[Slater]

Can anyone confirm that the TRN Black/Yellow cable is as good as the NiceHCK 8 core cable? I have tons of those but the connector protrudes vs the TRN which is flush.

"Is as good" in what sense?

 

[jant71]

They’re in the same league as the C12 and ZSX however I feel the V90 is a touch better than both. I haven’t compared them to anything directly except for CA4 which definitely is surpassed. And of course the BGVP DMG which I believe the V90 is a little better. The mids aren’t as recessed on the V90 and the bass is a touch bigger in a good way. The price /performance bar has been raised that’s for sure.

You mentioned vs. the DMG(bigger bass, more forward mids) but in what ways/areas are they a touch better vs. ZSX and C12?

 

[Assimilator702]

You mentioned vs. the DMG(bigger bass, more forward mids) but in what ways/areas are they a touch better vs. ZSX and C12?

First off this isn’t a full review since I’ve only had them for a week. These are only bullet points from my notes. But since you asked. The V90 sounds more spacious and less inside my head. I hear bass that digs a bit deeper with less midbass boost. The midbass also integrates better with the rest of the frequency range which is easy to hear on a well recorded bass guitar line like Tool Invincible for example.....micro details Vocals are fuller and a touch more intimate. More meaty. Danny Carey’s drums sound more realistic on the V90 on that same Tool track. Snare drum without snares activated and toms have an attack that as a drummer I can appreciate. It’s not just the sound of the stick hitting the batter head.....there’s more to a drum and the V90 does it a touch better. A lot of it has to do with how well again......fundamental frequency and the overtones are presented. Guitars have more bite and more forward without being overbearing. Treble sounds a bit more natural. I have a few tracks where the cymbals sound horrible on most BA drivers and the V90 can play those sounds without sounding like a tizzy mess. This is a problem I’ve found with many remastered albums..... cymbals especially hihats sound horrible and even on a set with a DD like the Moondrop KXXS the cymbals aren’t reproduced much better. On modern stuff cymbals are not nearly as much of a problem with the budget BA drivers. Not reference timbre but also not like theres Tzzz...tzzz...tzzzz imside your ear. Not good. So the takeaway is as good as the C12 and ZSX are....the V90 are a more satisfying listen. Kind of like when you need to take a whiz but just hold it. Then you let it out and you’re so happy you did. Life wasn’t that bad before but it’s better now.

If I had to choose one I would take the V90 but by no means are the C12 or ZSX bad as they are the best Hybrids from KZ to date. Again no where near a full review but several of my observations where the extra performance of the V90 showed it’s true mettle.

 

[Assimilator702]

"Is as good" in what sense?

As in feels as substantial, of good quality. Not cheap feeling.

 

[Slater]

As in feels as substantial, of good quality. Not cheap feeling.

My opinion is that the NiceHCK cable feels better. It’s softer, more flexible, and doesn’t have kink memory. It is a bit thinner than the TRN tiger cable.

 

[courierdriver]

I FINALLY got my hands on my V90 (well, it actually arrived Monday but I was elsewhere for work), and first impressions are pretty positive.

First thing I noticed (paired with the BT3S) was just how much the soundstage felt more spacious compared to the V80. Mind you, this is with my to-go Hybrids as the shallower insertion of the V90 didn't play as nicely with the AT Solid Bass tips. But the difference was clear enough to my (admittedly amateur) ears, and possibly the illusion of additional space was due to the fact that the V90 also feels a tad less... well... congested?

Even more surprising was that the V90 - unlike the V80 - didn't seem to hiss AT ALL with the BT3S (which already had reduced, though still noticeable hiss with the V80 compared to the BT3).

And yes, they do seem noticeably less treble-happy than the 80s. About just enough to take the edge off without sounding veiled or anything... Kinda obvious after the FR graphs but it's interesting to experience firsthand nonetheless.

For now, those are the things that immediately came to mind upon initial auditioning. For everything else, I'll probably let them stew in my canals for a bit longer first.

For a slightly off tangent addition, for some reason or another, my BT3S seems to have stopped auto-connecting to the OnePlus 6 I have it paired with. I'm really not sure what's going on as it had been auto-connecting fine upon being turned on in the weeks prior. Now, I need to turn my phone Bluetooth on and off for it to auto-connect... which is weird.

Not sure where I put the manual either so I can't figure out if there's a way to reset the thing if it indeed is the BT3S' fault.

Maybe you have already tried this, but I suggest that when you have connectivity issues with a smartphone, the problem can often be resolved by rebooting the phone. I've had issues in the past with my Samsung Galaxy S8+ connecting to my Fiio Q1MK2, and usually a restart of the phone will make everything right.

 

[courierdriver]

First off this isn’t a full review since I’ve only had them for a week. These are only bullet points from my notes. But since you asked. The V90 sounds more spacious and less inside my head. I hear bass that digs a bit deeper with less midbass boost. The midbass also integrates better with the rest of the frequency range which is easy to hear on a well recorded bass guitar line like Tool Invincible for example.....micro details Vocals are fuller and a touch more intimate. More meaty. Danny Carey’s drums sound more realistic on the V90 on that same Tool track. Snare drum without snares activated and toms have an attack that as a drummer I can appreciate. It’s not just the sound of the stick hitting the batter head.....there’s more to a drum and the V90 does it a touch better. A lot of it has to do with how well again......fundamental frequency and the overtones are presented. Guitars have more bite and more forward without being overbearing. Treble sounds a bit more natural. I have a few tracks where the cymbals sound horrible on most BA drivers and the V90 can play those sounds without sounding like a tizzy mess. This is a problem I’ve found with many remastered albums..... cymbals especially hihats sound horrible and even on a set with a DD like the Moondrop KXXS the cymbals aren’t reproduced much better. On modern stuff cymbals are not nearly as much of a problem with the budget BA drivers. Not reference timbre but also not like theres Tzzz...tzzz...tzzzz imside your ear. Not good. So the takeaway is as good as the C12 and ZSX are....the V90 are a more satisfying listen. Kind of like when you need to take a whiz but just hold it. Then you let it out and you’re so happy you did. Life wasn’t that bad before but it’s better now.

If I had to choose one I would take the V90 but by no means are the C12 or ZSX bad as they are the best Hybrids from KZ to date. Again no where near a full review but several of my observations where the extra performance of the V90 showed it’s true mettle.

LMAO at the "taking a whiz" analogy! I totally got that! Seriously though, I might have to get the V90 on 11/11. Thanks to you and the Tool reference, I think this might be exactly the kind of sound that I might be looking for.

 

[Assimilator702]

My opinion is that the NiceHCK cable feels better. It’s softer, more flexible, and doesn’t have kink memory. It is a bit thinner than the TRN tiger cable.

Ok so it does have more of a memory. I have plenty of the NiceHCK $11 cables but the TRN tiger has the non protruding plug so I wouldn’t mind trying it since all my cables without protruding plugs have no memory hooks. I like the V90 with the hooks. I’ll probably order the CCA Red/Blue cable and the KZ Gold so I have a few paragraph C for my ZSX and C12.

 

[Slater]

Maybe you have already tried this, but I suggest that when you have connectivity issues with a smartphone, the problem can often be resolved by rebooting the phone. I've had issues in the past with my Samsung Galaxy S8+ connecting to my Fiio Q1MK2, and usually a restart of the phone will make everything right.

 

[Slater]

Ok so it does have more of a memory. I have plenty of the NiceHCK $11 cables but the TRN tiger has the non protruding plug so I wouldn’t mind trying it since all my cables without protruding plugs have no memory hooks. I like the V90 with the hooks. I’ll probably order the CCA Red/Blue cable and the KZ Gold so I have a few paragraph C for my ZSX and C12.

By kink memory I meant how the cable remains kinked and bent funny in whatever the last way it laid. Such as in the package etc.

Cables without kink memory can be coiled up nicely, and they straighten perfectly with no kinks.

The tiger cable has flexible ear hooks, but they can be removed if you wish.

Honestly, the 8-core NiceHCK is one of the best <$10 budget cables you can get.

 

[baskingshark]

By kink memory I meant how the cable remains kinked and bent funny in whatever the last way it laid. Such as in the package etc.

Cables without kink memory can be coiled up nicely, and they straighten perfectly with no kinks.

The tiger cable has flexible ear hooks, but they can be removed if you wish.

Honestly, the 8-core NiceHCK is one of the best <$10 budget cables you can get.

Yeah I got the 8 core NiceHCK cable based on your recommendation and it is superb. They are my go to cable now for my CHIFI stuff. They can go as low as $7 USD during sales.
I liked it so much I bought 5 more cables at the last sale, so I just leave these cables on my most commonly rotated IEMs so as to minimize wear and tear by not disconnecting them from the 2 pin/MMCX connectors.

 

[otteros]

@Assimilator702
Hello there, wanted to ask at the moment im deciding between KZ-ZSX/TRN-V90/CCA-C12 since they are in the same price bracket.

Really thinking of getting the V90(because on all the reviews i see it has neutral sounding and better comfort) but the only thing worries me is how big of a difference noise isolation is compare to the other 2 (ZSX/C12) since the V90 has vents on the outside. Time to time i will be using them in a very noisy esports tournament (where i will be wearing the iem and my headset over the iem so i can use the headset microphone). Will be using foam tips too for better seal.

Currently im using a ZSN(first iem), the fit is good for me and as i read more regarding the ZSX/CCA12 on headfi is that C12 is much closer to the ZSN shape and it has a slight bump on the shell beside the nozzle(i dont know what its called), while the ZSX looks bigger and has the same bump thingy that is more protruded(one thing im worried if i went with ZSX for long usage).

Im looking for good enough isolation/comfortability/good imaging(be able to hear which direction footsteps are coming from)/better sounding iem. Which is better that suits my criteria like i mention and the reason that i stated and also better sounding iem.

Thank you!
(sry for my English)

 

[Slater]

Yeah I got the 8 core NiceHCK cable based on your recommendation and it is superb. They are my go to cable now for my CHIFI stuff. They can go as low as $7 USD during sales.
I liked it so much I bought 5 more cables at the last sale, so I just leave these cables on my most commonly rotated IEMs so as to minimize wear and tear by not disconnecting them from the 2 pin/MMCX connectors.

Yeah for the ridiculous sale prices they go for, they are worth every penny.

The brown color is kinda ugly IMO, but the color has grown on me.

The 16-wire version of the same cable is good too, although it has a higher resistance than the 8-core version. So if I had my choice between the NiceHCK 8 and 16-core cable, I’d choose the 8-core cable.

Another good cable is the TRN 16-core cable (believe it or not). They’re built well, nice and flexible with no kink memory, all 16 wires are connected, they have the lowest resistance of any TRN cable, and the silver color is really nice looking.

IMO, it’s the best TRN cable out of all the cables they make. I’d feel perfectly fine recommending it to someone looking for a cable in the ~$10 budget range.

 

[eclein]

I love the NiceHCK cable, again Slater linked me up awhile back and they are also my go to cables.
Just saw that my V90’s are in my post office so any day now....looking forward to them.
I have C12s so it’ll be fun to eventually compare them.
So I asked this on another thread, help me out folks.... I gonna have enough to buy T800’s real soon are they that much better than the V90 and C12 tunings? I’m fine either way I just don’t want to almost, if its even likely, to put that much toward an iem if the gap between these and T800s is small.

 

[Slater]

I love the NiceHCK cable, again Slater linked me up awhile back and they are also my go to cables.
Just saw that my V90’s are in my post office so any day now....looking forward to them.
I have C12s so it’ll be fun to eventually compare them.
So I asked this on another thread, help me out folks.... I gonna have enough to buy T800’s real soon are they that much better than the V90 and C12 tunings? I’m fine either way I just don’t want to almost, if its even likely, to put that much toward an iem if the gap between these and T800s is small.

I don’t want to get off topic in the TRN thread, but let’s just say that after buying the T800 right after they were released a few months back, I haven’t bought a single new IEM.

Granted, I have been very tempted by the midnight blue V90. It keeps calling my name, like a beautiful siren at sea. So far I have resisted. But 11.11 is coming soon, and I don’t know if my willpower will be strong enough lol