Nice review, Nimweth!
I particularily like your impressions of musical sequences through those phones and (like usual) the comparisons with other IEMs. The only thing I somehow missed was a comparison between the Pros and the standard ZSN. I own both and like so often there's no clear 'winner' in my book.
In your review you've mentioned an upgraded version of the 30095 BA in the Pros (any further infos?); well ... generally their treble sounds at least slightly less edgy to my ears. As so often though a lot depends on what you feed them with and at the end of the day the Pros appear more forgiving to me in that area (+1). When it comes to their respective bass and lower mids though the Pros appear more demanding than the Std. ZSN to keep their (KZ idea of) balance. To my ears the lower registers as well as the spectral balance of the Pros benefit distinctively more when driven from a decent source than the original ZSN, even though that doesn't seem to help much with the ~175-250Hz (appr.) 'mush' on either IEM.
Just my 2 €¢ ... keep it up!
Hi. I was unable to make a comparison with the original ZSN as I do not own that IEM. The info on the 30095 BA was taken from KZ's promotional details. This new iteration does not have the piercing highs of that in the ZST and ES3. The same applies to the CA4 and QT5 as well. I'm happy you like the review, I always write from a musical perspective as after all, that's what it's all about!
All this zs10 pro talk has me really regretting not getting one. I just hate the nubs only because I purchased a lot of really nice balanced cables and would like to use them.
Thanks for the heads up. Regarding balanced cables, you also need to have a device with balanced output (which can be in the form of 2.5mm TRRS, 4.4mm Pentaconn, or 4-pin XLR connectors). Here's a 2.5mm balanced cable that fits the ZS10 Pro on AliExpress, I'm not aware of anything this affordable on Amazon right now:
To connect the headphones with a cable like that, you'd need a DAP with 2.5mm balanced output, like the Onkyo DP-S1 (many other DAPs have that output as well), a portable amp like the SMSL SAP-11 or DAC/amp like the Sabaj Da3. (I should mention you can also adapt 4.4mm Pentaconn or 4-pin XLR to 2.5mm TRRS at the source, with different adapters available from DUNU, Fiio, and Massdrop.)
The ZS10 Pro uses 0.75mm 2-pin but with a raised jack with the idea that the cable plugging into it has an integrated shroud around it. This is also referred to as a "Paragraph C" or "Para C" connector. See earlier posts in the thread discussing this and the C-type balanced cable I linked to (which is listed as 0.78mm, at least one person in this forum has the cable and said it fits fine, others have mentioned that using a 0.78mm cable in a 0.75mm socket can make 0.75mm cables fit less securely - it is my understanding that 0.75mm and 0.78mm refer to pin diameter, so a 0.75mm socket is a slightly tight fit for a 0.78mm pin).
Could someone with multiple sources and cables be so kind and do this experiment for me -
take at least two IEMs, find some left\right channel test audio, set the loudness level to sound the same with the IEMs for the source, then listen to the samples, but listen to the track while having only the opposite channel in your ear. Check if there are differences in the channel "leak" (crosstalk) between IEMs. Check if using different cables and sources changes the result of the comparison.
I've only checked three IEMs with the same source and stock cables - I heard audible difference of leaking ZSN having the least leak, then ZS4, then Westone 1.
Just be aware that when using A or B cables on a C IEM, the cable will stick up a little bit. This is because the female jack on the C IEM itself is raised up a few millimeters.
Anyone care to comment on some of the better values in upgraded cables for a novice KZ collector. My latest is only the ZSN but I'm considering the ZS10 Pro in the near future. Oh, and I don't have a balanced source. TIA
Anyone care to comment on some of the better values in upgraded cables for a novice KZ collector. My latest is only the ZSN but I'm considering the ZS10 Pro in the near future. Oh, and I don't have a balanced source. TIA
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