[CoiL]

The ES4 is a really fantastic earphone, from what I'm hearing so far. Like, really really good. And I didn't really like much about the ZSR, and found treble overbearing on the ZS6. I do love the ZS5 (v1) and ZS3 however. I'm really impressed and it makes me want to give the ZSA and ZS10 a shot for sure.

How about ZS5v1 soundstage&airiness compared to ES4 ? What are You using as source gear (is ZS5v1 amped enough + are You using low output impedance source)?
Please more impressions ZS5v1 vs. ES4 !

 

[TJK81]

You mean you just glued the connector? Do you happend to have a picture of what it looks like after you applied the glue? I was tempted to do this, but having a deattachable cable is a huge plus for me.

I still have detach cable on my ZS6's. I just put a little bit of epoxy only inside the shell to stick the shell and inner pin together.

 

[RyanM]

How about ZS5v1 soundstage&airiness compared to ES4 ? What are You using as source gear (is ZS5v1 amped enough + are You using low output impedance source)?
Please more impressions ZS5v1 vs. ES4 !

Well I am at work right now and don't have either phones with me and I hesitate to do a direct comparison on memory (which is pretty fickle when it comes to audio). That said, what immediately struck me about the ES4 was that the vocals and strings have an authentic natural timber, and a good amount of thickness to them. Also, it's unusually neutral for a KZ earphone - at least one that's been released in the last 8-10 months or so. Whereas the ZSR sounds pretty hollow to me in the midrange, the ES4 is quite lively and musical. If KZ packaged this as their "Professional" line, and sold this earphone for $50-60, I wouldn't bat an eye at that. I mean, my immediate thought was that there must be some kind of mistake - it just sounded so resolving and well tuned. I did have fairly low expectations as I was pretty underwhelmed by the ES3 and ZSR prior. I wouldn't be surprised if this was the next ZS5, in terms of popularity.

 

[Slater]

just sharing my unlucky experience with kz too,
my zs6 left side connector went wiggly and the right side died a week after i received them , i opened the dead side, resolder the connection and it worked again
to add salt to the wound my later kz purchase, the zse (which is supposed to be my backup iem) has a defective right side (dangling driver) making them sound off
so yea, QC isnt KZ's strongest point

 

[Slater]

I think I'm going to try #2 first and then #4. Do you happend to have any picture of what both the connector and the pins look like after the mod? Thank you, buddy.

Yeah, I'll take some photos in a few hours and let you know.

Also, #2 was supposed to say "Splay the legs" not "play the legs".

 

[HungryPanda]

That's what she said

 

[Strat Rider]

play music....splay legs

 

[Bartig]

Wait, doesn’t KZ release anything this week?

 

[zazaboy]

any news about the new kz that gonna cost 80 bucks?

 

[darmanastartes]

Got my ES4's from Amazon the other day. Great bass impact and large soundstage, but not super resolving and slightly veiled to my ears. Debating whether to keep them.

 

[neo_styles]

Well I am at work right now and don't have either phones with me and I hesitate to do a direct comparison on memory (which is pretty fickle when it comes to audio). That said, what immediately struck me about the ES4 was that the vocals and strings have an authentic natural timber, and a good amount of thickness to them. Also, it's unusually neutral for a KZ earphone - at least one that's been released in the last 8-10 months or so. Whereas the ZSR sounds pretty hollow to me in the midrange, the ES4 is quite lively and musical. If KZ packaged this as their "Professional" line, and sold this earphone for $50-60, I wouldn't bat an eye at that. I mean, my immediate thought was that there must be some kind of mistake - it just sounded so resolving and well tuned. I did have fairly low expectations as I was pretty underwhelmed by the ES3 and ZSR prior. I wouldn't be surprised if this was the next ZS5, in terms of popularity.

Even though this is only my first pair of KZ, they're certainly not my first in-ears. I definitely want to echo your sentiments on the musicality of these. They're just pleasantly neutral and, aside from a little bleed from the midbass, surprisingly clean on the low-end.

 

[audionab]

will zsa and ed16 ever be available on gearbest?

 

[Slater]

I think I'm going to try #2 first and then #4. Do you happend to have any picture of what both the connector and the pins look like after the mod? Thank you, buddy.

OK, as promised, here is the 2 things you can try.

I would not do both. I would honestly try #1 first. 99 out of 100 times, it is all you need to get the job done.

1. Splay the legs of the male 2-pin cable a few degrees. Not much, but just enough so the plug stays in the socket.

What you do is use pliers and BARELY bend the pins away from one another. You don't need much; just a very tiny amount. Then, plug in the cable and you will see that it fits much more securely now. Like this:

​

4. Use a needle to close the female pins in the 2-pin socket slightly. The female pins are split to allow flex, and you can use this flex to your advantage and make the pins smaller.

In the below photo you can see how the pins have a 'cut' down the middle. This allows them to flex and open up when you insert the cable pins. Well, you want to do the opposite - you want to use a small pair of pliers or the point of a needle, and push them closer slightly (making each hole smaller). This way, when you insert the cable, they will grip the pins tighter.

See how the 'cut' is wider on the right pin vs the left? The pin on the left (in this example) will fit tighter, and the pin on the right will fit much looser. I think your pins look like the one on the right. You want to tweak both of your pins so that they look like the pin on the left.

​

I hope this helps.

 

[424358]

So after heavy use of my ES4. I prefer them over ZSR and ZSA.

I’m debating what to keep.

Keep: ZS6, ES4, ZSA.

Sell: ZSR, ZS5, ZST

HD9 for gym.

Anyone interested in ZSR, ZS5, and ZST? It would be dope if I can sell them all together.

 

[424358]

Got my ES4's from Amazon the other day. Great bass impact and large soundstage, but not super resolving and slightly veiled to my ears. Debating whether to keep them.

What other KZ do you have? I recommend keep.