[Sonyflac]

Looking for IEMs for about $ 100 balanced and with 2.5mm plug. Someone who can recommend some. Has had good experience of KZ IEMs.

 

[DynamicEars]

Looking for IEMs for about $ 100 balanced and with 2.5mm plug. Someone who can recommend some. Has had good experience of KZ IEMs.

are you from sweden? you should be friend with @RikudouGoku.
I think just focus on looking the IEM, cable come second, if your desired IEM dont have 2.5 balanced cable options, then you can always invest on cable now or later.

What is your preference signature, for reference, what KZ do you like since you have experiences with KZ IEMs and what do you like about them, and what you dont like about them, that can help us to guide you

 

[ZAXon 7]

Greetings to you all nice folks from a long time reader...

First things first: All my gratitude to you all for having brought to my knowledge the ZTE Axon 7 mini that is my daily player and the ZAX which i find simply breathtaking.
Unfortunately the Axon7 is under display replacement so i haven't had the chance to try the ZAX on it, but that time will hopefully come soon.

with my backup phone (huawei p9 lite) i've unexpectedly found out that the only player capable to fully handle the clarity, the details and the soundstage of the ZAX is the Onkyo HF player. I'm a long time fan of Neutron, i've tried Foobar, Aimp, the Teac player, but no way, the difference with the Onkyo player is unbelievable, bass are present, deep and clear, treble are under control and voices are not recessed. I'm sorry for not being able to express it in a better way but they seem born to work together and bring my listening experience to a whole new level. Can't wait to try the Axon7 mini with dolby atmos and viper.

a few examples of what most impressed me:
- Kruder & Dorfmeister K&D Session
- Miles Davis Agharta
- Norah Jones Begin Again
- Steven Wilson Last day of June

tracks like Pariah and Refuge by Steven Wilson are not a fair test for a backup phone, but onkyo and zax can play them pretty well for my ears.

the drawback is that poorly recorded or poorly played music (youtube and spotify) are no more an option, but this has to wait for a better hardware...

 

[Keputs]

My review of the KZ ZAX is up on my blog:
https://medium.com/bedrock-reviews/kz-zax-review-a2a2924d2c5e

Well-written and clear on every point.

 

[alamnp]

depends on what do you need. Tuning wise starsea is better to me, but i3 have planar on their mids, it is great for this price range, with plenty of details and very fasttt.

mangird tea also great, i think tea is above both but check their FR, they are more like mid specialty IEMs, with very lean pinna gain.

thanks, will do, I will save up and buy just that one expensive one good for all arounder

 

[Green Golden Retriver]

I have tons of KZs and the OG T2. The Tins never really grabbed me in terms of SQ, although I've heard some of the newer models are good. The shape is also really uncomfortable for my ears. I know they have their fans and were the flavor of the day for a bit, but they're in a case somewhere. I listen to different KZs pretty much every day and enjoy them.

Which kz do you prefer most for female vocals, pop ?

 

[Viber]

I thought about something yesterday:
In terms of marketing and attention to a specific thing, KZ had 3 eras by now:

The Bass era: ZS1,ZS3 etc
The Treble and "hifi Detail" at the top era: ZS5,ZS6,ZSR etc

And now, the Mids era with the ASX.

I guess you can add the King Cheap era before all of that.

 

[astermk]

Received the ZAX after an agonizingly long shipping. Tips on the picture are...whatever freebie foams AliExpress sellers send out, the cable is a KBEar 16 core silver plated copper.

Comparisons:

vs. ZS10 Pro: no contest, the ZAX are straight up just better in every way. Much bigger soundstage, better imaging and instrument separation, better details all across the spectrum, more controlled, tighter bass with less bass bleed (ZS10 Pro have more bass overall, but ZAX are in no way bass light), more upper treble extension.

vs. CCA C12: Similar story bass wise, but very similar in upper treble tuning. C12 are shoutier in the upper midrange. Vocals can feel slightly thin and pushed back on the ZAX at times, but this is a much bigger issue on the C12. Separation/imaging somewhat better on the ZAX, soundstage is much bigger again. C12 and ZS10 Pro feel downright cramped after having these in your ears.

vs. CCA CA16: Completely different. CA16 has some, I assume, intentional mid bass bleed and lower midrange warmth that make them very cozy and relaxed sounding, and a conservative tame treble. ZAX sound much colder and more energetic. Where the CA16 are treble shy, ZAX are so much more extended that comparisons just don't make sense. They shout a lot more as well. Soundstage is appreciably bigger on the ZAX in every axis, and the stage on the CA16 already isn't small. The bigger stage on the gives the illusion of better imaging and separation because things are just more spread out, but I don't think there's a notable difference in technical ability between the two. I would grab the CA16 if I have a 6 hour train, because their relaxed signature works better for long sessions, and the ZAX in most other scenarios. ZAX are much easier to drive. CA16 are by far the quietest of the 4, ZAX are similar to the other 3, maybe even a touch louder.

I think the ZAX is straight up the best KZ IEM out of these 4 in most ways that matter. I see how they could be a fatiguing signature for many people but so far I'm loving them. The only rivalry here is CA16 vs. ZAX, where the CA16 are a little more comfortable and sound better for vocals. That's pretty much it.

 

[slex]

I thought about something yesterday:
In terms of marketing and attention to a specific thing, KZ had 3 eras by now:

The Bass era: ZS1,ZS3 etc
The Treble and "hifi Detail" at the top era: ZS5,ZS6,ZSR etc

And now, the Mids era with the ASX.

I guess you can add the King Cheap era before all of that.

Erh, ASX mid era??? Are they out in the market yet? The black knowles driver tickles my fancy

 

[Viber]

Erh, ASX mid era??? Are they out in the market yet? The black knowles driver tickles my fancy

asx:

ASF:

But then again, this may just be more chifi marketing...

 

[RikudouGoku]

Erh, ASX mid era??? Are they out in the market yet? The black knowles driver tickles my fancy

FIY: KZ uses bellsing drivers and not knowles.

 

[slex]

FIY: KZ uses bellsing drivers and not knowles.

I just read Campfire Solaris using bellsing too. A better ripoff from Knowles

 

[ZAXon 7]

Received the ZAX after an agonizingly long shipping. Tips on the picture are...whatever freebie foams AliExpress sellers send out, the cable is a KBEar 16 core silver plated copper.

Comparisons:

vs. ZS10 Pro: no contest, the ZAX are straight up just better in every way. Much bigger soundstage, better imaging and instrument separation, better details all across the spectrum, more controlled, tighter bass with less bass bleed (ZS10 Pro have more bass overall, but ZAX are in no way bass light), more upper treble extension.

vs. CCA C12: Similar story bass wise, but very similar in upper treble tuning. C12 are shoutier in the upper midrange. Vocals can feel slightly thin and pushed back on the ZAX at times, but this is a much bigger issue on the C12. Separation/imaging somewhat better on the ZAX, soundstage is much bigger again. C12 and ZS10 Pro feel downright cramped after having these in your ears.

vs. CCA CA16: Completely different. CA16 has some, I assume, intentional mid bass bleed and lower midrange warmth that make them very cozy and relaxed sounding, and a conservative tame treble. ZAX sound much colder and more energetic. Where the CA16 are treble shy, ZAX are so much more extended that comparisons just don't make sense. They shout a lot more as well. Soundstage is appreciably bigger on the ZAX in every axis, and the stage on the CA16 already isn't small. The bigger stage on the gives the illusion of better imaging and separation because things are just more spread out, but I don't think there's a notable difference in technical ability between the two. I would grab the CA16 if I have a 6 hour train, because their relaxed signature works better for long sessions, and the ZAX in most other scenarios. ZAX are much easier to drive. CA16 are by far the quietest of the 4, ZAX are similar to the other 3, maybe even a touch louder.

I think the ZAX is straight up the best KZ IEM out of these 4 in most ways that matter. I see how they could be a fatiguing signature for many people but so far I'm loving them. The only rivalry here is CA16 vs. ZAX, where the CA16 are a little more comfortable and sound better for vocals. That's pretty much it.

can you describe the difference between the stock cable and the KBEar 16 core silver plated copper?

 

[astermk]

can you describe the difference between the stock cable and the KBEar 16 core silver plated copper?

None whatsoever sonically, as far as I can tell. I just like the KBEar cable better visually and the increased thickness means it's less prone to tangling. The stock cable is the new silver kind, and it's somewhat better than the old nasty brown cable. I threw that one on my CA16.

 

[PhonoPhi]

I thought about something yesterday:
In terms of marketing and attention to a specific thing, KZ had 3 eras by now:

The Bass era: ZS1,ZS3 etc
The Treble and "hifi Detail" at the top era: ZS5,ZS6,ZSR etc

And now, the Mids era with the ASX.

I guess you can add the King Cheap era before all of that.

AS16, C16 were pretty neutral before, the latter have one of the best mids that I've experienced.

AS12 had a nice bass BA implementation.

With one bass BA out of 10 overall, it is hard to expect ASX & ASF to offer more bass than AS16

I love AS16, bass is there when needed, treble is really engaging

P. S. Added ASX in the second last paragraph