[eaglesgift]

I'm inclined to think that very few to none cheap Chi-Fi makers employ engineers that understand audiology and how to actually make drivers.

I think you're a little confused. Audiologists study hearing disorders, not audio product design. I doubt any Western audio firms employ engineers that understand audiology either.

 

[harriss]

it seems like zsr is using 2 dynamic driver

 

[maxxevv]

Where did you get that idea from ? Nothing in the picture suggests that.

The poster there clearly states "1 coil , 2 iron" if literally translated. In transposed nomenclature, that's 1 dynamic driver, 2 balanced armature.

 

[AudioObsession]

So my ZS6 arrived from Gearbest the other day...
As you can see they are rather beautiful.

I decided (for now) not to cut out 1 BA from each.. but Instead I thought I'd first try to burn-in the BAs with insanely loud high-frequancy white-noise.
Here's a shot of foobar that I took of the burn in (note the EQ and volume??)

It was so loud that I had to wrap them in foam and I could still hear them 4 feet away.
You wouldn't believe the power those BAs can handle...
I did this for several hours then did a standard burn for more hours at full range.

This did nothing to calm the sibilance, it almost seemed worse after the burn-in.

So, I decided rather then rip out a BA like I did to my ZS5v2, I would just take a very small amount of bees wax and plug one BA from each earphone..

This worked quite well for muting the BAs without having to remove them..
I may even be able to undo it by pointing the earpiece BA nozzle downward, and then quickly heating the BA with a very low watt soldering-iron, then absorb the beeswax with a Q-Tip.
Although I don't ever see myself doing this, unless I start going deaf in the 10Khz region.

Early impressions:
The highs are tamed rather well now, and they sound good even on highly sibilant tracks (like every single song Animals As Leaders ever recorded).

The bass is definitely more intense then my ZS5v2 (modded with 1 BA removal & micro pore tape over the ear facing vents).
I can almost feel the bass punching me in the chest!
At times the lower midbass (100Hz to 160Hz) is slightly louder then I like but, it's nothing I'd be too bothered by really...

If I had one wish; I would like to add a bit of the mid-treble clarity of the KZ-ZST..
I wouldn't mind a wider soundstage (again like the ZST), as well..
I think I still have a bit of a crush on the ZST, even though it's mid treble is just evil at times, there's something about the ZST's sound stage & clarity that I just love.

Also, even though I tamed the sibilance by wax-muting a BA in each earpiece, I still feel like the highs are slightly on the artificial side of things..
It's rather slight now, but it could definitely be improved.
It would be nice if I could hear more of an -even- range in the treble, like a flat response between 4Khz to 16Khz would be nice.

Oh, and one last important thing:
For some reason the ZS6 doesn't hurt my ears.. I can only take the ZS5 for 1-1/2 hours maybe 2, but the ZS6 is surprisingly comfortable...

 

[Tinesife]

Hello, is ZS5 v2 bad? Some say it has a lot of sibilance, but is it good for mid-high lover? I resell KZ for fun and I have a ZS6 (to replace my dead Co-donguri Shizuku, some say it's too bright but personally I like it) and I think ZS6 isn't bad at all. My friend bought one ZS5 from me but I haven't tested them and I haven't checked if it was v1 or v2.

 

[bjaardker]

Has anyone seen the ZS6 coming up anywhere for a 11.11 deal? I'm intrigued, but not enough to drop $35-40 on it.

 

[maxxevv]

So my ZS6 arrived from Gearbest the other day...
As you can see they are rather beautiful.


I decided (for now) not to cut out 1 BA from each.. but Instead I thought I'd first try to burn-in the BAs with insanely loud hifrequancy white-noise.
Here's a shot of foobar that I took of the burn in (note the EQ and volume??)

It was so loud that I had to wrap them in foam and I could still hear them 4 feet away.
You wouldn't believe the power those BAs can handle...
I did this for several hours then did a standard burn for more hours at full range.

This did nothing to calm the sibilance, it almost seemed worse after the burn-in.

You should have at least read the instruction sheet in the box. KZ does have its recommendations for burn-in method and duration.

*hint* : It doesn't involve high volumes.

Has anyone seen the ZS6 coming up anywhere for a 11.11 deal? I'm intrigued, but not enough to drop $35-40 on it.

A quick search suggests at least 2 deals in the US$31~32 range on Aliexpress. One of them is current and doesn't even need to wait till 11.11.

 

[AudioObsession]

Then someone just removes to BA's like an idiot and only has two DD's with one giving you 15Hz - 400Hz and one giving you 500Hz to 5Khz now and nothing above.

"Idiot"??
Wow, that was rather harsh, don't you think?
Did I somehow offend you by deciding to modify my ZS5 earphones that I own?
Well, this "idiot" thinks his ZS5 v2 mod sounds fantastic..
Definitely much better then it did before.

And where did you even get the idea that my ZS5 v.2 are now only able to produce a frequency range of "[15Hz - 400Hz and 500Hz to 5Khz and nothing above]"
Seriously?
All I did was remove 1 BA (out of 2) per earpiece.

Were you even paying attention?
It was not a ZS5 v.1 that I modded....

It was a ZS5 V2
The ZS5 -V.2- have TWO BALANCED ARMATURES IN THE NOZZLE (Not ONE)...

Also, I know my frequencies rather well, and I can tell you with absolute certainty, my 1BA + 2DD ZS5 V.2 produces far above the "5Khz" range.
Why? Because there's still 1 BA left in EACH earphone...

 

[vector84]

So my ZS6 arrived from Gearbest the other day...
As you can see they are rather beautiful.


I decided (for now) not to cut out 1 BA from each.. but Instead I thought I'd first try to burn-in the BAs with insanely loud hifrequancy white-noise.
Here's a shot of foobar that I took of the burn in (note the EQ and volume??)

It was so loud that I had to wrap them in foam and I could still hear them 4 feet away.
You wouldn't believe the power those BAs can handle...
I did this for several hours then did a standard burn for more hours at full range.

This did nothing to calm the sibilance, it almost seemed worse after the burn-in.

So, I decided rather then rip out a BA like I did to my ZS5v2, I would just take a very small amount of bees wax and plug one BA from each earphone..

This worked quite well for muting the BAs without having to remove them..
I may even be able to undo it by pointing the earpiece BA nozzle downward, and then quickly heating the BA with a very low watt soldering-iron then absorb the beeswax with a Q-Tip.
Although I don't ever see myself doing this, unless I start going deaf in the 10Khz region.

Early impressions:
The highs are tamed rather well now, and they sound good even on highly sibilant tracks (like every single song Animals As Leaders ever recorded).

The bass is definitely more intense then my ZS5v2 (modded with 1 BA removal & micro pore tape over the ear facing vents).
I can almost feel the bass punching me in the chest!
At times the lower midbass (100Hz to 160Hz) is slightly louder then I like but, it's nothing I'd be too bothered by really...

If I had one wish; I would like to add a bit of the mid-treble clarity of the KZ-ZST..
I wouldn't mind a wider soundstage (again like the ZST), as well..
I think I still have a bit of a crush on the ZST, even though it's mid treble is just evil at times, there's something about the ZST's sound stage & clarity that I just love.

Also, even though I tamed the sibilance by wax-muting a BA in each earpiece, I still feel like the highs are slightly on the artificial side of things..
It's rather slight now, but it could definitely be improved.
It would be nice if I could hear more of an -even- range in the treble, like a flat response between 4Khz to 16Khz would be nice.

Oh, and one last important thing:
For some reason the ZS6 doesn't hurt my ears.. I can only take the ZS5 for 1-1/2 hours maybe 2, but the ZS6 is surprisingly comfortable...

Pretty clever, though with your planned removal method I'd worry a bit that the wax might still wick into somewhere it shouldn't be... then again you don't seem particularly inclined to reverse the process


Not sure why people's feathers are getting so ruffled over a little modding in the KZ thread though... isn't that half the fun of budget stuff?
But whether you agree with the practice or not, we should try to remember to be excellent to each other, especially in our disagreements.

 

[AudioObsession]

,

Pretty clever, though with your planned removal method I'd worry a bit that the wax might still wick into somewhere it shouldn't be... then again you don't seem particularly inclined to reverse the process


Not sure why people's feathers are getting so ruffled over a little modding in the KZ thread though... isn't that half the fun of budget stuff?
But whether you agree with the practice or not, we should try to remember to be excellent to each other, especially in our disagreements.

Thanks Man!

Yeah I agree, I don't believe it will be 100% reversible....I mean it might, but as you said; the wax will probably wick up in there some how.
And yeah, I have no intentions of reversing this ever.
However, if I'm ever really desperate; I still have 2 perfectly good BAs left over from my ZS5 mod!!

But yeah, it is annoying being called an "idiot"...Especially when they don't seem to understand what I did...
I think he thought I pulled the BAs out of a ZS5 V.1's nozzle.

Either way, the name calling is pretty sad for sure..


And now I got another one slamming me for my hardcore burn-in experiment on my ZS6..
Ugh..
I mean, of course I know you shouldn't do burn-ins like that! Duh!
The whole point was; I wanted to ***experiment*** on the ZS6, and hopefully do as minimal of a physical mod, as possible..
That way I could pass the results on to others, so they too could benefit from my results and enjoy their earphones a lot more.
Is that such an "idiot" thing to do?

Also, I paid for these earphones, that means I own them...
So is it some how -illegal- for me to have some fun trying to improve my sets of earphones??

I'm well aware of the risks that they might get damaged or destroyed..
So what! That's half the fun!

And it was worth it, because now I love both my ZS5 v.2 and my ZS6.
So who's the idiot??

Anyway, I guess that's what the "ignore feature" is for...

 

[RomStar]

,

Thanks Man!

Yeah I agree, I don't believe it will be 100% reversible....I mean it might, but as you said; the wax will probably wick up in there some how.
And yeah, I have no intentions of reversing this ever.
However, if I'm ever really desperate; I still have 2 perfectly good BAs left over from my ZS5 mod!!

But yeah, it is annoying being called an "idiot"...Especially when they don't seem to understand what I did...
I think he thought I pulled the BAs out of a ZS5 V.1's nozzle.

Either way, the name calling is pretty sad for sure..


And now I got another one slamming me for my hardcore burn-in experiment on my ZS6..
Ugh..
I mean, of course I know you shouldn't do burn-ins like that! Duh!
The whole point was; I wanted to ***experiment*** on the ZS6, and hopefully do as minimal of a physical mod, as possible..
That way I could pass the results on to others, so they too could benefit from my results and enjoy their earphones a lot more.
Is that such an "idiot" thing to do?

Also, I paid for these earphones, that means I own them...
So is it some how -illegal- for me to have some fun trying to improve my sets of earphones??

I'm well aware of the risks that they might get damaged or destroyed..
So what! That's half the fun!

And it was worth it, because now I love both my ZS5 v.2 and my ZS6.
So who's the idiot??

Anyway, I guess that's what the "ignore feature" is for...

Actually I can't agree more.... I know some might say: Isn't he over reacting?

My opinion: No. Not slightly

I myself would be very annoyed if someone just bashed me due to what I did to my objects. Firstly, you're not promoting this and saying : guys you must do this mod and if It breaks then boohoo tough luck

Secondly: It's you're choice and you're only posting results.

Regarding the argument: "I wasn't trying to be negative" or "I'm only pointing things out".

That's not how it works. If you're bothered enough to explain how someone should burn in their IEM or "I'm not interested in personal reviews". Then why bother replying? Some are literally implying we should be able to read the broken ugly kz English text/we cant burn in iems or you assumed someone gave a personal review. Guess what, it's neither. How is someone's opinion a personal review?

I'm not really bashing anyone, but it did slightly get to me. @AudioObsession thanks for actually doing these. To me these are informative and we get to learn more about these iems. As you stated, it's your iems and it's honestly half the fun. It's a shame I'm a total noob at this, but I myself wanna try some of these mods quite badly


Just don't let some silly things get to you

 

[hakuzen]

Has anyone here tried these kZ foam tips with the ZS6 as I want to order them on the 11.11 sale among with some other things?

https://www.aliexpress.com/store/pr...547.html?spm=2114.12010612.0.0.55a2d3f895SQaG

tried, but they are a no-no for zs6. they don't cut 11kHz peak, are continuously sliding out, and get broken easily.
better try these (or similar) instead (T400/500 for ZS6):
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/40-...-earphones-enhanced-bass-Ear/32741636522.html

Hakuzen test them and they don't seem to have the same effect on higher frequency than normal foams. Another user post an image with one of them cracked, as they miss an internal tube, so a bigger nozzle, like the one of ZS5/6, may create too much pressure inside them.

Anyone have tried to cut and use them to fill a silicon tips, for do a diy hybrid ? I don't remember who have say it, but i want to try it, as they are crap

yep, i made hybrids from almost every silicone tip i own, to achieve better isolation, without cutting 8-12kHz off.
first i used sleep foams (no hole).
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/flc...ressions-thread.777158/page-325#post-12792664
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/flc...ressions-thread.777158/page-319#post-12778579





but then i found that already holed no-tube gel foams were a lot easier to make: just cut the bottom part, to get desired length (according to silicone tip length), and insert it.
didn't buy kz gel foamies, though, found cheaper and various colors ones in ali.

So my ZS6 arrived from Gearbest the other day...
As you can see they are rather beautiful.


I decided (for now) not to cut out 1 BA from each.. but Instead I thought I'd first try to burn-in the BAs with insanely loud high-frequancy white-noise.
Here's a shot of foobar that I took of the burn in (note the EQ and volume??)

It was so loud that I had to wrap them in foam and I could still hear them 4 feet away.
You wouldn't believe the power those BAs can handle...
I did this for several hours then did a standard burn for more hours at full range.

This did nothing to calm the sibilance, it almost seemed worse after the burn-in.

So, I decided rather then rip out a BA like I did to my ZS5v2, I would just take a very small amount of bees wax and plug one BA from each earphone..

This worked quite well for muting the BAs without having to remove them..
I may even be able to undo it by pointing the earpiece BA nozzle downward, and then quickly heating the BA with a very low watt soldering-iron, then absorb the beeswax with a Q-Tip.
Although I don't ever see myself doing this, unless I start going deaf in the 10Khz region.

Early impressions:
The highs are tamed rather well now, and they sound good even on highly sibilant tracks (like every single song Animals As Leaders ever recorded).

The bass is definitely more intense then my ZS5v2 (modded with 1 BA removal & micro pore tape over the ear facing vents).
I can almost feel the bass punching me in the chest!
At times the lower midbass (100Hz to 160Hz) is slightly louder then I like but, it's nothing I'd be too bothered by really...

If I had one wish; I would like to add a bit of the mid-treble clarity of the KZ-ZST..
I wouldn't mind a wider soundstage (again like the ZST), as well..
I think I still have a bit of a crush on the ZST, even though it's mid treble is just evil at times, there's something about the ZST's sound stage & clarity that I just love.

Also, even though I tamed the sibilance by wax-muting a BA in each earpiece, I still feel like the highs are slightly on the artificial side of things..
It's rather slight now, but it could definitely be improved.
It would be nice if I could hear more of an -even- range in the treble, like a flat response between 4Khz to 16Khz would be nice.

Oh, and one last important thing:
For some reason the ZS6 doesn't hurt my ears.. I can only take the ZS5 for 1-1/2 hours maybe 2, but the ZS6 is surprisingly comfortable...

awesome work!
i can't find any reason to mount 2 identical BAs in a shell, at same location, but maybe my knowledge is very limited.
instead of wax, you might try the knowles dampers, like someone suggested a few days ago.
grey or white ones from these might work, dunno, haven't checked for more specs.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Bal...ics-Acoustic-2-pcs-in-1-pack/32580267018.html
(but beware, after getting the dampers, you might end building your own diy iems with knowles' BAs!)

 

[AudioObsession]

You should have at least read the instruction sheet in the box. KZ does have its recommendations for burn-in method and duration.

*hint* : It doesn't involve high volumes.

This most definitely isn't my first burn-in. Okay?? lol!

The ZS6 (and ZS5) was just a fun project/experiment for me.
From the moment I ordered them, I had intentions to try several **experiments** to try to tame the highs.
So obviously I wasn't interested in reading (or following) any instructions from KZ.
Okay?
Nor do I need any instructions (from anyone) on how to burn-in.
Trust me; I would never do this type of burn-in on a premium set of earphones or headphones.

The ZS6 were cheap (I only paid $26) enough that I don't really care if I damage/destroy them...
I don't like the highs on them and since I own these earphones, I'll continue to do what ever I feel like doing to them.

 

[young59]

Guys the 10 driver kz iem whose box was leaked was the ZSR Pro not the Zsr there is still hope for 10 driver kz iem.

 

[AudioObsession]

Actually I can't agree more.... I know some might say: Isn't he over reacting?

My opinion: No. Not slightly

I myself would be very annoyed if someone just bashed me due to what I did to my objects. Firstly, you're not promoting this and saying : guys you must do this mod and if It breaks then boohoo tough luck

Secondly: It's you're choice and you're only posting results.

Regarding the argument: "I wasn't trying to be negative" or "I'm only pointing things out".

That's not how it works. If you're bothered enough to explain how someone should burn in their IEM or "I'm not interested in personal reviews". Then why bother replying? Some are literally implying we should be able to read the broken ugly kz English text/we cant burn in iems or you assumed someone gave a personal review. Guess what, it's neither. How is someone's opinion a personal review?

I'm not really bashing anyone, but it did slightly get to me. @AudioObsession thanks for actually doing these. To me these are informative and we get to learn more about these iems. As you stated, it's your iems and it's honestly half the fun. It's a shame I'm a total noob at this, but I myself wanna try some of these mods quite badly


Just don't let some silly things get to you

Awe, thanks @RomStar for completely understanding where I am coming from here.

And yeah, your right, I shouldn't let it bother me..
I decided to edit some of my more negative comments in my rant towards the person that called me an idiot...
I mean what's the point in exchanging negativity for negativity, it just creates more "negativity"..

I have been a long time lurker on Head-Fi, but I finally decided to join because I've learned so much from others on this wonderful site that I wanted to give something back.
It's just a bummer that others can't see it like that, and that they feel the need to troll you for no healthy benefit to themselves or others.