[Seazer]

Interested in the ZAX since it appears to be an open design. I looooove the ZSX so hopefully this will compliment it well. However I didn't like the CCA CA16 so we'll see where this new one lands. I'll probably wait for it to appear on Amazon so I can take advantage of returns in case I'm not a fan

 

[MrMajony]

Why does KZ love the 30095 steely sounding BA straight to the nozzle haha

Ironically my cca ca16 has stranger highs and has a worse timbre than my kz zsx (zsx has ba in the mouthpiece and CA16 not), the tuning is more important in this case.

 

[BubisUK]

I am more interested in kz-edx, I have contacted the official Ali store, but they still have no info on when they will have it for sale.

 

[seanwee]

I spoke to KopiOKaya, an ex KZ tuner, he says the local Chinese domestic market likes boosted upper mids/lower treble cause a lot of their music incorporates female vocals. They even have a term called "musical poison" 毒音 to describe this boosted area. So it seems the undampened BAs inside the nozzle generally give a brighter treble, some Westerners find this fatiguing, but I guess it also depends on your sources, hearing health and preferred sound signatures (eg treble sensitive vs treblehead).

So when it comes to potential sales, it is a billion or so people in their China domestic market vs a few thousand fanatical Western CHIFI fans, it's no contest, they will tune to whichever market is bigger. KopiOKaya says the BLON BL-03 which is very hyped in the West, isn't popular in China for the toned down treble.

So upper mids is like ear dope to China, why why my fellow asians haha

But yah, a boost in the upper mids seems to benefit the voice of the female singers from some songs I heard from them. Even K-pop seems to benefit from upper mids boost.

Good thing I still appreciate crisp treble despite upper mids & sibilance region being painful for me.

I've been thinking maybe its because of the difference in how western and asian songs are recorded or mastered but who knows. Or maybe its because of the difference in ear shapes but i doubt thats the reason.

 

[Slater]

I spoke to KopiOKaya, an ex KZ tuner...

TRN, not KZ

 

[baskingshark]

TRN, not KZ

He tuned for the earliest KZs before he left for TRN I think.

I've been thinking maybe its because of the difference in how western and asian songs are recorded or mastered but who knows. Or maybe its because of the difference in ear shapes but i doubt thats the reason.

KopiOKaya wrote something here about CHIFI tuning for mainland local Chinese vs the rest of the world, quite interesting read: https://www.audioreviews.org/chi-fi-tuning/

 

[lgcubana]

You are sooo lucky! Nice pic and them and your cable look gorgeous! What is that copper cable you're using with them?

looks like NiceHCK C16 C to me

Good eye

 

[PhonoPhi]

I spoke to KopiOKaya, an ex KZ tuner...
KopiOKaya says the BLON BL-03 which is very hyped in the West, isn't popular in China for the toned down treble.

Oh...
To my ears BL-03 has a nice treble for a DD (and that cones from a person who craves those steely 30095).

A toned down treble (and bass) would be TRN X6 - a tuning that seems to be rather universally unappreciated both in West and East (let the tuner remain anonymous )
You mentioned X6 use in stage monitoring, and it makes quite a bit of sense to me - since it seems to be tuned like a hearing aid - to transmit most of the information.

TRN X6 is my only IEM (out of 40+) with very sad QC, so nowadays TRN trying to sell BA8 for $150 makes me scratch my head, sorry for the digression...

 

[PhonoPhi]

I've been thinking maybe its because of the difference in how western and asian songs are recorded or mastered but who knows. Or maybe its because of the difference in ear shapes but i doubt thats the reason.

My thinking would be the difference in ear training due to tone languages, such as Chinese.

Speakers of these languages are more sensitive to pitch contours, so more information at higher frequencies is processed, and more prominent upper mids and treble are commonly appreciated by listeners.

 

[unifutomaki]

Oh...
To my ears BL-03 has a nice treble for a DD (and that cones from a person who craves those steely 30095).

A toned down treble (and bass) would be TRN X6 - a tuning that seems to be rather universally unappreciated both in West and East (let the tuner remain anonymous )
You mentioned X6 use in stage monitoring, and it makes quite a bit of sense to me - since it seems to be tuned like a hearing aid - to transmit most of the information.

TRN X6 is my only IEM (out of 40+) with very sad QC, so nowadays TRN trying to sell BA8 for $150 makes me scratch my head, sorry for the digression...

That BA8 pricing sure is wack, especially when the AS16 also has 8 BAs per side, costs less, and still isn't a particularly great value at RRP!

 

[seanwee]

A toned down treble (and bass) would be TRN X6 - a tuning that seems to be rather universally unappreciated both in West and East (let the tuner remain anonymous )
You mentioned X6 use in stage monitoring, and it makes quite a bit of sense to me - since it seems to be tuned like a hearing aid - to transmit most of the information.

Thats pretty much my experience with fender iems, I despise how they sound and every iem in their lineup, budget to flagship is tuned that way with small variations from one to another.

 

[Barusu Lamperouge]

So upper mids is like ear dope to China, why why my fellow asians haha

But yah, a boost in the upper mids seems to benefit the voice of the female singers from some songs I heard from them. Even K-pop seems to benefit from upper mids boost.

Good thing I still appreciate crisp treble despite upper mids & sibilance region being painful for me.

This is because how the local songs are recorded and how the language is spoken. It's the local thing, for example when I listen to asian folk pop or J-pop on some IEMs like ZSN or TRN ST1 which are known for its hot treble, they don't sound all that shouty or harsh.

I am more interested in kz-edx, I have contacted the official Ali store, but they still have no info on when they will have it for sale.

Even I'm eagerly awaiting them and it's been ages since KZ has had a good single DD IEM.

 

[DynamicEars]

Should I get KZ ZAX? Not actually need them but kinda curious what can they do to improve from ZSX. CA16 7mm driver made me hesitate, but ZAX is using 10mm dd, hopefully better one lile @Slater said.
Wait, ZSX were using DWEK BAs on mids, a copy of Knowles DWFK. Is ZAX using similar BAs?

 

[TheVortex]

Should I get KZ ZAX? Not actually need them but kinda curious what can they do to improve from ZSX. CA16 7mm driver made me hesitate, but ZAX is using 10mm dd, hopefully better one lile @Slater said.
Wait, ZSX were using DWEK BAs on mids, a copy of Knowles DWFK. Is ZAX using similar BAs?

I will be getting one when I can and will be a good comparison to the CA16. The promo images does not say anything about a DWEK armature and I want the black variant. Also the 7mm driver in the CA16 performed very well.

 

[Slater]

Wait, ZSX were using DWEK BAs on mids, a copy of Knowles DWFK. Is ZAX using similar BAs?

The ZAX mid drivers are 2x50024. They were first used in the CA16

“For the first time, we adopt the customized 50024 balanced armatures along with accordingly structural improvement.”

Any CA16 owners - can you comment on how the midrange sounds?