Knowledge Zenith (KZ) impressions thread

[JayceOoi]

Do you know discount code for KZ5?

Don't have now. Will let you know when I found one.

 

[chinmie]

When I wake up I pick one earphone/earbud/headphone and that is normally it for the day. If I change anything the sound is not quite right for sometime so it is better to sleep and wake up to listen critically to something.

that is actually a good discipline. I admit i tend to switch earphones a lot throughout the day depending on what i'm listening

 

[Cruelhand Luke]

Earlier today I got the last of my 3 KZ iems that I ordered, the ES3. I have had the ZS3 and the ZS5 for about a week now.
My first thought is that out of the box the ES3 are my favorites so far. Almost no sibilance ...I'm looking at you ZS5.
soundstage seems good for an IEM, it's 'accurate'?...it's not impressing me like an open backed supra-aural headphone does. It feels like, listening to a track I know very well from having heard it hundreds of times, on dozens of different speakers/headphones, etc, the noises are all coming from the right places, if that makes sense....I "know" the piano in a particular song should be coming from a particular place and these seem to represent that image pretty faithfully.
Bass is good so far, not really ready to talk about it compared to the ZS5, I haven't gotten into bass heavy tracks yet...but my quick first impression is that the ZS5 kinda whomps the ES3...
I haven't had a chance to fine tune an EQ setting for them yet, and I have only tried them with a couple of different sets of tips (I'm using the t400 blue 'comply' tips from gearbest) but so far I am pretty happy and impressed with the ES3, in fact I am kind of surprised they don't get more love around here.
If you like the ZS5 but the treble kills you, the ES3 seems like a good lateral move? It's a more comfortable IEM than the ZS5, for me at least, out of the three the ES3 fits like it was made for me, down to the way they angled the cable coming out of the back, it just sits better on my head.
I should mention, I am at the tail end of a cold, so all of my impressions are tempered by the fact that my ears aren't well right now, so they could change in a week.

 

[Cruelhand Luke]

When I wake up I pick one earphone/earbud/headphone and that is normally it for the day. If I change anything the sound is not quite right for sometime so it is better to sleep and wake up to listen critically to something.

I will say, in regards to this, before I sit down and try to do critical listening, A/B-ing stuff, really getting a handle on what a headphone sounds like for example?, I don't do it at the end of a work day, I don't do it after I have been downtown, etc. I live in a quiet little beach town, at night all I hear is the waves and sea lions barking.My ears are sensitive to the difference between a calm Saturday on my balcony and after I have been into the city dealing with traffic and people and such.

 

[Moys]

It is hard to tell someone else what would work best for them, but the items you listed sound like a great package to me.

Downside: if you have smaller ears, the ZS6 might be uncomfortable. The exaggerated highs take a little time to get used to, although the foam tips you listed go a long way towards taming the treble cannon effect.

These are pretty amazing earphones for the price. I think you'll be happy with them.

Thanks for the answer, well I actually am pretty "hissing" sensitive, but if the upgraded tips and maybe eq'ing can fix that, it would be ok. Also I'm used to listen at low levels when facing that kind of issue, so If I need time to adapt to the sound I should be fine.

I hope that the ostry tips are the most effective, and that they don't downgrade other aspects of the sound.

 

[fuzun]

Initial expressions regarding ZS6: (I have used foam tips)

Note that I am 19 years old and I can hear until almost 21000 Hz. And this is my first Kz iem.

• Foams (New Bee), made it sound much better but less comfortable.
• Mid quality is very good, but quantity of mids is lacking slightly in a V-Shape characteristic way.
  
• Bass is tight and quality is good. There is some bloating though (It does not bother and not quite noticeable). It would definitely be better if there was a little less subbass. (2-3 dB less maybe?)
  
• Highs are over exposed, there are a lot of energy in treble range and this makes the ZS6 a very detailed iem. Even though quantity of highs are more than I wanted, it does not bother me much because the peak is not in between 12-20 khz and also because of the bass quantity. It would be better for me if it had less high.
  
• Typical V-Shaped and cold sound signature, nothing special regarding the sound signature of ZS6.
  
• I do not see (or hear the featured advantage of mid oriented driver (second DD).
• It is sensitive. My S5 Neo is being able to give sufficient power to it while listening music which has high dynamic range. Same S5 Neo failed to power up the monk+ when it came to high dynamic range things.
  
• Soundstage is not impressive. For some reason I think VE monks+ have better soundstage even though it has virtually no subbass and low bass overall. What is the purpose of the grill if ZS5 has better soundstage?
  
• The most detailed and revealing headphone/iem I have ever used (I am not talking about only highs here) and this is not bad because I do not listen mp3 or badly produced albums . This IEM would be a good choice for studio usage.
• By saying cold, I mean highs are "metallic". And my ears do not like that. It is probably something related to the peak location.
  
• Decay of bass is little. And this is not bad because it already has a lot of bass (I think this is the reason of kinda narrow soundstage). But still, I think it would be better if there was more decay at midbass because it would make bass guitar sound much better.
  
• Stereo separation is very good.
• Build quality is good but not impressive, quality of metal case and finishing are not the best. All of the accessories came with it are typical Chinese garbage. (Cable and tips)
• Isolation could be better considering the narrow soundstage.
• Sound signature leads fatiguing early. This would not be a good everyday driver. It is oriented to professional work or home listening more. I do not think I can listen ZS6 more than 3 hours gapless.
  
• I can not say that the ZS6 is sibilant with New Bee foams even though I can notice traces of sibilance time to time. But with the provided silicone tips, I could easily notice sibilance.
• Higher range of vocals, like "s", sound weird time to time. It may be due to the peak location and amount.
• For me, it is not uncomfortable like others say.
• Handles full bodied sound pretty good.

I will listen ZS6 later with Xduoo XD-05 dac&amp and will post more impressions later.

So,

Is it worth the $27 I have spent on it? Yes.

Is it worth $50 ? Yes.

Is it worth $75 ? Maybe. Depending on the user.

Is it worth $100 ? Absolutely not.
Is it worth $400 (with the custom made $370 cable floating in Aliexpress) ? I do not think so


Is ZS6 a good choice for metal music? Definitely yes if you are not treble sensitive.

Are foam tips and a proper cable a good investment for ZS6? Yes!

 

[jaydm99]

I also did the @Slater bass mod, where you decrease the diameter of the bass vent by 50%. I used regular tape, and I can provide pics if you're interested.

I'm interested! Post it!

 

[Superluc]

With 75ohms adapter on both stock starline and foam tips...sounds much worse than without the 75ohms adapter...lifeless.

Well of course YMMV

Well... it indeed takes away some life.
It's difficult to find the right balance, lowering all the highs together some tracks can become a bit lacking, while others still maintain sibilance, if there is any on the recording. Cymbals are still up front, even with the adapter, so...

I think that a more specific equalization can work better, if available, on try to find a personal balance with them, as we know where those peaks are. I also prefer to add a bit of bass to them, they probably perform better with DAPs a bit on the dark side.

So an adapter it's not worth it on the ZS6 ? To me, not on balancing purpose alone, but the ZS6 is a bit sensitive to noise floor, and a similar adapter can solve that, on sources where that can be a problem, although demanding more power to play at the same volume. But if it's better to use an adapter with less or more impedance than that, it may depend on taste versus how it affect the sound and the amplification available. Obviously, one can buy a more pricier Ear Buddy for solve that kind of problem, without affecting the highs.

 

[Slater]

The KZs are also great for youth who tend to do absolutely nothing to take care of them and everything to try and destroy them. My daughter should be used to test any headphone that the maker claims is indestructible. If it can make it 24 hours with her, their claim is probably true. 72 hours guarantees it.

Man, I thought I was the only one.

I literally buy bulk lighting cables TEN at a time for my 14-yo daughter. I swear she must be using them for swinging from the ceiling, because I've never seen things get so destroyed so quickly. I have literally been using the same cable that came with my phone daily for the last 2 years, and it looks and performs as new as the day I took it out of the box.

The same is true for headphones, IEMs, computer mice, and everything else electronic.

 

[CoiL]

They all have different sound signatures, and now that I own about 15 pairs of IEM's from different companies, I'm starting to believe that over time your ears and brain adjust to make nearly all sound the same.
ZS6 after a week sounds like ZS5v1 always did, but now the ZS5v1 sounds a little dark. ZST sounds hollow in the middle, but still sounds very similar to ZS5v1 and ZS6. They all use the same drivers. I'm guessing KZ has 2-3 sub/mid drivers and 2-3 BA's and they all get put in every IEM they make, just arranged & ported differently for slightly different sound signatures. KZ makes a lot of mistakes, and makes a lot of crap products, but for the price you'll have a hard time beating what KZ has to offer - they do make some good IEM's, and with a little research on this forum you can find what might be right for your tastes.

Ported and filtered differently - yes, but they don`t have same drivers. Even ATR, ATE and ATE-S drivers sound different despite looking almost same. Is about coil winding and driver tuning also.
I have tested latter 3 in exactly same shells and nozzles.

BTW, I have opened my ZS3 and tossed away drivers. New nozzles done and soon will install new drivers (BA testing, crossover etc.). Last thing will be new wooden faceplates. New SPOFC cable still coming.
ZS3 looks promising for modding and I really like its ergonomic fit! They fit like a silk glove!

 

[AxelCloris]

We've removed a number of off topic posts as well as the posts that lead to them. Please keep posts on-topic so we don't derail the thread again.

Thanks everyone.

 

[Podster]

I just hate KZ

 

[nxnje]

I surrend.. tried many tricks to make my zs3 fit properly but i still can't enjoy listening with them.
I love their sound signature a lot, their bass is incredibly strong, so i'm gonna send back them to the seller.
I have heard online the rock zircons have good bass too but i saw they're not well built and so not resistant.

I was going online to see if there's something like zs3 sound signature and i found memt x5 were so well shown.
Do u tip me to buy them? I have 15 dollars budget for the moment but i can go over for lioe 2-3 euros.
What do u think i can buy as substitute?
Thanks for the tips and sorry if this goes a bit off topic.

 

[Happy Hacking]

Anyone here has suggestions for a cable for the ZS6 that isn't too long? Or at least a shorter length past the 2-way split? Or has a chin slider?
The cable I have is way too long. I take one side of my earphones off very often as people talk to me, and the ZS6 drops almost to my knees!

I understand i can easily mod a chin slider but I wouldn't mind paying a little more for a cable with a proper built in slider or a shorter cable!!

This is the cable I am currently using:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/KZ-...-43d4-4d3a-8d59-1bccf45e7959&rmStoreLevelAB=1

 

[HUGO SILVA]

I just hate KZ

hello friend, which cable do you think has the best quality? thank you.