Reviewed by domq422
Let's talk about expectations...
: Stylish aesthetics
A Solid, all-metal build
Interesting 3-D Faceplate design
Although the nozzle is a touch long, comfort
Extremely easy to drive
Present and bouncy sub bass that extends deep
Full lower mids
Overall balanced tonality
Timbre below 5000Hz is fantastic
Surprisingly, fairly coherent
Above-average detail retrieval
Above-average layering
Price-to-performance has me in disbelief
: Budget accessories (Nitpick, but the cable isn’t amazing)
Timbre is slightly off somewhere in the presence region
Can get a touch hot and glare-y depending on the mix and volume level
The stage can be pretty cramped
Busier tracks/sections can get congested
Lighter note weight on some tracks
Tech Specs and Price - $49.00 w/Mic
10mm Dual-Magnet PET Diaphragm Driver
4BA For Mid-high Frequency
Precision Crossover Technology
Full Metal Design with Gear-Inspired Aesthetics
Specifications:
Brand: CCZ
Model: CZ10
Product Name: TianGong
Color: Black
Sensitivity: 102dB±3dB/mW@1KHz
Impedance: 16Ω± 15%@1KHz
Frequency Response: 20-20KHz
Driver: 1DD+4BA
Cavity material: Zinc alloy
Cable Material: OFC Silver-plated Cable
Pin: 0.78mm 2-pin QDC
Plug: 3.5mm
Cable Lenth: 120cm
Microphone: Optional
Expectations are a funny thing, aren’t they?
(TLDR version)
Expectations… what would your expectations be as an audiophile going into a listening session with a set like this? Fifty bucks, CCZ, hybrid design with unbranded drivers… tell me, am I crazy to think this was going to be a pretty quick, cut and dry *press play*… “Yeah, these are not for me…” type of experience? That was my mindset going into this. That may have been foolish because it backfired. Quite frankly, I am beyond blown away with this set. Not only are the shells lovely in their all black, all-metal build, but the tuning is extremely mature and unlike Harman in the most pivotal ways. These have a lovely full and present lower mid range with powerful male vocals and surprisingly authoritative sub bass AND mid bass. The upper mids? They’re here, but pulled back so they don’t peak but rather ride out across around 3k, giving a mostly smooth presentation for female vocals and instruments (Notice how I said mostly). Whilst the consonants region is a bit of an issue for me with this set on quite a few songs, the treble past 6k is nicely rendered with plenty of details in crash cymbals. The additional air at the end provides the instruments with a bit of space to breathe, which is beneficial for layering. Technicalities are surprisingly strong for a budget set of IEMs, and while the staging isn’t the widest, it was never cramped to my ears.
Downsides are typical of a budget set - while the single DD and 3 BAs come off as mostly coherent, there is a difference in their timbre presentation and it’s noticeable to my ears. I promise, it’s not terrible, but there is just something about those unbranded BAs and the music I listen to not jiving at all times. It’s most noticeable during big cymbal crashes and floating synth sections but besides that, it’s mostly well kept.
The CCZ CZ10 ‘TianGong’ is a fantastic budget IEM that’s comfortable, built well above its price range, and it backs that all up with a mature and thoughtful tuning that I suspect most audio enthusiasts could appreciate. Read on if you’d like a more detailed, track-by-track breakdown of the sound!
All listening was done with Divinus Velvets (Non-wide) and a KBear 3rd party cable. I don’t believe cables make much of a difference in the performance of an IEM outside of impedance differences, but use this info for your own conclusion.
Test Playlist Mk2
Listen along with me
↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓
YOUTUBE PLAYLIST
Sub bass
- Goon - For Cutting The Grass
- Goon - Fruiting Body
- daft punk - Doin’ it Right
Mid bass slam/speed
- Fred Again… - Baby Again
- Fred Again… - Kyle (I found you)
Mids (Female and male vocals, Instrument timbre)
- Horsepower - Are you blushing?
- Tom Rush - Urge for Going
Presence/Consonants region
Upper Treble
Instrument Separation/layering
- Led Zeppelin - Wanton Song
Resolution & Instrument textures
- Karen Took The Kids - Witch Hazel
- Sweet Pill - High Hopes (Unraveled)
Timbre
- Rice & Bones - Disco Doom
- The Beatles - Blackbird
Imaging and staging
- daft punk - Touch
- daft punk - Within
- Macy Gray - Annabelle
- Amber Rubarth - Tundra
Sources
- Apple Music Streaming Hi-Res Lossless when available -> SMSL MDA1 RAW -> SMSL SH-9 or Schiit Midgard
- iPhone 16 Pro Max wired or BT -> FiiO BTR17 (No PEQ)
- iPhone 16 Pro Max wired -> Fosi DS2
- iPhone 16 Pro Max Wired -> iBasso DC07 Pro
The unboxing is typical budget in terms of accessories, meaning there isn’t much to mention. I will say, though, the design on the front of the box is pretty slick, and I can appreciate that attention to detail!
Bass
The bass on the CZ10 is probably the most surprising aspect of the sound here - it’s punchy, slightly slow in the decay, but really nicely rendered within the rest of the mix. Sub bass, whilst here, is not overpowering. As a resident of Basshead town, where all of the maniacs reside, I love my sub bass rumble.
I want it to shake me to my core on certain tracks, like the first track on my playlist, For Cutting The Grass by Goon. If you’ve never experienced this song inside of a car with a powerful subwoofer tuning, you’d never know there is a thunderous sub bass chord in the chorus and during the bridge of the song in the second half (Around 3:45). It’s present, but not as powerful as I’d like. I’d say, objectively, it’s right where it needs to be, however.
The same can’t be said for the next track, Fruiting Body - I’ll go a little deeper here because I do think this is where you find the differences between budget hardware and higher-end DDs - The texture is lacking. I’d like a lot more of a tactile feel during the chorus behind those vocals. Surprisingly, though, the rumble cuts through nicely, which I don’t recall ever experiencing with a budget set under say $50, or even $100.
Doin’ It Right by daft punk has crushing sub bass on whatever IEM you throw at it, but the real test is that 3rd beat rumble. I find it sufficient within a tuning that’s doing its best to be as balanced as possible with a slight bass bias. Again, the texture is slightly lacking (It sounds like a blob of bass rather than rumbles), but it gets the job done. Impact and slam are decent enough, the tracks from Fred Again… are rendered nicely, and the slightly subdued upper mids help the crank-ability here. Speaking of mids…
Mids
I’m mostly looking at the timbre and vocal clarity for the mids, and I’d say that the CZ10 leans slightly warm, giving female vocals some nice warmth without making them sound overly husky. I didn’t detect any weird timbral issues, nor did I get any sense that vocals came off honky at all. Bass guitar and electric guitar sound great, especially if you have a library that has a lot of classic rock; the added warmth really gives some much-needed body in those earlier recordings. Male vocals have some nice body to them as well, especially on those low notes - It’s a tickling sensation at times when listening to Tom Rush and his haunting vocals.
Overall, at mid volume, everything in the mix is fairly balanced, and I never feel the need to crank these to get more out of any particular part of the frequency response, but in the off chance I decide I need a little more oomph from the mid bass, some glare does become present.
Depending on the mix note weight can come across as slightly light in the presence region, mostly just overtones past 5k I should note, but in ‘Are you blushing’ by Horsepower, when the drums finally reveal them selves towards the end of the song, the vocals can get a touch drowned out and consonants In ‘Arrow’ by Lily Seabird AT TIMES come off a little harsh. It comes down to the refinement of the BA tuning in my opinion, and I feel as though this is where the budget pricing will pop out at the listener. I should say it’s absolutely nothing major - I’m splitting hairs here and being a little overly critical for the sake of finding a flaw in the hardware - The tuning is spot on for slightly forward vocals with a bit of warmth to them.
Treble
Moving onto treble, and I think the weakest part of the CZ10 - The timbre is a touch off here. The lighter note weight becomes apparent the most on ‘Days’ By No Vacation. The big and bold ride cymbal hits during the chorus don’t have the texture or clarity I’ve been spoiled with in the past, but it’s overall fairly non-offensive. The constant hi-hat hits do get a touch lost in the mix here, with its almost wispy characteristic. I will say this, the treble is non-fatiguing to my ears. At the very least, it’s an engaging listen with surprisingly decent contrast. 3:30 onwards in Days, the mix does become a little congested with all of the different layers of the mix succumbing to the limitations of the hardware here. Overall, I think the tuning is very nice, still enjoyable, still toe tapping, still engaging and dynamic, just a little congested from my experience.
Techs
I think this is where the CZ10 shocked me. Even though I mentioned negatives like ‘congested’, for $50 retail, this is something I haven’t experienced in this price point here. The level of instrument separation, overall detail retrieval, and sub bass is impressive for what you pay for here. Timbre is fairly spot on for my library, besides the few times I found some glare in higher female vocal notes and the wispy cymbal crashes. I won’t be picking these up if I’m in the mood for a live performance in my living room, but I also wouldn’t leave these at home when I’m looking for a well-isolating, comfortable, and well-built set for on the go.
Soundstage is on the intimate side. Depth in particular isn’t the most impressive aspect of this IEM, but stereo separation is strong and center image rendering is enjoyable. ‘High Hopes’ by Sweet Pill is a kickass recording - Whoever mastered this track (and the entire album it’s on) needs a raise, because pretty much any IEM can shine with this track, and the CZ10 is no different here, it’s well done. I’m missing some details due to the congestion, particularly around 2:30 on the track. There are some wind chimes (?) going on and they do get lost, but otherwise, the acoustic guitars on the right and left channels come through nicely, placing the percussion and vocals directly in the center of the stage.
Overall, I’d say these are above-average techs for a budget set.
TLDR;
If you couldn’t tell already, this set shattered my expectations. What is even a budget set anymore? I’ll take it a step further and even say, does anyone really need anything more than a set like the CZ10? I honestly don’t even know anymore. These brought me down to Earth and took me away from Audiophile town, up there in the clouds… As I listen to them now, on the desktop rig, writing this review, trying desperately to put some words down for this review, I’m reminded of how absurd this hobby can be. These are good, man. These are really good for the money. Hell, take the money out of the equation, and these are just flat-out good.
The CZ10 is engaging, fun, and while at times a bit unrefined, they have this charm to them. This… toe-tapping enjoyment factor that anyone can have. They’re built extremely well, have an attractive design in my opinion, a comfortable fit, and the ability to shatter one's expectations.
That’s a recipe for success, in my opinion.
Thank you so much for reading my insistent ramblings. I hope everyone has a wonderful day or night, depending on where you are in the world!
Take care
