[ustinj]

I very much agree with this having heard the TFZ Exclusive King briefly which i just got today. Instead of including more and more drivers in IEM, a well-tuned single dynamic driver IEM is often better or much more natural / linear sounding. It's actually harder to do a good dynamic driver IEM as it plays a lot with the acoustic between drivers & the whole sound chamber it sits in while it's easier to do simple crossover between different dynamic & BA drivers which kinda explains the trends in Chinese Audio nowadays. The technology in hybrid & crossovers are probably much more matured there in China too.

Please tell me more about the TFZ King -- I am a huge fan of the TFZ Series 5 (big shill for that one, spread a lot of hype). TFZ won't reply to my emails on what the sound sig is like, so what is your opinion on it?

 

[VinceHill24]

Please tell me more about the TFZ King -- I am a huge fan of the TFZ Series 5 (big shill for that one, spread a lot of hype). TFZ won't reply to my emails on what the sound sig is like, so what is your opinion on it?

Quoting my brief impression from the Chinese brand thread. YMMV.

70$ at Massdrop ?! It's a really good deal that you won't wanna miss. They're really worth every price i paid for. I've spent pretty much a whole day with this since i got it earlier today. Just some brief impressions, they're very lean sounding with very good resolution overall. They're very well balanced imo and i would say quite close to being neutral. Their highs are bright but not overly so. They're no where to the point of edgy or harsh instead they're smooth and airy with great extension (i believe the wide frequency response 5hz - 40kHz accounts for that airy feel).

Its bass is what i like the most. They're in no way recessed like what some Taobao review has mentioned. The amount of bass is just right and it's also deep with ample of subbass to complement the midbass. Bass notes have good speed, they're fast, tight and punchy as if it's coming out from a BA. Midrange sounds clear and natural although can come across as a bit thin. Upper midrange have better body and a fuller sound with female vocals sounding lush and clear though not as much being emphasised when compared to Magaosi K3 Pro, just smooth and clear.

One of the best thing in the Exclusive King i think is its instrument placement and separation.
While its soundstage may not be that exceptional at this price point but the instrument separation and the placement in the stage is so clear & accurate without any bleed over and this probably is why they're marketed as a hifi monitor instead.

They're very easy to drive, having rather low impedance at 12Ohm and a pretty high sensitivity @ 11dB so it kinda makes them quie loud even at lower volume (< 50% volume on both my Samsung Note 3 & Aigo Z2 is already loud enough and anything more would probably cause hearing damage)

These are just my brief initial impressions, i believe burn-in will further improve it as TFZ also recommended an 80-150hours of burn-in on this. As usual JMHO and YMMV.

And 1 more, they're actually quite heavy. In fact they're the heaviest of all plastic IEMs i had so wearing it for a long period may put strain on your ears and could cause discomfort.

 

[VinceHill24]

Is it worth getting when Magaosi K3 is close price range with very good reviews all over?

To what IEM are You referring to?

To me, no doubt it's worth getting despite Magaosi K3 Pro is around the same price range. It just strikes my preference so well that i had neglected all of my other IEM for the past day (previously i would reach out to my K3 Pro almost everyday). New toy syndrome ?? very very likely because i don't regard myself having experienced ears nor do i have good critical listening skills as compared to some veteran reviewers here, but it's the 1st time i'm that obsessed.

The only downside will be the design as there's no detachable cable design on this and because it's heavy as well so i gotta make sure i take very good care of it with the handling and storage so that it will last. TFZ could've done better with their warranty though, 1 year is just too soon imo.

 

[gemmoglock]

Quoting my brief impression from the Chinese brand thread. YMMV.

Sounds good! Quite miffed I can't try it as I spent 60USD recently on the Brainwavz B100.
 
No time to do a review but after some time to let it settle in and for me to get used, those who don't want too much DD bass should seriously consider the Brainwavz B100. Same as the head-fi reviews, I find it quite complete for a single BA with reasonable frequency extension. The instrument spacing is more distinct than my KZ ZS3, slightly better than ATR while refinement and detail response is better.
 
Just my brief thoughts, hope it helps!

 

[Mus1c]

Has anyone have tried the kinera BD005?.

 

[To.M]

Has anyone have tried the kinera BD005?.

http://www.head-fi.org/t/824627/my-first-imprsssion-in-kinera-ba05/0_30

 

[mrlefteris]

anyone can confirm that the ZSTs tips are 5mm in size and compatible with t500 foam tips?

 

[Envinite]

  anyone can confirm that the ZSTs tips are 5mm in size and compatible with t500 foam tips?

 
ZST's tube diameter is around 5.56 mm, so it should fit nicely using tips with hole around 5mm, checked with calipers.
 
 
On another note, anyone knows how to open up the KZ ZST case? I think I received the first batch (the carbon one) with QC problem so the bass sounds slightly lacking on the left side, probably the armature covering it a lil bit. There seems to be glue around insides of the case, and I don't want to mess this one like I did with my ZS3.

 

[Slater]

   
ZST's tube diameter is around 5.56 mm, so it should fit nicely using tips with hole around 5mm, checked with calipers.
 
 
On another note, anyone knows how to open up the KZ ZST case? I think I received the first batch (the carbon one) with QC problem so the bass sounds slightly lacking on the left side, probably the armature covering it a lil bit. There seems to be glue around insides of the case, and I don't want to mess this one like I did with my ZS3.

 
You mean open the BACK of the case (ie the carbon part), or the FRONT of the case (where the BA driver would be located (generally right under the mesh in the nozzle)?

 

[Envinite]

   
You mean open the BACK of the case (ie the carbon part), or the FRONT of the case (where the BA driver would be located (generally right under the mesh in the nozzle)?

 
I mean the carbon part. There's no way I could work on re-positioning a glued BA from the mesh / nozzle part.
 
This thing looks glued shut with hot glue. I'm afraid that I'll break the plastic first.
 
EDIT:
 
Nevermind. I opened it with watch case opener, the hot glue doesn't touch the carbon side, but I broke the 'pins' that supposedly inserted to the other part of the body. Just when I thought that the ZS3 have the flimsiest plastic material -____-
 
Can't post pic because new member, but you get the idea.

 

[TheWongWrong]

Anyone here to recommend a decent case for cheap?

 

[SomeTechNoob]

KZ has one for $1 or so which I've been using.

 

[Vidal]

Anyone here to recommend a decent case for cheap?

 
The KZ semi hard case
 
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Original-KZ-Earphone-Wire-Storage-Box-Data-Line-Cables-High-End-Headphones-Container-Case-Earbuds-SD/32739573717.html
 
The KZ hard case
 
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/New-KZ-High-End-Earphone-Compressive-Damping-Box-Drop-Resistance-Protective-Case-Portable-Earphone-Case-Headphone/32747236876.html
 
There's also a leather one by GGMM which is more suited to IEMs rather than the CIEM style of the KZ phones. Can't find it at the moment though.

 

[Slater]

   
The KZ semi hard case
 
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Original-KZ-Earphone-Wire-Storage-Box-Data-Line-Cables-High-End-Headphones-Container-Case-Earbuds-SD/32739573717.html
 
The KZ hard case
 
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/New-KZ-High-End-Earphone-Compressive-Damping-Box-Drop-Resistance-Protective-Case-Portable-Earphone-Case-Headphone/32747236876.html
 
There's also a leather one by GGMM which is more suited to IEMs rather than the CIEM style of the KZ phones. Can't find it at the moment though.

 
+1
 
I have lots of both of those KZ cases and they are great.
 
The plastic hard case one is giant - like the size of 4-5 iphones stacked up. It does provide the best protection though. You could throw against a brick wall and it would laugh at you. One downside to the hard case is you have to be careful not to pinch the cable in any of the edges (seams) when closing the case (like this):

 
For IEMs with memory wires, the semi-hard case is a more compact alternative to the plastic hard case, and works great as long as you carefully coil up the cable to fit.
 
For most things without memory wire (ear buds, etc), the generic circular cases work perfectly (such as the "Music Doctor" cases Gearbest sells). You can find them on aliexpress for under $1. They are perfectly pocketable, but they are thinner than the semi-hard case (which is why I don't use them memory wires).
 
Here's a photo:

 
I've never seen the GGMM case Vidal. Is this it?

 

[Vidal]

 
I've never seen the GGMM case Vidal. Is this it?

 
Yes, that's the one also come in black leather, it's got a magnetic closer.