Non-sound stuff: Driver setup, driveability, fit, aesthetics, price etc.
EPZ530. Release date circa mid 2021 (maybe). The price bounces around a bit and has reduced significantly since release. As of Aug 2023 they cost $430 direct from EPZ store on AliExpress. 5 Sonion balanced armatures.
Dyed stabilised wood effect resin shell available in green or orange. Pretty nice looking. The nozzle is smooth resin so some tips can slide down and sit flush to the end. Nozzle is medium length and width and overall the IEM is very comfortable. Easy enough to drive.
I had a loaner set but apparently it retails in a wooden display box. You get a 2pin cable with interchangeable 2.5, 3.5 and 4.4 plugs. Tips and case and all the usual fun stuff. I don’t think you get a cloth so you’ll just have to wipe it on your shirt.
The preamble: Tuning, what is it and where am I going with this review?
These have been around a while but recently gained more attention. They’re an interesting mix of underlying warmth with vivid physical energy coming in from everywhere. They have a forward energetic tuning across the frequencies with a bit more emphasis down low bringing out a full and rugged bass sound. There’s a bunch of midbass, a bunch of mids, a slightly smaller bunch of treble. A bunch of everything really.
The EPZ530 conjure up a warm and open atmosphere but in the main lean into excitement and aggression. They’re never delicate. Technicalities are very good but the abundance of energy in the low and mids can overpower the detail and nuance that’s in there. I did my listening with generic soft open silicone eartips. Narrower bore tips made the bass swallow everything. They’re a set I think deserve to be loved, but not necessarily by me.
The low end: Bass and lower mids.
It’s hefty. The EPZ530 has a thick back end. It doesn’t sound like pristine and clean BA bass. There’s hard impact and detail combined with texture and power that extends from the subs deep into mid bass. Electric bass guitar booms and drums thump. It can be absorbing and atmospheric or tough and punchy, with a good ally in the treble that adds snap to the drum hits. The lack of clean delineation from the heavy mid bass doesn’t necessarily suit electronic genres though.
The bass is always thick and full but with narrow bore eartips it blooms too much dominating the rest of the sound. It’s fun though – reminiscent of being a kid and turning on the generic bass boost of some knock off Walkman and maxing the volume. It sounds like I remember that sounding. Fun and huge and exhilarating with treacle thick lows. Not how it actually sounded which was probably bloody awful.
The body of the music: Mids and vocals.
The warmth of the bass carries into the mids giving them an added physicality. Not that they need to be much fuller. Instrumentation in the midrange, particularly electric guitars, sit very forward. You get detail and aggression with enough reverb and echo to conjure up a wide panoramic space. A big space with a lot of loud noise in it. The bite and breadth doesn’t help more intimate and relaxed songs. But anything with fast textured guitars the EPZ530 nails.
Vocals don’t come forward as much as instruments but certainly aren’t recessed or remote. One problem is the lack of restraint and inability to render things softly. Stripped delicate vocals and instrumentation have emotion but can be abrasive. You’ll get the theme here that it’s not a set designed for niceties or to coax out subtle nuances. But the EPZ530 is not unrefined in its energy. It delivers aggression in the mids with a thoroughness, precision and flair you have to appreciate.
The top end: Treble and air.
Treble extends a long way and has a nice tonal air. The rich full lows and mids characterise the overall sound but there’s plenty of energy in the treble to compliment and compete. And it’s enough to cause fatigue. The treble isn’t sparkling and shimmery but an assertive component of the emphatic sound.
Technicalities: Detail, separation, imaging and stage.
The full mid bass produces an enjoyable big open warm space. Stage is pretty good. There’s lots of detail and clarity pushed forward. It doesn’t necessarily reveal hidden scraps of sound but you won’t fail to miss detail in the body of the instrumentation and vocals. It’s pretty cohesive with sounds not rigorously separated out. In some respects it’s too big and bold in the presentation to isolate instrumentation and follow subtle movements within the whole. But neither is it congested. You get a nicely detailed vivid whole pushed forcefully into your head.
Artistry: Tone, timbre and dynamics.
The tonality is generally warm even with the aggressive upfront tuning. There’s a lot of feisty energy going on but lows, mids and highs coexist effectively. It can get tiring though. Timbre is okay. Delicate subdued vocals have too much energy pumped into them making their reproduction slightly forced. But if the energy of the song and the set compliment each other the timbre is satisfying and accurate. With all that energy the dynamics are mostly tumult without much tranquility. You get vibrancy and tension but not much contrast of calm and quiet. It’s always resonating at a high energy peak and doesn’t drop below.
The prologue: Summary and anything else I can think of.
The EPZ530 is an intriguing combination of things. It’s warm and atmospheric but also direct and aggressive. It’s strident but also technically adept. A lot of bass warmth, a lot of bass impact, a lot of mids, and a treble range that wanders out a distance. Everything sounds full on. Vibrant guitar and anything that floods all the frequencies is brash and exciting. If you want big and forceful with impact on everything married to roomy staging and details this set is ideal. If you want delicacy and more light and shade maybe not. That lack of ability to subdue and calm when required is a drawback. But the intent is to be a feisty and technical BA option. If it was toned down it wouldn’t have that character. It’s like watching Snow White and Seven Dwarves and complaining about an excess of dwarves. It’s a bit too full on for me, but that’s a matter of preference rather than performance. Five dwarves is my limit.
Thanks for your time. Take care and try not to upset yourself or other people. Unless they deserve it. Or you deserve it. In which case go and stroke a random cat until you stop caring.
