KZ - ZEX

I believe this is an important question.

There are two broad ways to decide if an earphone/headphone/dac/Amp etc are good.

The first is by musicality and it's reproduction of your SPECIFIC library. How does it make you feel? How do the songs you've heard a hundred times come alive with this new piece of gear?

The second way is to measure SINAD values, harmonic distortion, adherence to the Harman curve (if that is your priortity) and the measurement of dynamic range. If it measures better, it is better, end of story.

Although I have been unable to measure the earphones in accordance with method 2. I have heard my library through these for a total of 6 days now.

As per my library, exceptionally produced hip hop and pop Such as Tupac, Dre, Tribe Called Quest and similar artists is reproduced with tremendous authenticity while picking up on all the Easter egg details the producers placed in the music.

However, badly mastered music is incredibly visible through these. Additionally, sample repetition can get annoying because you are hearing every single one so clearly. For example, pop hits from Sean Paul, David Guetta and the entire house ecosystem can get boring fast. The opposite is true for complex layers productions from knife party, skrillex and tool. These earphones will bring out every layer of the music and present it to you like a delicious trifle.

Specifics -

EST is picking up on all the micro details that DD misses and BA over emphasizes. Fit is average. Tips are trash. Wire is fine.

A quality DAC is kind of required to get the maximum out of these. I am using the TC44B by DDhifi because of its industry leading distortion and SINAD values. Truly an incredible combo. I feel like I am in sitting in a studio.

Worth it for the price. If you are comparing this to the CaCC16. This is better as it does not have a metallic tinge. If you are comparing this to the KZ DQ6, the DQ6 performs better for mainstream genres because of its 3DD. But the ZEX tonal reproduction and echo reproduction blows it out of the water. If you plan on listening to a diverse set of music, ZEX is better. If you just want to listen to pop, rock and hip hop, DQ6 is better. If you want to listen to jazz, blues and orchestral music the ZEX seems to be better for my library.

I have been using the earphones with my Realme 3 pro(music player - Poweramp Pro(Configured with AAudio output), Music listened are in lossless flac format in both 16bit and 24bit)for 3 days now but it's been on my ears for more than 12hrs with in this span, I haven't used an IEM before so my comparisons would be to the Sony MDR XB55AP which is a bass focused one even then I like the bass on ZEX better it's more of a rich bass it's not as powerfull as the Sony's at the low end but ZEX has much richer bass in the mids. The treble is not even a comparison between these two ZEX definitely has better treble, the mids are almost similar other than in the case of additional clarity that ZEX provides. The Vocals are bit recessed compared to the bass and treble. The soundstage is much better than XB55AP the instrument seperation is phenomenal for me since I haven't heard anything better(Sony MDR EX150AP, RHA MA390, Sennheiser CX180 Street 2, Sennheiser CX 275s are other earphones I have listened to so just take it in that context). This thing sounds so good for me I don't wanna stop listening to music. Now to the clear negatives, I have seen reviews complaining on KZ's sharp treble and most reviews said this one doesn't have that but that's just in case of music! But there are rare cases where the treble hurts my ears while listening to music but the obvious problem is when it comes to watching other kindoff content, ZEX comes in a budget area and if you're buying it you are probably gonna use it for everything and while watching a video(to be specific tech news by TechLinked produced by LINUS MEDIA GROUP on YouTube) I had a situation where the host screamed in excitement and it was like he actually screamed into my ears, I'm not sure whether thats a good thing! That's it when it comes to audio it has rich bass both at Low and Mid end, Treble and clarity is good as is the soundstage but the Mids and vocals are bit recessed well that's what V shaped signature means! And to the other things I have some big ears so the Ear hook type cable prevents the ZEX from a firm fit. It doesn't mean it just falls of but I can't even think about headbangs 😂 adding to the injury are the eartips(The worst part about the KZ ZEX) in the box which actually worsens the fit I tried my Sony's ear-tips with it, which actually gave me a better fit but since the stem is narrower most times I take out the earphones the tips stays in my ears. The Mic quality is good. The cable is better than any of the Earphones I listed. Over all it's a good package for the price on what I have seen.

Update : upgrading from 4 to 5 stars...now am loving these more than my blon 03 .. because of awesome vocal and balanced lows and highs

This review is based on upgraded Kz 8 core cable and spinfit cp100 tips with shanling Q1 , actually this sound fantastic with shanling Q1 very wide and full

Request to HPZ..please add 4 options in your rating..like next to OK it should be Good and then Great, ( dnt want to mention average nor Awesome :).,

Design and comfort
•Good

Sound Quality
•Good

Value for Money
• Bang on

Again too many positive reviews tempted me to buy this

After 30 hrs burning, now I feel like .ok the reviews are right :)

Blon 03 competitor??? Can say YES and No too :)
Can't match blon's vocal ..but overall sound is definitely good

Lows are tight not bloated

Mids are clean..don't feel like recessed

Highs - before burning I feel like what is this kind?! Very artificial not satisfied., But after burning it's now good..hope it will get much better

Many said it highs are much better than pre KZ's , am not having much KZ this is my 2nd after Edx pro that too bought for the price :) and am really got surprised by its price to performance ratio., So i thought ZEX will equal MOONDROP ARIA sound in 2k range 😊.,don't know how ARIA sounds , but ZEX sounds good
This iem world is a kind of mystery always... person to person opinion differs we can't trust all reviews., You have to check the reviewers taste will suits you or not

Pros : easy to drive, your phone with power amp is enough
Good fit and the cable are also ok for the price you pay , definitely the cables are better than blon's (never seen such a worst iem cable)
Cons : treble could have been better , hope it will get better
But for this price definitely it's worth your money

My setup : OnePlus 7, shanling UA2 with power amp., Spinfit c145 eartips and fiio FD1s (image)
I suggest you to jus switch off EQ completely and turn on TONE AND LIMIT

In TONE - set the BASS at 60% and treble at 50., I feel this setup is great for most of iems...Hope my words gave some clarity

Happy listening :)

The barrage of emails asking me to review a product within days of purchase is very annoying. I wish headphone zone do not pester customers with multiple emails for reviews. Please allow me to use the KZ properly before I can write an informed review

distortion levels are significantly lower than other similarly priced iems, ig it's the EST drivers doing their magic, highs are crispy. Mainly v-shaped sound but sometimes flat. You can hear the bass but you don't feel it. I personally don't find bass-boosted headphones enjoyable, so these are great for me.
Comfort is good, with the right kind of tips you can wear these for hours.
I'm not a big fan of L-shaped connectors, they make use with phones a bit uneasy but not a big deal.
Decent mic, good for calls and zoom meetings.
Overall great product.