[Marc Lian]

Looking at the ZS5 teardown, the fact that some drivers have no porting and are pointing away from the nozzle leads me to think that they are actually using a chamber type design, which if true is really interesting for a cheap IEM. I personally think the ZS5 sounds great especially for the price. Initially plugged the cables the wrong way round and had a messed up out of phase sound but that's sorted now, comfort was surprisingly good stock however I've switched to SpinFit tips which have dramatically improved comfort. I can now wear them for long sessions without much pain or discomfort.

 

[africanus]

That and the size of the dynamic driver (8mm vs 10mm).

Thanks for the information. It also there seems to be a difference in frequeny extension: KS-ZST ~ 20 - 20,000 Hz vs KZ-ES3 ~ 20 - 40,000 Hz. These figures, however, are pretty useless since KZ does not publish the reference SPL (± dB)

 

[vector84]

Thanks for the information. It also there seems to be a difference in frequeny extension: KS-ZST ~ 20 - 20,000 Hz vs KZ-ES3 ~ 20 - 40,000 Hz. These figures, however, are pretty useless since KZ does not publish the reference SPL (± dB)

I would tend to point my finger in the direction of the marketing department on that one.
KZ is all over the place when it comes to marketing material for what their specifications are for various products, with different vendors using different iterations of their marketing material claiming different numbers even, and from what I've seen, as you noted, they rarely list the complete reference values, which makes it all useless anyway.
(they sure have some fun scaling those frequency response graphs weirdly too...)

 

[Astonish]

What's the best pair of kz's for forward mids/vocals?

 

[danimoca]

Based on what I'm hearing from everybody, I won't buy the ZS5's.

QC is the basics of a product. If there is none, I won't risk it, nor will I support that company.

 

[Saoshyant]

Based on what I'm hearing from everybody, I won't buy the ZS5's.

QC is the basics of a product. If there is none, I won't risk it, nor will I support that company.

I would imagine there are quite a lot of people who have bought the ZS5 who had no QC issues at all. Keep in mind people are more inclined to be vocal if there are issues instead of if there are none. Let's say you have twenty people on here actively talking about QC issues, imagine how many have bought the ZS5 and have none.

 

[Sylmar]

I would imagine there are quite a lot of people who have bought the ZS5 who had no QC issues at all. Keep in mind people are more inclined to be vocal if there are issues instead of if there are none. Let's say you have twenty people on here actively talking about QC issues, imagine how many have bought the ZS5 and have none.

That's true. People with problems will be more vocally active which is kind of normal. I have two KZ5's and have had no problems. It's a great IEM for this price and in my view it could be a gamechanger in lowbudget Chi-fi.

 

[danimoca]

I would imagine there are quite a lot of people who have bought the ZS5 who had no QC issues at all. Keep in mind people are more inclined to be vocal if there are issues instead of if there are none. Let's say you have twenty people on here actively talking about QC issues, imagine how many have bought the ZS5 and have none.

Yes, but I'm more talking about the differences in sound signature. Some say they're balanced, other's say they're mid centric, other's U-shaped... Why?

I'm not bashing KZ on purpose. I have the ATR's and actually think they sound pretty fantastic for 5 bucks.

 

[vector84]

Yes, but I'm more talking about the differences in sound signature. Some say they're balanced, other's say they're mid centric, other's U-shaped... Why?

The number one reason: everyone hears things differently.

Tips and fit play a huge role for any IEM in how they sound.

Your preferred listening volume has a profound effect there too - U and W shaped frequency responses will tend to sound pretty balanced at lower volumes due to the way human hearing works.

And of course source makes a pretty big difference - and without an electronic crossover, the ZS5 probably has a pretty seriously weird looking impedance spectrum, which contributes to this source matching issue quite a bit too I'd imagine.


The only QC issue that strikes me as inordinately prevalent is the out of phase cables - but that's a pretty easy fix too...

 

[Viber]

Listening to my new KZ ZSE right now, they sound like they are worth somewhere between 10$-40$
Everything is energetic and in the front, not dark like the ATR or ZS3. Very interesting to listen because of it's versatility.

*Connected to my HRT HeadStreamer.

 

[ForceMajeure]

GUYS, GUYS!!!

not sure if this was shared previously



I hope this is the last time

 

[snip3r77]

GUYS, GUYS!!!

not sure if this was shared previously



I hope this is the last time

Hope someone will post this every week lol

 

[maxxevv]

Listening to my new KZ ZSE right now, they sound like they are worth somewhere between 10$-40$
Everything is energetic and in the front, not dark like the ATR or ZS3. Very interesting to listen because of it's versatility.

*Connected to my HRT HeadStreamer.

The ZSE's are pretty source sensitive. If its a neutral source and possibly very slightly 'bright', I find it brings out the finer points of it. More or less the same musical pieces played via my LG G6 and my laptop jack sound pretty obviously different.

Yes, on the LG G6, I do agree they sound very energetic. The bass sounds effortlessly smooth even if you thump up the volume somewhat.

While you're at it, if its possible, choose your favourite piece(s) of music and rip them in different file formats and data rates. I just have the weirdest suggestion from my ears that I can hear the difference!

I have this album that I ripped in 192 kb/s MP3 format from some 10 years ago. Now that I have plenty of storage space in my SD card, decided to re-rip the same album in FLAC.
To my surprise, there was a telling difference even for such a US$7/- earphone!

Would be interesting if someone can try it out and see if its psychological on my part.

 

[aisalen]

GUYS, GUYS!!!

not sure if this was shared previously



I hope this is the last time

Oh c'mon, I think you are 3rd in this week. The question is do you like the sound out of it or not?

 

[ForceMajeure]

Oh c'mon, I think you are 3rd in this week. The question is do you like the sound out of it or not?

read carefully...this was sarcasm