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KZ opted for their usual V-shaped approach, but this time they finally got it right by avoiding the usual blatant unbalance that plagues most of their headphones. These are still heavily coloured headphones, but at least they’re enjoyable and don’t display excessive peaks or dips.
Kickscooter ES4 | Segway Kickscooter ES4 | Segway
KZ ZS10: the midrange on the ZS10 is much more recessed and much less balanced; treble, too, is way less present and detailed. It almost feels dull in comparison to the AS10. The only point in common is bass, which is however not as emphasised on the new model. In terms of technical ability, the AS10 win in terms of detail, but the ZS10 are better on the soundstage front. The rest is a tie. The KZ ES4 features 4 drivers in total, distributed in 2 per earpiece. The dual driver setup includes 1 balanced armature and one 10 mm dynamic driver, each driver will independently be responsible of reproducing different audio frequencies – the dynamic driver will take care of the lower end while the balanced armature will resolve mid and upper frequencies. Females vocals can get sibilant(yes they can, CardiB went sibilant on Dinero by JLo). They are too sharp, sharper than ZST. But the best part is that you can hear breathe of singers. The KZ ZSN are a bit unusual from a design perspective, at least when it comes to KZ standards: the shell is made of transparent plastic (with a fumé finish in my case, but also available in green/cyan and magenta) and the faceplate is made of metal. It is held in place with three screws, placed in the three angles – as the faceplate has an overall triangular shape. On top of the choice of materials, which is new for KZ, the other news is the shape which reminds me of IEMs such as the BGVP DM6. The shell is in fact similar to that of previous KZ earphones, such as the KZ ZS10 or the KZ AS10, so this is not something that we’ve never seen before. This transparent plastic exposes all the innards, so one can easily see the (relatively) large dynamic driver and the balanced armature. The nozzle is made of metal (aluminium?) which should make it much more durable than usual plastic. Isolation-wise the KZ ZSN are decent, but alas distant from the 26 dB noise reduction touted by the manufacturer. Ambient noise gets reduced by a little bit, but I could not avoid raising the volume while on public transport. Sound & SpecsAs it is customary for KZ’s latest earphones, the cable is detachable and uses two 0.75 mm pins – so it is compatible with cables such as the AK Audio 4-core 7N copper cable or the Yinyoo 8-core SPC cable. The company claims that the receptacle can last up to 10,000 plug-unplug actions, which would imply a long life for the earphones.
KZ ES4 Earphones Dual Drivers In-Ear Headphones KZ Yinyoo KZ ES4 Earphones Dual Drivers In-Ear Headphones KZ
The ES4 sounds like a downgraded ZS10 in terms of technicalities; instrument separation is good but not exceptional and it can’t withstand complex situations without muffling things up a bit, while soundstage has limited width and imaging can only give you a hint of the instrument’s position. I would say that the KZ ZSN are good for most genres; their V-shaped tuning makes them especially apt for modern genres, but it’s up to one’s taste in the end.
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Instruments can be a little coloured in image but are precisely placed in stage and not like ZS10 weird stage effect. Pace, Rhythm and Timing is also good, but overall it is a little incoherent(way better than many hybrids, but still, not like my 64audio). Now, the shape is not exactly the same as that of the ZS10, but it is instead slightly rounder and smaller. These two facts together afford the ES4 a better fit and therefore make them more comfortable. I used the ES4 for two or three hours at a time and felt just some slight fatigue, which is quite a good result. There’s still some way to go before KZ nails the perfect shape, but we’re getting there. Tries to get into upper bass register and bleed towards mid, but is now in control due to tenmak tips. It is to punchy and is distinct(I don't like that much punch) but is still maintaining a fundamental tone, so I can tolerate. But on slow, classical or orchestral songs this mid bass is very good. It defines the weight of instruments.
KZ ES4 – In-Ear Fidelity KZ ES4 – In-Ear Fidelity
Treble is where the ES4 has a clear advantage over other KZ headphones, as it is a bit more extended and it has a nice resolution which leads to a good perceived level of detail. Now, the thing is it doesn’t hold a candle against headphones that really have good extension and good detail (e.g. Tin Audio T2), but the ES4 can hold its own in its class. Don’t expect anything too fancy; you can hear a good few details, but all the micro-details that often make the difference in telling a really good product from an average one are not there. I tried the KZ AS10 with the following equipment: Topping DX7, Venture Electronics RunAbout 2.0bl, Cayin N5ii, Aune M1s. Source files were standard resolution FLACs for the better part. Though it is useless, I ran break-in for 100 hours. KZ AS10 During our extreme bass tests the KZ ES4 were able to handle 40% of the maximum power of a Fiio E12 amplifier while being set to high gain and with bass boost turned on; a custom basshead EQ was used. The extreme amplification and equalization, made lower frequencies of the KZ ES4 achieve a massive increment of mid-bass punch and sub-bass depth that even provided a crazy basshead level of impact and rumble way above the Xiaomi Mi Pro HD, Monoprice 8320 and even stronger than the Xiaomi Mi In-Ear Headphones Pro but not as impacting as the Sony MDR-EX650 , Sony MDR-EX800ST and Pioneer SE-CX8 . With an EQ you will be able to customize their lower mids and male vocals into absolutely clear and free of mid-bass bleed. Higher mids can be EQ’ed to calm down some of their harshy peaks without getting recessed. This and the ED16 are the best KZ mids to date. Whoever at the factory that was supposed to scoop the mids must have had the day off as they are more present in the mix than any other KZ in memory. I still hear the ES4 as a V (and the FR graphs prove that out as the mids are nearly 5db behind the treble and 7-9db behind the bass) but the sound is so well proportioned that it does not listen like a big V but more like a shallow V with a lively presence region.
Final Thoughts
KZ ES4 the latest release from KZ with a dual hybrid configuration, detachable cables and plastic housings. Noise isolation of the KZ ES4 is highly efficient, with a level of reduction of surrounding noises far stronger than most average earphones. You can set your volume within moderate and they will still provide a near absolute isolation, by cranking the volume just a bit higher the will isolate you completely from noises.
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