KZ Castor Harman Target IEM Review

[Is gangadhar shakthiman]

Oh yes. I just noticed it. I Checked wrong review But anyway I also got a KZ Castor Bass Edition about a month ago and they have only white tips as well. No foam tip. And from what I can see the review for both versions are similar. The only problem I have with KZ Castor Harman is just this thin mesh inside ear tip is almost gone. Im thinking what can I use as a replacement. Now I'm listening without it.

I have KZ Castor harman, Bass edition and EDX lite. They all sound different. The drivers is definitely not the same. They look different + KZ Castor has 2 drivers vs 1 driver in EDX ite

I just weighted one KZ Castor harman without ear tip and mesh. It is 8.17g. So maybe we can check it vs older revision with black tips

One of the drivers in castor is from edx lite.. the flower like driver !!

 

[Majster]

One of the drivers in castor is from edx lite.. the flower like driver !!

But this doesn't mean anything bad. The overall sound quality is much more than just a one driver.

 

[markanini]

But this doesn't mean anything bad. The overall sound quality is much more than just a one driver.

True, but I don't think anyone holds that against it quality wise. It's just good that users keep track of changes even if KZ didn't announce it.

 

[Majster]

But how do we know if there was a different driver before in these particular IEM? Changing wire colors means really nothing. I think we need disassembly photos/video

 

[mc.god]

But how do we know if there was a different driver before in these particular IEM? Changing wire colors means really nothing. I think we need disassembly photos/video

Don't know if this can be of help:

Comment
byu/theSchmooFarmer from discussion
iniems

 

[muza_1]

True, but I don't think anyone holds that against it quality wise. It's just good that users keep track of changes even if KZ didn't announce it.

At least now they silently acknowledged the the change of driver for the ZVX in some of the marketing material but not in their official page.
I don't know how long has been going on I just notice it.

First one is from a publication on AliExpress* second one from KZ site. The rest of the marketing material is the same (except the blown out driver rendering which matches the blown out IEM rendering also the foam tip is gone).

*Both can be found on AliExperss publications it seems to be aleatory and there is no correlation with price.

EDIT. I don't think you can buy based on marketing material think you could get either, only way to know is to crack it open or compare it with an old one if you have one (not a warrantied method though).

 

[Is gangadhar shakthiman]

But this doesn't mean anything bad. The overall sound quality is much more than just a one driver

It is a bad thing (unless a con in original set is corrected). why are you buying castor instead of some other xyz iem ? Its because you became familiar with it due to promotion or reviews, experiences etc. All that promotion and everything is based on original tuning + hardware right?
Its not true that two drivers are better than one..
There are photos of teardown of old and new castor. You can google them. Not every one has money and skill to tear down iems..peace..

 

[muza_1]

It is a bad thing (unless a con in original set is corrected). why are you buying castor instead of some other xyz iem ? Its because you became familiar with it due to promotion or reviews, experiences etc. All that promotion and everything is based on original tuning + hardware right?

There are no measurements of distortion for new one as far as I know and the tuning is close (or even better) also the description and tech specs of both drivers are the same and they could always argue that the new driver is better, I don't think is a con or a money grab the real problem here is not informing the public of the changes and let them decide if they want the revised version or not.

 

[Is gangadhar shakthiman]

No distortion in new ? Thats cool.
Tuning is subjective , better for you is not for others. However the driver capability is same for all, so the driver matters more imo. I read a review on reddit about castor bass (new ). He said that newer one bas less bass compared to older one. For him this is good but for some bass head who liked the original its a bad thing right. So any change could be bad or good.

I am trying to say same thing, that company should communicate changes done if any, that's what matters most.

 

[Is gangadhar shakthiman]

I have the new castor(standard). I used my novice EQ skills to bring it to neutral and i like castor with eq. little extra bass quality would have been made it better., even considering the price. Driving this thing has not been easy.. i have jcally jm04 pro which seems to deliver 70mw but its not transparent or may be the drivers reacting differently to power.. it messes my eq , so i am using it just with phone..

 

[muza_1]

No distortion in new ? Thats cool.

I haven't seen any measurements yet but if it indeed has less it would be an improvement.

 

[muza_1]

I have the new castor(standard). I used my novice EQ skills to bring it to neutral and i like castor with eq. little extra bass quality would have been made it better., even considering the price. Driving this thing has not been easy.. i have jcally jm04 pro which seems to deliver 70mw but its not transparent or may be the drivers reacting differently to power.. it messes my eq , so i am using it just with phone..

Yes I have had some problems not only with the Castor but with some others with multiple drivers or tuning switches if the dongle/amp is not low impedance.

 

[Is gangadhar shakthiman]

Does any one know if kz castor improves with high power ? I have 65mW @32ohms output dac but i am thinking to invest in bit powerfull dac like fiio ka 11 if castor performs more better..

Also is Venture Electronics odo a transparent dac ,is there any good transparent dac under 20$..?

Thanks

 

[markanini]

Does any one know if kz castor improves with high power ? I have 65mW @32ohms output dac but i am thinking to invest in bit powerfull dac like fiio ka 11 if castor performs more better..

Also is Venture Electronics odo a transparent dac ,is there any good transparent dac under 20$..?

Thanks

Likely not, 1V class dongles based on CX31993 or KT02H20 will cover the needs of KZ Castor.

 

[Is gangadhar shakthiman]

Likely not, 1V class dongles based on CX31993 or KT02H20 will cover the needs of KZ Castor.

Understood...

 

[Is gangadhar shakthiman]

@amirm hello sir. May i know switches position when you recorded the frequency response graph ? Thanks.