[Wiljen]

oh agreed, but what I was referring to was the MSRP in Yuan is rarely what the asking price on Ali ends up being and when shipping is added you can usually bet on double if not a bit more. And, yes depending on price, I do have a tendency to prefer insured shipping.

 

[DeltaRay]

Wanted to try my luck and order 2 blue wo mic at gearbest. Guess I lucked out.. so they ran out of v1 stock already.

Got these in the mail today. My goodness I thought the treble on the v1 was piercing.
These v2 take hi-hats and make them higher-hats. Even on zero volume there’s noisy sound floor. Now I’m considering whether this is a suitable gift for my friends..

 

[xrk971]

Unfortunately, those prices usually about double or triple when it comes to buying from aliexpress and adding shipping

Not sure what you are talking about. Most smaller items on Aliexpress ship for free from China/Singapore. Only heavy items (like metal amp enclosures) cost a lot and it is still less than you would traditionally pay for DHL express courier of a 10lb box ($35). This is possible due to asymmetric shipping from East to West made possible by courier airplanes (like DHL) fully loaded with sought-after Western-perishables (gourmet food) for consumption by growing upper-middle class in China. Once in China, planes are empty and they give sweetheart deals to Ali for flying the stuff back to the West. If you have ever tried returning an item to China you will know. Don't bother - it's outrageous.

 

[kokakolia]

Wanted to try my luck and order 2 blue wo mic at gearbest. Guess they ran out of v1 stock already.

Got these in the mail today. My goodness I thought the treble on the v1 was piercing.
These take hi-hats and make them higher hats. Even on zero volume there’s noisy sound floor.

Grrrreat...I am waiting for my ZS5 with much anticipation

I'll definitely destroy one of the BAs if that's the case. There's no point in hurting yourself with piercing highs.

 

[maxxevv]

Wanted to try my luck and order 2 blue wo mic at gearbest. Guess I lucked out.. so they ran out of v1 stock already.

Got these in the mail today. My goodness I thought the treble on the v1 was piercing.
These v2 take hi-hats and make them higher-hats. Even on zero volume there’s noisy sound floor. Now I’m considering whether this is a suitable gift for my friends..

Sounds like you do not have a suitable source for the ZS5, as extensively discussed in the pages prior to this. I have the v2 version too and they are really very good earphones. Personally, I like them better than the v1 which a friend has. For basis of comparison, I'm using a LG G6 Quad DAC version.

 

[Wiljen]

Wanted to try my luck and order 2 blue wo mic at gearbest. Guess I lucked out.. so they ran out of v1 stock already.

Got these in the mail today. My goodness I thought the treble on the v1 was piercing.
These v2 take hi-hats and make them higher-hats. Even on zero volume there’s noisy sound floor. Now I’m considering whether this is a suitable gift for my friends..

Foams are your friends - try them with a set of Comply tips before you write them off.

 

[vector84]

Taped ZSE: surprisingly balanced for $5 and a couple pieces of tape? or am I just hearing things?

Hopefully someone else feels like taking a mildly destructive plunge with a pair to find out

 

[maxxevv]

Foams are your friends - try them with a set of Comply tips before you write them off.

Or let them burn-in for a day or two on Pink Noise at least. The japanese review link I was referring to in the last 2 pages suggests at least 100 hours (for the ZS6), the treble tamed down after that according to the reviewer.

It was good enough for me after a 12 hour burn-in.

 

[DeltaRay]

Foams are your friends - try them with a set of Comply tips before you write them off.

Yep giving them a go with T400 complys. Doing a left ear v2 right ear v1 now

 

[Slater]

Speaking of the ZSE...

Also a quick look back at some of my older tests with them would suggest that replacing the red nylon nozzle screen should also be a move in the "right" direction (for me).

I always replace those red nylon screens the second I get a KZ IEM with them. I have yet to run across a red-screened IEM where they didn't veil the sound and bloat the bass

 

[Slater]

Speaking of amps supporting kz stuff, how about kz .75cm 2 pin supporting balance?
Several reputable headfi sources are hyping balance amping.

Here's an interesting read from Brooko on balanced amping from the FiiO Q1 v2 thread: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/fii...-ak4452-20-hours.855282/page-18#post-13823249

It's a debated topic...

 

[Podster]

Wanted to try my luck and order 2 blue wo mic at gearbest. Guess I lucked out.. so they ran out of v1 stock already.

Got these in the mail today. My goodness I thought the treble on the v1 was piercing.
These v2 take hi-hats and make them higher-hats. Even on zero volume there’s noisy sound floor. Now I’m considering whether this is a suitable gift for my friends..

If you just put them out on the table the dog would probably like them LOL

OK, I can't tell you how sweet this sub $100 rig sounds but has caused me to reflect on why I buy $200 iem's and $400 DAP's for sure

Delta, is that VE's balanced cable you have on those ZS5's?

 

[kokakolia]

I always replace those red nylon screens the second I get a KZ IEM with them. I have yet to run across a red-screened IEM where they didn't veil the sound and bloat the bass

The red nylon screens just fall off if you sneeze at them LOL.

 

[bsoplinger]

I always replace those red nylon screens the second I get a KZ IEM with them. I have yet to run across a red-screened IEM where they didn't veil the sound and bloat the bass

Remove as in completely gone, nothing there now, nothing replacing it? Just to make sure I understand. A pair arrived yesterday with my order of a pair of each of the super bargain ZS5 and ZS6 from the gearbest thread.

PS: did the pricing of the Bluetooth earphones you wanted from that thread ever get straightened out so you could actually get a pair at the bargain price?

 

[Slater]

The red nylon screens just fall off if you sneeze at them LOL.

Remove as in completely gone, nothing there now, nothing replacing it? Just to make sure I understand. A pair arrived yesterday with my order of a pair of each of the super bargain ZS5 and ZS6 from the gearbest thread.

Yeah, they fall off easily for sure. I've had them fall out in my ears before, which is not fun.

As far as replacing them vs removing them completely, it depends. On some IEMs (like the ATE), I go with no screen at all (I clean my ears before every IEM session so wax buildup isn't an issue). On most though, I replace the red nylon screens with the stainless mesh screens (that cost about $0.08 each). The stainless screens are pretty close to transparent from what I can tell.

I still don't know what to think about the screen on the ZS6 (vs replacing with a standard stainless screen).

PS: did the pricing of the Bluetooth earphones you wanted from that thread ever get straightened out so you could actually get a pair at the bargain price?

The Meizu EP52? Yes, George finally provided a code that worked. But it was at $26 not $19. The EP52 have a much higher wholesale cost than the EP51, so I doubt you'll ever see the EP52 under $20. Still, $26 is a great price for the EP52 though, so I didn't mind.