[Danjen22]

What about scraping a glass plate/bowl with a spoon?

I know a lot of people who absolutely cannot stand that sound XD

Lol, yeah that too. And when my daughter decides to come in trying to play a recorder, that's the worst!

 

[DynamicEars]

CCA is KZ's sister company and the CCA C12 is basically the same iem as the ZSX but with a different backplate. Drivers used are identical, I'm not sure about the crossovers used but even the sound tubes are the same.

Maybe the ZSX has foam dampers in the BAs and the CCA doesn't.

The entire shell are different, not only the backplate. I know that they are sister company, the drivers could be identical but maybe have slightly different tuning. Its like ZS10 Pro and the C10, same configuration with different tuning.

And ZSX dont have dampers on BA nor inside the nozzle (i opened almost my entire collections lol)

 

[seanwee]

The entire shell are different, not only the backplate. I know that they are sister company, the drivers could be identical but maybe have slightly different tuning. Its like ZS10 Pro and the C10, same configuration with different tuning.

And ZSX dont have dampers on BA nor inside the nozzle (i opened almost my entire collections lol)

I want to play around with driver swapping as well.

How did you open up the shells btw? Do you have any pics?

 

[seanwee]

PSA TO ALL ZSX OWNERS: VENT YOUR IEMs!!!

I was missing the sound of open back headphones. I freaking love the zsx terminators but the one thing I hated the congested sound. and the bass feels like it’s “trapped” sometimes like it’s too powerful for the housing. So I fixed it.

I was reading about vented iems for better bass.
so I decided I have nothing to lose. And neither do you.

I put them in a vice grip and took my smallest drill bit (1/16”) and carefully made a tiny hole on the “wing” of the housing on the back side

you can cover it up with tape for the original sound

I can’t believe how much more relaxed the sound is and the bass is a bit less impact but feels so much more real and spacious now.

it’s well worth the 5 minute it took me to do the mod and I’m freaking out about how GOOD it sounds.

if you go slow until the drill breaks thru you won’t break anything on the inside.
VENTED ZSX FTW!!!!

Yes the have better depth, impact Nd accuracy at very low frequencies than most iem I heard prior to this zsx.
The difference between stock and ported bass is like being in a club where you can feel the subwoofer. Ported bass is like being in the middle center of an arena show. It’s bigger and wider but hits you less.
I’ll be honest I haven’t touched as10 since I last posted here.
Zsx with the silver plated cable to bring a bit of sparkle to the treble. And the porting to widen the stage is the icing on the cake.

oh btw I would have got more likes if I had never brought up the mod and just said I gave my gf zs10 pro and she loves them. I never tried them. I’m sure they’re good. She doesn’t need me trying to optimize and criticize her IEMs.

I put 2 months of daily listening in my zsx before I decide to attempt porting.
I don’t know if burn in exists but if it does these babies are burnt in!

If I decide to go for the bass porting mod but dont like the sound, is it reversible by covering them back up?

 

[RikudouGoku]

If I decide to go for the bass porting mod but dont like the sound, is it reversible by covering them back up?

You can probably just cover them with some tape.

 

[seanwee]

You can probably just cover them with some tape.

Yes I know but some confirmation from an owner is better than just guessing.

 

[elzafir]

Hey guys, I supposed this is the best place to ask, since you guys have a lot of experience with KZ. I need a Bluetooth IEM for playing PUBG Mobile. I'm running Android 10, so should have both AptX, AptX-HD and AAC support. My priorities are as follows:

Must have:

1. No Delay in Games & Movies
2. Voice chat should be clear on the other side (not picking up breathing noise, etc)
3. Long Battery Life, at least 3 hours, preferably 4+ hours of TALK or more per charge (my gaming sessions last 3-4 hours).
4. Multi-drivers IEM (hybrid)

Nice to have:

1. IEM form factor
2. True Wireless (to minimize rustling and thumping noise due to the moving mic)
3. Musicality (V-shaped FR is fine)
4. Touch control
5. KZ brand (because they have official 1 year warranty in my country)

What I don't need:

1. Fancy noise cancelling
2. App connected
3. AirPod shape (I hate that "tail")
4. Digital sound enhancements (Dolby, THX, DSEE HX™, etc)
5. Circumaural and supraaural headphones, since I already have an HD650 for music at home and I'm not one to be wearing headphones when I'm out and about.

I've narrowed down my search to these three:

• KZ S2 (Bluetooth 5.0 & AAC TWS)
• KZ ZSN Pro + Bluetooth cable (BT 4.0 + AptX)
• KZ ZSN Pro + Bluetooth cable (BT 5.0 + AptX-HD)

I know that BT 5.0 and AptX-HD is supposed to be the best BT version & codec combination between these three, but the AirPods Pro and Sony WF-1000XM3 only have SBC & AAC, and they are considered the best on the market (at least, a lot of people seem to use them).

Basically, my question is, would I get away with BT 5.0 & AAC on Android 10 for gaming, or should I go with the safer option of BT 5.0 & AptX-HD, or would the BT 4.0 & AptX would suffice for my needs?

Thanks!

 

[DynamicEars]

I want to play around with driver swapping as well.

How did you open up the shells btw? Do you have any pics?

Wow i never go that far though with driver swapping, just a light mods such as put on dampers (different materials depend on what range to tame, grill mods (to clear up with usual mesh dampers - the idea is the same with your quote about vented bass ZSX, too much air covered, not enough air way at same time that bloated the entire sound signature) etc.
Normally i just open the grill, but if needed you can open with heat gun to melt and loosen up the glue residue and uplift with small, thin screwdriver.

If I decide to go for the bass porting mod but dont like the sound, is it reversible by covering them back up?

You can probably just cover them with some tape.

Yes its reversible for the sound quality, just cover them with solid tape, or heat glue gun, but definitely not reversible with the looks. You can also cover them with resin or putty of course. Just make sure to think twice before do this. I never try this mod but I think they can be good.

Hey guys, I supposed this is the best place to ask, since you guys have a lot of experience with KZ. I need a Bluetooth IEM for playing PUBG Mobile. I'm running Android 10, so should have both AptX, AptX-HD and AAC support. My priorities are as follows:

Must have:

1. No Delay in Games & Movies
2. Voice chat should be clear on the other side (not picking up breathing noise, etc)
3. Long Battery Life, at least 3 hours, preferably 4+ hours of TALK or more per charge (my gaming sessions last 3-4 hours).
4. Multi-drivers IEM (hybrid)

Nice to have:

1. IEM form factor
2. True Wireless (to minimize rustling and thumping noise due to the moving mic)
3. Musicality (V-shaped FR is fine)
4. Touch control
5. KZ brand (because they have official 1 year warranty in my country)

What I don't need:

1. Fancy noise cancelling
2. App connected
3. AirPod shape (I hate that "tail")
4. Digital sound enhancements (Dolby, THX, DSEE HX™, etc)
5. Circumaural and supraaural headphones, since I already have an HD650 for music at home and I'm not one to be wearing headphones when I'm out and about.

I've narrowed down my search to these three:

• KZ S2 (Bluetooth 5.0 & AAC TWS)
• KZ ZSN Pro + Bluetooth cable (BT 4.0 + AptX)
• KZ ZSN Pro + Bluetooth cable (BT 5.0 + AptX-HD)

I know that BT 5.0 and AptX-HD is supposed to be the best BT version & codec combination between these three, but the AirPods Pro and Sony WF-1000XM3 only have SBC & AAC, and they are considered the best on the market (at least, a lot of people seem to use them).

Basically, my question is, would I get away with BT 5.0 & AAC on Android 10 for gaming, or should I go with the safer option of BT 5.0 & AptX-HD, or would the BT 4.0 & AptX would suffice for my needs?

Thanks!

Hi, apparently there are no BT / TWS that have zero lags, especially for gaming up to date. Even the best bluetooth set put there. The nee KZ Z1 is the your best bet since they have gaming mode to reduce lag, like QCY T5, but i believe they are not 0 ms. And the Z1 have great driver 10mm (rare in TWS world due the size) in trade off with infamous 2.5 hours batt life in single charge. For the best experience, cable still preferable. But if wireless is a must, so KZ S2 (need to double check whether they have "gaming mode") with longer batt life than newer Z1, both no APTX. DD in Z1 is bigger 10mm instead of 6mm in S2 or majority of TWS currently.
About BT cables / modules they have worse lags.
Usually above 300ms, some are above 500ms. The gaming mode will reduce lags to around about 100ms ish but definitely not "zero lag".
APTX dont necessarily reduce the lag. They just provide better bit per seconds on transfer, theoretically better sound, if you are using great source and player. But still, cant beat wired ones.

 

[RikudouGoku]

Hey guys, I supposed this is the best place to ask, since you guys have a lot of experience with KZ. I need a Bluetooth IEM for playing PUBG Mobile. I'm running Android 10, so should have both AptX, AptX-HD and AAC support. My priorities are as follows:

Must have:

1. No Delay in Games & Movies
2. Voice chat should be clear on the other side (not picking up breathing noise, etc)
3. Long Battery Life, at least 3 hours, preferably 4+ hours of TALK or more per charge (my gaming sessions last 3-4 hours).
4. Multi-drivers IEM (hybrid)

Nice to have:

1. IEM form factor
2. True Wireless (to minimize rustling and thumping noise due to the moving mic)
3. Musicality (V-shaped FR is fine)
4. Touch control
5. KZ brand (because they have official 1 year warranty in my country)

What I don't need:

1. Fancy noise cancelling
2. App connected
3. AirPod shape (I hate that "tail")
4. Digital sound enhancements (Dolby, THX, DSEE HX™, etc)
5. Circumaural and supraaural headphones, since I already have an HD650 for music at home and I'm not one to be wearing headphones when I'm out and about.

I've narrowed down my search to these three:

• KZ S2 (Bluetooth 5.0 & AAC TWS)
• KZ ZSN Pro + Bluetooth cable (BT 4.0 + AptX)
• KZ ZSN Pro + Bluetooth cable (BT 5.0 + AptX-HD)

I know that BT 5.0 and AptX-HD is supposed to be the best BT version & codec combination between these three, but the AirPods Pro and Sony WF-1000XM3 only have SBC & AAC, and they are considered the best on the market (at least, a lot of people seem to use them).

Basically, my question is, would I get away with BT 5.0 & AAC on Android 10 for gaming, or should I go with the safer option of BT 5.0 & AptX-HD, or would the BT 4.0 & AptX would suffice for my needs?

Thanks!

If you want as close to 0 latency with bluetooth, you will want it to have AptX-LL (low-latency).

aptX-LL: 32ms latency

aptX-HD: 150ms latency

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AptX#aptX_Low_Latency

 

[seanwee]

For gaming wired is still the way to go.

Even expensive TWS iems still have a slight but noticeable delay which makes it very annoying as you'll hear the action a split second after you click.

 

[elzafir]

Thanks for the replies guys!

Hi, apparently there are no BT / TWS that have zero lags, especially for gaming up to date. Even the best bluetooth set put there. The nee KZ Z1 is the your best bet since they have gaming mode to reduce lag, like QCY T5, but i believe they are not 0 ms. And the Z1 have great driver 10mm (rare in TWS world due the size) in trade off with infamous 2.5 hours batt life in single charge. For the best experience, cable still preferable. But if wireless is a must, so KZ S2 (need to double check whether they have "gaming mode") with longer batt life than newer Z1, both no APTX. DD in Z1 is bigger 10mm instead of 6mm in S2 or majority of TWS currently.
About BT cables / modules they have worse lags.
Usually above 300ms, some are above 500ms. The gaming mode will reduce lags to around about 100ms ish but definitely not "zero lag".
APTX dont necessarily reduce the lag. They just provide better bit per seconds on transfer, theoretically better sound, if you are using great source and player. But still, cant beat wired ones.

Bluetooth 5.0 should provide less lag compared to 4.0 right?
The Z1 seems to have BT 5.0 and AAC, the same with S2, so in theory would it provide the same performance? The Z1 is interesting and I like the design better.

The KZ Bluetooth cables has 300-500ms latency? Wow. I thought the BT 5.0 + aptX-HD cable would be better than that.

The S2 does have a "low latency/performance mode", based on several Head-Fi reviews https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/kz-s2.24302/.
And on the official KZ store in my country it is advertised "with gaming mode" https://www.tokopedia.com/kz-official/knowledge-kz-s2-hybrid-tws-headset-bluetooth-with-gaming-mode

But I'm not sure how low the latency is with the so called "performance mode"

If you want as close to 0 latency with bluetooth, you will want it to have AptX-LL (low-latency).

aptX-LL: 32ms latency
aptX-HD: 150ms latency
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AptX#aptX_Low_Latency

Gosh, 150ms latency? That's borderline unplayable for online gaming. I guess even aptX-HD is a no go for me.
Do you know any affordable AptX-LL IEMs? Apparently the list on aptx.com is not exhaustive. The KZ bluetooth cables aren't there.

For gaming wired is still the way to go.

Even expensive TWS iems still have a slight but noticeable delay which makes it very annoying as you'll hear the action a split second after you click.

Problem is my phone don't have a 3.5mm jack. I used a Baseus 3.5mm & Type-C combo adapter, but it broke on me after a couple months of use due to the weird angle of the connector (the adapter cable got nicked and left me with audio only on one ear). I bought another one but lost it before I got to use it. I spent $15 total for the two Baseuses (Baseii?). It got me thinking to buy a wireless IEM for like $30 and be done with it.

Have you tried any the more expensive TWS IEMs for gaming? Which one?

 

[seanwee]

Thanks for the replies guys!



Bluetooth 5.0 should provide less lag compared to 4.0 right?
The Z1 seems to have BT 5.0 and AAC, the same with S2, so in theory would it provide the same performance? The Z1 is interesting and I like the design better.

The KZ Bluetooth cables has 300-500ms latency? Wow. I thought the BT 5.0 + aptX-HD cable would be better than that.

The S2 does have a "low latency/performance mode", based on several Head-Fi reviews https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/kz-s2.24302/.
And on the official KZ store in my country it is advertised "with gaming mode" https://www.tokopedia.com/kz-official/knowledge-kz-s2-hybrid-tws-headset-bluetooth-with-gaming-mode

But I'm not sure how low the latency is with the so called "performance mode"



Gosh, 150ms latency? That's borderline unplayable for online gaming. I guess even aptX-HD is a no go for me.
Do you know any affordable AptX-LL IEMs? Apparently the list on aptx.com is not exhaustive. The KZ bluetooth cables aren't there.



Problem is my phone don't have a 3.5mm jack. I used a Baseus 3.5mm & Type-C combo adapter, but it broke on me after a couple months of use due to the weird angle of the connector (the adapter cable got nicked and left me with audio only on one ear). I bought another one but lost it before I got to use it. I spent $15 total for the two Baseuses (Baseii?). It got me thinking to buy a wireless IEM for like $30 and be done with it.

Have you tried any the more expensive TWS IEMs for gaming? Which one?

I use a mmcx BT cable on my ibasso IT01 and have a Sony WF-1000XM3. I've also tried the Sennheiser Momentum TWS , hifiman TWS600, and Aviot TE-D01g

The Sony has the least amount of lag followed by the Aviot. Yes they supports bt 5.0 but my laptop only supports by 4.2 so the protocol does not matter.

My old Sony BT speakers (XB-2) also have a very low amount of lag. Seems that the way wireless products are designed is more important than the protocol they use. Sony has been one of the longest supporters of wireless audio after all.

 

[elzafir]

I use a mmcx BT cable on my ibasso IT01 and have a Sony WF-1000XM3. I've also tried the Sennheiser Momentum TWS , hifiman TWS600, and Aviot TE-D01g

The Sony has the least amount of lag followed by the Aviot. Yes they supports bt 5.0 but my laptop only supports by 4.2 so the protocol does not matter.

My old Sony BT speakers (XB-2) also have a very low amount of lag. Seems that the way wireless products are designed is more important than the protocol they use. Sony has been one of the longest supporters of wireless audio after all.

Thank you for the reply. The WF-1000XM3 and Momentum has a noticable lag for gaming/movies as well on BT 4.2?

 

[seanwee]

Thank you for the reply. The WF-1000XM3 and Momentum has a noticable lag for gaming/movies as well on BT 4.2?

Sony has the least amount of lag. It's only noticeable if you're playing really fast paced shooters like apex

 

[caprimulgus]

Do you know any affordable AptX-LL IEMs? Apparently the list on aptx.com is not exhaustive. The KZ bluetooth cables aren't there.

Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless (original one, NOT the MTW 2) supports AptX-LL. If you don’t mind neckband style, then Sennheiser Momentum Free / HD1 Free, and Sennheiser CX 6.00BT also support AptX-LL.

Otherwise, you could try the neckband style FiiO LC BT2 with any 2-pin or mmcx IEM (LC BT2 supports AptX-LL).

All those options are neckband style, except the Sennheiser MTW - if you can find a pair of those for cheap, that might be a good option for you (but beware the battery drain in the case).