Under a Thousand: Great audio at a terrific price

The KZ EDX Pro are transparent, eye-catching wired earbuds with a detachable cable. They offer outstanding clarity and detail for their price, making them perfect for classical music, jazz, podcasts, and gaming.

One of the most affordable transparent IEMs in the market. (Express Photo)

For those who love good audio but are not inclined to spend a bomb on it, the KZ EDX series has near-legendary status. These wired earbuds (in-ear monitors or “IEMS” in audiophilespeak) have been around for a few years and have built a formidable reputation for themselves in the budget audio segment, revolving around their surprisingly attractive design and high-quality audio. In fact, when we started the Under a Thousand section, one of the first products we covered were the basic KZ EDX earbuds (review). But while the basic earbuds are a good proposition, their Pro variants are an even better one. The KZ EDX Pro used to be priced just above Rs 1,000 in the past but are now available for Rs 990 from a number of online and offline retail portals. And that brings them into this section.

Those transparent, eye-catching looks

The earbuds are transparent and modular. (Express Photo)

Carl Pei’s Nothing might have grabbed attention with its semi-transparent phones and TWS but the fact is that KZ Acoustics was coming out with transparent audio products well before them. The KZ EDX were transparent and so were the KZ EDX Pro. We got the white variant, and at first glance, there is no chance of anyone mistaking them for budget-priced earbuds. They come in a compact package, with a transparent cable with 2-pin attachments for each bud and a 3.5 mm audio jack, as well as two additional ear tip sizes. The buds themselves are lightweight and have a very crystal-like look to them with metallic trinkets on the outer part, giving them a slightly premium touch, although they are mainly made of plastic and resin.

They are quite good-looking, although the accompanying cable is a little on the long side for those who want to use the buds mainly with their phones, and can get tangle-y. There is also a microphone attachment to the cable, letting you make and receive calls using the buds. The buds are comfortable to wear but you need to remember to attach the cable snugly to them, otherwise audio quality can suffer. Those who have not used IEMs before also might struggle a little with the whole process of placing the buds in their ears and then twisting the cable over their ears, but you get the hang of it soon enough.

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Very good sound indeed

The detachable cable comes with a 3.5mm headphone jack. (Express Photo)

While they are very easy on the eye, the KZ EDX Pro really shine in the sound department. They do not need much power and will work just fine without a DAC and can be plugged directly into the 3.5 mm audio jack of a phone, tablet or notebook. We used them with the Redmi Pad Pro and the MacBook Air M1 and the buds delivered outstanding results. The KZ EDX Pro come with a new 10mm magnetic driver and also features dual magnetic driver units. They definitely sound a clear notch above the KZ EDX with slightly better bass and better mids. The volume levels are very good indeed, although the treble can be a little sharp at higher volumes.

For their price, they deliver an astonishing amount of clarity and detail. If you love classic music and jazz, you will love these, and even listening to podcasts and online radio stations is a great experience. Even gamers will love the clarity that these bring to games, especially if you are playing stealth titles, where the buds capture the creak of every opening door and rustle of grass clearly. However, if you love action films or are a basshead, then you might find these a little too “plain” for your liking – while they have more bass than the KZ EDX, they do not have the sort of “rumble” that bassheads prize. Call quality on the KZ EDX Pro is also middling – we would not recommend depending on them to make calls in noisy places, as those you are speaking to might not be able to hear you too clearly. However, if it is just great sound you want, these are pretty much impossible to beat for under Rs 1,000. The fact that they come with a detachable cable adds to their longevity – you can simply switch to another cable if something goes wrong with the one in the package!

KZ EDX Pro connected to the Redmi Pad Pro. (Express Photo)

They look good, sound even better and now come with a killer price tag. All of which make the KZ EDX Pro the perfect earbuds for those wanting terrific audio at a very low price. You will not get a very wide soundstage or rattling bass, but the clarity and detail delivered by these are outstanding. Audio amateurs wanting to dip their toes in audiophile waters would do well to start with these Pros!

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earphones