The KZ Vibe X. What a name. It makes me think of the sort of product you might find in a mens public toilet vending machine. One of those machines where all the pictures of the products have been scratched off hiding away its contents and revealing to the world only that the products a blue, rubbery and defiantly not for children. Yup there is no escaping it. The names sounds like a cheap single use sex toy. Its unique vibration selling point does nothing to dissuade this imagery. I was tempted to follow this theme through out the review but thought it would be wisest to leave this here. So lets leave the sex toys in the bedroom and get on with the bartenders KZ Vibe X review.
KZ Vibe X Review – The Cocktail:
I had to do a little digging to get to the bottom of the ‘Ultra-low frequency vibration driver’. After clearing away the debris of marketing and the rubble of hype I have concluded that this is essential a dynamic driver. Dynamic drivers may well be the back bone of the IEM market but rarely are they ever the same. Dynamic drivers are like fridges they all do the same thing but you have never seen someone else with yours.
This particular 13mm dynamic driver is different from your fridge at home for a number of reasons. Firstly, it is a very big fridge. Well its big for a small flat. I mean its a big dynamic driver for an IEM. You should definitely have enough space to store food ahead of full family visits. Secondly, the fridge is bolted directly into the rest of the building. Actually, built in fridges are pretty common but IEMs with ‘built in’ dynamic drivers are not. This means that when your downstairs neighbor slams the door to hard and the flat floor vibrates the fridge and its contents also vibrate. Similarly, when the fridge is working hard and vibrating away the floor of the flat also shakes. Finally, this fridge is only really concerned with the low end. Its really more of a freezer. So to summarizes its an oversized built in freezer. If that makes any sense.
The second dynamic driver is much more typical and in this IEM is certainly responsible for the mid frequencies and treble. I also think it is responsible for the mid/upper bass. Really it is this driver that is doing most of the work but the other driver that is grabbing all the headlines. Its a Jobs and Wozniak sort of arrangement.
- Drivers: 13mm ultra-low frequency vibration driver & 10mm dynamic driver
- Frequency: 5 to 40,000 Hz
- Impedence: 20 Ω
- Sensitivity: 107 dB
KZ Vibe X Review – The Taste Test Setup:
The taste test was my normal setup. Choosing eartips was interesting. It was suggested to me that a harder silicon eartip should be used to get better contact with the IEM and get more of that vibration effect. Therefore, I chose the HE Sonic eartips these being the hardest that I already owned and also currently not on an IEM (made them much more convenient). The impact of this choice was minimal and as I will discus later didn’t really enhance the vibration effect for me.
- DAC/AMP: Moondrop Dawn Pro 2
- Cable: Tripowin Zonie (Balanced)
- Eartips: HE Sonic (Silicon)
KZ Vibe X Review – The Non-Audio:
Within two weeks of admittedly fairly intense use I have managed to break this IEM. Not badly, it still works completely fine just some of the plastic casing around the connectors has chipped off. Over the years I have had a number of KZ IEMs and all but two still work and of those two one was my fault (Yup I put them through the washing machine). Therefore, I am probably over due a delicate and/or broken KZ IEM.
All of the KZ IEMs I have ever owned have arrived as IEMs, some eartips and a capable that is varying degrees of bad. The KZ Vibe X is no different.
Build and accessories down and it is not going well for the KZ Vibe X so far.
I do like how these look. They aren’t really pretty. They aren’t really smart. They aren’t clean looking. They aren’t fun to look at. They are basically a little weird and I like that. It works for me. They embrace a sort of melted hive look. They would look right at home in a alien horror thriller. One of those films where an alien kills off a members of a crew one at time. You know like Alien or Aliens or Alien 3, Covanent, Prometheus, Romulus, Alien Earth. That is a lot of Alien and we haven’t even got to Predator yet.
Unlike all of those alien films these are very comfortable. Less 1980s spaceship with rusted beams and large buttons that blink and flash both when everything is fine and when everything has gone wrong and more cruise liner with a bar and a band onboard to provide some light entertainment in the evenings.
KZ Vibe X Review – The Audio:
The marketing for the KZ Vibe X makes it clear that for this IEM it is all about the bass. Specifically, it is all about the feel of the bass. The vibrations. The IEM I reviewed prior to this one was the KBear KB02 another bass first IEM but one that used a bone conduction driver to deliver the bass. I had therefore expected something very similar from the KZ Vibe X but I was wrong. I will resist comparing the Vibe X to the KB02 for now and instead focus just on the bass of the Vibe X.
The bass of the KZ Vibe X is very good. Its differs from other recent KZ sets in that it is not all about the mid bass slam. There is plenty of sub bass rumble. The slam is still present but it is not the focus. This sub bass presence does mean that the bass is slower than other KZ sets but it is never slow and generally maintains a clean sound balancing the impact with the decay. The bass does very much aim and deliver on that detached subwoofer sound. This generally means that the bass does not bleed or drown out the mid frequencies. However, there were instances where the bass was overpowering but this occurred on tracks susceptible to this issue and was certainly not more common than other bass focused IEMs around this price point.
And finally we should address the vibration element of the bass. I personally am not sure that this really did anything for me. Occasionally, on certain very sub bass heavy tracks I could feel a vibration but often there was nothing strong enough to impact my listening experience. The bass of the Vibe X is very good but I feel that this is because its a decent driver with a decent tuning. I think this means I am suggesting that the vibration is a bit of a gimmick but I don’t want this to detract from the fact that the in my opinion the bass of the Vibe X is fantastic fun.
The mid frequencies maintain a good clarity with a decent sense of space. Tonally, they were neutral without any added weight from the bass or any thining from the. This neutrallish tuning carried over to the vocals. Certain, female vocalist may have benefited from a little more shimmer and sparkle but on the whole male and female vocals were well presented particularly considering that this is not a vocal focused IEM tuning.
The treble was more relaxed than seems typical on most KZ IEMs. There is still a sharpness there but it has been softened and restrained. You might even say it has been refined. This won’t satisfy treble heads but should reduce fatigue and may even be preferable to treble sensitive individuals. Again just as for the mid frequencies the treble has good clarity.
The sub bass rumbles and clear treble result in a good sense of detail both at the low end and upper end of the frequencies. The detail is balanced and has a naturalness to it feeling less forced than other KZ sets such as the KZ ZA12 though such sets can deliver more detail overall.
The sound stage is tight. Perhaps even intermit. This is not a probably due to the general clarity and good imaging. The imaging is particularly impressive in the low end. To me distinguishing between instruments that occupy the lower frequencies can be challenging and this IEM does a good job.
KZ Vibe X Review – The AI Opinion:
This a new feature that I am trying out. How well will it work? I don’t know but here goes anyway.
In this section I have asked Google’s AI mode to predict a score for the to be reviewed IEM prior to publishing my review. To get this prediction I have asked that it predict a score based upon the scoring system employed by me here at the HiFi Mai Tai beach bar. That’s it. It is as simple as that. I could be doing myself out of the job here. But got to embrace the modern world etc. And if AI is gonna take my job I am going to go down fighting. Hopefully it proves itself rubbish and there is nothing to worry about.
So the KZ Vibe X. What does AI think?
Compared to recent weeks (and months) AI and I are in relative agreement. It is no surprise that we both feel the bass is the star of the show but we also agree on the mids and vocals. I have concluded that the KZ Vibe is more detailed but less technical than AI and AI has a greater love for the treble than I do.
Perhaps AI has been listening to me call it rubbish these past few weeks and months and has upped its game or perhaps this is just coincidence. Most likely this all just a bit of rubbish being done for fun. I think for now I will stick with it.
KZ Vibe X Review – Summary & Comparisons
Lets start with the KB02 as I have already leaked that I would be doing so. My self leaks are very reliable. In the mid and treble frequencies these IEMs can sound very similar with mids of the KZ Vibe X benefiting from better clarity and the treble benefiting from more detailed. Vocally, the KB02 has a little more sharpness (brightness maybe?) and the KZ Vibe X a little more forwardness. Neither is a vocal first set so chances are if you like the vocals of one you will also like the other. Both of these IEMs are bass focused and both have a strong sub bass presence however in the KB02 there is loads more of it. This does not mean that the KB02 bass is better. The KB02 bass is more elastic. It has a bounce to it but it also less textured than the KZ Vibe X. Overall, I would probably take the KZ Vibe X over the KBear KB02 for the extra detail and the different but equally enjoyable bass.
Next up its the KZ Vader Pro. I debated including this in my comparisons as the Vader Pro takes a clearly Harmon inspired approach to its tuning (more mid bass, less sub bass, reduced lower mids and the rest is Harmon). In the end I have included it as I think that both IEMs are meant to have that detached subwoofer sound with the Vader pro using a lower mid dip to achieve separation. The Vader Pro has a cleaner, faster bass that focuses much for on the slam and is therefore in my opinion lacking in any real shape or texture. The mids of the Vader Pro are very thin and overall the IEM is bright. I would take the Vibe X without hesitation. For me it is much better than the Vader Pro.
And finally, as it always is for bass focused IEMs it is the turn of the one, the only, KZ Decet. As is always the case the KZ Decet has a lot more bass. It has more slam and it has more rumble. The KZ Decet is still the bass king out of the IEMs I have reviewed. However, if you are not a bass head and are instead just a regular bass lover then maybe the KZ Vibe X would be more for you. It doesn’t have the fullness, power, soundstage and all-round audio presence of the KZ Decet. It is not the wall of sound that the Decet is but it is clearer and cleaner. If the KZ Decet wasn’t so uncomfortable it would be my choice but given that I can’t really wear it for long I guess I will have to pick the KZ Vibe X. This seems to be a regular conclusion of mine.
So to summarize the KZ Vibe X. I am not convinced that the vibration promised is anything other than marketing bluff and a gimmick. That said this is still some excellent bass that should appeal to those that love bass without putting off the more balanced IEM lovers. The KZ Vibe X tuning is certain to have wide appeal and at the price of £28 (that’s what I paid) it will undoubtedly find its fans. If you are looking for lots of sub bass but are not willing to sacrifice detail and mid/treble clarity then this may just be the perfect budget IEM for you.
