I believe this is the lowest price according to the camelizer. May get it cheaper overseas but figured i would post for those that want it easily and fast from AUS.
CamelCamelCamel.
Or if you're willing to wait a month or so, its 54.44 (inc. the GST) from the kz store on aliexpress…
Won’t be a month. Mine got here within 2 week from a recent purchase (end of may)
Depends if you get Singapore Post or Cainiao/4PX/Ubi. Singapore Post takes at least a month because they have to stop in Singapore. My fastest Cainiao shipment was like a week and a half.
I've had two shipments in the past month of these - one took six weeks, one took a week and a half.
not sure why anyone would choose this over the Moondrop Chu now, that is half the price with several times better audio quality.
Yep, KZ is almost always way too harsh in the higher end, the Chu blew me away, just getting better all the time, IEMs and so quickly.
Well that price really makes me regret my moondrop Arias
Don't stress, you've got something that is 95% of what used to be sold for $200-$300 in the Moondrop KXXS and the Kansas Pro (later the Starfield for $130-$150).
It's extremely good value for the price, and a clear step up from the Chu.
any model can beat sht out of akg k3003? S8 or Solis?
S8 suffers with timbre and the Varations - which you didn't mention but might come across - apparently runs into some small issues with its estat driver implementation. The Timeless and the Blessing 2 might not really pull away from the K3003 on technical performance, but the rest would start to.
@jasswolf: personally I vastly prefer the Variations over the B2 and B2D. But at the budget he's shopping… just get the Monarch MK2 and don't look back.
I have the starfields. Are arias and starfields similar in quality?
Sorry, consciously not keeping track with the releases. Chifi had reached 'addiction level purchases' for me 😅
@zjz93: They don't quite, and the Aria midrange performs differently alongside the bass texture being different due to the different driver, but they are close enough that you maybe shouldn't bother with the Starfield.
@zjz93: I've been over this concept a few times, but the way FR is measured today is only part of the story on how a driver performs. FR curve gives you a rough sense of the tonality, and strict adherence to a reference curve should not be the goal in perfecting the sonic qualities of an audio product.
Compared to the Starfield, the Aria is more diffuse with its image and wider sounding, and regarded as less refined in the mids while having some nicer characteristics to the bass.
When the Starfield is maybe $20 more expensive - which is rarely the case - I would recommend the Starfield.
@jasswolf: I agree that things like staging, imaging and bass could not be measured, which could ultimately affect the listener's perception. I own the aria and have demo'ed the starfields. my point is that the difference is nowhere close to enough to justify this 'upgrade' anyway.
@zjz93: Parts of them can be measured, but again it's not a complete picture and can't be solely relied upon.
As I wrote, if it were a $20 upgrade, I would recommend it, but it's a typically a $40+ upgrade at the moment. Better to save the money and move to the 7Hz Timeless.
The Arias are much much better. The KZ's are sibilant with harsh treble. If I use them for conference calls, I have to yank them out of my ears at times when people are talking as sometimes the "s" and "sh" sounds are ear piercing. The Arias are far better, much more balanced tonality. Pretty much better in every way unless you like your music especially V shaped (very large amounts of bass and treble). Source: I have both (and a bunch of other iems)
If it makes you feel better, I have a >$1000 CIEM that are now comparable to $30 iems, and completely destroyed by modern day >$1000 iems. Didn't just throw a dart, either, personally sampled almost all available CIEMs on the market at that time before making a decision.
It was just a less competitive market back then.
What's the best place to buy the Chu?
honestly not sure, I just buy stuff on taobao then forward them over every month or 2.
shenzhenaudio
Just ordered a pair (with mic) from Amazon fulfilled by shenzhenaudio for $29.99 but delivery is expected August 2 - 12.
Shenzhenaudio has them for $31.23 on their own website.
Saw similar prices from Aliexpress so really not much difference.
Cheers! Ordered through Amazon.
Alibaba and his 40,000 thieves has them for about $48-$50 + free shipping - (KZ Official Store)
KZ ZS10 Pro
Bought the blon bl03 for 31 instead
I like a V shaped sound signature with lots of bass (not muddy), has anyone got any cheap IEM recommendations for me
Ikko oh10.
Pretty much my end game if we just talking about bass region
$200 on aliexpress? I wouldn't call that cheap!
KZ x HBB, even with the associated drama concerning drivers for me has the hardest slamming bass and un-harsh highs (the only KZ Ive tried like that) and I find them amazing for the price. I also have much more expensive IEMs like Timeless and Raptgo Hook-X but the only cheaper IEM I regularly use is the KZ I mentioned, if you love bass like i do - tons of it and excellent quality, you will love that set.
Thanks for this mate, will check it out. Sensitivity figure i find is high at 116, cos i usually have them on my TWS around the 90-95dB mark, but otherwise looks pretty good!
Thats not how sensitivity works. You can just turn down the volume. 116 is the maximum it outputs at 1mw power.
CCA CRA
Thanks for this recommendation - just ordered from Linsoul (currently ~17 AUD). Very keen to try them out!
I got from Aliexpress tiandirenhe td08. $33 or 45 with cable. No expert, but comparison to my only other reasonable headphones - sennheiser px100 - they bring bass alive. I hear parts of songs I never knew existed before. But sennheiser vocals have a lot more warmth. I'm guessing that's the v-shape thing… Anyway, I'd pick the td08 over sennheiser which says something given the sennheiser reviews very well. You wouln't want small ear canal with these.
I got scared off by the variety of Chi-fi IEMs and especially trying to determine what driver configuration means for sound profile since largely I was planning to use them as bass guitar stage IEMs. I ended up grabbing some Shure se215 due largely to being intimidated back to adequate big brand over taking a risk working out what would be comparable for cheaper or streets ahead for the same price.
215 is not for bass my friend. It's really only for vocal. I would recommend trying the KZ brand. Bang for buck is the best way to go.
Go to headfi.org and see reviews of iem, they have all the KZ range reviewed
The only problem with se215 is that they’re plastic. I’m always worried I’m going to break the nozzle when retrieving the “sleeve” (ie. bud).
Anyone tried the KZ ZAX?
These are absolutely terrible. The treble response should be unacceptable at this pricepoint. I own this and the CCA CRA which is literally 15$ and it outperforms the zs10 pro
Feels like that’s about how it normally cost.
Try check out hifigo or linsoul as well as AliExpress as there is 618 sale going on right now.
I own the zsx pro, 1dd 5ba, it was great at its time but chifi moves along fast.