[rayliam80]

Hey guys I recently did a cool short unboxing video on the KZ ZS3E, feel free to check it out!

As for the IEMs themselves, well, let's just say the ZS3 is pretty bad in today's chi-fi standards. But 3 years ago I'm sure they would've been considered decent.

The only thing that isn't bad, however, is their incredible noise isolating ability. I've heard this from many people and I have to say it's true, these are literally earplugs! They definitely isolate well over 30db, maybe even more. So if you hate foam earplugs and need something else, get the ZS3!

And if you want better sound quality then just go for the ZS4 and you'll basically have an earplug that plays music!

The ZS3's fit my ears too well. Any silicone tip that I tried that would fit me normally/comfortably with other IEMs would get stuck in my ear canal when I'd go to take them off. It required digging out the tip from my ear canal usually. No bueno. The nozzle on the ZS3 didn't have a lip and it was kind of a shame. I guess I could have used foams but I've always preferred silicone.

 

[TheVortex]

My take on the ZST X. Not much of a difference to be honest but the included cable is much better than before.

 

[Slater]

Hey guys I recently did a cool short unboxing video on the KZ ZS3E, feel free to check it out!

As for the IEMs themselves, well, let's just say the ZS3 is pretty bad in today's chi-fi standards. But 3 years ago I'm sure they would've been considered decent.

The only thing that isn't bad, however, is their incredible noise isolating ability. I've heard this from many people and I have to say it's true, these are literally earplugs! They definitely isolate well over 30db, maybe even more. So if you hate foam earplugs and need something else, get the ZS3!

And if you want better sound quality then just go for the ZS4 and you'll basically have an earplug that plays music!

That’s basically what I use the ZS3E for - $8 earplugs that play music!

 

[Slater]

My take on the ZST X. Not much of a difference to be honest but the included cable is much better than before.

I’m kind of glad I skipped this one. Something told me it wasn’t really going to be anything special or really different from the ZST. I do like the new shell colors though.

 

[unifutomaki]

My take on the ZST X. Not much of a difference to be honest but the included cable is much better than before.

Good to know - out of my cart they go

 

[khighly]

Does anyone have a recommendation for a 2 pin cable that has a microphone that is actually decent and can be comfortably used for calls?

 

[gr33nhorn]

I use a bluetooth dac (fiio uBTR and ES100) with my it has a built in dac which is much better than most mics at this price point (and let me run my IEM's balanced while still letting me use mic)

 

[hmscott]

I noticed the hiss when I first put the KZ S2's on, but now after hours of listening I don't notice it unless I am listening to albums recorded off of hissy tape or records - but then I hear that hiss with all of my IEM's and headphones.

Update: After listening to the first pair of KZ S2's for a few days I decided to break out the 2nd pair, and interestingly they started hissing like the first pair did initially, but after a while it goes away. I've got 2 hours into the 2nd pair and the hissing is gone. I just went back to conversational tracks that were hissing at first turn on of this pair of KZ S2's, and now the hissing isn't there.

The KZ S2's have their own special sound and are quite enjoyable to listen to music. Here's a couple of items I've been listening too on the 2nd pair of KZ S2's over the last 2 hours...they have their own special detail and slam signature - straight out of the box.

Here's the hissy items first:

High voltage equipment damage

Why are power amplifiers different?

What's inside the boxes of expensive cables?

Some music + voice:

Solid State Vs Tube Sound (Z Review Demo Recording)

A great new album... Ultra HD
The Lemonade Stand by Tenille Townes on Amazon Music

I'm playing these through a Windows 10 PC with Edge Beta + Audio tweaks, Amazon Music HD (Ultra) app and the KZ S2's connected to the PC via BT - I hope at least Aptx, but I can't get Windows to divulge it's connection details...

The KZ ZSX's also shine when listening to Tenille Townes, although the KZ S2's really add their own special take on the playback - I prefer the S2's sound in many respects even with the ZSX's filling out the sound stage.

A quick update on the KZ S2's, and some surprising news - the KZ S2 Bluetooth connectivity issues with Windows 10 was a bug in the Windows 10 / Intel driver I had at the time.

I updated Windows 10 to version 2004 a few days ago and also got an Intel Bluetooth and Wifi update at the same time.

Now I've been listening to the KZ S2 for a few hours watching movies and youtube, and it has not had a single BT drop, hitch, crackle or otherwise anything but perfect audio. A very nice surprise

Also, I've found a Windows app "Bluetooth Tweaker" that queries the BT Codec info from Windows, what the device reports and what Windows Selected - what is currently connected:

Spoiler: BT Tweaker Screenshot

[CODEC#1 supported by device]
CODEC Type: SBC, Sampling Frequency: 16/32/44.1/48kHz, Channel Mode: Mono/Dual Channel/Stereo/Joint Stereo, Block Length: 4/8/12/16, Subbands: 4/8, Allocation Method: SNR/Loudness, Min/Max Bitpool: 2/48

[CODEC#2 supported by device]
CODEC Type: MPEG-2, 4 AAC, Object Type: MPEG-2 AAC LC/[MPEG-4 AAC LC]/[MPEG-4 AAC LTP]/[MPEG-4 AAC scalable], Sampling Frequency: [8]/[11.025]/[12]/[16]/[22.05]/[24]/[32]/44.1/48/[64]/[88.2]/[96]kHz, Channels: 1/2, VBR: supported, Bit rate: 0

[CODEC selected by Windows]
CODEC Type: SBC, Sampling Frequency: 44.1kHz, Channel Mode: Joint Stereo, Block Length: 16, Subbands: 8, Allocation Method: Loudness, Min/Max Bitpool: 2/48

[Delay reported by device]
180.0 mS

Bluetooth Tweaker has a trial period and then I paid $4.99 for it. The license file provided is tied to your Motherboard - when I updated my BIOS at the same time as Windows 2004 update, Gigabyte changed some of the ID info as part of the BIOS update and BT Tweaker stopped working, the developer was very quick to figure this out and give me and updated license file, and offered to do the same should Gigabyte do the same in the next BIOS update.

BTW, the Windows 2004 update was medium long and required several reboots, but it's been quiet and stable since. And, don't forget to check for a BT / Wifi Update too, it might help KZ BT connections stability for you too.

Update: Two situations for the KZ S2 still provide "drop out's", in the presence of a strong BT device it isn't connected to.

And, near the end of the KZ S2's battery run time I think the tuning might have used too low of a threshold to stay active to extend the usable run time a bit longer.

At about 10 minutes before the KZ S2 battery runs out completely it gets BT glitches. It probably would have been better to drop those 10 minutes and close up shop earlier.

Other than that the BT performance is more than usable now, it's enjoyable.

Update: IDK why I didn't do this earlier, I had been running with the KZ special foam ring tips that came with the KZ S2's as a perk, and they do a substantially good job - good fit, right seal, they don't come off, but they are a bit uncomfortable eventually in long sessions - they "dry out" and itch a bit. Twirling them around in my ear solves that.

But why didn't I try the Sednafit Short's I've enjoyed so much on newer TWS's and IEM's on the KZ S2's before now? I was having too much fun using them up on other IEM's and TWS's

In short they fit great, sound great, and by using them across the board there isn't any acclimation between TWS's / IEM's, they all pretty much feel the same, while sealing well and sounding great. More bass, and less outside noise gets in so I am hearing more detail.

 

[darmanastartes]

One plus of KZ focusing on TWS these days is fewer of KZ's terrible cables in the world.

 

[hmscott]

One plus of KZ focusing on TWS these days is fewer of KZ's terrible cables in the world.

If it weren't for those "terrible cables" from KZ helping keep KZ IEM prices so low I wouldn't have discovered that Chifi IEM's were such great sounding products.

And, KZ's "terrible cables" helped motivate me to discover all of the great affordable 3rd party cables. KB EAR for one are my price / performance favorites. KB EAR and several other "inexpensive" cable brands available cost double the total cost of many of KZ's IEM's, which would have made KZ's IEM's "too pricey" to take a chance on them.

KZ's terrible cables were a great "product marketing idea".

 

[unifutomaki]

If it weren't for those "terrible cables" from KZ helping keep KZ IEM prices so low I wouldn't have discovered that Chifi IEM's were such great sounding products.

And, KZ's "terrible cables" helped motivate me to discover all of the great affordable 3rd party cables. KB EAR for one are my price / performance favorites. KB EAR and several other "inexpensive" cable brands available cost double the total cost of many of KZ's IEM's, which would have made KZ's IEM's "too pricey" to take a chance on them.

KZ's terrible cables were a great "idea".

I think KZ's cables do the job they were made to do. There are more ergonomic, better looking and better built cables on the market, but they are good enough to get started with, especially for the new user.

Mind you, I own the EDR1, so I've been at the bottom of KZ's cable choice barrel myself

 

[baskingshark]

One plus of KZ focusing on TWS these days is fewer of KZ's terrible cables in the world.

If it weren't for those "terrible cables" from KZ helping keep KZ IEM prices so low I wouldn't have discovered that Chifi IEM's were such great sounding products.

And, KZ's "terrible cables" helped motivate me to discover all of the great affordable 3rd party cables. KB EAR for one are my price / performance favorites. KB EAR and several other "inexpensive" cable brands available cost double the total cost of many of KZ's IEM's, which would have made KZ's IEM's "too pricey" to take a chance on them.

KZ's terrible cables were a great "idea".

I think KZ's cables do the job they were made to do. There are more ergonomic, better looking and better built cables on the market, but they are good enough to get started with, especially for the new user.

Well I prefer aftermarket cables any day and the KZ cables usually go into the drawer ASAP. Though I think those new to the hobby and the lay public will just use the stock cable as it is.

These budget CHIFI have to cut costs somewhere, so accessories and packaging are usually the first area to be targeted. Honestly, I rather they put cuts at the accessories than the actual IEM/tuning, and luckily if we are in this hobby for a few months, we will probably know about cable rolling and have some aftermarket cables lying around somewhere to be used.

 

[gr33nhorn]

I don't get the hate for the KZ cables - the brown braided ones that come with the newer models are pretty decent. I've tried a bunch of aftermarket ones and not found much of a difference

 

[jaydm99]

I've been out of the chi fi game for the last 2 years. Now I'm kinda back and waiting in the mail for a ZST X...

I'm kinda interested on the ZSN PRO X as well and might get them next month. Is the Royal Blue color that much special for KZ models in the past? Cause I've been seing a couple of recent post regarding RB KZs.

 

[seanwee]

KZ cables are fine, y'all are just fussy.

They are significantly better than the stock cables that came with my QDC neptune. Imagine my surprise when I wanted to use the "better" QDC cable on my ZSX and the sound ended up worse!