KZ ZSN PRO X Dual Driver 1BA+1DD Hybrid Metal Earphones with detachable cable

T2 ( not the pro/ plus) and bl03 are genuinely good ( hyped or not)
I've NEVER heard this kind of tuning in a sub 30 IEM, with a proper seal ( difficult to achieve due to the very short stem) the bl03s are freaking exceptional. A -3dB in the mid bass region makes them perfect for even tracking or monitoring.
I approached few custom IEM manufacturers for a custom shell and tips for bl03, everyone rejected my proposal.
I even approached Andy Regan (JHA) and he thankfully gave me 15 minutes over Facetime. This guy seemed genuine and told me straight that he has measured bl03 himself and was really impressed with the tuning, but he is pretty sure that this thing was an happy accident and re-shelling may destroy the tuning. Instead he was generous enough to make few custom tips only ( still waiting for them...don't know when will they deliver...even if they reach Praha, I can't get them in near future)
I don't know of many custom IEM manufacturers except JHA and 64audio. Mee also does it rarely, but only for US residents.
I've contacted Juan Benegal, he's trying from his end to convince them.
Anybody here on custom stuff? Can you please ask your manufacturer? I will go upto 500 bucks.
 
BL 03 is the worst offender - It's pure hype in my opinion. they're soundly beaten by most of my $5 KZ/QKZ's. To me it sounds like a 60's fullrange driver. Sweet mids, but not much else.

Of course, there is another explanation that BLON has lousy QC and the actual tuning is all over the place. Or that because of their shallow fit, the fit is very inconsistent, with it sounding very person dependent.
 
greenhorn said:
BL 03 is the worst offender - It's pure hype in my opinion. they're soundly beaten by most of my $5 KZ/QKZ's. To me it sounds like a 60's fullrange driver. Sweet mids, but not much else.

Of course, there is another explanation that BLON has lousy QC and the actual tuning is all over the place. Or that because of their shallow fit, the fit is very inconsistent, with it sounding very person dependent.
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Just got the blon bl 03 after hearing all the hype on this forum. The seal is genuinely the worst I have ever felt. No matter what I do I still can’t get a proper seal in my ears due to the stem not being deep enough to cover outside sound.

They sound decent to me till now but the seal is a serious problem.

My KZ ZS10 Pro have to be by far the best earphones I have ever used especially for the kind of music I listen to (metal and edm)
 
I really don't know what did you guys get, I bought 5 pairs of bl03 and except one ( with mild channel imbalance) all the pairs sounded stellar. Yes, getting a good fit is very difficult ( may be impossible if you don't buy tips separately, I have at least few hundreds from various manufacturers and had a hard time getting a good fit) but with a good fit they sound incredible for the price.
I've never hard this fast bass decay in any sub 100 USD IEMs ever. Even the highs ( the most difficult area of audible spectrum) are done brilliantly without that artificial smoothening ( made popular by Andromeda followed by everyone)
The closest IEM to this kind of refined tuning is possibly the IE40 Pro. I've mixed with bl03s and later compared with NDH20 ( the flattest, meanest mixing headphones I've ever had), nothing much was missing ( except a bit anaemic mid bass and that's obvious as I was consciously scooping a broad midbass area by 3-4dB...basically a wide Q around 200Hz in Fabfilter ProQ2...that's the EQ I'm highly familiar with after 10 years in the mixing)
If you guys have genuine bl03s, don't give up on them, keep experimenting with eartips, you will hit the sweet spot...there's a tendency of using foam tips with them ( some people must have liked the sound)..with foam..they sounded horrendous to my ears and I ended up using slightly modded Shure silicon olive tips ( basically the olives placed over a weird hard plastic tip that used to come with IE8/80/7 years ago...never understood what those were!!)
Make sure the cable is properly bent...by default the crazy cable tend to shove away the iem from the ear canals, cut the plastic sleeve if necessary...it's very easy...but changing cable won't change the sound AT ALL...just for ergonomics...please don't give up on those so early...they are tremendous value ( coming from an idiot who have spent thousands upon thousands on headphones and IEMs...could have easily bought a German sedan or two with the money I've spent on audio gears..that's why I drive an old ****ed up Honda)
BTW, the AKM factory has been completely destroyed by the fire...so there will be no AKM till mid 2022 at least...do you think Texas Instruments can make a comeback in the DAC space? Or will it be all ESS? ( I hate the harsh ESS sound, though they have somewhat toned it down in recent years, will always have a soft spot for AKM)
 
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greenhorn said:
yes mostly in the 30-40$ range with a few forays into the 50+ segment like TFZ no 3 and iBasso IT00
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Did you ever try the Tin T2 or the KZ ZS10 Pro? These two got praise for their VFM and how good they sounded even by those who share your opinion of the chifi scene.
 
Most Tin T2 reviews say the bass is not so great , so skipped it. yes i have the ZS10 pro. It's among the better KZ ones (along with the ZS7 which has the best sound, but a somewhat compromised fit)
 
T2's bass is not that bad!! It's not abundant like mass tuned IEMs. It's fast, snappy and plenty for me. For me even with hip-hop, it sounds good. It has a very balanced sound without smoothened treble but non fatiguing, clarity is exceptional.
ZS10 Pro is also a very capable IEM, beautiful layered bass, slightly rolled off treble with mild smoothening of the high treble and a touch recessed mid ( possibly my ears, not accustomed to this much bass) overall a very nice warm sounding IEM which isn't dark at all!!
T2 is a cold, non offensive IEM ( some may find it boring, I don't)
If you're coming from an average consumer grade IEM, both will be a significant upgrade for you. ZS10 Pro will sound familiar, T2 may sound a little thin but more detailed ( a lot more if the source and digital files are good rips even @ 192) If you have an amp, get the ZS10, they scale up nicely, T2 not that much.
If you can stretch your budget a bit, can look into IE40 Pro, a significant upgrade..a more refined and coherent sound.
Happy listening!!
 
I'm using KZ ED16 (supposedly ZS7) and I bought them cuz of the detachable cables.

Also, the replacement cables can be bought for 300 rupees, though there are options for 800 and even 1.5k for fancier cables. The first batch of second revision KZ bluetooth cable had trash range, unfortunately that's the batch which I ordered from. Going from wired to BT to back wired when the BT battery died just felt like the future lol.

Was planning to get Blon bl03 but I think I'll wait a while cuz my budget always gets shafted at the last moment lol.

Sadly, aliexpress has stopped servicing India which is gonna be a huge PITA for people wanting to buy IEMs from other companies like KZ bear (rebranded kz lol) but have heard good stuff about them, esp cuz of their smaller, more compact shells.
 
kvn95ss said:
I'm using KZ ED16 (supposedly ZS7) and I bought them cuz of the detachable cables.

Also, the replacement cables can be bought for 300 rupees, though there are options for 800 and even 1.5k for fancier cables. The first batch of second revision KZ bluetooth cable had trash range, unfortunately that's the batch which I ordered from. Going from wired to BT to back wired when the BT battery died just felt like the future lol.

Was planning to get Blon bl03 but I think I'll wait a while cuz my budget always gets shafted at the last moment lol.

Sadly, aliexpress has stopped servicing India which is gonna be a huge PITA for people wanting to buy IEMs from other companies like KZ bear (rebranded kz lol) but have heard good stuff about them, esp cuz of their smaller, more compact shells.
Click to expand...
Btw there is an Indian company that still sells a lot of IEMs and other audiophile equipment at upmarked prices. So if you really want it, you can still get it - https://www.headphonezone.in/
 
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