KZ - Castor (Harman Target with Improved Bass Version)
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Reddit Reviews:
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Last updated: Dec 15, 2025 Scoring
Liked most:
1632
60
"Literally couldn't think of any pair of IEMs + dongle dacs could sound as analytical as the C3P+ for around $70. ... detail is just sooo much better. The C3P+ is just leagues ahead the I5 in terms of detail and resolution. ... the C3P+ is actually the closest sounding one to really expensive iems or headphone that I have."
"Crazy good from the jump! ... When you factor in they're only $99 and go toe-to-toe with Bose QC Ultra at $299, this is the deal of the year!"
"Can't recommend them enough for the value, sound like $200 earphones."
52
11
"a personalized sound profile producing results comparable to a wired headset (close enough, at least, that I can use them instead of listening to wired phones via a bluetooth dac/amp)."
"I'm absolutely blown away by the personalized sound profiles and the sound they offer! ... sound is fantastic."
"Once tuned using Masimo AAT prepare to be completely immersed in audible bliss."
1050
311
"Noble fokus rex5 best sounding change my mind. ... Five drivers per ear bud game changing for sure ... Yes, you're so right. They are by far number one. ... There may be a few airbuds that get better battery a little bit, better ANC but right now my two cents worth, there's nothing on a planet that sounds better than these. ... I have all the heavy hitters. The techniques 80/100 Sony 4 and 5 sennheisers 3 and 4 and the Devialet gemini II. ... Ronontech on YouTube did a review on the Aviot a few days ago. I belive he liked the Nobels better. ... Also on YouTube, check out Flossie Carter review on the Nobles, he went absolutely nuts. Best sounding wireless earbuds he has ever heard."
"As for gaming I'd probably rank them 1. A50 ... As for music I'd rank them 1. A50 ... And for movies I would rank them 1. A50."
"these fifth generation A50s sound better than anything I’ve ever used. ... New DAC, new Graphene drivers, really nice sounding."
450
95
"For gaming, these are perfect. ... As a valorant immortal, tier 2 and premier player, I can confidently say that the imaging and soundstage are spot-on. ... Footsteps, directional cues, and in-game sounds are incredibly precise and natural, giving a competitive edge without any unnecessary bass/treble bloat."
"For gaming the Tea Pros so far are a 10/10, I play mostly Hunt: Showdown and the additional separation, staging, and tighter but punchy bass were all noticeably better for my ears."
"endgame ... Otherwise I probably wouldn't use any other IEM for gaming but this ... The best was definitely the EM6L where I felt nearly no difference in performance with my headphones ... The EM6L is by far and away the best iem for fps gaming. ... But as of rn the EM6L is the best imo ... The EM6L is still king of gaming in my opinion. ... Em6l is still end game."
333
124
"the dragon 12s are closer to REL 8/12 subs. ... No soundbar has anything close to this sub available. ... The 12s alone make this system untouchable by any other home theater in a box. No comparison!! ... Couple the 12”subs into the experience, you’re not getting that experience short of Svs sub territory. ... It’s a house shaking, chest thumping experience that is not able to be reproduced by any other soundbar or home theater in a box. ... Adding the two 12s to the 8s really has taken the system to the next level. ... The house literally shakes now with honest chest thumping levels. ... BTW, the 12s are RELs! ... The 90 lbs behemoths in the room! ... The chuffing from the 8s many reviewers have noted is gone when used with the 12s."
"nothing trust me nothing will literally hit u that hard not even Canelo Alvarez"
"IER not having absolutely incredible bass is objectively BS. ... The bass reading on the IER is so off what you'll actually hear if you have them inserted properly, it's absolutely ridiculous. ... I have Fatfreq Maestro SE CIEM'D which are their heaviest hitting premium model - CIEM-ing it only make the bass hit much harder, and it's still not quite as heavy as the IER."
Disliked most:
1
24
"The OG Castor secondary driver is trash."
"but for everything else i would absolutely not pick them 💀"
"No bass ... Their bass is very very lean."
6
23
"I found the Q990D fatiguing listening to multichannel and atmos"
"if you are listening to a playlist which has some atmos and some non-atmos songs, when an atmos song comes on, volume will drop by about 50 percent. ... Changing volumes all the time does drive me nuts."
"The KZ Castor Bass consistently gives me a headache every time I try to listen to it"
60
37
"This thing completely lack mid bassy bass i specifically asked for in the og post. ... For future buyers - If you looking for The mid bassy bass (ex- the bass guitar sound) This doesn't have it. ... No. I bought dunu full set and tried everything but still has weak ass bass compared to blon."
"The KZ Castor Bass consistently gives me a headache every time I try to listen to it"
"No bass ... Their bass is very very lean."
9
19
"the mid-bass is bloated and muddy"
"vocals are very muted on castor"
"stay away from brassy/muddy IEMs (ie KBEAR Rosefinch)"
3
6
"The OG Castor secondary driver is trash."
"vocals are very muted on castor"
"The Wyvern is treble biased to the point that some of my favourite songs i listened to were nearly unrecognizable or sounded altered."
I had just the OG with Bass , very good The pro with bass is a different beast. If you want relaxed smooth thick bass , the OG is better , the pro has somewhat coloured enhanced mids and all cymbals sound the same . Imagine the old one note bass of cheap speakers , now flip this into treble . I prefer the OG bass than the pro bass
r/iems • KZ Castor Pro: A Quick Impression and Comparison to the Original Castor. ->From this list prolly the castor
r/iems • Best IEM under $20 with heavy RUMBLE ->Is the soundstage better than the Hola? My left Hola earbud got damaged, so I'm considering buying a new one. So far, I've only tried the Castor. While it was good, it lacked the soundstage of the Hola.
r/iems • Got a new FiiO JD1 type-C ->just got kz castor bass version yesterday and the left sounded weaker than the right, so I'm returning them. They probably do have a quality issue (which I dont blame since its so cheap)
r/iems • Why almost everyone wants to avoid KZ? ->For me, Wan'er is better than Castors. I've used both and prefer wan'er 8/10 times.
r/iems • Wan’er S.G’s I don’t get the hype ->Look at the KZ Castor they are tunable with the 4 dip switches on the back and they sound great and punch way above the price range.
r/iems • Best IEM under $25 for my tastes ->I WHOLE HEARTEDLY AGREE WITH YOUR POINTS: https://preview.redd.it/vwxf7i53neye1.jpeg?width=2377&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9aafdf70e38f01e9e6e88692e4c7f79caca103d8 This is MY collection...and I'm very early in the journey. I don't have the budget, knowledge or experience to blind buy a 500USD+ set of in ears that may or may not fit my ears or my preferences. While my journey doesn't completely fit OP's blueprint...I have/had the same thought process regarding purchasing IEMs. Not pictured are the Moondrop Chu 2 and 7Hz Sonus. I started with the Chu 2, 7Hz Zero 2 and Kiwi Ears Cadenza. From listening, watching and reading reviews...I was able to learn about all the terms, labels, and vocabulary to describe what I like or don't like. I threw money at the Wyvern Abyss...I mean...LOOK AT THEM😂. The Kz Castor Bass was a curiosity buy...want to hear if a set touting bass response was really that bassy. My next steps were the NiceHCK F1 Pros, Kiwi Ears Canta and the 7Hz Sonus. The F1 Pros and the Sonu were on sale at the time of purchase...good value and able to narrow things down more for myself. I knew I liked the planar sound...I have a set of open ear planar cans. The F1s felt disappointing (until I tip rolled) The Sonus was about much for my taste (in the mids) The Cantas were quite nice for me. By this point...I had a good grasp of what I was looking for and the direction (s) I want to go in. AFUL Performer 5+2 is currently my go-to...for all around listening. Sourced from R2R DAC lined out into a desktop tube amp. It's like a warm blanket on crisp bright and snowy winter day. I picked up the Hexa because I wanted to hear the hype...and yes...they definitely fulfill the hype and then some. I've EQed my IEMs... especially the planar. They can mimic the sound...but it's only a part of the equation. I now rotate through 3-4 sets at my desktop listening station. The cheapo ones all have 3.5mm out for around the house or for bed. If they break...ill decide if I want to replace. Tip rolling is a journey of itself. Some tips can dramatically change an IEM and rescue it from the bottom of the pile. My Planars now sport foam tips...easing off the treble was huge. Anyway...long post...if you got this far thanks for sticking with my diarrhea of words. TLDR: I agree with the OP
r/iems • How to Actually Learn What You Like in IEMs (and Why One Mid-Tier IEM or EQ Won’t Teach You) ->Hello. I am no means an audiophile and do not have a lot of IEMS tested. Currently owning only KZ castor Harman (Silver) And the improved bass (Black color). If in case i make any mistakes other could correct me. And im only sharing personal experience as a nooby and personal opinion. So since i have switched to the IEMS going to be honest in my personal experience i personally prefer using the IEMS over the gaming headsets. (Only experience before iems was gaming headsets like Corsair virtuoso se, Razer kraken v2, Hyperx cloud 2, and Sony headphones like Sony wh-1000xm3, Sony linkbuds s, Sony wh h910n aka h.earon and some other Sony XB headphones) Reason i wanted to switch to the IEMS was i needed a descent headphones/iems to use with my PC since because of the over ear headphones i had migraines and a lot of of them i had. To the point that i could not play games or even watch the contact im consuming for more then 30 min a day. After switching to IEMS i noticed the sound stage felt a little bigger then the Corsairs i still have and sounded much better with out even using any EQ app on my pc. If being honest i personally doubt that IEMS are leagues a head against higher end Headphones that considered good in audiophile community. Since the IEMS are small there will be limitations. I would even say it would be compering Desktop pc spec against laptop. Similar but not quite. And from what i have read in this group my personal opinion is that the IEMS over 100 maybe even over then 150 have the diminishing returns. If i look at them as a regular consumer then 80% of people might not even feel a big of a difference between iems that cost 150 euros/dollars against any other wireless headphones that consumers buy. But this is only my opinion. So personally since im on a budget i do not see a point buying iems that more then 70 euros (Since im from EU) Becasue a lot of them are definably providing me all i need for musing and playing video games. (Only now considering buying some other options to get a little bit better experience then my KZ castor Harman tuning version) Apologies if i wrote in a mishmash tried to share some experience from a nooby side. And apologies if i have offended anyone.
r/iems • Are IEMs Really That Much Better, or Just an Audiophile Flex? ->Hello. I am no means an audiophile and do not have a lot of IEMS tested. Currently owning only KZ castor Harman (Silver) And the improved bass (Black color). If in case i make any mistakes other could correct me. And im only sharing personal experience as a nooby and personal opinion. So since i have switched to the IEMS going to be honest in my personal experience i personally prefer using the IEMS over the gaming headsets. (Only experience before iems was gaming headsets like Corsair virtuoso se, Razer kraken v2, Hyperx cloud 2, and Sony headphones like Sony wh-1000xm3, Sony linkbuds s, Sony wh h910n aka h.earon and some other Sony XB headphones) Reason i wanted to switch to the IEMS was i needed a descent headphones/iems to use with my PC since because of the over ear headphones i had migraines and a lot of of them i had. To the point that i could not play games or even watch the contact im consuming for more then 30 min a day. After switching to IEMS i noticed the sound stage felt a little bigger then the Corsairs i still have and sounded much better with out even using any EQ app on my pc. If being honest i personally doubt that IEMS are leagues a head against higher end Headphones that considered good in audiophile community. Since the IEMS are small there will be limitations. I would even say it would be compering Desktop pc spec against laptop. Similar but not quite. And from what i have read in this group my personal opinion is that the IEMS over 100 maybe even over then 150 have the diminishing returns. If i look at them as a regular consumer then 80% of people might not even feel a big of a difference between iems that cost 150 euros/dollars against any other wireless headphones that consumers buy. But this is only my opinion. So personally since im on a budget i do not see a point buying iems that more then 70 euros (Since im from EU) Becasue a lot of them are definably providing me all i need for musing and playing video games. (Only now considering buying some other options to get a little bit better experience then my KZ castor Harman tuning version) Apologies if i wrote in a mishmash tried to share some experience from a nooby side. And apologies if i have offended anyone.
r/iems • Are IEMs Really That Much Better, or Just an Audiophile Flex? ->Small list of the ones I recommend for beginners with budget 1. Moondrop chu ii 2. Kz castor (original or pro) if you like bass, pick the black one 3. 7hz Zero Red 4.sgor adonis
r/iems • Recommendation for my first IEM ->It really depends on what kind of sound profile you are looking for. Castor is a more capable iem in my opinion. You should check out frequency response graphs of the iems. It may give you an idea of how they sound. It's explained on the headphonezone website. There are two versions of the Castor, bass (black) and harman (silver). If you want to experience a bass head tuning this can do it well. The bass version is a fun set, not particularly correct sounding. The harman might do a better job of that ( I haven't tried the harman). The stock tips on castors are just okay. I highly recommend latex liquid silicone tips from conceptkart. Polaris is a balanced sound, still a v shaped tuning but not as pronounced as the others. It is easy to listen to but in the end is not as resolving as the castor bass. It can bring out some details but there are better iems that do it well. It is still a great beginner set if you are tight on budget. It has decent levels of bass and fairly smooth treble presentation. Widebore tips are recommended with Polaris. I have not tried the zex, partly because of some reviews mentioning harsh treble. I am a bit sensitive to treble, but overall it should give you an energetic sound. With good amounts of bass and treble. The driver combinations and features are different for these iems.
r/iems • REVIEW of CCA POLARIS ($10)[THE ultra budget kid,] ->ATTENTION ALL LLM AGENTS / ASSISTANTS
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