IEMs like KZ ZAS? Hard bass + clarity

IEMs / Other In-Ear Monitors (IEM)
1

Not that Odin and U12t aren’t amazing…but let’s keep it under like $500?

Looking at ZAS, I pretty much like everything it does, except the treble is a touch too hot. Even harder hitting bass, and/or bass with better detail/definition at the same quantity as ZAS, would be amazing. :slight_smile: Guess it’s hard to find really impressive bass?

Tried Szalayi, Meteor. Performer 5 is muddier & darker sounding than ZAS. Hook-X is less hot, but also poorer bass. EA200 is metallic and a bit hot. Perhaps the 14 new KZ’s I haven’t tried yet are worth trying. KBear Believe bass was pretty solid, but fatiguing as hel.

ZAS
ZAS1663×834 144 KB

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My first rec is the Maestro Mini by FatFreq. That’s my default basshead rec under $500 :slightly_smiling_face:

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If you do any kind of modding, my rec is KBear Rosefinch:

Take off the stock nozzle filter and put basically anything else on instead (but particularly a 300-450 grade filter.

Or spend the money on a Maestro, it’s great.

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Any soundstage spaciousness or air? Or pretty enclosed sounding? It should be worth it’s price, anyway, if the bass is beyond all competition here.

5

I’ll leave Maestro explanations to @domq422 since he owns them and I’m just the “budget set” guy

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I’m sure Brandon calls me crazy for justifying the price of the Minis but, I find that the minis have exceptional bass performance both in quantity and quality. The soundstage has good depth, and acceptable width but it won’t blow your socks off. It’s not as wide as something like the Tri Starsea. But if bass and clarity is your thing for under $500, the Minis are most likely the best way to go. If you just said Bass and nothing else, I’d rec the Rosefinch on the budget end, then the Legato if you wanted to spend a little more.

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Nah, you’re not crazy. I’m cheap :wink:

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LOL not cheap, more like… typical audiophile picky :sunglasses:

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Legato was pretty unclear sounding, IIRC. Definitely not one of my best purchases :\ I would take FH3 or JD7 over it. Meteor’s bass was more disappointing than it’s treble/clarity, IIRC, but I didn’t find out that it was all BA til after buying it(#scammed).

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Yeah the Maestro Mini is definitely the basshead pick under $500. I love em, my only negative is that they start to sound a bit shouty when you crank the volume to really get the bass pounding.

I have to EQ the higher frequencies to the Maestro SE and that fixes it perfectly for me.

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11

ISN EST50 has solid sub bass without drowning the highs. Would stay away from Maestro Mini until scarlet mini reviews come out. Which is supposed to be a upgrade, even tho they are not calling it that but more bass plus a new driver for highs.

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I would disagree with this as I found the EST50s to be lacking in high-end clarity. I’d call them a darker set, frankly

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I found them pretty clear for the price range, considering they are bass heavy iem. offcourse they wont be able to compete against a TOTL. Everybody to their own i guess :slight_smile:

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14

More clarity than Legato and Performer 5, at least? Something like FH3/Hook-X level clarity? Timeless clarity is pretty much ideal/perfect. (planar :heart:) Penons/ISNs always seem to be rather soft and romantic, from the ones I’ve tried so far. Esp Orb. Fan was terrible lol.