This and That:
I couldn't care less for cable "upgrades" or "upgrade cables", but for the ZS5, as the AliExpress store where I got it from offered it in different versions, one of which was with the silver "upgrade" cable, I got the in-ear with that one additional cable as it looks much more premium than the original and is so much more supple and flexible.
Polarity and the sides of the upgrade cable I got didn't match, but that was an easy fix.
Ear tip selection is good enough for the price (three pairs of differently sized silicone tips); no pouch or protective case is included. Just like with the cable, it seems like the people at Knowledge Zenith want to earn some extra money by offering those items separately for sale.
Whatever...
Visually the ZS5 clearly resembles Campfire Audio's shell design and their Polaris' colour scheme. I (, an owner of Campfire Audio's Andromeda,) really don't mind (why should I anyway?), and build quality is good. Comfort is great for my ears.
Oh yeah, and the version that I have is the older KZ ZS5 v1 that has got one BA driver directly inside the nozzle, whereas the newer (and perhaps inferior, harsher sounding) ZS5 v2 has both BA drivers directly inside the nozzle.
Sound:
Tips used: solely the largest silicone tips that came with the in-ear.
Sources used: low impedance sources
Tonality:
Since the dynamic drivers' front cavity is vented, and those vents are on the inside of the shells, bass levels will vary depending on individual ear anatomy and how much those vents are blocked.
Fully open, unblocked vents give about 9 dB of bass boost compared to an in-ear with a diffuse-field neutral bass response, such as my Etymotic ER-4S/the ER4SR, while completely blocked vents make the bass elevation rise to around 13 dB in quantity.
In my ears, the latter is the case and the vents are blocked.
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In general, the sound of the ZS5 can be described as quite v-shaped and is quite similar to the tuning of the 1More E1001 except for the lower midrange, but I will discuss this in more detail in a separate comparison section below.
The hybrid Quad-Driver in-ear by Knowledge Zenith has a powerful midbass and still a strong sub-bass, but there are a few "missing" decibels in the lower midrange, which leads to a thin and somewhat hollow presentation in the vocal range due to an even increase towards the upper midrange.
In the area of the central highs, the level is somewhat reduced again to create headroom for the emphasis of the upper midrange and the super-treble frequencies beginning further up, which, however, are not strongly accentuated, but rather appear quite soft.
Fortunately, there is no sibilance in the midrange, but nevertheless this range is definitely not the strength of the ZS5 - due to the slightly reduced lower midrange together with the evenly rising range of the upper midrange, voices appear distant, hollowed out and also thinner than they should be. This is also true for instruments that are playing in this area, such as trumpets, which consequently lack a little naturalness in their presentation and appear a bit too thin.
In my opinion, the attempt to provide clarity by emphasizing the vocal range was not entirely successful, if the naturalness of the vocal range suffers too much, as it is the case here. Even with pop music this unfortunately becomes noticeable and the presentation doesn't seem quite harmonious and coherent because of the hollowed out mids. Only with electronic music without or with only a marginal vocal part this flaw is hardly noticeable and the emphasis actually provides more clarity and brilliance in the reproduction without being accompanied by sharpness or sibilance.
The bass emphasis begins to rise slowly at about 400 Hz and peaks at about 60 Hz with an increase of about 13 dB compared to an in-ear that is diffuse-field neutral in the bass. This climax can be almost completely maintained down to the lowest bass and the in-ear loses only very little energy at the very bottom and remains strongly accentuated even in true sub-bass. If the recording allows it, you get a nice sub-bass without any real roll-off down in the sub-bass.
The way in which the bass emphasis rises and reaches its climax even deeper is well done, as it avoids a warm and booming fundamental as well as a lower midrange, yet a little more level in the upper fundamental/lower midrange as compensating warmth would not have been completely wrong with the elevated upper midrange.
What is avoided in the fundamentals, however, takes place to a certain degree in the midbass, which can occasionally appear a little boomy.
With a sine wave generator I hear that the level in the midrange rises evenly from 1 towards 3.5 kHz; above this the level drops slightly and ends in a dip between 5 and 6 kHz.
At 9 kHz the level is at a neutral normal level again, to my ears, with a subsequent emphasis between 10 and 13 kHz. Up to 14.5 kHz, the super-high frequency range is still good, but drops above it in the range that is no longer really relevant for music anyway.
The upper treble is quite good for the price range and doesn't show much metallicness and doesn't decay too fast or too slowly.
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In summary, I would say that tonal tuning is particularly suitable for drum & bass as well as electronic music (as long as it is not particularly vocal-heavy and the text is a minor matter), but the midrange may seem a little too hollow, depending on personal preference, for vocal-heavy music. Contemporary pop doesn't sound completely out of tune either, but the timbre sometimes seems a bit too "off" without equalizer adjustments in the midrange.
Acoustic music and vocal jazz, on the other hand, almost don't work at all with the ZS5 and seem unnaturally hollowed out. The timbre in the midrange is a bit too unnatural for classical music as well, but in the end it's the personal taste of the listener that decides.
Resolution:
For the price, the detail level of the ZS5 is good - especially in the mid and high frequencies, the in-ear appears relatively detailed and neatly separated, but without achieving the resolution and separation of some models of the >$100 class.
Although the bass is of good quality for the price, it doesn't have the highest speed, control, tightness or definition and appears a bit dull and soft, giving it a sometimes booming, bloomy character.
Even though you can't really expect much more from the price, the Xiaomi Hybrid Pro HD's bass is bit better and offers the tighter and faster bass, but its treble is sharper and less even than the ZS5's.
The ZS5, on the other hand, doesn't really have a weakness in the midrange or treble and separates individual elements neatly from each other and does a really good job as a backup or budget in-ear.
Spatial Presentation:
Where the ZS5 scores well is the spatial presentation, which, in terms of its precision, distinguishes itself from some other budget in-ears.
The stage size of the in-ear is not particularly worth mentioning and is quite average in its size, but not restricted, with a width-to-depth distribution of about 65 to 35%.
The instrument separation and location accuracy, on the other hand, is good and you get the feeling of a fairly accurate and coherent stage, which to perfection in the budget range only lacks a little more accuracy in portraying emptiness between individual instruments.
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Compared to the 1More E1001 Triple-Driver:
First of all the obvious: the 1More is a triple hybrid (1x DD, 2x BA) with permanently attached cable and metal housings designed to be worn downwards, while the ZS5 is a quad-hybrid (2x DD, 2x BA) in-ear with replaceable 2-pin cable and quite ergonomically shaped plastic housings as well as a wearing style with the cable over the ears. In terms of price, the 1More costs about twice to three times as much as the Knowledge Zenith in-ear.
I personally prefer the ZS5 when it comes to the way it is worn and the nature of the (upgrade) cable. I find the (visual) design of the shells very appealing for both in-ears.
Tonally, both in-ears are not all that different and have a lot in common, without sounding completely identical.
The 1More (blocked vents due to my ear anatomy/insertion) has a little more bass than the ZS5 and a somewhat warmer fundamental range.
Also on the E1001, voices sound a little recessed and a little hollowed out, although to a smaller degree than on the Knowledge Zenith in-ear, so that the 1More ultimately has the better, but nevertheless also not perfect, mids.
The 1More's upper treble/beginning super treble is more accentuated and appears more metallic as a result.
As far as resolution is concerned, there is no big gap between the two in-ears (quite the contrary, because both play very closely together in this matter), but the E1001 still has ultimately a slightly higher level of detail and better separation of individual notes in the midrange and treble.
In the bass range, both in-ears don't have the best dynamic driver implementation and sound rather soft and slow. Even though the 1More has a slightly tighter bass, the texture of the Knowledge Zenith's bass is one nuance better. Nonetheless neither in-ear is precise when it comes to bass.
Both in-ears have a similarly large stage with a small expansion advantage for the Knowledge Zenith in-ear. The ZS5 is a bit more successful in displaying emptiness, whereas the 1More has a small separation advantage.
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Even though the 1More offers a slightly higher detail resolution in the midrange and high frequencies, the ZS5 is a quite comparable tonal alternative at a lower price.
Conclusion:
Good build quality and comfort; fun tuning with not fully convincing mids; good resolution and separation; good soundstage; soft and slow bass.