To.M
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Knowledge Zenith (KZ) impressions thread
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ricemanhk
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ZS5 is in da house! Quick review:
VERY NICE cardboard box that's nicely shrink wrapped. Open the flap and there's 2 magnetic clasps to keep the flap in place like a high end product packaging. The manual inside the box has both english and chinese, but the english is the usual somewhat dodgy translation...silica gel ear tips (silicone tips), memory silk (memory wire) lol someone used google translate too much...but at least the paper is the nice glossy kind, not some cheap recycled paper.
Inside the box as you've seen in the pictures there are now 2 full sets of S M L tips (12 tips total) that's being held by a metal plate with cutouts. 1 set is grey silicone, almost like the spare ones that came with the ZS3. The other set are starlines but now they're black instead of the grey that came with the ZST. The grey silicone ones are slightly softer than the starlines (as others have mentioned before) so most people should be able to find a pair that fits. Medium starline fits me well, I use that with my ZST too.
Stock cable is the grey green one just like the ZS3, only it comes pre-plugged now. Memory wire is there, I will cut this off later, but unlike the ZST there's no plastic weight on the wire to hold it down...let's see how it goes.
I can confirm inline volume buttons work on BOTH my xiaomi mi5 android phone AND my ipad! Wow KZ actually spent the money to get the chip that works for both...for Chi-Fi I only know the 1more triple driver has this ios+android chip for volume control, and that costs 4x the ZS5. The mic/control housing and the buttons are all metal, much nicer than the plastic on the ZS3/ZST. Buttons are tight and press down with a solid click. I'm very impressed.
Earbud itself is plastic, nothing to write home about. There's a bit of leftover adhesive and a small scratch on mine already...but oh well I'm not returning it just for that.
I do like the blue color and it looks awesome with the gold upgrade cable. They do stick out from my ear more than the ZST, and I find it slightly less comfy than either ZST or ZS3, perhaps due to the more angular edges.
Sound. Now I haven't done any A-B testing yet but initial impressions are very positive. Treble is clear and energetic without being fatiguing, which I think is a bit better than ZST (bear in mind I'm one of those who don't find ZST treble that fatiguing). Mids are rich and both male and female vocals are nice, perhaps a touch warmer than the ZST. Bass is probably between ZST and ZS3 i.e. presence is definitely felt but not overly booming. Soundstage is decently wide, maybe a tad wider than ZST, and feels more circular vs the oval on the ZST. Resolution is very good, with good 3D spatial separation with instruments. I will reserve my final judgement until more testing is done, but out of the box I am very happy with the ZS5, I think it's almost like a melding of the ZS3 bass presence with the ZST clarity, with some additional resolution and spatial separation thrown in!
Gold upgrade wire looks very nice, quality to be tested later. It now comes in a nice paper box that's also shrink wrapped, definitely better than just throwing it into a free carrying case...
All in all, I'm very impressed with how much KZ has improved in packaging and build quality (at least with the metal inline control, but still at the same level for the earbud itself at least on the outside). I'll post my final thoughts after doing some more testing, and I'm definitely looking forward to the ZSR when/if it comes out...!
VERY NICE cardboard box that's nicely shrink wrapped. Open the flap and there's 2 magnetic clasps to keep the flap in place like a high end product packaging. The manual inside the box has both english and chinese, but the english is the usual somewhat dodgy translation...silica gel ear tips (silicone tips), memory silk (memory wire) lol someone used google translate too much...but at least the paper is the nice glossy kind, not some cheap recycled paper.
Inside the box as you've seen in the pictures there are now 2 full sets of S M L tips (12 tips total) that's being held by a metal plate with cutouts. 1 set is grey silicone, almost like the spare ones that came with the ZS3. The other set are starlines but now they're black instead of the grey that came with the ZST. The grey silicone ones are slightly softer than the starlines (as others have mentioned before) so most people should be able to find a pair that fits. Medium starline fits me well, I use that with my ZST too.
Stock cable is the grey green one just like the ZS3, only it comes pre-plugged now. Memory wire is there, I will cut this off later, but unlike the ZST there's no plastic weight on the wire to hold it down...let's see how it goes.
I can confirm inline volume buttons work on BOTH my xiaomi mi5 android phone AND my ipad! Wow KZ actually spent the money to get the chip that works for both...for Chi-Fi I only know the 1more triple driver has this ios+android chip for volume control, and that costs 4x the ZS5. The mic/control housing and the buttons are all metal, much nicer than the plastic on the ZS3/ZST. Buttons are tight and press down with a solid click. I'm very impressed.
Earbud itself is plastic, nothing to write home about. There's a bit of leftover adhesive and a small scratch on mine already...but oh well I'm not returning it just for that.
I do like the blue color and it looks awesome with the gold upgrade cable. They do stick out from my ear more than the ZST, and I find it slightly less comfy than either ZST or ZS3, perhaps due to the more angular edges.
Sound. Now I haven't done any A-B testing yet but initial impressions are very positive. Treble is clear and energetic without being fatiguing, which I think is a bit better than ZST (bear in mind I'm one of those who don't find ZST treble that fatiguing). Mids are rich and both male and female vocals are nice, perhaps a touch warmer than the ZST. Bass is probably between ZST and ZS3 i.e. presence is definitely felt but not overly booming. Soundstage is decently wide, maybe a tad wider than ZST, and feels more circular vs the oval on the ZST. Resolution is very good, with good 3D spatial separation with instruments. I will reserve my final judgement until more testing is done, but out of the box I am very happy with the ZS5, I think it's almost like a melding of the ZS3 bass presence with the ZST clarity, with some additional resolution and spatial separation thrown in!
Gold upgrade wire looks very nice, quality to be tested later. It now comes in a nice paper box that's also shrink wrapped, definitely better than just throwing it into a free carrying case...
All in all, I'm very impressed with how much KZ has improved in packaging and build quality (at least with the metal inline control, but still at the same level for the earbud itself at least on the outside). I'll post my final thoughts after doing some more testing, and I'm definitely looking forward to the ZSR when/if it comes out...!
To.M
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Thank you sir for your input!
You have just made my waiting for them even more difficult to stand!
You have just made my waiting for them even more difficult to stand!
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ricemanhk
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OK so I couldn't wait 
Did some A-B testing on HDTracks headphone test disc flac files with KZ ZS5 vs ZST vs UE Triplefi10s shootout (my currently available IEMs) and here are my thoughts:
Sensitivity. TF10s is most sensitive and by a fair margin, while the ZST is slightly more sensitive then ZS5. I guess more DDs take more power to drive. This might also mean potentially more scalability with amping for the ZS5?
Soundstage and resolution. Listened to some jazz and the immediate difference is that with the ZS5 I feel like I'm sitting in a bigger room than the ZST. The TF10s meanwhile are very intimate, but provides more clarity and separation between instruments. There's almost an airy feel to the ZS5 vs TF10s that is similar to going from closed vs open back headphones. ZS5 has better resolution and much better separation than the ZST as mentioned in my previous post. The additional DD and BA indeed are doing their job.
Bass wise, TF10s is powerful and tight (well known). ZST and ZS5 are actually not that far apart (this may change with burn in, as my ZST is well used). ZST can rumble, but ZS5 rumbles with more separation, so the ZST bass is almost a little muddy in comparison. Neither are basshead level, but I do like the slightly stronger and more musical bass on the ZS5. I'm hoping more burn-in will loosen it up further, as the bass can sometimes sound a little tight on the ZS5 right now.
Mids the ZST and ZS5 are somewhat similar, very natural sounding for both male and female vocals. Not sure if the freq curve is biasing me, but I do get a feel there's less of a peak in mids for ZS5, more neutral sounding.
Meanwhile I've always felt TF10s were a bit too warm for female vocal dominant tracks, and this bears out here.
Treble the ZST and ZS5 are again similar, although the ZS5 does provides more detail than the ZST in the highs. High cymbals sound clearer on the ZS5 than ZST. But the main thing is that there's a track with female vocals S sounds that I can always hear some sibilance on the ZST, but this is GONE on the ZS5! For those who feel ZST was too bright/sibilant I think the ZS5 may be the ticket for you.
Overall the TF10s is quite a different animal altogether so I won't go into too much further detail. Between the ZST and ZS5, personally I feel the ZS5 improves alot on the ZST by getting rid of the sibilance, strengthening the bass and with more drivers we get better resolution and separation. Adding a wider airy soundstage with better spatial separation is just more icing on the cake.
I don't have my ZS3 anymore, but from memory the ZS5 should be closer to the ZST than the ZS3, which makes sense from a hardware perspective as well.
I tried the gold cable as well, really can't hear much of a difference (same experience with my ZST and ZS3 with the stock vs silver cable). It feels nicer than the stock, just like the silver one, but I need my mic and volume controls for daily commuting use.
Things I don't like about ZS5
- Hard angular edge design of the earbud makes it less comfy even during in my short hearing session. This does not bode well for longer listening (will try on my commute tomorrow)
- The nozzle on the ZS5 is a straight tube, while ZST has a notch. This means the tips fall off slightly more easily on the ZS5 vs ZST. With my A-B testing, there was indeed 1 time that the eartip was left in my ear when I pulled the ZS5 out
- Memory wire on both the stock and gold cables, although this is easily modded by cutting the wire out
Anyway all in all I like the ZS5 quite alot! I didn't think it was possible at this price point but the ZS5 indeed can give a performance at like 90% of TF10s level of IEMs. Add in the inline mic with volume buttons that work with ios and android and I am now one happy head-fier
Did some A-B testing on HDTracks headphone test disc flac files with KZ ZS5 vs ZST vs UE Triplefi10s shootout (my currently available IEMs) and here are my thoughts:Sensitivity. TF10s is most sensitive and by a fair margin, while the ZST is slightly more sensitive then ZS5. I guess more DDs take more power to drive. This might also mean potentially more scalability with amping for the ZS5?
Soundstage and resolution. Listened to some jazz and the immediate difference is that with the ZS5 I feel like I'm sitting in a bigger room than the ZST. The TF10s meanwhile are very intimate, but provides more clarity and separation between instruments. There's almost an airy feel to the ZS5 vs TF10s that is similar to going from closed vs open back headphones. ZS5 has better resolution and much better separation than the ZST as mentioned in my previous post. The additional DD and BA indeed are doing their job.
Bass wise, TF10s is powerful and tight (well known). ZST and ZS5 are actually not that far apart (this may change with burn in, as my ZST is well used). ZST can rumble, but ZS5 rumbles with more separation, so the ZST bass is almost a little muddy in comparison. Neither are basshead level, but I do like the slightly stronger and more musical bass on the ZS5. I'm hoping more burn-in will loosen it up further, as the bass can sometimes sound a little tight on the ZS5 right now.
Mids the ZST and ZS5 are somewhat similar, very natural sounding for both male and female vocals. Not sure if the freq curve is biasing me, but I do get a feel there's less of a peak in mids for ZS5, more neutral sounding.
Meanwhile I've always felt TF10s were a bit too warm for female vocal dominant tracks, and this bears out here.
Treble the ZST and ZS5 are again similar, although the ZS5 does provides more detail than the ZST in the highs. High cymbals sound clearer on the ZS5 than ZST. But the main thing is that there's a track with female vocals S sounds that I can always hear some sibilance on the ZST, but this is GONE on the ZS5! For those who feel ZST was too bright/sibilant I think the ZS5 may be the ticket for you.
Overall the TF10s is quite a different animal altogether so I won't go into too much further detail. Between the ZST and ZS5, personally I feel the ZS5 improves alot on the ZST by getting rid of the sibilance, strengthening the bass and with more drivers we get better resolution and separation. Adding a wider airy soundstage with better spatial separation is just more icing on the cake.
I don't have my ZS3 anymore, but from memory the ZS5 should be closer to the ZST than the ZS3, which makes sense from a hardware perspective as well.
I tried the gold cable as well, really can't hear much of a difference (same experience with my ZST and ZS3 with the stock vs silver cable). It feels nicer than the stock, just like the silver one, but I need my mic and volume controls for daily commuting use.
Things I don't like about ZS5
- Hard angular edge design of the earbud makes it less comfy even during in my short hearing session. This does not bode well for longer listening (will try on my commute tomorrow)
- The nozzle on the ZS5 is a straight tube, while ZST has a notch. This means the tips fall off slightly more easily on the ZS5 vs ZST. With my A-B testing, there was indeed 1 time that the eartip was left in my ear when I pulled the ZS5 out
- Memory wire on both the stock and gold cables, although this is easily modded by cutting the wire out
Anyway all in all I like the ZS5 quite alot! I didn't think it was possible at this price point but the ZS5 indeed can give a performance at like 90% of TF10s level of IEMs. Add in the inline mic with volume buttons that work with ios and android and I am now one happy head-fier
Dark Helmet
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I do not. The B3s looks different and seems to have a more premium looking cable, but I have not heard the B3s. I will be picking up either the B3 or the B3s in the near future.
Slater
Headphoneus Supremus
Does the B3 have an in-line mic or cable control of some sort?
Because some of the Chinese manufacturers add a letter after the model to designate a mic/control cable version - VJJB uses 'S', soundMAGIC, etc.
So if the B3 has no mic at all, this may explain the model numbers.
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Dark Helmet
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Neither one has an in-line mic and they look totally different.
https://www.amazon.com/Easy-BOSSHIF...9598&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=boss+hi+fi+b3&th=1
Podster
Headphoneus Supremus
Thank you sir for your input!
You have just made my waiting for them even more difficult to stand!
LOL, I'm also giving Rice three deductions for no pictures yet
Congrats @ricemanhk
Vidal
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B3S is an updated B3, not heard the B3S but the B3 is exceptionally good.
peskypesky
1000+ Head-Fier
I prefer the look of the B3. Wonder why they changed it.
Do you guys think a ZS5 -> ZS3 reshell is possible considering the size of the components?
Would it screw with the accoustics?
Would it screw with the accoustics?
SomeTechNoob
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I'd imagine that's going to need some serious work.
eyepauls
New Head-Fier
ZS5 is really tempting, big fan of the ZST even thought it doesnt get much use these days - keen for more impressions as people start to receive theirs..
Can anyone recommend an AliExpress / Taobao upgrade cable for ZS5 / ZS3, that is a step (or several steps) above the official KZ ZS3 / ZS5 silver cable? Budget is <= US$100. Cheers!
ricemanhk
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ZST maybe, ZS3 is quite tight inside. But it would take alot of work and I think acoustics would be affected as the driver placements are all quite different between the 3.
BTW for my commute today it was actually quite OK comfort-wise after I got rid of the memory wire. I think that was the cause for the issues last night as it would hold the earbud against my ear at certain angles. After taking out the wire, the earbud would just sit naturally in my ear and there's less pressure on it. I'd still give the ZST/ZS3 a slight edge in comfort, but the ZS5 has improved alot by removing the memory wire. My only concern now is the lack of wire relief on the wire housing, as the wire will sit at a 90 deg angle after removing the memory wire. Let's hope they sell the stock ZS5 cable with mic as a separate item soon...
As for ZS5 pictures, will post some tonight. Had a lot other misc stuff arrive in the same shipment so my desk was way too messy LOL
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