[Slater]

Do I need to coat the bare aluminum or I can just leave it as is?

Short answer:
You can leave it as is. It will be fine.

Long answer:
Technically, aluminum oxidizes and does not rust. If you left the IEMs outside in the weather elements for 6-24 months (or exposed it to a salt spray), bare aluminum would oxidize with a whitish surface finish (aluminum oxide). Technically, the oxide layer that forms on aluminum is actually protective! But regardless, with it being an IEM, kept indoors, etc there is no problem at all just leaving it as-is and a noticeable oxide layer will likely never even form simply due to the oils from your skin from handling the IEM. Maybe if you wore it surfing in the ocean every day I would protect the bare aluminum with clear acrylic nail polish top coat. But if you surfed in the ocean every day, your ZS6 would be damaged long before the finish oxidized!

 

[Mdclol]

I caved and got the KZ ZS7s on Amazon shipped same-day @ $50. For the price, these are an unbeatable set of IEMs and a sure recommendation to loved ones and acquaintances.

Sounding similar to my FLC8S (maybe 90% as good) with the added bonus of looking cooler and pricier despite costing 1/6th as much. The blue looks so much better in person than the online pictures would suggest. My wife was certain these were more than $200USD. Heck, even the cable looks rather premium with it's braiding and smoothly-textured, oh-so-satisfying-to-touch Y-splitter.

Pros
Relatively inexpensive
No driver flex
Negligible to no sibilance, while retaining sparkle and air
Bass is tight and punchy, going down to 30hz w/ authority (Wub wub, anyone?)
Mids are just right for me, forward and clear (KZ calls the mids 'plump' in their ads)
Tonality is good, esp. with stringed instruments
Aesthetically pleasing IEM design+color

Cons
Can't fall asleep with these `
Uncomfortable due to size and sharp edges

The most mind-blowing aspect about these to me is the fact that they make me question all the marketing mumbo-jumbo even Chi-Fi companies are spouting. I love the FLC8S. Not just for the filters, but because apparently there was a lot of thought put into it from a passionate person. I recall something about the high's BA driver being wired in reverse polarity, and thus out of phase, to better compliment the sound being channeled in by the DD. Well, in terms of sound enjoyment, these $50USD KZ ZS7's come pretty darn close.

The folks at Kwowledge Zenith surely intrigue me. They're pooping stuff out left and right, only.. it's not poop, it's wonderful, cheap, aural pleasure!

 

[Luxed]

The zs7 sure looks interesting, but it's been out for a while now and it's still not available on the official store?
I'm interested in a lot of ChiFi IEMs, but the zs7 is on the top of my list. I just find it weird that we don't see kz sell it yet. Anyone knows why they would do that?

 

[DynamicEars]

Anyone who owns zs7 together with BqEYZ? Like to hear some comments between them since I found my BQEYZ kb100 is great in tuning and soundstage and i found it as better than mostly KZs (up to ZSN) since i stopped buying KZ until ZSN.

 

[BoZ29]

My KZ zs7 is in the plane now heading for Europe. Probably a week or so before it will arrive here. As I see the posts of first experience with zs7 coming, I think I made the right choice to order them. Are the outer scales with vent holes interchangeable with zs6?

 

[SybilLance]

...
The folks at Knowledge Zenith surely intrigue me. They're pooping stuff out left and right, only.. it's not poop, it's wonderful, cheap, aural pleasure!

Right on the money, even if it's just $10 or so (for what I paid, below).

Musing out loud...

If I have more money (so much more—money to burn) than good sense I might buy something like this:

If my good sense were a tad better but still have that money to burn, I'd probably go buy this:

But I don't have money (or maybe I'm such a tightwad despite the good sense I like to think I have) so I ended up with this:

And what wonderful, cheap, aural pleasure it is!

As we would shout during one of the most fun and colorful of our local festivals... Hala Bira!

 

[LaughMoreDaily]

Lol. Headfi is dead. People would rather listen to their new earphones than talk about them.

 

[CoiL]

Dammit... that graph actually looks pretty OK. But I promised I won`t buy any more KZ`s and get Moondrop Kanas Pro -.-

Wiljen, can You make graph about ZS5v1 vs. IT01 vs. ZS7 ?

 

[Wiljen]

Dammit... that graph actually looks pretty OK. But I promised I won`t buy any more KZ`s and get Moondrop Kanas Pro -.-

Wiljen, can You make graph about ZS5v1 vs. IT01 vs. ZS7 ?

The Zs7 is a good one. I'll have to get the IT01 back from my daughter when she comes in from school, then I can. The other two I have but my IT01 went walk about.

 

[Wiljen]

So from the graph it seems:

1. ZS7 and ZS5v1 sound near identical >1.8kHz
2. ZS7 appears to be more v shaped than the ZS6

Would you say that's accurate?

Let me listen a bit more and I'll write some notes tonight. Don't want to get ahead of myself.

 

[CoiL]

The Zs7 is a good one. I'll have to get the IT01 back from my daughter when she comes in from school, then I can. The other two I have but my IT01 went walk about.

Thanks! Waiting for it.

 

[AncientSw0rd]

I caved and got the KZ ZS7s on Amazon shipped same-day @ $50. For the price, these are an unbeatable set of IEMs and a sure recommendation to loved ones and acquaintances.

Sounding similar to my FLC8S (maybe 90% as good) with the added bonus of looking cooler and pricier despite costing 1/6th as much. The blue looks so much better in person than the online pictures would suggest. My wife was certain these were more than $200USD. Heck, even the cable looks rather premium with it's braiding and smoothly-textured, oh-so-satisfying-to-touch Y-splitter.

Pros
Relatively inexpensive
No driver flex
Negligible to no sibilance, while retaining sparkle and air
Bass is tight and punchy, going down to 30hz w/ authority (Wub wub, anyone?)
Mids are just right for me, forward and clear (KZ calls the mids 'plump' in their ads)
Tonality is good, esp. with stringed instruments
Aesthetically pleasing IEM design+color

Cons
Can't fall asleep with these `
Uncomfortable due to size and sharp edges

The most mind-blowing aspect about these to me is the fact that they make me question all the marketing mumbo-jumbo even Chi-Fi companies are spouting. I love the FLC8S. Not just for the filters, but because apparently there was a lot of thought put into it from a passionate person. I recall something about the high's BA driver being wired in reverse polarity, and thus out of phase, to better compliment the sound being channeled in by the DD. Well, in terms of sound enjoyment, these $50USD KZ ZS7's come pretty darn close.

The folks at Kwowledge Zenith surely intrigue me. They're pooping stuff out left and right, only.. it's not poop, it's wonderful, cheap, aural pleasure!

I have to agree. These sound very good.

I would not have been upset if I paid twice as much for them, although I think at $50 they are a bargain. I probably wouldn't have tried them if they weren't so inexpensive.

Wouldn't hesitate to recommend these to friends or family either. Well worth the cost IMO, if they have ears big enough to fit the shells. I have no problems with them, but I never had issues with my CA Nova shells either when I had them.

 

[Podster]

I caved and got the KZ ZS7s on Amazon shipped same-day @ $50. For the price, these are an unbeatable set of IEMs and a sure recommendation to loved ones and acquaintances.

Sounding similar to my FLC8S (maybe 90% as good) with the added bonus of looking cooler and pricier despite costing 1/6th as much. The blue looks so much better in person than the online pictures would suggest. My wife was certain these were more than $200USD. Heck, even the cable looks rather premium with it's braiding and smoothly-textured, oh-so-satisfying-to-touch Y-splitter.

Pros
Relatively inexpensive
No driver flex
Negligible to no sibilance, while retaining sparkle and air
Bass is tight and punchy, going down to 30hz w/ authority (Wub wub, anyone?)
Mids are just right for me, forward and clear (KZ calls the mids 'plump' in their ads)
Tonality is good, esp. with stringed instruments
Aesthetically pleasing IEM design+color

Cons
Can't fall asleep with these `
Uncomfortable due to size and sharp edges

The most mind-blowing aspect about these to me is the fact that they make me question all the marketing mumbo-jumbo even Chi-Fi companies are spouting. I love the FLC8S. Not just for the filters, but because apparently there was a lot of thought put into it from a passionate person. I recall something about the high's BA driver being wired in reverse polarity, and thus out of phase, to better compliment the sound being channeled in by the DD. Well, in terms of sound enjoyment, these $50USD KZ ZS7's come pretty darn close.

The folks at Kwowledge Zenith surely intrigue me. They're pooping stuff out left and right, only.. it's not poop, it's wonderful, cheap, aural pleasure!

Man, I was just thinking about getting the ZS7's only because I don't have a Blue ZS6 but now you are saying the ZS7 is 90% of my FLC8S Well for 7 times less I guess I'll check that statement out but find it extremely hard to believe especially when you have 36 options to get it almost pinpoint to ones personal taste!

 

[DynamicEars]

Dammit... that graph actually looks pretty OK. But I promised I won`t buy any more KZ`s and get Moondrop Kanas Pro -.-

100% same situation here

 

[Wiljen]

I caved and got the KZ ZS7s on Amazon shipped same-day @ $50. For the price, these are an unbeatable set of IEMs and a sure recommendation to loved ones and acquaintances.

Sounding similar to my FLC8S (maybe 90% as good) with the added bonus of looking cooler and pricier despite costing 1/6th as much. The blue looks so much better in person than the online pictures would suggest. My wife was certain these were more than $200USD. Heck, even the cable looks rather premium with it's braiding and smoothly-textured, oh-so-satisfying-to-touch Y-splitter.

Pros
Relatively inexpensive
No driver flex
Negligible to no sibilance, while retaining sparkle and air
Bass is tight and punchy, going down to 30hz w/ authority (Wub wub, anyone?)
Mids are just right for me, forward and clear (KZ calls the mids 'plump' in their ads)
Tonality is good, esp. with stringed instruments
Aesthetically pleasing IEM design+color

Cons
Can't fall asleep with these `
Uncomfortable due to size and sharp edges

The most mind-blowing aspect about these to me is the fact that they make me question all the marketing mumbo-jumbo even Chi-Fi companies are spouting. I love the FLC8S. Not just for the filters, but because apparently there was a lot of thought put into it from a passionate person. I recall something about the high's BA driver being wired in reverse polarity, and thus out of phase, to better compliment the sound being channeled in by the DD. Well, in terms of sound enjoyment, these $50USD KZ ZS7's come pretty darn close.

The folks at Kwowledge Zenith surely intrigue me. They're pooping stuff out left and right, only.. it's not poop, it's wonderful, cheap, aural pleasure!

I tend to agree with most of your evaluation but the "No driver flex" is not true for my set. If I don't open my mouth to equalize pressure when inserting both sides have very audible driver flex. That part I have to call out as it may be true for some but certainly not universally.