:
Above average technical ability, tall and wide soundstage, very resolving
Speedy transients
Well built and good-looking shells
They really rule with an impedance adapter and become powerful bass cannons with decent technicalities
:
Thin and bright tonality out-of-the-box, lacking a healthy level of low-end to counterbalance the upper midrange and treble boost
The same cheap cable all over again
The price is pretty steep considering the fact that they’re not tuned optimally right out of the box
Introduction
KZ doesn’t need any introduction, and nowadays they’re releasing tons of interesting IEMs that really made many change their mind with respect to the brand. Will the ZA12 be no exception?
Disclaimer: the KZ ZA12 were sent to me by KEEPHIFI so that I could write an honest review. This review represents my personal opinion on the set, it isn't promotional or paid content and I don’t get any revenue from the sales of this product.
At the time of the review, the KZ ZA12 were on sale for about $62 at KEEPHIFI.
Technical Specifications
- Driver Configuration → 2DD (10mm DD x1 + 8mm DD x1) + 4BA (30019 Balanced Armature x 2 + 31736 Composite Balanced Armature x 1)
- Impedance → 16.5 Ω
- Spec-sheet Frequency Response → 20Hz-20kHz
- Sensitivity → 96 dB/mW @1kHz
- Cable → 1.2m OFC cable with 0.78mm 2-PIN connectors
- Plugs → 4.4mm + 3.5mm modular plugs
Packaging
The packaging of the KZ ZA12 is the same old and simple small box with a pic of the earphones on the front. It contains:
- The KZ ZA12
- One set of KZ starline tips (S, M, L sizes)
- The usual stock KZ cheap cable
- One pair of foam tips
- User manual
After the Zenith, Sonata and so on, which are shipped inside better-looking boxes and with better accessories organization, it seems like KZ went back to the roots in terms of packaging (unfortunately).
Design, Build Quality, Comfort and Isolation
The design of the KZ ZA12 follows what KZ has been doing for a long time now, and in fact these look like the Symphony, the Sonata and similar products.
The build quality is pretty good, the isolation is good as well and they are comfortable as well as long as you don’t have very small ears.
This is the switch version as you can see from the previous photos, and here's a sum-up of the various positions:
Cable
The same cheap cable all over again. KZ, c’mon, time to step up!
Sound
GEAR USED FOR THE TEST
- DAC: Topping E30
- AMP: Topping L30, Fiio A3
- Mobile phones: Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, Xiaomi Mi A3, Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
- Moondrop May’s DSP cable with PEQ=0
- Dongle: Apple Type-C dongle, Fosi DS2, Hidizs XO, Kiwi Ears Allegro Pro, Tanchjim Stargate 2, Dunu DTC480, Dunu DTC800, Truthear SHIO
- Portable DAPs: Snowsky Echo Mini, Benjie S8/AGPTEK M30B
- Bluetooth DACs: Snowsky Retro Nano, FiiO BTR11
- Bluetooth Adapters: KBEAR S1, KZ AZ10
- Other sources: Presonus AudioBox iONE, Elgato Wave XLR
Amplifier needed?
The KZ ZA12 don’t strictly need a desktop amplifier but they need more juice than your average IEM, so I would at least use a decent dongle.
If you follow the impedance adapter route (I will explain very soon, read below) then you’ll definitely need some power to drive these properly.
Let’s speak about the sound.
I will be speaking about the 1100 configuration (or UUDD if you prefer).
The ZA12 sound very technical, with very good micro detailing capabilities, good resolution, a wide stage that also have notable height for the price, pretty good imaging as well.
Where’s the issue? The overall out-of-the-box tonality, in my opinion.
The upper-mids and treble have some noticeable boost whereas the bass is kept very controlled and this results in a slightly shouty response that becomes thinner the more you increase the volume. In fact, I think this is perfect for those who want a low-volume set for music that has lots of sounds playing in the upper-midrange and treble regions, but if you’re someone who wants something to listen to music on the move, these can be risky since they can get fatiguing quite easily. The vocals sound very forward and I really loved listening to female vocals on these, except for the fact that they can become hot and fatiguing pretty fast. Male vocals, instead, could use a bit more depth and warmth as there isn’t a proper bass shelf to warm things up. The low-end doesn’t have that “wow” factor that I was expecting: the fast decay also doesn’t help at making kickdrums very punchy and incisive, and if you add this to the already bright nature of this set (and the perceivable BA timbre that comes up when increasing the volume) it’s not very easy to recommend this IEM to anyone out there, as only a specific range of users would make good use of this.
BUT… there is a BUT…
I have tried these with a 75ohm impedance adapter and well, these really become another thing. The low-end gets a lot of punch, depth, thickness, and this perfectly counterbalances the upper midrange and treble boost that also decrease a little bit. They still retaining a good sense of resolution and staging and even though they become a bit slower, the tonality is improved by a huge margin and it’s a pleasure to listen them at that point.
Are they something I would use considering my taste and preferences?
If using an impedance adapter wasn’t an issue on the move (and it is, in my case, since it’s not flexible and I don’t want that in my pocket) then these IEMs would be a very good set to keep in my backpack. However, it’s not a plug ‘n play set for me because they still have that thin character even in the bassiest setting, so I would not use it for my daily routine.
Some comparisons:
KZ ZA12 (1100) vs Truthear HEXA
Straight to the point, the HEXA sound better out of the box: more controlled, slightly less detailed yet a lot more effortless and with a less “forced” resolution. The low-end is also fuller yet very balanced on the HEXA. The soundstage and the imaging are better on the KZ ZA12. With an impedance adapter, the ZA12 become a lot fuller, but they also sound much different than in their original state, with a more V-shaped response and this puts them in another bracket with respect to the HEXA, which instead maintain their controlled, tendentially neutral approach.
KZ ZA12 (1100) vs CCA Rhapsody
The KZ ZA12 are way faster, more technical, more resolving, they have a bigger stage and the imaging is better as well. The Rhapsody have a slightly better timbre overall thanks to the fuller low-end that makes them thicker than the ZA12 (which instead sound thinner and slightly more fatiguing on average). Both have some BA timbre going on unfortunately.
With a 75ohm impedance adapter, the Rhapsody are completely blown away in the low-end region as well, there’s no chance for real.
KZ ZA12 (1100) vs Simgot EM6L
The EM6L tuned much better than the ZA12, and the technical prowess is also slightly better (although not by a huge margin). The soundstage goes to the ZA12, whereas the imaging is mostly on par.
With an impedance adapter, the ZA12 blow the EM6L away out of the water in terms of low-end, even though they become more V-shaped and less “neutral” than the EM6L (not that the EM6L are really neutral, but they tend to sound more “audiophile-ish” with respect to the ZA12 with the impedance adapter).
Final Thoughts
The KZ ZA12 weren’t able to blow my mind right out of the box, and this is probably because I was expecting much more from KZ, especially considering that I have really liked some of their latest releases (such as the Sonata, Zenith, CCA Trio and so on).
The sound is thin for the most part, with great technical ability yet with a bright tonality that is not properly counterbalanced by a healthy amount of low-end.
The impedance adapter really changed my mind, though, and I was able to enjoy the ZA12 like I’ve done very few times with a KZ IEM: the 75ohm adapter gave them a real life, with a super deep and punchy bass, a warm and slightly recessed midrange and a detailed, sparkling and vivid treble that creates a very dynamic sound counterbalancing the rich low-end.
I can’t give the ZA12 a super positive rating, because they aren’t something you pick from the box, connect to your phone and call it a day, but if you’re able to snag a cheap impedance adapter for a couple dollars, then the ZA12 get my instant recommendation as a super fun and competent set that can really rule its price range.
So I’ll put it this way: this set scores a solid 3.5/5 on my side, which is an average between a 3/5 (which would be my out-of-the-box vote) and a 4/5 (which would be the vote I’d give with the 75ohm impedance adapter).
