[courierdriver]

Have you tried the brother of the ZS10 PRO? CCA C10? They make very nice companions to each other. Kind of like an HD600 and HD650.

No, I have not. I have seen many reviews though, on the C10. I'm curious about it, but I think I'd like to try the ZS7 first. I get your reference to the Sennheiser over ears in terms of differences, but I'm moving away from full size cans and find myself gravitating more to iems. Tbh, I like the Massdrop HD58X more than the 600's or the 6xx/650. To me though, none of these are my ideal sound signature though.

 

[courierdriver]

There is a Science section here for this stuff. Just sayin. This discussion has been going on way too long, and it would be like me trying to convince someone that 8 people, who were all hundreds of years old, didn't actually load a few hundred thousand animals into a boat in one weeks time, and then proceed to feed and clean said hundreds of thousands of animals over the course of a year, while the entire earth sat under 40,000 feet of water.

Peeps just gonna believe what they want to believe.

The most important topic here should be what are the fan club t-shirts going to look like?

Haha, yeah...couldn't have said it better myself. Really, all the measurement stuff dont mean squat. Just trust your ears. What makes you happy and makes you enjoy your music, is all that counts.

 

[courierdriver]

What are your guys thoughts on the "lazy" way KZ builds iems?

Same eartips, same cables... Now with the ZSN body, the same body for a lot of newer models.

The reason I ask is because I'm using the Ostry OS300 eartips on the ZS6 v2 and without them it would just be another iem... but with them it sounds incredible.

Who is Ostry? How can they create better tips for KZ's than KZ itself?

Should smaller companies be created to solely create eartips and cables for KZ's to make their iems better?

Just a question, I dont particularly hate their cables like some others do.

I also don't hate the stock cable on my ZS10 PRO. It is a bit thin tho, doesn't have a chin slider, and tangles easily. Sound wise tho, it worked well enough. As for tips, I think that these are the biggest variable, no matter what brand of iem you choose. Tips can transform the sound of everything from $15 KZ's to multi thousand $ iems from TOTL . There is no TOTL eartips. Everything from shape, bore size, materials used, etc can have an effect on the sound. The tips are the end pieces that get the closest or farthest from your eardrums. The way they seat your iems in your ear, the way they isolate or open up the soundstage, comfort, etc, all have a huge impact on how an iem will sound. I think they have the biggest effect on perceived SQ. Playing around with tips is, IMHO, the same as positioning speakers in a room, in a traditional 2 channel home audio setup. Just instead of dealing with room size, room nodes, toe in vs straight ahead, acoustic room treatments, etc...the tips do all of those things. It's just a matter of finding the ones that suit your tastes the best. It's a whole lot less expensive tho, than trying to dial in a speaker based setup. For about $50 bucks (or less, with careful shopping), you can amass a huge selection of tips that will get you good results on a huge variety of iems. You can easily spend 10 times that amount or more on room treatments or other things, and not obtain the same effect with a speaker based setup. Even good headphones require a pad mod to get the best out of them. I can forgive KZ for not giving the best tips or cables for the price they sell their iem's for. They do a pretty decent job at making their earphones sound good out of the box and offer great value for the price.

 

[Zerohour88]

What are your guys thoughts on the "lazy" way KZ builds iems?

Same eartips, same cables... Now with the ZSN body, the same body for a lot of newer models.

The reason I ask is because I'm using the Ostry OS300 eartips on the ZS6 v2 and without them it would just be another iem... but with them it sounds incredible.

Who is Ostry? How can they create better tips for KZ's than KZ itself?

Should smaller companies be created to solely create eartips and cables for KZ's to make their iems better?

Just a question, I dont particularly hate their cables like some others do.

what are you on about? lots of aftermarket tips maker that makes better tips for even TOTL IEMs. Andromeda sounds really good on the AET08 tips, for example. Or even the JVC Spiral Dots. Heck, some TOTL IEM makes include Spinfits or Comply in their box kit. Are you gonna call them "lazy" for not making the "best" tips for their own IEMs?

Fact is, ears are different, not even the biggest companies can account for the variation, not to mention preference (how the tips will affect sound).

 

[1clearhead]

waiting for yr review.....

Link:
Post #24366

Click on the link above.

 

[raccoon city]

I ordered Version B for my KZ ES4.

I received this KZ cable today.
(https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32981135983.html)
It fits the ES4, I love the color, and I like how the cable near the ear remembers its shape.
I'm not sure if the cable makes the IEM sound better, but I like it so far.

 

[BadReligionPunk]

Its headfi/matrix. The spoon isn't real. Its mostly subjective.

I received this KZ cable today.
(https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32981135983.html)
It fits the ES4, I love the color, and I like how the cable near the ear remembers its shape.
I'm not sure if the cable makes the IEM sound better, but I like it so far.

That's are really nice cable and for $3? Its actually a pretty low resistance cable. Much lower then the stock cable.

 

[SweetEars]

I received this KZ cable today.
(https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32981135983.html)
It fits the ES4, I love the color, and I like how the cable near the ear remembers its shape.
I'm not sure if the cable makes the IEM sound better, but I like it so far.

i am using the similar cable from the revonext qt5 on the cca c10, it does make the sound a bit more coherent

 

[xxAMAROKxx]

Yeah, china "silver", "gold" or mixed calbes make sound more coherent and concentrated. But pure copper make it clearer with instruments better separated.

 

[bhazard]

I'm about an hour into the ZS10 Pro and I like them. They really aren't too far off from the C16, but the C16 does sound a bit better. Using a "16 core" cable on both. It's a no brainer for ~$30. Definitely the best KZ as of now, as I don't need the AS16.

 

[Caipirina]

New kid "DIY" on the block review!

I am trying a new DIY earphone, which I bought through taobao: HIFI BCD micro-drivers.

Link:
Post #24366

Enjoy!

-Clear

In my ears right now! And so far, woah, nice .. and not even burnt in .. but there is quite some microphony coming from the cables, so don't move ...
I love when I can shove them in like earplugs.



Playing my new reference track very nicely (listen for that bassy 'oooomp' )



(need to read up on how to properly insert YT links here)

 

[hakuzen]

added the last iteration of 16 cores budget nicehck cables to my lists.
improved resistance (lower) respect last iteration: it's the most conductive cable below $10 atm. i also like the new splitter. tested sound, pretty decent for its price.

064. hck ct4 ofc 16c (brown,M): 193..208..168..202..[22.6g]
outer diameter: 3.6mm. total length: 124cm (39cm from splitter).
last iteration of budget nicehck cables. best conductivity and build quality in the cheapest segment (<$10).
2pins version uses flush plugs, like previous iteration, good for flush sockets (like in most KZs), even for protruding sockets.
new jack, it doesn't seem to be easily repairable, but like its shape, beveled to provide more grip.
strain relief is a bit rigid.
i much like the new splitter, small and elegant.
very soft and flexible. sound is decent (good for the price). great value.

 

[bhazard]

added the last iteration of 16 cores budget nicehck cables to my lists.
improved resistance (lower) respect last iteration: it's the most conductive cable below $10 atm. i also like the new splitter. tested sound, pretty decent for its price.

064. hck ct4 ofc 16c (brown,M): 193..208..168..202..[22.6g]
outer diameter: 3.6mm. total length: 124cm (39cm from splitter).
last iteration of budget nicehck cables. best conductivity and build quality in the cheapest segment (<$10).
2pins version uses flush plugs, like previous iteration, good for flush sockets (like in most KZs), even for protruding sockets.
new jack, it doesn't seem to be easily repairable, but like its shape, beveled to provide more grip.
strain relief is a bit rigid.
i much like the new splitter, small and elegant.
very soft and flexible. sound is decent (good for the price). great value.

I have this exact cable. It's great. The price is right to get a balanced and unbalanced one.

 

[eclein]

I have this exact cable. It's great. The price is right to get a balanced and unbalanced one.

+1 great deal!

 

[bhazard]

I'm happier with the ZS10 Pro and CCA C16 than I've been with quite a few $200+ iems now. I'm done with LZ as both my A4 and A5 have driver issues.

The sound quality is better on the ZS10 Pro and CCA C16 than the Sony XM3. I prefer listening to both over the Sony during my commute despite the noise cancelling.

Things just keep getting better and better under $100.