Today, we will be taking a look at the latest IEM from KZ consisting of 20 Balanced Armatures. The KZ ASX.
The KZ ASX is the latest IEM released by KZ who is famous for their super budget IEM's producing top tier sound quality. To be honest, I wasn't expecting much from this but boy I was wrong. I am impressed by the ASX. Based on track record, KZ was not doing very well with their high driver count IEM's like the AS16, the AS12 and the ZAX was not that impressive either. When I saw the ASX, I was unsure whether I should even get my hands on it but I am glad I did. They have made a good attempt to play it safe and make the ASX safe sounding but although I am impressed I don't think many others will be. (I am impressed as I feel there is a good attempt to improve the sound quality compared to their previous models. Not because it actually sounds good to me.) One thing I am not happy about is the ridiculous pricing for subpar sound quality. A good attempt to improve doesn't justify expensive pricing.
*DISCLAIMER*
This unit was provided to me by Linsoul free of charge for the purpose of an honest review. As this is our first collaboration, I would like to thank them for having faith in the reviewers and trusting us and helping us out with this review. It is greatly appreciated and the team at Earphonatics Audio Reviews give many thanks.
In this review, I actually forgot to use a DAP/DAC/AMP for testing cause it drives really well even with just a regular smartphone. I did do a quick run the day before writing this review with DAC/DAC/AMP to have a rough gauge of the sound quality and it performed better. I spent most of the time with it using the Audirect Beam, my MacBook Air and my smartphone which is the Huawei P30 Lite.
Accessories:
You might be wondering, did KZ change the packaging and accessories. Not at all. It is exactly the same except the ear tips and cable. Otherwise the box is the same and the foam cut out is also the same with the metal plate.
The ear tips are slightly recessed this time as the KZ ASX has a narrower metal nozzle compared to its previous models so it can really dig very deep into the ears. This enables it to have fantastic isolation. According to my colleagues who have tested it, one said its like those noise cancellation earphones or CIEM's.
The cable according to KZ has been upgraded to a silver plated cable instead of their previous regular copper cable. I compared the sound on both and didn't get much sound difference.
Now the moment you have all been waiting for.
Lets talk about the sound:
First Impressions,
The KZ ASX is a very safe and very conservative IEM. The bass doesn't overpower the other frequencies and the high frequencies don't have any sibilance or piercing peaks like the AS16 and AS12. As I have not tried the ASF and the ZAX, I will not be able to make reference to them. The ASX still is able to maintain a decent level of detail and a decent punchy bass. Its definitely not the most punchy IEM we have gotten from KZ so far, but I think its probably the most well controlled. Take models like the ZS10 PRO for an example, the bass is pounding so hard that it tends to bleed into the other frequencies a bit.
Lows:
The bass is punchy and has decent sub-bass and a decent rumble making it suitable for most genre's of music. It is also textured and well controlled and doesn't bleed as much as other models as it has a somewhat early roll off which would make it a great all rounder. This may not be able to satisfy the needs of bassheads so you guys might wanna look elsewhere.
Mids:
They sound slightly recessed to me. They seem somewhat dull and dead and not really full of life. Just a decent amount. It sound very lackluster in my opinion. It sound like when someone is sitting on your face and you are trying to talk.
Someone refers to the Lows and Highs.
Sitting on your face refers to Lows and Highs drowning out the mids.
Treble:
There is a really really early roll off so you don't get the cymbals, high hats and other metal clashing instruments sounding very resolving and doesn't extend very well. The detail is just enough and sufficient to make an IEM. Any worse than that you can call it a piece of trash. We must take note that there is some improvement as the AS16 and AS12 are practically a knife stabbing your ear so I give KZ the credit for making a good attempt to improve.
Conclusion:
I am shocked because of the approach KZ took for the ASX. I was expecting them to work with the AS16 but they decided to do something completely different and play safe. If you are not particular about your sound quality, this would be just right for you but if you need top tier IEM, then you might wanna look elsewhere.
This review was written by:
John Tay
@Earphonatics Audio Reviews
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