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- Table of Contents
- Top
- Main Differences
- Design
- Sound
- Isolation
- Microphone
- Active Features
- Connectivity
- Comments
KZ ZST vs Apple EarPods
Side-by-Side Comparison
Products
KZ ZST
Apple EarPods
Tested using Methodology v1.5
Updated Jan 15, 2024 03:00 PM
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Amazon.comTested using Methodology v1.5
Updated May 05, 2025 07:18 PM
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Amazon.com
TypeIn-ear
EnclosureClosed-Back
WirelessNo
TransducerHybrid
Noise CancellingNo
MicNo
TypeEarbuds
EnclosureOpen-Back
WirelessNo
TransducerDynamic
Noise CancellingNo
MicYes
Variants
- ZST (Black, mic)
- ZST (Black, no mic)
- ZST (Colorful, mic)
- ZST (Colorful, no mic)
- EarPods (White)
Our Verdict
KZ ZST
Apple EarPods
The KZ ZST are better headphones than the Apple EarPods. The KZ sound is better, and they also feel noticeably sturdier. However, some will prefer the one-size-fits-all design of the Apple, which seem to be more comfortable than the in-ear fit of the KZ. Also, the Apple have an open design, so they don't block noise well and won't be a good option for commuting. On the upside, they have an in-line remote and microphone, which the KZ model we’ve tested is lacking, though there is a variant that has them.
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Black, mic
ZST
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EarPods
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ZST
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EarPods
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Finding storeColorful, mic
ZST
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EarPods
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Finding storeColorful, no mic
ZST
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EarPods
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EarPods
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Finding storeMain Differences forNeutral Sound
Neutral Sound
Threshold
Neutral Sound
6.5
6.8
Bass Accuracy
6.6
5.0
Treble Accuracy
6.1
8.6
Mid Accuracy
7.6
9.0
Passive Soundstage
1.3
2.8
Frequency Response Consistency
9.6
5.9
Imaging
9.3
7.9
Full Comparison
Design
Style
Design Picture 2
Type
In-ear
Earbuds
Enclosure
Closed-Back
Open-Back
Wireless
No
No
Transducer
Hybrid
Dynamic
Comfort
7.0
8.0
Comfort Picture
Weight
0.05 lbs
0.03 lbs
Clamping Force
0 lbs
0 lbs
Controls
0.0
6.5
Controls Picture
OS Compatibility
No Controls
iOS
Ease Of Use
No Controls
Decent
Feedback
No Controls
Decent
Call/Music Control
No
Yes
Volume Control
No
Yes
Microphone Control
No
No
Channel Mixing
No
No
Noise Cancelling Control
No
No
Talk-Through
No
No
Additional Controls
No
Voice Assistant
Breathability
9.2
9.6
Breathability After Picture
Avg.Temp.Difference
0.8 °C
0.4 °C
Portability
8.6
9.3
Portability Picture
L
2.5" (6.4 cm)
1.9" (4.8 cm)
W
2.0" (5.1 cm)
1.8" (4.4 cm)
H
1.1" (2.8 cm)
0.8" (1.9 cm)
Volume
6.00 in³ (98.32 cm³)
2.47 in³ (40.48 cm³)
Transmitter Required
No
No
Case
0.0
7.0
Case Picture
Type
No case
Hard case
L
N/A
2.4" (6.2 cm)
W
N/A
2.4" (6.2 cm)
H
N/A
0.8" (1.9 cm)
Volume
N/A
4.47 in³ (73.25 cm³)
Build Quality
7.5
6.5
Build Quality Picture
Stability
7.5
5.5
Stability Picture
Headshots 1
Angled Picture
Side Picture
Headshots 2
Front Picture
Rear Picture
Top
Top Picture
In The Box
In The Box Picture
Sound
Sound Profile
Frequency Response
Bass Amount
1.13 dB
-8.63 dB
Treble Amount
-1.04 dB
-1.09 dB
Frequency Response Consistency
9.6
5.9
Consistency L
Consistency R
Avg. Std. Deviation
0.09 dB
0.97 dB
Raw Frequency Response
Bass Accuracy
6.6
5.0
Std. Err.
5.48 dB
7.8 dB
Low-Frequency Extension
10 Hz
87.24 Hz
Low-Bass
3.73 dB
-16 dB
Mid-Bass
6.28 dB
-2.99 dB
High-Bass
7.23 dB
1.47 dB
Mid Accuracy
7.6
9.0
Std. Err.
3.17 dB
1.4 dB
Low-Mid
4.38 dB
0.3 dB
Mid-Mid
0.06 dB
-1.46 dB
High-Mid
2.42 dB
1.03 dB
Treble Accuracy
6.1
8.6
Std. Err.
5.59 dB
2.14 dB
Low-Treble
6.52 dB
-0.41 dB
Mid-Treble
1.44 dB
1.8 dB
High-Treble
-4.21 dB
-8.59 dB
Peaks/Dips
6.9
6.9
Peaks/Dips Graph
Peaks
1.95 dB
2.29 dB
Dips
1.69 dB
1.05 dB
Imaging
9.3
7.9
Phase Response Mismatch
Weighted Group Delay
0.18
0.28
Weighted Phase Mismatch
1.41
3.51
Weighted Amplitude Mismatch
0.09
1.58
Weighted Frequency Mismatch
1.08
2.83
Passive Soundstage
1.3
2.8
PRTF
PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.)
N/A
N/A
PRTF Size (Avg.)
N/A
N/A
PRTF Distance
N/A
N/A
Openness
3.8
9.5
Acoustic Space Excitation
1.9
3.1
Virtual Soundstage
0.0
0.0
Virtual Soundstage
Head Modeling
No
No
Speaker Modeling
No
No
Room Ambience
No
No
Head Tracking
No
No
Virtual Surround
No App
No App
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
8.2
8.9
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
WHD @ 90
0.195
0.102
WHD @ 100
0.083
0.054
Test Settings
Firmware
No Firmware
No Firmware
Power
Passive
Passive
Connection
Wired
Wired
Codec
PCM, 24-bit, 48kHz
PCM, 24-bit, 48kHz
EQ
No EQ
No EQ
ANC
No ANC
No ANC
Tip/Pad
Silicone (small)
Default
Microphone
No Microphone
In-line
Isolation
Noise Isolation
5.6
1.2
Noise Isolation
Isolation Audio
Overall Attenuation
-15.74 dB
-2.94 dB
Noise Cancelling
No
No
Bass
-2.38 dB
0 dB
Mid
-14.75 dB
1 dB
Treble
-31.24 dB
-9.53 dB
Leakage
8.3
7.3
Leakage Audio
Overall Leakage @ 1ft
31.59 dB
37.72 dB
Microphone
Microphone Style
Integrated
No
No
In-Line
No
Yes
Boom
No
No
Detachable Boom
No
No
Mic
No
Yes
Recording Quality
0.0
8.1
Microphone Frequency Response
Recorded Speech
N/A
LFE
N/A
285.09 Hz
FR Std. Dev.
N/A
2.54 dB
HFE
N/A
12,716.62 Hz
Weighted THD
N/A
0.401
Gain
N/A
16 dB
Noise Handling
0.0
6.9
SpNR
N/A
14.42 dB
Noise Gate
No
No
Speech + Pink Noise Handling
N/A
6.5
Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample
N/A
Speech + Subway Noise Handling
N/A
7.5
Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample
N/A
Active Features
Battery
0.0
0.0
Battery Type
No Battery
No Battery
Continuous Battery Life
N/A
N/A
Additional Charges
N/A
N/A
Total Battery Life
N/A
N/A
Charge Time
N/A
N/A
Power-Saving Feature
No
No
Audio While Charging
No
No
Passive Playback
Passive Headphone
Passive Headphone
Charging Port
None
None
App Support
0.0
0.0
App Picture
App Name
No App
No App
iOS
No
No
Android
No
No
macOS
No
No
Windows
No
No
Equalizer
No
No
ANC Control
No
No
Mic Control
No
No
Room Effects
No
No
Playback Control
No
No
Button Mapping
No
No
Surround Support
No
No
Connectivity
Bluetooth
0.0
0.0
Bluetooth Version
No Bluetooth
No Bluetooth
Multi-Device Pairing
No
No
NFC Pairing
No
No
Line Of Sight Range
N/A
N/A
PC Latency (SBC)
N/A
N/A
PC Latency (aptX)
N/A
N/A
PC Latency (aptX HD)
N/A
N/A
PC Latency (aptX-LL)
N/A
N/A
iOS Latency
N/A
N/A
Android Latency
N/A
N/A
Non-Bluetooth Wireless
0.0
0.0
Non-BT Line Of Sight Range
N/A
N/A
Non-BT Latency
N/A
N/A
Wired
9.5
9.0
Cable Picture
Analog Audio
Yes
Yes
USB Audio
No
No
Detachable
Yes
No
Length
4.00 ft (1.22 m)
3.73 ft (1.14 m)
Connection
1/8" TRS
1/8" TRRS
Analog/USB Audio Latency
0 ms
0 ms
PC Compatibility
Analog
Audio Only
Audio Only
Wired USB
No
No
Non-BT Wireless
No
No
PlayStation Compatibility
PS4 Analog
Audio Only
Audio Only
PS4 Wired USB
No
No
PS4 Non-BT Wireless
No
No
PS5 Analog
Audio Only
Audio Only
PS5 Wired USB
No
No
PS5 Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Xbox Compatibility
Xbox One Analog
Audio Only
Audio Only
Xbox One Wired USB
No
No
Xbox One Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Xbox Series X|S Analog
Audio Only
Audio Only
Xbox Series X|S Wired USB
No
No
Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless
No
No
Base/Dock
0.0
0.0
Type
No Base/Dock
No Base/Dock
USB Input
No
No
Line In
No
No
Line Out
No
No
Optical Input
No
No
RCA Input
No
No
Dock Charging
No
No
Power Supply
No Base/Dock
No Base/Dock
Check Price
Black, mic
ZST
Searching
Finding storeWhite
EarPods
Searching
Finding storeBlack, no mic
ZST
Searching
Finding storeWhite
EarPods
Searching
Finding storeColorful, mic
ZST
Searching
Finding storeWhite
EarPods
Searching
Finding storeColorful, no mic
ZST
Searching
Finding storeWhite
EarPods
Searching
Finding storeWhite
EarPods
Searching
Finding store
KZ ZST
Apple EarPods
Comments
Apple EarPods vs KZ ZST: Main Discussion
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