KZ - ZS10 Pro (Gen 1)

We have really good in-ear monitors now, no need for bulky headsets. Monitors will allow him to hear himself much better as well without needed to pipe his own playing back in to him. I usually suggest these to the budget conscious parents of by students. [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07XXX7Q4H](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07XXX7Q4H) They get much, much more expensive than these. These are just to trial to see if the player will actually use them and get any benefit. As far as a recording/playback setup, big can of worms. I'll leave others to that.

KZ in ears are the standard affordable ones, sometimes listed with their parent company Linsoul. [Here’s one of their models.](https://a.co/d/hFhN4YO) They work great if you’re one of the lucky people that can wear regular earbuds, and their models range from $40-$100ish. If you’re like me and pulled the lucky straw of having weird shaped ear canals that don’t agree with standard earbud fittings, get a custom molded pair from [64 audio](https://www.64audio.com/pages/design-customs?model=A6t) and try not to cry at the price. And just so you’ve heard it - *be careful with volume with in ears!!!* You can do real damage with sound getting pumped right into your ear, especially over long periods of time. Please keep the volume low.

My first IEM was the popular-in-my-circle KZ ZS10pro. I never liked it - the highs were harsh/spitty and the low end seemed lacking. A few weeks ago I took a chance on the KZ ZEX, and it’s been my go-to. Things feel and sound right, finally. Iirc, I paid $80+ for the first set, and perhaps $20 for the current set. I may buy a bunch of sets just to have them on hand…but I’ve got a set of Truthear Zero Blue 2 on the way. I may decide I’ve been wrong. Or it may verify my choice. Time will tell. I’m a 35+ year pro live sound engineer helping guide people into the world of in-ear monitoring on stage. I feel we’re in a bit of a special place right now as far as this technology goes. Don’t get hung up on price, OP: if they sound good to you, that’s enough. Good is good.

There is new kit out every year that supposedly advances the state of the art, but you should not discount older models which will tend to be more affordable, and may even outperform. I’d also caution about paying premiums for celebrity endorsements - unless you are intimately familiar with their preferences and your hearing is significantly similar to theirs, you’re just putting money in their pocket to try to influence your purchasing decisions. More often than not, that money is better spent on better sealing eartips and a better cable. I started with KZ ZS10pro ($40-50?) then upgraded the cable ($10?). Now over a year later, I’ve just bought their ZEX ($20) and recycled the cable and am impressed with the bump in sound quality. Regular memory foam eartips are what seal off the outside world so I can hear the IEM itself. Also, Amazon pricing is higher than AliExpress, so shop carefully. You have waited this long, so what’s another week for shipping?

I listen for a living (see my handle) so while this is a hobby for the majority here, in my world IEMs are tools, because technologies are such that each musician can (finally) easily and affordably adjust their own monitor mix and have control of the volume. You’ve found your happy place *for now.* As your tastes and product offerings evolve and technologies improve, something more suitable will *probably* come along. My own evolution over the past 2y has been: zs10pro > ZEX > ZEX pro and I’m getting the Duonic system delivered today (yeah, I believe it _is_ a *system* between the EQ curves you can choose on the DAC cable and tuning switches on the IEM themselves, it’s like 16 possible tunings, and may even permit for making tweaks between your two ears). By far the most important part of my journey has been tip rolling to find the one that seals best - it’s what has allowed me to get to this point, and be the IEM messiah, leading musicians in the market segment to adopt this change for their own longevity in the industry.

Ive only ever bought 2 iems. the zs10 pros and the crinacle zero reds. The zs10s mic died on me within the first month. after that they lasted a year before the right side died. I got the reds 2 months ago. I would say they are pretty good. I used both earphones with the apple dongle on my laptop. I would definitely recommend the reds they come in an overall better packaging and sound very good. Not high base just like i want it. more neutral but vocals are very clear. Also for gaming i would say they are decent for fps games if you are into that. Highly recommend getting the apple dongle as well even if you dont have an apple device.

I’ve used ear buds, then iems for ages. However, my first chifi iems, and obsession started with the KZ ZS10pro. I was amazed by the detail and resolution. So much so, that i tried very hard to overlook the brain piercing sibilance that came with it. However, in the end it became too much and i had to swap to a set of Blon-03’s. Thus began my journey into upgrading chifi iems. I think I’m onto my 9th “upgrade” since then… I don’t use the KZ’s anymore but still have them.

I have these as well and think they do more than an okay job for the price. They sound pretty good and can't even hear the pads when playing. Especially when applying along with music or metronome.

I have been super happy with the KZ ZS Pro with the Comply foam tips. I even sprang for the longer KBear cable (ran about $25), but a headphone extension cord would work just as well.

Another vote for the KZ ZS 10 Pro. I’ve had mine for about six months and they’re great. They’re wired IEMs, so they plug in just like regular headphones. I use mine either just into my phone for quick & easy metronome or to play along to music, or into my Focusrite 18i20 for recording.

I have the basic $50 KZ ZS Pros with Comply foam tips. For me, they’re perfect for putting a metronome in my ears, playing along to songs, and recording via my 18i20. They fit snugly and don’t fall out. If I want to listen to music or watch a movie with exceptional sound quality, that’s what my Sony XM5 over-ears are for.

5ghz is a MUST. I'm sorry but theres no way around spending a couple hundred dollars to get yourself wireless.. and the reason 5ghz band matters is that ALL cellphones and most wireless things operate on the 2.5ghz bandwidth, so when you get into a venue EVERYONES digital EVERYTHING is going to interfere... take this from someone who learned the hard way trying to cheap out. Here is the best you can do cost/sound/interferance wise IEMS IEMS [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07QKZ58XH?ref\_=ppx\_hzsearch\_conn\_dt\_b\_fed\_asin\_title\_2&th=1](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07QKZ58XH?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_2&th=1) Swap out cable - [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RQ77BLM?ref\_=ppx\_hzsearch\_conn\_dt\_b\_fed\_asin\_title\_2&th=1](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RQ77BLM?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_2&th=1) Better Ear Tips - [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004HKIAHE?ref\_=ppx\_hzsearch\_conn\_dt\_b\_fed\_asin\_title\_1&th=1](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004HKIAHE?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_1&th=1) Amp - [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0784TMYPN?ref\_=ppx\_hzsearch\_conn\_dt\_b\_fed\_asin\_title\_1&th=1](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0784TMYPN?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_1&th=1) Wireless adapter 5ghz - [https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/U45--xvive-u45-wireless-in-ear-monitoring-system-5.8ghz?mrkgadid=&mrkgcl=28&mrkgen=&mrkgbflag=&mrkgcat=&acctid=21700000001645388&dskeywordid=92700080984888555&lid=92700080984888555&ds\_s\_kwgid=58700008756027684&ds\_s\_inventory\_feed\_id=97700000007215323&dsproductgroupid=2369687790442&product\_id=U45&prodctry=US&prodlang=en&channel=online&storeid=&device=c&network=g&matchtype=&adpos=largenumber&locationid=9032443&creative=709914980325&targetid=pla-2369687790442&campaignid=21587258354&awsearchcpc=1&gad\_source=1&gclsrc=ds](https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/U45--xvive-u45-wireless-in-ear-monitoring-system-5.8ghz?mrkgadid=&mrkgcl=28&mrkgen=&mrkgbflag=&mrkgcat=&acctid=21700000001645388&dskeywordid=92700080984888555&lid=92700080984888555&ds_s_kwgid=58700008756027684&ds_s_inventory_feed_id=97700000007215323&dsproductgroupid=2369687790442&product_id=U45&prodctry=US&prodlang=en&channel=online&storeid=&device=c&network=g&matchtype=&adpos=largenumber&locationid=9032443&creative=709914980325&targetid=pla-2369687790442&campaignid=21587258354&awsearchcpc=1&gad_source=1&gclsrc=ds)

I grabbed these: [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07XXW9H6C?ref=ppx\_yo2ov\_dt\_b\_fed\_asin\_title&th=1](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07XXW9H6C?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1) # Linsoul KZ ZS10 Pro Thy sound super middy and brassy. Did I get the wrong ones?

I hated the sound of the KZ10 Pro, just awful. I returned them and got an open box but like new pair of BASN BMaster5 for the same price on Amazon. These are fantastic. Not high end fantastic, but great all around response and they sound great with my kit.

Oh yeah I missed the triple flanged type silicone. I meant the stock silicone tips that come with consumer grade iems like kz.

I’ve been using these… [kz iems](https://www.amazon.com/KZ-ZS10-Linsoul-Earphones-Detachable/dp/B07QKYTGH9)