[SomeEntityThing]

Check to see if is wired "out of phase". Mine was, and I was initially a bit disappointed in it. Here is a check:

https://www.audiocheck.net/audiotests_polaritycheck.php

Oh snap, thank you for sharing this. It turns out mine are out of phase too (at least I think they are. The third test's out of phase example sounds more in my head, so...). But what exactly do they mean by "flipping the cable" to fix the problem?

 

[B9Scrambler]

Hi, so I've been watching this thread for a while, and I want to finally get myself an iem from KZ!

It's my first time actually getting higher grade iem than what you get from phones and such, so I want to find the perfect one, suiting my needs and at the same time being a good enough all-rounder to enjoy what a good iem sounds like.
My budget is 50€, so I can pretty much buy any iem Kz currently offers, the question is wich one?

I'm looking for an immersive and deep sound, that would submerge me into the music i'm listening to. I'm not really a bass head, but I listen to pretty much any genre, mainly classical ( I would rather use my headphones for that, but it's still a genre I'll listen to quite a bit ), rock, jpop, dance, funk and a lot of instrumentals.

The point I want it to emphasize are sound clarity, details and a little treble but not too harsh or sibilant. I don't care that much about how wide is the soundstage, but I want the sound imaging and instrument separation to be top-notch ( like being surrounded by the instruments and voices ). I guess, since I want an immersive sound, it has to be a "in your face" and kind of intimate sounding iem.

I initially planned to get the Zs 5, but the newer version seemed to be a let-down, then the Zs6, but sibilance issues, now I'm planning to get the AS10, is it the right one for me? I've heard of new products coming out soon, should I wait for those?

I hope you guys can help me, it's kind of hard to keep up with every product coming out.

Edit: Also I've got a 2.5 balanced output from my dac/amp, can I use it with Kz iems? Do I need a specific cable, if so, which one ?

AS10 sounds like it would be very suitable. Like Slater said, the Tin T2 would be a good alternative.

 

[assassin10000]

Oh snap, thank you for sharing this. It turns out mine are out of phase too (at least I think they are. The third test's out of phase example sounds more in my head, so...). But what exactly do they mean by "flipping the cable" to fix the problem?

Flipping the cable means turning the connectors 180 degrees so the pins are reversed into the connector/IEM. This 'flips' the positive and negative pins to correct the phase without having to open up the IEM and resolder the connections.


Just ordered a pair of Cyan ZSN and the C-paragraph BT cable to go with them. Now the wait...

 

[PhonoPhi]

Hi, so I've been watching this thread for a while, and I want to finally get myself an iem from KZ!

It's my first time actually getting higher grade iem than what you get from phones and such, so I want to find the perfect one, suiting my needs and at the same time being a good enough all-rounder to enjoy what a good iem sounds like.
My budget is 50€, so I can pretty much buy any iem Kz currently offers, the question is wich one?

I'm looking for an immersive and deep sound, that would submerge me into the music i'm listening to. I'm not really a bass head, but I listen to pretty much any genre, mainly classical ( I would rather use my headphones for that, but it's still a genre I'll listen to quite a bit ), rock, jpop, dance, funk and a lot of instrumentals.

The point I want it to emphasize are sound clarity, details and a little treble but not too harsh or sibilant. I don't care that much about how wide is the soundstage, but I want the sound imaging and instrument separation to be top-notch ( like being surrounded by the instruments and voices ). I guess, since I want an immersive sound, it has to be a "in your face" and kind of intimate sounding iem.

I initially planned to get the Zs 5, but the newer version seemed to be a let-down, then the Zs6, but sibilance issues, now I'm planning to get the AS10, is it the right one for me? I've heard of new products coming out soon, should I wait for those?

I hope you guys can help me, it's kind of hard to keep up with every product coming out.

Edit: Also I've got a 2.5 balanced output from my dac/amp, can I use it with Kz iems? Do I need a specific cable, if so, which one ?

I second that AS10 can work nicely. I listen to classical music with it, and it is great.
The only issue is that with some sources (e.g. Samsung S9) there can be some background noise due to high sensitivity of AS10.

 

[CoiL]

Why the obsession with more and more drivers, when excellent sound can be had from one driver?

Yeap! KZ should release 1-DD IEM with similar tuning/SQ at low-end as ZS4/ZSN DD has. Would buy it for sure.

The ZSN cable is definitely a step up from previous versions because KZ removed the pesky memory wire. But the Y-split is still in a stupid position halfway down the cable and it easily becomes a tangled mess.

Hey! Not everyone dislikes memory wire! I totally miss it with ZSN as that PVC without mem-wire wont stay behind my ears and needs "re-shaping" with heat-gun to hold shape I want.

Is it only me or what? Received the ZSN and it sounds trash compared to my ZS5v1. Everything else is amazing though from the looks to the fit and comfort.
The difference is like going from 320kbps to 128kbps. EXACLTY like this.
And yeah my ES4 and ED16 sounds better too.
Should I get a replacement?

Just to be sure - have You tried different 2-pin cable (that is in-phase for sure)? Maybe Your ZSN in out-of-phase wired internally?
I do hope You didn`t get dud-BA unit as resoldering 2-pin connector (or just flipping around connector in shell) would be quite easy fix.
Anyway, while I still slightly prefer my properly amped ZS5v1 over ZSN, I do not find ZSN "downgrading" sound such way You do.

Good info that I had
Zs7 has same DD than zs10 !

Where did You get that info?
I actually don`t hope it having same DD as ZS10. If it really has same DD, then I will probably skip ZS7. ZS4/ZSN DD are best KZ has put out so far and IMHO can have great potential in hybrid setups.

 

[Makahl]

It didn't get much attention here but KZ has released a single-DD version of ZS4 aka ZS3E.

 

[CoiL]

Maybe I will get ZS3E as I wish another pair of ZS4-type shells but in black, so that I can make modded IEM with red-R and black-L channels ;P

 

[Slater]

Flipping the cable means turning the connectors 180 degrees so the pins are reversed into the connector/IEM. This 'flips' the positive and negative pins to correct the phase without having to open up the IEM and resolder the connections.


Just ordered a pair of Cyan ZSN and the C-paragraph BT cable to go with them. Now the wait...

Note it’s only 1 side though (right OR left it doesn’t matter). If you flip both sides (right AND left), you’ll put the whole thing back out of phase again lol

Also, the ZSN would be easy to fix internally. On ONE ZSN (left OR right), just remove the screws on the back, open it up, remove the 2 screws holding down the 2-pin jack, flip it 180 degrees, and put everything back together again.

 

[CoiL]

@Slater am I missing something or... ? Shouldn`t both sides be checked? I thought IEM can be out of phase from both sides not only one as connection point to series/parallel of drivers in one side doesn`t affect other side and make it "flip" around (physically impossible).

 

[Slater]

@Slater am I missing something or... ? Shouldn`t both sides be checked? I thought IEM can be out of phase from both sides not only one as connection point to series/parallel of drivers in one side doesn`t affect other side and make it "flip" around (physically impossible).

Well, yes you are right. In multi driver IEMs, there could be many drivers wired out of phase. Flipping a cable or jack 180 degrees isn’t going to help with that.

That’s the danger with these multi driver IEMs. People are enamored with “more is better” IEMs, but it’s entirely possible to receive a 10 driver IEM with 1 driver wired out of phase in the left and 3 wired out of phase in the right. Every driver you add (over a single driver) is 1 more driver that can be screwed up.

The average person may not even be able to detect such a small miswiring, much less possess the skill and tools to fix it.

 

[CoiL]

Well, yes you are right. In multi driver IEMs, there could be many drivers wired out of phase. Flipping a cable or jack 180 degrees isn’t going to help with that.

That’s the danger with these multi driver IEMs. People are enamored with “more is better” IEMs, but it’s entirely possible to receive a 10 driver IEM with 1 driver wired out of phase in the left and 3 wired out of phase in the right. Every driver you add (over a single driver) is 1 more driver that can be screwed up.

The average person may not even be able to detect such a small miswiring, much less possess the skill and tools to fix it.

Yes, that too but... I didn`t mean that.

Note it’s only 1 side though (right OR left it doesn’t matter). If you flip both sides (right AND left), you’ll put the whole thing back out of phase again lol

That one doesn`t make sense to me as only one side can be out of phase OR both sides can be out of phase.
In case of both sides being phased-out-wiring - flipping both cables 180' will fix it.
In case of only one side phased-out wiring - flipping both cables will make it still out of phase.
Am I losing my mind? I`m under pills atm due to toothache (I HATE IT!).

 

[Moys]

Thanks for the quick replies!

I’d go with a TinAudio T2, since you listen to classical. The regular T2, not the Pro.

It’s a perfect all-rounder. It’s a lot of IEM for the money. Right in your budget range, metal shell, mmcx cables, can be worn up or down, can be driven by pretty much any source.

KZs are going to be too v shaped IMO.

I actually was interested into that iem before setting up on Kz, but it was a little too expensive at the time. It does indeed fit my criteria pretty well, though I like the Kz design more. Doing great with classical is pretty much a bonus, as I said I would rather use my various headphones to listen to that, and every other point I mentionned would take priority over it.
Considering that, and the fact that i can only purchase the t2 pro on the site I'm using to purchase audio, how would the t2 pro compare to the as10? You said that the later could be too v-shaped, but I'm actually affraid of the t2 being too airy and maybe boring ( I don't want to find another k702 that I'm already using ). The as10 looks to me like a clear and detailed iem that keeps a musical and warm sound, which is what I might be looking for.
I'm wondering though if both are different ( and complementary ) enough to consider getting both in the future.

 

[assassin10000]

Note it’s only 1 side though (right OR left it doesn’t matter). If you flip both sides (right AND left), you’ll put the whole thing back out of phase again lol

Also, the ZSN would be easy to fix internally. On ONE ZSN (left OR right), just remove the screws on the back, open it up, remove the 2 screws holding down the 2-pin jack, flip it 180 degrees, and put everything back together again.

Not quite. If only one side is out of phase with the other, flipping only one will match the 'stereo' phase of left and right channels. It still may not put the IEM's in phase with your source if you flip the wrong side.

Of course if both sides are out of phase with the source to start with, flipping only one side will only get you halfway there.

That one doesn`t make sense to me as only one side can be out of phase OR both sides can be out of phase.
In case of both sides being phased-out-wiring - flipping both cables 180' will fix it.
In case of only one side phased-out wiring - flipping both cables will make it still out of phase.
Am I losing my mind? I`m under pills atm due to toothache (I HATE IT!).

Not loosing your mind.

 

[CoiL]

That`s what I thought. I`m still sober! ;D

Edit:

OMG! It`s my 5000th post in head-fi! O_o I`m addicted to head-fi. Need more pills

 

[Slater]

If only one side is out of phase with the other, flipping only one will match the 'stereo' phase of left and right channels.

Correct. That’s what I was talking about.