KZ PR1PRO review.
"KZ's next generation in budget HIFI audio."
Price: $70.99 to $85.99 depending on where you buy.
Link:
https://www.kztws.com/products/kz-pr1-pro
Specs:
Planar size: 13.2mm.
Magnet structure: N52, 7 per side, 14 total.
Impedance: 16ohms ±3ohms
Sensitivity: 100db ±3db
Frequency response: 20hz-40khz
Cable type: 8 core, silver plated.
Cable legnth: 120cm ±5cm
Package Includes S/M/L foam tips,
Decent quality Silver plated cable.
Hi-fri's TL'DR rating:
(This rating is based off $80 price and my personal listening experience)
Overall rating 85/100
Overall tuning signature: 8/10
Bass quality: 8/10
Mid-range quality: 9/10
Treble quality: 9.5/10
Tonality: 7/10
Timbre: 6/10
Stage depth: 8/10
Stage width: 7.5/10
Stage hight: 7/10
Seperation: 9/10
Layering: 9/10
Dynamics: 7.5/10
Resolution: 9/10
PR1Pro Pro's:
Fantastic Resolution.
Great treble response and extension.
Good mid-range performance.
Decent sub-bass performance.
Good mid-bass performance.
Good layering.
Great separation.
Good hight.
Decent depth.
Great width.
Good dynamics.
Close to excellent tuning.
Nice cable.
Good build quality.
PR1Pro's con's:
Recycled design, easy to confuse with PR1, PR1HIFI.
Lack of accessories/tips when compared with dioko.
Bright upper treble could be fatiguing to some, foam tips are almost necessary.
Planar timbre could be fatiguing to some.
Tuning could still be refined a little further but i believe will appeal to most people.
Foreword:
(this is going to be a bit long so i understand if you'd like to skip to the listening impressions.)
The PR1pro is the latest revision in KZ's line of planar IEMs.
Unfortunately KZ's planar range has been somewhat muddled by the previous PLA13, PR1 and PR1HIFI, but now, after three quick generation releases I believe KZ has finally landed on a hit, a venerable masterpiece of budget planar technology, with one small caveat...
...So who is the PR1 pro for?
Well for starters I belive its for anyone who doesn't already own a planar iem, or for anyone who hasn't bought one in a while i.e: since the TinHifi P1 days.
If you already own dioko, S12 or Timeless I'm not convinced you need the PR1pro, unless you just want to pick up another great pair of planar iems, you like the design or you have $80 burning a hole in your pocket. Also unfortunately the sale price has ended but at roughly $80 I still think the PR1pro is an excellent choice for anyone looking for a Uber high resolution listen, Uber high detailed listen.
Unfortunately some people will be confused by the PR1 and PR1Hifi models but I can say with certainty they don't hold a candle to the PR1pro and I feel KZ has finally hit the nail on the head.
These set of planar iems rock!
Also, just a side note about my affiliation with KZ.
KZ has been seeding me (and other reviewers) with sample units for some time now, which is arguably the life blood of most reviewers. (With the recent pace of iem releases I can attest that it can get VERY expensive! Also i buy the majority of the iems i showcase on my page)
Other than KZ seeding me units I have no affiliation with KZ, sometimes even going out of my way not to communicate with them during the review period as to not effect my reviews.
Firstly I would like to state that KZ has NEVER asked for a positive review, and despite them seeding me units I've actually asked in the past that they not send me more units as it's a burden on my time and not my true passion (creating iems is)
But alas, they keep sending them and so I review KZ iems because at some point in time they were. almost universally every hobbiests first iem and I believe there is an important market for budget iems.
it is also my personal opinion that recently KZ has really been striving to innovate, and in recent times they have become more receptive to customer feedback and reception, going out of their way to iterate on their products. I.e: AS16PRO, HM20, PR1PRO.
That being said; it is also my personal opinion that somewhere along the lines KZ has received a negative image in some circles, despite the fact that I have never found fake drivers in any of their iems (I've opened a lot of them) and other than a few poor design choices their build quality has been very good, much better than some other companies even making killobuck iems.
Alright.. let's talk about sound.
The PR1hifi is like a Lazer cannon for your eardrums. They're extremely crisp, detailed, punchy, well tuned... Everything I could want in a pair of iems from KZ.
Unfortunately I'm a not big fan of "the planar sound" in general, the timbre is just a little too gritty for me personally and they can get a little fatiguing but holy crap is the resolution there, and the PR1 has it in spades.
Now unfortunately im not sure how they compare to S12, Timeless, Etc...
But I DO know how they compare to my old pair of P1Max and I think they pretty much wipe the floor with them. Lol.
Okay, let's talk treble sensitivity... if you are treble sensitive you might have trouble listening this iem. If it's a lower treble sensitivity then you should be fine, but if you're sensitive to upper treble you may want to look somewhere else.
The PR1 pro is a treble cannon and its Laser beam treble, aka the best kind of treble.
Now for you older listeners, people over 40 years old will love these, people under 40 might like them a little less. I personally love them.
Also for people who want a bit less treble hit me up, I'll send you a mod to tune it down a little bit.
Bass quality? Its great, I love it, It's fantastic. No complaints at all.
Midrange quality? Excellent, KZ did a great job here. It's very even, very "reference" sounding. Nice, crisp and clear.
I won't do any listening impressions because as I sit here and listen to music everything sounds amazing.
In summary:
The PR1Pro is an amazing iem from KZ! You know what they say, third times the charm, and this is true for the PR1 series.
I'm just happy KZ kept refining the series because I really love this iem.
Like I said earlier in the review though, if you already own a recent planar, especially dioko, I'm not sure that you'll need this planar iem...
But if you haven't tried a planar iem or you're just a fan of KZ and you're looking for a budget iem you will not go wrong here.
Of course if you already own a planar I suggest you read some of the comparisons published before you buy another one, just to avoid it being redundant.
So yeah, props to KZ for making such a great iem! I hope it sells well so they will continue to make better iems.
