[7keys]

After reading a large part of this thread I just had to order a pair of these. I never liked IEM'S before because they made my ears itchy, I tried some with comply tips in January and found that comply tips are very comfortable. Since then I bought a couple of pairs of IEM'S, HiFiMan Re-00,they were Ok, a SoundMAGIC E80, really liked them. But Arty McGhee sent me his open Alpha headphone for a listen and there was this great low end on it with a big soundstage that I lost interest in my E80. Now Love everything about the E-80 but I'd like a little more bass, I'm hoping the Duoza will satisfy my craving.

This is kind of an old thread I guess there are better IEM'S out there for the price now. Maybe I jumped the gun on these...........we'll see.

 

[Jmop]

Bumping this bad boy to see what's good. I read through a number of pages but not all, so forgive me if any of these questions have been answered. The Duoza seems like an IEM I'd enjoy, and I've gone through many. I had the Tenores which were great ergonomically but felt overly pressurized in the ear even after twisting it a little, ridding driver flex. Hopefully the Duozas are better in that regard. The Tenores sounded a bit grainy to me but otherwise well-balanced. I take it since Duoza owners recommended Spiral Dots that it's nozzle size is 5mm and not 4mm like the Tenores? If so that's too bad, Spinfits would've likely made me less hesitant on fit since they create more room between the earphones and the ear. I know they can still be fitted on with effort, but the sound will suffer if part of the sound port is blocked as a result. Finally, how's hiss with these? Low efficiency doesn't always mean hissless so I thought I'd ask. Hope to get some responses, I know this is an old thread. Thanks all.

 

[lordsinister]

If your budget allows, I would steer you towards the LZ-A4 instead of the DouZA as it's superior in terms of audio quality and that freaking awesome sub-bass. The design & fit will definitely vary per person but with the included flex foam and double flange tips, they are very comfortable for me for extended listening.

 

[Jmop]

That one looks pretty good from what I've read, I appreciate the recommendation. The bump at 8khz looks a bit sharp though which worries me. The Duoza's measurements look similar but their treble bump looks less narrow.

 

[SilverEars]

Has anybody been trying out various Zero Audio products lately(tried many of their products)? Are there any new stars besides Carbo Tenore which was very popular among the crowds here?

 

[rodel808]

Has anybody been trying out various Zero Audio products lately(tried many of their products)? Are there any new stars besides Carbo Tenore which was very popular among the crowds here?

If you liked the Carbo Tenore then you will love the Carbo Mezzo.
http://www.zeroaudio.jp/product_ZH-DX220-CM_01.html
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/zero-audio-carbo-mezzo-dx220-cm-zero-bass-zb-03.821829/

 

[SilverEars]

Is it safe to say Duoza is more detailed and clear sounding, and closer to neutral than the Mezzo? I'm looking for something that doesn't lower the mids(or bury the mids in some tracks). Are both better performing than the Tenore? Which has better separation?

 

[mochill]

Vsonic gr07x

 

[Jmop]

Gotta give this thread some love. These phones are great, plain and simple. Don't be fooled by the large housings, they are quite comfortable and my ear canals/concha are on the smaller side. Yes, upper treble is a bit elevated but it is an even increase and not peaky at all. This plus the relatively quick decay makes them fairly non fatiguing, although due to the nature of the response, vocals will exhibit some extra emphasis on sibilant sounds depending on the recording. I am also sensitive to treble peaks and sibilance, so there's that. SpinFits are a must for cleaning up the bass and lower midrange. I use the CP145 (M) and it sounds really nice and with good comfort. I love these for any kind of electronic music but they generally do well with most genres. That extra upper treble and sub bass give them that big soundstage that everyone has already mentioned. This also helps with low volume listening. The midrange is also very even with nothing weird going on. I read that these lack a little texture compared to JVCs for example, and I can see that. Still, these can probably go head to head with stuff three times the price. They sound like an upgraded Sony MH1/C from what I remember. I just wish there was better strain relief at the jack and earpieces, and that the cable was the same thickness throughout as it is below the cinch. One good thing about the cable however is that it doesn’t show much noise, likely due to the way it exits the earpiece. Anyways, good stuff here. That's all folks!

 

[DenverW]

Recently I found these used around the 59 mark, and I find it one of the best iem buys I’ve made. I’ve tried both the carbo tenore and these, and while I had very passive feelings about the tenore, I LOVE the douza. The overall tone of these iems is natural and clean, and I actually prefer them to the gr07x, but by only a narrow margin. For the used price, I highly recommend, for retail of around 100, I still recommend.

 

[rkoforever90]

Did anyone here bought the new models ? Carbo duoza or Zirco duoza .

 

[cmbgo123]

Popping in here since I haven't seen anything about these anywhere, but I bought the Zero Audio Zirco Duoza III's back in June of 2020 off of Ebay when they finally popped up for sale anywhere not Japan-exclusive and I want to share my experience with them for the past 7 months. Holy crap are they incredible. I originally tried to purchase these off Amazon.jp in February of 2020 when I was initially looking for new IEM's but they refused to ship to the US so out of spite I waited until I could get my grubby hands on them. I've owned a set of Carbo Tenore's since 2016 and they are still very very good, but the Zirco Duoza's may be the best IEM's I've ever tried. Very comparable to the Carbo Tenore's in the mids, though the highs on these are more clear... To the point where its noticeable if you use them both a lot like I do. The bass is punchy in the sub and mid bass area, but not the point of being overwhelming. The Zirco's use the same low-end driver as the Carbo's so I very much doubt there will be any significant difference there. Zero Audio really touts the top-end on these with the Zirconia housing and I really can't blame them since its insanely clear to the point where even songs like Curb Stomp by JPEGMAFIA that literally have screeching noise as part of the song sound clear, which is kind of weird since it is supposed to be noise and overwhelms every other pair of headphones I own with the bass-line thumping along with the screeching. For a more mainstream comparison, September by Earth Wind and Fire, there's a little bongo dude in the right ear, yeah say "Hello" to him, on these not only is he there, but no matter what part of the song you're on he's totally audible and even outright clear using these (He even has a couple of little bongo solos at 1:13 and 1:56 when the chorus is ending with the horns and bass drum thumping, and he really goes ham during the overture starting at 2:40). The soundstage isn't quite as wide as the Carbo Tenores, but its only very slightly narrower and most likely comes from the inline dual drivers. I was told on the /r/headphones subreddit that these have a very V-shaped sound profile and I hard disagree, yes the bass is punchy, but the mids and especially the highs are also still insanely bright and clear. For me at $150 shipped to the US these are still an incredible deal and if you find them for sale in Japan I absolutely recommend picking them up.

 

[HerrXRDS]

What other recent IEMs do you have in the $150 range to compare them with? I have the regular Duoza and I don't think they are that good. I' d be courious to see how these compare to the original Duoza or other iems in that price range.

 

[cmbgo123]

I haven't tried the original Duoza so I can't speak for them, but I have tried my roommates Shure SE425-CL side-by-side with these. We both agreed that the Zirco Duoza's sounded slightly clearer and that they were also more "fun" (had better bass response and more crisp highs), which kind of makes sense... The Shure's meanwhile had a wider soundstage and were slightly more balanced across the board except in the sub-bass where they slightly fall off due to the smaller drivers. That would be the closest comparison I'm able to make for IEMs near this price range. I will also say that they compare very favorably to my 2015 Massdrop M220's everywhere except in the bass where those fall off hard and these don't