Current testing methodology is v1.2
The KZ EDCX is a budget offering from the brand KZ, which stands for Knowledge Zenith.
This Chi-fi brand is basically a mainstay in the IEM community because of its affordable products that offer decent sound and good quality.
If you’re in the market for a pair of IEMs that sound good with almost any genre and that you can use for watching movies or gaming, then you may want to consider the EDCX. This review will tell you why.
KZ EDCX
Aesthetically-pleasing IEMs that sound great for any genre
TL:DR;
The KZ EDCX is a 10 mm single dynamic driver IEM from the brand KZ.
These IEMs tend to steer away from KZ’s commonly bloated bass tuning and offer a robust and balanced one. At under $6, the EDCX has a great price-to-performance ratio suited for almost any kind of genre.
It has a good and flexible bass response, a forward midrange, and good treble detail – perfect for listening to music, watching movies, or playing games.
Although it has some issues, the general tuning and the genre synergy are great for the price, not to mention that it looks aesthetically gorgeous.
The Specs
- Driver: 10 mm Single Dynamic Driver
- Frequency response: 20Hz-20000kHz
- Impedance: 20Ω
- Sensitivity: 102db
What’s in the Box?
- KZ EDCX earphones
- 3.5 mm jack cable
- 2 x stock tips
- User manual
Stuff I like
- Genre-flexible
- Midrange presence
- Good bass response
- Accurate timbre
- Sound separation
- Good detail retrieval
Stuff I like less
- Needs more power to reach true sound
- Treble air
Where to get it
Comparable products to consider
These budget IEMs are great for everyday use, offering a slightly boosted bass, engaging midrange, and good treble performance.
First Impressions
My initial expectations for the KZ EDCX were high.
These IEMs had a nice-looking immaculate silver resin shell, and from this visual impression alone, I was excited to try them out.
I had to test them by layers so I plugged them into my phone first and I found them underwhelming. It sounded pretty decent but my overall thought was that it’s going to take a massive beating from its QKZ counterparts given its price.
To be fair, of course, came the second part of my testing. I plugged them into my laptop using a DAC dongle as a source. It still felt underwhelming and I was flat-out surprised.
Upon checking different forums on the web, I’ve found out that this particular model is a little bit power-hungry despite powerful output devices.
So, at this point, I dared to test the waters by raising the volume by at least 46 on my laptop (which is already considered ear-piercingly loud on other sets). Quite frankly, it worked and now I can say that I can vouch for this set – but not fully.
Build Quality
The build quality on the KZ EDCX is fantastic.
Despite being made out of plastic, it uses a slightly more rigid material and doesn’t feel cheap to the touch at all.
The face plate looks great and has a polished resin finish embedded on top of its silver surface. For the most part, the shell is transparent and geeks who like seeing tech internals are going to love it.
All in all, the build is nice and the silver colorway just took ‘fake it till you make it’ literally because it feels like a more expensive product.
Fit and Comfort
Fit and comfort-wise, I have no complaints with the KZ EDCX.
The included silicone tips are much softer than the included tips on other sets and I found myself not having to swap them out.
They provided a snug fit making isolation good but not phenomenal. You can still hear the outside but it doesn’t seem to be the case when music is playing.
The best part is that I can use them for long periods of listening without any discomfort. This can be attributed to the shell having a nice and smooth body.
Sound Quality
With U-shaped tuning, the KZ EDCX has a warm sound signature.
What I like about U-shaped tunings is that the midrange presence is retained more than that of V-shaped tunings.
The bass on the KZ EDCX is well done. It lends some color and weightiness to the midrange which sounds lush and thick, plus it maintains a good position relative to other frequencies. The treble has some nice extensions and can grab a good amount of details.
Bass
The bass is hefty in response and provides relatively good sub-bass and mid-bass.
The sub-bass can go deep and has good rumble. For me though, it doesn’t go as deep as I would’ve liked. The mid-bass has good slam and punch but they were a little on the moderate side as well.
Overall the KZ EDCX has a fairly tame but present bass response that gives good engagement to songs. The upside of this bass response is that the bass doesn’t bleed into the mids, which is something that KZ IEMs are known for.
Midrange
The midrange on the KZ ECDX’s graph is not recessed at all but the bass and treble emphasis technically makes it a U-shaped signature.
On the auditory side of things, the midrange comes off quite forward and clear. It has decent tonality but there’s this weird boost in the lower midrange, which you can hear on certain songs like Bokurano by Eve.
It was pretty weird on that particular song and I guess you can attribute that to the EDCX’s graph on its lower mids where there’s a peak at 2.5kHZ.
On a general note, it sounds good on every other song.
Eve’s songs are done with some kind of sharpening on his vocals, so naturally, the midrange peak on the EDCX would’ve amplified that.
The layering on the vocals was also good but it came across smoothed out. Sound separation to that end is good but not special as the sounds seemed as if they were skimming just by the border of other sounds.
Treble
The treble on the KZ ECDX is good and doesn’t have any sibilance despite having an 8kHz peak.
It does have an extension past 10kHz but dies down past 13kHz. This part of the graph of the EDCX explains why it lacks openness despite having good detail retrieval.
Boosts to the upper air regions would bump up the spatial aspects of the EDCX.
Test Tracks
There’s a wide variety of songs that the EDCX can handle well and for some reference, I’ve decided to pick a few out if you ever want to observe some of the things I hear while listening to the tracks.
- Before the Day is Over by JOJI (R&B/Soul) – The timbre of the pianos at the start of the song has a good tonality and makes it especially lush for the vocals that come after. The vocals are intimate and have a centered image on a fairly tall sound ceiling. The layering on the verse is done very well and the vocal layers can be heard apart from the main vocal. There are higher-pitched soprano layers and they meld in well with the main voice. Transients have good speed and are echoey in the track, which I find gives a great effect. The bass presence is deep and rich without overpowering anything inside the mix.
- Pluto by Phum Viphurit (Thai Indie) – The space on this track has good height and width to it and although the KZ EDCX is extraordinary with soundstage, the way it renders reverb on this track is good. This also means the treble’s extension does this track well and succeeds in portraying a spacious vocal space. The tonality of the acoustic guitar sounds good and can be vividly heard. The midrange performs exceptionally well and presents good playback.
- Lone Summer by Schld (Hip-Hop) – The midrange detail on this track is great and you can hear the string slides on the guitar when transferring from another fret. The bass is pretty deep and has good slam when the kick drum drops. The vocal layering is good and is audible despite the track being busy with all the instruments playing simultaneously. The vocal texture is also good and the nuances in breathing can be heard.
Conclusion
The KZ EDCX is a solid option with a small overlookable caveat.
If you truly want to elevate this set, you’d need to comply with its power-hungry nature. Using a laptop or computer is enough to provide it with good amplification, but you’d find yourself having to increase the volume to hear more.
Investing in a small reliable DAC dongle will benefit you in the long run.
Aside from this little thorn in the bush, the KZ ECDX has a great tuning that jives with just about any music genre.
With the level of flexibility and sound quality for under $6, this set is one of the representatives of cheap but good audio equipment.
This is quite fitting because KZ’s tagline for this set says “good audio doesn’t have to be expensive” and they’re totally right!
Gavin is a college student who has a lot going on. From collecting IEMs and modding mechanical keyboards, to different hobbies like digital drawing, music mastering and cooking. It is safe to say he is a complete multi-faceted geek (and he's kinda cool too)
This post was last updated on 2024-12-08 / Some images from Amazon Product API & some links may be affiliate links which may earn us a commission from purchases.