The law of diminishing returns
ZhuanXu and its stock cable
After the stratospheric sets of the last weeks, it’s time for a reality check, with a set that retails for almost 600USD and comes with a portable amp, see here.
My version came with a dongle, the Venture Devastator Pro Max, which breaks through to over 3.1V RMS. Yes, it can drive Storm and not sound thin.
The ZhuanXu features 2 balanced armature drivers, an 11mm custom beryllium-coated dynamic driver and 2 planar magnetic drivers. The resin shells are on the large side, but comfortable, good looking and they have a metal nozzle protected with a metal mesh. Flawless execution from my point of view.
The tuning is a rather balanced one, with a slight bass boost, but tastefully done, not overpowering any other frequencies. Throughout genres, ZX offers a neutral presentation without any obvious coloration, with good notes weight and decent degree of instrument separation.
The bass is striking with its perfectly judged balance between mid and sub bass. I listen to a lot of metal, so mid bass is critical for my enjoyment. ZX provides enough mid bass to make the bass guitar clearly distinct, but it never steals the focus. Sub bass is somehow restrained, with modest rumble, but vast openness, this particular interplay of mid bass/sub bass delivering one of the most natural sounds I have heard in an IEM.
Mids are forward and transparent, getting out of the way of music, leaving me enjoy the sound without worrying about what’s inside, details, or any other distractions. The note weight is decent, but I would not call it stellar. In the lower mids, I would have liked a bit more roughness, to help distorted guitars sound more gritty. The voices, both male and female, continue on the naturalness line, devoid of any added warmth, any extra clarity sauce, just what you’d expect from Florence and the Machines or Boz Scaggs. I must admit, this is a ballsy approach as, I imagine, some people might be put off by this “naked” presentation. Upper mids have a bit of a boost, such that some guitar solos have plenty of bite, but they are not shouty.
Treble is maybe the most uneventful part of the spectrum, with roll-off starting well before 15KHz. The air is good, probably class leading in its price range, but not comparable with treble monsters like Anni 23, X, Pentara, etc. The treble is a bit closed in, tonally wise. Not a deal breaker, but it is clear this isn’t a treble-head set.
The stage, as expected for this price range, it has good width, decent height, but minimum depth. The instrument separation follows the same line, it is decent, but nothing I’d write home about.
The quick conclusion is that ZX is a set not meant to impress from the get-go. Rather than that, it tends to grow on me and wow me with its natural, uncoloured way of presenting music.
