Disclaimer: Source used for all this impressions was iFi xDSD Gryphon through balanced output and IEMatch on. Tips used on DQ6s were BGVP W01.
Disclaimer 2: This unit doesn’t belong to me, as it was bought by my good friend @Tfaduh and shipped directly to me, to get my impressions on it first. I would like to thank him for the opportunity and time spent. I love you bro 
KZ’s DQ6, despite being released before, made a true introduction to the markets during the last half of last year’s runaway. 3 (three!!) dynamic drivers for 26 USD and you would also get a nice fit, an incredible slam and a very wide soundstage, worthy of attention for its price.
Like everything in life, these come with a price, contrary to its tag. Sub-bass was not prominent, the treble was way too hot, the resolving power was low, making it only suitable for certain circumstances like metal libraries or for those who would like to fiddle with modding it.
tchered by most, as a “still a KZ”, including me, DQ6 didn’t make far into most people’s ranks compared to more expensive stuff. To me, the problems were too blunt to even use them. I would get headaches after 30 mins due to the treble peaks, its V-Shaped tuning wouldn’t fit a great part of my library and after using it a bunch of times during the first days, one of the drivers died. Some days later it came back to life with just a channel imbalance and over time it fixed itself, but I couldn’t care anymore, giving it a shy C on my ranking list.
People like @Rikudou_Goku kept fiddling with the mods on it and just found their sweet spot, which would fit their library. HBB liked it but was still not perfect, so he decided to do another collaboration, and DQ6s was born.
DQ6s kicks in at around 34$, keeping the existing shells and driver configuration, but with a teak on it’s tuning:
The treble/upper mids zone was changed to a level it no longer affects me, so I’m a happy camper. Sub-bass got a boost which most will also appreciate, over OG. Volume scaling is also better thanks to that, which helps people like me reach the mids better on these V-Shaped sets.
Technically speaking, they are marginally the same, but as expected, stage and air took a small hit compared to OG, losing presence in the upper frequencies. Slam was also slightly affected by the tuning, due to the sub-bass raise, but I don’t think most will cry about it.
I don’t think there’s much else to say for those who already know DQ6 or read its reviews.
To me, DQ6s is the best stock tuned KZ that I’ve heard to date, even though it still doesn’t match my library quite well. As I’ve told HBB in private, they are good and he did great, but they are “still a KZ”.
My favorite picks under 50 USD are still CRA, Heart Mirror and HBB’s own Mele, all for different reasons. That hasn’t changed, specially for CRA after some EQ touches, but DQ6 has better stock tuning, against its cousin from CCA. DQ6s fills the void of those looking for slam and wide stage presentation for cheap, while making the stock DQ6 redundant for those who aren’t into mods. They are a good budget pick, for those scavenging the lower price brackets.
Kudos to @hawaiibadboy as he has been proving over and over that he knows how to tune and be consistent.
Value rank: 4/5 (due to CRA). Personal rank: C-.
Thanks for reading!
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