KZ AS10 5BA Earphones

Wow, these are my first pair of IEMs and I'm really impressed with both the sound quality and the fit of these. The sound is very clear and very crisp. The bass holds up pretty well. I feel it leans slightly toward the highs almost to the point of being sharp in some cases but it's tolerable. My ears are (apparently) an unusual shape/size because I struggle to find earbuds that want to stay in my ears, but these feel comfortable to wear and I don't feel like they're going to fall out all the time. It's a very pleasant surprise.The cord feels very light and doesn't get in the way. The length is good for someone who wants to use them to listen with a device that is nearby; they're a little longer than the cord that would come with a regular set of earbuds from a retail store. I can't attest to their usefulness for musicians but for regular music enjoyment they work very well. I'm very happy with my purchase.

This positive review replaces the first review I did, where I mentioned that the rubber earbuds fell off. My replacement order had replacement rubber earbuds, and they slip over the plastic shaft of the unit.These are a great value, stay put in my ears and sonically are 'flat' in their eq response---which is what they are supposed to do.

I’ve played with a number of so called chi-fi products, but my previous experience with the company KZ was limited to the ZS6 which I liked, but fit wasn’t for me. The AS10 while being same size is much smoother. No sharp edges just curves. It fits nicely even with the stock tips which I don’t mind, they have good isolation, but for longer listening sessions I prefer spinfits.Cable - this is the one caveat that I have with the built quality - I wish it wasn’t so easy to tangle, but that’s probably partially my fault for not being careful enough while rolling itSound - coming from the ZS6 which has obviously V-shaped signature, the AS10 feels a lot more balanced. Mid bass is still boosted and there is a peak somewhere in the 5-7Khz area but the midds don’t seem to be pushed back. Overall I really like the tuning of this IEM, especially for the price. The 5 balanced armature drivers sound coherent. Vocals are natural, electric guitars sound great. The boost in the bass makes them great for edm, rock and plenty of other genres. “Right next door to hell” by Guns N’ Roses has a great bass riff in the beginning and AS10 handles it excellent, fast and clean. Reminds me of planar bass.“Angel” by Massive Attack is a good test for lows, it hits pretty deep but in control, without any mud. “Hold on” by Amber Rubarth is a favorite of mine vocal track with great soundstage and acoustic instruments all around you - sounds great, she is right in the middle of the mix, not too forward or too far back.Another favorite track for me that has a whole world inside to explore is “Quizas Quizas Quizas” by Pink Martini. I love her voice with all the little details in the background. There is moment at 0:35-0:37 when her voice gets sibilance if listened on the wrong gear, but AS10 does it well without any harshness.Soundstage and imaging are decent on this iem, I’m tempted to compare with a much more expensive Item that I have but it would not be fare.Overall I’m impressed with the sound of this IEM. It’s a very strong competitor for the price range. I’m curious to see what KZ will do in the future

INTRODUCTION/DISCLAIMER:The KZ AS10 is an in-ear monitor with five balanced armature drivers per side. KZ is the brand that started my Chi-Fi journey years ago with the ATE. Since then I have owned the KZ ED9, which I liked, and the ES4, which I disliked enough to return.PACKAGING AND ACCESSORIESThe KZ AS10 comes in a black rectangular cardboard box marked with the KZ logo on the front panel. Stickers on the bottom panel indicate the mic and color options as well as the contact information for the manufacturer.The box has a flip cover which opens to the left, revealing a foam inlay containing the earpieces and a metal plaque. Behind this inlay are two translucent white plastic bags containing the AS10’s removable cable, 3 sets of KZ Starline eartips (S, M, L), a user manual, a QC pass chit, and a warranty card. The AS10 does not come with a carry bag or case.BUILD QUALITY / DESIGNThe AS10 earpieces have piano black plastic housings with transparent faceplates. The housings are on the larger side with deep nozzles. The AS10’s KZ-branded circuit boards are visible behind the transparent faceplates. Although I love this look, there are many who do not. The model name, “Left/Right,” and “10 Balanced Armature” are printed in silver on the top face of the black plastic housing. “L/R” are also identified on the transparent faceplate above the cable connection.Each earpiece has a tiny circular vent near the top of the inner face of the housing. The AS10 is an all-BA design, so driver flex is not a concern.The nozzle does not have a traditional lip for securing eartips, and instead has 3 small protrusions along the edge of the nozzle. This worked just as well as a lip in my experience.The AS10 has a copper-colored braided 2-pin cable with an L-shaped 3.5mm jack. The KZ logo is printed on the jack housing. The cable has pre-formed plastic ear-guides and “L/R” markings on the 2-pin housings. There is no chin-adjustment choker, and the Y-split is around halfway-down the cable length, roughly 2 feet from the bottom of the 2-pin connections. The cable is not as tangle-prone as the cable included with the CCA-C10, but is still problematic in this regard. Microphonics are minimal.COMFORT / FIT / ISOLATIONThe KZ AS10 is intended to be worn cable-up only. The wide housings and relatively deep insertion depth make the AS10 tolerable at best from a comfort perspective.Noise isolation is above average relative to dynamic driver or hybrid designs, but not as good as the Tenhz T5, a sealed all-BA design.The AS10 accepts a wide variety of eartips. The relatively deep insertion depth makes getting a good seal easy. I used the small silicone eartips from the Fiio F1 for my listening.SOUNDThe KZ AS10 has a warm, mildly-V shaped tuning.The AS10 emphasizes mid-bass slam rather than sub-bass rumble. Sub-bass is present and well-extended but not visceral. Bass articulation is quick and precise. Bass texture is dry and clinical. The mid-bass hump bleeds into the lower mids, thickening deep and growled male vocals and causing distorted electric rhythm guitars to come off as boomy.The lower mids are slightly recessed and a tad warm. Both male and female vocals are clear and full-bodied. The upper midrange could use a touch more presence. Both male and female vocals, while natural-sounding, come across a bit flat.The treble, while smooth and inoffensive, has a plastic-sounding timbre. Resolution is adequate for the price, but the AS10 is lacking in sparkle.Imaging and instrument separation are very good. Soundstage is slightly larger than average for the price point and compares well with more expensive IEMs.AMPLIFICATION REQUIREMENTS AND SOURCE PAIRINGThe AS10 can be easily driven to adequate listening volumes by a smartphone. I did not notice hiss with any of my sources.COMPARISONSKZ AS10 [$62] vs Simgot MT3 [$66]The Simgot MT3 has slightly more prominent and extended sub-bass. The MT3 has slightly more textured bass. The AS10’s bass is better articulated, with more precise attack and decay. The MT3’s mid-bass hump rolls off earlier and does not bloat the lower midrange as much.Male vocals are more prominent on the AS10. The MT3’s lower midrange does not exhibit the boominess that can be heard on the AS10. The MT3 has a livelier but more aggressive upper midrange, which makes vocals sound more exciting at the cost of sibilance. The timbre of the MT3 is thinner than the AS10’s. Distorted electric guitars can be too bright on the MT3.The MT3’s lower treble rolls off earlier than the AS10’s, but is harsher, splashier, and grainier. The MT3 has more air and sparkle. The AS10 has more realistic transients.The AS10 has better instrument separation, a larger soundstage, and more precise imaging. The MT3 is slightly harder to drive. The MT3 is more comfortable thanks to its smaller housing. The MT3 comes with a wider variety of eartips, a nicer cable, and a mesh carry bag.CLOSING WORDSThe AS10 errs on the side of caution, presenting a safe tuning that is unlikely to offend. Build quality and technicalities are very good for the price point.

I bought these to replace a set of Shure 215s that stopped working after about two years of hard use. The sound quality on these is at least as good as the 215's, I think it's better in the bass guitar frequency and vocalist frequencies, with maybe a touch less in the guitar area.I've not used custom molded IEMs yet, I liked the Shure's more than the Westones I have used, but I think these are better than both overall. The fit is decent. The seal is perfect regardless of how my mouth moves. The Shures had a good seal with my mouth closed but let sound in when I opened my mouth, these do not.They can technically take the Shure tips but doing so changes the sound a bit for the worse, the Shure tips fit inside the IEM whereas the tips that come with these fit outside the end of the IEM. The Shure tips are more comfortable, so I wish they had better compatibility.The quality of the cord isn't as good as the cord on the Shure or Westone IEMs I've used. It's a noticeably thinner gauge that feels like it's more breakable. It also doesn't have a slider to take out slack between the two strands. This is annoying.These don't come with a case, I have an aftermarket case already so this isn't a problem for me, but it is something to be aware of.I haven't used them on stage yet, but I've tested them extensively with a combination of Iron Maiden and Queen. Both sounded great. Bass was impressive for drivers this size.Overall, I think these are the best IEM's I've used so far, with some minor tweaks they would be excellent. 4.8 stars of 5.

Wow!!! The sound is absolutely incredible. On par with, if not better than, some of my much higher-end, more expensive earphones. Build quality seems solid. The weakest part is the cable connection, which appears to be easily replaceable. I can’t stop listening to these. Scrolling through my entire music library, rediscovering songs I have heard so many times. The detail, clarity, and headroom are spot on. Absolutely worth every penny, and even more so considering the items that cost significantly more.

I serve on my church worship team occasionally, and wanted a good pair of in-ears without splurging to spend a lot of money on something that I do not use every week. These were recommended to me by our worship pastor, and they were a great buy. The sound quality is superb for the price and the fit is great as well. I have smaller ears and benefited from buying smaller rubber pieces.I would definitely recommend them to someone looking to get a first pair of in ear monitors without spending a ton of money.The only thing I would change about these is that they are somewhat large and stick out of my ear a little bit. I also produce videos and like them for any ear monitors for that, but wish they were a little more subtle due to their size. Overall great purchase.

Got these as a gift for my son. He loves them, he said he uses them everyday.

Extremely good sound quality especially for price range

Ich versuche, die Bewertung so neutral und informativ wie möglich zu halten. Ich nutze In ears am Schlagzeug (live und im Proberaum). Eine Zeit lang hatte ich -wie viele Andere auch- die Shure SE215. So richtig begeistert hatten sie mich nicht (ziemlich dünner, blecherner Sound, Passform für meine Ohren auch nicht optimal). Danach stieg ich für längere Zeit erstmal auf Kopfhörer um. Allerdings wollte ich dann doch gerne wieder In Ears. Also für günstiges Geld die (wohl nicht originalen) Shure SE535 direkt in China bestellt. Waren gut - aber nach 2 Wochen bereits defekt 🙈. Am Black Friday habe ich dann hier auf Grund der positiven Bewertungen bei den KZ AS10 5BA zugeschlagen. Die ear pads wurden direkt durch Andere (Memory Foam - gibt es bei Amazon auch gut und günstig 😉) ausgetauscht. Getestet habe ich die In Ears direkt an der heimischen Anlage mit ziemlich tiefbasslastiger Musik (Prodigy, Drum'n'Bass, Korn, etc.). Zwar war der Sound durch die In Ears nicht sehr bassig. Aber es verzerrte auch bei höherer Lautstärke nichts! Im Proberaum am Schlagzeug war ich dann nicht nur wegen der (für mich) sehr guten Passform (kein ständiges wieder-rein-drücken o.ä.) angenehm überrascht, sondern auch wegen des sehr differenzierten Sounds. Um Klassen besser als die SE215! Und das für diesen Preis. Die Kabel habe ich -obwohl es keine Probleme gab- vor dem ersten Gig durch die dickeren, geflochtenen 8-adrigen 2-Meter Kabel getauscht. Ich nutze die In Ears seit mehreren Wochen und bin mega zufrieden! (Vor allem) Für diesen Preis der absolute Hammer!

These IEM’s are fantastic. I switched from SHURE in ears to these ones. The AS 10’s are also better for bass, my vocal range is bass baritone.

Si sente benissimo suoni e voci sono pulite e brillanti.Gli auricolari sono ergonomici entrano perfettamente nell'orecchio grazie anche alla possibilità di sostituire i gommini che vanno nell'orecchio che sono di tre misure differenti.Il cavo è lungo questa quanto basta e lo spinotto Jack a 90° è un ottima soluzione.Importante anche la possibilità di acquistare a parte il cavo delle cuffie fa tenere di scorta.

Arrived on time, packaging kept in good condition. I wanted as practice tool as my wonderful Bose over ears become very warm when used as bass guitar monitors. Sound is good, and responsive, once I’d got the rights size grommits for my ears attached which was a faff. Only one set of each ear size… the box they came with was only packaging and no use for continued use. Noise reduction seems to be good although not yet tried in noisy environment, these are passive so will be interested to see how effectively they work on planes which is the other use they will be put to. Still great sound for price point will further review after more use.