[Majin]

 
Not get an ATE for "earpods" sound.
 
 
 
Due to another sound signature, you hear the music different than you have until now. I would say the ZS3s are better, but are different too. If you are after a more "energetic" or "engaging" sound, you should look elsewhere indeed. The ZS3 is meant to sound rather dark. For some excellent energetic sound @B9Scrambler would be kind to advise you the KZ ED3 Perfection, EDR2 or ED9. And so would I.

 
If you are looking for energetic sound i would stay away from the ED9. I've went from my ED9 to Monk plus and it makes the ED9 sound really flat. I prolly won't be looking into the KZ IEMs since I got the Monk plus. From memory the KZ ZN1 with amp would be the sound sig he is looking for but they are up in price for $70 instead of $20.

 

[Ruben123]

   
If you are looking for energetic sound i would stay away from the ED9. I've went from my ED9 to Monk plus and it makes the ED9 sound really flat. I prolly won't be looking into the KZ IEMs since I got the Monk plus. From memory the KZ ZN1 with amp would be the sound sig he is looking for but they are up in price for $70 instead of $20.

And the golden filters, dont you find them energetic?

 

[Majin]

 
And the golden filters, dont you find them energetic?

 
With golden filters they have bloated bass and reduced clarity. I was almost shocked how bad they sound but god bless the brass filters that made them my go to cheapo IEM for 1,5 year.
 
Owyeah and I came from the Sony MH1C back then which is already a bass heavy IEM.

 

[vegetaleb]

So finally the ZS3 are too bassy a la ATES or its bass is neutral? I don't want iem with such bass as the ATES, the bumping bass stretched my internal ears in a way I had ''water drops like sound'' for couple of days, I had to totally stop listening to iems for 2 weeks to fix my ears

 

[haiku]

  So finally the ZS3 are too bassy a la ATES or its bass is neutral? I don't want iem with such bass as the ATES, the bumping bass stretched my internal ears in a way I had ''water drops like sound'' for couple of days, I had to totally stop listening to iems for 2 weeks to fix my ears

For real?!! Ok, well, the bass of the ZS3 doesn´t have the punch and the subbass of the ATE´s, but I would say it´s also far from being neutral....  

 

[louiedog]

  I think the HDS1s are pretty neutral myself but haven't heard the others. I have the ATE none S model and they have more bass than the HDS1.

 
 

For the guy considering ed7 mini.. Don't buy it. Sound is OK, but nozzle is so narrow that its hard to use wide bore tips on it, at least I was able to find only one tip from my collection.

 
Thanks, I'll take this into consideration.

 

[pashhtk27]

  So I received my ZS3s today (like finally) I have been using my earpods for around 1.5 years I have no idea but when I played ONE OK ROCK- The Beginning The earpods gave me a much more "alive" feel whereas the ZS3s feels "dead" so I feel alittle bit disappointed. The soundstage of the ZS3 is definitely larger than my earpods and the ZS3 bass is so much better than the earpods all this I could really appreciate but there is no feel to the music. Is this what people meant by dark and bright sounding iems? I am going to burn them in and hopefully it does help. Could this be a qc problem? I got the glossy KZ ZS3 fitted with JVC Spiral Dot tips.

Japanese music sounds good with neutral to bright gear, with non-recessed mids/vocals. I can't listen to any track with darker earphones. ZS-series is definitely not meant for that purpose. Try the energetic ED-series; I have the ed3c and they sound quite good with one ok rock, energetic and fun.

 

[chaiyuta]

I received my KZ upgraded cables today for both the ZST and the ZS3, keep in mind that they're different from each other.

I just got a new found respect for the KZ ZST. I don't understand why KZ didn't just offer it with the upgraded cable to begin with, the ZST should've sounded like it does now with the upgrade cable out of the box. At the moment, if you buy the ZST and then get the upgrade cable it'll cost more or close to the 4in1 and that's unfortunate.

Here are the changes: the veil did get cleared up, mids are clearer, no longer muddy, and the 'grainy' sound is gone. Omg theres finally sound stage and imaging is finally present. [Used Yosi Horikawa Vapor album and I couldn't stop listening to it] The sound signature also moved over more towards neutral than before(it used to be warm and bass heavy), but it is still definitely warmer than the 4in1. It definitely lost some of the bass that was overpowering the mids/highs and the vocals - and that's a pleasant change because it made the separation clear.

Just got home from a long day at work and I'm a bit exhausted so I'm sorry if I'm all over the place but I really just wanted to post about this.

Now I have an option to choose from when it comes to whether I want to listen to a more cooler sound signature or warmer. I can definitely see people who tend to think 4in1 is too bright to opt for this ZST with upgraded cable. I haven't had a listen to the ZS3 with the upgraded cable because I can't seem to put down the ZST right now

- so it'll have to wait until tomorrow. I'll also post pics!

 
It seems that not only me feel good once changing to silver-plated cable and taking burn-in ~30hours. If you have a chance to try ZST with Dragonfly black 1.5. Let's try. For me, it's good matching.

 

[chaiyuta]

  Anyone have any suggestions for cable options for the ZST? Currently have the silver plated cable but the lack of a memory wire is irritating me.

 
I am using Brimar Quantum SXC cable. It has memory wire. I recommend cable brand likes Brimar or Effect Audio. All of them come with memory wire.

 

[NewWaveAudio]

So sort of made my KZ ATE open back. May do a more permanent mod when I get home. Detail and sound stage is impressive. Bass still punches and rumbles nicely

 

[rockingthearies]

Thanks all for your suggestions and replies! What song genres should I pair with the ZS3?

 

[rockingthearies]

After further listening after an 8 hour burn in, while the treble is still recessed causing vocals in some songs to be a little bit "dark". The separation in the ZS3 are amazing, I could hear the bass, the drumset, cymbals etc I am truly amazed. The bass to me is not too strong until its painful but its accurate and punchy. I will probably get another bright sounding iem or earbud for other songs

 

[Redcarmoose]

So sort of made my KZ ATE open back. May do a more permanent mod when I get home. Detail and sound stage is impressive. Bass still punches and rumbles nicely

That will be amazing when your done. I was surprised to see a a couple pictures of others making the ATE open-back on line.

If I could, the other ways to get soundstage is to change upstream gear. Somehow the ATE has the ability to grow a different soundstage with other amps, cables and DACs.

Using the ATE is maybe my favorite with an old iPhone, still it was uncanny how much they change with tube amps or home DACs.

Still in the end, no EQ or amp is going to fully do the change character of the physicality of the IEM. The physical properties of the headphone or IEM can not be changed with upstream gear. Thus you maybe could enhance your experience even further using different DACs and amps with the open-back custom IEM?

 

[Ruben123]

Thanks all for your suggestions and replies! What song genres should I pair with the ZS3?

For starters, genres you like. I've listened all from Bach to Leonard Cohen with them and liked enormously what I heard.

 

[haiku]

After 1 week of breaking in the ATE S, I can say if you think the bass of the ATE is already too much for you to take, then don´t even bother with getting the ATE S. Though the bass has better control, it is "massaging" the eardrums even more than the ATE. I love it!