KZ as16 pro - did KZ got it right this time?

PROS:

• Vocals are forward 
• Mids exhibits almost to none recession 
• Lows are full bodied and have good control
• Easy to drive. Phones will be enough
• Very nice and neat faceplate design and colorway
• Adequate and average technicalities
• Trebles have noticeable improvement. KZ has finally dumped that sibilant curse.

CONS:

• Humongous shells will not cater all ear sizes
• Occasional metallic timbre that plagues BA setups 
• Upper mids and treble still can get hot and shouty
• Still no carrying pouch or case for its price point
• Fit will not be for everyone
• Ear pressure can build up on long sessions

AS16 pro

INTRODUCTION:

KZ needs no introduction from me. I have been following their brand and to be honest, it is from them I started caring about the quality of what I hear on my music. My first set from them is the ES4. And now they are trying to relive a classic. The AS16. Now with the “pro” suffix. I have not listened to the OG as16 but nonetheless I will assess this set as honestly as I can. I would like to express my gratitude to Tyvan Lam from KZ for sending this set FOC for this honest and unbiased review. So, did KZ got it right on this set? Read on to find out…

DISCLAIMER:

My opinions here are completely my own. I am NOT in any way influenced by any form of incentive. This is purely my honest, subjective impressions and experience with the gear on hand. I cannot stress more that you should take this as a grain of salt for we have different perceptions of sound and what we hear. I always try my best to stick with the stock accessories that come with the gear by default. You are free to try other methods such as tip rolling or cable rolling. Below are worth noting before concluding on what I say here:

1. DAP (digital audio player, be it phone, laptop, mobile, or stationary setup)
2. DAC or dongle or any external amp
3. Ear Tips
4. Cables
5. Source of audio file be it offline FLACS or streaming services like Deezer, Apple music, Tidal, Qobuz, Spotify and the likes..
6. Your playlist. It matters and is worth to be considered when reading from a reviewer's perspective. It is apparent that you get to know your favorite reviewer and what they are listening to leisurely and critically. 

My reviews are more on how music sounds in my ears. The technical stuff like frequency graphs and the physics behind the tech and drivers used, I leave to other reviewers.  

SPECIFICATIONS:

• Configuration: 8 BA drivers on each side
• Impedance: 18 ohms
• Sensitivity: 114+/- 3db
• Freq response: 20-40000hz

Barebones packaging..again..

PACKAGING:

Packaging is very basic. To be honest, I’m expecting some upgrades for the price point of AS16 pro. Come one KZ. A carrying pouch wouldn’t hurt eh? Moving on, below are the inclusions.

• A pair of KZ as16 pro
• Cable
• User guide
• 3 pairs of ear tips

Now let us dive into how AS16 pro sounds..

For the entirety of this review, all accessories are stock. The L size ear tip was used. I usually go for M size but for this one, the L tip gave the optimum seal. 

LOWS: 

Here the presentation is still elevated. A bump, but not earth shaking kind of bump. Presentation is on point. If a drum kick is punchy, then punchy it is. If it’s round and smooth, as16 delivers quite nicely. Sub reach is readily available for modern tracks. Mid bass is very desirable too. Fast, quick and snappy. Classic tracks were given good mid bass production. Controlled and well textured. I can feel the adequate speed that I love on BA drivers. Hence, as16 will deliver on most complex and busy tracks. 

Conclusively, the lows here are nicely done. Which i think will cater both casual and mature listeners. The lows are faithful to what the tracks are intended to sound like. Almost. Decently. Good control especially on the mid bass. Good texture, density and weight. 

Sleek look bruh..😉

MIDS: 

Ok I can’t believe that I will say this. For the first time, a KZ that is not recessed on mids!! Hooray!! The graph says otherwise. But my ears tell me that the mids here have that forward nature. That I always look for. Mids have a good body and weight. Instruments and elements are sitting not too far back and for me as an instrumentalist, this is beneficial. If you have been following me, you know that my music listening is not just for appreciation or casual purposes, but for my job as well as a gigging musician. Aside from the elements like pianos, organs, orchestra, brass sections and the likes, we now come to the best part. The vocals. 90% of the time, the vocals are very forward. Which is for me, is what it should be. Vocals are very engaging and well placed. To be purely honest, occasionally it feels too forward. Especially on female vocals. I find myself lowering my listening level sometimes. Which takes us to a con. Because of this forwardness, mids have a slight tendency to be shouty. But very rarely. Just watch out for those high female ranges that tend to be too “in your face”. Another con is, a metallic timbre that plagues BA setups. The mids took a hit on this. There are times a drum snare sounded a little unnatural and artificial. Not all the time, but occasionally. 

Conclusively mids here are the most commendable by far from a KZ set. I would like to stress that the vocals benefited the most improvement. I can easily recommend this to a fellow singer for deciphering vocal harmonies and the likes.

TREBLES:

Finally, trebles. The one thing that most of us reviewers complain about from a KZ. And surprisingly, there is quite an improvement in this department. Sibilance is almost nowhere to be found. I find it quite tame but not at the expense of sacrificing details. Macro and micro detail retrieval is average. Hi hats and cymbals have enjoyable energy on top that will both cater sensitives and treble heads. If I’m going to nitpick, I wish there was just a bit more energy and air on top. But this is good as it is. Rather than going sibilant again. Keep this up KZ. A lot of improvements here. 

Conclusively, another improvement spotted here. Keep in mind though, be sensitive and aware of your listening level. Trebles tend to be fatiguing on high levels and long listening sessions. Some jpop tracks, I still have to notch down a level or two to be at a comfortable listening level. 

Jamming with nature...

FIT & ISOLATION 

I will be blunt. Fit is not for everyone here. The build and shell is humongous!! As16 pro will not offer a snug fit. Well at least for me. This must be for medium to large ear sizes. Small ears might want to test this out first, but if you’re blindly buying, well good luck. You need ample time to adjust to this one. 

Isolation is still very decent despite the large shell size. As16 will still enclose you and your music and easily shut off environment noises effectively. 

TECHNICALITIES:

To put it simply, technicalities here have slight improvements. But still, nothing out of the ordinary. 

The most noticeable change I sensed, is on detail retrieval, texture and speed. Which is actually my top priorities on these terms. Being a pure BA setup, I expected improvements here and gladly, as16 pro delivered. 

Staging is somewhat between wide and narrow. Sits nicely in the middle of things. Width is more prominent than height and depth. To be purely honest, I find the stage quite small compared to my other IEMs. 

Imaging is decent, but you gotta understand, I have tested gears that are way above this price point and I must say.. hmmm… as16 pro is still behind but not far off. 

Speed is as it should be for a BA setup. Quick and snappy. I have nothing to complain about here. But nothing to praise as of now. I think KZ will greatly improve if they partner up with the likes of Knowles and Sonions. Or up their game on r&d. 

Separation is pretty adequate and commendable. Again, nothing spectacular yet nothing to bash or hate here. Space between elements is present, but it could be more. 

Conclusively, as16 pro is technically adequate and acceptable. For a BA setup, it is as it should be. 

Ground shots never gets old

SOURCES AND GEARS:

• LG V30 hifi dac (high impedance mode)
• Hiby Music player
• UAPP app (USB Audio Player Pro)
• Tidal Masters subscription
• offline FLACS
• Hidizs AP80 pro
• Deezer Hifi subscription
• Questyle M15 

UPDATE: a new gear has been added as a source hence, a level up! Let me introduce you to a premium dongle that received more than good feedback from the audio community. Questyle M15. This beast will be my main source from here on out, followed by Hidizs AP80 pro, then the LG V30 quad dac phone. 

Here are some tracks I usually listen to when reviewing: 

1. That’s the way of the World by EWF
2. Africa by TOTO
3. The Girl in the Other Room by Diana Kral
4. Balmorhea album All is wild, All is Silent
5. Sila by Sud
6. Smooth Escape by D’Sound
7. Never too Much by Luther Vandross
8. P.Y.T by Michael Jackson
9. Ain’t no Sunshine by Eva Cassidy
10. Shoot to Thrill by AC/DC
11. Another one bites the Dust by Queen
12. Good times bad times by Edie Brickell 
13. Alice in Wonderland by Bill Evans
14. Ain’t it Fun by Paramore
15.  Redefine by Incubus
16. Far Away by Nickelback
17. Lovesong by Adele
18. Lingus by Snarky Puppy
19. Harvest for the World by Vanessa Williams
20. Love Bites by Def Leppard
21. No Such Thing by John Mayer
22. As by Stevie Wonder
23. Whip Appeal by Babyface
24. Ain’t Nobody by Chaka Khan
25. Futures by Prep
26. Landslide by Fleetwood Mac
27. Every Summertime by NIKI
28. SADE tracks
29. AC/DC tracks
30. Queen tracks

And many more… I always listen to High resolution format, being the least quality 16bit/44khz FLACS be it offline or online. 

Teal be like...

VERDICT:

This review had several revisions. I was supposed to write a bad review. Because for the past 3 days, as16 pro sounded really bad. It's like I’m listening to a pair of cheap earphones. Honky, wonky, lifeless and just plain horrible. Switched between my collection of tips and still no prevail. It was just a while ago that the L size stock tips solved it all. So let me stress that finding the correct seal and fit is a must with this set!! Please don’t stop till they sound good!! If what you are hearing is too thin and too shouty on tracks that shouldn’t be, try changing tips. Start with the stock tips. They are decent. And find the right size. This is critical!! I would suggest that if you are S size normally, change up to M. And if you are M size normally, change up to L size. Now if you’re L size already…errrr….good luck. Lol. Kiddin. Please look for a bulky tip or something. 

For a BA setup, and the given price point, I take as16 pro as an overall upgrade from its previous releases. From the zex, zex pro, dq6s, eda, this is a keeper. Of course the price got an upgrade too, but I can safely say, it is worth the price tag. The biggest deal breaker for me is its fitting and seal. Again finding the right and proper seal will make all the difference. I hope KZ will release a smaller build of this to cater smaller ears. I swear, I almost condemned this pair for sounding so horrible with the wrong seal and fit. 

Another to watch out for is this set still possesses that metallic BA timbre. At times it can sound artificial and unnatural. Occasionally. And very minimal. 

So who is this set for?

• Casual listeners that loves speedy drivers and details
• Mature listeners might be able to appreciate as well
• Medium to large ear individuals
• Might not be for neutral heads
• For those who want a good introduction to pure BA setups

So that’s it!! I hope this review will be helpful to my readers. Once again, we all have different gears and setups on how we listen to our beloved music. And each component contributes to what we hear. Hence, your mileage will and most likely vary. Cheers and catch you on the next one!!