KZ ASX Review (2) – Seriously?
Not that long ago the concept of stuffing 20 BA drivers into a $100 IEM was posited as something of a joke. KZ, however, is nothing if not audacious and actually did just that in their new flagship, the ASX.
Viscerally, nothing about the ASX suggest it’s a $100 piece—it seems shoddily built, with cheap plastics and visibly uneven seams, while the top metal plate looks garish and the printed slogan “20 BA Work Together” is unlikely to win a Clio. The thin, tangly silver cable is likewise cheap-looking but is noise-free. Oversized headshells are very lightweight (which not incidentally reinforces the sensation of cheapness) and protrude out considerably, although comfort isn’t bad and isolation is good.
In contrast to the more mature, balanced tunings of their (very likeable) KZ ZS7 or ZSX, KZ goes old school here with a loud, energetic V-shaped presentation which evokes their early hybrids like the ZSN or ZS5. This is a bright phone with no pretense to neutrality. Soundstage is narrower than expected—this lacks the expansiveness of the ZS5 or CCA-10– but imaging (usually a KZ strength) is credible and there’s enough space between instruments. Note texture, however, is unnaturally lean which lends them a clinical, spiky quality which I found exhausting to listen to.
The ASX surprises with the quantity of its bass—it’s as bass-focused an all-BA as I’ve heard, which in context is not a good thing. The low end is deep and impactful but wobbly and boomy and there’s way too much of it—like a cheap subwoofer turned up to 11, it dominates the spectrum and draws your ears away from the higher frequencies; overall effect is one of incoherence and poor tuning. Mids, especially lower mids, are lacking in presence; male voices in particular sound shrill and unnatural. Despite the ridiculous driver count, treble is pushed forward but sounds surprisingly rolled off, as if the highest frequencies are filtered out. It’s not as hot/strident as prior models like the ZST or ZSN, but it’s also not particularly revealing, and details like cymbal hits or woodwind trills are pixelated and blurry; drumbeats sound especially canned and unnatural. The ASX is also less coherent than the aforesaid, which is not high praise considering the ASX costs 7X as much.
Especially compared to former, cheaper releases like the ZS7 or ZS10P, the ASX is a great big step backwards—it just sounds wrong. I gather there are still KZ completists and fanboys who will buy whatever they crank out, but this just doesn’t look, feel or play like a $100 earphone and it’s strange they let this one escape the lab.
Not recommended.
Got it from Jurgen, whose latest email stated, verbatim, “Throw the KZ in the trash.”
SPECIFICATIONS
Drivers: 10 (1*BA22955s, 1*29689s, 4*30017, 4*31736)
Impedance: 20 Ω
Sensitivity: 106 dB/mW
Frequency Range: 20 – 40,000 Hz
Cable/Connector: QDC 2 pin 0.75 mm
Tested at: $100
Product Page:
Purchase Link: Wooeasy Earphones Store
DISCLAIMER
The KZ ASX review unit was provided unsolicited by Wooeasy Earphones Store. Thank you very much. Following my review, the unit was shipped to the next reviewer.
Get the KZ ASX (or rather something else) from Wooeasy Earphones Store
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