[ShakyJake]

My ZSX review is now up on Head-Fi.
I also just posted my TRN V90 review to my blog.

Thanks for the review. I very much appreciate the comparison (including the graphs!) with TRN V90 and Blon BL-03. All three are current favorites around here with slightly different strengths.

Some have claimed that the V90 is more V-shaped than the ZSX, but your graph does not really show that.

Spoiler: V90 vs ZSX

 

[darmanastartes]

Thanks for the review. I very much appreciate the comparison (including the graphs!) with TRN V90 and Blon BL-03. All three are current favorites around here with slightly different strengths.

Some have claimed that the V90 is more V-shaped than the ZSX, but your graph does not really show that.

Spoiler: V90 vs ZSX

I would say it is but not by a ton.

 

[KPzypher]

I'll preface this post by saying "YMMV (greatly)" and "It's just my opinion."

After dabbling in so called HI-fi/summit-fi portable gear for a while, just picked up a second pair of KZs (ZSX) for the heck of it and it sounds................. "really good."

For me, the difference between a well made entry level IEM and a $2K set isn't night and day (outside of build quality/packaging). Yes, a TOTL IEM will likely sound better, but unless you A/B between the two every few seconds, in which no one practically listens to music that way, you're not really missing much. Or at least, it's not going to give you a out of this world experience.

Same goes for DAPs. The difference between your Smartphone and a $3K DAP isn't night and day. Of course you'll need a proper DAP to effectively run fullsize cans, but for IEMs, most are sensitive enough to be ran with plenty of headroom from your smartphone or a dongle. There are plenty of DAPs that sounds good and most are capable beyond human hearing.

I have several friends and a family member that are sound engineers, and most of them use whatever cheap sets of IEMs/Ipods they can get their hands on for listening pleasures outside of work. One said "Albums are created with mass consumption in mind, not audiophiles. Dude you're not missing much." But in this hobby, lot of people get so wrapped up in subtle nuances, that they likely won't even be able to discern in a true blind test.

So in my opinion, no need to be compelled to stretch your budget to get that next tier audio gear, especially if you're accruing debt in the process. Now if you have money to burn, and your hobby is to try every gear out there, please keep doing so and report back to us with your impressions/thoughts. Bottom line, you should enjoy music whether you're steaming music from spotify from your phone on a $50 KZ or listening to a DSD file on a TOTL DAP and IEMs.

At the end of the day, no amount of money will change your sound preference. But I understand the fundamental human need to justify their spending, hence some get aggressive in defending their gear or brand(s).

Enjoy your music.

 

[Tonymac136]

Absolutely. The IEM I spend the very most time listening to is one of the very cheapest I own. Timbre and tuning is more important with audio gear than detail and technical excellence in the real world.

I don't want to be bombarded with detail every time I listen. Sometimes I just want to hear good music sounding good. I don't want to concern myself with plugging in one of my amps or DACs - straight into the smartphone and load up Tidal. With only one exception all of my IEMs were sub-£100. Yet I can't recall the last time I listened using my more expensive cans or my month's wages expensive (though nearly 20 year old) hifi.

 

[AtrafCreez]

I say it because people are spending money that they had to earn via work. I dislike the idea of someone being out $10, $50, $100+ dollars on something that genuinely is not improving their experience when there are other avenues that wouldn't be essentially burning their cash.

Yes, if someone just has money coming out of their ears, then have fun spending it, but personally I would much rather help guide someone to more useful spending. I fear these forums often leave people blowing cash left and right on things that they shouldn't be in order to achieve some effect that said purchases are legitimately incapable of producing. It's not just Emperor's New Clothes, it's people actually spending money to see the emperor in his new clothes.

May I copy that in solid lead letters and frame it in a very large frame on the wall?

 

[AtrafCreez]

May I copy that in solid lead letters and frame it in a very large frame on the wall?

 

[Detectit]

So after some miles on the KZ ZSX. I find them still great... Kbear balanced cables on it and on the MI9 real ChiFI setup.

With pop music, easy listening and hiphop the ZSX really shines.

IMO they are not great IEM's for electronic dance music. It sounds sometimes a bit too artificial/electronic.... The bass is so much on the foreground and with the clear highs some complex parts it gets a bit messy. Hard to explain...

Example: These are the times Martin Garrix

Curious what other members think about that.

 

[Slater]

I'll preface this post by saying "YMMV (greatly)" and "It's just my opinion."

After dabbling in so called HI-fi/summit-fi portable gear for a while, just picked up a second pair of KZs (ZSX) for the heck of it and it sounds................. "really good."

For me, the difference between a well made entry level IEM and a $2K set isn't night and day (outside of build quality/packaging). Yes, a TOTL IEM will likely sound better, but unless you A/B between the two every few seconds, in which no one practically listens to music that way, you're not really missing much. Or at least, it's not going to give you a out of this world experience.

Same goes for DAPs. The difference between your Smartphone and a $3K DAP isn't night and day. Of course you'll need a proper DAP to effectively run fullsize cans, but for IEMs, most are sensitive enough to be ran with plenty of headroom from your smartphone or a dongle. There are plenty of DAPs that sounds good and most are capable beyond human hearing.

I have several friends and a family member that are sound engineers, and most of them use whatever cheap sets of IEMs/Ipods they can get their hands on for listening pleasures outside of work. One said "Albums are created with mass consumption in mind, not audiophiles. Dude you're not missing much." But in this hobby, lot of people get so wrapped up in subtle nuances, that they likely won't even be able to discern in a true blind test.

So in my opinion, no need to be compelled to stretch your budget to get that next tier audio gear, especially if you're accruing debt in the process. Now if you have money to burn, and your hobby is to try every gear out there, please keep doing so and report back to us with your impressions/thoughts. Bottom line, you should enjoy music whether you're steaming music from spotify from your phone on a $50 KZ or listening to a DSD file on a TOTL DAP and IEMs.

At the end of the day, no amount of money will change your sound preference. But I understand the fundamental human need to justify their spending, hence some get aggressive in defending their gear or brand(s).

Enjoy your music.

Well said; so very true.

I mean, right now I’m relaxing and enjoying some music on $20 TW Bluetooth earphones as I type this, as I sit in a room surrounded by thousands of $$ worth of audio gear lol

I often think too many people are like this guy:



It’s about the music, folks!

Don’t get so OCD obsessed with the minute technical details (FR graphs, 6N vs 7N cables, gold vs rhodium plating, magical snake oil stickers, unicorn crystals, and quantum dimension space balls) that you lose sight of why you’re supposed to be using this gear in the 1st place.

I get a smile on my face every time I pull out and fire up my $3 KZ EDR1. The reason? It’s the way they make me feel, and how they connect me with my favorite music

 

[ShakyJake]

I'll preface this post by saying "YMMV (greatly)" and "It's just my opinion."

After dabbling in so called HI-fi/summit-fi portable gear for a while, just picked up a second pair of KZs (ZSX) for the heck of it and it sounds................. "really good."

For me, the difference between a well made entry level IEM and a $2K set isn't night and day (outside of build quality/packaging). Yes, a TOTL IEM will likely sound better, but unless you A/B between the two every few seconds, in which no one practically listens to music that way, you're not really missing much. Or at least, it's not going to give you a out of this world experience.

Same goes for DAPs. The difference between your Smartphone and a $3K DAP isn't night and day. Of course you'll need a proper DAP to effectively run fullsize cans, but for IEMs, most are sensitive enough to be ran with plenty of headroom from your smartphone or a dongle. There are plenty of DAPs that sounds good and most are capable beyond human hearing.

I have several friends and a family member that are sound engineers, and most of them use whatever cheap sets of IEMs/Ipods they can get their hands on for listening pleasures outside of work. One said "Albums are created with mass consumption in mind, not audiophiles. Dude you're not missing much." But in this hobby, lot of people get so wrapped up in subtle nuances, that they likely won't even be able to discern in a true blind test.

So in my opinion, no need to be compelled to stretch your budget to get that next tier audio gear, especially if you're accruing debt in the process. Now if you have money to burn, and your hobby is to try every gear out there, please keep doing so and report back to us with your impressions/thoughts. Bottom line, you should enjoy music whether you're steaming music from spotify from your phone on a $50 KZ or listening to a DSD file on a TOTL DAP and IEMs.

At the end of the day, no amount of money will change your sound preference. But I understand the fundamental human need to justify their spending, hence some get aggressive in defending their gear or brand(s).

Enjoy your music.

Well said; so very true.

....]

It’s about the music, folks!

Don’t get so OCD obsessed with the minute technical details (FR graphs, 6N vs 7N cables, gold vs rhodium plating, magical snake oil stickers, unicorn crystals, and quantum dimension space balls) that you lose sight of why you’re supposed to be using this gear in the 1st place.

I get a smile on my face every time I pull out and fire up my $3 KZ EDR1. The reason? It’s the way they make me feel, and how they connect me with my favorite music

It's whatever puts a smile on your face and makes you tap your toes along to (In my case "Jungleland" by Bruce Springsteen as I write this). The gear just fades in the background.

 

[Coldheart29]

It's whatever puts a smile on your face and makes you tap your toes along to (In my case "Jungleland" by Bruce Springsteen as I write this). The gear just fades in the background.

Well, for some people it's stuff that costs 3k+ that puts a smile on their faces, to each his own.

Also, good for us. They buy it when it's expensive, so that new technology can trickle down to less expensive stuff for people more strapped for cash .

 

[DynamicEars]

Thanks for the review. I very much appreciate the comparison (including the graphs!) with TRN V90 and Blon BL-03. All three are current favorites around here with slightly different strengths.

Some have claimed that the V90 is more V-shaped than the ZSX, but your graph does not really show that.

Spoiler: V90 vs ZSX

I would say it is but not by a ton.

The V90 indeed slightly more v shape than ZSX but not by much. ZSX have forwarded mids and more musical, more balanced overall while V90 indeed sounds smoother, with more textured bass, slightly clearer overall, with more high emphasized.
To date, I still cant mention which one are better, they are really on par / tie just with different pros and cons.

@darmanastartes Nice review brother, I heard mostly similar to your review even with comparison with BLON BL-03 and V90, except on sound separation and micro details part, I heard ZSX has better one, by close margin. Some details in tracks more easily heard in ZSX but presentation in V90 is smoother. Good job and thanks for the graphs.

Btw i modded my ZSX a little bit, with very soft density foam, as a damper, very thin one. Made the ZSX less edgy now without losing details.

 

[courierdriver]

+1

Well said; so very true.

I mean, right now I’m relaxing and enjoying some music on $20 TW Bluetooth earphones as I type this, as I sit in a room surrounded by thousands of $$ worth of audio gear lol

I often think too many people are like this guy:



It’s about the music, folks!

Don’t get so OCD obsessed with the minute technical details (FR graphs, 6N vs 7N cables, gold vs rhodium plating, magical snake oil stickers, unicorn crystals, and quantum dimension space balls) that you lose sight of why you’re supposed to be using this gear in the 1st place.

I get a smile on my face every time I pull out and fire up my $3 KZ EDR1. The reason? It’s the way they make me feel, and how they connect me with my favorite music

+1! You don't have to spend massive amounts of $ to enjoy your music. No chance in hell, I'd EVER drop a grand or more on a single set of iems. Not when I can own a variety of less expensive sets that give the sound I want from the genres I like, at 10% or less of the cost.

 

[courierdriver]

It's whatever puts a smile on your face and makes you tap your toes along to (In my case "Jungleland" by Bruce Springsteen as I write this). The gear just fades in the background.

Got my ZS10 PRO pumping up some Reggae/dance club. Shaggy, Paula Abdul, Janet Jackson, SOS Band, Gap Band, Atlantic Starr, Earth Wind & Fire. Having fun and just getting into the tunes.

 

[Seazer]

The V90 indeed slightly more v shape than ZSX but not by much. ZSX have forwarded mids and more musical, more balanced overall while V90 indeed sounds smoother, with more textured bass, slightly clearer overall, with more high emphasized.
To date, I still cant mention which one are better, they are really on par / tie just with different pros and cons.

@darmanastartes Nice review brother, I heard mostly similar to your review even with comparison with BLON BL-03 and V90, except on sound separation and micro details part, I heard ZSX has better one, by close margin. Some details in tracks more easily heard in ZSX but presentation in V90 is smoother. Good job and thanks for the graphs.

Btw i modded my ZSX a little bit, with very soft density foam, as a damper, very thin one. Made the ZSX less edgy now without losing details.

I find using the Sony MH755 tips (basically Sony hybrid) helps do something similar. It is very narrow bore, which usually muffles most iems a bit, but it synergizes very well with the ZSX. Any amount of edge that was present goes away with no loss in detail. I like them more than the spinfits on them

 

[lushblush]

are zs10 pros a solid upgrade from a regular zsn? i got the zsn's for only $17 and not only do i dig the looks, they are easily the best fitting iems i've ever tried on so the zs10 pros having the same exact shell has me really interested...

from what i'm understanding, the zsn's are a bit more neutral but i am looking for something a bit more fun without having too much treble. i listen to pretty much every music but mainly psychedelic pop/rock (tame impala, temples, mild high club, etc). should i buy the zs10 pros for $50?