So...the ATE S is not nearly as remarkable as the ATE are. It seems to be shallower sounding, doesn't bring as much life to anything, and just doesn't impress as much as the previous one does. I know this isn't much of an impression but just take everything I said about the ATE and just assume it's that, but a little less impressive.
I'll update on the ZST when I get them, the hybrid design looks promising.
When I walk on the street I like to hear trafic a bit since drivers in my country are nuts.Also I run double foam on my Monks+,brings out the bass a bit and drowns the highs.I also have Auglamour RX-1 and I find myself going for Monks+ rather than them.
I've had four pairs of JVC HA-FX40 earbuds (I used to work a very physical job not easy on earbuds), which sadly appear to be out of production now, so you have to pay stupid prices for the stock that's left. These were the earbuds that made me believe in burn-in time. There was a serious difference in the sound quality before and after 48 hours of burn in time. I'd wager that most of the negative reviews were from people who pulled them out of the package and tried them and decided they sucked.
They were the best $17 I spent four times.
Yeah, I suppose earbuds are your only option if you want close to zero noise isolation.
I had trouble getting 1 foam cover on already, and it eventually loosened up and kept falling off. It was better with one foam cover on, but it didn't change how harsh the overall sound seemed to my ears.
The ZST came in today. They are definitely an improvement on the ATE S but I still felt like they were lacking in the same area. The sound was still tinny, and cheap sounding IMO; which is disappointing for me, since they really should have better sound for what they are. So I got to playing around with how they fit in my ear.
I came to the conclusion that the little rubber ear gummy are absolute garbage (at least for me) and replaced them with the set from my Sony XBA-C10 (Straight from Japan). That made a world of difference in the tone and sound of these things. They are without a doubt on par with most of the sony offerings that I have used for half the price (or less).
For reference, I'm using these:
A few thoughts
Its not clearly marked how the detachable cable goes in and it will go in the wrong way, causing sound to be out of phase even. When you first get them out its a bit confusing how they fit in your ear and how the cables are attached but they only work well one way so you'll get it eventually.
The cable is still pretty short on these like the ATE S but still wasnt an issue for me.
I'm going to have to try these ear cushions on the ATE S and see if I still think they are "meh", but thats for another time.
2 Likes
Tip rolling is kinda important for IEM's,wrong tips (bad seal) bad sound.Also there are replacement cables for 10$ also,but I dont know if you are willing to invest in them.
I had the same experience with the ATE S. My initially impression was 'meh', as stated above, but I put some different tips on them and they sound leagues better.