QKZ W1 Pro

| 10 mm Driver |

? We got the QKZ W1 Pro (or Fonge W1 Pro) a couple of days ago and decided to review this attractive looking earphones with detachable cables.

QKZ or Quality Knowledge Zenith earphones can be mostly found on Aliexpress, they have a large catalog of different iems that sometimes are rebranded KZ, Tennmak or other earphones.

The QKZ W1 Pro hold a 10mm dynamic driver inside the very flat housings, the construction material is plastic which makes them extremely light, size of the housings is small and transparent allowing you to see the inner guts of the earphones. They use detachable cables with the same connection as the Plextone X46M which is not MMCX as the Pioneer SE-CX8, Pioneer SE-CX9, Senfer 4in1 nor the connection type of the Sony MDR-7550/800st or the connection of KZ detachable iems like the KZ ZST, KZ ZS3 or KZ ED12.

The QKZ W1 Pro hold a 10mm dynamic driver inside the very flat housings, the construction material is plastic which makes them extremely light…

The quality and finish of the cable is very similar to the one we got with the Senfer 4in1, Senfer UE and Seahf EG009, with an end section with memory features which is thick and durable but the rest of the cable tends to be difficult to fully straighten up (the Sound Intone E6 cable also had this issue) There is an inline microphone and 1 button control on the cable that allows to play, pause, skip tracks and answer/reject calls. The mini stereo plug is angled at 45 degrees.

The QKZ W1 Pro can be bought in red, black or blue; also some sellers allow you to get a combined blue and red option where you get the left earpiece in blue and the right earpiece in red. Take into account that although the Fonge W1 Pro should be the exact same earphone we are reviewing an unit that is explicitly branded as QKZ W1 Pro, consequently the Fonge W1 Pro could have the exact same characteristics and audio quality but we cannot confirm it with a 100% accuracy because we have not tested the Fonge variation.

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QKZ W1 Pro - Review

Tests & Scores

Weight

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Accessories & Packaging

The QKZ W1 Pro do not have a commercial standard packaging, instead they come packed inside a branded hard plastic box that can be used as a carrying case; this carrying case is identical to the one provided with the JVC HA-FX1X but accordingly branded. Inside the case you will find the earpieces, the detachable cable and 2 extra eartips.

^9_/10

Bass & Sub Bass

The QKZ W1 Pro have good bass with a balanced bass ratio between mid-bass and sub-bass which results in a warm, energetic enough and still non intrusive bass style. Their overall bass shows more punch than depth but it is still balanced and will be strong enough to cover every music genre. Although they are not the bassiest earphone that you can get they offer a pleasant lower frequency personality that does not fall into conservative nor anemic bass.

… they offer a pleasant lower frequency personality that does not fall into conservative nor anemic bass.

After an EQ, a lot more of punch was added and some depth was also enhanced.

During our extreme bass tests the QKZ W1 Pro showed an important increase in mid-bass and sub-bass but mid-bass was distorted. Under these tests they were able to handle 51% of a Fiio E12‘s maximum power and did not achieve any type of basshead impact nor rumble (the Fiio amplifier was set to high gain and bass boost was turned on, also a custom basshead EQ was applied)

^7.75_/10

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Mids & Vocals

Mids of the QKZ W1 Pro are well reproduced, lower mids and lower vocals are clear and do not sound laid back, distant nor muffled at all. Higher mids are also not recessed nor excessively forward, in general they are not too harsh but could show some of it with very high pitch vocals or high notes. Mids and vocals are one the frequencies that most earphones tend to struggle to achieve a good balance and sound quality, here the QKZ W1 Pro are outstanding. Although an EQ is not indispensable for the QKZ’s mids; if carefully equalizing, lower mids quality can be preserved while slightly reducing some of the harshness.

^8.5_/10

Highs & Treble

The highs of the QKZ W1 Pro have enough brightness while they are also able to provide some detail. Detail levels are not top-notch but good for normal listeners. With strong peaks they show piercing highs but not sibilance. After an EQ they still remain free of sibilant highs, piercing highs become a bit stronger but a great amount of brightness and detail is gained resulting in a very noticeable audio quality improvement.

^7.75_/10

Sound Leak

The sound leaking out of the QKZ W1 Pro is perceivable even on mediumly noise places but not that far from an average earphone.

^6_/10

Sound Isolation

The deep and tight fit of the QKZ W1 Pro allows them to be very effective isolating surrounding noises even with usage of moderate volume.

^8_/10

Comfort

The super light weight of the housings makes wearing them a true pleasure that does not fatigue the ears. The very shallow design of the housings allows them to be fitted flush with the ears making them perfectly usable while resting the head sideways on a pillow or on your hand. The QKZ W1 Pro‘s angled nozzles, memory cable, sport wearing style (cable around the ears) and all the aforementioned features grants them an outstanding level of comfort and secure fit that can withstand any type of activities without falling by themselves.

^10_/10

Response to Equalization

Applying custom equalization the QKZ showed an impressive amount of improvement on brightness and overall highs frequencies quality; mid-bass enhanced noticeably their punch; mids, although not needing much intervention of an EQ, they could be fine tuned and used to reduce some of their harshness.

^8.5_/10

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Scores

• Accessories - 9/10
  9/10
• Design - 10/10
  10/10
• Bass - 7.75/10
  7.8/10
• Mids - 8.5/10
  8.5/10
• Highs - 7.75/10
  7.8/10
• Sound Leak - 6/10
  6/10
• Sound Isolation - 8/10
  8/10
• Comfort - 10/10
  10/10
• Response to EQ - 8.5/10
  8.5/10
• Value for Money - 10/10
  10/10

Summary

AWARDS

Pros

✅ Great sounding mids and lower vocals

✅ Pleasant lower frequencies with balanced bass that still does not sound anemic nor lacking energy

✅ Highs have good brightness; detail can be improved by using an EQ

✅ Excellent response to custom equalization

✅ Outstanding comfort and fit

✅ Extremely cheap

Cons

❌ Somewhat harsh higher mids may show up with high notes or high pitch vocals

❌ Highs can get piercing at times

Conclusion

The QKZ W1 Pro are outstanding earphones with great sound quality overall that are also able to provide excellent fit and comfort. The selling price is extremely accessible but has features of some high level earphones such as detachable cables and (despite being repetitive) great sound quality.
As a result of all these reasons the QKZ W1 Pro are safe to recommend to any type of user wanting great looking, built and sounding earphones with premium features and that can be used either as a daily iem or solely for sport activities (Treble sensitive listeners might have to rethink if this earphones will fit their hearing preferences). Consider that although you can find the same earphones under other brands such as Fonge W1 Pro and we estimate that they are the exact same earphone, the unit that we reviewed is clearly branded as QKZ so this review expressly refers to the QKZ W1 Pro.

8.5/10

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QKZ W1 PRO Frequency Response

QKZ W1 PRO | Fonge W1 PRO

Photos

QKZ W1 Pro

8.5

SCORE

8.5/10

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