[Carpet]

Thanks for the comment, not 10$, but 20-25$ will be the limit

Tanzu Wan'er, Truthear Hola. KZ D-fi without switches, Salnotes 7Hhz Zero or Simgot EW100 would be my shortlist.

KZ ZS10 Pro X is very good if you want V tuning. Mine were around $25 in a sale. Otherwise EDX Ultra and EDA balanced were both good, and cheaper too now.

 

[rayliam80]

Tanzu Wan'er, Truthear Hola. KZ D-fi without switches, Salnotes 7Hhz Zero or Simgot EW100 would be my shortlist.

KZ ZS10 Pro X is very good if you want V tuning. Mine were around $25 in a sale. Otherwise EDX Ultra and EDA balanced were both good, and cheaper too now.

@salamero If you can get the ZS10 Pro X for under $30, I think it’s a really good deal for a V-shaped IEM right now.

Like the ZS10 Pro, they also fit my ears so well.

edit: sorry Carpet for the reply! I think we are the only regulars that enjoyed the ZS10 Pro X...

 

[Carpet]

@salamero If you can get the ZS10 Pro X for under $30, I think it’s a really good deal for a V-shaped IEM right now.

Like the ZS10 Pro, they also fit my ears so well.

edit: sorry Carpet for the reply! I think we are the only regulars that enjoyed the ZS10 Pro X...

Redcarmoose liked it and it got favorable reviews on YouTube from Akros, Vortex, Paul Wasabii and Prime Audio reviews. Just a case of bad release timing, as it came out just after TRN ST5. The balanced armatures are two iterations more recent than the ones in the ST5. The ST5 had a beryllium coated DD and a metal shell. It all came down to whether you wanted a smoother signature with the KZ or a slightly edgier one from TRN. Another example of good sets being lost in the rush with frantic release schedules out of China!

 

[r31ya]

Redcarmoose liked it and it got favorable reviews on YouTube from Akros, Vortex, Paul Wasabii and Prime Audio reviews. Just a case of bad release timing, as it came out just after TRN ST5. The balanced armatures are two iterations more recent than the ones in the ST5. The ST5 had a beryllium coated DD and a metal shell. It all came down to whether you wanted a smoother signature with the KZ or a slightly edgier one from TRN. Another example of good sets being lost in the rush with frantic release schedules out of China!

It was dueling old rivals, [ZS10Pro vs V90] redux with [ZS10Pro-X vs ST5]
Surprisingly no outright winners as each IEMs have its positive and negative.

It seems the $40~60 segment iems+news got eaten by the $80~100 IEMs hype wars at the time

 

[Kaleb]

Global store. Its where i ordered mine from and it shipped quickly.. Honestly for £28.00 its a no brainer at that price. Shame i paid £44


https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005505406022.html?spm=a2g0o.store_pc_newArrival.8148356.1.33e2294fw3Kd6O&pdp_npi=3@dis!GBP!￡74.04!￡28.88!!!!!@21038edf16840009521355893ebd75!12000033341708843!sh!UK!4442919813

I used the code I posted before and got two pairs for $48, so less than 39 quid? Absolute bargain price, just waiting a long time for them to ship

 

[artatgray]

Re: KZ PR2, US Apple dongle and USB Audio Player Pro.

Since we've been getting a few reports of this combination being sufficient to drive the PR2 to an adequate SPL, I thought I'd try it for myself even though UAPP doesn't fulfill my requirements in an audio player.

It does work and did drive the PR2 to an enjoyable volume. If I were to guess, I'd say ~63 dB maximum. I can't precisely as I've not run a meter on it - I might attempt to later. However, since I normally listen to my speaker system at approximately that level, it was close in comparison to my ears.

I should qualify this statement by saying I'm perceiving as ~63dB. My meter actually showed the PR2 it reaching 80 dB.


I, personally, like a bit more volume than that, and I prefer more powerful amplification to handle transients.

Anyway, those were my findings regarding the situation. Your milage may vary.

Happy listening...

 

[laleeee]

Still waiting on my global order to ship.

When you ordered it ?

 

[4ceratops]

Thanks for the comment, not 10$, but 20-25$ will be the limit

If the current Ali price of 35€ for the EU is still acceptable for you, the KZ ZS10 Pro X is a good choice for an allrounder. (It just occurs to me that other options open up at this price.)

If we were to stick to the 20-25€ price range, it would be unfair to forget the CCA CXS (mainly acoustic music and jazz) and KZ ZVX (mainly rock and electro, but that division should not be taken quite strictly). Their workmanship and design is basically unrivalled in this price range, and their sound quality is not far behind the aforementioned.

I don't want to burden you with a lot of reviews (there are some here on head-fi), so at least:

https://primeaudio.org/kz-zvx-review/

https://primeaudio.org/cca-cxs-review/

https://primeaudio.org/kz-zs10-pro-x-review/

 

[baskingshark]

It was dueling old rivals, [ZS10Pro vs V90] redux with [ZS10Pro-X vs ST5]
Surprisingly no outright winners as each IEMs have its positive and negative.

It seems the $40~60 segment iems+news got eaten by the $80~100 IEMs hype wars at the time

It seems for this year at least, that KZ/CCA has got the upper hand over their rivals TRN/CVJ.

Both companies used to be whacked on forums for releasing high driver count pokemon every week, which were mostly V-shaped shouty banshees with not much value add.
TRN seems to be still stuck in their old V-shaped releases, but this year KZ has changed the tuning philosophy of some of their gear eg Ling Long, D-FI, and has gotten rave reviews and more purchases cause of this.

Re: KZ PR2, US Apple dongle and USB Audio Player Pro.

Since we've been getting a few reports of this combination being sufficient to drive the PR2 to an adequate SPL, I thought I'd try it for myself even though UAPP doesn't fulfill my requirements in an audio player.

It does work and did drive the PR2 to an enjoyable volume. If I were to guess, I'd say ~63 dB maximum. I can't precisely as I've not run a meter on it - I might attempt to later. However, since I normally listen to my speaker system at approximately that level, it was close in comparison to my ears.

I should qualify this statement by saying I'm perceiving as ~63dB. My meter actually showed the PR2 it reaching 80 dB.


I, personally, like a bit more volume than that, and I prefer more powerful amplification to handle transients.

Anyway, those were my findings regarding the situation. Your milage may vary.

Happy listening...

I'm glad that you managed to drive the PR2 via the Apple dongle, and if it works for you, that's great, you can save money and not get other sources.

But alas, some of us here have heard the Apple dongle when pairing it with a high impedance/low sensitivity gear, the volume is there, but the dynamics, bass tightness and perhaps soundstage are not as great as when driving these from a more powerful amp. And sadly we cannot unhear that hahaha.

So for outlier high impedance/low sensitivity gear, there may be a difference between driving to adequate volume and driving well.

 

[artatgray]

I'm glad that you managed to drive the PR2 via the Apple dongle, and if it works for you, that's great, you can save money and not get other sources.

I'm not actually going to use it for my own amplification needs. Having to use yet another music player to fully utilize the dongle isn't something I'm interested in. I just had to test the combination for myself as I had my doubts about it.

Instead, I've got a +1.5Vrms DAC-AMP dongle on its way to me now for the very reasons you've mentioned.

 

[salamero]

If the current Ali price of 35€ for the EU is still acceptable for you, the KZ ZS10 Pro X is a good choice for an allrounder. (It just occurs to me that other options open up at this price.)

If we were to stick to the 20-25€ price range, it would be unfair to forget the CCA CXS (mainly acoustic music and jazz) and KZ ZVX (mainly rock and electro, but that division should not be taken quite strictly). Their workmanship and design is basically unrivalled in this price range, and their sound quality is not far behind the aforementioned.

I don't want to burden you with a lot of reviews (there are some here on head-fi), so at least:

https://primeaudio.org/kz-zvx-review/

https://primeaudio.org/cca-cxs-review/

https://primeaudio.org/kz-zs10-pro-x-review/

Hi!

Thanks for taking your time to reply

I could go for 35€ budget, there is no issue with that... I am wondering if V-Shaped will be for me. I listen hip hop/r&b but also tons of jazz and acoustic music. Based on that do you think SZ10 Pro X is still the best option? I do not want to loose voice clarity in order to get more bass.

cheers!

 

[salamero]

Tanzu Wan'er, Truthear Hola. KZ D-fi without switches, Salnotes 7Hhz Zero or Simgot EW100 would be my shortlist.

KZ ZS10 Pro X is very good if you want V tuning. Mine were around $25 in a sale. Otherwise EDX Ultra and EDA balanced were both good, and cheaper too now.

@salamero If you can get the ZS10 Pro X for under $30, I think it’s a really good deal for a V-shaped IEM right now.

Like the ZS10 Pro, they also fit my ears so well.

edit: sorry Carpet for the reply! I think we are the only regulars that enjoyed the ZS10 Pro X...

Thank you both! As I have mention, I do not know if v-shaped will remove voice clarity with the ZS10 Pro X for jazz and acoustic music.
I am using currently Edifier R1700BT and Takstar pro 82.

 

[ldo77]

Hi!

Thanks for taking your time to reply

I could go for 35€ budget, there is no issue with that... I am wondering if V-Shaped will be for me. I listen hip hop/r&b but also tons of jazz and acoustic music. Based on that do you think SZ10 Pro X is still the best option? I do not want to loose voice clarity in order to get more bass.

cheers!

KZ ZS10 pro X is a good iem.
You will not loose voices clarity, even if bass have good presence and impact.

 

[4ceratops]

Hi!

Thanks for taking your time to reply

I could go for 35€ budget, there is no issue with that... I am wondering if V-Shaped will be for me. I listen hip hop/r&b but also tons of jazz and acoustic music. Based on that do you think SZ10 Pro X is still the best option? I do not want to loose voice clarity in order to get more bass.

cheers!

If I remember correctly, you're looking for something to replace the KZ ZS5. I guarantee you that the ZS10 Pro X is a completely different century compared to them. My first Chi-Fi was just a ZS5, fine for its time, but unbearably sibilant from today's perspective. And if the ZS5 were to be described as a typical V, then the ZS10 Pro X would be the epitome of perfectly balanced tuning

 

[4ceratops]

... and lest I forget, a number of users here speak respectfully of the Kiwi Ears Cadenza, often describing it as the benchmark 35€ IEM. I don't have them, haven't heard them, but you can find a huge number of reviews. Maybe there's someone here who can compare their pros and cons. Have a nice day everyone.