Knowledge Zenith (KZ) impressions thread

[DaveLT]

I ordered my PR2 on April 27th, the official release date, from KZTWS. It has the mesh in front of the drivers and they appear to be properly aligned.

Yeah that's what i thought, I ordered mine on 12th may, When I ordered on 30th april there was actually a preorder period after a few days of chasing, but after the 10th the other sellers started listing them which I suspect because there was a revision

 

[seanwee]

Can anyone contact HBB to ask about the intended design? And maybe a high quality picture of his unit.

 

[artatgray]

I took a look at Paul Wasabii's review of it on YouTube, which was the first that I know of, and ran it at half speed with the hope that I'd catch a glimpse of the internal.

It has the mash:

One can see for themselves at

 

[artatgray]

Here's a screen shot from Ian Fann's YouTube review which was the second to appear there.

It has the mash:

 

[4ceratops]

Here's a screen shot from Ian Fann's YouTube review which was the second to appear there.

It has the mash:

I looked at the last unboxing and one fresh PR2 review on YouTube, and in neither case was there a grille on the driver anymore. Whether this is still an HBB tuned model at all, or something randomly different with the original PR1 driver in the shell from the original PR2 is in the stars. Typical KZ...

 

[artatgray]

Here's a macro shot of my PR2 ordered on April 27 from KZTWS.

It's been enhanced to bring out detail:

 

[artatgray]

Just a thought:

It is possible that the mesh in front of the PR2's driver is for protection against dust, and if so, it could be acoustically transparent.

We won't know for sure until someone performs frequency response measurements on both a meshed and unmeshed PR2.

Perhaps this a QC issue, which wouldn't be uncommon for the first production runs...

 

[Zerstorer_GOhren]

Its good fun and yeah the coupler is on the way.

One small detail I noticed is that the "good" pair has relatively mirroed tilts between the left and right side. As opposed to a tilted left and straight right.

And while I could open the shells I'm pretty sure its a one way ticket and I'll only do it as last resort. Still deciding if I should rma the bad unit or do a teardown.

Wonder if I'll start buying KZ iems in pairs in the future just to decrease the chances of getting a bad unit. Or at least not be clueless to the fact I got a bad unit and end up thinking the model is crap.

Update:
Figured out a way to get a clearer picture of driver alignment inconsistencies.

R Driver - - L Driver
Arranged 1 to 4 (top to bottom)

That's an unfortunate issue you have there...


By the way, here's Tyvan's official reply regarding on this matter as he can't respond here due to some technical issues he encountered:

Hello everyone, this is Tyvan from KZ official. First of all, thank you for your attention to our product, you know there is nothing that makes our day better than getting an email from some random person in the universe who just bought a PR2 in the US and tells us the story of how it's the most amazing planar IEM they have ever brought home in their life, that is what keeps us going. There is nothing better than getting better, that is what drives us. So does PR2.

Everything is the same as the previous one, with the same driver and graphics. But after we improve the PCB, the production efficiency will be higher, and the accuracy and consistency will be better at the same time. The mesh is the damping mesh. We stick a damping mesh on the speaker before, but the previous design with the mesh with potential risks to consistency, which also cause low production efficiency. Now, after we upgrade the PCB, meanwhile, changed the damper position to the outlet nozzle, and the mesh is not required.

-- Tyvan Lam, KZ Representative.

I just relay his message from our private chat in FB. Thanks.

 

[baskingshark]

That's an unfortunate issue you have there...


By the way, here's Tyvan official reply regarding on this matter as he can't respond due to some technical issues he encountered:

Hello everyone, this is Tyvan from KZ official. First of all, thank you for your attention to our product, you know there is nothing that makes our day better than getting an email from some random person in the universe who just bought a PR2 in the US and tells us the story of how it's the most amazing planar IEM they have ever brought home in their life, that is what keeps us going. There is nothing better than getting better, that is what drives us. So does PR2.

Everything is the same as the previous one, with the same driver and graphics. But after we improve the PCB, the production efficiency will be higher, and the accuracy and consistency will be better at the same time. The mesh is the damping mesh. We stick a damping mesh on the speaker before, but the previous design with the mesh with potential risks to consistency, which also cause low production efficiency. Now, after we upgrade the PCB, meanwhile, changed the damper position to the outlet nozzle, and the mesh is not required.

-- Tyvan Lam, KZ Representative.

I just relay his message from our private chat in FB. Thanks.

Haha someone needs to graph the non mesh version and the mesh version ASAP.

 

[seanwee]

That's an unfortunate issue you have there...


By the way, here's Tyvan official reply regarding on this matter as he can't respond due to some technical issues he encountered:

Hello everyone, this is Tyvan from KZ official. First of all, thank you for your attention to our product, you know there is nothing that makes our day better than getting an email from some random person in the universe who just bought a PR2 in the US and tells us the story of how it's the most amazing planar IEM they have ever brought home in their life, that is what keeps us going. There is nothing better than getting better, that is what drives us. So does PR2.

Everything is the same as the previous one, with the same driver and graphics. But after we improve the PCB, the production efficiency will be higher, and the accuracy and consistency will be better at the same time. The mesh is the damping mesh. We stick a damping mesh on the speaker before, but the previous design with the mesh with potential risks to consistency, which also cause low production efficiency. Now, after we upgrade the PCB, meanwhile, changed the damper position to the outlet nozzle, and the mesh is not required.

-- Tyvan Lam, KZ Representative.

I just relay his message from our private chat in FB. Thanks.

Looks like I'll be buying another pair

 

[artatgray]

That's an unfortunate issue you have there...


By the way, here's Tyvan official reply regarding on this matter as he can't respond due to some technical issues he encountered:

Hello everyone, this is Tyvan from KZ official. First of all, thank you for your attention to our product, you know there is nothing that makes our day better than getting an email from some random person in the universe who just bought a PR2 in the US and tells us the story of how it's the most amazing planar IEM they have ever brought home in their life, that is what keeps us going. There is nothing better than getting better, that is what drives us. So does PR2.

Everything is the same as the previous one, with the same driver and graphics. But after we improve the PCB, the production efficiency will be higher, and the accuracy and consistency will be better at the same time. The mesh is the damping mesh. We stick a damping mesh on the speaker before, but the previous design with the mesh with potential risks to consistency, which also cause low production efficiency. Now, after we upgrade the PCB, meanwhile, changed the damper position to the outlet nozzle, and the mesh is not required.

-- Tyvan Lam, KZ Representative.

I just relay his message from our private chat in FB. Thanks.

I'd personally like to see a photo at the same angle as mine for a possible glimpse of the damper in the outlet tube.

 

[Zerstorer_GOhren]

Haha someone needs to graph the non mesh version and the mesh version ASAP.

Mate, I don't even have a PR2. Hahahaha

 

[Atek2019]

so, which one is sounding better ? with or without mesh ?
mine is with the mesh

 

[r31ya]

On cheap IEM news,

KZ EDXS
(1 DD with circuit tuning/passive filter, $12)
https://www.kztws.com/collections/all-products/products/kz-edxs

Seems to be KZ New 10 mm DD with new "better" circuit tuning or now they refer to it as "passive filter"

---
Early Reviews

actual semi open back with mild sound leak but apparently didn't feel as open back to the listener

and EagleOwl review
https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/kz-edxs-10mm-dynamic-driver-iem.26473/reviews#review-30787

KZ EDXS 10mm Dynamic Driver IEM
Pros:
- Easy to drive, efficient performance
- Dynamic and Energetic
- Adequate Low Sub Bass, Good Texture Mid Bass
- Mid vocal is clean and clear, organic and natural
- Treble details, imaging and micro details and instrument separation are good
- Low budget cost equates to good value/performance ratio

Cons:
-5K peak may be a bit much for very treble sensitive ears
- Not advisable for tuning up too high volume, safe max 80dB

---
Graph
MD Jacques Graph

Technically smoother in 2k~8k and with a drop in 10k compared to the OG EDX

EagleOwl Graph

 

[maaz]

Anyone with an AE order at the ~$33 dollar price (not the initial ~$29 deal from April) received shipping notice?

I'm interested in this too. I ordered on May 9th and it's hasn't shipped. I suspect they might want the orders to auto cancel for those who used the coupon so they would reorder at a higher current price.

Btw does anybody know how many times you can extend processing time in AE?