KZ Shootout!!
Greetings KZ fanpeoples!
Today we have something that is a thing. A thing of thing-like proportions; a shootout! Over the last year and a bit (or at least it feels that long), I have gathered nine of KZ's offerings, from oldies like the R3 and Micro Ring, to some well-received new-comers such as the ED10 and ATE. We also have some fan favorites in the ANV and EDse. This collection contains a wide variety of iems that represent KZ's growth and development into a titan of the budget iem world. Which iem is the best? Well, that's going to depend on you and your own personal preferences but I'll do my best to explain what I hear as the best of the bunch. Remember that the following is a collection of my own thoughts and feelings, and will certainly not be representative of the community as a whole.
Sources used: Nexus S, Moto G, Asus G73 gaming laptop with the Plantronics Rig amp
Test Albums: Daft Punk - Random Access Memories (FLAC), EL-P - Cancer for Cure (256 kbps), Gramatik - The Age of Reason (320 kbps), Infected Mushroom - Converting Vegetarians (320 kbps), Supertramp - Crime of the Century (FLAC), High Contrast - The Agony and the Ecstasy (320 kbps),
Herbie Hancock - Cantaloupe Island (256 kbps). I just want to drop a shout out to one of my favorite Youtubers, SubSil3nt, for his boss mixes. For example; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOrH3A6G5Sk (For the EDM lovers in the thread, go, enjoy!)
R3
The R3 is an interesting product from KZ. It utilizes a wooden housing and features a high quality removable cable. It looks great, feels durable, fits well, and from a visual perspective sets the standard of looking the part of a significantly more expensive product, something future KZ products continue to do quite well. My pair does suffer from debilitating flex in the left driver, somewhat avoided through the use of a pair of UE600 foam tips.
Upon first listen, you can tell they are an older KZ product, lacking refinement everywhere but in the bass. They offer up some unbelievably deep and smooth bass and have a decently spacious soundstage. Moving up the register you hear a lack of refinement and run into grainy, harsh upper-mids and treble prone to simblance. You never really run into issues with instruments or sounds blending together, or with vocals being overshadowed by bass, but they're not the most pleasant listen due to a somewhat metallic edge.
While I wish there was more to say, they just don't offer up much when put head-to-head against their newer siblings. They would be a nice product for KZ enthusiasts like myself to add to their collection, but they fall short otherwise.
Micro Ring
The Micro Ring is another older KZ model (discontinued unfortunately), unique among its siblings for it's use of a tip-mounted, 6mm micro driver. They are amply vented: open backed with five vents along the top of the housing. Despite this, they isolate acceptably.
The Micro Ring does not follow in the footsteps of its fellow brethren and feels inexpensive and fragile. The cable is slender and poorly relieved at both the housings and y-split, but is excellently relieved at the jack. The 90 degree angled jack used here makes an appearance on many future KZ products.
The Micro Ring is well balanced with a bit of a bass boost, taking on a darker sound. It brings to the table detailed treble, a deep soundstage, good instrument separation, punchy mid-bass, and very capable sub-bass. Their natural sounding vocals, both male and female, are of particular note. Some iems sound a little thin, some run with a thick meaty sound. The Micro Ring sits right in between offering up just the right amount of weight. Compared to other similarly designed iems that I've tried (JVC FRD60, Yahama EPH-100 replica), these offer up a warm, non-fatiguing sound. The only issue I have with them is a slight veil to their mids. After listening for a few minutes you can filter it out, but it does make them sound a touch muffled initially.
ANV (2014)
The ANV is interesting in that opinions seem to fall into the 'love it' or 'hate it' categories. This may be due to their being at least two different models, visually indistinguishable from each other. Since I have been lucky enough to own both versions, I can attest to there being a difference between the original model and the later 2014 version.
The ANV is a splitting image of the Audio Technica CKW1000ANV sans wooden button on the backside. Fortunately, this means they look quite good, with beautifully flowing lines. Next to more traditional barrel shaped iems, I find them quite dashing. The cable is a little oldschool but is thick, durable, and tangle-resistant. They are well relieved both at the slightly chunky straight jack and housings. The y-split is exceptionally compact and breaks apart into a well-hidden chin slider.
The original model was much like the R3 with edgy, simblance prone treble. They are quite balanced with a bass-lite attitude and forward mids. The later 2014 version that I currently own cleans up the spiky treble and adds a much needed dose of upper end sparkle and sub-bass without sacrificing their reasonably balanced sound. Despite using a large 14mm driver, bass is very quick and not overpowering. Sound is dispersed across a wide, yet forward soundstage that I wish offered more depth. I run them with large Sony Hybrids and a filter mod which further smooths out the upper registers.
ATE
The ATE is one of the new breed of KZ, aping it's design pretty clearly from the Audio Technica ATH-IM50. I only have the silver launch version (four of them) and am unable to comment on the opaque black version revealed shortly after their original release. The build and material quality of the housing I find lackluster. Unlike the majority of KZ products, these are plastic. For the price it's fine, but compared to something like the ED3 or ED10 it's hard not to think KZ dropped the ball a bit on this one. Isolation is also surprisingly poor, but at least the cable is nice if not a little sticky. Like the Micro Ring it is well relieved at the jack, but could be better relieved everywhere else.
So, they feel a little underwhelming in-hand. Luckily that feeling doesn't carry over to how they sound. These offer up a very relaxed sound with treble that borders rolling off early, and smooth, forward mids. I particularly enjoy their presentation of female vocals. They have wonderful mid-bass presence that doesn't bleed into other frequencies, but I would like a lot more umph and rumble in the sub-bass. I tend to like aggressive sounding iems, so compared to my usual preferences these play it a bit safe and polite. On the plus side, this relaxed sound means they are not at all fatiguing. This quality makes them one of my top picks in KZ's lineup.
CM9
I'll be blunt, these are the worst of the KZ products I have tried, and not by a small margin. I have no idea what's wrong with them, but they sound very, very wrong. They have a great soundstage and ridiculous sub-bass, but that's about all I can give them credit for.
The housing is decently built, but despite being metal feels plastic and frail. The cable is a very generic item, nowhere near the quality of KZ's other cables.
For some reason their bass is explosive and in-your-face, while both mids and treble recessed and hollow. Aggressive burn-in and wide bore tips help to bring them forward a bit, but there is still this odd dissociation between bass and everything else. It's akin to what I would expect from a (very) poorly tuned dual driver, or standing next to a subwoofer with the primary speakers facing the wrong direction. This was quite a disappointment as it took four attempts to actually get a pair. Oh well. At least they work. *shrug*
EDse
The EDse have a pretty loyal following, and for good reason; they sound fantastic, bat well-above their obscenely low price point, and are very well built. They also have one of my favorite cables of all time; it's flexible, durable, resists tangling very well, has little memory, and looks awesome. This is a cable I would like to swap onto many of my other iems it's that good.
To some the EDse looks like a medieval torture device. I wouldn't go quite that far, but I will say that they have a unique look that is all their own. The giant grill on the back, weird texture of the housing, and gold nozzles make for an odd mix. I love it.
When it comes to sound quality there is little to fault about the EDse. Like many of KZ's products, they have a much larger soundstage than you would expect from such an inexpensive product. I wouldn't say it's quite as large as the Micro Ring's, but it is more well-rounded and does a better job of placing instruments where they should be. Bass is exaggerated but is not overpowering with deep sub-bass response. Mids are very fluid and share the same perfect note thickness of the Micro Ring. As an all-round iem they are top of the class. The only major fault I found is that their treble is splashy and undefined. While it isn't too bad in the grand scheme of things, everything else is so good that it sticks out like a sore thumb and ruins the experience. I've tried tip rolling, multiple sources, EQing, etc. but I just can't get the treble to tighten up to the extent I would like. This is clearly a personal thing, as others adore the treble presentation of the EDse.
ED3
Now that I've taken the chance to sit down and really listen to the ED3 critically, I'm a bit surprised these aren't talked about more. They have the best build of the bunch, being formed from one solid hunk of metal. They cable is a bit springy, but totally manageable. The nozzle is similar to the EDse's and not the most accommodating of a wide variety of tips. Once I finally found the right tip and achieved a perfect seal, I realized these are a seriously capable iem.
Initially I felt these offered up very little bass. While I think it is only slightly deeper than neutral, it is exceptionally quick and tight, almost BA-like, but with added sub-bass. Treble is emphasized and a touch thin, but the detail, clarity, and separation are top notch. Soundstage is intimate, but that doesn't detract from their very capable nature. Mids are not pulled back and are perfectly placed amid the other frequencies., if not a touch forward They could stand to be more natural sounding, but I'm mostly nitpicking at this point. Great iem and highly recommended if big bass isn't a requirement.
ED9
The ED9 has a nice party piece; interchangeable filters. Unlike many iems with such a feature, these filters make a massive difference to my ears. The Gold filters (G), which are my preference, boost bass and treble. The Brass filters (B) bring a more reference sound to the mix, balancing them out across the board. They still have boosted bass with either filter in place, but less so with the brass filters.
I can't help but feel that the ED9(G) and EDse are more or less interchangeable given how similar the sound is. Outside of the the tighter treble on the ED9(G), the two iems are quite comparable. The EDse produces a smidge more sub-bass, and the ED9(G) is a touch brighter, but they share excellent mids, soundstage, and other descriptive adjectives.
The ED9(B) brings out the reference side of KZ. These filters allow for mildly deeper insertion and open up the soundstage. Where the (G) has clearly defined limits to its soundstage, the (B) opens that up. Unfortunately, it also makes the treble too splashy for my liking, and as I experienced with the EDse it gets distracting and ruins the experience. Those who can get around this (which I suspect is most of you) will find improved dynamics, intense detail, and mids brought more forward into the mix. Bass tightens up and gains some extra kick. In general I feel they are much more aggressive with (B) installed. Normally this is more my style as I love aggressive sounding iems (hence why I have a few of JVC's carbon nanotube iems), but that treble sidetracks me every time.
Moving away from how they sound, they have a pretty cool design. Open-backed, octagonal housing, great strain reliefs all around, and what I think is a pretty good cable apart from the bounciness. They don't have the premium feel of ANV or solidness of the ED3, but they're no slouch either. The ED9 is an outstanding iem, and like most KZ products hits a level of competence far above what you would expect from its humble price.
ED10
The ED10 have the most cohesive sound of all the KZ iems I own. Bass, like on the ED3, is exceptionally quick and punchy but the ED10 offers up more; more rumbly subs, even punchier mid-bass. The soundstage isn't huge, but is large enough for each sound to play in it's own distinct space. As the newest KZ in my collection, I haven't spent nearly as much time with these vs. the other KZ's that I own ('cept the CM9), however they are immediately a more comprehensive listen. They display a very smooth and organic sound like the ATE, but unlike the ATE maintain this while offering up nicely emphasized treble with lots of sparkle. Mids are clean and clear, and unaffected by bass. No part of the sound spectrum sticks out or is clearly more refined.
In addition to sounding outstanding, build quality is spot-on. The housing is all-metal and displays some interesting features including a unique shape and neat bi-color backplate. I personally can't use them with the cable behind my ear due to the layout of the strain relief, but I know others do not run into this issue. Cable down they are easily one of the most comfortable and unobtrusive iems in my vast collection. They share that ever-familiar cable with much of the KZ lineup and strain relief all around is very good. The 90 degree angled jack is the same as that found on the Micro Ring. There isn't much to fault here.
Rankings!
1. ED10
2. Micro Ring = ANV
3. ATE
4. ED3
5. ED9(G)
6. EDse
7. ED9(B)
8. R3
9. CM9
There was no question about the ED10 sitting in my number 1 spot. From the first listen, I was impressed with the quality and refinement they offered in every aspect over other KZ iems; bass, mids, treble, build quality, fit, design. Now that I've spent quite a bit of time with them, I've only become more confident in this. It feels like KZ took the best aspects of each of their top products and mashed them together to create a near-perfect budget iem. After experiencing this batch of budget juggernauts, the ZN1 can't arrive soon enough now.
*PS: I do have the KZ DS on the way, but it too is an older model and likely won't hold up against the rest of the crew. I'll probably update when they arrive, and am only guessing that they will fall above the CM9 and battle the R3 for 8th place.*
*** Micro Ring Love ***
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