[chickenmoon]

Ah, I see what you are getting at. Thanks once again.

Went to side-by-side listening with my Image S4. While I like these, because they sound a bit more airy. However after comparing they have extreme sibilance. But I like the balance better, bit less bass and more mids & highs and crispier. However I hate the sibilance now.
My journey continues, really interested if vivo xe800 are good for my taste. Have to wait...

That said, for 4$ the ATR is good, and about in the same range as my sennheiser cx250 which costed me $25 back then. My S4 were $55 and is still bit crispier.

XE800 is extremely bright, to me just at the limit of what's tolerable, it pretty much avoids sibilance however and doesn't have any intolerable hot peak like the 8320.

 

[Griffith]

Can anybody clarify what fun sound signature sound like? I mean the Kz zs3.

 
Depends on who you ask.
 
Usually people characterize headphones that are "fun" when there is a frequency of the sounds that is more forward than others and makes parts or specific types of sounds of songs sound really engaging. Some people characterize the KZ ZS3 or the KZ ED9 as fun earphones because they have a lot of bass, that's the characteristic that makes it fun for people who appreciate bass. But for example my Fostex T50RP MK3 are also considered very fun earphones but they are not extremely bassy, instead they have very bright highs and that in turn really livens up songs that have nice highs.
 
If someone characterize an earphone/headphone as "fun", that adjective alone tells me almost nothing about how they actually sound.

 

[Lorspeaker]

i am listening to GHOST..ZS3 thru xduoo x10..
greeted by a bodacious male voice...cooing for his love..
spacious..hall like ambience...didnt felt the highs were restricted..
he is hungering for her love now...
oldstyle drumming on my left..
far deep right..some violins in the background..
the song is coming to an end...
its a longing departure kind of song.
 
A carribean song now...all the strange percussive thumpssss...
with some reverbs felt...wow 
 
( i wont put on the ZST for now...too much FUN !! )

 

[Griffith]

  I have a pair of ZS1 and ATE S, and thought ZS3 would make a great addition to my collection. I ordered these on Gearbest but they haven't shipped it since a month, and the first time I raised a ticket they told me it's on back order. I raised another ticket 2 days ago, and they told me that the product is in stock and will be shipped immediately, but the order status is still in processing. Is this something to expect from GB?  Has anyone who ordered this November from GB received their ZS3's? 

 
I ordered my ZS3 on the 12th of November and have had them for a couple of weeks now. Unfortunately I had a similar issue with the ZST that took over a week to ship. It's not something that has ever occurred to me before. In general Gearbest has been reliable and shipped products in a prompt manner and usually they are delivered much faster than the products I order from Aliexpress.

 

[Mus1c]

Depends on who you ask.

Usually people characterize headphones that are "fun" when there is a frequency of the sounds that is more forward than others and makes parts or specific types of sounds of songs sound really engaging. Some people characterize the KZ ZS3 or the KZ ED9 as fun earphones because they have a lot of bass, that's the characteristic that makes it fun for people who appreciate bass. But for example my Fostex T50RP MK3 are also considered very fun earphones but they are not extremely bassy, instead they have very bright highs and that in turn really livens up songs that have nice highs.

If someone characterize an earphone/headphone as "fun", that adjective alone tells me almost nothing about how they actually sound.

ok i got it, thanks for clarification.

 

[chickenmoon]

ED10 is fun, it sounds like hitting an anvil with a hammer.

 

[Mus1c]

Try put some foam in the tips bores, that should filter out some of the highs and mids and it'll therefore become bassier. I do that with the monoprice 88320 and it works very well for taming its too much brightness. Whether ATR will still sound good doing that I am not sure but I think that's all you can try to do.

Can you show me how do the thing on ur monoprice 88320. Just one question,wat is tips bore?.

 

[n1ls]

   
I ordered my ZS3 on the 12th of November and have had them for a couple of weeks now. Unfortunately I had a similar issue with the ZST that took over a week to ship. It's not something that has ever occurred to me before. In general Gearbest has been reliable and shipped products in a prompt manner and usually they are delivered much faster than the products I order from Aliexpress.

I got my ZS1 from Gearbest in about 10 days from placing the order, was impressed by the speed and decided to get the ZS3 from them. I didn't expect it would take a month to even process the order. LOL. I've had terrible experience on Aliexpress previously with shipping delays, but the silver cable I ordered for the ZS3 a week ago is already in my country, and will probably be delivered this weekend. 

 

[Griffith]

  I got my ZS1 from Gearbest in about 10 days from placing the order, was impressed by the speed and decided to get the ZS3 from them. I didn't expect it would take a month to even process the order. LOL. I've had terrible experience on Aliexpress previously with shipping delays, but the silver cable I ordered for the ZS3 a week ago is already in my country, and will probably be delivered this weekend. 

 
If you message Gearbest's support they should be able to tell you when the earphones will actually arrive/ship within a few days margin. Their support is always informative and polite and to me that's a big plus compared to most Aliexpress sellers who when you complain or just ask something you get an answer that's something in the lines of: "please no give me brad rating or me lose my job. me give your refund if you want please don't give bad rating" without answering your actual question: When/Why will/Haven't they ship(ed)?"

 

[chickenmoon]

Can you show me how do the thing on ur monoprice 88320. Just one question,wat is tips bore?.

Well you just cut some small pieces of foam and you push them into the bores/ducts/holes of your earphone tips.

 

[Mus1c]

Well you just cut some small pieces of foam and you push them into the bores/ducts/holes of your earphone tips.

ok thanks

 

[Lorspeaker]

The ZS3 can be quite "sufficient" if u have a portable /amp with HIGH gain..
i was listening to some cello on low gain n tot i was about to be submerged under water..
switched to HIGHgain n I am out of the water

 

[n1ls]

   
...compared to most Aliexpress sellers who when you complain or just ask something you get an answer that's something in the lines of: "please no give me brad rating or me lose my job. me give your refund if you want please don't give bad rating"

That's funny. 

And a bit sad too. I get that sort of replies from Ebay sellers as well. But hey, at least they make an effort to rectify the problem. 

 

[Griffith]

  That's funny. 

And a bit sad too. I get that sort of replies from Ebay sellers as well. But hey, at least they make an effort to rectify the problem. 

 
To be fair though, if something is back-ordered there isn't much the seller can do to alleviate your problem. They could have been more honest upfront about whether they had the product in stock or not, but given the popularity the KZ earphones had during november with many people from this thread, including myself, purchasing them left and right... it's not immensely surprising to me that they had stock issues and I think the same should hold true, to some extent to most online retailers.

 

[Podster]

  OK, here are my thoughts on the ZST and ZS3.  In short, the 2 are both really good but have quite different sound signatures, so pick the one based on your music/sound preferences.  My own preference is the ZST as I prefer more detail and resolution and I'm NOT all about that bass.
 
ZST 
Very easy to get a good seal every time, and the bass is there though not overwhelming.  Mids and highs are very clear, lots of detail and resolution.  Medium sound stage, I've had a wider sound stage with my xiaomi pistons gen 5 (the new 2DD + BA hybrid) but that one also has a more airy feel, perhaps due to the front and back ports.  
 
Silver vs Stock cable: as I wrote previously, there's a slight impedance difference between the 2 wires (1.2ohms vs 1.5-1.6). Not enough to matter in actual listening though, I have a feeling the silver wire makes the ZSTs a TOUCH brighter but that may be all in my head, as the wire swapping take a fair bit of time.
 
ZS3
ZS3 has oh so much more bass, almost like a wall of bass.  Great for EDM and bass heavy music, but not as good for jazz/classical as the highs are a bit recessed and muddled.  Mids I would say is a tie, ZS3 has warmth in the vocals, while ZST has more resolution.  I also prefer the wires on the ZST that don't have the memory wire, which actually makes them more comfy and easier to store.  (Did someone here say they took out the memory wire?  Any instructions on how?)
 
Both are super comfy to wear, but I find I have to adjust my ZS3s more frequently than the ZSTs when I'm walking around.  The litmus test is when I put in the earbuds and get a good seal, then make a big smile which reduces the seal coz my ears move, then go back to normal.  ZSTs tend to go back to a good seal, while the ZS3s sometimes will stay loose and I need to adjust.
 
For extended/serious listening I used to use my UE TF 10s.  They still sound better than the ZSTs (so much more resolution and richness) but unfortunately the comfort level is lacking...my ears tend to ache after an hour or so especially with the reverse mod, but then i also don't want to look like a teletubby.  Anyway I think the ZSTs will be my daily drivers from now...
 
Bottom line, for the price both earbuds are a no brainer, pick the one based on your preferred music type and sound profile.  If only their mic had volume controls as well then that would be perfect...at least for Android phones to keep the costs low.  I also can't wait for the ZSRs to come out, if they can tune it well it should be really awesome!

@ricemanhk good assessments, true the ZS3's much like the ZN1 Mini can be extremely fun due to the bass forward signature. I prefer mush more highs than most and the ZST's provide these in spades but for the price one can't go wrong with either and have two very different sounding iem's

 
Having tons of fun with my ZST/M1 combo