'm going with the more expensive option. My heart rules my head...I'm such a sucker
