Hello.
I am currently choosing the appropriate wired headphones. I decide between KZ ZS5, 6 or 10 (Pro). I would like to ask which would you rather recommend as the most suitable?
I listen to film music: Avatar, Last Samurai, popular and classical music ... (no rock/metal)
Which headphones are you happy with and what experience do you have?
I'm looking for the best price / sound quality ratio. I read on the Internet that KZ headphones offer the best I can expect on very expensive models, plus most can be bought at $ 22-26 on Aliexpress/Gearbest. However, I do not resist recommending another brand. I do not have such an overview. Is it even better to have another brand at that price?
Thank you in advance for your help.
What are your sound preferences? U like more bass/treble or vice versa? U want something neutral/V shaped/Harman curve tuned?
I've been buying KZ IEMs since the past 3 years and own quite a few. The KZ 5/6 are quite outdated compared to the recent releases, and they may have a very harsh and painful treble peak, so not advisable. For a few bucks more, I would strongly recommend to go for their newer offerings, which have better improvements. KZ ZS10 Pro is not too bad for the price, it can hit about 80% sound quality of some of my midfi Westones and at a fraction of the price. Though KZ ZS10 Pro has issues with the timbre in the treble frequency, not the best for classical music. There is a successor to it called the KZ ZSX (terminator) that has better timbre and improvements over the ZS10 Pro, though it is a few bucks more and I haven't heard it, but reviews are very good for it.
There are a lot of good CHIFI fare that are < $50 USD with great reviews that were recently released: TRN V90, KZ ZSX, CCA C12, BLON BL-03. U can check out or ask more at these threads:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/bes...nd-impressions-sharing-reference-list.805930/
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/chinese-asian-brand-iem-info-thread.820747/
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/bes...ith-reference-list-no-big-brands-here.872245/
U can also ask more in the dedicated KZ thread:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/knowledge-zenith-kz-impressions-thread.698148/
Honestly KZs are good for their technicalities like details, clarity, instrument separation, but they tend to lack finesse in the areas of tonality and timbre. For classical music, timbre is very important IMHO. There's other CHIFI that excel at timbre/tonality but at the expense of technicalities, so it depends on what u prefer in your sound signature.
Another good option that is detailed yet neutralish is the Tin T2 and CCA C16. Though these may be a bit anaemic in the bass. But I would think they may be suitable for classical.
One set I use for classical frequently is the BLON BL-03. It has excellent timbre/tonality, but is not as good in technicalities as the recent KZs. It has issues with the stock tips, so u may need to get aftermarket longer tips/spacer mods. It is ~ 28 USD, one of my favourite IEMs to give a natural timbre for classical.
All the best in your search and do feel free to PM me if u need to ask more, or ask the others in these threads.
