Knowledge Zenith (KZ) impressions thread

[Carpet]

AS16 Pro arrived today. Ordered on 26th October from Ali Express for £26. Very impressed so far, the immediacy and transient attack is great. Using Hidizs AP80 Pro X with KBEAR Limpid Pro pure silver cable, stock medium Starlines. This track sounds amazing. Check out that guitar:

Found my set of AS16 Pro (they was hiding) and was listening to Supertramp in bed this morning. Good BA bass. Great stage and seperation on them and relaxed enough on top not to be fatiguing. Never going to work going to sleep with one of those chunky boys in your ear though. They feel as comfortable as a half brick if you roll onto your side!

For anyone wanting to try a budget all BA set. They are worth considering if they show up discounted on 11/11.

 

[Kumonomukou]

Great to hear!
AS16 pro are very nice and capable all-BA IEM, only AS24 are only noticeably better to me, largely by smoother mids, and that switches work ideal for my preferences - right from a bit to lean (Hexa scare, I call it) to a bit too bassy.
A10 are bright indeed, C16 was to me a marvel of thick mids (treble was dampened to my preferences, so it was by first mode under the guidance of Master Slater to free it a bit removing filters, but then again treble is not C16 strength).
So not to digress more - AS16 pro are great to enjoy for many ears and not bother to "upgrade".

Some quick shot of shell comparison below from my attempts on comparative tests:

First row, left to right: Castor, Pianist, good old AS10, ZAT, AS24.
Bottom row, left to right: Audiosense T800, HiSenior T4, Phoenixcall, 1 More Penta.

T800 is a personal great advice of @baskinshark (that works the best, if you can get one here), and the only IEM in my collection that competes and outcompetes KZ in some aspects.
T4 are great/exemplary for mid clarity (I am more of a V/U person).

How does AS24 compared to ZAS? They also look huge next to 1More Penta.

 

[PhonoPhi]

How does AS24 compared to ZAS? They also look huge next to 1More Penta.

I do not have ZAS. I have ZSX, ZAX and ZAT
Finally got ZS10 pro X today, still unpacked, have to work long hours today...

If you mean ZAT and AS24 - they are a good hybrid rich in bass and a well-balanced all-BA, respectively. Both are well worth their money, in my opinion. AS24 are just right for my taste. ZAT are a bit too bassy, but switches help.

1 More Penta are tiny (mighty small drivers). I do have much more problems fitting and sealing bean-like Penta than ZAT and AS24. Also Phoenixcall are quite bulky in the central part ti fit easily. AS24 and ZAT are a bit more comfortable than AST for me (the hardest current KZ to fit for me) I have pretty large ears. Since AS10 and CCA C16, my ears evolve to fit for the KZ semi-circle form factor

 

[Kumonomukou]

My KZ D-Fi Unswitched sounds like it has thin sound. I heard someone say KZ's new drivers sound this way? Either way, I find it not giving anything special over other earphones in the market place. The KZ Castor Bass however... is a worthy buy! [so far]

Yeah They're not bassy. It's closer to Hzsound Heart Mirror than other KZ house sounds. More balanced less fun. Well I gotta say their build quality is special for the price, I'll give you that!

 

[Kumonomukou]

I do not have ZAS. I have ZSX, ZAX and ZAT
Finally got ZS10 pro X today, still unpacked, have to work long hours today...

If you mean ZAT and AS24 - they are a good hybrid rich in bass and a well-balanced all-BA, respectively. Both are well worth their money, in my opinion. AS24 are just right for my taste. ZAT are a bit too bassy, but switches help.

1 More Penta are tiny (mighty small drivers). I do have much more problems fitting and sealing bean-like Penta than ZAT and AS24. Also Phoenixcall are quite bulky in the central part ti fit easily. AS24 and ZAT are a bit more comfortable than AST for me (the hardest current KZ to fit for me) I have pretty large ears. Since AS10 and CCA C16, my ears evolve to fit for the KZ semi-circle form factor

Sounds good! BTW Linsoul $50 for $100, $30 for $60 coupon code are available right now. I mean the last batch of ' $50 for $100 ' will be up for about 30 minutes!

https://www.linsoul.com/products/linsoul-exclusive-11-11-discount-codes

I found this to be even better deals than Ali at times. You gotta keep refresh after 9:30pm (eastern time). Could take a couple minutes to show up, but once the botton turn blue. The stock ($100 option) won't last 5 minutes.

 

[Hung Tuan]

How does AS24 compared to ZAS? They also look huge next to 1More Penta.

AS24 is not really huge when you compare it with other 24 drivers iems. But they are thicc and have a medium nozzle length. This makes them significantly larger.

 

[AstronoTAM]

Another week, another KZ/CCA

No other info other than this teaser image. seems to be CCA iems

Man, they look really beautiful and premium, those tubes and spots for where the drivers will soon take place is wow

i wonder if in the future they would do a shell side-enclosure style like Kiwi Ears, Thieaudio and others

but even then, i'm already a fan of their designs where i thought it's unique to them haha

 

[Hung Tuan]

CCA Rhapsody. 2DD, 4BA. Another bass canon , but I hope 4BA can improve the overall technicality.

$40 (with promo code)

 

[boodi]

How does AS24 compared to ZAS? They also look huge next to 1More Penta.

Zas was lighter and more brilliant,
with more contrasts

AST ( no AS24 but similar ) is more linear smoother and more airy , has clearer vocals and a sweeter more resolved midrange , more natural in sound to my ears. May sound muffled compared to ZAS but you can EQ highs to bring them out depending on sources, no sibilances or glares at all.

 

[bithalver]

CCA Rhapsody. 2DD, 4BA. Another bass canon , but I hope 4BA can improve the overall technicality.

Thank you for the info, but may I ask: what is the point of having 2 DDs of the same size ?

 

[Hung Tuan]

Thank you for the info, but may I ask: what is the point of having 2 DDs of the same size ?

they are doing a trick with push pull setup. That allow 2 dynamic driver has the bass response signature of a much bigger dynamic driver.

Moondrop applied this to Blessing 3, but I am not sure if this one is similar. Especially when its graph is different than Blessing 3.

 

[bithalver]

they are doing a trick with push pull setup. That allow 2 dynamic driver has the bass response signature of a much bigger dynamic driver.

OK, but one ~15mm DD can be in the place of 2x 8mm ones; unit has BAs for mid and treble.
So, sorry, what is the point ?

 

[Hung Tuan]

OK, but one ~15mm DD can be in the place of 2x 8mm ones; unit has BAs for mid and treble.
So, sorry, what is the point ?

15mm driver may takes too much space and the final design may be too ugly, with no rooms for BA. You can check the Sony EX700 with 16mm driver.
https://www.cnet.com/reviews/sony-mdr-ex700-review/

Also KZ uses double magnet and double chamber for their dynamic driver so I don't think they can fit any driver bigger than 11mm.

 

[brsdrgn]

I wasn't a great fan of as16 pro. It was lying in the box. Wanted to compare the bass with another full ba iem. Surprise surprise no bass from left unit. Classic.

 

[brsdrgn]

Decided to dissect the unit. What surprises me is that I found glue in front of the nozzle coming out of the two connected BA units. The glue is still very sticky.

I barely used these headphones so I doubt this is due moisture. I also never use any of my headphones longer than 1h, usually giving break in every 30 min.

Bellsing 22955: