šŸ”¶ KZ ZEX Pro Tribrid

That is my take as well.

@Pokrog I always view IEMs as an option to closed back headphones. My reasons to take an IEM over a closed back are comfort, temperature, and portability or size. The portability aspect usually means that you want the sound isolation both for you and the other people around you, so open back rarely makes sense in this space.

That said, the Timeless has a wide stage for an IEM, and is wider than the SHP9500 open back headphones. There are ranges on these things, and they can overlap a bit. If you really want a wide open back, look at the AKG K612 Pro ( or K702 ).

IEMs tend to be my work solution, for me open backs are more for gaming and my down time. I spend more on IEMs, but only because it is easy to justify due to time spent with them in my ears.

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I wasnā€™t expecting much at that price point, but I figured the Crinacle tuning would be ā€œbetter than thatā€. The graph looks like everything above 6k is a mess. I am curious to hear them, and I will likely get my value out of them if they are comfortable, but who knows ( I should have them this week ).

I have to admit that the closer I get to receiving my Linsoul shipments, the less excited about this one, and the more excited about the T3+ I am.

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Yeah at the end of the day, itā€™s still a ~35 USD set, and it wonā€™t compete with T3+ even with the tuning from a respected reviewer. I tried the ZEX Pro thinking Iā€™d get a taste of a tribrid, but honestly I didnā€™t hear anything different to a hybrid. I think Iā€™ll just go >200 USD bracket for the next tribrid.

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ā€¦ and that was what put it on my radar in the first place was the budget tribrid. Crinacle being a collaborator likely raised my expectations as well.

I will be curious to see how it stacks up to the ZS10 Pro, which is probably one the better OG sets from KZ.

I got the ZEX Pro yesterday, and I want to say I put in some time, but good lord that wing is uncomfortable.

The tuning is pretty decent, a bit brighter that I was expecting, but overall not bad. I still think the ZS10 Pro sounds better to me, but that is personal preference.

My real takeaway is that KZ wrecked a decent set with that wing on the back edge. Even if it is a good deal, a lot of people are going to find this too painful IEM to wear, and this is 3 or 4 pairs in a row that were designed like this.

I avoided KZ for most of the year because they got more shouty with each set. They might have fixed that, but it seems like they just found a new thing to screw up with the wing on the case.

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I noticed the the wing is less an issue when you use shallow insertion depth. I went from M sized cp100s to L sized cp100.

The CRN isnā€™t built for deep insertion, it seems.

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Can you share the AutoEQ file? thanks

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That makes a huge difference, I tried a Spinfit CP240 double flange, and the CRN was much more comfortable. It makes it comically long too.

ā€¦ and sort of magnificent for the Jeff Beck I was listening to ( There And Back ). The CP240 brings the highs down a bit, which was exactly what the CRN needed.

I think I can say I generally enjoy the CRN

Nothing particularly specialā€¦ doesnā€™t sound offensiveā€¦ I was using it to test whether I like crins tuning or not and when that EQ issue is fixed itā€™s fairly nice (even without it sometimesā€¦ listening to heaven and hell by Kanye sounded great).

But it did on tracks with a heavier snare it hihat emphasis have a bit too little, it felt like there wasnā€™t much decay or even feeling hollow at time

I dunno if that means anything for future purchases I do

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https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OIJJzuw66-dtRgAf8Fwmn-v4isDnJpMq/view?usp=sharing

I just tried that too with large Final E tips (from XS) and it does sound good and fixes the fit issue. Thanks!!

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It can get a little splashy or something, I think it is that electret they use.

I think itā€™s my 1st successful piece of advice on this forum :sunglasses:

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Could you make that Drive link public?

Try now!!

10char

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Received a pair of these in the post today. Initial impressions:

Fit: They are designed to fit a human ear. Luckily I am in possession of such an ear. So they went in first time, like a glove. Didnā€™t even swap the tips that came fitted. Zero movement, snugly residing fully in place. Fit and comfort of IEMs is almost the most important factor for me, no matter how good they sound if they are hanging out of my ear, or need constant adjustment then they are probably going into the drawer permanently.

Sound: OK, Iā€™ve been going through songs that I had on heavy rotation last year, thrown into a hastily assembled playlist. Hastily Assembled Playlist

I Have A Love (Overmono Remix) - such an emotional song. Almost hard to stay in analytical mode. I think I prefer the remix to the original (though I did hear the remix first). The vocals seem a little low at the start behind the higher frequency synths. Waiting for the transition at the 3:30 mark, a little subdued. But overall very articulate presentation of the track.

Hand of God - Nick Cave. This song has some weird transitions, a lot of which happens in the opening 30 seconds. Thereafter it is pretty subdued.

Grapes of Wrath - Weezer. Comes right in with bassy strings and percussion. Makes me rethink my perception of the mid bass being missing. This song sounds right. Nothing seems out of place.

Afrique Victime - Mdou Moctar. A very guitar centered song, with a driving rhythm. Vocals initially seem forward. Then again the song starts with very scant backing instrumentation, once it gets going after about 1:20 things are better. At times the lead guitar licks seem almost too forward.

Paprika - Japanese Breakfast. The bass drum at the starting drop around 30s definitely feels like itā€™s missing some oomph. And the vocals thereafter are quite forward. More forward than the brass.

Movement 6 - Floating Points/Pharoah Sanders. Feels a little out of place on the playlist, and also I generally listen to this album from start to finish. Nonetheless, iā€™m expecting some big swells in this track. The violins at about 4:30 :ok_hand: Instrument separation is good. Violins around 8:40 are probably just on the safe side of piercing. Good presentation of this track, but I think we were close towards the end to an ear hurting zone.

He Said She Said - CHVRCHES. Opens with some thumps. Sounds great. No complaints on this track. Everything in the right place.

Days Like These - Low. This is a song with spikes of distortion (sounds like intentional clipping at times). The whole album is a bit of a sonic rollercoaster. The male vocal in the first half again seems more forward than Iā€™m used to. The whole song is a little brighter than I would expect. Thereā€™s a king of slow bass drum through a lot of the song, starts of quite low. Itā€™s maybe lower than I would expect in the mix.

Seventeen Going Under - Sam Fender. Another guitar song. The vocals seem at about the right level. The kick after a minute is good. Hard to fault the presentation of this track.

Chaeri - Magdalena Bay. Again prominent stuff in the bass region from the start. Hits nicely.

Hurt - Arlo Parks. Arlo sounds good. Again noting good separation of the various elements. This songs sounds clean, precise.

Summary thoughts:
Restraint, but not hollow or thin. The mids are pretty good.
There is a very ā€œcleanā€ or precise feeling (an absence of muddiness).

In some ways they remind me of the MSR7, which I briefly owned (but did find piercing and returned thereafter). I think my general preference is something warmer in the mid bass, but I find it interesting that certain tracks sound as expected, while others not so much.

Interestingly these are the second pair of Crinacle tuned earphones Iā€™ve picked up recently. Compared to the FHE these feel more musical, but a lot less thumpy. Neither are perfect, and both are obviously quite different. I get a sense that his objective is to tune something idiosyncratic rather than perhaps necessarily optimally tuned or close to some broad ideal (or maybe heā€™s just having fun with some memes).

Will definitely listen to the new albums drops this week through these. (new Big Thief drops on Friday, not sure what else of note).

Havenā€™t really read or watched too many other reviews of this set, so donā€™t know what if any consensus has been reached. Iā€™ve spent most of the day under a pair of EMU Teakā€™s as well which may have coloured my impressions.

My chain for this: Spotify - > SMSL Sanskrit 10th MK2 - > Gesheli Archel 2.5 - > JDS Labs OL Switcher.

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Great review.

I do agree with :100: on this. Since they are tuned differently than my other sets they have a place.

What do you think of the soundstage? I think they have a pretty good SS.

Now Iā€™m curious about See audio Midnightā€¦

For an IEM, soundstage is pretty good. Not super wide, but as I said good separation. Doesnā€™t feel like all the music is coming from inside my head (if that makes sense). More like itā€™s orbiting my head.

Listened to the new Cate Le Bon album after I finished writing that post. That album sounds great on these IEMs.

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The Crin Eq improves things greatly.

Although the 5db low shelf seems a lot.

Well this is interestingā€¦

Claims that neither the BA nor the electret drivers in the KZ CRN are producing sound.

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