Introduction
The $50 is a highly competitive market with notable sets like Truthear x Crinacle Zero Red, Kefine Klean and Simgot EW200. CCZ came with the CZ10, an IEM with 1DD & 4BA per side. With better spec on paper, did they have a chance against the top dogs?
Lets directly talk about the sound,
Sound signature: V shaped, Energetic!
Credits: Paul Wasabii
Bass: it is quite boosted, mid-bass is more prominent than the sub-bass in presentation. Still it exhibits some rumbles when called for and the mid- bass is thick & boomy. Due to this boominess nature, it masks the vocals in certain tracks that has little more bass. So more of a genre dependent.
The Bass has the quantity but lacks the technicalities! Like the layering between sub-bass & mid-bass, Texturing and dynamics.
With slight reduction with EQ and use of wide bore tips (TRI clarion), most of my issues were fixed but I suspect it to be a driver bottleneck.
Midrange: The male vocals are warm and thick but was a little recessed, can be masked when the low end over powers. The female vocals were fine, it is forward, energetic and comes through well in the mix. There were no shoutiness or sibilance to worry, they done it right in that aspect.
The instruments sound lacked the warmth and sounded a little dry but the separation was really commendable for the price, they were open and well separated.
Treble: The best part about its sound, It is done smooth without any harsh peaks. It sounded open with good dynamics and definition for the price. The cymbal crashes were distinct and lively.
The overall treble tuning is safe and well executed considering the price.
Technicalities,
- Lower end transients were a little slower
- Timbre is ok but nothing off putting
- The layering in the mids & treble region is commendable for the price
- Soundstage is really good, had some great width but not much vertically and imaging is also fine.
Competition
Kefine Delci: Apart from treble performance and female vocal presentation, delci is just superior on the others. The bass quality is one of the best among the $100 sets. Why am comparing this to the CZ10 is that, Delci is available for around ~$55 during sale, a much better deal and overall package.
Credits: Paul Wasabii
Design/Build/Fit/Comfort
Design & Build: Now this is the best part about this IEM, it is solid and well built with fully metal but these are on the heavier side. It has watch like gear pattern on the face plate, which is cool. The connector is QDC is though, could've gone with regular 2 pin connection.
I have the black color and it is only color variant they offer, would've loved a silver color but it is what it is.
Fit & Comfort: They lost a mark on this one, the nozzle was a little too long with a thinner nozzle. So they fit like they are floating out without much support, better to use short tips for better fit.
Box content,
The unboxing experience was quite premium from their KZ style packaging for their lower priced IEMs. Interestingly the box is solid and has magnets, so we can actually use it a storage box but there was no case included though.
The box contains,
> Pair of IEM themselves
> silicone tips - 3 sizes
> A pair of foam tips
> A basic cable (Available with or without mic)
Ear tips: There is nothing special but at least the core was thicker. There is a single pair of foam tips and I'm not someone who likes foam tips in general.
Cable: It is very basic KZ like cable, should've provided a better one but does the job. I used QKZ T1 cable during my usage.
Verdict
The $50 range is highly competitive, so are these good compared to the competition? It depends. If you are looking for something well built and don't care much about bass quality, this got comparable midrange and treble performance compared to the competition. But you can get it without a doubt if it is available for $30-40 range on sale and have seen them go for $29 with discount codes.
Thanks to KeepHifi for providing the CZ10 for review. All thoughts are my own, and there was no input or influence from the brand.
The $50 is a highly competitive market with notable sets like Truthear x Crinacle Zero Red, Kefine Klean and Simgot EW200. CCZ came with the CZ10, an IEM with 1DD & 4BA per side. With better spec on paper, did they have a chance against the top dogs?
Lets directly talk about the sound,
Sound signature: V shaped, Energetic!
Credits: Paul Wasabii
Bass: it is quite boosted, mid-bass is more prominent than the sub-bass in presentation. Still it exhibits some rumbles when called for and the mid- bass is thick & boomy. Due to this boominess nature, it masks the vocals in certain tracks that has little more bass. So more of a genre dependent.
The Bass has the quantity but lacks the technicalities! Like the layering between sub-bass & mid-bass, Texturing and dynamics.
With slight reduction with EQ and use of wide bore tips (TRI clarion), most of my issues were fixed but I suspect it to be a driver bottleneck.
Midrange: The male vocals are warm and thick but was a little recessed, can be masked when the low end over powers. The female vocals were fine, it is forward, energetic and comes through well in the mix. There were no shoutiness or sibilance to worry, they done it right in that aspect.
The instruments sound lacked the warmth and sounded a little dry but the separation was really commendable for the price, they were open and well separated.
Treble: The best part about its sound, It is done smooth without any harsh peaks. It sounded open with good dynamics and definition for the price. The cymbal crashes were distinct and lively.
The overall treble tuning is safe and well executed considering the price.
Technicalities,
- Lower end transients were a little slower
- Timbre is ok but nothing off putting
- The layering in the mids & treble region is commendable for the price
- Soundstage is really good, had some great width but not much vertically and imaging is also fine.
Competition
Kefine Delci: Apart from treble performance and female vocal presentation, delci is just superior on the others. The bass quality is one of the best among the $100 sets. Why am comparing this to the CZ10 is that, Delci is available for around ~$55 during sale, a much better deal and overall package.
Credits: Paul Wasabii
Design/Build/Fit/Comfort
Design & Build: Now this is the best part about this IEM, it is solid and well built with fully metal but these are on the heavier side. It has watch like gear pattern on the face plate, which is cool. The connector is QDC is though, could've gone with regular 2 pin connection.
I have the black color and it is only color variant they offer, would've loved a silver color but it is what it is.
Fit & Comfort: They lost a mark on this one, the nozzle was a little too long with a thinner nozzle. So they fit like they are floating out without much support, better to use short tips for better fit.
Box content,
The unboxing experience was quite premium from their KZ style packaging for their lower priced IEMs. Interestingly the box is solid and has magnets, so we can actually use it a storage box but there was no case included though.
The box contains,
> Pair of IEM themselves
> silicone tips - 3 sizes
> A pair of foam tips
> A basic cable (Available with or without mic)
Ear tips: There is nothing special but at least the core was thicker. There is a single pair of foam tips and I'm not someone who likes foam tips in general.
Cable: It is very basic KZ like cable, should've provided a better one but does the job. I used QKZ T1 cable during my usage.
Verdict
The $50 range is highly competitive, so are these good compared to the competition? It depends. If you are looking for something well built and don't care much about bass quality, this got comparable midrange and treble performance compared to the competition. But you can get it without a doubt if it is available for $30-40 range on sale and have seen them go for $29 with discount codes.
Thanks to KeepHifi for providing the CZ10 for review. All thoughts are my own, and there was no input or influence from the brand.