• I don’t read FR graphs. I only use my ears, as earphones should be used.
• Keephifi sent this unit to me in an exchange for an honest, unbiased review. Rest assured that this review will do its best to devoid from any bias/es as much as possible.
• The following remarks and observations shall be made and owned only by me.
• No monetary compensation is/was involved before, during, and after the period of creation of this review.
• Your mileage may (and always, will) vary.

• I prefer a “neutral/flat/balanced”, uncolored sound as much as possible.
• I prioritize technical over tonal performance.
• I listen to most genres existing on the internet.
• I use the included stock eartips and cable as much as possible to put myself on a consumer’s perspective, unless stated otherwise.

• - Non-HiFi smartphone (Infinix Note 12 G96), PC.
• - Hiby R4 DAP
• - IFi Zen Stack (Zen DAC V2, Zen Can)
• - IFi Zen DAC V2
• - Fosi Audio SK02 USB DAC
• - Venture Electronics Odo USB DAC
• - Venture Electronics Devastator USB DAC
• - Venture Electronics Megatron USB DAC
• - Snowsky Echo Mini DAP
• - DDHiFi TC35M2 USB DAC
• - DDHiFi TC44Pro M3 DAC
• - DDHiFi TC44Pro E3 DAC
• - Snowsky Melody DAC
• - Jade Audio Jiezi 4.4B DAC
• - Aiwa XP-V710C CD Player (12 sec. EASS)
• - FiiO DM13 CD Player
• - Local Files via Foobar, YouTube Music, Deezer, and Qobuz with UAPP.

• KZ might have went back to the laboratory or drawing board for this Taurus, since its sound is quite different from the usual KZ IEMs that I have reviewed in terms of its overall quality. These instances are not surprising from KZ as they have pulled these types of stuff before, but rarely so. The KZ Taurus is a “fairly neutral” sounding set with a noticeable forward presence of mids. On certain instances and sources, it may sound like a U-shaped borderline bright sounding set, particularly on moderately colored dongles. Its eartips also compromises the overall sound, although far from sounding horrible. Changing the eartips makes everything more refined and better though.

• The bass here in the Taurus is on the lighter side and a bit different from recently released sets. While those sets exhibit a meaty, clean bass response, the Taurus seem to keep things neutral in presence, with a mild midbass dominance. This in return makes this region punchy, clean, and free from any bleed. Attack and decay is on the faster side of the spectrum, with a decent amount of details to boot. With that being said, there are other bassy KZ IEMs that you may want to check, if a fun, thick bass response are one of your main criterias.

• It is unusual for me to call KZ IEMs a “midforward” sounding set. Actually, the Taurus, to my ears, is the first of its kind. Its mids are noticeably forward, well-placed, and far from sounding shouty or sibilant. It sure is quite lean though, due to its clean, free-from-bleed lower mids. To give you an idea, the Tanchjim Bunny has a bit more body in the mids than this one, although not by a lot, so expect the lower mids to exhibit zero added thickness or warmth. Upper mids are forward, but never sounded harsh or sibilant. I would like to note here however, that this region, along with its treble, are slightly affected by the stock eartips in a negative manner. With its stock eartips, the upper mids are quite “grainy” to my liking. Sure, it adds texture, but the details are quite lacking. Changing to a better pair of eartips such as KBEAR 08, Final E, or TangZu Tang Sancai eartips will improve this region significantly. When used with the aforementioned eartips, the whole region is now more bodied, refined, and free from any grain or possible “micro-peaks”, if I am making sense.

• To my ears, the treble is quite relaxed, too relaxed for a KZ IEM, in my opinion. I wouldn’t call it dark or lacking in extension though, but might come across as lacking in energy, particularly for those ears that prefer energetic, treble-forward sets. The Taurus still has a decent treble extension and air, without any sibilance or peaks. Detail retrieval is average at best, and renders most details fairly easily.

• In a nutshell, the technical performance that you should expect here in the KZ Taurus is the level of technical chops that you’ll experience with recent IEMs under 20-30 USD. It is average at best, has accurate imaging, wider than deep soundstage, with some congestion here and there whenever things and passages get busy. In reality, using this for competitive gaming and casual music listening will do you just fine and shouldn’t create or show problems.

• As I type this review, I am doing my very best not to be biased between these two sets, as both of them sound really good and highly recommendable for their respective retail prices. The Tripowin Ruta10 presents itself in a warm, adequately thick, neutral, laidback manner, while the KZ Taurus is a neutral, lean sounding set, with noticeably forward mids. These IEMsa re two completely different IEMs in terms of their sound character and share the same level of quality for their price. The only differences that I can think of that the Ruta10 is a bit favorable is its metal driver shells and better eartips. The KZ Taurus is easier to fit in my ears though.

• The Wan’er 2nd Gen is a neutral, borderline bright sounding IEM, while the KZ Taurus is a neutral, midforward set. The Wan’er 2nd Gen undoubtedly has better clarity and detail retrieval than the Taurus, but is prone to mild peaks compared to the laid-back, lean nature of the Taurus. Technical performance is better on the Wan’er 2nd Gen, but not by a lot. Fit is better on the Taurus as the Waner 2nd Gen’s fit is a bit stubby to my ears.

• Just like my previous comparison, the 7Hz Elua Ultra and the KZ Taurus are two completely different IEMs in terms of their presentation, but this time, the Elua Ultra is far, far thicker than the Ruta10. It also sticks to its smooth, Harman character as well, compared to the lean, less dynamic sound of the Taurus. The Taurus has better control of its overall sound when compared. The Elua Ultra is wider in soundstage than the Taurus. Both are fairly easy to drive, but the Taurus is a bit picky when it comes to pairing than the Elua Ultra.

• Honestly, the Tanchjim Bunny and the KZ Taurus are the closest IEMs in terms of their respective sound character, with some minor differences. For one, the Tanchjim Bunny presents itself in a more u-shaped profile whereas the Taurus is a mid-forward neutral set. Their vocals are both excellent in my opinion for their respective retail prices, but the Bunny is a bit refined and smoother when compared, probably because the Taurus has an underwhelming included eartips when compared. Technical chops are a tad bit better on the Taurus than the Bunny, particularly on the separation, but not by a lot.

• Source: Based on my experience, it seems that the KZ Taurus is a bit harder to pair compared to the KZ IEMs that I have encountered, owned, and reviewed ever since, aside from the planar magnetic KZ sets that I have also owned. With that being said, I recommend pairing the Taurus with at least 2VRMs of power, particularly a warm-sounding USB DAC. The Snowsky Melody and Sonic Memory SA500 pairs well with these.
• Eartips: The included eartips really cripples the full potential of the KZ Taurus to my ears. With the stock eartips installed, the upper frequencies are quite thin and a bit “gritty” to my liking. Using the Taurus with a KBEAR 08/07, Final E Dunu S&S as some examples, refines the upper frequencies. There are also instances that it will sound fuller and smoother when compared to the Taurus with the stock eartips.
• Cable: This cable isn’t new for a KZ. It has been their staple cable for years at this point. It gets the job done, nothing too special. It is in QDC connection as well, which is a bummer to me personally because I prefer IEMs with conventional 2-pin connections.

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• https://keephifi.com/collections/kz...phones-hd-dual-microphone-hifi-gaming-earbuds

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