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KZ overwhelm

#21
bordinco90 said:
I use the CCA C12s while playing bass and it sounds great! You should try them.
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IMO the CCA's and KZ's are basically the same thing, described in reviews as being "sister brands" so I'm assuming they're probably from the same factory etc, similar to Chevrolet/GM i.e. in being "similar". I went from KZ-C10's (which are now my backups) to CCA-C12's which I think are somewhat "better". Both have a V-shaped response curve but with properly sealed tips they're really clear in both highs and lows with sufficient (for me) mids and the bass is definitely solid and punchy. But as others have stated getting a good seal is critical to the overall sound quality and especially to the bass response.

For reference, at the suggestion of my BL who uses Moondrop S8's ($700) I tried a set of Moondrop Blessing 2's which cost 6X+ more than the CCA's ($319 vs $40 - 50 bucks). The Moondrop has a very flat response curve which for me didn't give me near enough high end for my long time rock band damaged hearing. As a flat, balanced reference IEM the Moondrop's would likely be great for someone who wants that flat response. Sold them to a band mate who loves them, but for me the CCA's were clearly better FOR MY NEEDS.
 
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#22
J.Wolf said:
I tried this with 2 kits and couldn’t nail it, need to try it again with some help in getting the tube centered in the mold
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Took me 2 times as well. I wore the wire connected to the Kzs to help guide me. I also cut the ear canal part down to the Kzs speaker screen after all was said and done.
 
#23
MuthaFunk said:
I have two bands that gig weekends all on KZ 10 Pro's. They work great for us. Great value and price. I bought a variety of foam tips from Alibaba to make sure everyone got an o.k. fit so the low end comes in.

I'm curious about the molded option? Any product suggestions on that? I'd like to try it out.
Click to expand...

I used these.

Radians Custom Molded Earplugs https://a.co/d/g4cMfSb
 
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#27
N Scott Shaw said:
I have the KZ AS10's and they're pretty good. I use them for casual listening or at the gym. I rarely use them for gigging as I have some Westones for that. Does anyone on here know about a cable that works with them that has the keeper on them so I can cinch them up on the back of my head?
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The trick was to keep the little twist tie that came with them. It is fairly stiff and stays in place, you just had to trim it.
 
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#28
I have had the KZ AS10s for awhile now and I do not recommend them. They have a pretty big bump in the low mids around 120Hz. It gives this boomy, droning sound. TBH the KZs and many many others like them are not really "IEMs". Any kind of real monitor should be fairly flat and not color the sound, so as to give you a truer representation of the sound. This tends to give a boring listening experience so these "IEMs" are tuned to give a particular and "exciting" sound.

That having been said, I'm cheap, so I'm looking for cheap "IEM" with a flatter frequency response to replace my cheap AS10s. I'm actually kind of bummed to see your post because I was hoping the ZS10 Pros might be a better alternative ha
 
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#30
TommyGunz said:
I have been eyeing the Truthear X Crinancle Zero Red (wow thats a mouthful) lately. But there are just so many out there I'm trying to do more research before spending the hard-earned money again.
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I used the extended holiday return period on amazon to buy like 15 IEMs. Truth Ear Zero Reds are really nice for listening. Less hyped (V-shaped) than the KZ-Pro10s but still have a HUGE amount of bass.

Out of all of the ones I tried on amazon, the BASN Metalan Pro stood out for bass playing. I haven't been able to use them live or in a practice yet, but testing them at home they made my bass sound the best and were the most pleasant to listen to. Plenty of deep bass, but not as overwhelming and fatiguing as something like the KZs
 
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#31
I bought a pair of KS ZS10 Pro X’s after reading all the hype and reviews thinking it was an upgrade and improvement over my KS ZS10 Pro’s but in reality in my opinion there is less “punch” with the new Pro X’s.

In my experience the ZS10 Pro’s are still the best choice in IEM’s for bass players within the KS model range.
 
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#32
The silicone tips that come with the ZS10 Pro’s are very comfortable but not nearly as sealing as the Comply Foam tips. It’s also worth considering upgrading the stock cable to a Tripowen or similar.

With the foam tips and cable upgrade they are formidable IEM’s!
 
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#33
Just thought I would chime back in on this thread because I'm still curious about the best options in this chi-fi pricing bracket. I've long been a vocal advocate of the "can't do much better than ZS 10 pros with upgraded cable and comply tips for 100 bucks" line of thinking.

One thing has become apparent the last few times I've used them is how bright the ZS10 pro's are and how it can give me a somewhat unrealistic picture of where my treble response is at. I can end up sending a somewhat dull signal to the front of the house based on how bright the bass sounds in my ears. I like the detail, it can just sound a little bit harsh.

Now there are ZS 10 pro X, ZS 12 pro, not to mention existing stuff like the CCA C12, Moondrop Chu and others. Curious, if anybody has discovered anything that has the low end feel/response of the ZS10 Pro with more balanced mid range and natural top end?
 
#34
J.Wolf said:
Just thought I would chime back in on this thread because I'm still curious about the best options in this chi-fi pricing bracket. I've long been a vocal advocate of the "can't do much better than ZS 10 pros with upgraded cable and comply tips for 100 bucks" line of thinking.

One thing has become apparent the last few times I've used them is how bright the ZS10 pro's are and how it can give me a somewhat unrealistic picture of where my treble response is at. I can end up sending a somewhat dull signal to the front of the house based on how bright the bass sounds in my ears. I like the detail, it can just sound a little bit harsh.

Now there are ZS 10 pro X, ZS 12 pro, not to mention existing stuff like the CCA C12, Moondrop Chu and others. Curious, if anybody has discovered anything that has the low end feel/response of the ZS10 Pro with more balanced mid range and natural top end?
Click to expand...

The latest ZS model (ZS10 Pro 2) have 4 small switches on each ear piece to enhance or reduce certain frequencies, they may be able to adjust the harsh frequencies you refer to?
 
#37
Myself and my band use KZ ZS10 Pro X. They went from good to great when I found online their analyzed EQ response and recommended corrections to make them neutral. Since we use digital mixer with 4 x parametric EQ, I just created preset and loaded it to everyone's AUX.

I already uploaded this chart somewhere on this forum, but here it goes again:

kz zs10 pro eq.png
 
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#38
RattleSnack said:
Myself and my band use KZ ZS10 Pro X. They went from good to great when I found online their analyzed EQ response and recommended corrections to make them neutral. Since we use digital mixer with 4 x parametric EQ, I just created preset and loaded it to everyone's AUX.

I already uploaded this chart somewhere on this forum, but here it goes again:

View attachment 7113350
Click to expand...

I bought (and subsequently sold) my set of Pro X, I didn’t think they were as good (for bass guitar) as the ZS10 Pro. They altered the frequency curve slightly on the Pro X which to my ears doesn’t make them as good as the Pro for bass guitar IMHO.
 
#39
Baker69 said:
I bought (and subsequently sold) my set of Pro X, I didn’t think they were as good (for bass guitar) as the ZS10 Pro. They altered the frequency curve slightly on the Pro X which to my ears doesn’t make them as good as the Pro for bass guitar IMHO.
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Thanks for info, I haven't had chance to try Pro non X model. Do you remember in what way did they sound different?
 
#40
RattleSnack said:
Thanks for info, I haven't had chance to try Pro non X model. Do you remember in what way did they sound different?
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Although the bass on the Pro X is deep I think the Pro must have a bit more in the low mids as the bass seems to punch through more?

Hard to describe but I A/B’d them for a few weeks before selling the Pro X’s to our guitarist.
 

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