Viber
500+ Head-Fier
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+1 for Rock Zircon eartips. the only good thing to come out of those crappy earphones.
Reminiscent of BA10-like bass with good sub-bass depth and the right amount of mid-bass punch.
Original QDC connectors purportedly have a different polarity. Currently, QDC and C-type are synonymous.
I got recently a couple of couples (0.75 and 0.78) from TRN - I can't see any difference whatsoever in connectors and cable fit to different KZ and non-KZ.
Curiously, one of 0.78 cables had pins spread to be diverging rather than parallel, so they could fit 0.78 better
I use 0.78 on all my iem's, even if they need 0.75, never noticed any difference, they fit perfectly fine
+1 for Rock Zircon eartips. the only good thing to come out of those crappy earphones.
How would you compare the BA5 to the ASF (ignoring the differences in fit and age ie ‘newer is always better’)?
I was planning on getting a BA5 during 11.11, but could get the ASF instead.
There has to be something good about the ASF, Kz didnt release a bad iem for years now.
Well, ASF do have a strange frequency response and manufacturer should tune them more balanced. But some things the review say makes me wonder, if they listened to it. The vocals sound clear and open, right from the start even with stock tips. Looks like they just discribing the frequency graph and imagine the sound...
Can you give an example of a song or two that doesn't sound right to you?The male vocals are up-front and honky. My reference for midrange is the Sennheiser HD650 which I use as a baseline for vocal/midrange performance. Compared to the lower-mids on the Sennheiser, ASF sounded very strange indeed, and even some other KZ IEMs at a cheaper price (e.g. ZST X) didn't have such issues. As for the graph bit - I only look at them once the review is done to add some notes in between (e.g. certain IEMs may show peaks which aren't as aggressive in real world). Also, listening to it for a while and then going back to something like, say, the Final E1000 makes the difference in tonal accuracy even more stark and apparent.
Nonetheless, if the ASF signature is enjoyable for some then that's great! However, something this polarizing should definitely warrant a listen and blind-buying may not be the best of ideas. Also, the ZAX and even the old ZSX were far more enjoyable for me from a tuning perspective and I think KZ has dropped the ball massively on this one.
Actually looks like I was mistaken about the origination of the ASF eartips when I wrote...
It looks like these eartips were also offered on the CA16. I'm guessing its probably for similar reasons that they've been offered on the ASF/ASX.
Can anyone comment as to whether or not the CA16 has a glove-like fit? Just curious.
Also, thus far my favorite eartips for the ASF are the eartips included on my Rock Zircon.
Listening to Federico Aubele's "Postales" on the ASF.
The bass has great body and weight but it's still very clean. It has slightly slower decay than typical BA bass. It's definitely not as dry as some BA bass can be. It's actually quite "meaty". Reminiscent of BA10-like bass with good sub-bass depth and the right amount of mid-bass punch. It appears that these BA drivers are aiming to further bridge the gap between BA and DD bass delivery. Consider me impressed.
This is what I am using. Good cable! It compliments the silver/blue ASF, aesthetically. $18 on Amazon and $15 on AliExpress.
https://www.amazon.com/Detachable-Upgrade-Earphone-Replacement-Standard/dp/B07S6SV5LS
Tripowin has tons. I've been using their balanced for ages. Can recommend highly.
Unfortunately, I never picked up the TRN BA5.
Can you give an example of a song or two that doesn't sound right to you?
I listened to this one and it was awesome with the ASF. No sign of congested at all, actually every instruments are very well separated.So this is my entire review playlist: https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/04350ebe-1582-4785-9984-ff050d80d2b7
There are some other tracks but the majority is covered in that playlist. I'll pick an example here: Colbie Caillat's Magic. For comparison I've picked the Cat Ears Mia. It's not a multi-BA IEM but it's a V-shaped single-dynamic setup so the vocals are also recessed like the ASF.
The vocals are muffled as the upper-registers of the vocals aren't extended at all. Also this track in particular showcases the bloated bass. On the Cat Ears, despite its V-shaped signature, the bass stays under control and doesn't overshadow the lower-mids. The bass bloom was very evident during the 35 second mark on the ASF. The soundstage/imaging is also very weird on the ASF. Left/right separation is good but everything in between just sounds too central.
In terms of male vocals, Dashboard Confessional's Vindicated, or if you're into more singer/songwriter genre: Colin Hay's I Just Don't Think I'll Get Over You - displays the nasal/honky sound as I mentioned.
Another issue is with rock songs. My playlist has a lot of rock/metal songs and the ASF just gets too congested too quickly in such genres. Guitar riffs esp are too blunted to be enjoyable. Breaking Benjamin's Diary of Jane is an example.
Just did a live comparison now so I guess it's not the case where I reviewed it and then am relying on my memory.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07RXKF79T/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1Can anyone recommend some foam tips for the cca ca16? Ones that always fit my kz zs10 pros don't fit. Thanks!!
I forget, I think it was like 80 hours of pink noise? It's not on the website anymore
Hey did you try out the DMP-A55 software mod by MrWalkman yet? It ports over the DMP-Z1's sound signature to the NW-A55.So this is my entire review playlist: https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/04350ebe-1582-4785-9984-ff050d80d2b7
There are some other tracks but the majority is covered in that playlist. I'll pick an example here: Colbie Caillat's Magic. For comparison I've picked the Cat Ears Mia. It's not a multi-BA IEM but it's a V-shaped single-dynamic setup so the vocals are also recessed like the ASF.
The vocals are muffled as the upper-registers of the vocals aren't extended at all. Also this track in particular showcases the bloated bass. On the Cat Ears, despite its V-shaped signature, the bass stays under control and doesn't overshadow the lower-mids. The bass bloom was very evident during the 35 second mark on the ASF. The soundstage/imaging is also very weird on the ASF. Left/right separation is good but everything in between just sounds too central.
In terms of male vocals, Dashboard Confessional's Vindicated, or if you're into more singer/songwriter genre: Colin Hay's I Just Don't Think I'll Get Over You - displays the nasal/honky sound as I mentioned.
Another issue is with rock songs. My playlist has a lot of rock/metal songs and the ASF just gets too congested too quickly in such genres. Guitar riffs esp are too blunted to be enjoyable. Breaking Benjamin's Diary of Jane is an example.
Just did a live comparison now so I guess it's not the case where I reviewed it and then am relying on my memory.