KZ Castor HiFi (My first physical Tunable Budget IEM) | Unboxing and Quick testing | SG

initial rating: 7/10
Budget, like really budget and bass heavy? Can't say I have too much hope for this but I would still love it if it's decent enough. Never tried tuning an audio device that's not via an app to even compare the exact profile.
Final Rating: 8.8/10
Sadly not sponsored.
A very budget friendly IEM by KZ (who?), a Chinese Company (thus MIC) that makes various audio devices.
First time trying this brand and also my first ever tunable IEM.
After using so many TWS, it feels so weird to use something wired (earphone) and it's not headphones.
Still the sound off the box already is quite nice.
Sometimes it sounds a bit flatly leveled between the bass and Vocals, but I can still differentiate the different instruments. The sound spatial is not so surround but at least I could tell the left and right.
Definitely feeling the bass but it can still get distorted at high enough volume.
Speaking of volume, this thing is loud at low level and I mean LOUD enough that noise does leak out.
As pointed in the video, I love the ability to set a different profile for the Left and Right ear. However, I am still finding the right (as in correct) tuning combination out of the 16 possibilities.
I want a different tuning for each side, so it's double the work for me to find the right combi.
Point to note is that it's really just a slight difference with each slide level adjustment so it's really driving me nuts to find a good one for my playlists.
Regardless, my only current regret is not having also get the normal (grey/silver) version to compare. And maybe a better wire/amp to give this set of IEM more justice.

[@jepubepu9570]

If only KZ stops cutting corners they could compete with other hifi brands like moondrop

[@itdpenz]

Fair enough, but like most audio companies that I know of, they almost end up trying to target a larger group of listeners and then have too many products to suit the different ranges.
However, if we just look at this product itself, then I can say that this iem is indeed a great consideration for budget affordability 👍🏻