[KimChee]

I second trying to demo before buying...I was lucky enough to go to Rocky Mountain Audio Fest several years ago and demo some stuff before buying...back when I was really into the Head-Fi

 

[BadReligionPunk]

I would go back to 97 and buy 10,000 shares of Amazon at $1.50 each. However my dumb ass would have probably sold a couple years later when it was at $35 a share. I feel like there is no way I would have waited it out till $1900 a share. That means I would have blown all my money by now and I would be here with all you losers talking about KZ iems anyway.

 

[LaughMoreDaily]

How soon does KZ discontinue models? With all those talk over the ZS10 Pro, ZS7, etc.

What happens to the ever lonely and under appreciated BA10?

 

[TooPoorForHiFi]

Doesn't KZ release new IEM every 2 or so weeks? /s

 

[Caipirina]

My iPhone doesn’t play flacs.

I play flacs on my iPhone using VOX, works like a charm, just don;t ask me about graphs or bitrates or noise floors

 

[antdroid]

How soon does KZ discontinue models? With all those talk over the ZS10 Pro, ZS7, etc.

What happens to the ever lonely and under appreciated BA10?

That's my least favorite KZ iem i've tried.

 

[TooPoorForHiFi]

Have any try Balanced on ZS10 PRO? Any Noticable changes in term Sound?

 

[Le Stef]

Oh yeah, I misunderstood you, you actually said that cheap Chi-Fi is sufficient for a good listening experience. But others who quoted you started implying that bad recordings can somehow be fixed with gear; and not only that, but fixed specifically with audiophile players. Which is nonsense. If your problem is storage, then modern flagships provide up to 512Gb inbuilt storage for all your flacs. Plus microsd storage up to 1Tb. And the only performance problem a smartphone might possess is insufficient power, which is generally irrelevant for IEMs.

Sorry that I conflated your posts with others', should've gotten on their case not yours.









And the weird thing here is that initially Slater concludes that the problem is with the audio file (or running wireless), not the portable gear. Then it somehow turns into exalting the magic pros of specialized players over smartphones. Even Xiaomi for 150 bucks has great crosstalk performances, THD levels well below 1% (inaudible) and flat frequency responses within hundredths of a single decibel.
Unless you want to drive high impedance and\or low sensitivity drivers there's no need for audiophile DACs, players or amplifiers.

By the way, LG has smartphone models that they advertise as having dedicated audio chips. The measurements are not that much better than those of other flagships that don't specially advertise it.

If a phone is fine for someone, then I'm happy for them as well Everyone has their opinion, taste and need.

I agree with Slater, though, that many DAPs deliver way better sound quality than a phone; from all the phones I've heard, none has ever satisfied my tase or needs and I am by no means a so-called "audiophile", I just like good sound and no phone has ever sounded as good to my ears as some of affordable players on the market, sadly. Some phones have a lot of power that's true, but they don't sound very good, like not all powerful amplifiers will deliver good sound. To me, it remains true that there is A LOT of room for improvement for phone manufacturers in terms of audio quality and they could achieve great results if they worked on it. But for now, as long as the public is satisfied with a phone's great crosstalk performances, low THD levels and flat frequency responses, why should they put any additional effort in sound improvement? The day people will ask for better audio-quality though, they will. Since Apple hasn't been offering anything more than the competition for years with the iPhone, this might be a good point to start to finally bring -some- innovation again.

A Honda Civic will bring you from A to B like any luxury car will; it will even drive you from A to B very fast if you need to; but driving from A to B, even at a slower pace, with a luxury car is just different and so much better; some people are totally satisfied with a Honda Civic, others would prefer to drive a luxury car, because they either have different standards, or they just value/pay attention to the better performance or comfort. And then come Tesla Model 3, which brings driving at another level and the company worked on bringing new technology and exceptional driving experience in an affordable car: That is what some iem manufacturers did with their latest products, this is exactly what we need for the sound in our phones

 

[courierdriver]

only for sound signature (composition between low, mids, highs) but like @antdroid said, you can't judge the clarity, detail retrieval, sound stage, technical abilities from graph.
the ZS10 pro FR graph is close to Moondrop Kanas Pro also, i just back to Kanas Pro after a month honeymoon with budget toys C10, ****, ZSN Pro. After i got used to them, i felt like they're good enough (they do, for the price), but switched back to Kanas Pro.. ohh that clarity, details, etc like eating fine steak after a month of hamburgers.

Edit : i have to admit though, that KZ top 5 list of users here made me want to buy that ZS10 Pro. not again.

Yup, I totally get what you're saying about the KPE. Love that set but I'm worried about snapping the pins by taking them out and about, so I need a set that sounds close but not as expensive. I ordered the ZS10 PRO because I think that they will do the job. They seem more Harmon tuned, just like the KPE, which I like. And if they get broken, I'm only out $50.

 

[courierdriver]

I would go back to 97 and buy 10,000 shares of Amazon at $1.50 each. However my dumb ass would have probably sold a couple years later when it was at $35 a share. I feel like there is no way I would have waited it out till $1900 a share. That means I would have blown all my money by now and I would be here with all you losers talking about KZ iems anyway.

Hey! I object to the term "loser". Lol!

 

[courierdriver]

Have any try Balanced on ZS10 PRO? Any Noticable changes in term Sound?

I'll let you know when mine arrive this week. I ordered a balanced cable, which will probably get here before the iems themselves.

 

[SoundChoice]

I agree with Slater, though, that many DAPs deliver way better sound quality than a phone;

Since were veering off topic allow me to ask: What’s a good “budget” (under 250) DAP for my first buy? Wi-Fi is nice if I want Spotify but not necessary, doesn’t need BT. Just a thing to play flacs and mp3s and sound much better than my Galaxy phone. The Walkman NWA45B looks intriguing for $180. Help?

 

[LaughMoreDaily]

Try this - KZ ZS7 EQ Harman Like Less Bright https://imgur.com/gallery/jzjSjor

 

[Jecht Auron]

Hey, I just ran into a possible chink in the armor of the ZS10 Pro today.

I don’t know if it’s a legit concern, or just in the particular recording I was listening to (Pandora on high res mode, via AAC between my iPhone and TRN BT20).

Anyways, on Duran Duran’s Come Undone, there’s some percussion instrument during the chorus - I don’t know exactly what it is - tambourines, jingle bells, etc. It appears around 1:40, and it is extra harsh when layered with the ‘chorus’ effect they have going on with the background vocals at the same time

It’s quite harsh and generally not pleasant at all. It’s at a very specific frequency, and I have never noticed it in any other song on the ZS10 Pro until today.

Lemme know if you hear the same thing as me.

It may not be the ZS10 itself though. It could just be something with the pairing between the ZS10 and the TRN BT20 (impedance or something that accentuates that frequency of the particular BA driver). If it is the BT20, I’ll just not pair the ZS10 Pro with it.

Update: I just listened to a flac of the same song from the Greatest Hits album, and it sounds amazing. So the issue was either the pairing of the ZS10 Pro with the BT20 or the recording from Pandora. Just goes to show you how the end result we experience can vary wildly depending on a number of factors! Someone says this or that IEM sucks etc, and it’s the source music they are feeding it all along.

I got my KZ ZS10 Pro friday and while I have been enjoying them. I did notice there was a song and I forgot what it was playing on the iTunes app on my tablet ( galaxy tab s3) it hit a certain point and it was beyond harsh. Almost like certain sounds was fighting each other. It was painful on the ears. Other than that never seen it reappear on any other songs I listen to.

Over all I like the ZS PRO but noticed when I used my pixel 2 head jack dongle on my tablet. Just to see if it would work. There seemed to be more clarity and volume was higher and more instrument definition than if I used the headphone jack itself. Whatever it was it makes it less of a deal breaker for phones not to have the built in jack.

I may buy one more iem then focus on a dac and maybe even a DAP. over all I love the ZS Pro and they fit better than my ZSR as I not a fan of that bump that presses in to my ear when I lay down .

So my collection slowly starts and love reading all the info and advice you guys gives on here. I'm off to buy some buds for them to get a better fit.

 

[requal]

Since were veering off topic allow me to ask: What’s a good “budget” (under 250) DAP for my first buy? Wi-Fi is nice if I want Spotify but not necessary, doesn’t need BT. Just a thing to play flacs and mp3s and sound much better than my Galaxy phone. The Walkman NWA45B looks intriguing for $180. Help?

For me, my Sony NW A35 is better then Zishan DSD AK4497, and Shanling M0 (I had them before Sony)