[seanwee]

Before I start, the cable on the PR2 is crap. I highly recommend getting the KZ 784 core as an upgrade cable. Bass is tighter and more punchy. Mids gain a bit more resolution. It sounded grainy with the stock cable.

I will be using the 784 core cable along with the Pentaconn Coreir tip on both the PR2 and the PR1 Pro for this comparison. (PR1 Pro's stock cable was good enough to not bother me)

Preliminary impressions on the PR2 vs PR1 Pro.

Technicalities:
Excellent! You do sacrifice a tiny bit of absolute detail retrieval but it's 95% there. But on the other hand you get a much less fatiguing listen.

(This is keeping in mind I'm used to hearing all the detail in the 10khz+ region so you might not even miss it if you haven't dabbled past $100.)

PR1 Pro => PR2

Soundstage:
Wide on both. Clarity helps with a good sense of depth.

PR1 Pro = PR2

Tuning
Bass: PR1 Pro>PR2
PR1 Pro has better bass balance imo. PR2 adds a bit more rumble but at the cost of absolute control. But at the same time the PR2 feels leaner in the midbass. You can definitely hear it in drums and guitars. Its presented with less grunt and power than the PR1 Pro.

PR1 Pro > PR2

Mids: PR1 Pro > Pr2
Can be a bit nasally on the PR2, it's a bit more forward than the PR1 Pro. Upper mids around the 4k region reminds me of the CCA CRA, it can get a little intense but luckily it doesn't sound artificial like on the CRA.

Perhaps a nozzle mod is in order.

PR1 Pro > PR2

Highs:
The biggest yet least noticeable change (which is a good thing). Think PR1 Pro with a 10khz treble scoop and you're there. Less fatiguing and tolerable on particularly on J-pop which I cautioned against when considering the PR1 Pro.

PR2 > PR1 Pro

Overall I'd say the PR2 has successfully "tamed" the treble of the PR1 Pro but now the 4khz peak rears it's head. Fatigue wise I feel like they are comparable, just depends on what region you are more sensitive towards.

One step forward one step back.

Hopefully they can finally nail it in the PR2 Pro

Regarding driveability I the PR2 is more power hungry no doubt but not by much? I'd say you're safe if you could power the original PR1 fine/have room for one extra step of volume on your type-c dac if you were coming from the PR1 Pro.

 

[Insider K]

Hmm Didn't the official kz guy and HBB said it's the retune of the newer driver?

Apart from the tuning, are there differences in the soundstage or imaging?

Mostly was mentioned different dampening, which in this case seem like that dampening cloth mesh over the driver and different nozzle grill.

 

[Insider K]

The best review of PR2 so far. I really can't tell if this guy is acting and is in character for the clicks or is actually extremely pessimistic and ignorant with every single video. Besides even "reviewing" stuff even without ever having hands on the actual hardware, purely just from looking at the graph and explaining in "detail" how it sounds. It is confusing and kinda funny, especially if he is being serious.

 

[seanwee]

Four PR2 sets? Is it in case three of them dying withing minutes or having channel imbalance

2 for me, 2 for friends.

I wonder if that mesh/damper might be a culprit for reported inconsistencies and imbalance between channels and sets in general.

Perhaps, but I'm waiting for Hi-Fri to do a teardown to see what the tuning pcb looks like. I suspect that may be the culprit.

Visually the 4 pairs I have all seem quite consistent in their mesh placement. I'll have a short comparative listen later to see if there are any noticeable differences between the 4 pairs.

Granted this is likely all from the first batch so it may change from batch to batch.

Hmm Didn't the official kz guy and HBB said it's the retune of the newer driver?

That's what i thought as well, but at least it sounds good.

Not sure if its a driver thing but when I compared the CCA PLA13 to the PR1 Pro the bass handling was also tighter and had more power/weight behind the notes. As if the PR1 had more midbass quantity. Even when the PLA13 is supposed to be bassier.

Mostly was mentioned different dampening, which in this case seem like that dampening cloth mesh over the driver and different nozzle grill.

Supposedly a tuning PCB as well.

 

[hitmaker]

It's interesting to note that aftersound's graph and sharur's graph shows much more air treble compared to others. Weirdly, this looks closer to the original pr1 hifi model rather than the PR2. I know after 10k the coupler is not accurate but this is way more than a normal insertion related treble increase.

 

[nraymond]

Someone apparently successfully destroy his PR2 through sheer power output.
Bought through official channel and will got replacement as KZ wants the damaged unit for dissection.
---

It's too bad we don't have anyone like Gamer's Nexus to work with a lab to do root cause analysis of failure, i.e. like this but for IEMs instead of CPUs:

 

[DaveLT]

I haven't been here in ages, I have been through many many KZs (recently, ZVX, D-fi, PR2 and linglong)

The journey has been worth it

 

[seanwee]

It's interesting to note that aftersound's graph and sharur's graph shows much more air treble compared to others. Weirdly, this looks closer to the original pr1 hifi model rather than the PR2. I know after 10k the coupler is not accurate but this is way more than a normal insertion related treble increase.

imo that looks like a resonance peak

Looking at his other graphs he is matching the peak to 8khz and the odd peak comes after.

Can't tell for sure without looking at how he tests.

 

[Kaleb]

The best review of PR2 so far. I really can't tell if this guy is acting and is in character for the clicks or is actually extremely pessimistic and ignorant with every single video. Besides even "reviewing" stuff even without ever having hands on the actual hardware, purely just from looking at the graph and explaining in "detail" how it sounds. It is confusing and kinda funny, especially if he is being serious.

PR2 WILL CAUSE HEARING DAMAGE!!!

Hahahahahahaha ROFLMAO! I'd love to know his local dispenser there, they have very good stuff by the looks of it.

 

[seanwee]

I wonder if that mesh/damper might be a culprit for reported inconsistencies and imbalance between channels and sets in general.

Well. I just finished my listening test on the 4 pairs, 3 pairs sounded the same but another pair sounds dulled?

Visually it's indistinguishable but it sounds like someone put an extra nozzle filter on it.

Surprisingly enough they are paired together.
It's more prominent on the left earpiece, if I replace the right one with any of the 3 good sets I get channel imbalance. But if I swap the left side its not immediately noticeable.

Visual representation
LEFT Dull _ dull RIGHT - slightly noticeable
LEFT Dull _ normal RIGHT - imbalance
LEFT normal _ dull RIGHT - not noticeable

It sort of sounds veiled in a way, less crisp, less extended, less clear.

Update: doing further comparisons I have gotten a bad set, two ok sets and a good set it seems.

To clarify, the good set is the one I compared to the PR1 Pro in the preliminary review. The ok sets were a small step back in clarity and one had even weaker bass punch but sparklier treble. And then the bad set just sounded veiled.

I'm not sure when I will be getting my IEC711 coupler but I'll really need to measure these sets to say for certain what's going on.

 

[agawa]

If you read it again carefully, you'll see that the discount was applied automatically upon checkout as stated in the screenshot.

Yes, it was automatic discount and I got that deal. It was supposed to be only for 7 days after release, as stated.

 

[agawa]

Well. I just finished my listening test on the 4 pairs, 3 pairs sounded the same but another pair sounds dulled?

Visually it's indistinguishable but it sounds like someone put an extra nozzle filter on it.

Surprisingly enough they are paired together.
It's more prominent on the left earpiece, if I replace the right one with any of the 3 good sets I get channel imbalance. But if I swap the left side its not immediately noticeable.

Visual representation
LEFT Dull _ dull RIGHT - slightly noticeable
LEFT Dull _ normal RIGHT - imbalance
LEFT normal _ dull RIGHT - not noticeable

It sort of sounds veiled in a way, less crisp, less extended, less clear.

Update: doing further comparisons I have gotten a bad set, two ok sets and a good set it seems.

To clarify, the good set is the one I compared to the PR1 Pro in the preliminary review. The ok sets were a small step back in clarity and one had even weaker bass punch but sparklier treble. And then the bad set just sounded veiled.

I'm not sure when I will be getting my IEC711 coupler but I'll really need to measure these sets to say for certain what's going on.

So it's the typical chifi lottery it seems. Oh well, I'm planning to do a foam mod to lower the ~4k and add 2-4dB of midbass. That should bring it closer to my sweet spot.

 

[artatgray]

The best review of PR2 so far. I really can't tell if this guy is acting and is in character for the clicks or is actually extremely pessimistic and ignorant with every single video. Besides even "reviewing" stuff even without ever having hands on the actual hardware, purely just from looking at the graph and explaining in "detail" how it sounds. It is confusing and kinda funny, especially if he is being serious.

The guy's got some kind of personality disorder...

 

[artatgray]

I haven't been here in ages, I have been through many many KZs (recently, ZVX, D-fi, PR2 and linglong)

The journey has been worth it

I'm not been here a long time, either. I just came back recently to exchange information about the PR2.

I'm off again now, though, because some of you are starting to annoy me. That's always my cue to exit because I know that I've been hanging out in a forum too long - I'm not trying to live here...

All the best with your new KZ's, whatever model they may be...

 

[Insider K]

Well. I just finished my listening test on the 4 pairs, 3 pairs sounded the same but another pair sounds dulled?

Visually it's indistinguishable but it sounds like someone put an extra nozzle filter on it.

Surprisingly enough they are paired together.
It's more prominent on the left earpiece, if I replace the right one with any of the 3 good sets I get channel imbalance. But if I swap the left side its not immediately noticeable.

Visual representation
LEFT Dull _ dull RIGHT - slightly noticeable
LEFT Dull _ normal RIGHT - imbalance
LEFT normal _ dull RIGHT - not noticeable

It sort of sounds veiled in a way, less crisp, less extended, less clear.

Update: doing further comparisons I have gotten a bad set, two ok sets and a good set it seems.

To clarify, the good set is the one I compared to the PR1 Pro in the preliminary review. The ok sets were a small step back in clarity and one had even weaker bass punch but sparklier treble. And then the bad set just sounded veiled.

I'm not sure when I will be getting my IEC711 coupler but I'll really need to measure these sets to say for certain what's going on.

Wow, this QC and imbalance variations are not good. Somehow not that stoked anymore for PR2, even though it is finally started to be actually sent today.