[HAMS]

oh well i feel my current As16 Pro sounds good enough.. maybe it was already 'fixed' and they didn't come up with the revised box and printing on the shell. i don't have the equipment to test. but i believe it had some fixed impedance because the impedance tuning on the DAC didn't make any difference when A-B ing.

Should it be quiter when you add impedance?

 

[crabdog]

Here's my review of the KZ VXS. It's a solid product overall and the best sounding TWS from KZ so far IMO. Overall it's pretty nice but there's one thing that really bugs me...

 

[Carpet]

Should it be quiter when you add impedance?

Yes, adding impedance makes it harder to drive. Adding in a 30 ohm adapter gives it similar volume to planar at the same settings.

 

[baskingshark]

Should it be quiter when you add impedance?

Yes, adding impedance makes it harder to drive. Adding in a 30 ohm adapter gives it similar volume to planar at the same settings.

Not only that though, different impedance may skew the frequency response of some multi BA driver low impedance/high sensitivity type IEMs.

Ie the tonality of the IEM changes.

The Campfire Andromeda is a great example: https://reference-audio-analyzer.pro/en/report/hp/campfire-andromeda.php#gsc.tab=0

 

[PhonoPhi]

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.)

AS16 pro have exactly the same shell as AS16 and many others KZ/CCA IEMs: AS10, AS12, C16, A10, etc.

My first KZ IEM was ZS10 (not pro), just a bit larger than AS10 but surprisingly harder to fit for me. (Never cared for ZS10 sound, way too loose bass for me, but learning to fit it was valuable). What worked for me was to use larger tips. My ears are fairly large but they totally detest any idea of deep insertion, so large tips (including huge 14-14.5 mm for smaller shells) work well for me.

Returning to AS16 pro, it fits me very well and provides very good isolation (too good to use in the city streets). Perhaps, my ears were trained with happy 6 months with AS10 first and then another six months with C16.

Coming from Fiio F9 pro before AS10, F9 pro by its smaller size fitted well, but did not work well with the nozzle angle and overall, AS10 was a bliss of secure fit comfort.

AS16 pro in its "as is" state (without adapters) reminds me a lot of AS10.

I will surely get the "30 Ohm" one, thank you for the tip/info @baskingshark !
I still could not find it to be available, count on you for the updates.

I could have got my second pair of AS16 pro a bit too early
Well, you can laugh at me, when I first ordered AS10 on eBay at $45 I was worried about counterfeits. Then, I could not believe the sound for $45, and ordered another one right away. It is still unpackaged, since the first one took all the abuse and still goes strong (that I did not take for granted for $45).

So my two happiest ChiFi stories so far are KZ and Tempotec (for the latter I got through my mini "dongle mania" (20+), and in the end E44 and BHD are my favourite pair, and V1A is a fantastic little transport).

 

[bhazard]

I switched back over from the Salnotes Zero to the AS16 Pro today and enjoy the AS16 Pro much more.

Once you get the bass levels dialed in, adjustments between 4-7kHz make all the difference. Listening from the THX-887 shouldn't really alter the sound, but I haven't really tried them on a mobile device. It's just much easier to use the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro (which are excellent) over anything wired 95% of the time.

 

[Mr.HiAudio]

My new remaded KZ AS12

 

[Keputs]

KZ ZS10 PRO X is on the radar guys. Check out kz-audio.com

 

[Atek2019]

KZ ZS10 PRO X is on the radar guys. Check out kz-audio.com

On Aliexpress :
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/100...00030099471722!sea&curPageLogUid=WjkaIpMn6ML6

 

[evasb]

Based on KZ graph.

 

[bhazard]

Another day, another KZ/CCA release.

To be fair, I loved the KZ ZS10 pro and it was my default recommendation and gift set to family/friends for something cheap that sounds good. Looks like I'll be adding another to the collection. (Weird how it drops off completely after 17kHz, but my ears won't hear it anyway)

 

[lushmelody]

Based on KZ graph.

No more big peaks, hello Moondrop Iol. Good news for me because I delayed my TRN ST5 purchase

The graph alone is more my tonal preference compared to TRN, but the DD is what will define which is the better hybrid, I guess. I think its hard to beat the ST5 supposed beryllium, it seems its not a bloated midbass mess.

TRN also is just a bit more expensive but I mean.... A full alloy construction plus a modular cable. KZ could do way better in accessories at least.

 

[rayliam80]

Is it just me or do all of the KZ all-BA IEMs just don't sound very good with balanced cables?

Granted, I only have one balanced source that I'm basing this off from , the AP80 Pro-X. Yesterday, I received my AS16 Pro, and I just found them to be a bit more congested sounding using a balanced cable with them. Unbalanced, it sounded slightly more dynamic and lively. I found this to be the case with the AS12, ASF and even the Campfire Audio Jupiter (all-BA). Single-dynamic, hybrids and planar IEMs I've tried with balanced cables on the AP80 do sound marginally better.

Any idea why this is in regards to the all-BAs? Anyone else find this to be the case?

 

[Carpet]

Is it just me or do all of the KZ all-BA IEMs just don't sound very good with balanced cables?

Granted, I only have one balanced source that I'm basing this off from , the AP80 Pro-X. Yesterday, I received my AS16 Pro, and I just found them to be a bit more congested sounding using a balanced cable with them. Unbalanced, it sounded slightly more dynamic and lively. I found this to be the case with the AS12, ASF and even the Campfire Audio Jupiter (all-BA). Single-dynamic, hybrids and planar IEMs I've tried with balanced cables on the AP80 do sound marginally better.

Any idea why this is in regards to the all-BAs? Anyone else find this to be the case?

I just leave 3.5mm SE on everything. Most of my sources do have balanced outputs, but not all. I also loan IEMs out to friends and none of them have balanced sources. I think I have two balanced cables somewhere but never got around to using them.

 

[PhonoPhi]

Is it just me or do all of the KZ all-BA IEMs just don't sound very good with balanced cables?

Granted, I only have one balanced source that I'm basing this off from , the AP80 Pro-X. Yesterday, I received my AS16 Pro, and I just found them to be a bit more congested sounding using a balanced cable with them. Unbalanced, it sounded slightly more dynamic and lively. I found this to be the case with the AS12, ASF and even the Campfire Audio Jupiter (all-BA). Single-dynamic, hybrids and planar IEMs I've tried with balanced cables on the AP80 do sound marginally better.

Any idea why this is in regards to the all-BAs? Anyone else find this to be the case?

It may depend on the source, its impedance, etc. AP80 X pro should be a good source.
Different impedance (and different balanced circuitry) can bring different sound that is perceived differently according to individual preferences.

I use only 2.5 mm balanced cables, since it is easy to switch from balanced to non-balanced with a simple $10 adaptor for the best of all worlds. I carry several of these adaptors (DD & TRI) n my different IEM cases.

On a related note, I found modular cables with their long connectors totally inneffective (and more expensive) compared to using simple adaptors - this way you can use all your favourite cables and buy few connectors as you need.

I tried non-balanced with AS16 pro using an Apple dongle and Tempotec E44 and did not perceive much of the difference.
Some of my sources, e.g. Fiio Q1 II (that hooked me in to balanced) and Pioneer 30 R have more powerful and meant to be better sounding balanced outputs.

Having tried more USB DACs and especially Apple $8 one, I stopped to be a "balanced snobist" - ultimately, whichever makes your music sound better is the best choice