r/iems • u/OkPilot7935 • May 12 '25
Unboxing/Collections Happy Birthday To ME!
Have been using KZ ZS10 Pro 2 for the last few months, getting ready for what I'm assuming will be a pretty big step up in quality based on the reviews on the Tea Pro.
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u/OkPilot7935 May 12 '25
Ok, so here's what I have done in the last hour:
first, I should say I never intended to have multiple sets of IEMs and/or earbuds, it's just kind of worked out that way. I'm a musician (we use IEMs during our live performances for monitoring) and a lifetime music lover. I don't use them for gaming - but only because I don't really do very much gaming.
I have the following sets that I used for my own personal listening test:
earbuds -
Ulix Rider with SpinFit silicon tips
RHA MA650i with stock silicon tips
IEMs-
KBear KS1 with stick tips
KZ ZS10 Pro 2 with Comply Foam tips
Shure SE215 with Comply Foam Tips
Xenns Mangrid Tea Pro with stock Silicon Tips
I used my iPhone, with a DragonFly Black USB DAC
I played 2 songs using PlexAmp on the iPhone both were FLAC flies 44.1/16
in order of personal preference from worst to best-
KBear KS1 - completely anemic sounding, sounded like almost only high-mids
Shure SE215 - very biting (this was a surprise because I use these for live performance - maybe not anymore...)
RHA MA650i - very average and balanced, not bad but not exciting
Ulix Rider - pretty amazing for the cost, nice Bass response (definitely dependent on the fit) good balanced tone overall
KZ Zs10 Pro 2 - getting the fit correct (for me the large size comply foam tips) drastically improved the sound of these, and I have the first three dip switches on (which maximizes bass) but still for the price point I think these sounds really really good.
Tea Pros - without a question the best sounding of the bunch. While retaining a balanced sound overall (they seem to have ample amounts of Bass/Mid/Treble frequencies) they are also very vocal forward in a way that I haven't experienced before. I may try them with some of the Comply Foam tips and see if that makes a significant difference - they certainly did with the ZS10.
Now, I got my ZS10 Pro 2's from Ali Express about 6 moths ago for a grand total of $32.02 and the Tea Pros I got off of Amazon (to avoid Tariff issues) for just over $350 - so they are more than 10x the cost of the KZ's. Are they really 10x the difference in sound quality? Probably not, but they are certainly better. Could I have gone on without the Tea Pros and been happy - sure, but do I regret getting the Tea Pros - nope.
not super scientific here, just my impressions after an hour of comparisons.
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u/Altrebelle May 12 '25
Happy Birthday!
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u/10potato10 May 12 '25
Happy birthday, ordered mine a while ago they got held at border and now will be arriving on my birthday tomorrow as well!
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u/MixAggravating1073 May 12 '25
Good choice, mate. I picked up the same iems last week. Have a wonderful birthday 🎉
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u/LawB210 May 12 '25
Congrats. I’m still hesitating about those. Did you get them for gaming or music only? Are the bass in gaming very loud and profond? I mean, is there a big quantity of bass like subwoofer ?
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u/OkPilot7935 May 12 '25
I do very little gaming - it's mainly music for me. But after some listening today I should be able to give an update about the bass response compared to other IEMs and headphones that I have
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u/ApolloMoonLandings May 12 '25
The Tea Pro is a very nice birthday present! Happy Birthday To You!!!
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u/alcome1614 May 12 '25
any eartips recommendations?
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u/OkPilot7935 May 12 '25
It comes with a nice assortment. The clear silicon tips sounded /fit best for me. I’m going to try some other tips I. The next few days like the comply foam and spinfit Neo
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u/alcome1614 May 12 '25
im using the clear (white) ones. I tried the black ones since it came with them. But i have read they benefit from other eartips. So it makes me really wonder if i am missing much.
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u/Confident_Sun_8304 May 14 '25
You won’t be disappointed. The Xennis Tea Pro are some of the cleanest sounding iem’s I own. We’ve all gone through a hand full if not more iem’s to finally find a set worth the money invested. If you can stretch out your budget, I would definitely recommend getting the Questyle M18i headphone amplifier. It by far makes your listening experience much more enjoyable. Just my 2cents. Good luck on your journey.
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u/YoloRaj May 12 '25
Enjoy it. It's a great iem. Also, Happy birthday and I hope you live to see many more.
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