The ate were less comfortable while still being ok but provided a much more balanced signature... They truly are close to awesomeness. Unfortunately to my personal taste they are still too bass oriented.
Comfort of the zs3 and a less bassy ate ish sound at sub 10$ would be spectacular! What should I try next?
If you found the ATE too bassy then I think the Rock Zircon won't be to your taste. Less bass than a ATE and sub $10? Only a few spring to mind, VE Monks + (earbud), KZ EDR2, Tennmak Porcelain - you may also be able to get a pair of the ubiquitous ED9 around the $10 mark, these can be debassed with the brass nozzle
VE Monks are Aliexpress the rest are available from GB
I have found the Remax RM-S1 to be a little less warm than KZ -ATE. The S1 bass goes deep and delivers detail in the bass areas. Where the ATE is more like a 1960s tube Hi/Fi with that lush romance. The S1 is more like home theatre in the 2000s. Still the S1 becomes truly amazing after burn in of about 100hrs.
Is your S1 the new paint-less edition or the silver ones?
I have found the Remax RM-S1 to be a little less warm than KZ -ATE. The S1 bass goes deep and delivers detail in the bass areas. Where the ATE is more like a 1960s tube Hi/Fi with that lush romance. The S1 is more like home theatre in the 2000s. Still the S1 becomes truly amazing after burn in of about 100hrs.
Is your S1 the new paint-less edition or the silver ones?
Hey Red, have you tried the new ATR's? You comparing off an iDevice? Just asking as I still feel the ATR is the final and best rendition of the ATE series
Keep in mind my ears are very old but I seem to concur with a lot of your findings
I have found the Remax RM-S1 to be a little less warm than KZ -ATE. The S1 bass goes deep and delivers detail in the bass areas. Where the ATE is more like a 1960s tube Hi/Fi with that lush romance.
Is your S1 the new paint-less edition or the silver ones?
Yeah, I love the "tubey" sound of the ATE, but also ATE S. Especially listening to old english prog rock (Caravan, Camel, Soft Machine, National Health and the like) really lets you drift into mystery lands of sound, whereas with other earphones the music often becomes exhausting. It still baffles me, how such high end sound quality can be offered for such a small amount of money. On the other hand, when you read the statement on their website, you realize the guys from KZ are on a mission. They have my deepest respect.
Unfortunately, I had to send the remax back, because of channel imbalances.
If you found the ATE too bassy then I think the Rock Zircon won't be to your taste. Less bass than a ATE and sub $10? Only a few spring to mind, VE Monks + (earbud), KZ EDR2, Tennmak Porcelain - you may also be able to get a pair of the ubiquitous ED9 around the $10 mark, these can be debassed with the brass nozzle
VE Monks are Aliexpress the rest are available from GB
Haha well for a few that's quite the list! Between the GB options KZ EDR2, Tennmark Porcelain or KZ ED9, which one would be your favorite ? I'm starting to collect iems, fun but not exactly useful
I really like the Porcelain partly because they're a little offbeat inasmuch they're the forgotten Tennmak. If you want to tread the usual path then the ED9 is probably the one to go for as it's effectively two earphones in one as it has interchangeable filters.
Haha, will definitely write one up! At the moment I am burning all 3 of them and trying to get 120+ hours on the ZST, ATR and ZS3. It is to make sure that if there are any changes in burning them in, I'd be able to achieve that. I will be testing them out by doing a blind test (will get my girlfriend to mark one of them discreetly without me knowing) then putting them on a splitter and unburned on one ear and burned on the other then switching them out, also switching the sides just in case one side of the splitter is better than the other. Will be using my usual test by listening to a wide array of lossless music at my disposal, and as well as Yosi Horikawa's Vapor album. - I LOVE THIS ALBUM! If you don't know of it, go on Spotify and listen to it! Definitely one of the best ways for me to check for sound stage, imaging and the separation of the details.
The stock silicone tips that comes with it hurts but if you have some better ones like the JVC spiral dots, they work well and are comfortable. I like the foam type ones also but it makes it really difficult to easily put on and take off iems that are lol. I end up looking like a d-bag walking around with them on at work because of the hassle of taking them off and putting them on. And I also noticed that the foam tips made the bass more boomy for me (I don't know if it's the shape of my ear canals, but that's the effect that I get
), so if you're aiming to make them darker then definitely use the foam tips.
Glad you like it! Bump and Wandering is amazing to listen to with headphones or iems that have amazing sound stage and imaging. You can close your eyes and it puts you there, basking in the music and tones coming from all around you, like you are the center of their performance. Quite an experience, it's what makes me addicted to this audiophile experience haha.
I run those on quite a few of my bright earphones. They're very similar to the ones JVC supplied with the FX40. Somewhat stiff, not overly porous. They're a nice go-between to me for silicone tips and Comply style foams. Depending on the earphone, you can insert them without compressing them first. They're my preferred tip for the Advanced M4 for that reason.
I have them, they're more of a hybrid tip - hard to explain but I'll try: it's a rubber foam like consistency (so it's a bit harder than the memory foam, and you can feel some pressure once they are in place but still much less than typical silicone tips) and it has that has a silicone outer skin. Edit: They also don't have that 'rubber sleeve' inside the normal porous memory foam tips. I generally prefer the more memory foam type (that have open pores - looks like a sponge due to it's slower rebound and once inserted you won't feel them) but they work quite well also because they will last longer than the memory foam type. The silicone acts as a barrier against dirt and earwax, so you can easily clean them by wiping them with a wet cloth. Over time they will also start to lose their elasticity and get hard, as is the case with the memory foam type.
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