[kwest12]

The cables only plug in 1 way. If you look very closely, the plug & jack have a curved end & a flat end. They need to be plugged in such that they mate up.

If you're confused about what that means, lemme know & I can post a picture when I get home.

I'd appreciate a picture. I hope I didn't ruin them the way I connected them... I wish they marked it more clearly.

 

[Slater]

See photo (hand drawn, as to illustrate the easy-to-miss curved side detail):


Just match up the curved side on both the male cable & female socket & you're good. You'll be able to tell right away once you have them plugged in properly, because they'll seat deeply.

Also, if you look at the make cable jack from the side, you'll see that 1 side has a notch that is taller than the other. This also needs to be accounted for when inserting it properly. If you inset them swapped (R on L and L on R), then the cable will not plug in fully (even though you might have the curved parts lined up).

I hope that makes sense. It is really unfortunate that they had to make it so difficult. The ZST is even worse, because the shells aren't even marked right or left (whereas at least they say right and left on the ZS3).

Also, if you have a chance you may consider doing my foam mod. It's very simple to do, & greatly improves the sound of the ZS3. You can read about it here: http://www.aproear.co.uk/kz-zs3-slater-mod/

 

[kwest12]

See photo (hand drawn, as to illustrate the easy-to-miss curved side detail):


Just match up the curved side on both the male cable & female socket & you're good. You'll be able to tell right away once you have them plugged in properly, because they'll seat deeply.

Also, if you look at the make cable jack from the side, you'll see that 1 side has a notch that is taller than the other. This also needs to be accounted for when inserting it properly. If you inset them swapped (R on L and L on R), then the cable will not plug in fully (even though you might have the curved parts lined up).

I hope that makes sense. It is really unfortunate that they had to make it so difficult. The ZST is even worse, because the shells aren't even marked right or left (whereas at least they say right and left on the ZS3).

Also, if you have a chance you may consider doing my foam mod. It's very simple to do, & greatly improves the sound of the ZS3. You can read about it here: http://www.aproear.co.uk/kz-zs3-slater-mod/

Thank you so much for the drawing, that helped a ton! I actually was trying to do it backwards on the one side. Anyway, I tested them out. The weird shape of the monitors makes it a bit less than simple to situate them properly in my ears, but once I get them set and get a bit of volume, I can't hear anything else, which is fantastic. I'll definitely look at the foam mod too, so thanks for suggesting that!

I'll have to take more time to evaluate them further, but initial impressions are quite good. Thanks again for the recommendations everyone!!


I'm still looking for recommendations on a pair in this range with volume controls.

 

[Slater]

Thank you so much for the drawing, that helped a ton! I actually was trying to do it backwards on the one side. Anyway, I tested them out. The weird shape of the monitors makes it a bit less than simple to situate them properly in my ears, but once I get them set and get a bit of volume, I can't hear anything else, which is fantastic. I'll definitely look at the foam mod too, so thanks for suggesting that!

I'll have to take more time to evaluate them further, but initial impressions are quite good. Thanks again for the recommendations everyone!!


I'm still looking for recommendations on a pair in this range with volume controls.

Glad you got it all sorted out! As you found, it's all too easy to do it backwards.

If I were KZ, I would have either made the plug trapezoid-shaped (like a USB mini/micro) or made 1 of the 2 pins thicker than the other.