[Head-dicted]

I have a question between the A B and C types and in what are the differences between the 0.75 and 0.78 mm
As far example i can plug the TRN ZS1 cable to the KZ ZSN IEM and work perfectly
The same can happen between with KZ EDX cable with BLON03 , BON 03 cable cannot be used for the EDX
TRN cable can't be used on BLON03 even if this seem to be very similar

 

[Sebulr]

I have a question between the A B and C types and in what are the differences between the 0.75 and 0.78 mm
As far example i can plug the TRN ZS1 cable to the KZ ZSN IEM and work perfectly
The same can happen between with KZ EDX cable with BLON03 , BON 03 cable cannot be used for the EDX
TRN cable can't be used on BLON03 even if this seem to be very similar

A is a straight barrel, B is curved, and C is curved and hooded. The Blon fitting is square whilst the KZ type C is curved on the inside so it dosn't fit on a blon, if you shave the blon it will fit. The size difference between 0.75mm and 0.78 mm is tiny and makes no difference, it is probably below the tolerance limits.

A straight cable will fit on a type c headphone or a blon but it won't cover the shroud of the earphone socket.

 

[IEMbiker]

A ver good point!
Does the picture show the inside part?
The outer part of DQ6 nozzle is still much narrow.
In my experience with clarinet barrels, the sound (spectra, overtones) depends unbelievably on the bore and tapering (really just few hundreds of a millimetee for few-cm opening). In my limited experience with IEMs, any abrupt narrowing of the bores feel constraining.
In ASX, at least one BA guide is firing to the rim of the nozzle, which should not be right.
Hopefully, AST is better. I got them, spare TRNs, to play with the nozzles I do have a spare DQ6 as well.
My AST is yet to be shipped though (second ordering attempt...)

yup, that's the inner part of the nozzle, can see that the DQ6 wall is so much thinner.
I swapped DQ6 nozzle with ZSN and hear shouty treble and the bass become lacked of punch so I go back to the original nozzle.
In a study show that nozzle diameter influence on RF (picture) :

 

[ShakeThoseCans]

Initial impressions.... using Chord Mojo w/stock cable(love it!)+tips.

It sounds like ZAX with A) slightly smoothed treble(no more bothersome peaks!), B) HUGE BASS BOOST, C) fantastic, full-bodied vocals.


I can't believe how much bass this has lol... ZAX has about 53:47% treble:bass balance; AST is like 43:57%! Easily the most bass I've heard in an IEM so far. This thing is nuts. Imagine your ideal bass level, then add 25% bass boost ontop.

Metal, jazz, Chili Peppers, Buckethead, Pink Floyd and all elec guitars sound great. This fast, detailed, clear, wide open, non-peaky treble is killing it. Imaging and depth is quite impressive, too, with very nice sense of space, but most of the time the bass overpowers it, so you will notice it more the less bass there is(ambient & orchestral sounds just gorgeous/intoxicatingly smooth & engaging)

I come back after 6 months and you describe the perfect IEM. Now I have to buy the stupid thing.

BTW How does it compare to the FH3?

 

[CT007]

I come back after 6 months and you describe the perfect IEM. Now I have to buy the stupid thing.

BTW How does it compare to the FH3?

I did a day of straight burn-in on the AST, and it still has Ronnie Coleman / T-Rex bass. o_ o But the treble/mids.... just keeps sounding better and better and better(it's not changing from burn-in, either, probably). I am getting pleasing results with simple bass EQ so far, however.

Well, FH3 treble/mids are pretty much worse all around. Too edgy/aggressive/harsh, less detail & note weight & tone, poor extension. The spaciousness and imaging in the mids is still very nice, though. The base is very good, and balanced and realistic/natural with great detail, extension and power. If only AST had FH3's base, or FH3 had AST's trebs....or if you can EQ AST's bass down lol. The fit of AST is better than FH3, too, for my ears. The KZ Gods have spoken loudly & clearly with this one..! I'm not even sure if Oracle treble/mids will sound better, once I get around to testing them on my upgrade DAC & amp soon. Sure wouldn't surprise me, if not... IEMs let me down, a LOT. (But this Ikko OH10 is actually pretty decent)

If you don't wanna try AST, like I always say since I got mine, just get a ZAX . Or, get BOTH! ^ ^ They're cheap! =p

 

[voicemaster]

I did a day of straight burn-in on the AST, and it still has Ronnie Coleman / T-Rex bass. o_ o But the treble/mids.... just keeps sounding better and better and better(it's not changing from burn-in, either, probably). I am getting pleasing results with simple bass EQ so far, however.

Well, FH3 treble/mids are pretty much worse all around. Too edgy/aggressive/harsh, less detail & note weight & tone, poor extension. The spaciousness and imaging in the mids is still very nice, though. The base is very good, and balanced and realistic/natural with great detail, extension and power. If only AST had FH3's base, or FH3 had AST's trebs....or if you can EQ AST's bass down lol. The fit of AST is better than FH3, too, for my ears. The KZ Gods have spoken loudly & clearly with this one..! I'm not even sure if Oracle treble/mids will sound better, once I get around to testing them on my upgrade DAC & amp soon. Sure wouldn't surprise me, if not... IEMs let me down, a LOT. (But this Ikko OH10 is actually pretty decent)

If you don't wanna try AST, like I always say since I got mine, just get a ZAX . Or, get BOTH! ^ ^ They're cheap! =p

The sound is kinda addicting tho. It is more of a "fun" sound. The bass is really more pronounced than the other KZs except maybe BA10.

 

[Head-dicted]

I did a day of straight burn-in on the AST, and it still has Ronnie Coleman / T-Rex bass. o_ o But the treble/mids.... just keeps sounding better and better and better(it's not changing from burn-in, either, probably). I am getting pleasing results with simple bass EQ so far, however.

Well, FH3 treble/mids are pretty much worse all around. Too edgy/aggressive/harsh, less detail & note weight & tone, poor extension. The spaciousness and imaging in the mids is still very nice, though. The base is very good, and balanced and realistic/natural with great detail, extension and power. If only AST had FH3's base, or FH3 had AST's trebs....or if you can EQ AST's bass down lol. The fit of AST is better than FH3, too, for my ears. The KZ Gods have spoken loudly & clearly with this one..! I'm not even sure if Oracle treble/mids will sound better, once I get around to testing them on my upgrade DAC & amp soon. Sure wouldn't surprise me, if not... IEMs let me down, a LOT. (But this Ikko OH10 is actually pretty decent)

If you don't wanna try AST, like I always say since I got mine, just get a ZAX . Or, get BOTH! ^ ^ They're cheap! =p

Οκ what are the plus or minus between the zax and zsn pro I own?

 

[Barusu Lamperouge]

Οκ what are the plus or minus between the zax and zsn pro I own?

From what the general impressions are, ZAX is more refined version of ZSN Pro. More of the same but improved all round. So if you like ZSN Pro chances are that you will also like ZAX. It is mostly about how much you want that extra improvement at almost 3x cost.

 

[Head-dicted]

From what the general impressions are, ZAX is more refined version of ZSN Pro. More of the same but improved all round. So if you like ZSN Pro chances are that you will also like ZAX. It is mostly about how much you want that extra improvement at almost 3x cost.

>>My Favourite IEMs (Alphabetical order) - BQEYZ KB100, KZ EDX (EQ'd), Smabat NCO, Sony MH1, Tennmak Trio + TRN BT20, Tin Hifi T2, T2+
Just looked at the EDX (Eq'd)
How do you do that? Using an external equalizer? thanks!

 

[Nimweth]

>>My Favourite IEMs (Alphabetical order) - BQEYZ KB100, KZ EDX (EQ'd), Smabat NCO, Sony MH1, Tennmak Trio + TRN BT20, Tin Hifi T2, T2+
Just looked at the EDX (Eq'd)
How do you do that? Using an external equalizer? thanks!

+1 for the NCO!

 

[Nimweth]

The sound is kinda addicting tho. It is more of a "fun" sound. The bass is really more pronounced than the other KZs except maybe BA10.

Yes, that BA10 bass is great! My two favourite KZs : BA10 and ZS7.

 

[Alpha Whale]

In ZSX, the bass is more contained, and treble is more refined, but good (not overly polite like in C10 and CA16).

To me, ZAX is a good step forward from ZSX in treble - more refinement, more resolution. As for the bass, it is more subjective: bass of ZAX is more in quantity compared to ZSX, especially in the mid-bass. I would take the bass from ZSX and treble from ZAX, while still ZAX overall. The hope was that ASX would be ZAX with the BA bass, it did not exactly happen due to narrow nozzles. Now the "hype is with AST, but still the same narrow nozzles.

For me, ZSX has been getting a lot of use in the last three months. It is a very well-tuned in-ear for non-classical genres.
The reason the ZSX gets so much use (by me) is because I prefer its smoothness.
The CKX, like the ZAX in my estimation, has quantifiable improvements/refinement from top to bottom (treble, mids & bass) but, lately, I'm appreciating the less analytical tuning of the ZSX more.

It is worth mentioning that several days ago I was using the ZSX on a Samsung A30s and the midrange and treble had an uncomfortable bite. I immediately disconnected them from the smartphone and plugged them into my DAPs (Plenue 2 then Plenue R). The ZSX was buttery smooth on both DAPs. The "bite" vanished.
Be aware that it was the same exact file (320kbps-mp3) loaded on to both DAPs and the smartphone.

These were the tracks where the "bite" was present.
The bass was on point but the rest was slightly out-of-hand on the smartphone.

Spoiler

The sound is kinda addicting tho. It is more of a "fun" sound. The bass is really more pronounced than the other KZs except maybe BA10.

If the AST is in fact the BA10 tuning revisited then the AST should be well worth the money, even at its "relatively" high price for KZ.

The best way I can describe the BA10 to someone who has never heard it is as follows:

The very clean and punchy bass is the table on which all of the individual flatware, stemware and china is set. The flatware, stemware and china are the various instruments while the bass with its width and depth carry the weight or form the foundation for the presentation. The BA10 is a bassy in-ear but it is neither congested nor boomy. If the AST presentation resembles the BA10's then we're in for a real treat. Especially since the "s" line balanced armatures are employed. Those particular BAs are an upgrade over KZ's standard BAs. This is my direct observation independent of any claims the manufacturer makes in their promotional materials.

Whether one loved or hated the ASX/ASF you could clearly hear the performance improvement with the "s" line BAs. I was concerned that KZ might abandon using them since the ASX/ASF feedback was so unsettling. I'm glad KZ pushed forward and I'm looking forward to getting a set of silver ASTs. My expectation is that they wlll be a good addition to my collection.

From what the general impressions are, ZAX is more refined version of ZSN Pro. More of the same but improved all round. So if you like ZSN Pro chances are that you will also like ZAX.

"IF" this is true (that's a big if) then returning the ZAX unopened was the right move for me. I didn't care for the ZSN Pro. The upper frequencies were clean and clear but they just went over the edge for my ears. Within the basic sound signature shared between the ZSN Pro, ZS10 Pro and the ZSX, the ZSN Pro is on the harsher end of the scale while the ZSX is on the smoother end of the scale. The ZS10 Pro lay between the the two. I prefer the ZSX.

 

[Barusu Lamperouge]

>>My Favourite IEMs (Alphabetical order) - BQEYZ KB100, KZ EDX (EQ'd), Smabat NCO, Sony MH1, Tennmak Trio + TRN BT20, Tin Hifi T2, T2+
Just looked at the EDX (Eq'd)
How do you do that? Using an external equalizer? thanks!

I used PEQ on Neutron. You can use any music player/device that has PEQ. You can check settings here - https://www.head-fi.org/threads/bes...reference-list.805930/page-1874#post-16355941

 

[CT007]

Οκ what are the plus or minus between the zax and zsn pro I own?

I see ZSNP as a ZAX Jr. I definitely like ZSNP at it's price(along with the very bass, but-not-AST-bassy, VK4), but I never listen to them, if that tells you the difference. All around thinner/lighter and more artificial sound, and less of everything else.

 

[ShakeThoseCans]

I did a day of straight burn-in on the AST, and it still has Ronnie Coleman / T-Rex bass. o_ o But the treble/mids.... just keeps sounding better and better and better(it's not changing from burn-in, either, probably). I am getting pleasing results with simple bass EQ so far, however.

Well, FH3 treble/mids are pretty much worse all around. Too edgy/aggressive/harsh, less detail & note weight & tone, poor extension. The spaciousness and imaging in the mids is still very nice, though. The base is very good, and balanced and realistic/natural with great detail, extension and power. If only AST had FH3's base, or FH3 had AST's trebs....or if you can EQ AST's bass down lol. The fit of AST is better than FH3, too, for my ears. The KZ Gods have spoken loudly & clearly with this one..! I'm not even sure if Oracle treble/mids will sound better, once I get around to testing them on my upgrade DAC & amp soon. Sure wouldn't surprise me, if not... IEMs let me down, a LOT. (But this Ikko OH10 is actually pretty decent)

If you don't wanna try AST, like I always say since I got mine, just get a ZAX . Or, get BOTH! ^ ^ They're cheap! =p

Yeah, it's a funny situation. There's going to be an AliExpress sale, so I figured I should pick one of them.

I've been hearing good things about the ZAX for the longest time. I have a ZS-10 Pro and wouldn't mind an improvement. I also have a CA16. I like its detail and smoothness, but dislike the excessively rolled-off treble using the stock tips. It can be holographic, though.

The imaging, vocals, guitars - it sounds like the AST is good for the kind of music I enjoy. But the ZAX is fairly sophisticated and balanced. Then there's the new CCA CSX or whatever it's called. I have a pretty good track record with CCA.

I guess it will come down maybe to whatever is most affordable during the sale!