[jananan78]

That's a really nice looking combo.

it looks nice but the braiding is a bit losse at some places and it does tangle easily. the 18ohm impedance adapter subdues the entire range of FR but then i am not driving it with a high impedance source such as a powered desktop amp. i will continue using it without the adapter for now or maybe i will try a 30ohm adapter next and let the drawer use the 18ohm.

 

[RingingEars]

it looks nice but the braiding is a bit losse at some places and it does tangle easily. the 18ohm impedance adapter subdues the entire range of FR but then i am not driving it with a high impedance source such as a powered desktop amp. i will continue using it without the adapter for now or maybe i will try a 30ohm adapter next and let the drawer use the 18ohm.

Keep us posted

 

[jananan78]

a lot of lows, bright and crooked mids that clog the entire range up to highs. Why spend money on this at all? There are cheaper CCA with the same crooked sound. I do not understand such statements at all. Normal for this money. Or maybe not worth it at all? 50 bucks is 50 bucks

I'm not rich enough to buy cheap things (с)

my opinion is the tonality is spot on across the frequency range. none of the timbre issues like the zex pro. instrument separation is very good as it should be, soundstage is average not the strength of this pair. sub bass is district and sounds nice minus the mid bass because it's not a DD. no sibilance or harshness whatsoever on any notes. I'm sorry your experience is not the same.

 

[morphon]

my opinion is the tonality is spot on across the frequency range. none of the timbre issues like the zex pro. instrument separation is very good as it should be, soundstage is average not the strength of this pair. sub bass is district and sounds nice minus the mid bass because it's not a DD. no sibilance or harshness whatsoever on any notes. I'm sorry your experience is not the same.

I listened to it for a good long while last night. My preference is for bright/airy/analytical sets, but for a warm IEM - I think it does really well. Probably my favorite of the warmer sets I own.

 

[jananan78]

I listened to it for a good long while last night. My preference is for bright/airy/analytical sets, but for a warm IEM - I think it does really well. Probably my favorite of the warmer sets I own.

yes for an all BA set it doesn't do analytical but rather balanced fun sounding without any frequency muddling the other, ample sub bass, bass, mid and treble. i tried it with moondrop spring tips while tip rolling it does increase the airiness a bit. one thing i noticed it sounds pretty much the same with AKM / ESS / Connexant as in it doesn't produce that house signature sound from each different DAc as DD or Hybrids do. this all BA seems to have a signature of it's own. perhaps it is due to it's easy driveability...

 

[PhonoPhi]

my opinion is the tonality is spot on across the frequency range. none of the timbre issues like the zex pro. instrument separation is very good as it should be, soundstage is average not the strength of this pair. sub bass is district and sounds nice minus the mid bass because it's not a DD. no sibilance or harshness whatsoever on any notes. I'm sorry your experience is not the same.

Try 18-30 Ohm adapters, it will diminish the bass, the warmth and bring more energy to a capable quad of mid-high BAs toward your tastes.

I like AS16 pro "as is", the resolution is there, it can be masked by the warmth of the bass in some recordings.

Those of you, who are in some communication with KZ, can you please try to ask whether AST was tuned with "30 Ohm dialed" for the source impedance.

Using 30-75 Ohm impedance transformed AST sound amazingly along the same direction as AS16 pro - the rampant bass is more contained, and treble comes to life.

 

[MacAttack7]

Does the AS16 Pro fit your ears well?
Maybe my ears are just too small, but the shell doesn't even touch my ears.
The nozzle is the only thing holding the IEM in place, while the shell just kind of hangs in the air.
They seem to stay put well enough when sitting still as there is a bit of suction, but I wish they fit me better.

(By the way, my left earpiece went way down in volume. Volume was almost completely gone, then came back some a few hours later, but days later it's still extremely low compared to the right side. I think they are sending me a new left side earphone. I had to make a video blasting my earphones at full volume, so they could hear the problem for themselves. Hopefully that didn't damage the right one.)

 

[RingingEars]

Does the AS16 Pro fit your ears well?
Maybe my ears are just too small, but the shell doesn't even touch my ears.
The nozzle is the only thing holding the IEM in place, while the shell just kind of hangs in the air.
They seem to stay put well enough when sitting still as there is a bit of suction, but I wish they fit me better.

(By the way, my left earpiece went way down in volume. Volume was almost completely gone, then came back some a few hours later, but days later it's still extremely low compared to the right side. I think they are sending me a new left side earphone. I had to make a video blasting my earphones at full volume, so they could hear the problem for themselves. Hopefully that didn't damage the right one.)

They are a pretty finicky fit...

 

[LaughMoreDaily]

I started this thread back in 2014. I was very new in my quest for IEMs out of China (Aliexpress, Taobao). I was finding what appeared to be great tech and deals mostly unknown outside of China.

KZ became far bigger than any of us ever imagined back in 2014, and here we are enjoying the products almost a decade later.

My garbage can enjoys KZ's newer products.

I'm still enjoying the Knowledge Zenith iem with the blue cable many years later!

 

[jananan78]

Try 18-30 Ohm adapters, it will diminish the bass, the warmth and bring more energy to a capable quad of mid-high BAs toward your tastes.

I like AS16 pro "as is", the resolution is there, it can be masked by the warmth of the bass in some recordings.

Those of you, who are in some communication with KZ, can you please try to ask whether AST was tuned with "30 Ohm dialed" for the source impedance.

Using 30-75 Ohm impedance transformed AST sound amazingly along the same direction as AS16 pro - the rampant bass is more contained, and treble comes to life.

yeah i seem to enjoy AS16 Pro as is as well. maybe because i mostly listen from usb dongle dac/amp combo that doesn't have high ohm capabilities as well. it cannot drive a 300ohm full sized cans for example. the warmth and sub bass becomes too subdued with the adapter in my case.

 

[jananan78]

They are a pretty finicky fit...

yes proper fit is something left to be desired. maybe a a shallow eartip will help but will affect isolation i guess.

 

[MacAttack7]

yes proper fit is something left to be desired. maybe a a shallow eartip will help but will affect isolation i guess.

I don't know if it's the same with everyone, but since the shell doesn't touch my ear, the only fit issue is whether or not the nozzle and tip you choose sticks in your ear and stays put.

 

[jananan78]

I don't know if it's the same with everyone, but since the shell doesn't touch my ear, the only fit issue is whether or not the nozzle and tip you choose sticks in your ear and stays put.

yeah it's sticking out a bit for me too. really need big and deep ears for this. i tried multiple tips but same thing. maybe need to cut the stem of the tips to ensure deeper insertion.

 

[Carpet]

Does the AS16 Pro fit your ears well?
Maybe my ears are just too small, but the shell doesn't even touch my ears.
The nozzle is the only thing holding the IEM in place, while the shell just kind of hangs in the air.
They seem to stay put well enough when sitting still as there is a bit of suction, but I wish they fit me better.

(By the way, my left earpiece went way down in volume. Volume was almost completely gone, then came back some a few hours later, but days later it's still extremely low compared to the right side. I think they are sending me a new left side earphone. I had to make a video blasting my earphones at full volume, so they could hear the problem for themselves. Hopefully that didn't damage the right one.)

The ESX also has a long nozzle, deep shell and a plain shell without a wing rather than a semi-custom shape. The AS16 Pro has very similar fit. The semi-custom shape on ZEX Pro and CA16 used to fit me very well and stayed in place much better. The ASF shell didn't fit very well, the plain shells are better than those.

 

[jananan78]

The ESX also has a long nozzle, deep shell and a plain shell without a wing rather than a semi-custom shape. The AS16 Pro has very similar fit. The semi-custom shape on ZEX Pro and CA16 used to fit me very well and stayed in place much better. The ASF shell didn't fit very well, the plain shells are better than those.

yes agreed on the zex pro it sits flush inside the ears. this as16 pro shell is just hanging from the nozzle. i think they have no choice due to the number of BAs in here while the zex pro had stacked design and BA in the nozzle. they can't fit 4 x treble BAs in the nozzle i guess lol.