[Viber]

KZ will have some new stuff by end of the month, said to be a dual dynamic driver. No idea how it looks like yet no pics were disclosed nor any specs. They're naming it KZ ZSE, another one in the ZS family. Let's wait and see

Sounds like it's the successor to ZS2 and not ZS3 or ZST.
Much hype.

 

[Adide]

One more vote for ZS3 here. Listening with Samsung S5 / Tidal / AQ Dragon Black. Done all mods suggested arround: scc cable, grid and foam removed from nosle, smaller stock tips. Not sure why people call them dark and bassy. Seems balanced to me with a tad bigger bass, slightly L shaped lets say. Using them on transportation exclusively and the potent noise attenuation shape helps alot. Not going to jump to ZS5 cause isolation is surely lower so overall sound will clearly suffer for me.

 

[mono-type]

One more vote for ZS3 here. Listening with Samsung S5 / Tidal / AQ Dragon Black. Done all mods suggested arround: scc cable, grid and foam removed from nosle, smaller stock tips. Not sure why people call them dark and bassy. Seems balanced to me with a tad bigger bass, slightly L shaped lets say. Using them on transportation exclusively and the potent noise attenuation shape helps alot. Not going to jump to ZS5 cause isolation is surely lower so overall sound will clearly suffer for me.

One more vote for ZS3 from me, too. I haven't modded my ZS3 since I fear that I might wreck them and/or change the sound signature permanently, but I'm satisfied with replacing the default medium tips to the small ones, as suggested by a fellow Head-Fier in this thread. With the small tips, the imaging improved. The bass became much more balanced, and the details finally stood out and shine, something that I didn't hear with the ZS3 while with the medium stock tips.

 

[Slater]

KZ will have some new stuff by end of the month, said to be a dual dynamic driver. No idea how it looks like yet no pics were disclosed nor any specs. They're naming it KZ ZSE, another one in the ZS family. Let's wait and see

Hopefully it's in the ZS3 shell!

 

[B9Scrambler]

Hopefully it's in the ZS3 shell!

That would be pretty cool Mind you, I would be perfectly okay with them returning to the ZS1 shell or something similar; make the nozzle a bit longer for example.

 

[ChickenButcher]

I saw on some fb page that the new dual driver is called KZ ZSE.. don't know the validity of it though.

link here: https://www.facebook.com/showtime.h...369423234461/1603941046343957/?type=3&theater

 

[B9Scrambler]

I saw on some fb page that the new dual driver is called KZ ZSE.. don't know the validity of it though.

link here: https://www.facebook.com/showtime.h...369423234461/1603941046343957/?type=3&theater

Sweet! Design certainly is reminiscent of the ZS1, but looking to be more ergonomic if that render is accurate. My wallet is ready.

 

[Slater]

Never mind.

 

[groucho69]

Never mind.

 

[Francisk]

Btw is the ZS3 a hybrid IEM or is it a single dynamic driver IEM? It's going for $7.99 a pair at GearBest's flash sale: http://www.gearbest.com/on-ear-over-ear-headphones/pp_436717.html

I just ordered a pair

 

[khighly]

ZS5 Bluetooth Cable lasts for about 3 hours on 65% battery (distorts with anything higher, doesn't have the power to drive). Charging takes longer than I would imagine. Poorly shielded if you live in an area with a lot of RF (I live near a 50KW radio station), or live in an apartment (I have 200+ apartments competing for Bluetooth and WiFi). Works fine on my phone but when I'm in an area with a lot of RF or WiFi, it will skip. I think some of this may be due to the Pixel XL knowingly having poor bluetooth connectivity.

Audio quality is much better than I expected. Not much to complain about. It's Bluetooth.

Latency and range are much better on my Laptop. I can walk anywhere in my apartment and have no issues with range. Latency on my phone sometimes is a second or two out of sync, but youtube will try to fix it often. Latency on my laptop is probably 50-100ms and you barely notice it when people are talking.

Not bad for $10 same day shipping on Amazon.

 

[Slater]

Btw is the ZS3 a hybrid IEM or is it a single dynamic driver IEM? It's going for $7.99 a pair at GearBest's flash sale: http://www.gearbest.com/on-ear-over-ear-headphones/pp_436717.html

I just ordered a pair

Single 8mm driver.

And in case anyone is interested, the driver holder built into the shell is large enough to install a 9mm driver (ie 9mm is what the shell was designed for; KZ just went with an 8mm driver and holds it in place using an extra bit of glue). Not that the stock driver is all that bad, but there have been people in the past that have expressed an interest in repurposing the shell so I'd though I would post the info.

 

[Slater]

Hey, now that I have the ZS5 I decided to open them up and take a peak inside.

I know we've been making fun of the ZS5 for having a crapload of glue inside, but now that I've seen it for myself I believe this isn't just glue globbed in to hold everything in but rather for driver isolation.

Multi-BA drivers are often prone to unwanted harmonic noise (ringing) caused by the BA drivers not being isolated from one another. Coatings (such as silicone) are applied on the inside of the shells to isolate the drivers and prevent unwanted noise. This is not something generally seen on lower-end earphones.

It's really nice that KZ went this extra step on the ZS5, and really says a lot about the value they provide all of us. They could have just as easily omitted this step and saved a bit of time and money (which all adds up over a large volume production run or any product).

Sure, they have their share of QC issues, but everyone does. The random QC issue that occurs here and there can easily be forgiven in my eyes when on the other hand they are giving us such well designed and great sounding products for their price. I can honestly say that ChiFi would be in a much worse off place if KZ never existed.

The following photo isn't mine, but illustrates what I'm referring to for those interested:

 

[Francisk]

ZS5 Bluetooth Cable lasts for about 3 hours on 65% battery (distorts with anything higher, doesn't have the power to drive). Charging takes longer than I would imagine. Poorly shielded if you live in an area with a lot of RF (I live near a 50KW radio station), or live in an apartment (I have 200+ apartments competing for Bluetooth and WiFi). Works fine on my phone but when I'm in an area with a lot of RF or WiFi, it will skip. I think some of this may be due to the Pixel XL knowingly having poor bluetooth connectivity.

Audio quality is much better than I expected. Not much to complain about. It's Bluetooth.

Latency and range are much better on my Laptop. I can walk anywhere in my apartment and have no issues with range. Latency on my phone sometimes is a second or two out of sync, but youtube will try to fix it often. Latency on my laptop is probably 50-100ms and you barely notice it when people are talking.

Not bad for $10 same day shipping on Amazon.

I totally agree with you regarding the KZ Bluetooth cables, they're not perfect but at the asking price of $7.65, they surprised me. I have not experienced any skipping so far on mine though. My only complaint is the latency when watching videos.

 

[Slater]

I totally agree with you regarding the KZ Bluetooth cables, they're not perfect but at the asking price of $7.65, they surprised me. I have not experienced any skipping so far on mine though. My only complaint is the latency when watching videos.

Agreed about the poorly shielded comment made by khighly. Mine skip near cell phone towers, Wifi, garage door opener, when using the car remote, etc. I'm thinking of adding my own shielding by wrapping the little control box in a few strips of foil tape.