Knowledge Zenith (KZ) impressions thread
Apr 16, 2018 at 9:10 AM Post #30,736 of 63,671
will.ferrel.dance.gif
 
Apr 16, 2018 at 11:31 AM Post #30,739 of 63,671
Definitely better then stock.
Small piece cut from the white part on a swiffer duster, removed one thin layer on one side.



I've removed the large piece because putting this layer covers both the BA and also sound from the dynamic drivers.
I cut out 2 small dots and poked them inside the nozzle of bot BA, now that's what I call liquid sound, still bright but to my taste I love it.
 
Apr 16, 2018 at 12:04 PM Post #30,741 of 63,671
yeah i think im going to poke it , there is some kind of glue there blocking it, like glueing that black circle to the shell of the earphone ... if it supposed to be open then why did they even sealed it xd

If it's white, then what you're seeing is a vent filter NOT glue.

The filter is a little round piece of white material, with a black adhesive ring. On the INSIDE of the shell, they stick the filter over the hole. When viewing from the outside of the shell, it can be easily mistaken that the hole is "blocked by glue". When in reality, all you're seeing is the white filter up against the hole.

The filter acts like both a filter for dust and debris, as well as a method to tune the amount of sound loss (usually bass/sub-bass depending on the design of the IEM) by means of air pressure restriction. It's similar to the way modders use micropore tape to tune vent holes by means of pressure restriction/regulation.

You can see what I'm talking about better here (this is a translucent ZST, but KZ and other manufacturers use this same basic setup on numerous IEMs). Because the shell is translucent, you can see the whole filter and black adhesive ring:

driver vent1 - Edited.jpg


Here's what it looks like on a ZS5 (or any shell that's opaque and not translucent). See how it just looks white? This can be mistaken for a vent hole that's "blocked":

ZS5-ZS6-Vent - Edited (1).jpg
 
Last edited:
Apr 16, 2018 at 12:05 PM Post #30,742 of 63,671
He tested $125k worth of iems...while studying?
If the roundup is legit, it's complete subjective anyway, thats what many people forget in this hobby.

Perhaps some were samples and/or borrowed but for $125,000 one could purchase a vacation home for annual vacations.
bonhomme-blanc-maison-verte-1.png


In the meantime my ZSR and ZS6 give me plenty of listening pleasure.
 
Last edited:
Apr 16, 2018 at 12:19 PM Post #30,743 of 63,671
I went through the post and it was literally over $125,000 in IEMs.

The information is "nice to know"......


but for me it's more of the same......

I was told that you can try iems out in Asian super- and mega- stores. There, even a poor (wo)man can have an opinion on expensive earphones.
 
Last edited:
Apr 16, 2018 at 12:37 PM Post #30,744 of 63,671
I went through the post and it was literally over $125,000 in IEMs.
He tested $125k worth of iems...while studying? If the roundup is legit, it's complete subjective anyway, thats what many people forget in this hobby.
Perhaps some were samples and/or borrowed but for $125,000 one could purchase a vacation home for annual vacations.
I was told that you can try iems out in Asian super- and mega- stores. There, even a poor (wo)man can have an opinion on expensive earphones.

Crinacle tests them at audio shows, CanJams/meets, listening stores, gear evaluation tours, and owners lend them to him to evaluate and measure the FR on.

Believe me, he's a poor student and didn't buy the vast majority of those IEMs. He's a great guy though, and very knowledgeable.
 
Apr 16, 2018 at 1:04 PM Post #30,746 of 63,671
Crinacle tests them at audio shows, CanJams/meets, listening stores, gear evaluation tours, and owners lend them to him to evaluate and measure the FR on.

Believe me, he's a poor student and didn't buy the vast majority of those IEMs. He's a great guy though, and very knowledgeable.

To me this would call in to question several things.
1.) Meets, canjams, shows, and stores are all likely to be no more than an hour with any given item and a lot of the time a good bit less than that.
2.) Those same locations are also rife with outside noises and generally make lousy places to do serious listening.

I would hope most were loaners where he had more than a few minutes to form an impression as I wouldn't want someone to judge me solely on a single 10 minute snippet of my existence on what was perhaps my worst day (as is the case with noise shows).
 
Apr 16, 2018 at 1:11 PM Post #30,747 of 63,671
To me this would call in to question several things.
1.) Meets, canjams, shows, and stores are all likely to be no more than an hour with any given item and a lot of the time a good bit less than that.
2.) Those same locations are also rife with outside noises and generally make lousy places to do serious listening.

I would hope most were loaners where he had more than a few minutes to form an impression as I wouldn't want someone to judge me solely on a single 10 minute snippet of my existence on what was perhaps my worst day (as is the case with noise shows).

I'm going by what he's said before in his FR measurement thread. It does only take 5 minutes to take FR measurements, because I do FR measurements myself (using the same method crinacle used to use).

Also, it's not like it's unheard of (or not possible). Tyll wrote a rather in-depth review of the 1More H1707 Triple Driver Over-Ears based on listening at a show. It was that review that convinced me to buy the H1707 myself. I'm not saying it's a perfect or ideal situation, but sometimes it's the only chance you may ever get to evauate (or FR measure) $10k headphones. Beggars can't be choosers, right?
 
Last edited:
Apr 16, 2018 at 1:22 PM Post #30,748 of 63,671
I agree with the FR post although those are usually best done in dead silence to avoid outside influence which is hardly possible in show situation. And while not unheard of to form a reliable opinion in 5 minutes, I generally want to live with a product for several days to feel that I have done it justice. If I am going to make a negative comment, I want to be sure nothing else is involved in the issue and it truly belongs to the device in question. As an example, if I were to get a bad pairing of DAP to IEM at a show, it might cause me to artificially lower the score of the IEM (especially if using My personal DAP since we tend to think we know its tendencies and it couldn't be a problem with it, so must be this new IEM).
 
Apr 16, 2018 at 1:40 PM Post #30,749 of 63,671
If it's white, then what you're seeing is a vent filter NOT glue.

The filter is a little round piece of white material, with a black adhesive ring. On the INSIDE of the shell, they stick the filter over the hole. When viewing from the outside of the shell, it can be easily mistaken that the hole is "blocked by glue". When in reality, all you're seeing is the white filter up against the hole.

The filter acts like both a filter for dust and debris, as well as a method to tune the amount of sound loss (usually bass/sub-bass depending on the design of the IEM) by means of air pressure restriction. It's similar to the way modders use micropore tape to tune vent holes by means of pressure restriction/regulation.

You can see what I'm talking about better here (this is a translucent ZST, but KZ and other manufacturers use this same basic setup on numerous IEMs). Because the shell is translucent, you can see the whole filter and black adhesive ring:



Here's what it looks like on a ZS5 (or any shell that's opaque and not translucent). See how it just looks white? This can be mistaken for a vent hole that's "blocked":

wow thank you for such developed answer , So I shouldnt poke it then , right??
 
Apr 16, 2018 at 1:48 PM Post #30,750 of 63,671
wow thank you for such developed answer , So I shouldnt poke it then , right??

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Especially when you run the risk of permanently damaging the DD driver, as the fragile diaphragm is only a few millimeters below the vent hole. Don’t ask me how I know LOL

Also, poking the hole will change the sound. You are tinkering with the tuning, because that’s exactly what the vent is for. Usually poking that vent hole will significantly reduce the sub-bass and lower bass.

I tinker with the vent holes all the time on IEMs, but I’m doing it with the purposeful intention of tuning, as well as specific tools and knowledge to not trash the driver.
 
Last edited:

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top