[TheVortex]

Received my black ZS6 with mic from Gearbest which I ordered 2 weeks ago. Arrived in the white box and my ZS3/ZS5 silver cable doesn't fit them but the silver cable fits my ZS5 V1's fine?

 

[vector84]

Received my black ZS6 with mic from Gearbest which I ordered 2 weeks ago. Arrived in the white box and my ZS3/ZS5 silver cable doesn't fit them but the silver cable fits my ZS5 V1's fine?

Slight manufacturing variances can make the fit of cables a bit different between samples - some may be considerably tighter fits than others, especially when first inserting cables. The plastic on most of the KZ official cables is actually pretty soft, and when people say they can require immense amounts of force to insert the first time, you're actually typically deforming the plastic slightly when doing this to get a secure fit.
(in an extreme case, I managed to completely seat a plug in a reversed polarity orientation without any other modifications this way...)

Is it a problem like that? Or polarity of the plug possibly (they are keyed) ? Or are we talking straight up just does not fit?

 

[HiFiChris]

 

[HiFiChris]

I don't understand. Didn't you cover the inner vents here http://frequency-response.blogspot.it/2017/06/KZ-ZS5-Frequency-Response.html and reduced the bass?

Yes, yes I did. No, this increases the bass.

 

[tworule]

The ZS5 is 8ohms impedance and most smartphones or DAPs don't have the power (current) to fully drive an 8ohm load. 8ohms is the same impedance as normal open air stereo speakers btw. Although the ZS5's are much more sensitive than room speakers, you would not expect your phone or DAP to power your room speakers that well, likewise, don't expect the same performance when powering 8ohm IEMs. Using an amp, and I have tried many now - always makes a big noticeable difference. Most noticeable is the profound bass the ZS5 is capable of - I mean subwoofer infrasonic stuff if the content is there. It's the body shaking type stuff in movie flicks. The mids and highs will all be more clear and engaging - although using a good SE Class A amp helps in that department immensely. I recently tried the ZS5 (V1's) with a Magni 3 and it did a nice job pulling out the deep infrasonic bass. Although I think for overall presentation I prefer Class A amps.

which portable amp can you recommend? I want to use it with my iPhone 5s. But my ipgone’s lightning connection does not work with data.it just charges, data connection does not work. So I need a portable amp to use with my iphone audio jack. Thanks. Thinking fiio q1 but I will not be able to use its dac. So an amp better. I have zs5 v1 and zs6 on the way. I read people recommended a few but the OP decided to go with fiioq1. But I need just an amp

 

[TheVortex]

Slight manufacturing variances can make the fit of cables a bit different between samples - some may be considerably tighter fits than others, especially when first inserting cables. The plastic on most of the KZ official cables is actually pretty soft, and when people say they can require immense amounts of force to insert the first time, you're actually typically deforming the plastic slightly when doing this to get a secure fit.
(in an extreme case, I managed to completely seat a plug in a reversed polarity orientation without any other modifications this way...)

Is it a problem like that? Or polarity of the plug possibly (they are keyed) ? Or are we talking straight up just does not fit?

Just had a bit of time to look at it. My right iem is fine it's just the left one, seems like the holes for the 2 pin connector are too small. I have tried a sim tool ejector to enlarge the holes but no luck yet. I have tried it with the original mic cable, my ZS3/ZS5 silver cable and a ZST silver cable.

Also I am attempting to plug it in correctly as one side circular edge.

 

[vector84]

Just had a bit of time to look at it. My right iem is fine it's just the left one, seems like the holes for the 2 pin connector are too small. I have tried a sim tool ejector to enlarge the holes but no luck yet. I have tried it with the original mic cable, my ZS3/ZS5 silver cable and a ZST silver cable.

Also I am attempting to plug it in correctly as one side circular edge.

Well, to me this sounds like the difference between 0.75mm and 0.78mm pins (and I'm inclined to think there's some significant tolerance differences in KZ's 0.75mm pins too).

The first run of ZS3s came with 0.78mm pins, most of the rest and the ZS5/6 are supposed to be 0.75mm. However my darkly colored upgrade cable clearly has larger pins than the stock ZS5 cable I use - though not quite as large as the 0.78mm pins on the original run ZS3 cable I received.


What's more surprising to me though is that you can't get it to fit by enlarging the hole. Most people have reported fitting 0.78mm pins just fine with that technique, though it will permanently expand the connector and prevent 0.75mm pins from fitting securely (my darkly colored upgrade cable has caused a lesser version of the same symptoms - stock cable fits securely, but only just barely where it was very firm before using the upgrade cable). I would tend to think force and persistence would win out, but I don't want to suggest something that might incur damage... proceed with caution.

 

[Rilke]

Recieved my ZS6 from Gearbest ordered two weeks ago. I messed up the order and ordered black instead of Green . I asked them to kindly change it and they agreed. But still , I recieved the black one

Anyway from a noob perspective :

Treble canon ear knives ?
Sibilant ?
Bright sound ?

Does it need an amp ( with Fiio x1 II, Ipod classic 5th ) ?

Isolation ( with foam tips ) 80%
Good value for the money ?

End game for me

 

[youngarthur]

I have had to use a large safety pin, to enlarge the earphone holes, on the ZS. 3/5/6, by almost levering the holes open, and even then, considerable pressure was exerted to get a fit.It was a success, but don't try this at home children!.

 

[xrk971]

which portable amp can you recommend? I want to use it with my iPhone 5s. But my ipgone’s lightning connection does not work with data.it just charges, data connection does not work. So I need a portable amp to use with my iphone audio jack. Thanks. Thinking fiio q1 but I will not be able to use its dac. So an amp better. I have zs5 v1 and zs6 on the way. I read people recommended a few but the OP decided to go with fiioq1. But I need just an amp

Many amps will fit the bill here, almost any amp will be better than no amp. All I can say is that I prefer the sound of a pocket sized single ended Class A headphone amp. A search will tell you more.

 

[Superluc]

End game (until 11.11) for me

Fix'd

 

[Cya|\|]

That made me lol.
Thx for your hint anyway. In the end, covering either vent didn't improve the sound of my iems. Covering the inner would make the sound too bassy and boomy (I didn't notice the increase in the highs, probably because it was masquerated by the bass). Covering the outer vent would make the sound too shrill.

 

[Wiljen]

Anybody else got a nintaus X10 or Crazier R3 player? George sent me their version to review (Crazier R3) so I was comparing it to the Nintaus branded along with the Cayin N3, Benjie K9, and the Ruizu A50 and I may have stumbled on something. The Crazier and Nintaus are both slightly warm and slightly dark daps and they pair very well with the Zs5(v1) and Zs6. Considering you could get the Zs6, a Crazier player, an upgrade cable and some foams and you are still just barely over the $100 mark, this may well be Christmas combo for a few folks I have on my list. For the record, firmware between the Nintaus and Crazier branded versions seems pretty dead even across the board - cant find any tweaks on one side or the other.

 

[AudioObsession]

Hey guys, here's some KZ ZS5/6 and ZST/ES3 Cable Measurements...
First of all, there doesn't seem to be a .078MM pin on EITHER cable..
They actually both measured at .072MM..

I also measured the pins on my fancy upgrade silver cable and they were .075MM

Here's a comparison of the two STANDARD cables end to end:

Here's the spacing between the pins (.042" or 1.07MM) on BOTH ZS5/6 & ZST/ES3 cables:

And here's a few other measurements (the following are All in INCHES)

Anyway, the conclusion is; the pins are very close to the same on -all- of them (+/- a few .001mm), but the outer plastic casings around the pins vary quite a bit (as seen directly above ^^)..

In some cases you can cut the plastic in order to make a cable fit the "incorrect model"..
For example: the above SILVER upgrade cable for the ES3/ZST can be trimmed to fit a ZS6/6...
Untrimmed it will still plug in to (and work just fine) the ZS5/6...
However, it wont go in as deep without the plastic trimming.

Hope this helps!

 

[kokakolia]

Flame me! Just burn me alive!

Since I was disappointed with the ATE and ZSE, I bought myself a pair of KEF M100s on sale for $100 (Canadian) at the headphonebar.com. They usually sell for $150 in the U.S.A. or £100 in the UK, and that's a questionable deal. But at $100 Canadian (that's $80 US), I simply couldn't pass the deal!

Anyway, I couldn't be happier and I wish I had bought them sooner. It's basically a no-frills earphone without annoying shenanigans with bloated bass or boosted fatiguing treble. It just sounds FLAT. The comfort is simply excellent. They just have that ergonomic shape and you just have to pop them in your ears. No fumbling around with foam tips and over-the-ear cables. It's so refreshing after using the ATEs as my daily drivers. Better, there's plenty of extension in the treble and the sub-bass sounds delightful. It will play anything you throw at it well. I don't think that $100 is too much to ask for something that I honestly can't criticize in any way. Maybe it's on the brighter side? It doesn't bother me at all. I can wear these babies all day long. Oh yeah, and they achieve all of this with one single 10mm driver. Not 4.

Secretly, I'm worried that I'll like the ZS5 (V2) when they arrive. We'll see...