Transcription
This is KZ EDC Pro. It has a pretty good tuning for a $12 IEM. Well, is it worth it? Let's find [Music] out.
Well, I got this unit for just $7, so I thought, why not buy some extra units? I did. I tested them. At first, I only got two units, so let's see if it's worth it or not. Before starting, all of the units that I got for KZ are for giveaway. You know the drill: subscribe and comment, and you're eligible for the giveaway. I will announce the winners on 15th of October, so stay tuned.
If I talk about the build quality and design, the IEM is light and cheap plastic. However, we cannot say it is bad, since I have seen similar kind of build quality in the $20 segment as well. So, it gets my pass here, and for $7, a good pass. I will not talk about durability and robustness, which I feel is absent there, and I do not expect that either at this price point. Cable quality again is same as that of all KZ and CCA IEMs. Nothing to say or like here. It's okay, and for $7, for what I get, or at the price of $12, again, it's a pass.
Comfort and fit on these IEMs is top-notch. However, the supply tips are really bad. They do not have good isolation. They do not fit very well. The frequency response does not feel very good when you are on those tips, so you might want to get other tips with these IEMs. Then again, for the price, it's okay.
Technical performance again, very easy to drive. Single driver, you can literally drive it with anything that has 3.5mm, seriously, anything. Overall, it's an okay package for the price. It gets the pass. However, one thing where I do not cut slack is the sound. Let's check it out.
This IEM is tuned very good for the budget. Seriously, this kind of tuning is regarded as a good V-shaped signature. Although the bass and treble are slightly more emphasized than they should be, but overall, well-done tuning. KZ, interesting part, the tuning is good, but it does not sound very good. The bass does not hit very well. Mids are overly warm, they are grainy and dry. The treble is well extended, but again, doesn't have that sustained shine. The timbre is very dry on this one.
Let's break it down in details, starting with the bass. Bass on this IEM is slow and sounds hollow. So, while the amount of mid-bass thump and the sub-bass rumble is satisfactory, it is not a very enjoyable bass. Quality of bass is just down the hill. Even in the mids, the vocals seem like they're coming from way back than they should, and the vocals sound grainy and warm. Especially female vocals are not good at all. The mids sound like this, and the timbre overall is just dry. For example, if you listen to Ameed Bones, the bass is just going on, the decay is just too delayed, and the vocals are supposed to come from a bit back, but in this IEM, they sound like they're coming from a hollow tunnel.
The treble is the only okay part of this IEM. It has no sharpness, no sibilance that I noticed, with a fair bit of air. It's a good treble for a $12 IEM, but again, the overall texture is so poor on this IEM that you cannot enjoy anything. However, the details on this IEMs are very good for the price, which comes to the technicalities. While the overall resolution is poor, mainly because of the texture, the level of details it produced is at par for a $20 or $25 IEM. And because of that hollowness in the mids, it gives you that illusion of a holographic soundstage. Well, it's not there, let it be illusion though. The good part is it never feels congested. Imaging and separation are good for the price as well.
Overall, I would say it's an okay build IEM that doesn't sound good and is hyped just because of this price. It is literally a typical KZ IEM. Now comes the rant. So, at first, I bought two of these IEMs: silver cable and copper cable. First of all, there's no difference, literally no difference. Do not fall for marketing that copper cable will sound like this and that. Exactly the same. Now, check out this graph. The difference that you are seeing in the copper cable and silver cable is because the copper cable had a channel imbalance. So, out of two, one had channel imbalance. The KZ percentage is 50%, and that's my rant. Do not just go for these IEMs because they are cheap. What's the point of having something cheap that will either won't work after some time or work just okay? There are plenty of value for money products in the market. Please do not confuse value for money to cheap. Save up a bit more and get something good. Seriously, a bit more. This is $12, and at around $15, you can get QKZ x HBB, which has better tonality, better tuning, better quality than this one. There are a lot of other IEMs at around $15 to $18 that will just annihilate this in every way possible. Please do not fall for these unnecessary hypes that are not in your favor.
Well, this was it for KZ EDC Pro. Do subscribe. Do not forget to enter the giveaway. To your surprise, if you have stuck to the end, I am not going to give you KZ EDC Pro. It's trash. If you win, you'll get a better IEM. Do subscribe, and I'll see you on the next one. [Music]