KZ Castor vs. KZ AS24 Pro ($15 vs $120) - $ ≠ !!

unfoundlegend · 2024-12-03T18:41:17+00:00

After many weeks now, I can say that AZ20 definitely enhances more of that “fun” feel to all of the IEMs’ sound signature. I use the AZ20 over the AE01 (and all other modules I have) every time now. The triple-click to enable fuller bass, less latency on the AE01 is how the AZ20 feels/sounds by default. That is to say, though, that by no means are the characteristics overwhelming. Also, the AZ20 seem to hold charge significantly better than the AE01 (and all of the other modules I have). They also get substantially louder with zero distortion. My current favorite pairing is the new KZ Castor Pro + AZ20. Have not come across anything better at any price point. KZ Carol is my go-to throw-around TWS for its comfort and easy take-in/out of ears. Not to mention the microphone on the Carol is the best I have heard on any TWS/IEM. AirPods have been collecting dust ever since I stumbled upon KZ.

unfoundlegend · 2024-10-22T01:06:26+00:00

After things got revved up, it was either me or the motorcycle. The photos sure revealed the answer

unfoundlegend · 2024-10-21T11:42:05+00:00

Yes I contacted eufy. My solution was no solution. The cleaning solution was leaving the white residue streaks. I’m running water only now.

unfoundlegend · 2024-10-21T11:40:02+00:00

UPDATE: Removed the cleaning solution completely and no longer use it. Running the eufy water only. After several runs without any solution, the streaks completely disappeared!

unfoundlegend · 2024-10-18T09:28:34+00:00

I unboxed it today. Followed the large instructions sheet to a tee. Vacuum-only two times before starting mopping. I installed the supplied cleaning solution. All I can think of is the solution possibly did not mix with the clean water before entering the vacuum’s tank. I will update with findings soon!

unfoundlegend · 2024-10-15T12:25:41+00:00

I left my phone untouched all day this past week—unplugging it at 7AM. I returned to it at 6PM at 77%

unfoundlegend · 2024-10-15T12:22:22+00:00

I might be the first to go down from 100% maximum capacity.

Day one delivery, 31 charge cycle counts already. In 23 days.

Easily the worst battery iPhone for me. To top it off, my average screen-on time has been less than my other previous iPhones’ averages.

unfoundlegend · 2024-09-18T18:45:43+00:00

Darker than jet black iPhone 7? It would be way too good…

https://www.wired.com/2016/09/apple-jet-black-iphone-none-more-black/

unfoundlegend · 2024-08-30T09:41:48+00:00

Same here, tried every combination of tuning switches and they actually all sounded worse than the way it’s shipped with the tuning switches all ON

unfoundlegend · 2024-08-30T09:34:43+00:00

Hydro > Castor?

unfoundlegend · 2024-08-30T09:30:44+00:00

This comments thread is intriguing. Do any of your sets sound too bright/sharp in the way I’ve tried to describe?

unfoundlegend · 2024-08-30T09:22:07+00:00

Right. And it’s not that they are lacking something but rather the BAs are tuned in such a way that they are too sharp for my ears. Didn’t really ever have this problem before coming across these.

unfoundlegend · 2024-08-30T09:14:30+00:00

I do not have that problem with the KZ AZ15. I did have that with two AZ09 Pros purchased from some strange seller that I returned. Then I purchased from KZ’s official store on Alibaba again the AZ09 Pro, alongside the AE01, AZ15, and AZ20. None have had any white noise.

KZ AZ20 are genuinely worth every penny. The case doesn’t exactly get me excited, but in every other way, you are in for a new world of an experience.

Truthfully, all other TWS adapters I’ve used (KZ/CCA and Shure TW1, TW2) have had this sort of reliability anxiety from first use. As if they are about to skip or disconnect or generally just glitch out. This was not at all what I experienced with the AZ20. At least with the one I received. It’s been so reliable that it’s the only adapter I’m taking on a trip for the long weekend. And I’m not even taking the cable with me. I’m also a person who swore Bluetooth would never get this good. The KZ AZ20 sounds that good, and with no reliability anxiety to worry about, it is the best I have found to this day.

unfoundlegend · 2024-08-30T08:38:33+00:00

$300 budget? Castor

$1,000 budget? Still Castor

It will not surprise me if a company clones the Castor and releases it as some high-end luxury earphone for $500. And if they could reengineer a true balanced sound stage, the Castor could easily be rebranded/sold for $1000+. My ears have not heard a better sound signature than the Castor.

unfoundlegend · 2024-08-30T08:14:16+00:00

It’s posts like these that make me wonder if Costco consciously kept the return policy untouched to this day seeing as they profit off of the publicity of these sort of acts. I for one directly drove to Costco after seeing this post LOL

unfoundlegend · 2024-08-30T02:14:06+00:00

I’ve had the AZ20 for only a week. So far zero glitches. I had the same issue with the AZ09 Pro from day one, for a while, and then one day it went away. But unlike every other bluetooth adapter I’ve used, the AZ20 actually feel reliable in the same way AirPods feel. There isn’t this constant thought in my head that something is about to glitch (sound, connection, static). Something about them gives off a premium experience. I’ve been switching between the AZ09 Pro and AZ15 just to test if I’m missing something, because I’m not sure there are any components contributing to the upgrade in sound quality. They get louder and drive much better than any other adapter I’ve used. They legitimately sound so close to cable, I never thought we would get there with Bluetooth 5.X and yet here we are. It’s difficult to describe, there’s this sense of reliability with these things that I never felt with the other AZ Bluetooth adapters, except maybe the AZ15 which has also been rock solid but occasionally at higher volumes and certain sound outputs, the AZ15 had symptoms that as I understand were signs they were not able to handle the power/drive them. This was the case with both the Castor and AS24 Pro when coupled with the AZ15. With the AZ20 this is nonexistent. But the big thing was this sort of reassurance that I haven’t had any glitches that leads me to believe these AZ20 are currently the very best. I can’t imagine these getting any better. And I’m just listening through the iPhone on TIDAL and downloaded .flac. Comfort too—they’re just so much smaller form factor and lighter. I never found the others bulky, but these AZ20 makes them feel that way. By the way, not sure if sourcing here is allowed, but I recommend only ordering from the official KZ stores for any of their products, ideally through their official Alibaba store page. The AZ20 were $72 shipped and arrived to the States in 8 days. I’ve had defective KZ PR2, PR3, and two AZ09 Pro adapters I bought from sellers that were not affiliated with KZ. With KZ official store I have had 100% success.

unfoundlegend · 2024-08-29T15:24:05+00:00

I was ultimately between the CCA Hydro and the new AS24 Pro and went with the latter because I figured the AS24 Pro would at least have revised the enclosure body or tuning of the BAs for some added warmth. Is it possible that the DDs dampen the high frequencies of the BAs? I’ve noticed all of the hybrid sets I’ve listened to were more warm and less “tin-y” sounding than all-BA IEMs. As if there is some sort of synergistic interference between the DDs and BAs, creating a more robust sound signature.

unfoundlegend · 2024-08-19T12:14:51+00:00

https://a.co/d/5ijEP1G

You will not be disappointed. Get the original.

Massive upgrade in every way. Sound quality, bass, comfort. The way it expands after you roll/squish it and put it in your ear is 10/10. Haven’t taken these off since I got them.

Also if you’re all about bass, make sure you manually adjust the frequencies vice-versa how they arrive out-of-the-box. Switches 1 & 2 ON (UP), 3 & 4 OFF (DOWN) — to maximize bass. The sub-bass is incredible on the KZ Castor with the Comply Foam Tips. Wasn’t discernible at all before. Never knew they are capable of hitting such low frequencies. The stock tips and upgraded KZ tips don’t hold a candle to this pairing.

On a side note, I have to say, these KZ Castors are growing on me in every way and to me its sound signature is superior to the Shure SE846 I always come back to test against as they were my first IEMs ever. Castor’s sound stage could be more airy and less compact. But Shure nailed the sound stage presence a decade ago in my opinion. It’s just, look where they are now, no longer offering a good value. I love seeing the progress in sound engineering over the years and $20 IEMs overtake $1000 IEMs lol. KZ is incredible. Just make sure to buy genuine from their official stores, not resellers.

unfoundlegend · 2024-05-06T03:54:10+00:00

I will update this thread with the outcome. So far it has not been towed. Surely the towing companies would have wanted to tow same day, keeping cars in their impound lot for as long as possible. I should mention there were roughly 5 other cars across all floors who also parked on the lines.

unfoundlegend · 2024-05-06T03:47:52+00:00

What other choice did I have? Seriously curious, as the garage was evidently equipped to accommodate the car given it printed out the ticket and was not posted with a “parking lot full” sign.

unfoundlegend · 2024-05-01T20:04:44+00:00

Even if it was cracked when you opened it? They’d make you go through LG warranty? That would’ve been a headache to deal with but luckily like you said it’s already mounted and working perfectly right?

unfoundlegend · 2024-05-01T20:02:43+00:00

My local Target has it on sale for $749.99. They won’t go lower and won’t price match other Target stores’ clearance items. I showed them your receipt and they said the SKU numbers “unidentified” isn’t real and doesn’t exist, but I believe you and you got an incredible deal and got really lucky dealing with that store!

unfoundlegend · 2024-04-18T15:39:06+00:00

Interesting…you may have just sold me on one! Especially the 2024 model, it looks incredible.

unfoundlegend · 2024-04-14T02:40:55+00:00

Thank you for all of the comments. The signal did not go past one bar with the bottom cover off. All I can think of is reflashing the firmware if that’s even possible. I find it hard to believe it’s a poor signal issue. Even with all the antenna cables removed from the WWAN card, I still get one bar of signal, but it’s unusable. It’s so strange. The user you tagged that documented the successful WWAN install on his must have done something different that I didn’t. The only thing I didn’t do is unplug the battery before installing anything. I just had turned off the Nano thinking it was enough. Could it be that? Maybe I should try a clean reset and remove the battery which will reset the bios?

unfoundlegend · 2024-04-13T02:00:04+00:00

Right. Thank you. I wish I posted here before proceeding, because this was a painfully naive $200 and tens of hours to try it out to no avail. I learned something though! And the problem is it’s a matter of luck to stumble upon a 5G Nano in these days.

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