[SomeGuyDude]

How does the z6 respond to amping? Does it exaggerate that ..ssssSS?

Opposite, IMO. At least depending on amp. ZS6 with a Mojo is just godly.

 

[nxnje]

One word.... foam.
Same or better isolation, more comfort, less sweat, and when you remove the earpiece it doesn't feel like removing your brain with a toilet plunger through your ear (that was so perfectly mentioned earlier in this thread)

Do they even solve the ear hurting? I mean.. the sick feeling wearing them

 

[nkramer]

You mean the pressure in the ear canal. Yes. The foam is not as "solid" as the silicone or rubber. But if you have small ear canals any phones with this size nozzles may be troublesome, especially if you are trying to insert them deeply into the canal.

I've found that because of the shape of the shells (zs3, zst, only ones I have), length & width of nozzles these phones sit a lot shallower than something with a smaller diameter nozzle. (Others I have: etymotic er6i, westone 1)

So, if you try foams & you're still finding them uncomfortable, look for something with a smaller diameter nozzle.

 

[RvTrav]

Could you please tell me the name of those washers or how to find em?
The zs3 are really hurting my ears atm.. i can't enjoy listening for the moment

You can try foams as suggested. I personally don't like them. The rubber washers are also called "O" rings. I am from Canada and purchased them at Rona which is a big box hardware/lumber store like Home Depot. I have included some photos on how to make your own. Use an ear tip that you won't be needing slide in onto something round. I use a screw driver. Fold the tip edges back then use a sharp knife to cut a thin ring You should be able to get 3 rings out of 1 ear tip. This is something you can try at no cost and you are not going to have go out and purchase foam tips. If this doesn't work for you then you can try the foams.

.

 

[Podster]

Well, I hope you at least didn't wind up with an Aggie in the family.
I went to an Aggie wedding once...did you even know they make Solo cups in maroon and silver?

LOL, one of my best friends from High School is an Aggie as a matter a fact his whole family is. His kids are almost done as well. Even with them in the SEC now they still annoy me, he sent me pictures last week as they took a picture with Jackie Sherrill (that was pretty cool for them)

 

[Slater]

I wanna go on a bit of a rant on the KZ ZS5 (V2):

The more I listen to them, the more I'm annoyed. You see, the ZS5 has tonnes of "raw detail" and "raw potential" but it's executed so poorly. The bass is quick and really fun, the mids are just "adequate" if not just moderately recessed and then you have that stupid treble of "DOOM!". The treble is just so loud, abrasive and sibilant. Listening to French rock music is torture, only because the "S" sound is so present in the French language.

Further, the ZS5 is the most unflattering earphone ever! It has a very bright metallic tonality that just sucks the warmth from the kick drums, string instruments and vocals out. It's like the musical equivalent of an overexposed HD passport photo that accentuates the wrinkles and makes the skin look so pale. The ZS5s are just really good at accentuating the flaws and reproducing tiny details in the music, but they absolutely suck for enjoying the music. The Marshall Mode is actually the polar opposite of the ZS5. It's a delightfully warm and balanced earphone that makes bad recordings sound good. It doesn't sound the most detailed but it sounds so good overall.

It's as if KZ bought some really good earphone drivers in bulk from an OEM and just slapped them together. Nobody cared to fine tune the ZS5s to make them sound somewhat balanced and enjoyable. I just can't bring myself to believe that the founders of KZ are an ex Audio Technica Engineer and a Classical Musician. Any Classically trained musician would immediately say "Wow! That treble is too much!". It only takes a violin, flute or brass instrument extract to realize that.

Further, it doesn't make me very optimistic about the KZ brand as a whole. Will their house sound always be this unflattering, bright and sibilant? The ZSE somewhat contradicts this trend. But it just sounds muffled, claustrophobic and congested.

Presently, I see the KZ ZS5 (V2) as an unfinished product. Perhaps someone can transform these earphones into something truly amazing by modding the max out of them. I'm thinking custom 3d printed shells, dampening materials etc...

Is it possible to equalize the issue?

Here you go: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/kno...essions-thread.698148/page-1673#post-13851098

 

[Slater]

Thanks. Actually I thought those silicones had foam inside but no. Otherwise I already have this kind silicone tips, so, no need for them.
Btw, is there some cheap silicone S size tips that use foam under skirt by stock without modding?

DIY:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/kno...essions-thread.698148/page-1647#post-13829756
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/foam-stuffed-hybrid-tips.623949/

Pre-made:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/mandarines-foam-ear-tips-perfection.807565/

 

[Slater]

Can someone (who owns kz zs3) help me with my problem?
It really hurts my ears but that's not the worst of the problems.
The real problem is that the right in ead perfectly fits while the left one doesn't, creating me a VACUUM feeling that ruins my sounds, moreover when i turn my head.
I can't really find a good position for the left in ear while i can push and move freely the right one without problems.
Can someone tell me how to calm the ear hurting from them and to find my comfortable position? Maybe you tried some solutions that worked.

If playing around with tips doesn't help solve the problem, it's possible that 1 of the vents is clogged with glue. This happens from time to time on some KZs. It's easy to push a small sewing pin into the vent hole to clear past the glue.

 

[Willber]

Is it possible to equalize the issue?

Works for me. I use EQ for all my phones (IEMs, earbuds, portables, over-ears).

 

[wastan]

I went to an Aggie wedding once...did you even know they make Solo cups in maroon and silver?

Was the bride holstein or gurnsey?

 

[nxnje]

If playing around with tips doesn't help solve the problem, it's possible that 1 of the vents is clogged with glue. This happens from time to time on some KZs. It's easy to push a small sewing pin into the vent hole to clear past the glue.

I can't understand what you mean
Could you please show me with a pic or a photo what should i do?
Thanks a lot for the help

 

[wastan]

Can someone (who owns kz zs3) help me with my problem?
It really hurts my ears but that's not the worst of the problems.
The real problem is that the right in ead perfectly fits while the left one doesn't, creating me a VACUUM feeling that ruins my sounds, moreover when i turn my head.
I can't really find a good position for the left in ear while i can push and move freely the right one without problems.
Can someone tell me how to calm the ear hurting from them and to find my comfortable position? Maybe you tried some solutions that worked.

Have you tried rotating them slightly one you think you have them in? They seem to fit only a precise way and if you try to force it any other way it's very uncomfortable.

 

[nxnje]

Have you tried rotating them slightly one you think you have them in? They seem to fit only a precise way and if you try to force it any other way it's very uncomfortable.

Yes i have tried many positions and every position misses something
If i push them a lil bit out, i can hear well but less bass and less isolation
If i push them in isolation is nice, bass is really strange, quite horrible and it seems like i'm in a vacuum tube.
If i rotate them i don't even hear basses in certain ways, and it seems like i will never find a good position for them.
I really dunno what to do as i really love how they sound.. their low frequencies are absolutely crazy

 

[Vytautas]

Hi,

could you please help me to make a set of nice sounding budget headphones with a smallest possible budget? I am new to this hobby. Headphones will be mainly used with Dragonfly v1.0c DAC feed from PC (Linux OS).

Now I am testing KZ ZS5 v1 on my system. It seems that KZ5 v1 are too sensitive despite they have 30% lower sound output than other KZ models. I usually keep volume just at 10-20%. So, which ZS5 version - higher impedance (v2) or lower impedance (v1) is better to use with Dragonfly?

A set of headphones - have spend some time to made as narrow list as possible tried to group into some categories:

1. Earbuds: EMX500 - 8.5 eur
2. Large stage, classical and acoustic music: KZ ZS 5 (with bass and treble fixes suggested by Slater) - 15 eur + 10 eur for braided cable and New Bee ear tips.
3. Casual listening, warm, more bass, street (with player) - KS ZS3 with Slater mod - 6.8 eur or KZ ES3 - 8.5 eur or Swing IE800 - 10.5 eur.
4. Movies, balanced - not too often: Sound Intone E6+ (lower sensitivity, any good and just enough?) - 5.5 eur or Urbanfun Hi-Fi MARK II (Beryllium) - 18.5 eur.

Which options makes most sense? What should be fixed on the list?

I don't listen to electronic, bass heavy music too often (< 20% of time).

Thank you!

 

[nkramer]

are you planning on getting a pair for each of your 4 categories?
why get 4 pair of mediocre headphones, when you could spend the same (or less) on a really decent pair and use them for everything?