[Nimweth]

Synergy: AS12, + KBEAR copper cable from the Believe + Topping NX1a and Xduoo X20. Brilliant!

 

[RikudouGoku]

CCA CRA treble has more texture and spacious with the filters totally removed. not sibilant at all since it's not BA.

CCA CRA w/o filter is KZ EDX Pro

 

[Podster]

OK KZ Fans, Pods feeling a little KZ Forward coming on and I'm offering up 3 Vintage KZ's for those who would like to have them and I'll even ship as long as it's under $8 (which was probably very close to all of their prices when released)

So I'd like to give all three away but please one each for 3 lucky participants 1st PM for the one you want gets them

1st we have the ZN1 with the awesome rubber garden hose cable Comes with a KZ QDC cable as a bonus!
2nd is my color coded ZS4's w/Iron Man TRN gold balanced cable, comes with spare KZ Bronze cable for SE
3rd is the original ZST in Carbon w/silver SP cable w/matching carbon barrel, tossed in a carbon matching SE cable

First 3 responses with your first pick gets them, also let me know if you would like me to announce you as the winner of which one or you can just chill and be all I'll also respond as soon as all three are spoken for, will come in KZ cases and be packed in bubble packets Seems like a fair deal

 

[courierdriver]

Reviewers, including experienced ones, kept going on and on and on about KZ's 'metallic BA timbre', almost on autopilot, in every KZ IEM review. How did a headphone manufacturer convince the Hi-Fi community that its IEMs have BAs that are not only functional, but so dominant in the sound signature that they introduce a specific unnatural timbre to them, if not placebo? We went from discussions like 'man KZ really needs to tame those BAs in the nozzle' to 'WAIT they basically were inaudible this entire time?'.

IMO it just goes to show that a large part of audiophilia is actually just make believe based on spec sheets and snake oil. If the box of the IEM says 1DD + 7BA, a lot of people will 'hear' 1DD + 7BA regardless of the internal circuitry, and the 'timbre' and everything else that 'come' with them.

Which leads me to the main thing I wonder about, which is why my ZAX still sounds a lot better to me in technicalities than my ZS10 Pro, which I attributed to the higher driver count until now. Even with this knowledge (I'm assuming the BAs in the ZAX are similarly decorative), they still sound a hell of a lot better.

I get what you are saying now. Truth is: I'm really not trying to hate on KZ or CCA. I also own the ZS10 PRO and the ZAX, and really enjoy both. I think the ZAX is a bit more polished than the ZS10 PRO but I still enjoy it. I also have an early release of the DQ6 and also love it. In a way, I'm kinda sad that this whole drivergate thing came up; because it makes me question if the BA's in the ZS10 PRO or ZAX are all connected. On the other hand, who cares if the iems sound good? Over the past 6 months; I've purchased the CCA NRA, CCA CRA and KZ ZEX PRO/CRN. Only ones I didn't care for was the ZEX PRO/CRN. I've got way too many iems already but I'm going to take a pause on anymore KZ/CCA stuff for a while. Doesn't mean I'm not gonna pick up a few different sets, though. Currently, Olina is on my radar.

 

[ScrofulousBinturong]

It's not as epic, but the last release, Hushed and Grim, has some fantastic tracks that evoke a bit of the same sound they explored on Crack the Skye. Brann's vocals have only gotten better. There's a guest solo on there, too, by Kim Thayil.

H&G really bummed me out. I felt it could be 50% shorter and the better for it, by removing the ballads and boomer rock tunes they didn't use to do.

 

[jananan78]

yeah the treble looks similar except the peaks are different for 2k 5k and 10k, midbass lesss less pronounced. looks like a variation on the edx pro. wonder if it's the same driver...

 

[jananan78]

i wish kz used mesh like this that don't get clogged

 

[Jansvast]

i wish kz used mesh like this that don't get clogged

It is the acoustic mesh bedind the metal one that gets so easily clogged. They do not have a gap between the metal and tuning mesh, so when earwax squeezes past the metal one, it goes straight to the fine tuning mesh and clogs it. I think they should find a way to install the tuning mesh a bit deeper inside the nozzle, so it does not get affected so easily.

 

[ScrofulousBinturong]

In a way, you are correct; but then why advertise these sets with multiple drivers, when the extra drivers don't actually DO anything? It's deceitful advertising and rips off the consumer who is paying good money for a multiple driver set. The bottom line is: people expect to get a product that they paid for, with all the parts functioning. Would you accept a new car that has air conditioning included, but didn't actually work? Power windows and locks that didn't work? Seriously...when a consumer buys something with specifically advertised benefits, the consumer deserves that product's full potential and should expect it to be fully functional using all the elements that that were advertised.

We don't know that they did that. We just have speculation and a frenzied mob.

 

[Jansvast]

We don't know that they did that. We just have speculation and a frenzied mob.

As Jeremy Clarkson once said: 'Stephen Hawking is a great bloke, even tho most of him doesn't work.'

 

[jananan78]

In a way, you are correct; but then why advertise these sets with multiple drivers, when the extra drivers don't actually DO anything? It's deceitful advertising and rips off the consumer who is paying good money for a multiple driver set. The bottom line is: people expect to get a product that they paid for, with all the parts functioning. Would you accept a new car that has air conditioning included, but didn't actually work? Power windows and locks that didn't work? Seriously...when a consumer buys something with specifically advertised benefits, the consumer deserves that product's full potential and should expect it to be fully functional using all the elements that that were advertised.

i don't agree on the paying good money part, these iems are cheap and keeps the market in check so other chifi manufacturers price accordingly.

the lack of a true crossover prevents the frequencies from being segregated into it's proper drivers. I don't hear that magneto static driver in my zex pro but the BA is definitely there. the signature peaks in the treble range proves that for sure.

as for the glue clogging the sound tubes and stuff it's to be expected at this price due to QC or lack of it.

 

[jananan78]

It is the acoustic mesh bedind the metal one that gets so easily clogged. They do not have a gap between the metal and tuning mesh, so when earwax squeezes past the metal one, it goes straight to the fine tuning mesh and clogs it. I think they should find a way to install the tuning mesh a bit deeper inside the nozzle, so it does not get affected so easily.

that was the mesh from a fiio hybrid. the zex pro mesh is this

 

[jananan78]

the fiio looks like it has no tuning mesh or it might be deeper like you said

 

[Jansvast]

that was the mesh from a fiio hybrid. the zex pro mesh is this

I understand. But on the ZEX pro for example, the problem is in the tuning mesh underneath, it is a fine, delicate plastic screen basically impossible to clean. The metal grate on top is robust and feels servicable

Note the fine acoustic screen beneath the metal mesh, ZEX pro.

 

[rambomhtri]

Hi, I've been using the KZ ZS7 for 4 years and I'm really happy with them. The build quality with all that metal is amazing and so professional, also I paired them with a custom cable (original looked fantastic the first month, then you realized it was utter cr*p). The one big fail they have is their connection: it's a pin paragraph A and it's just a rare weird non standard connection, so finding quality BT cables and stuff is hard. So much I bought one for paragraph C and modded it to fit my ZS7's. Works but not as good as an originally made for these.

Anyways, the weird A pin connection being my main reason to change for a paragraph B pin IEM, I was wondering if after 4 years KZ made a clear superior IEM. I'm looking at the KZ ZAS:

Now, they look like they are WAY BETTER than the KZ7, so much more advanced and cool, while in reality that might just be false, and it's all marketing. The problem with the ZAS is that now it's the nozzle tips the ones that are not standard, and I use tips like these:

So I am not sure if I will be able to buy that kind for the ZAS.

Anyways, what do you think? Should I go for the ZAS? Does it really uses all the BA drivers? Will the sound be more separated and round?