[H3ll@Broke]

It has been a while since my first take in comparing the Kanas Pro against the DM6, and by chance, a close friend of mine has the TFZ No.3. Thus, I decided to do a little comparison to offer my take on which I personally think is the better IEM (at least for myself). Both IEMs are driven straight out of a smartphone using 320kbps mp3 files with no amplification because both are sensitive IEMs in their own regards, with the Kanas Pro being just a bit harder to drive at 32ohms.​

Bravy Girl - Onsen Project​

Right off the bat, the acoustic guitar in the intro exhibited some amount of boom and rumble on the No.3 compared to the more controlled and cleaner Kanas Pro. Ichigo's vocals (the main vocalist) can be heard clearly on both, although the No.3 seemed to present a bit more extension and clarity in the high notes, it is done at the cost of sibilance being more noticeable on s- and sh- consonants. Fortunately, it is nowhere near as close as the DM6. The Kanas Pro exhibited virtually 0 sibilance and is smooth across the entire range. The overall sound presentation of the No.3 can be touted as slightly thicker, bigger and forward while the Kanas Pro, as being slightly more laid back. That said, I enjoyed the song greatly on both, especially that extra vocal sparkle on the no.3, minus the boomy acoustic guitar in the intro.

Unti-L - SawanoHiroyuki[nZk]​

A more engaging and thicker sound presentation favors the No.3 on this particular track, which many people might prefer over the relaxed Kanas Pro. That isn't to say that the Kanas Pro is lean or thin sounding, because to me, the Kanas Pro's best feature is its open, and spacious presentation. The impact of the kick drums throughout the song can get a bit subdued on certain sections of the Kanas Pro, against the No.3 which i thoroughly enjoyed the presence of a bit more punch and volume in the bass frequencies across the whole song. With that said, given the No.3's more engaging presentation, I was a bit surprised to find instruments and sounds being somewhat clustered against each other. It isn't congested by any means, I just found it a bit hard to discern certain sounds in busy passages, whereas the Kanas Pro separated everything clearly and with ease. This has lead to the No.3 losing out on a bit of tiny details on certain sections due to the bigger and thicker bass. In my opinion, I can only somewhat tout the Kanas Pro as being more, midrange dominant whereas the No.3's midrange can take a stepback because of the bass. Then again, I may have made the No.3 to sound like it has big and flabby bass, but that is untrue as the bass on the No.3 is tight, fast, punchy and has slightly better decay while still remaining clear.

While Shining - aran & Kobaryo ​

Similar to "Unti-L", the Kanas Pro boasts better separation across the entire song with the instruments and details (being fired into my canals), offering a rather intoxicating, yet non-fatiguing listening experience. However, because this is an EDM track, it is without a doubt, that the No.3 is the more exciting and fun IEM. The Kanas Pro could also use a very slight bump in the bass impact but the benefits of having a linear bass punch shows itself here to my ears. The details of the hardcore kick drums is somewhat subdued on the No.3, in comparison to the Kanas Pro where I was able to hear better detail retrieval in the kick drums. I suppose the aspects of bass presentation in both IEMs have its own ups and downs. The vocals also sounded a smidge cleaner on the Kanas Pro.

To be frank, both are amazing IEMs in their own feats. For the better all-rounder, I personally prefer the Kanas Pro, as the bass presentation isn't actually as weak as some has thought it out to be. On other songs, the Kanas Pro can really punch through with authority and detail. Both have controlled bass presentation, although the slight upper midrange(?) boost on the No.3 will lend itself towards a more lively female vocal presentation on certain tracks. Resolution and clarity is rather similar, but given that (in my opinion) the Kanas Pro has a slightly more laid back presentation, it lends itself to having better openness in the sound, along with slightly better separation and a more ear-friendly treble response. The No.3's treble response can get just a bit overpowering sometimes, but I kind of enjoyed it as it was a rather nice change for once. Soundstage was more or less similar to my ears but the Kanas Pro was more holographic sounding to me.

In a nutshell, if you already have the Kanas Pro, the No.3 will simply be a fun complementary set, rather than an actual upgrade in my opinion. I am in no way, an audio/sound connoisseur, just a guy on the internet sharing his opinion (about an object that does something) and I would advise anyone reading this to take my opinion with a grain of salt as you may hear it differently compared to me. Feel free to share your findings as I am also interested to read other opinions.

 

[surfgeorge]

It has been a while since my first take in comparing the Kanas Pro against the DM6, and by chance, a close friend of mine has the TFZ No.3. Thus, I decided to do a little comparison to offer my take on which I personally think is the better IEM (at least for myself). Both IEMs are driven straight out of a smartphone using 320kbps mp3 files with no amplification because both are sensitive IEMs in their own regards, with the Kanas Pro being just a bit harder to drive at 32ohms.​

Bravy Girl - Onsen Project​

Right off the bat, the acoustic guitar in the intro exhibited some amount of boom and rumble on the No.3 compared to the more controlled and cleaner Kanas Pro. Ichigo's vocals (the main vocalist) can be heard clearly on both, although the No.3 seemed to present a bit more extension and clarity in the high notes, it is done at the cost of sibilance being more noticeable on s- and sh- consonants. Fortunately, it is nowhere near as close as the DM6. The Kanas Pro exhibited virtually 0 sibilance and is smooth across the entire range. The overall sound presentation of the No.3 can be touted as slightly thicker, bigger and forward while the Kanas Pro, as being slightly more laid back. That said, I enjoyed the song greatly on both, especially that extra vocal sparkle on the no.3, minus the boomy acoustic guitar in the intro.

Unti-L - SawanoHiroyuki[nZk]​

A more engaging and thicker sound presentation favors the No.3 on this particular track, which many people might prefer over the relaxed Kanas Pro. That isn't to say that the Kanas Pro is lean or thin sounding, because to me, the Kanas Pro's best feature is its open, and spacious presentation. The impact of the kick drums throughout the song can get a bit subdued on certain sections of the Kanas Pro, against the No.3 which i thoroughly enjoyed the presence of a bit more punch and volume in the bass frequencies across the whole song. With that said, given the No.3's more engaging presentation, I was a bit surprised to find instruments and sounds being somewhat clustered against each other. It isn't congested by any means, I just found it a bit hard to discern certain sounds in busy passages, whereas the Kanas Pro separated everything clearly and with ease. This has lead to the No.3 losing out on a bit of tiny details on certain sections due to the bigger and thicker bass. In my opinion, I can only somewhat tout the Kanas Pro as being more, midrange dominant whereas the No.3's midrange can take a stepback because of the bass. Then again, I may have made the No.3 to sound like it has big and flabby bass, but that is untrue as the bass on the No.3 is tight, fast, punchy and has slightly better decay while still remaining clear.

While Shining - aran & Kobaryo ​

Similar to "Unti-L", the Kanas Pro boasts better separation across the entire song with the instruments and details (being fired into my canals), offering a rather intoxicating, yet non-fatiguing listening experience. However, because this is an EDM track, it is without a doubt, that the No.3 is the more exciting and fun IEM. The Kanas Pro could also use a very slight bump in the bass impact but the benefits of having a linear bass punch shows itself here to my ears. The details of the hardcore kick drums is somewhat subdued on the No.3, in comparison to the Kanas Pro where I was able to hear better detail retrieval in the kick drums. I suppose the aspects of bass presentation in both IEMs have its own ups and downs. The vocals also sounded a smidge cleaner on the Kanas Pro.

To be frank, both are amazing IEMs in their own feats. For the better all-rounder, I personally prefer the Kanas Pro, as the bass presentation isn't actually as weak as some has thought it out to be. On other songs, the Kanas Pro can really punch through with authority and detail. Both have controlled bass presentation, although the slight upper midrange(?) boost on the No.3 will lend itself towards a more lively female vocal presentation on certain tracks. Resolution and clarity is rather similar, but given that (in my opinion) the Kanas Pro has a slightly more laid back presentation, it lends itself to having better openness in the sound, along with slightly better separation and a more ear-friendly treble response. The No.3's treble response can get just a bit overpowering sometimes, but I kind of enjoyed it as it was a rather nice change for once. Soundstage was more or less similar to my ears but the Kanas Pro was more holographic sounding to me.

In a nutshell, if you already have the Kanas Pro, the No.3 will simply be a fun complementary set, rather than an actual upgrade in my opinion. I am in no way, an audio/sound connoisseur, just a guy on the internet sharing his opinion (about an object that does something) and I would advise anyone reading this to take my opinion with a grain of salt as you may hear it differently compared to me. Feel free to share your findings as I am also interested to read other opinions.

Thanks! That is an excellent comparison!
I really like how you compare specific songs and work out the differences and pro's and con's between the two IEMs in different settings.
It gives me a pretty clear feeling for what to expect from a No. 3 compared to the KPE.
Bravo!

 

[Nabillion_786]

It has been a while since my first take in comparing the Kanas Pro against the DM6, and by chance, a close friend of mine has the TFZ No.3. Thus, I decided to do a little comparison to offer my take on which I personally think is the better IEM (at least for myself). Both IEMs are driven straight out of a smartphone using 320kbps mp3 files with no amplification because both are sensitive IEMs in their own regards, with the Kanas Pro being just a bit harder to drive at 32ohms.​

Bravy Girl - Onsen Project​

Right off the bat, the acoustic guitar in the intro exhibited some amount of boom and rumble on the No.3 compared to the more controlled and cleaner Kanas Pro. Ichigo's vocals (the main vocalist) can be heard clearly on both, although the No.3 seemed to present a bit more extension and clarity in the high notes, it is done at the cost of sibilance being more noticeable on s- and sh- consonants. Fortunately, it is nowhere near as close as the DM6. The Kanas Pro exhibited virtually 0 sibilance and is smooth across the entire range. The overall sound presentation of the No.3 can be touted as slightly thicker, bigger and forward while the Kanas Pro, as being slightly more laid back. That said, I enjoyed the song greatly on both, especially that extra vocal sparkle on the no.3, minus the boomy acoustic guitar in the intro.

Unti-L - SawanoHiroyuki[nZk]​

A more engaging and thicker sound presentation favors the No.3 on this particular track, which many people might prefer over the relaxed Kanas Pro. That isn't to say that the Kanas Pro is lean or thin sounding, because to me, the Kanas Pro's best feature is its open, and spacious presentation. The impact of the kick drums throughout the song can get a bit subdued on certain sections of the Kanas Pro, against the No.3 which i thoroughly enjoyed the presence of a bit more punch and volume in the bass frequencies across the whole song. With that said, given the No.3's more engaging presentation, I was a bit surprised to find instruments and sounds being somewhat clustered against each other. It isn't congested by any means, I just found it a bit hard to discern certain sounds in busy passages, whereas the Kanas Pro separated everything clearly and with ease. This has lead to the No.3 losing out on a bit of tiny details on certain sections due to the bigger and thicker bass. In my opinion, I can only somewhat tout the Kanas Pro as being more, midrange dominant whereas the No.3's midrange can take a stepback because of the bass. Then again, I may have made the No.3 to sound like it has big and flabby bass, but that is untrue as the bass on the No.3 is tight, fast, punchy and has slightly better decay while still remaining clear.

While Shining - aran & Kobaryo ​

Similar to "Unti-L", the Kanas Pro boasts better separation across the entire song with the instruments and details (being fired into my canals), offering a rather intoxicating, yet non-fatiguing listening experience. However, because this is an EDM track, it is without a doubt, that the No.3 is the more exciting and fun IEM. The Kanas Pro could also use a very slight bump in the bass impact but the benefits of having a linear bass punch shows itself here to my ears. The details of the hardcore kick drums is somewhat subdued on the No.3, in comparison to the Kanas Pro where I was able to hear better detail retrieval in the kick drums. I suppose the aspects of bass presentation in both IEMs have its own ups and downs. The vocals also sounded a smidge cleaner on the Kanas Pro.

To be frank, both are amazing IEMs in their own feats. For the better all-rounder, I personally prefer the Kanas Pro, as the bass presentation isn't actually as weak as some has thought it out to be. On other songs, the Kanas Pro can really punch through with authority and detail. Both have controlled bass presentation, although the slight upper midrange(?) boost on the No.3 will lend itself towards a more lively female vocal presentation on certain tracks. Resolution and clarity is rather similar, but given that (in my opinion) the Kanas Pro has a slightly more laid back presentation, it lends itself to having better openness in the sound, along with slightly better separation and a more ear-friendly treble response. The No.3's treble response can get just a bit overpowering sometimes, but I kind of enjoyed it as it was a rather nice change for once. Soundstage was more or less similar to my ears but the Kanas Pro was more holographic sounding to me.

In a nutshell, if you already have the Kanas Pro, the No.3 will simply be a fun complementary set, rather than an actual upgrade in my opinion. I am in no way, an audio/sound connoisseur, just a guy on the internet sharing his opinion (about an object that does something) and I would advise anyone reading this to take my opinion with a grain of salt as you may hear it differently compared to me. Feel free to share your findings as I am also interested to read other opinions.

Great comparison! I'm especially after vocals and soundstage and it seems as though the kanas pro do both slightly better so this iem will be more of a downgrade to me. I'll probably look more into the ti version and the kxxs for my next upgrade.

 

[surfgeorge]

Great comparison! I'm especially after vocals and soundstage and it seems as though the kanas pro do both slightly better so this iem will be more of a downgrade to me. I'll probably look more into the ti version and the kxxs for my next upgrade.

There we are back at the old discussion and my opinion is still the same, IF anyone is willing to tinker a little bit, the JVC HA-FD02 is a big step up from the KPE for a moderatly higher price.
I received the Astell & Kern T8iE MKII this week, which is rated A+ by Crinacle and has an MRSP of $1200. The modded FD02 is very different but I enjoy both IEMs equally so far. That said, soundstage is much better on the T8iE.

 

[CoiL]

​

It has been a while since my first take in comparing the Kanas Pro against the DM6, and by chance, a close friend of mine has the TFZ No.3. Thus, I decided to do a little comparison to offer my take on which I personally think is the better IEM (at least for myself). Both IEMs are driven straight out of a smartphone using 320kbps mp3 files with no amplification because both are sensitive IEMs in their own regards, with the Kanas Pro being just a bit harder to drive at 32ohms.​

Bravy Girl - Onsen Project​

Right off the bat, the acoustic guitar in the intro exhibited some amount of boom and rumble on the No.3 compared to the more controlled and cleaner Kanas Pro. Ichigo's vocals (the main vocalist) can be heard clearly on both, although the No.3 seemed to present a bit more extension and clarity in the high notes, it is done at the cost of sibilance being more noticeable on s- and sh- consonants. Fortunately, it is nowhere near as close as the DM6. The Kanas Pro exhibited virtually 0 sibilance and is smooth across the entire range. The overall sound presentation of the No.3 can be touted as slightly thicker, bigger and forward while the Kanas Pro, as being slightly more laid back. That said, I enjoyed the song greatly on both, especially that extra vocal sparkle on the no.3, minus the boomy acoustic guitar in the intro.

Unti-L - SawanoHiroyuki[nZk]​

A more engaging and thicker sound presentation favors the No.3 on this particular track, which many people might prefer over the relaxed Kanas Pro. That isn't to say that the Kanas Pro is lean or thin sounding, because to me, the Kanas Pro's best feature is its open, and spacious presentation. The impact of the kick drums throughout the song can get a bit subdued on certain sections of the Kanas Pro, against the No.3 which i thoroughly enjoyed the presence of a bit more punch and volume in the bass frequencies across the whole song. With that said, given the No.3's more engaging presentation, I was a bit surprised to find instruments and sounds being somewhat clustered against each other. It isn't congested by any means, I just found it a bit hard to discern certain sounds in busy passages, whereas the Kanas Pro separated everything clearly and with ease. This has lead to the No.3 losing out on a bit of tiny details on certain sections due to the bigger and thicker bass. In my opinion, I can only somewhat tout the Kanas Pro as being more, midrange dominant whereas the No.3's midrange can take a stepback because of the bass. Then again, I may have made the No.3 to sound like it has big and flabby bass, but that is untrue as the bass on the No.3 is tight, fast, punchy and has slightly better decay while still remaining clear.

While Shining - aran & Kobaryo ​

Similar to "Unti-L", the Kanas Pro boasts better separation across the entire song with the instruments and details (being fired into my canals), offering a rather intoxicating, yet non-fatiguing listening experience. However, because this is an EDM track, it is without a doubt, that the No.3 is the more exciting and fun IEM. The Kanas Pro could also use a very slight bump in the bass impact but the benefits of having a linear bass punch shows itself here to my ears. The details of the hardcore kick drums is somewhat subdued on the No.3, in comparison to the Kanas Pro where I was able to hear better detail retrieval in the kick drums. I suppose the aspects of bass presentation in both IEMs have its own ups and downs. The vocals also sounded a smidge cleaner on the Kanas Pro.

To be frank, both are amazing IEMs in their own feats. For the better all-rounder, I personally prefer the Kanas Pro, as the bass presentation isn't actually as weak as some has thought it out to be. On other songs, the Kanas Pro can really punch through with authority and detail. Both have controlled bass presentation, although the slight upper midrange(?) boost on the No.3 will lend itself towards a more lively female vocal presentation on certain tracks. Resolution and clarity is rather similar, but given that (in my opinion) the Kanas Pro has a slightly more laid back presentation, it lends itself to having better openness in the sound, along with slightly better separation and a more ear-friendly treble response. The No.3's treble response can get just a bit overpowering sometimes, but I kind of enjoyed it as it was a rather nice change for once. Soundstage was more or less similar to my ears but the Kanas Pro was more holographic sounding to me.

In a nutshell, if you already have the Kanas Pro, the No.3 will simply be a fun complementary set, rather than an actual upgrade in my opinion. I am in no way, an audio/sound connoisseur, just a guy on the internet sharing his opinion (about an object that does something) and I would advise anyone reading this to take my opinion with a grain of salt as you may hear it differently compared to me. Feel free to share your findings as I am also interested to read other opinions.

While I really appreciate Your insight between these two IEMs - You really should get KPE properly amped! KPE is quite a different "beast" when amped compared to simple smartphone with lossy music, at least that is my experience.

 

[H3ll@Broke]

While I really appreciate Your insight between these two IEMs - You really should get KPE properly amped! KPE is quite a different "beast" when amped compared to simple smartphone with lossy music, at least that is my experience.

Perhaps someday, i hope to get access to better audio equipment .

 

[twiceboss]

Use UAPP. Change the Android Audio in UAPP, make it bit perfext.

 

[twiceboss]

Perhaps someday, i hope to get access to better audio equipment .

An ES100 is just $79 on Drop currently. A better way to listen to music rather than a regular smartphone.

 

[scotvl]

Use UAPP. Change the Android Audio in UAPP, make it bit perfext.

Thanks, so I don't have to change anything on the es100 itself.

 

[Nabillion_786]

There we are back at the old discussion and my opinion is still the same, IF anyone is willing to tinker a little bit, the JVC HA-FD02 is a big step up from the KPE for a moderatly higher price.
I received the Astell & Kern T8iE MKII this week, which is rated A+ by Crinacle and has an MRSP of $1200. The modded FD02 is very different but I enjoy both IEMs equally so far. That said, soundstage is much better on the T8iE.

But that's exactly the reason why I was a little bit hesitant on the fd02 because after reading all the impressions it seems as though the soundstage may not be what I'm after. I've heard the tfz no.3 ti having better vocals and soundstage when compared to the kanas pro and oxygen. The ti doesn't require modding and all the tfz iems I have tried have this energy about them that I like. I could be wrong but I think crinacle disliked the fd02 claiming it was thin sounding and so have other impressions from what I have read. I hope it's true but I'm not sure how much of an impact this mod will actually make. I've had very bad experiences when trying to mod iems that's why I have my kanas pro back at the factory

 

[PopZeus]

It’s funny to see KPE owners who aren’t happy with the bass asking if the Kxxs, Oxygen, or TFZ No.3 Ti would have more bass. And I’m thinking “isn’t that what the regular edition Kanas is for?”

Unless there is some technical improvement that was done with the KPE that I’ve not been named aware of yet. I mean, it does look like the Pro has a more even, present treble response, in addition to less bass. But are the actual transients, soundstage, detail, etc. better on the KPE? Just thinking aloud...

 

[CoiL]

It’s funny to see KPE owners who aren’t happy with the bass asking if the Kxxs, Oxygen, or TFZ No.3 Ti would have more bass. And I’m thinking “isn’t that what the regular edition Kanas is for?”

Unless there is some technical improvement that was done with the KPE that I’ve not been named aware of yet. I mean, it does look like the Pro has a more even, present treble response, in addition to less bass. But are the actual transients, soundstage, detail, etc. better on the KPE? Just thinking aloud...

I think some of those ppl are just general opinion followers not knowing what the "issue" is actually - some ppl would wish just a tad more mid-bass impact from KPE and that is very specific thing, not more of whole bass area.
I like KPE as it is, as it is quite hard to find such sound signature with "dead-flat" mid-bass in this price range. And If I would like tad bass improvement, then simple front vent mod would do it.
To me, question in focus about improvement of Kanas or KPE would be slightly more extended highs and roll-off point from 4.3kHz, which No.3 and KXXS seem to improve.

 

[FastAndClean]

It’s funny to see KPE owners who aren’t happy with the bass asking if the Kxxs, Oxygen, or TFZ No.3 Ti would have more bass. And I’m thinking “isn’t that what the regular edition Kanas is for?”

Unless there is some technical improvement that was done with the KPE that I’ve not been named aware of yet. I mean, it does look like the Pro has a more even, present treble response, in addition to less bass. But are the actual transients, soundstage, detail, etc. better on the KPE? Just thinking aloud...

they buy the Pro version of this model, with flat mid bass and boosted sub bass and now they need more bass, at the same time the regular Kanas version is out even before the Pro with more bass and nobody is talking about them

 

[LoveMusicEveryday]

It’s funny to see KPE owners who aren’t happy with the bass asking if the Kxxs, Oxygen, or TFZ No.3 Ti would have more bass. And I’m thinking “isn’t that what the regular edition Kanas is for?”

Unless there is some technical improvement that was done with the KPE that I’ve not been named aware of yet. I mean, it does look like the Pro has a more even, present treble response, in addition to less bass. But are the actual transients, soundstage, detail, etc. better on the KPE? Just thinking aloud...

Well said! I think it is human nature to never be happy with what we already have, and to always keep wondering what is the next best IEM or DAP even if the improvement is minuscule or even imagined . Meanwhile, all the vendors are happy to keep producing...

 

[redrol]

I own the KPE and a little bass boost and BAM, basshead all the way.