Knowledge Zenith (KZ) impressions thread | Page 3842 | Headphone Reviews and Discussion - Head-Fi.org

r31ya · Dec 7, 2021 at 9:18 AM

RikudouGoku said:
New TWS

https://www.kztws.com/products/kz-sk10-pro

Yup, kinda expect this one. KZ SK10 with Qualcomm 3040 (+APTX) instead of the old realtek(?) chip.

The advertised graph for SK10 Pro

And compared to the older advertised graph of KZ VX10,

lushmelody · Dec 7, 2021 at 11:20 AM

Is Yume treble lacking extended cymbals like ZEX Pro?

kramercosmo · Dec 7, 2021 at 1:10 PM

I am looking for bluetooth earphones like VX10, SK10. How are these compared to cabled ones in the same price range? Have anyone have bought these and have some review?

Viber · Dec 7, 2021 at 5:08 PM

The quest for old ZSRs continues!

Viber · Dec 7, 2021 at 5:22 PM

kramercosmo said:
I am looking for bluetooth earphones like VX10, SK10. How are these compared to cabled ones in the same price range? Have anyone have bought these and have some review?

In one word: Avoid.

r31ya · Dec 7, 2021 at 7:18 PM

kramercosmo said:
I am looking for bluetooth earphones like VX10, SK10. How are these compared to cabled ones in the same price range? Have anyone have bought these and have some review?

Haven't try it, but review so far goes "They have decent SQ but apparently sucks at being tws" (the sub 2 hour battery, the mic and all).

But they have fix some of the problem with the "Pro" model, which used the more common QC3040 bluetooth chip with APTX for better connection and audio.
The Pro model also have significantly have better battery live from sub 2 hour to near 4 hour.
i think some model adopt cvc 8.0 for better mic, i forgot which.
since the beginning the have game mode so the lag is not that much of a problem.

I'm currently eyeing on KZ SK10 Pro (was waiting for the QC3040 upgrade), Soundpeats Air3, and edifier X3s.
lets see whether the KZ local price will be low enough for beater TWS budget which i kinda blows with unplanned ZEX Pro preorder...

Oh to note, if you wanna buy decent TWS the golden standard now is Lypertek products, Soundpeats H1 pro, and Soundcore Liberty (and other soundcore products)
Or if you wanna cheap beaters, Mpow or Haylou products which i've bought the Haylou GT1XR (the cheapo darling) is ok. not great, i won't called it good, but for the price and function its ok.

unifutomaki · Dec 8, 2021 at 4:21 AM

More ZEX Pro listening impressions, featuring YOASOBI's 夜に駆ける:

The somewhat thin mids are on display again; the piano track comes across as flat
Ikura's vocals are detailed, forward, energetic, with an almost larger-than-life clarity to it
The drums are fast, tight, powerful and - dare I say it - addictive. However, they appear somewhat dampened next to the vocals.
Cymbals are unfortunately barely there - wispy, lacking body, lost in the mix.

Versus the Pioneer CH3T

Piano notes have a softer, more rounded attack on the CH3T; the CH3T has a more organic timbre
Vocals can seem a tad veiled on the CH3T compared to the ZEX Pro, but macrodetail is still acceptable
Drum notes are more prominent on the CH3T, although not necessarily more detailed. Bass decay is slower than on the ZEX Pro.
Cymbals have slightly more body and presence on the CH3T compared to the ZEX Pro.
The ZEX Pro has a wider, though not necessarily deeper, soundstage compared to the CH3T.
Imaging is similar across the ZEX Pro and CH3T (three blobs).

As a sidenote, the final A4000 expectedly wipes the floor with these guys in terms of tonality and technicalities, as it should ($150 vs $30).

SpaceOperaVillain · Dec 8, 2021 at 4:29 AM

re: TWS - I don't get why these exist except to copy Apple, which I deplore, thoroughly. They make mediocre gear and sell it at high prices, and people pay it so their life is full of gadget crap in a monotonous color theme to impress their friends. *yawn*!

All of my IEM pairs are wireless ... with a FiiO BTR3K. I've had it for about a year now and use it everyday, and it's been flawless. Battery life is still pretty close to 10 ~ 11 hours. Equally, FiiO BTR5, Qudelux 5k, or one of these new iFi Blue units are much longer lasting in battery supply, have higher quality DAC/Amps with far more power, and they all support LDAC over BT and wired LDAC when used as a dongle to phone or laptop.

I think KZ's TWS by comparison is in that "good enough for rock" caliber of hifi gear - like a boom box for your ears or a factory radio in an economy car. KZ's wired units with an upgraded bluetooth device is more like a nice set of studio monitors tuned by a teenager with a new Pink Floyd CD. I love that about KZ's products.

I also don't know that I could keep IEMs in my ear without the security of the wire loop over the top. the hang-down IEM always fall-out of my big ol' ear caverns. For sure I'd lose one on the first day, too. The wires might get tangled but I've never lost a wired set of IEM yet. (knocks on wood).

Anyway. If you have a set of TWS and love 'em, great. I just can't personally relate.

</old-man-shaking-first-in-the-air>

unifutomaki · Dec 8, 2021 at 4:52 AM

For convenience, for commuting, and for being able to remove my face mask before eating/drinking without also having to remove my earphones as well, my 1000XM4s are hard to beat. They are not the best sounding gear I own, but if I could only keep one personal audio gadget, the XM4s would be it.

Conversely, a Bluetooth dongle makes little sense to me since it's another device that has to be charged, there's still a cable coming out of it, and yet they're also bottlenecked by Bluetooth audio compression (especially since I use an iPhone). If I'm already dealing with a cable, I'd rather use a battery-less dongle DAC/AMP like my excellent Questyle M12, and get true wired lossless playback.

Tzennn · Dec 8, 2021 at 6:07 AM

Maybe this is the reason why he like zex pro :/

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