Knowledge Zenith (KZ) impressions thread

Feb 4, 2025 at 7:41 PM Post #67,067 of 67,093
Rhapsody, Vader Hi-Res, Castor Bass OG/Saga Balanced.

I have a Hydro on the way, though.
I am thinking about getting the Hydro. Wonder if it’s a step up from the ZS12 Pro X.
 
Feb 4, 2025 at 7:54 PM Post #67,068 of 67,093
Sonata
AS24
AS24 pro
(with a wide-nozzle modified ASX still there for me)

Outside of the universe of KZ all-BAs:
PRX is a great planar;
Burned with ZA12 and less comparatively impressed by other KZ hybrids relative to Celest ones and 1 More Penta, CA16 is still very relevant for its gentle but resolving rendering;
For DDs - Trio is quite nice (I did not get Vader or Zenith).
For budger ones, a Castor couple and "natural" Saga stands out for me from what I have.

Now, how Sonata compares to other all-BA IEMs is a good question. I have only few ca. $200 all-BAs: BVGP VG4 (not a competitor, nothing wrong with VG4 but just nothing great to me about it's Sonion bass and RA-series Knowles treble...); Audiosense T800 (a prominent 'V" that I quite enjoy (great baskingshark personal recommendation) and effevtively KZ+++ at its release. T800 is just a nice borderline on "too much bass" for me; now KZs are tuned more gently, and Sonata largely wins over T800 in my ear time at least due to its switches - a good option that I got accustomed to); nice mid-centric HiSenior U4/T4 are largely superseded by Sonata with a punchy source, such as A&K HC2; Brainwavz B400 - those softies shine with more punchy sources, and if not for their shell construction feel most competitive/complimentary with Sonata from my other all-BAs.

Overall, Sonata is clearly an $150+ IEM to me - how much "plus" - I am not much positioned to tell. I enjoy Sonata the most now in a bass-lean "all off" switches, so my BA-biased and bass-lean tastes may not be suitable for general recommendations.
 
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Feb 4, 2025 at 8:22 PM Post #67,069 of 67,093
Right now? ZVX Pro, ZS12 Pro X... and any of the following could take 3rd place: Saga Bal, Vader Bal, Castor Pro Bass. More testing needed.
 
Feb 4, 2025 at 9:38 PM Post #67,070 of 67,093
Hi everyone.
What would be your top 3 KZ IEM’s right now?
Curious to see everyone’s answers.
kz dawn
kz edc pro/libra
kz trio
modded kz zat (relief vent mod, with 500 mesh filters, 80ohm imp adapter)

the dawn is seriously underrated. it's exactly what i want in a tune.
 
Feb 4, 2025 at 11:13 PM Post #67,072 of 67,093
Are the Pro models of the Castors worth buying if I already have the OG models?
they are pretty decent
Castor Pro Bass upgrade the bass quality but lower the quantity, upgrade overall resolution but become a bit harsh in treble.
So its not quite one to one or direct upgrade.

the harman model have overall better resolution but also become a touch more intense and dryer in tone over the softer older model
but all in all, its a good bit of upgrade.
especially noticable after i bought $40 iem and Castor Pro Harman still able to hang with pricier model in terms of resolution with relative ease.

mind you, the nozzle get noticeably bigger, so it might cause some fit issue.

so IF you don't have the older model, i would definitely recommend the Pros over the OG

that being said, you could get it for $12~15.
if you have some extra cash or currently not saving for midfi, its a good to try out.
and if you like it, you could give out the older to family, friends or coworker to spread the hobby a bit.
had this thing is $30~40+, i would ask you to save a bit and buy iems from higher price bucket.
 
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Feb 4, 2025 at 11:57 PM Post #67,073 of 67,093
they are pretty decent
Castor Pro Bass upgrade the bass quality but lower the quantity, upgrade overall resolution but become a bit harsh in treble.
So its not quite one to one or direct upgrade.

the harman model have overall better resolution but also become a touch more intense and dryer in tone over the softer older model
but all in all, its a good bit of upgrade.
especially noticable after i bought $40 iem and Castor Pro Harman still able to hang with pricier model in terms of resolution with relative ease.

mind you, the nozzle get noticeably bigger, so it might cause some fit issue.

so IF you don't have the older model, i would definitely recommend the Pros over the OG

that being said, you could get it for $12~15.
if you have some extra cash or currently not saving for midfi, its a good to try out.
and if you like it, you could give out the older to family, friends or coworker to spread the hobby a bit.
had this thing is $30~40+, i would ask you to save a bit and buy iems from higher price bucket.

So I might be better off just saving for something in a higher price tier to get an actual upgrade as opposed to a sidegrade I may not enjoy?

I've been thinking a lot about the Simgot EW300 or something similar.
 
Feb 5, 2025 at 12:33 AM Post #67,074 of 67,093
So I might be better off just saving for something in a higher price tier to get an actual upgrade as opposed to a sidegrade I may not enjoy?

I've been thinking a lot about the Simgot EW300 or something similar.
Ooh, i would definitely recommend saving for Simgot EW300 over getting castor pro.
i'm still deciding for whether to save for KiwiEars Eclipse (openback headphone) or get Simgot EW300.

that being said, next most extra cash might goes to several games like MonHunt Wilds. FF7:2, and Kingdom deliverance 2 so yeah..
maybe next 2~3 month.
 
Feb 5, 2025 at 2:00 AM Post #67,075 of 67,093
EW300 is imo inferior to Zenith, I have both. EW300 is less textured, and just bassy (for my preferences). Zenith also is better tuned for me, with better balance of frequencies. (Rather) Not worth buying.

While con of Zenith is this shooting bass...
 
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Feb 5, 2025 at 4:12 AM Post #67,076 of 67,093
Its common issue in iems,

When it happen for the first time for me, it happen to my only (relatively) expensive iem during commute.
I have mild panic (and cold sweat) before googling on what i can do to fix it.

I blow air and suck air into its venting and it back to normal.
Same problem with Saga balanced - left earpiece lowers volume after 1/2 hour of listening. Probably due to humidity.
But when I look on the filters, left is slightly different against the right filter. Color and transparency differs. Also left nozzle has rough shape, while right is smooth.
KZ QC is still worse. They should at least sell filters separately.
 
Feb 5, 2025 at 4:35 AM Post #67,077 of 67,093
Same problem with Saga balanced - left earpiece lowers volume after 1/2 hour of listening. Probably due to humidity.
But when I look on the filters, left is slightly different against the right filter. Color and transparency differs. Also left nozzle has rough shape, while right is smooth.
KZ QC is still worse. They should at least sell filters separately.
Kz filter inner part and outer part is different in texture,

Yours might be installed inside out, try to flip it.
 
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Feb 5, 2025 at 5:17 AM Post #67,078 of 67,093
What would be your top 3 KZ:
Zenith (bit too cinematic bass), PRX (a bit of planar timbre) , Zs12 pro x (not for treble sensitive)
I need to check Sonata.. one day.
 
Feb 5, 2025 at 7:52 AM Post #67,079 of 67,093
Rhapsody help.

Any one have a fix for this?
Rhapsody left ear bud dramatically lowering in volume. I have swapped numerous cables. Volume slowly lowers to nothing. If I take it off and blow in to the vent it works normally for a few minutes before slowly dying again.

Any help much appreciated. Prx is weeks away from arriving. Desperately need a good working set.

Thanks.
 
Feb 5, 2025 at 9:42 AM Post #67,080 of 67,093
They should at least sell filters separately.
you could certainly get filter replacements from KZ. ive gotten my saga bal's filters clogged by earwax. so i contacted kz to request filter replacements and they agreed to send me some for a price
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