this post was submitted on 06 Apr 2026
41 points (100.0% liked)
Technology
42665 readers
420 users here now
A nice place to discuss rumors, happenings, innovations, and challenges in the technology sphere. We also welcome discussions on the intersections of technology and society. If it’s technological news or discussion of technology, it probably belongs here.
Remember the overriding ethos on Beehaw: Be(e) Nice. Each user you encounter here is a person, and should be treated with kindness (even if they’re wrong, or use a Linux distro you don’t like). Personal attacks will not be tolerated.
Subcommunities on Beehaw:
This community's icon was made by Aaron Schneider, under the CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.
founded 4 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
KZ ZST
I was really, really unhappy with my KZ ZST. They did sound good for the price, but they did not hold up at all and I found them uncomfortable for extended use.
That's interesting. I've had the opposite experience. Been wearing them for like 7 years. They're the only buds I can wear literally all day long and even forget they're there. I did replace the tips with comply foam ones though.
In my case, It was the shape of the enclosure that caused me discomfort, not the tips. I have tried pretty much all of the meme IEMs, most of them didn't work well for me, but I can still say that they sounded quite good for the price. Comfort is king when it comes any sort of headphone for me though. I usually prefer larger over ear headphones except when I am traveling. Right not my Etymotics are my go to IEMs.
What is a "meme IEM"?
There was a string of IEMs, almost all of them Chinese brands like KZT, that were all lauded as "sounds better than $500 IEMs, only cost $10!!!" that were way over hyped for a while. And I bought many/most of them because they were so cheap and then usually gave them away because they were not the magic thing the hype insisted.
I mean I'm not an "audiophile" and I found these to be a good combination of inexpensive, comfortable, and decent sound.
But I also haven't owned 1000 pairs of headphones so maybe I'm missing out.
As I said, they sounded decent, very decent for the price, I just found them uncomfortable. Headphones don't need to be expensive to be good.
that form factor doesn't look that comfortable. Do they stay in your ears..?
I didn't find them comfortable at all, but some people clearly do.
I have the KZ ZS10 Pros, and they stay in my ear great. The KZ earplugs come with different connectors, and I got the standard 2-pin ones so I could choose the wires I want (I like braided cables).
That form factor is standard in the IEM / hi-res audio sector, I never got used to them.
those never stay in my ear, that's why i love these bose so much but bose has totally moved to wireless and their quality is bad.