The race to cramming more BA drivers in the world of KZ IEMs....

[aarmath]

KZ Fake Multi-Driver IEM Scandal – Is It All Too Good to Be True?

Headphone enthusiasts accuse the KZ headphone company of dishonest marketing. Measurements indicate that multi-hybrid and tribrid drivers are inaudible in many models.

www.headphonesty.com

I have been using KZ IEMs for a while like the KZ ZSN Pro X, ZS10 among others. And they sound good.

But this story is more of an egg on reviewers who waxed eloquence about the so-called "gritty" sound signature of BAs, not realising that much if not all the audio across the frequency range was being delivered by the single Dynamic Driver in the IEM.

Would love to hear your thoughts.

 

[muralimmreddy]

I have etymotic's. They were using single BA for last 30 years and they showed that is all you need.

But even they did a multi ba in uncharacteristic way last year

 

[aeroash]

KZ Fake Multi-Driver IEM Scandal – Is It All Too Good to Be True?

Headphone enthusiasts accuse the KZ headphone company of dishonest marketing. Measurements indicate that multi-hybrid and tribrid drivers are inaudible in many models.

www.headphonesty.com

I have been using KZ IEMs for a while like the KZ ZSN Pro X, ZS10 among others. And they sound good.

But this story is more of an egg on reviewers who waxed eloquence about the so-called "gritty" sound signature of BAs, not realising that much if not all the audio across the frequency range was being delivered by the single Dynamic Driver in the IEM.

Would love to hear your thoughts.

All aboard the hype wagon. Not just KZ, but most audio manufacturers use the multiple-driver trick to lure uninformed consumers, rampant in the floor stander category. The psychological trick being More Drivers = Better Sound Quality. Using multiple drivers that actually function is one thing, but using dead drivers, is on a whole different level. Their market is such, more like FMCG. Such trickery is widespread in most FMCG, not just audio.
Unfortunately, fooling consumers is so rampant all industry-wide, that it has become normal practice. The onus has now shifted to the consumer to be informed and educated.

The company's response to the issue doesn't appear to be written by an adult.

 

[chander]

Imagine all the reviewers - who were going Gaga over CRN and how KZ is the "new market king". Lord imagine those who could hear - "each driver doing it's magic". Poor poor guys.

 

[Anurag]

I have tried only one KZ ever, that's the CCA CRN which is single dynamic driver. So don't know about their multi driver ones. But i can tell you BA timber is very easy to recognise and i don't like it. I have tried many single, multi, hybrid or tribrid BA configurations over the years from budget to higher end, but i can't tell a single one that i totally liked

 

[DB1989]

The company's response to the issue doesn't appear to be written by an adult.

More a case of poor translation from Chinese to English I believe. Unfortunately, this is rampant in the chi fi industry, especially smaller manufacturers.

 

[SanVJ]

Found this on reddit.

 

[jls001]

I have tried only one KZ ever, that's the CCA CRN which is single dynamic driver. So don't know about their multi driver ones. But i can tell you BA timber is very easy to recognise and i don't like it. I have tried many single, multi, hybrid or tribrid BA configurations over the years from budget to higher end, but i can't tell a single one that i totally liked

CCA CRA you mean? CRN is a tribrid.

 

[jls001]

More a case of poor translation from Chinese to English I believe.

I remember MAD magazine used to have a field day poking fun at badly written instruction sheets/manuals of electronics items from the far east. Some were hilarious.

Those were the days when the Japanese made cheap but nice electronics with badly written manuals. They've certainly moved up the quality ladder and the value chain, with nicely written manuals. The Chinese are simply retracing those same steps.

 

[DB1989]

I remember MAD magazine used to have a field day poking fun at badly written instruction sheets/manuals of electronics items from the far east. Some were hilarious.

Those were the days when the Japanese made cheap but nice electronics with badly written manuals. They've certainly moved up the quality ladder and the value chain, with nicely written manuals. The Chinese are simply retracing those same steps.

Never read their magazines but their skits on the show were a riot too. Some are available on YouTube, albeit at a very low quality.

I'm just wondering out loud but when it came to the Japanese, there was real innovation whereas when i think of China, I think of manufacturing efficiency (not in small part due to China being a non market economy) but can't recall any innovative products that have been purely a product of Chinese origin.

 

[jls001]

I'm just wondering out loud but when it came to the Japanese, there was real innovation whereas when i think of China, I think of manufacturing efficiency (not in small part due to China being a non market economy) but can't recall any innovative products that have been purely a product of Chinese origin.

Consider the topic of this thread - IEMs. The largest number of IEM OEMs are from China. Their market being the entire world, there is fierce competition to innovate in the Chinese IEM industry. Yes, many of them started out by catering to the budget end of the market but many quickly rose through the market clutter to forge some of the most respected IEMs irrespective of geographical origin. This list is one of the most comprehensive ranking of IEMs and a disproportionate number of OEMs on this list are Chinese.

 

[Anurag]

CCA CRA you mean? CRN is a tribrid.

Yup, sorry, it should be cca cra