KZ ZS3 Review

The KZ ZS3   

Budget Enthusiast In-ears with removable cables. 

INTRO

I have a love-hate relationship with Chinese headphone brands. 

On one hand these companies make some of the best headphones that I can buy without losing sleep over the purchase, and on the other hand their shoddy quality control brings the stereotypes of Chinese manufacturing into focus which makes it extremely difficult for me to recommend these to anyone who isn't buying headphones as a hobby. 

KZ or Knowledge Zenith is no different. These headphones are not your cheap China market rip-offs. Infact these are by far some of the best sounding In-ears at this price range ever since Xiaomi (another Chinese manufacturer) discontinued the Piston 2 and Piston 3 (which went for Rs. 999). A quick search at Head-fi will show you the 1261 page long Impressions thread related to the company in general. While arguably the ED-9 might be their most popular headphone, these are one of the most recommended.

So this post will try to get into all the relevant details on why you may want to (or not), get these headphones. 

PACKAGING

I bought my pair about a year back at the time of writing this article. At that time the Xiaomi Piston 3 was serving as my primary driver. But the silicon insulator on my Piston's cables were wearing out and the wire underneath was exposed. Having experienced this situation before, I knew it was time to get a replacement. This is where the Knowledge Zeniths came in. Initially I wanted to get the KZ ATE but after seeing the ZS3 on the recommendations on company's official Alibaba.com store, I knew I had to get these instead. 

Why? For SCIENCE! 

I got my pair from a seller at ebay, so that I don't have to be at the mercy of customs (Buy from here) and it took about a week and a half to be delivered at Kolkata. 

The package was much smaller than I expected, and contained the bare minimum. If you are familiar with the Vsonic VSD series you will realize that you have just witnessed the ironic situation of one Chinese manufacturer ripping off another Chinese manufacturer. Truly a savage and relentless industry. 

DESIGN & COMFORT

The ZS3 is gorgeous, it looks very different from every other headphone in this price range. Most Indians are rarely used to wearing the cable with the ear hook design. But with many sub 2000/- choices popping up from foreign manufacturers like Brainwavz, and locals like Evidson I hope that people will come to appreciate this design with the advantages it offers over the standard worn down types. 

These are shaped differently. In the highest end segment of In ears lie the hallowed existences called Custom In-Ear Monitors or CIEMs. These IEMs are custom built and shaped according to the shape of the buyer's ear. The ultimate in personalization. 

Obviously the ZS3 isn't a top of the line. But the design is such that it looks like a custom in-ear and that makes it stand out. The body itself is glossy plastic and built relatively well. 

The thicker than average cable attaches to the in ears with a help of a two pin connector. And the model I ordered contains a single button universal mic which works well. 

It has an L-shaped connector with thick strain relief, so its unlikely to break over there. 

All this brings us to the problems. The cable is made up of some paradoxical thick, hard and soft material which usually would be a good thing, but is apparently not the case here. In the upper picture, you can see the two-pin connector. Note that the cable is a bit warped at that junction. It wasn't a major problem at first but a month of usage in, the stress caused the material to tear, which reminds me of how my Pistons broke. 

The wire itself retains a lot of memory, which means once you bend it one way it retains that shape. This is supposed to help you wear them over your ear, but heaven knows who served as a test bed for these measurements. I never get a comfortable grip on my ears with these. 

The shape of the IEM itself does not fit me well, it seems a bit too large for me, and I have big ears. So this will be complete no-no for someone with small ears. 

SOUND QUALITY

Now, this is where this headphone shines. For its asking price of around Rs 1.1K  (the price I got these for) the performance is exceptional. 
Highs, or the higher frequencies are well done, it not very crisp and sharp but that might be a good thing for people like me who prefer to keep the treble down. Mids or mid-frequences are balanced, slightly warm you can imagine the bass seeps into this range too, vocals sound great. I like my mids, and for me this does the job better the piston 3 and Meelectronics M6P. The lows is where this thing shines, it isnt a bass monster like many Sony's at this range. 

What differentiates buckets of 'Bad bass' from Good is how tight and accurate that bass is. The flimsy thump shouldn't be the only thing audible in your track. If you do like that however, this pair isn't for you. Summarizing, the lows are great, there is sufficient quantity to please any plebian and it is controlled enough to keep an enthusiast from complaining. In fact the bass in these are better than the Piston 3 in my opinion. 

Hence these work with EDM or electronic music in general which is fast paced. Classical and Jazz might not be its forte but it handles well for something at this price range with sufficient clarity and instrument separation so that you can hear individual instruments clearly. 

My only complaint is the sound stage, or the openness which the headphone simulates. While not bad. I personally feel the Piston 3 did a better job, slightly. Its definitely not something to write home about. All in all, I do think its better than the Piston 3 in general and hence one if not the best for Rs. 1000-1200. 

CONCLUSION

The KZ ZS3 has its own share of problems, it might not fit well for you, the cable though thick and sturdy may break at the joints. But thats also true for most if not all in-ears, I am a rough user and these have survived a whole year with me, though not as my primary driver. That itself is more than what I can say for other brands like JBL, Xiaomi, Philips etc in this price bracket. 

I am doubtful you could go through the trouble of sending it back to China if anything happens to it to claim warranty, which is why I call it an enthusiast headphone. It will never be my primary recommendation to the regular consumer. 

Though if you want the very best at this price, and since the Piston 3 which were safe recommendations are discontinued, you should give these a chance. Its a great addition to any collection and a good pair to have.