I wouldn’t consider myself an audiophile, but I know what I like, and I want the best sound quality possible. I’ve tried to get this level of sound quality from gaming headsets and while that was nice at first, my years as a musician told me that there was better.
I moved on to a good pair of in-ear monitors from a large, reputable brand and they were nice, but even for a lower end model, they were pretty expensive. I then tried some proper open back headphones and again, very nice, but quite expensive. But then I got a little recommendation from a friend of mine to check out a set of IEM’s from the Chinese Hi-Fi market, the KZ-ZS10 Pro.
The Chinese IEM and headphone space has been booming over the past 5 years, and to say that they are disrupting the consumer and audiophile space would be an understatement. The offerings coming out of China range from highest of high end all the way down to entry level, and that’s just where the KZ-ZS10 Pro comes in. Let’s talk about it.
Let’s start with the looks and the feel of the KZ-ZS10 Pro. The IEM’s themselves are made from a resin material that is very comfortable in the ear. There’s a metal plate as the outer cover, which gives the IEM a premium look and a nice heft that isn’t so heavy that the earbuds are fatiguing to wear.
The IEM comes in a few different resin and plate color combinations, and all of them look quite nice. I have the clear resin with the black plate, and it’s a stellar look.
The included eartips are rubber and are comfortable in the ear. They aren’t anything to write home about, and aftermarket double-flanged or foam eartips would be a solid upgrade choice for these.
The included cable is one of the nicest cables that I’ve seen. It’s a doubled up flat cable that doesn’t tangle. It terminates to a 3.5 mm jack on one end, and a pair of over the ear connectors. The cable is very light weight which is nice. It’s a bit too short for my set up, but a simple extension solved that issue.
Features
Given that these are a wired IEM, there’s little in terms of comfort features that you’d expect from a true wireless earbud, but that doesn’t mean that these don’t deliver on what is possible.
The KZ-SZ10 Pro features a detachable cable with a 2 pin connector. While this does provide a secure connection to the cable, there isn’t any rotation on the cable’s connection to the IEM, so the angle that the cable sits is what you get. This wasn’t an issue for me, but I can see it being a small issue for some.
As far as noise canceling goes, there isn’t any active noise cancellation, but the fit of these IEMs create a really solid passive noise cancellation while there’s music playing at a reasonable listening volume. But when the volume is lower, you can hear a lot of what’s going on in the room.
Sound quality
Given that these are a wired IEM, there’s little in terms of comfort features that you’d expect from a true wireless earbud, but that doesn’t mean that these don’t deliver on what is possible.
The KZ-SZ10 Pro features a detachable cable with a 2 pin connector. While this does provide a secure connection to the cable, there isn’t any rotation on the cable’s connection to the IEM, so the angle that the cable sits is what you get. This wasn’t an issue for me, but I can see it being a small issue for some.
As far as noise canceling goes, there isn’t any active noise cancellation, but the fit of these IEMs create a really solid passive noise cancellation while there’s music playing at a reasonable listening volume. But when the volume is lower, you can hear a lot of what’s going on in the room.
Price
The biggest draw to the KZ-ZS10 Pro is really its price. Coming in at around $50 MSRP, and often on sale for around $40, these IEM’s are an absolute steal. The price point is so incredibly competitive that I’d pick these over any wired earbud that I’d find at my local BestBuy at this price.
Are these the greatest IEM’s known to man? No, but the KZ-ZS10 Pro is an affordable option to get into the Chinese IEM space. The quality of the product that you get for the price can rarely be beaten, and if you’re someone who needs a new pair of earbuds that you can leave in the office, or use with your home gaming setup, then the KZ-ZS10 Pro is a purchase that you won’t regret making.