Linsoul KZ Zax 1DD+7BA Hybrid Driver HiFi in-Ear Earphones with Zin Alloy Shell, Detachable 2 Pin 0.75mm OFC Cable (Without Mic, Black)

Sitting next to me is a watch case with 5 IEMs in it - AKG N40, KZ ZS10 Pro, KZ ZSX, KBear Diamond, and the newly acquired KZ ZAX. KZ dominates my collection because they do budget earphones so well. In fact, it was the KZ ZS10 Pro's that made me stop and go, "If these are $40 then why do I have these ($250) AirPod Pro's?" One week later, sold the AirPod's and bought more IEMs. Suffice to say, I like KZ and have yet to be disappointed by one of their products - the KZ ZAX are no exception. (Let me add a quick note as well that I have ripped on Linsoul on several occasions for sending me incorrect or faulty items - they nailed it this time around!)The KZ ZAX has almost an identical plastic body to many of their other models. The big difference is found in the (very nice) black matte metal face. Out of the box, KZ ditched their standard stock brown QDC cable for a silver one. Initially, I thought that KZ might have just changed the rubberized shield encasing the cable to make it look like an upgrade. After a side by side comparison, however, the silver cable has the same tight braid standard to KZ but a noticeably greater thickness. That said, I immediately switched the included cable for KZ's gold upgrade cable which adds a minor improvement to sound quality and has a much nicer braid to it. As far as ear tips go, KZ stuck with their standard silicone tips which I'm tempted to just throw away. Instead, I use any old foam tip that costs about $6 for a dozen.Sound-wise... 8 drivers (1 DD, 7 BA) is A LOT of drivers to pack into an IEM. Theoretically, the more drivers you add, the more detail you can pack into the IEM. There is the very real potential to really screw up the overall listening experience, however, by not balancing and tuning the earphones carefully. I thought KZ's ZSX IEMs with 6 drivers per side (1 DD, 5 BA) did very well for the price. the KZ ZAX made me nervous - maybe KZ was reaching for something they really should leave alone. After listening for a couple days, I'm happily perplexed by these particular IEMs.The imaging is fantastic - that's one of the first things I noticed. Sound stage is pretty good, but not quite as good as I would have expected from these. Nothing feels cramped; in fact, they feel quite open. But, there is a lot of detail being shot at you. Most people would think to listen to orchestra music to get a real feel for sound stage, and I do too. However, my main test for sound stage is to listen to a simple nature effects sound track. Headphones that have excellent sound stage should allow me to pinpoint a bird chirp 40 feet to my 4 o'clock. IEMs, admittingly, have a much harder time doing that. The ZAX did not fail this test, they just didn't excel at it. While this isn't a bad thing, it can present a potential problem depending on your listening type. There's a lot of detail being thrown at you and without an expansive sound stage to balance it out, it can feel a tad overwhelming at times. So, these are great when you want a more analytical experience. These are not my go to when I just want to kick back and enjoy some chill music - those would be my KBear Diamonds. That said, the detail is really quite incredible for $60. In particular, there's a rap song that I have listened to dozens of times - I know it pretty well. Using these on my FiiO Q5s, I just noticed a very faint maraca in the background. I'm pleasantly surprised by the new little details I'm finding in my music.Specific to the sound signature... Mids and highs are emphasized (hence the extra detail). That said, I do not like bright sound signatures. I do not like Audio-Technica studio headphones because they feel way too bright to me. My Sennheiser HD300s feel a tad too bright, but I use them anyways because I need them for mixing. These do not feel bright. So, to have more forward mids and highs without my ears going "wow, this is way too much" is a win for me. The bass is heavily dependent on the track. There are some songs where I'm listening and I'm thinking "There really isn't much bass here". Then there are others, like rap, where the bass kicks in and my ears vibrate. So, if you listen and find bass is lacking, then its probably just the recording and not the IEMs. When bass was heavily present, I did not find it to overpower the mids or muddy the sound. The bass was tight but had a nice fullness to it that gave it warmth.I rarely EQ my music, but I did do a test with these IEMs and they respond really well to EQing. I did a wacky EQ (+5, -5, +5, etc. across the frequency range) and these handled it surprisingly well. It sounded horrible because that's a terrible way to EQ something, but it did exactly what I EQ'd it for. Likewise, when I EQ'd my 60Hz up a tad, the ZAX handled it very naturally without it sounding artificial, bloated, or distorted. That, to me, is a sign of a very good IEM.Ultimately - should you buy this IEM? Yes. These are probably the best IEMs you can buy for $60. They're fun to listen to music with, but they also pack enough detail and imaging to use in a band setting. Sure, I took a jab at the sound stage of these IEMs - reality of it, however, is that the sound stage is better than most IEMs out there (its better than several of my closed back headphones). Again, for $60 these are fantastic. If I paid $150, I still wouldn't be disappointed.

For this price.. Bro! This is amazing. Detachable 2-pin ear pieces so you can change the wire if it’s damaged or you need a longer one. But other than that, the wire is a bit short so u might have to upgrade the cord length. But its comfort is good and it comes with other options, I haven’t used them because i’ve been just fine with the ones that came on it. It’s easy to use, literally u just plug it in soo i don’t know how it could be hard to use. And its sound quality is good. Especially for its price, some things may sound bright depending on what you play but I find it really comfortable and really above and beyond for its price.

These were my first IEM purchases, and after having them since Summer 2023, I have been nothing but impressed. They are easily driven, respond very well to EQ tuning, and can go far louder than I'd ever want to listen.I came from full size headphones like a modded pair of JVC HA-RX700s (which also respond great to amplification and EQ-int), and AKG K553 Pro's (respond pretty well to EQing and amplification), Denon D2000's, etc.I put them all away for almost a solid year because these were THAT good. Isolation is great. Comfort is great. The cord is a little short for my desk usage, but I've adjusted and it is a non issue.I run these through a first-gen Aune T1 DAC + AMP, and they perform beautifully handling the power and producing great sound.The highs are crisp, the mids are clear and forward, the bass can be as deep and impressive as you'd like it to be...more than I can tolerate, and I used to consider myself a basshead.These feel well built, it is cool to see all the drivers through the housing plastic. I am very, very happy with this purchase.

The only way these could get any better is if they were sold with a Bluetooth attachment and an in ear monitor transmission connection