The IEM (in ear monitors) Bible thread

[Greg Edwards69]

2 minutes ago, gorandelac said:

Ok guys, you probably tested more things than I did, so I had Shure 215, thez were really good, but then I got KZ ZS10 Pro X.

But they just have too much highs and I really can get used to it....

 

What would you recommend for really nice bass sound without high harshness.

 

Thanks

Before you buy anything else, try a little piece of surgical tape over the nozzle of the ZS10s, apparently this can tame the harsh treble.

https://www.audioreviews.org/trn-vx-modding-ko/

[acidbass]

8 minutes ago, gorandelac said:

Ok guys, you probably tested more things than I did, so I had Shure 215, thez were really good, but then I got KZ ZS10 Pro X.

But they just have too much highs and I really can get used to it....

 

What would you recommend for really nice bass sound without high harshness.

 

Thanks

IMO the ZAR is a much better earphone than the ZS10.  To my ears - they have a nice rounded sound and really suit my needs as bassist and vocalist.

[BlueMoon]

38 minutes ago, acidbass said:

IMO the ZAR is a much better earphone than the ZS10.  To my ears - they have a nice rounded sound and really suit my needs as bassist and vocalist.

Another happy ZAR user here. I also moved away from ZS10’s for similar reasons.

[gorandelac]

Yea thanks guys, those ZARs look promising, but KZ are still the best on market for cheap IEM?

Edited August 21 by gorandelac

[dave_bass5]

17 minutes ago, gorandelac said:

Yea thanks guys, those ZARs look promising, but KZ are still the best on market for cheap IEM?

Can’t be the best if someone doesnt like them. Dont go by what everyone else thinks until you have tried them. People jump on cheap things and swear by them for a time, but that doesn’t mean they are the best outright. 

Edited August 21 by dave_bass5

[EBS_freak]

51 minutes ago, dave_bass5 said:

Can’t be the best if someone doesnt like them. Dont go by what everyone else thinks until you have tried them. People jump on cheap things and swear by them for a time, but that doesn’t mean they are the best outright. 

It's like that infamous camera question. Which is the best lens for my camera...?

[dave_bass5]

2 minutes ago, EBS_freak said:

It's like that infamous camera question. Which is the best lens for my camera...?

Yeah, so many different criteria that it’s impossible to say. 

For a while i used to think a Sue Ryder bass was the best bass available 😎

[EBS_freak]

2 minutes ago, dave_bass5 said:

For a while i used to think a Sue Ryder bass was the best bass available 😎

eh? you mean it isn't?

[dave_bass5]

30 minutes ago, EBS_freak said:

eh? you mean it isn't?

It was for 3 weeks 😂

[gorandelac]

Well, all I'm asking is this, is KZ the only company, that I know of, that makes great headphones under 100e, that are worth buying and as I see around other forums, those are the ones people mostly buy.

 

All I'm asking is there any other brand or company, or have anybody been enlighten by some other product that they tested.

And asking for their own personal taste, what they liked, how did they fit, how long they have them... you know usual stuff that we talk about the gear.

 

I didn't want to be so specific but, my mistake, I should have known this is a usual forum.

 

@dave_bass5 so nothing is the best in the world, so by that I mean best for you, not by others... if you have one pair that you like these are the best for you... or you have a pair you don't like, well guess what they are not best for you.

 

@EBS_freak we are talking about IEM under 100e, best for us bass players, not that hard. Comparing it to "Which is the best lens for my camera...?" is just really childish.

 

Anyway, thank you all for help, 

 

I'll buy a few and test them, because there is no best, we are dealing here with philosophy not bass gear and IEM.

 

But for now KZ ZAR look pretty nice, Ill check around if there is something else like that.

[jimmyb625]

7 minutes ago, gorandelac said:

Well, all I'm asking is this, is KZ the only company, that I know of, that makes great headphones under 100e, that are worth buying and as I see around other forums, those are the ones people mostly buy.

 

All I'm asking is there any other brand or company, or have anybody been enlighten by some other product that they tested.

And asking for their own personal taste, what they liked, how did they fit, how long they have them... you know usual stuff that we talk about the gear.

 

I didn't want to be so specific but, my mistake, I should have known this is a usual forum.

 

@dave_bass5 so nothing is the best in the world, so by that I mean best for you, not by others... if you have one pair that you like these are the best for you... or you have a pair you don't like, well guess what they are not best for you.

 

@EBS_freak we are talking about IEM under 100e, best for us bass players, not that hard. Comparing it to "Which is the best lens for my camera...?" is just really childish.

 

Anyway, thank you all for help, 

 

I'll buy a few and test them, because there is no best, we are dealing here with philosophy not bass gear and IEM.

 

But for now KZ ZAR look pretty nice, Ill check around if there is something else like that.

I think what people are saying, is that it's subjective. 

 

For me, the ZS10's are great. I can't say if they're the best sub £100 set, as I haven't tried every model available. They do what I need them to though, at a price that wouldn't make me wince if I had to replace them.

 

 

[borntohang]

I liked the KZs but yes, found them bright. For the price, excellent with Comply tips and would recommend. I didn't dislike the brightness for cutting through a mix but it started to bother me on more mellow sounds. 

 

I've gone to 535s with custom molds now which was probably overkill compared to just buying some bespokes, but I still use the KZs with Bluetooth adapters for casual listening. 

Edited August 21 by borntohang

[dave_bass5]

1 hour ago, gorandelac said:

Well, all I'm asking is this, is KZ the only company, that I know of, that makes great headphones under 100e, that are worth buying and as I see around other forums, those are the ones people mostly buy.

 

All I'm asking is there any other brand or company, or have anybody been enlighten by some other product that they tested.

And asking for their own personal taste, what they liked, how did they fit, how long they have them... you know usual stuff that we talk about the gear.

 

I didn't want to be so specific but, my mistake, I should have known this is a usual forum.

 

@dave_bass5 so nothing is the best in the world, so by that I mean best for you, not by others... if you have one pair that you like these are the best for you... or you have a pair you don't like, well guess what they are not best for you.

 

@EBS_freak we are talking about IEM under 100e, best for us bass players, not that hard. Comparing it to "Which is the best lens for my camera...?" is just really childish.

 

Anyway, thank you all for help, 

 

I'll buy a few and test them, because there is no best, we are dealing here with philosophy not bass gear and IEM.

 

But for now KZ ZAR look pretty nice, Ill check around if there is something else like that.

My Sen IE100 pro cost £80. So to answer your question, no, KZ are not the only company making cheap IEM’s, and in my experience the IE100’s are better. My IE400 are even better, but cost 3 times as much and are not perfect.

Best can mean many things. Price, fit, sound etc. in my book until all the criteria are met, it’s not a total blanket win, but others will have their own criteria. 

 

[warwickhunt]

4 minutes ago, dave_bass5 said:

My Sen IE100 pro cost £80. So to answer your question, no, KZ are not the only company making cheap IEM’s, and in my experience the IE100’s are better. My IE400 are even better, but cost 3 times as much and are not perfect.

Best can mean many things. Price, fit, sound etc. in my book until all the criteria are met, it’s not a total blanket win, but others will have their own criteria. 

 

 

Agreed, I have the KZs but moved on to the Senn IE100 because they were an all round better fit / seal (regardless of tips used).

[EBS_freak]

3 hours ago, gorandelac said:

 

@EBS_freak we are talking about IEM under 100e, best for us bass players, not that hard. Comparing it to "Which is the best lens for my camera...?" is just really childish.

 

Hey, I think you missed the joke. And - actually, it is hard. If it isn't hard, why are you here asking the question? The point is, everybody hears differently and everybody has different needs, so when you ask what is the best, you'll get a whole multitude of answers. I offer up my "starter" IEM setup as it will give people a good first experience where I know it will work for most people and give them something to build on. In regard to other options... well... some people will complain inears have too much low end, not enough low end, too much mid range... and of course all this can change. If you are a reggae nut for example, you may want an IEM that naturally puts out a load of low end with no EQing. Other folk may hate that. The reference you missed with regard to cameras... is that the similar question is similarly asked. "Whats the best lens?"... the answer to that, like what IEMs and the user is looking to get out them, is the lens which can be wide enough for landscapes, or short focusing enough for macro, or telephoto enough for peeping tom shots. Such a lens which can do all that and suit everybody's needs just doesn't exist.

 

Not only was I not responding to you directly, I was not being childish as Dave will understand (from his camera hobby) about the lens question - but if you think it's childish, so be it. Anyway, if I never provide any more input into IEMs ever again, I think I've done my bit.

Edited August 21 by EBS_freak

[police squad]

9 hours ago, EBS_freak said:

 

Anyway, if I never provide any more input into IEMs ever again, I think I've done my bit.

you are the Guru. It has changed my life

[lemmywinks]

I'd be surprised if there's anything better than the ZS10 for the measly £25 they cost me and for a lot of people that low price (along with the Behringer belt pack) is the little push they need to make the jump. I don't think I'd have convinced the entire band to go IEM if it hand't cost them just £55 each to kit themselves out, plus if you do upgrade later down the line you have a perfectly serviceable spare.

 

Nothing to lose really and they starter kit reccomended on here has been a huge benefit to me and the rest of the band.

[Delberthot]

I've just made the move from KZ AS10 to KZ ZAR as I always found the top end a bit shrill to my sensitive ears but I am having trouble finding the size of eartips that I need for the ZARs.

 

Is it simply just a matter of measuring the outside diameter and looking for Comply tips that size or do you go for ones slightly smaller so that they don't fall off? The Comply tips I have for my AS10s seem overly tight to get them on to the ZARs.

 

I have a set of digital calipers that I can use for this

Edited August 23 by Delberthot

[BlueMoon]

I ended up having a local audiologist make up some custom-fitted ear tips for the KZ ZAR’s. Just had a 3D scan done and am waiting for the tips to come in.  Let’s see how that goes. 

[gorandelac]

4 hours ago, Delberthot said:

I've just made the move from KZ AS10 to KZ ZAR as I always found the top end a bit shrill to my sensitive ears but I am having trouble finding the size of eartips that I need for the ZARs.

 

Is it simply just a matter of measuring the outside diameter and looking for Comply tips that size or do you go for ones slightly smaller so that they don't fall off? The Comply tips I have for my AS10s seem overly tight to get them on to the ZARs.

 

I have a set of digital calipers that I can use for this

Wow, didn't know that there is a difference in diameter between AS10 vs ZAR

I have ZS10 Pro X, and I ordered a bunch of chinese ones, Comply and some other company... so I'm testing them all now.. but didn't know that it's that big od difference between models. 

[Delberthot]

I have managed to get a set of Comply tips on the ZARs but had to use enough force that it took a long time for them to fill back out to their regular shape again.

 

I used so much force that I thought I should have been using larger ones

[lemmywinks]

Knock off Behringer P2 arrived, just briefly compared it to my real Behringer unit and it seems to be extremely similar in performance, just as much headroom.

 

Will open it up later on and get some gut shots.

 

[lemmywinks]

[Chienmortbb]

3 hours ago, lemmywinks said:

I have just received another version called the P1. It looks identical but also comes with a case.The battery design is much better than the Behringer. Will give it a run out later in the week.

[jimmyb625]

I think the accessible stereo/mono switch is a useful improvement.