The Kiwi Ears Cadenza has a nice, warm sound, which masks its technicalities imo (soundstage, sound separation - it definitely has these qualities). I haven’t felt the need to ear tip roll with this IEM, although getting the stock ear tips on the IEM is pita. I like the not so splashy, sizzly, tizzie, steely upper treble (I’m reminded of the AS16 PRO OG and High Impedance versions). The HEXA has a really nice midrange which renders vocals well and convincingly, bass is tight and present and doesn’t bleed to the mids; my only gripe is the upper treble can be a bit much for me, I haven’t found an ear tip that rolls it off enough to my desirable levels. If you are a bit treble sensitive I’d go with The Truthear Zero - it has subwoofer type bass response to my ears, vocals aren’t as clear as the HEXA but are good enough.
Knowledge Zenith (KZ) impressions thread
- Thread starter bhazard
- Start date
Carpet
Headphoneus Supremus
CCA CRA not so good for gaming as mids are recessed with a lot of bass. Not so good for picking footsteps. Good bass but top end can be fatiguing. Cheap, but KZ EDX Ultra is better for a few dollars more. KZ EDA balanced is another good, slightly less aggressive version.
Truthear Hexa are light on bass. Good quality but not for bass focused music as mid bass is scooped. Also more expensive.
ZS10Pro X has newer KZ BAs which are more well behaved in treble than old models. Still V shaped but not as extreme as before. So mids aren't as recessed (that's footsteps in FPS remember). Very good non-fatiguing IEM for a daily driver (that's what I use mine for), sounds good with a wide variety of music.
I haven't heard the other two.
Titan S is known for being lighter on bass but more detailed than most of the 2021 run of single DDs at $80. Hexa would perhaps be a better bet at the same price.
Cadenza is just rolling out of the hype train. Apparently warm Harmon with bass boost, so cheaper Aria with worse details (but still pleasant tone).
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PhonoPhi
Headphoneus Supremus
Is the blue on the right, AS16 original?More measurements. Overall, I like the laidback nature of the KZ AS16 PRO High Impedance Edition: soundstage is wide (not overly wide) and has sufficient depth (most vocals and instruments in the music I listen to are projected outside of my head); there is body and weight to vocals and instruments with a little warmth (not as clear or forward as standard AS16 PRO); treble is safe, laidback, has sufficient sparkle and air.
Did you compare AS16 pro 30 Ohm and AS16 pro 18 Ohm, or AS16 pro 30 Ohm and AS16 original.
AS16 original is surely different and definitely more treble rich (amazing for some string recordings).
AS16 pro original edition (18 Ohm) has not been tuned exactly as planned by KZ, and it would be expected to b3emost laidback out if these three.
AS16 pro would be somewhere in between.
I am really curious: how much "in between".
I have two pairs of AS16 and AS16 pro (18 Ohm) each, and would like to know if the "high impedance" one is more of a new tuning rather than simple impedance correction for KZ (KZ is known for always evolving unrelentlessly).
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So 2nd graph on my post compares the AS16 PRO 30Ohm and AS16 PRO 18 Ohm.
3rd graph compares AS16 PRO 30 Ohm with AS16 Original OG (has the massive peaks). Btw, AS16 OG with Moondrop Spring Tips has a nice sparkly upper treble; nice, articulate vocals; soundstage depth and height, and imaging reminds of my Salnotes Dioko with KZ ZEX tips minus the treble (graph doesn’t tell the whole story or do AS16 with Spring tips justice imo).
I’m not sure if it’s a new tuning altogether, since below 500 Hz and from past 4 KHz they don’t deviate much on my graph at least. Unfortunately I only 1 of each IEM. Maybe between 500Hz and 4KHz the BAs have been retuned.
Maybe we can compare a set of songs by Soulpersonna on YouTube since we have both versions:
First thing I noticed are the vocals of Princess Freesia are more honky and ever so slightly in my head in ‘Touch the Star’ with the 18 Ohm.
First thing I noticed are the vocals of Princess Freesia are more honky and ever so slightly in my head in ‘Touch the Star’ with the 18 Ohm.
Mic cables are convenient for calls and zoom meetings and such, but from my experience, mic on the cable might be a point of failure down the line. Also, some folks who measure resistances find a little bit of increased resistance on the side of the cable with a mic, but whether this translates to sonic differences is another story.
The good thing is cables can be bought for sub $10 USD, so I guess you can just buy that one IEM and get a spare cable (with or without mic) to explore.
Nimweth
Headphoneus Supremus
They still are. +1 for the ZS7.Did some more KZ Old School last night and listened to my 1997 DVD (thru my DAC Magic Plus) of Metallica's show in Dallas and remembered what an upgrade and final iteration the 7's were/areI do refer to them as my KZ Lucky 7's
Nimweth
Headphoneus Supremus
I just read this on the KZ website, it made me laugh. What on earth are they talking about?
"In 2016, KZ gradually applied a 10mm dual-magnetic dynamic unit to many new products, while most of the same type units of other brand products in the market are just drawing cats, according to tigers."
"In 2016, KZ gradually applied a 10mm dual-magnetic dynamic unit to many new products, while most of the same type units of other brand products in the market are just drawing cats, according to tigers."
They really have to revamp their PR, I think it’s their main Achilles heel lol.
Podster
Headphoneus Supremus
I'm convinced it's some sort of internal code using animals
Of course on some days "We don't need no stinking DD's"
Cheesebuggah
100+ Head-Fier
Maybe catgirls AKA Waifus? Also, I looked up "what tiger in China means" and maybe it means power/someone high-ranking in KZ. Still, LOL!
It's a chinese proverb:
照貓畫虎(猫画) zhào māo huà hǔ
照貓畫虎(猫画) zhào māo huà hǔ
Lit: Using a cat to draw a tiger
Fig: To capture the form but not the spirit of the original. Uninspired imitation.
Nimweth
Headphoneus Supremus
OK, that makes sense. It is good when a company actually explains a traditional or spiritual reference, as HZ Sound did with the "Heart Mirror". Western consumers in general are not familiar with Eastern philosophy.
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