[vapman]

Whoops! I thought I had clicked the KZ thread, not the general Chinese/Asian thread. Thanks for the post though!
 
@EISENbricher do you use an amp or not? out of a low power source like a phone or DAP directly there's no chance of getting great bass from any of the ATE's IMO...

 

[EISENbricher]

  Whoops! I thought I had clicked the KZ thread, not the general Chinese/Asian thread. Thanks for the post though!
 
@EISENbricher do you use an amp or not? out of a low power source like a phone or DAP directly there's no chance of getting great bass from any of the ATE's IMO...

Yeah you are right about that. ATE sounds nowhere near its full potential if I directly connect to the phone. Amped up it sounds darn good. Slightly sloppy/lifeless bass that we get from connecting ATE to low power source gets replaced with fast and responsive bass. 
 
Well though since I've got Xduoo X2 my amp is taking permanent sitting at back of my DAC, connected to desktop. The little X2 has got plenty of juice to power drive almost every IEM. 
 
IMO except ZN1 mini, ED10 and R1 almost all KZ would benefit from amping (if the source is not powerful). 

 

[vapman]

I may give the ED10 and ZS1 a shot then! glad to hear you amp them. they really really benefit from it. a lot of people in the KZ thread i notice just use their phones.

 

[EISENbricher]

  I may give the ED10 and ZS1 a shot then! glad to hear you amp them. they really really benefit from it. a lot of people in the KZ thread i notice just use their phones.

Well we are poor chaps who are stuck to $10 bracket 

 

[vapman]

Hey I'm not complaining! I only bring it up because amps change the sound of some headphones/IEMs so much it's worth noting what people use for a source.
 
After all I was totally broke for the majority of time I've been a member on this site

 
 
I'm interested to know if anyone's bought any new hybrid IEMs with some sort of vent though. I've been seeing more IEMs with bass vents for sale.

 

[RedJohn456]

Been listening to the shockwave III, and here are some preliminary impressions:
 
Sonic performance

1. Fantastic layering of instruments and separation - especially with acoustic music and open mic recordings - good sense of air around the instruments
2. Holographic soundstage and imaging 
3. Strong sub bass (good rumble) with easily discernible textures and fast decay - reminds me of the LZA2 in this regard; no distracting muddy mid bass bloom and I feel it has great quality and quantity of bass
4. Bass hits hard with great impact and gets out out the way when not called upon
5. Midrange is recessed in comparison to the rest of the range, noticeably v shaped
6. Highs are well extended with no harshness or peaks, midrange is a tad dry with good growl for electric guitars, and low end is rumbustious to say the least!
7. Speaking of highs, the treble, while greatly extended, feels a tad unnatural to me, I can't quite put my finger on it, perhaps it will settle down with some brain burn in
8. Seriously, the sound stage is impressive, like a perfect sphere around my head
9. The S3 seems to scale well with gear, sounds better out of my geek out V2 and FiiO X7 compared to laptop and cellphone
10. Keep in mind these are just preliminary impressions

 
Build quality 

1. Great build quality and the housing is very comfortable in the ears despite its somewhat big size
2. The S3 Can be worn either  cable up or cable down - I personally prefer to wear cable up (I'm sexy like that lmao)
3. The cable is easy to manage, somewhat supple and no memory kinks in the wire
4. Included neck cinch is a nice plus and good strain reliefs, esp at the input jack end, but I wish the driver end strain relief was stronger considering its non-removable and how much it sells for

 
To be honest I was thoroughly impressed from the first listen. I am really surprised to see how great these new iems finds are turning out to be! What a great time to be in the game  Reminds me of the good old days in this thread
 
thanks again @Skullophile  for the opportunity bud!
 
 

 

[vapman]

RedJohn456 which A2 are you referring to? Sony, 1964ears?

 

[RedJohn456]

@RedJohn456 which A2 are you referring to? Sony, 1964ears?

I edited my post to reflect this, I was referring to the LZ A2 hybrid

 

[Podster]

  Been listening to the shockwave III, and here are some preliminary impressions:
 
Sonic performance

1. Fantastic layering of instruments and separation - especially with acoustic music and open mic recordings - good sense of air around the instruments
2. Holographic soundstage and imaging 
3. Strong sub bass (good rumble) with easily discernible textures and fast decay - reminds me of the LZA2 in this regard; no distracting muddy mid bass bloom and I feel it has great quality and quantity of bass
4. Bass hits hard with great impact and gets out out the way when not called upon
5. Midrange is recessed in comparison to the rest of the range, noticeably v shaped
6. Highs are well extended with no harshness or peaks, midrange is a tad dry with good growl for electric guitars, and low end is rumbustious to say the least!
7. Speaking of highs, the treble, while greatly extended, feels a tad unnatural to me, I can't quite put my finger on it, perhaps it will settle down with some brain burn in
8. Seriously, the sound stage is impressive, like a perfect sphere around my head
9. The S3 seems to scale well with gear, sounds better out of my geek out V2 and FiiO X7 compared to laptop and cellphone
10. Keep in mind these are just preliminary impressions

 
Build quality 

1. Great build quality and the housing is very comfortable in the ears despite its somewhat big size
2. The S3 Can be worn either  cable up or cable down - I personally prefer to wear cable up (I'm sexy like that lmao)
3. The cable is easy to manage, somewhat supple and no memory kinks in the wire
4. Included neck cinch is a nice plus and good strain reliefs, esp at the input jack end, but I wish the driver end strain relief was stronger considering its non-removable and how much it sells for

 
To be honest I was thoroughly impressed from the first listen. I am really surprised to see how great these new iems finds are turning out to be! What a great time to be in the game  Reminds me of the good old days in this thread
 
thanks again @Skullophile  for the opportunity bud!
 
 

Nice write up on the Ear Kegs Tamal, pretty sweet looking DAP you got there to

Paul just about has me convinced the X7 may be all the DAP I ever need and as much as I love my X3ii it should be a no brainer. Sure wish Wokei was on board but I've been keeping him in the game

 

[Skullophile]

And so the nickname was born. The Shockwave III shall now be called
"Ear Kegs".

 

[RedJohn456]

 
Nice write up on the Ear Kegs Tamal, pretty sweet looking DAP you got there to

Paul just about has me convinced the X7 may be all the DAP I ever need and as much as I love my X3ii it should be a no brainer. Sure wish Wokei was on board but I've been keeping him in the game

haha ear kegs, nice one! Did you get the Duke? 
 
Thanks, X7 is one sweet sounding piece of gear! I went from my cellphone to the X7, was quite the jump in sound quality. 

 

[Podster]

 
haha ear kegs, nice one! Did you get the Duke? 
 
Thanks, X7 is one sweet sounding piece of gear! I went from my cellphone to the X7, was quite the jump in sound quality. 

I did not (Peter gave me a tip and I got a killer deal on some Auri Rockets with my Duke money

), got two pair of Monks coming anytime now! I hear you on the X7 but seriously my M3 whips my iPhone 6's arse

Fixing to send the tour Aune A2/B1 set on and currently enjoying the Lotoo PAW5K and the absolutely magnificent FLC 8s's

 
I think these iem's and my future Trinity Phantom's will be end game for some time for me of course I'm already putting a little X7 fund together, go figure right

That dang Paul

LOL
 
I'm liking the Lotoo, at first it had a card in it and everything sounded weak and staticky but once I slipped my test card in it really is a pretty sweet little player as well. Stacked it with my new hybrid valve amp of Martin's and it really has a sweet and full sound and string have an awesome decay with this amp

 

 

[RedJohn456]

 
I did not (Peter gave me a tip and I got a killer deal on some Auri Rockets with my Duke money

), got two pair of Monks coming anytime now! I hear you on the X7 but seriously my M3 whips my iPhone 6's arse

Fixing to send the tour Aune A2/B1 set on and currently enjoying the Lotoo PAW5K and the absolutely magnificent FLC 8s's

 
I think these iem's and my future Trinity Phantom's will be end game for some time for me of course I'm already putting a little X7 fund together, go figure right

That dang Paul

LOL
 
I'm liking the Lotoo, at first it had a card in it and everything sounded weak and staticky but once I slipped my test card in it really is a pretty sweet little player as well. Stacked it with my new hybrid valve amp of Martin's and it really has a sweet and full sound and string have an awesome decay with this amp

 

Oops I thought it was Skullophile who wrote that post, please disregard the part about the Duke haha. I sent him my Duke as part of a temporary trade  
 
You got in on the Rockets deal? Nice catch! How you liking it? And trust me you are in for a treat with the monk  It sill amazes me despite all the different gears I have tried since getting my monk. 
 
The the Paw5k and FLC combo sounds heavenly doesnt it?
 
By "these iems" you are referring to the rockets right? I hope you aren't referring to the Shockwave 3 because they are no where near end game material  Yeah Paul can be persuasive haha. I am actually really looking forward to the phantoms, i hear its shaping up to be something special.
 
And man I am kicking myself for not jumping on the IGG campaign for the hybrid amp. It looks really sweet! 

 

[Podster]

 
Oops I thought it was Skullophile who wrote that post, please disregard the part about the Duke haha. I sent him my Duke as part of a temporary trade  
 
You got in on the Rockets deal? Nice catch! How you liking it? And trust me you are in for a treat with the monk  It sill amazes me despite all the different gears I have tried since getting my monk. 
 
The the Paw5k and FLC combo sounds heavenly doesnt it?
 
By "these iems" you are referring to the rockets right? I hope you aren't referring to the Shockwave 3 because they are no where near end game material  Yeah Paul can be persuasive haha. I am actually really looking forward to the phantoms, i hear its shaping up to be something special.
 
And man I am kicking myself for not jumping on the IGG campaign for the hybrid amp. It looks really sweet! 

Well I do like the Duke's and I was trying to remember if I had told you I would probably get them but while I was looking at them at $200 Peter let me in on the Rockets and yes they are probably in my top 3 iem's and either 1st or second really.
 
I was referring to the FLC 8s and Trinity Phantom Masters for my end game. Going to have to figure out what I'm going to do with all these KZ's now

 
Pretty sure I'm going to be through DAP'ing for a while once I get my Shanling M2 and FiiO Fiio X7 (although the PAW would be fun to have, did I just say that

), got to narrow this stuff down if you know what I mean! That Paul is the Devil in a Kiwi dress

jk Paul, I know your out there and you don't make me do what I do but my wallet knows who you are

 
Yes, wish you had gotten on the Hybrid Valve train and it's not too late as I think Martin's can fix you up with a DAC model now.
 
Hey Skull, you know I told Twin those dang Easy A2's were Whiskey Barrel's, look like this emoticon

without the band over the head!

 

[vegetaleb]

  Just wrote about bass oriented KZ IEMs in KZ thread just hours ago. I'll repeat here anyway.
 
Following KZ are oriented towards bass lovers. All have bass quantity greater that Translucent ATE, and offer V-shaped or L-shaped FR.
 
ED8m : Best midbass among KZ. Very punchy and textured. This is well complemented by smooth and enough sub bass. Other characteristics are nice, airy highs and huge soundstage. But it's also heaviest and large shaped chunk of metal so fit issues for some. 
 
ED10 : Have equal amount of sub bass and mid bass. Bass is very fluid and fast. V-shaped sound.
 
R1 : Huge, rumbling sub bass. Little bloated. This is the cheapest KZ I've seen, dropping at about $2 once. Ideal fit for sleeping.
 
DT3 : EDSE like sound with added bass levels. 
 
Include ZS1 in the list as well. It has monster bass but I'm yet to figure out exact words to describe it.

 
About the ZS1, it's all about bass or it has nice details and soundstage?
BTW what type of music you listen to? Trance and Psytrance are good on which KZ?