[fluteloop]

My theory on the holes (or ports):
They might make some difference in sound pressure changing ever so slightly the typical sound that it's suppose to represent. But, we all must keep in mind the deeper reason for most of the holes are to keep the drivers from the pressure of "driver flex", which keeps them from getting damaged in the long run.

The crinkling can be pretty Brutal... if you start putting creases in a driver it might lose some stiffness and result in unwanted pregnancy.

 

[fluteloop]

blue chew.

 

[Luxed]

Your post makes me think about that more deeply. Sound quality is usually related the recording itself and with cheaper headphones and sound signature is usually related to brand identity.

I listen to Modern Metal mostly. Recordings are usually good and I can't stand an album that sounds muddy or not clean enough (metal is a crowded genre, if it's muddy, you lose all of the details that are violently thrown at you). But do I really want to have the best sound quality or different sound signatures? I made my choice and everyone can make theirs. Cheap can be good to try things and that's what I'm doing right now. I'll continue to buy cheap IEMs for different sound signatures. And once I think I know what I actually want, I'll go ahead and save money to buy something that's better. All of this is so subjective, that's why I have a hard time reading reviews: it's either they are trying to be objective (but everyone ears differently, so they can't really be that objective) or they try to be scientific and they show you graphs, but graphs don't tell all the story. The audio world is weird, subjective and different for everyone.

How is your Fiio anyway? Haven't they fixed those bugs yet? Ugh. That player has been on the market for years and there is still lag time between songs? How is the sound quality and have you heard other music players? I'm curious about the Fiio M3K myself as the price tag is low.

Quite honestly, Fiio have delivered some amazing updates over the 2 years I've had the device for. So good that all the complaints I had in version 1.0 are completely gone with 1.7.2 (latest). Everything works perfectly apart from the general slowness of the UI. It has gotten at least 75% better with the updates, but still things are really slow. My guess would be that it is more of a hardware issue than a software one seeing as to how much their software has grown.
There's no lag between songs, they actually implemented gapless playback in an update. It's just the UI and the time it takes to raise/lower the volume, navigate or simply change a song manually.
Sound quality is awesome. I gifted a Fiio M3 to my girlfriend but never took my time to listen to it (I'm sure it sounds really good and she didn't complain once since I gifted it to her). I owned a Sony walkman NWZ-E364 (what a good name) before, but it broke one or two days after I received my Fiio X1II. From what I can remember, the Sony had a really good "bass boost" option and a really good 5 band EQ which is not the case of the Fiio X1II (the EQ doesn't make a lot of difference which is also why I stopped EQing my IEMs). The overall sound was already good but the Fiio X1II took it a step further and sounded noticeably better overall.

BTW, the M3K looks really good

And I think that's enough non-KZ talk so I'll give those that own the ZSN and the AS10 a question:
Do you think the AS10 has a better sound quality than the ZSN? Why (not)? How?

 

[Danfish98]

I love the 2nd song. Does nightwish considered metal?

Nightwish is symphonic metal. And also fantastic!

 

[Zerohour88]

Why would I get 1 500$ IEM that sounds amazing when I could have had 10 50$ IEM that all sounds different (even if they are never as good as the expensive one?). What I want in an IEM is not the best sound quality, but something cheap that I can simply change for something else depending on my mood. That's why I have started to look into KZ and started buying cheap IEMs instead of always trying something more expensive. At the end of the day, do I really know what sound signature I really like? Would I have really liked the 500$ IEM if it didn't sound like I actually would like it to?
I always thought I liked a brighter sound signature. But since I ordered the AS10 and ZSN at the same time. I never actually really listened to the ZSN because I can't get the AS10 out of my ears.

good for you then. Its brilliant to put on an IEM/headphone and not care about the sonic qualities. Sometimes its all just about the music. Since this is head-fi and most readers would be "audiophiles" or something close, unfortunately sonic qualities does come into the equation.

Cheap stuff is cheap stuff but are the KZ high-end models worth it? It shouldn't be about the price. I was the idiot who bought 30+ earbuds and iem's for $10 - $15 expecting to hear huge differences from headphones that probably came from similar factories and with similar materials. Price shouldn't be an issue and people shouldn't only stick their foot in cheapskate waters if they can afford a more expensive IEM. If I was more wise I would have spent that $500 wasted on cheapo IEM's and bought some really good high end ones that would last me years. Now I have boxes of $10 IEM's sitting in a closet collecting dust.

Is it worth it? well, that's up for you to decide then. Buy it, sample it, read reviews from people you trust, however you want. Like I said, "value" is up to the buyer and no one is putting a gun to your head and saying "buy our high-end models!"


I do realize that I'm also replying to the two ends of the spectrum here. One that relishes on buying many small purchases and one that regretted buying so many small purchases.

Why not both? Spend some small amount of money buying different IEMs with different signatures, compare your views with other reviewers while also determining your hearing proclivities, then when you're ready, you can buy a higher-tier model based on the reviews or by sampling them, knowing that you've determined your requirements for an IEM. At least that's how I'm going about it. Once I reach a level where I can barely distinguish the previous tier of "upgrade" with a current "upgrade" purchase, I'll probably stop random purchases and just get them for fun (hopefully reached that with my earbuds upgrade, the NiceHCK EBX, still waiting for the IEM and headphone side)

 

[Conest]

So I got my First IEM (ZSA) today
and Their fit was horrible.. much better now with my spare tips.
And Got my 2nd IEM (ZSN) ... Theyy areeee incredible...fit.. comfort (Cant even feel them) and sound quality.. everything is very good..
They deserve to be hyped..
(will post pics soon)

 

[SybilLance]

ZSN more notes

- Build quality is okay. I have channel imbalance on the left ear being a bit quieter than my right ear
- Cable is similar to Simgot EN700, but less tangle prone (yay!)
- IEM shells are made alright, look cool
- The BA drivers are up in the bores
- The sound is really not amazing. With female vocals, it cannot touch high notes well, doesn't reach low male voices either. Sounds crushed and compressed all over.
- The soundstage is big, and sounds are well separated though
- Not detailed at all, no analytical abilities, most textures are pretty poor
- Treble is not overly fatiguing, but has a good amount of sparkle and brightness
- Speed of bass is slow, they won't keep up with technical death metal, grindcore, or even most aggressive metal
- Midrange has some dips, causing certain instruments to sound more distant. This aids the larger soundstage, but also makes them sound flat
- The comfort is really good, I can't blame it in any way, cables are not microphonic, no bad driver flex, no bad inner IEM design. Good job with that actually
- For their price, they make a good purchase, since they only cost as low as 15 USD, so they perform better than any 15 USD IEM I've heard, not that I heard quite that many at that price.
- I am not sure when I will do a full review on them, but there's nothing too exceptional to talk about, except for the soundstage and instrument separation, as those are really nice, things are well defined within their own space.
- They actually deliver more than I was expecting, I expected nothing from a IEM that goes as low as 15 USD, but they sound okay, most people should find happiness if spending 15 USD on those.

Thanks @Dobrescu George for your take on the ZSN.

May I know what eartips did you use to listen for your impressions?

Our daughter listens to metal. I must say i cannot anymore keep up with such overload of sonic stimuli coming direct to my eardrums a few millimeters away.

These are my own impressions with regard to perception of bass resolution (textures, speed, decay, etc.):

I find natural acoustic instruments more suited to the task. The double bass, the violoncello, the lowest octave of the piano, the harp, the bass trombone, the tuba, contrabassoon, the pipe organ. Even the human voice. Listening to these in solo, in chamber music and in concert is for me the essence of the sound such instrument produces, in relation to its interplay with others as a whole, and the sense-impressions and emotions and mindset all of it evoke. Music.

When I listen to, say, Beethoven's Third or Vivaldi's Four Seasons or a Bach Cello Suite or Charlie Mingus from a decent stereo system, once I perceive that it resolves and reproduces with a certain threshold of fidelity the music that's familiar to me I get engaged and involved and am gone.

Now we have transducers that can fit over or even inside our ears, but the same principle applies.

The instruments i've mentioned—save for the human voice—can and do go down to the lowest audible range, sub-bass. The pipe organ can go even lower. With these instruments one can, through decent headphones, perceive how bass notes are resolved, individually or in complex series of tones, fast or slow, and how the resulting combinations lead to textures that, by a certain recording or performance by a certain artist or artists, arouse our thoughts and feelings.

With the KZ ZSN, I find the music I am most familiar with, be it simple, intimate, aggressive, complex or wildly exuberant, are sufficiently reproduced and resolved, notably in the lower audible range. No congestion. No bloat.

On the other hand, in late-night listening, I find that the Simgot EN700 Pro can resolve even better. But then what I listen to is music and if the speakers or headphones are good enough I get lost in it in an instant.

You say the ZSN is good. Given your context, that may be construed as so-so, humdrum, mediocre.

I say the ZSN is very good. And given my context: price (bought it for less than $11); build and design; aesthetics; its cable—all of which translate to value; and the music I listen to; that may even be construed as exceptional.

Long story short: we have a difference of opinion. And I'm merely a housewife approaching senior citizenship who can't hear a thing beyond 14,800 KHz.

But what does it matter? This is, after all, an impressions thread and I do appreciate and respect your thoughts and your right to express them. And I think you've made some good points, too.

 

[Conest]

 

[CoiL]

First Drive: KZ ZSN

Externalities: With these and the ZS4, KZ has noticeably upped its aesthetic game--the ZSN has a (relatively) premium look and feel; the braided (nylon?)-covered cable is considerably nicer than its plastic predecessors, with a memory portion that's actually usable. Headshells are large and heavy, but surprisingly comfortable, and fit is much easier and sleeker than the bulbous, awkward-fitting zsr/as10 or odd-shaped zs5/zs6. I found isolation to be very good, if not as exceptional as the zs3/zs4.

Sound: The ZSN is as sensitive and loud an IEM as I've heard and consequently optimal for those Philistines (like me) who typically listen to childish raucous fare on their mobiles. V-shaped and bright, with a lot of energy and thick, rich note texture. Soundstage is wide, but not high; effect is like listening in a large, low-ceilinged hall. Imaging is accurate. Bass is voluminous and impactful; speed and decay is below-average (these had some bloat OOTB, albeit in a pleasant way; switching to foams tamed the low end nicely). Mids are less emphasized, which makes vocals and keyboards sound farther back than the rest. High end is sparkly and well-extended, with good clarity and detail but can get a bit metallic/digital sounding at the edges. Drums are not as accurately produced as say, the ED9, but have a lot of snap and body. Guitar rock and hard bop sound really good on these; acoustic fare is less well-presented, perhaps because of the recessed midrange. Other than the occasional bass bloom, driver coherence is seamless.

Comparos: I immediately pulled out the ZSR (my previous sometimes favorite KZ) and couldn't find a clear winner. The ZSR has a more enveloping stage, and I prefer its more balanced, mid-forward tuning to the ZSN's; the ZSR also has better-controlled (tho less impactful) low end. However, the ZSN has more sizzle, presents more detail and is more fun. The ZSN is also immeasurably better designed and user-friendly. Compared to the ZS6, the ZSN sounds less expansive (as if the performers were forced onto a smaller stage) has less midrange presence and shows less microdetail, though again the ZSN had better PRAT overall and is vastly more ergonomic and comfortable.

Brief listens to the TRN V80 and BQ3 were more polarizing. Both the V80 and BQ3 are significantly more "refined" (in the sense of being less colored and more accurate reproductions of the source), with more sculpted bass;the BQ3 in particular had richer, more prominent mids and less edgy treble. That said, the ZSN images better than either and may function better as a daily driver than the fiddly, difficult-to-fit BQ3. I didn't A/B these with my new EZ D4 but had the sense that the ZSN presented a lot more musical information and were the more engaging.

Overall, it's very difficult to evaluate these without reference to their $14 price. Compared to the $100 contenders (or even to cheaper "audiophile-tuned" models like the T2) the ZSN are comparatively raw and less revealing; there's nothing analytical or hi-end about them. However in the same sense that a good burger may taste as good as a prime steak, they aren't necessarily less appealing and depending on your mood/genre you might easily opt for these over snazzier models. Good phones; more critical listening to follow.

ZSN more notes

- Build quality is okay. I have channel imbalance on the left ear being a bit quieter than my right ear
- Cable is similar to Simgot EN700, but less tangle prone (yay!)
- IEM shells are made alright, look cool
- The BA drivers are up in the bores
- The sound is really not amazing. With female vocals, it cannot touch high notes well, doesn't reach low male voices either. Sounds crushed and compressed all over.
- The soundstage is big, and sounds are well separated though
- Not detailed at all, no analytical abilities, most textures are pretty poor
- Treble is not overly fatiguing, but has a good amount of sparkle and brightness
- Speed of bass is slow, they won't keep up with technical death metal, grindcore, or even most aggressive metal
- Midrange has some dips, causing certain instruments to sound more distant. This aids the larger soundstage, but also makes them sound flat
- The comfort is really good, I can't blame it in any way, cables are not microphonic, no bad driver flex, no bad inner IEM design. Good job with that actually
- For their price, they make a good purchase, since they only cost as low as 15 USD, so they perform better than any 15 USD IEM I've heard, not that I heard quite that many at that price.
- I am not sure when I will do a full review on them, but there's nothing too exceptional to talk about, except for the soundstage and instrument separation, as those are really nice, things are well defined within their own space.
- They actually deliver more than I was expecting, I expected nothing from a IEM that goes as low as 15 USD, but they sound okay, most people should find happiness if spending 15 USD on those.

Very good objective-subjective critic reviews from You two. I mostly agree with all those statements but some I don`t agree to full extent, maybe due to source gear/amping/music preference differences, idk.

Interesting you say the bass is slow and can't keep up with technical death metal ect.
That's a lot of what I listen to and I would say that the bass is faster and more precise then any other IEM, I have heard.(OK, maybe not but hyperbole is fun sometimes)
Back when I initially got them I posted a bass test track that I use that uses mid bass at 150bpm with subbass hits coming in every measure, while a baseline bops along covering the Midbass, while dipping down into the subbass. All of that going at breakneck speed, and the ZSN handles it all with perfect spot on detail. 6in1 comes closest to matching, but everything else just congeals together into a muddy mess of rumble with no bass definition.

That was one of those points that I agree 50%. In general, I find ZSN DD producing pretty fast and accurate bass/percussion (especially for the price).
Another thing is soundstage size and transparency/layering @ frontal depth, which I find sometimes littlebit congested and "mixed up".

 

[fluteloop]

paypal/credit card. both have protection. dispute it.

 

[LaughMoreDaily]

Thanks @Dobrescu George I say the ZSN is very good. And given my context: price (bought it for less than $11); build and design; aesthetics; its cable—all of which translate to value; and the music I listen to; that may even be construed to be exceptional.

I'm not sure why but I hate it when people say (a comment, not about your discussion) "so and so headphone is amazing for so and so dollars."

I don't think that matters myself, it's about how good the headphone is altogether Sure, it's under $20, $30 or $100 or whatever the case may be... but that doesn't matter to me. Is it worth buying at any price is more important. What do you all think?

 

[Migou67]

This song express clearly my perception of the ZSN pricing

 

[SybilLance]

I'm not sure why but I hate it when people say (a comment, not about your discussion) "so and so headphone is amazing for so and so dollars."

I don't think that matters myself, it's about how good the headphone is altogether Sure, it's under $20, $30 or $100 or whatever the case may be... but that doesn't matter to me. Is it worth buying at any price is more important. What do you all think?

I don't want to go off topic any more than I should. My post that you quoted is intended to be read in its entirety; first, as a reference to what my impressions are as to how bass resolution is perceived, in relation to how it applies when listening to music with the ZSN; and second, with such reference taken in context with the over-all value that the ZSN represents, of which price is just a constituent. In all my posts here I have never specified purchase price as the singular basis for any assertion as to how a headphone is to be judged. The operative word is context.

If the pair of ZSNs (or other KZ IEMs) that you ordered had already arrived and you had given them sufficient time with the music you listen to, perhaps you could then post your own impressions here. I look forward to reading them. Consequently, perhaps you may or may not agree that indeed, despite the lowly status seemingly conferred upon it by many, it can competently reproduce and resolve individual and complex bass notes with an acceptable (to me, at least) degree of fidelity. That's the point where I disagreed with Dobrescu George.

I do like the way you keep this thread interesting.

 

[CactusPete23]

Why it takes so long for vendor in Aliexpress to ship their order?

Probably 3 reasons:
1) Smaller "stores" carry NO INVENTORY or low inventory, and go out and buy the item for you after you order.
2) Shipping is done by outside companies. They may consolidate shipping to get lower shipping rates. That means your package may wait with others until there are "enough" to ship. Plus some Handling in China and in Your Country.
3) Right now we are still seeing affect of high order volume from 11/11 and from Holiday Buying...

Just my guess. But Maybe 20% of the time, I get item in USA in 1 week... Though normal not to get for up to 30 days.. When longer than 30 days, for sure they did Not ship yet, even though you see (fake) tracking number. Aliexpress requires sellers to ship within something like 7 to 10 days as part of their policies. But many sellers just make a "fake" shipment number when they don't have the item ti ship yet, or when delayed for whatever reason, to avoid AE penalties. Seems like something we can't control from here, (unless we cancel orders...), so may have to live with for lover pricing...

 

[mbwilson111]

I prefer Aliexpress myself. E-Bay is flawed. All my past purchases have disappeared from my account and I have no idea how to find them again. At least with Ali I just go into my account and they are just there. I love Aliexpress!

After you said that I went to look at my Ebay history and I see I cannot go further back than 2016. Maybe I am confused but I do think I used to be able to back further than that. My first ebay order would have been in 1999.

My first Amazon.com purchases were also in 1999. I can see all my Amazon.com orders from 2002 on. For some reason it only tells me how many orders I had in 1999,2000 and 2001 but not what they were. My Amazon UK orders go back to 2007 which sounds right as I moved here in late 2006.

I'm not sure why but I hate it when people say (a comment, not about your discussion) "so and so headphone is amazing for so and so dollars."

I don't think that matters myself, it's about how good the headphone is altogether Sure, it's under $20, $30 or $100 or whatever the case may be... but that doesn't matter to me. Is it worth buying at any price is more important. What do you all think?

I understand what you mean. I never say something is good for the price. It is either good or it is not to me. The ZSN is good. So are most of my others.

They probably don't own the product and need to go and buy it from a supplier and bring it to a shipper/the postal office.

Yes, I don't think they always have a big back room filled with each product that they offer. I think many of them have to get things sent from a warehouse. Sometimes I think they are surprised by how many orders there are for a product... maybe because it was hyped in this forum. We just have to be patient. I have had a couple of things take as long as six weeks but everything has always arrived eventually. Instead of being surprised by how long it takes, I am very surprised when some orders arrive in 6 -10 days.