I received an email from KeepHiFi asking if I would be interested in reviewing the KZ Audio Taurus. This was the second offer from KeepHiFi, the 1st being the KBEAR KB-02. I was quite curious how the KB-02’s bone conduction driver would blend with a Beryllium coated driver, and I was pleasantly surprised by what I heard. I was also intrigued by the KZ Taurus since it has a budget dual dynamic driver configuration, which I’ve never seen in the sub$30 (USD) price range. I was glad I said yes as I have enjoyed my time with the Taurus as much as I did listening to the KBEAR. Although the KZ Audio Taurus was sent to me free of charge (my thanks to KZ & KeepHiFi for their generosity)I will be honest with what I’m hearing for my review.
The build quality of the Taurus is wholly adequate as n my opinion. This isn’t the most refined shell I’ve seen on an IEM, but it doesn’t strike me as poorly built either. There are obvious seems on the shell that I could get a fingernail under, and edges on what I’m pretty sure are the shell connector pins, but nothing jagged and the fit in my ear is above average and comfortable.
The cable reminds me of old lamp wire, two distinct straight lines with a deep ridge between the two wires.
The cable reminds me of old lamp wire, two distinct straight lines with a deep ridge between the two wires.
While not pretty, it works fine and transmits minimal noise while moving about. This is a pet peeve of mine, but would it really break the bank of any manufacturer to have clear L &R makings on cables? The 2 pin connectors are sheathed, so aftermarket cables might work, but the end result would be the ends hanging out of the connector.
I’ll add that though style is objective I quite like the look overall. The gold color of the drivers and the silver buttons on the face plate, even the subtle KZ logo on the side strikes me as an attractive design.
The included ear-tips did not work well for me. The fit was fine, but even after burning in these I felt the balance was too bass light and treble heavy. This may be precisely what some might look for, but after tip rolling I found that the Dunu S&S ear-tips had a good balance for my tastes. The Dunu tips added a bit more warmth without sacrificing detail.
The included ear-tips did not work well for me. The fit was fine, but even after burning in these I felt the balance was too bass light and treble heavy. This may be precisely what some might look for, but after tip rolling I found that the Dunu S&S ear-tips had a good balance for my tastes. The Dunu tips added a bit more warmth without sacrificing detail.
I’ll admit that I had preconceived notions of what a dual dynamic driver earphone would sound like. My fear was that the bass would overpower other frequencies but I was pleasantly surprised that this was not the case. The KZ Taurus is a fairly neutral sounding IEM with a bright leaning sound. This is not my usual preferred sound yet I found myself enjoying what the Taurus brought to the table.
Once the S&S tips were used, I found that there was good bass extension but not much in the way of punch or slam. A surprise, but not a deal breaker for me. Very good texture and definition he bass never intruded on the mids in any way. While not my first choice for something like EDM where I crave a bit more punch, I found that the Taurus reached low enough to make a genuinely satisfying experience for classical music and jazz.
The mids are well represented here, though I felt the upper mids to be a touch overdone for my tastes on some recordings. I found that many recordings that are mixed ‘hot’ could cause fatigue in a short time, but for the most part this was the exception rather than the rule. For those that are less sensitive to this frequency you may very well welcome this tuning. I did enjoy many singer/songwriter type albums and even with a more ‘dry’ tuning than I’m used to, the KZ still sounded musical overall.
Treble energy is more relaxed overall, but there are a few peaks that, when added to the emphasized upper mids and low impact bass, make the sound signature appear to be more on the bright side of neutral. The peaks never irritated me during my listening but there were times where I noticed a little extra energy up top. For the most part this was more of a pleasant highlight and not an aggressive spike for my tastes. Treble isn’t my strong suit due to aging ears and tinnitus, but what I heard came across mostly balanced and fairly well detailed.
While not a giant killer by any means, the drivers used here are very capable overall and I never felt I was missing out on details I’m familiar with the songs I listened to. Headstage was wholly adequate and never really drew attention to itself. Which means it never felt overly closed in nor exaggerated in size. I found the Taurus to be relatively easy to drive, being a little more demanding than most of my current earphones but not coming close to maxing out any source I used. I paired them mostly with my HiBy M300 and the volume was mostly in the neighborhood of 50%, whereas some of my more sensitive IEMs would be closer to 40% overall. I did use these with my Schiit Jotunheim2/Bifrost 2 (not NOS) and though there was a little improvement I wouldn’t say that these scale up too much with better gear.
The budget level IEMs have come a very long way. I think every set will have some flaws, and there is a huge challenge in tuning on a budget and I feel KZ has created a worthwhile addition here. Whereas my tastes lean more towards the Crinacle/7hz Zero 2, I found that the KZ Taurus had a lot to offer and was more engaging than I thought it would be. If your tastes lean toward the neutral/bright end of the spectrum, I think these are an excellent budget option. However even if, like me,you prefer a warmer tuning overall, the KZ Taurus might still surprise you. It’s definitely worth checking out.
Once the S&S tips were used, I found that there was good bass extension but not much in the way of punch or slam. A surprise, but not a deal breaker for me. Very good texture and definition he bass never intruded on the mids in any way. While not my first choice for something like EDM where I crave a bit more punch, I found that the Taurus reached low enough to make a genuinely satisfying experience for classical music and jazz.
The mids are well represented here, though I felt the upper mids to be a touch overdone for my tastes on some recordings. I found that many recordings that are mixed ‘hot’ could cause fatigue in a short time, but for the most part this was the exception rather than the rule. For those that are less sensitive to this frequency you may very well welcome this tuning. I did enjoy many singer/songwriter type albums and even with a more ‘dry’ tuning than I’m used to, the KZ still sounded musical overall.
Treble energy is more relaxed overall, but there are a few peaks that, when added to the emphasized upper mids and low impact bass, make the sound signature appear to be more on the bright side of neutral. The peaks never irritated me during my listening but there were times where I noticed a little extra energy up top. For the most part this was more of a pleasant highlight and not an aggressive spike for my tastes. Treble isn’t my strong suit due to aging ears and tinnitus, but what I heard came across mostly balanced and fairly well detailed.
While not a giant killer by any means, the drivers used here are very capable overall and I never felt I was missing out on details I’m familiar with the songs I listened to. Headstage was wholly adequate and never really drew attention to itself. Which means it never felt overly closed in nor exaggerated in size. I found the Taurus to be relatively easy to drive, being a little more demanding than most of my current earphones but not coming close to maxing out any source I used. I paired them mostly with my HiBy M300 and the volume was mostly in the neighborhood of 50%, whereas some of my more sensitive IEMs would be closer to 40% overall. I did use these with my Schiit Jotunheim2/Bifrost 2 (not NOS) and though there was a little improvement I wouldn’t say that these scale up too much with better gear.
The budget level IEMs have come a very long way. I think every set will have some flaws, and there is a huge challenge in tuning on a budget and I feel KZ has created a worthwhile addition here. Whereas my tastes lean more towards the Crinacle/7hz Zero 2, I found that the KZ Taurus had a lot to offer and was more engaging than I thought it would be. If your tastes lean toward the neutral/bright end of the spectrum, I think these are an excellent budget option. However even if, like me,you prefer a warmer tuning overall, the KZ Taurus might still surprise you. It’s definitely worth checking out.
At this price point there’s no surprise that the packaging and accessories are sparse to say the least. There’s the small utilitarian cardboard box containing the earphones, wire, and a complement of small medium and large ear-tips in a throwaway plastic pouch. Anything more, like a carry pouch or more ear-tips would have certainly been a welcome surprise, but I don’t really expect there to be more in this price bracket.