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Xiaomi In-Ear Headphones Pro HD (2 +1 Hybrid)
Mar 5, 2017 at 1:45 PM Post #470 of 888
Hey all,
 
I'm upgrading from my Xiaomi Piston 3s. I'm torn between getting the KZ ZST and the Xiaomi In-Ear Headphones Pro HD.
 
Which might suit me better? I prefer tight detailed bass, rich detailed mids, clear highs and a wide sound stage. Which of the 2 delivers best on these traits? 
 
Mar 5, 2017 at 3:34 PM Post #471 of 888
yesin said:
Hey all,

I'm upgrading from my Xiaomi Piston 3s. I'm torn between getting the KZ ZST and the Xiaomi In-Ear Headphones Pro HD.

Which might suit me better? I prefer tight detailed bass, rich detailed mids, clear highs and a wide sound stage. Which of the 2 delivers best on these traits? 
Click to expand...

Personally, I don't like Kz ZST Iem, cable and earphone feels too cheap and bass sounds boomy to me, mids are ok, highs sounds harsh and piercing at high volume, soundstage is big and airy. I prefer Piston 3 over Kz ZST and Ate.
Vivo xe800 has a very well controlled and precise bass but lacks on body and sub-bass extention, mids and highs are superb to me and soundstage is airy. Avoid this Iem if you like urban genres.
 
Mar 5, 2017 at 10:26 PM Post #472 of 888
yesin said:
  Hey all,
 
I'm upgrading from my Xiaomi Piston 3s. I'm torn between getting the KZ ZST and the Xiaomi In-Ear Headphones Pro HD.
 
Which might suit me better? I prefer tight detailed bass, rich detailed mids, clear highs and a wide sound stage. Which of the 2 delivers best on these traits? 
Click to expand...

The 2 are quite different, but both are MORE different to the gen 3s.  I posted a comparison in this thread before, if interested.
 
Tight bass and rich mids - I would give that to the ZST.  Much better mids than the gen 5, and the bass is mighty fine, although the gen 5 is also ok if you do the port mod or have ears that cover the front port well.
 
Clear highs - a draw.  Both the xiaomi gen 5 and ZST have treble peaks, the gen 5 peaks around 8-9khz and the ZST around 10khz.  Depending on your music, there might be some sibilance for certain things.  I found the gen 5 more sibilant and have harsher highs than the ZST, although for high toned female spoken S sounds the ZST can also have some sibilance. I prefer the ZST in this area but that's for my ears and music only.
 
Wide soundstage - gen 5 wins by a good margin.  The gen 5s have some of the widest soundstage I've ever heard in an IEM, almost open-back headphone level it's uncanny.
 
Regarding the cheap feeling, yes the ZST cable feels cheaper than the gen 5 (which are really nice).  Earbud itself I would say ZST is fine, but of course plastic feels "cheaper" than metal on the gen 5.  Gen 5 also has mic + volume controls, while the ZST only has mic.  The ZST are now my daily drivers, but I often miss my volume controls.  That said, the ZST is roughly half the price of the gen 5s, and sound-wise I think the ZST is better than the gen 5, so it's a no brainer for me.
 
The piston gen 3s are more neutral sounding, so both the gen 5 and ZST will sound quite different to the gen 3.  If you want neutral sounding IEMs then look elsewhere.  If you want more bass then you can consider the KZ ZS3 as well, but judging from your preferences I think the ZST would be the better fit.
 
Mar 6, 2017 at 2:20 PM Post #473 of 888
alex3221 said:
Personally, I don't like Kz ZST Iem, cable and earphone feels too cheap and bass sounds boomy to me, mids are ok, highs sounds harsh and piercing at high volume, soundstage is big and airy. I prefer Piston 3 over Kz ZST and Ate.
Vivo xe800 has a very well controlled and precise bass but lacks on body and sub-bass extention, mids and highs are superb to me and soundstage is airy. Avoid this Iem if you like urban genres.
Click to expand...

I love my Piston 3s but thought I'd try something new. I'm kinda unsure about buying the KZs too. I did a bit more research online and a few reviews say that the ZSTs tend to sound artificial. Maybe I'll consider the ZS3s...
 
Mar 6, 2017 at 2:24 PM Post #474 of 888
ricemanhk said:
  The 2 are quite different, but both are MORE different to the gen 3s.  I posted a comparison in this thread before, if interested.
 
Tight bass and rich mids - I would give that to the ZST.  Much better mids than the gen 5, and the bass is mighty fine, although the gen 5 is also ok if you do the port mod or have ears that cover the front port well.
 
Clear highs - a draw.  Both the xiaomi gen 5 and ZST have treble peaks, the gen 5 peaks around 8-9khz and the ZST around 10khz.  Depending on your music, there might be some sibilance for certain things.  I found the gen 5 more sibilant and have harsher highs than the ZST, although for high toned female spoken S sounds the ZST can also have some sibilance. I prefer the ZST in this area but that's for my ears and music only.
 
Wide soundstage - gen 5 wins by a good margin.  The gen 5s have some of the widest soundstage I've ever heard in an IEM, almost open-back headphone level it's uncanny.
 
Regarding the cheap feeling, yes the ZST cable feels cheaper than the gen 5 (which are really nice).  Earbud itself I would say ZST is fine, but of course plastic feels "cheaper" than metal on the gen 5.  Gen 5 also has mic + volume controls, while the ZST only has mic.  The ZST are now my daily drivers, but I often miss my volume controls.  That said, the ZST is roughly half the price of the gen 5s, and sound-wise I think the ZST is better than the gen 5, so it's a no brainer for me.
 
The piston gen 3s are more neutral sounding, so both the gen 5 and ZST will sound quite different to the gen 3.  If you want neutral sounding IEMs then look elsewhere.  If you want more bass then you can consider the KZ ZS3 as well, but judging from your preferences I think the ZST would be the better fit.
Click to expand...

I am looking for something with a fair bit of bass this time around. Maybe I should consider the ZS3 over the ZST? 
 
Mar 6, 2017 at 4:20 PM Post #475 of 888
after a 48 hours burn in... and the tape mod using a pro gaffers tape blocking the hole... the treble sibilance is gone, and bass/sub-bass is pretty good for my taste.... 

paired with the walnut v2, this iem is a keeper :)
 
Mar 6, 2017 at 5:12 PM Post #476 of 888
@snip3r77 Totally missed the question (notifications turned off) - go back to page 8 (post ref HiFiChris) and see that taping the vent hole under the tips can give a sub-bass boost. Seems to do the trick on mine. 
 
Mar 6, 2017 at 8:45 PM Post #478 of 888
yesin said:
  I am looking for something with a fair bit of bass this time around. Maybe I should consider the ZS3 over the ZST? 
Click to expand...

Yes, ZS3 has alot more bass than ZST.
But I also wouldn't consider ZST artificial.  W shaped yes, but it's fun and not overdone.  ZS3 is actually more "artificial" with the boosted bass, but then if you're looking for that it's great.
 
Pistons 3 are quite neutral though.  If you want more neutral, etymotics is your pick.
 
Mar 7, 2017 at 1:48 PM Post #479 of 888
ricemanhk said:
  Yes, ZS3 has alot more bass than ZST.
But I also wouldn't consider ZST artificial.  W shaped yes, but it's fun and not overdone.  ZS3 is actually more "artificial" with the boosted bass, but then if you're looking for that it's great.
 
Pistons 3 are quite neutral though.  If you want more neutral, etymotics is your pick.
Click to expand...

 
I've been wanting to try out KZs for a while since I read that they make decent sounding Chi-Fis. I think I'll start with the ZS3s. 
 
Yeah. My Piston 3s are still going strong after 1.5 years of daily use 
smily_headphones1.gif
 
 
Mar 9, 2017 at 9:22 PM Post #480 of 888
ricemanhk said:
  Yes, ZS3 has alot more bass than ZST.
But I also wouldn't consider ZST artificial.  W shaped yes, but it's fun and not overdone.  ZS3 is actually more "artificial" with the boosted bass, but then if you're looking for that it's great.
 
Pistons 3 are quite neutral though.  If you want more neutral, etymotics is your pick.
Click to expand...

thanks for advice, now I want to buy a headphone to match the iphone.
 
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