[pashhtk27]

Finally after waiting for replies which i didn't get here to make final decision, confused i order the KZ ATE for $6.96 after $2 off.

I'll be upgrading from soundmagic ES18 , is it a good choice to move from ES18 to ATE ?
Are they as comfortable as ES18 with default provide tips and provide tight fit with good noise isolation ?
And if it's reliable enough to use more than 1 year as i take great care of my earphone.
And it should be comfortable while laying on bed too

The main music genre I'll listen is EDM, Pop and Rock.

If these earphones are not good for this type of music as compared to ES18 please suggest other below $9.
How's Uiisii HM7 ?

I do not want to disappoint you, but ate is not the iem you should be looking at. It has more of a relaxing smooth sound signature which sounds great with 'older' music genres. Not so much with modern genres which I believe require faster and more lively signature. And being over the ear style, it can be a bit bulky and not as comfortable while lying on bed. And the default tips are no good, you'll have to put wide bore tips for them to shine.
I personally do not like es18 because I like lesser bass and more clarity than these offer. I personally would pick kz ed3m if I feel like enjoying more bass when listening to edm, pop or rock. I do not have ed9 or ed10 but I think they would sound quite good with pop, edm if you're not very treble sensitive. ED9 is quite small so should also be more comfortable.

I'm quite a newbie at the audio scene so take my words with a grain of salt.

 

[Ruben123]

I think only shell finish. If someone wants a neutral version of KZ ZS3 buy ED12. My ED12 arrived yesterday will do a short comparison later.

I thought ed12 was a bit v shaped with a bit overdone treble. Looking forward to reading your evaluation I find the zs3s with wide tips to be quite natural with a slight enhanced bass.

 

[mebaali]

Finally after waiting for replies which i didn't get here to make final decision, confused i order the KZ ATE for $6.96 after $2 off.

I'll be upgrading from soundmagic ES18 , is it a good choice to move from ES18 to ATE ?
Are they as comfortable as ES18 with default provide tips and provide tight fit with good noise isolation ?
And if it's reliable enough to use more than 1 year as i take great care of my earphone.
And it should be comfortable while laying on bed too

The main music genre I'll listen is EDM, Pop and Rock.

If these earphones are not good for this type of music as compared to ES18 please suggest other below $9.
How's Uiisii HM7 ?

I have had ES18 as a bedtime listening phones for over 3 years (not using it anymore), from my memory, they had way too bloated midbass that swallowed most other frequencies (I would not recommend them for those seeking clarity and detail retrieval). ATE (inaugural version, been using for over a year) OTOH, has more than decent clarity (a very smooth presentation) despite having a warmer sound signature (not as bassy as ES18).
 
With right sized (+ bore) tips (i use JVC Spiral dot large size) ATE will provide good sealing. But due to ATE's bulky size (ES18 is super comfortable in that aspect albeit very brittle) and shape, I doubt its use as beater phones for bedtime listening (it wasn't comfortable sleeping with these phones on the ears for me) will work.
 
Philips SHE3590 is a very good alternative if you are looking for an earphone that is comfortable on the ears with a bit more clarity (and has got a sparkle in the treble that works well for most modern genres of music) than either ES18 and ATE. These you can get for under 400 rupees from Amazon. Among the KZ's, R1 (IINW, they are no longer in production) is what I use for bedtime listening, super comfortable on ears and eerily reminiscent fo ES18's sound except with better mids and treble for my ears.

 

[haiku]

My personal KZ ranking at the moment
 
1. ATE
2. ATE S
3. ZS3

 

[toddy0191]

akhil17kr fork out a little more and get the vivo xe800 for $18. They were $99 originally and were well reviewed at that price. A bit bass light (although it is present down to sub bass and you can eq it up if its too light for you) but has beautiful mids and highs which are really detailed. Separation of sounds is well above its pice and although light, the lower end is tight, fast and responsive, making it good for edm IMO as well as acoustic music.

A massive step up from the ES18s

 

[Ruben123]

akhil17kr fork out a little more and get the vivo xe800 for $18. They were $99 originally and were well reviewed at that price. A bit bass light (although it is present down to sub bass and you can eq it up if its too light for you) but has beautiful mids and highs which are really detailed. Separation of sounds is well above its pice and although light, the lower end is tight, fast and responsive, making it good for edm IMO as well as acoustic music.

A massive step up from the ES18s

How is it compared to the best kzs?

 

[Mellowship]

  I think only shell finish. If someone wants a neutral version of KZ ZS3 buy ED12. My ED12 arrived yesterday will do a short comparison later.

 
Can you please tell me how the black lids on your ED12 (the ones with ED12 written on them) are placed on the earpiece? Do they cover it perfectly, sealing it, or do they leave a small aperture on one of the sides, letting the air (and sound) pass to the ouside? I can't figure out if this is standard on the ED12, or if this is a bad quality control, and I think it affects sound quality... I really don't like them...  

 

[toddy0191]

How is it compared to the best kzs?

I only own the ZS3 and ATE and whilst they're both great, the XE800s are a class above IMO and so they should be as they were $99 iems orginally.

Plus they're super comfortable.

 

[Ruben123]

I only own the ZS3 and ATE and whilst they're both great, the XE800s are a class above IMO and so they should be as they were $99 iems orginally.

Plus they're super comfortable.

Enough said. Thanks. Even found them for $3 but they almost MUST be fakes arent they? http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-In-ear-Music-Earphone-W-Mic-Headphone-For-VIVO-XE800-iPhone-7-6-Samsung-S6-/151752305190?var=&hash=item2355246a26maYD1PYhk9Cp2huWqdC1qlQ
 
Also makes me think whether other cheap VIVO XE800s are real or not... if there is one factory making fakes...........

 

[akhil17kr]

I do not want to disappoint you, but ate is not the iem you should be looking at. It has more of a relaxing smooth sound signature which sounds great with 'older' music genres. Not so much with modern genres which I believe require faster and more lively signature. And being over the ear style, it can be a bit bulky and not as comfortable while lying on bed. And the default tips are no good, you'll have to put wide bore tips for them to shine.

I personally do not like es18 because I like lesser bass and more clarity than these offer. I personally would pick kz ed3m if I feel like enjoying more bass when listening to edm, pop or rock. I do not have ed9 or ed10 but I think they would sound quite good with pop, edm if you're not very treble sensitive. ED9 is quite small so should also be more comfortable.


I'm quite a newbie at the audio scene so take my words with a grain of salt.

I am honestly very very confused, audio being the subjective thing really differ from people to people and device to device, have no idea what should i do now ?
I have tested my friend's Ed2 and i find it much louder than es18 on my redmi note 3 with viper4android such that it is really uncomfortable for ears to listen, but at lower volume there is no enjoyment,on the other hand es18 did provide balanced loud volume which ny ears like.

That's what i want, how's ATE vs ED2 ?

Oh god..i don't know what to do ..

 

[akhil17kr]

I have had ES18 as a bedtime listening phones for over 3 years (not using it anymore), from my memory, they had way too bloated midbass that swallowed most other frequencies (I would not recommend them for those seeking clarity and detail retrieval). ATE (inaugural version, been using for over a year) OTOH, has more than decent clarity (a very smooth presentation) despite having a warmer sound signature (not as bassy as ES18).

With right sized (+ bore) tips (i use JVC Spiral dot large size) ATE will provide good sealing. But due to ATE's bulky size (ES18 is super comfortable in that aspect albeit very brittle) and shape, I doubt its use as beater phones for bedtime listening (it wasn't comfortable sleeping with these phones on the ears for me) will work.

Philips SHE3590 is a very good alternative if you are looking for an earphone that is comfortable on the ears with a bit more clarity (and has got a sparkle in the treble that works well for most modern genres of music) than either ES18 and ATE. These you can get for under 400 rupees from Amazon. Among the KZ's, R1 (IINW, they are no longer in production) is what I use for bedtime listening, super comfortable on ears and eerily reminiscent fo ES18's sound except with better mids and treble for my ears.

Have you ever experienced Ed2 ? It's praised all over net but i didn't liked them, ATE being bestseller and being reviewed very good sound quality i thought it'll be a good upgraded over es18.
I am no audiophile, i just want to enjoy music like how i did with es18 , i hope ATE will not disappoint in that respect and at least it'll be as good as Es18.
And regarding eartips,can you please provide Aliexpress link for ATE tips which is tight with good comfortability and noise isolation? Less than 2$ ?

 

[Ruben123]

Id get the KZ hds1. Very underrated though very good also. Warm and neutral, and very very small and light. You have to see them to believe it. Perfect for in bed! Very efficient too so no need of lots of power.

 

[akhil17kr]

Id get the KZ hds1. Very underrated though very good also. Warm and neutral, and very very small and light. You have to see them to believe it. Perfect for in bed! Very efficient too so no need of lots of power.

Any idea how it'll vs es18, i just absolutely love es18 but now after 1.5 years it's quality have degraded a little.
I want balanced sound quality. Doesn't ATE provide balanced sound quality ?

 

[Ruben123]

Any idea how it'll vs es18, i just absolutely love es18 but now after 1.5 years it's quality have degraded a little.
I want balanced sound quality. Doesn't ATE provide balanced sound quality ?

I think they sound quite similar, ATE and HDS1. HDS1 is very balanced, almost neutral except for a slight midrange focussed sound. It doesnt compete at all to the ATE when lying in bed. Also theyre cheaper.

 

[mebaali]

Have you ever experienced Ed2 ? It's praised all over net but i didn't liked them, ATE being bestseller and being reviewed very good sound quality i thought it'll be a good upgraded over es18.
I am no audiophile, i just want to enjoy music like how i did with es18 , i hope ATE will not disappoint in that respect and at least it'll be as good as Es18.
And regarding eartips,can you please provide Aliexpress link for ATE tips which is tight with good comfortability and noise isolation? Less than 2$ ?

I don't own ED2 but I do have EDSE (an older model from KZ which looks same as ED2). I am not fond of its sound (harsh treble) and design (short nozzle makes for a poor fit into my ears), though.
 
IMHO, ATE is surely an upgrade (laidback, smooth sounding with better overall clarity and vocals) over ES18 (too much boomy bass) in all aspects (sound wise). ATE should work for most music genres.
 
Regarding tips, it is very subjective. You gotta try tips that works for your inner ear size. Commonly suggested aftermarket tips are JVC spiral dot, Spinfit, and Auvio (all silicone tips). Most of these (except Spinfit, which you can source from AliEx) are not available from Chinese etailing sites (I had bought my JVC spiral dot tips from eBay japan).
 
In the meantime, I would suggest you to wait for your ATE delivery. Check and see how the stock tips fits for your ears and then go on from there.
 
Cheers!