Crosszone CZ-10 Enhanced HIFI Headphones – Atmospheric Sonic Field Localization
Crosszone CZ-10 Enhanced is a $995 USD pair of over-the-ear headphones made with the aim of creating the most pleasing sound and tuning, with a wide and natural soundstage, and they are a retuning of the original CZ-10, the enhanced version aiming to deliver a better sonic quality. Today we will review the new CZ-10 Enhanced and compare it to Crosszone CZ-10 (900 USD), as well as Focal Bathys (699 USD), HIFIMAN Arya Organic (1299 USD), Sennheiser HD 660S2 (599 USD), and Meze 109 PRO (799 USD).
Introduction
Crosszone is a hifi boutique headphone designer and manufacturer from Japan, developer of new technologies, including their own multi-driver array to create the most open and detailed soundstage and a natural, fatigue-free sound. Crosszone products are built like tanks, they’re made to survive years of usage, and although they are somewhat hard to purchase in the USA and Europe, MuSon Project and Crosszone are doing active efforts to bring them to a more open market, and new headphone shops are adopting them in their product selection, especially as Crosszone products are some of the most popular boutique options, having been stars at High-End Muniuch this year. As an Amazon Influencer, I earn from qualifying purchases, and using the purchase links in my reviews helps me maintain this website and Youtube Channel. I thank MuSon Project and Crosszone for providing the sample for this review, in exchange for my honest opinion.
PROs – Lush, warm, thick and dynamic sound. Comfort is excellent, while the cable is basic, but does the job well, with options for balanced cables available for purchase from the company. The widest, most airy soundstage available in the price range, and basically a really atmospheric, holographic and natural sound. Smooth treble that is relaxing and never offends, but a detailed midrange that draws out both detail and micro detail well.
Cons – Extremely dependent on source to sound good, tuning and performance changes a lot with source, no balanced cable in the default package.
Product Link
You can grab one here – https://amzn.to/3WYXNZj
Build Quality/Aesthetics/Fit/Comfort
Besides the “enhanced” sticker that can be found on the inside of the right side of the earpad, the Enhanced version is exactly the same as the original Crosszone CZ-10, and this is actually a great thing, as the original was one of the most comfortable, best received headphones ever designed.
To recap on the subjective part of the usage, Crosszone CZ-10 Enhanced is a comfortable headphone that provides a medium amount of passive noise isolation and is semi open, so part of what you’re listening to will bleed into the outside, but it won’t be as if you were using open-back headphones. Crosszone includes soft and dense earpads that offer excellent comfort, and the default cable is very basic, but there are balanced and high-end options available from their store.
This is something to take into account, because CZ-10 Enhanced uses a 4-Pole headphone connector at the headphone side, as it feeds all the signal into each cup, both left and right channels, and both their + and – poles. Using a complex internal crossover circuit, CZ-10 Enhanced achieves soundstage and sonics impossible with traditional designs, so the most important aspect is to hear what it actually sounds like.
To feed the new CZ-10 Enhanced I have used a different set of sources compared to the original CZ-10, so this time around I paired it with iBasso D16, Burson PlayMate 2, Shanling H2, HIFIMAN Serenade, Topping A50 III driven by Topping D50 III, Shanling Onix Alpha Xi1, and even iFi Zen DAC 3. CZ-10 Enhanced requires a source with strong power, good detail and a wide soundstage to really achieve their best sound, and generally I like the sound the most when combining the CZ-10 Enhanced with stronger amplifiers, despite the headphones not being very hard to drive. You will not notice the noise floor with any of the AMPs, and with an impedance of 75 OHM, and a SPL of 99 dB, you can see that low power sources will struggle, and the same can be said about OTL Tube AMPs, as CZ-10 Enhanced needs that extra bit of power to really shine. My all-time fvorite pairing is driving the CZ-10 Enhanced from iBasso D16 and iBasso PB5 as the DAC and AMP for it.
Sound Quality
Overall Signature – CZ-10 Enhanced, like every other Crosszone headphone will change its signature and tuning heavily when changing the source, and is extremely source depending for getting a pleasing sound, but when driven from my favorite pairing, namely iBasso D16 with PB5 as the Tube AMP, the sound is incredibly detailed, dynamic and punchy, wide, colorful and holographic. CZ-10 Enhanced is one of the headphones that sounds best at medium and high volumes, where they paint a vivid, clear image of the song that is being played, having an extreme level of resolution and detail, punch and impact. While the Enhanced is a full retuning of the original, I have the original too, and both are impressive, but the Enhanced variant shows more bass, better contrast, more depth and a warmer, smoother, fuller sound.
Bass – If you love a thick, fat, sloppy and full sounding bass, Crosszone CZ-10 Enhanced is your guy to please, even the neediest and most dedicated bass lover, they present the fullest, deepest and most luscious sound. Bass extends down to 20 Hz, but most energy is around 50 Hz, where they keep a quick punch, while the sub bass is slow, sloppy and delivers a deep ruble. Music has a thick body, lush presentation and the midrange is warm, with a strong bloom and bass overtone. The bass gets tighter and more balanced at higher volumes, there’s a tighter control and a tighter impact, while at low volumes, bass takes over the central part of the sound, is rich and plentiful, at higher volumes, the midrange and treble getting louder and taking back the spotlight in most music. I actually got literally scared and had a rush of adrenaline while starting the Bury a Friend song from Billy Eyelash, that is how quiet the background noise level is and how strong the bass is. I can feel the whole headphone vibrating on my head, making my entire head vibrate, at very loud volumes, it is impressive.
Midrange – A sweet, lush and rich midrange defines the sound of CZ-10 Enhanced, and this is the headphone that defines what the widest and most atmospheric soundstage is in the price range. The whole point of Crosszone headphones is to create the most natural, open and atmospheric soundstage possible, and for this the company employs a complex crossover, feeds both channels in each ear cup, and uses multiple drivers. The result is brilliant, each song has its own size and space, the headphones reproduce psychoacoustics perfectly, they can create wide, everlasting wide soundstages, but also bring voices intimately close to you, and music that’s recorded, mixed and mastered tight and close will sound as such. Basically, CZ-10 Enhanced reacts a lot to space, width and depth in music, and emphasizes it greatly. Creating what I consider to be madly impressive in spacing.
Treble – To create a rather pleasing sound that’s easy to enjoy, CZ-10 Enhanced has a smooth, relaxed treble, which is never aggressive but has the proper extension up to 20 kHz, showing it as a softly rolled off, smooth and relaxed treble. Except for the most aggressive rock and metal, music is lean and gentle, relaxed and pleasing, with very little edge and aggressiveness, the soundstage also happening in the midrange rather than the treble and sharp reflections in the highs. While the treble is not the central element of the sound, it ties together the bass and the midrange, offering contrast and extension for music to play.
Dynamics / PRaT / Textures – When properly amplified and driven, CZ-10 enhanced is one of the most dynamic, punchiest sounding headphones, but textures are very smooth, lean and relaxed, allowing you to push the volume as much as you may need, without ever getting fatiguing. Even trumpets, or square waves from synths are relaxed, lack edge and harshness. If you like strong dynamics and punchiness, but want a sound that’s always pleasing and fatigue-free, it will deliver.
Soundstage – The soundstage is one of the most evident defining elements from CZ-10 Enhanced, but I know it hijacked even the midrange part of the review, so it is good to mention that instrument separation is natural. CZ-10 Enhanced sounds very much like a pair of speakers, or like if music was playing right in the same room, instrument separation is not forced, instruments blend nicely together, allowed to intertwine and interact. This can, at first, feel like lack of definition, but after around 10 minutes, the sound becomes considerably more natural, instruments and sound makes far more sense than when sound is forcefully cut apart and forced to be different for each instrument.
Volume Control – Crosszone generally has a low distortion, but CZ-10 Enhanced has one of the lowest distortions I’ve heard with a headphone, and even over 115 dB, you will hear music stay controlled, tight and clean with zero distortion. At lower volumes, sound is warmer, thicker and bloomier, while at high and very high volumes, the tuning is more balanced, cleaner and presents music with more sub-bass body and impact. A good source is essential, and how good the volume control is at the source level is more important here, as CZ-10 Enhanced doesn’t degrade at higher volumes, and can keep up with your music, regardless how loud, punchy and downright insane it may be.
Comparisons
Crosszone CZ-10 Enhanced vs Sennheiser HD 660S2 (995 USD vs 599 USD)
Build – The build quality of CZ-10 Enhanced is quite a bit higher, with better materials used in the build, better comfort. HD 660S2 is much tighter on the head and can creak and squeak at times, especially after longer usage, while CZ-10 enhanced has thicker, denser earpads, headband, and generally feels better on my head. While 660S2 is open-back, CZ-10 Enhanced is semi open, so both leak quite a bit of sound to the outside. 660S2 leaks far more, and the leaked sound is much louder, and they do not isolate at all, while CZ-10 Enhanced has a mild passive noise isolation effect. Both headphones are hard to drive, but the trick is that HD660s2 eats a lot of power, and will sound excellent with all sources that have a lot of power, while CZ-10 Enhanced pairs especially well with some sources, and really poorly with others, and experimentation is key with it.
Sound – Sonically, HD 660 S2 sounds natural right away, being clean, vivid, detailed and sharp, with a dynamic and punchy sound, neutral bass and a bit of grain in all frequencies. By contrast, CZ-10 Enhanced sounds smooth, rich, detailed, lush and has a much bigger, more powerful bass, stronger impact, more sub-bass presence and better low-end extension in general. The midrange of HD660S2 is a bit grainy, but natural in tonality and tuning, while the midrange of CZ-10 Enhanced has a slightly plasticky sound, requires a few minutes to get used to, and it sounds richer, wider and more holographic once you get used to the tuning. In fact, the sound of HD660s2 is never that wide and holographic, instead it focuses on the imaging and separation, both of which are also stronger on the CZ-10 Enhanced. The treble of Hd660 s2 is sharp, a bit grainy and a bit on the metallic side, while CZ-10 Enhanced has a smooth, rich, refined, lush and clean treble that always sounds relaxed and gentle.
Crosszone CZ-10 Enhanced vs Meze 109 PRO (995 USD vs 799 USD)
Build – Finally a worthy opponent, I thought, as 109 PRO is well made, has harder and thicker earpads, but is not exceedingly heavy. Both headphones are made really well, with a similar weight and craftsmanship level, but Meze uses metal and wood in the build of their 109 PRO, while Crosszone uses magnesium and plastic to make the CZ-10 Enhanced. The result is that we have two comfortable, high quality headphones, with 109 PRO isolating much less and having more leakage of the sound while CZ-10 Enhanced isolates more and leaks less than 109 PRO. It is much easier to drive the 109 PRO and find a good pairing for it, while CZ-10 Enhanced really shines when it is paired with the correct source.
Sound – Sonically, CZ-10 Enhanced is detailed, full, lush, rich and deep sounding, while 109 PRO sounds V-Shaped, impactful, colorful and more natural in the midrange. It takes some time to get adjusted to the tuning of CZ-10 Enhanced, but 109 PRO sounds natural, clean and detailed right away. The bass is powerful and punchy with both, 109 PRO having a more airy, typical of open-back designs bass, while CZ-10 Enhanced has that punchy, lush and rich semi-open bass that delivers more blow and rumble, deep bass and richness for all music. The midrange is more natural on 109 PRO right away, but also more metallic, especially in the upper midrange, where CZ-10 Enhanced sounds smoother, leaner and gentler, with a richer and more refined musical note presentation. The treble is quite metallic, sharp and bright on 109 PRO, to the point where it can easily be fatiguing with the right or the wrong music, while CZ-10 Enhanced has a refined, smooth, silky and rich sounding treble that’s never fatiguing or forced. The soundstage is the biggest difference, as CZ-10 Enhanced sounds much wider, more holographic and has better imaging, while 109 PRO has a more natural sound, but not quite as wide and open as CZ-10 Enhanced.
Crosszone CZ-10 Enhanced vs Focal Bathys (995 USD vs 699 USD)
Build – There is a big difference in the build quality between Focal Bathys and Crosszone CZ-10 Enhanced. While Bathys is almost as heavy, it still has a bit of creak and squeak when you flex them, while CZ-10 Enhanced is rock solid. As Focal insisted on having all the sound of Bathys go through the AMP, and they cannot work without a battery, this means that the sound inherits the THD and noise of the AMP, so no source will make them sound better than they do over the Bluetooth connection, while CZ-10 Enhanced is boundless in how much it can scale with a really good source, the best source in my experience so far being a combo of iBasso D16 and PB5. The comfort is higher with Crosszone CZ-10 Enhanced, as they have thicker earpads, thicker headband, softer ear pads and headband, lighter construction and better ergonomics. Bathys isolates more from the outside noise and leaks less, while the semi open design of CZ-10 Enhanced leaks more and isolates less.
Sound – Sonically, CZ-10 Enhanced is more powerful, deeper, richer and more lush sounding. Bathys has a natural midrange, and a clean V-Shaped signature, but the bass quality of CZ-10 Enhanced far exceeds the bass quality and resolution of the Bathys, as they have a much higher THD, which becomes audible at higher volumes. Bathys sounds refined and organic at medium and low volumes, but CZ-10 Enhanced is far more detailed, has better soundstage, a wider, more holographic imaging and much better impact at medium and high volumes. If used correctly, Bathys will roll off the treble, cutting resolution and detail in the process, while CZ-10 Enhanced allows the treble to breathe, has full extension and air, but in a refined, high-end and airy presentation. Overall, CZ-10 enhanced takes some time to get used to, around 10 – 20 minutes, but once your mind adjusts to the sound, they are far more revealing, richer, lusher, a deeper sounding and the sound is technically better, with a lower distortion and improved attack, making Bathys sound slow and laggy in comparison.
Crosszone CZ-10 Enhanced vs HIFIMAN Arya Organic (995 USD vs 1299 USD)
Build – CZ-10 Enhanced has a sturdier design, but is also quite a bit heavier than Arya Organic, having less space for my ears, softer and denser earpads, but also a slightly heavier perceived weight on my head. While Arya Organic is fully open back, and you get almost no passive noise isolation, with crosszone CZ-10 Enhanced you get a fairly good passive noise isolation, although both leak almost equally. It is much easier to find a good source for driving Arya Organic, they are not as picky, nor as hard to match or drive as CZ-10 Enhanced, but this also means that CZ-10 Enhanced scales much more with the source.
Sound – Sonically, Arya Organic sounds natural right away, from the first second you place them on your head. By contrast, CZ-10 Enhanced takes 10-20 minutes to get used to before your brain finds their tuning and signature as natural. The bass of CZ-10 Enhanced is more abundant, deeper and smoother, fuller and delivers more impact, while the bass of Arya Organic is slower in speed, airier and more open, sounding closer to what an acoustic experience is like. The midrange is more natural on Arya Organic, while it is far more colored and wider, more spatially extended on CZ-10 Enhanced. The treble of Arya Organic is perfectly natural, sharp, brilliant and has a good shimmer, while the treble of CZ-10 Enhanced is rich, smooth and fatigue-free. It is much easier to purchase balanced cables and aftermarket cables for Arya Organic, and for crosszone, only the parent company makes them at the moment.
Value and Conclusion
Crosszone has been in business for a long time now, and they are always present at shows and hifi conventions, allowing you to sample their headphones, get a good listen at their products, and learn which sounds best to your ears. CZ-10 Enhanced is a refinement of the original CZ-10, and an excellent headphone through and through. As Crosszone doesn’t sell in large numbers and is a boutique company, you can argue that the value is that of a premium product, although the actual technical performance is up there with the strongest competitors in the price range. The only thing keeping the CZ-10 Enhanced back in achieving a higher price / performance ratio is the package, as for example by default you receive them with Single Ended cables, and no transport case.
With that out of the way, Crosszone CZ-10 Enhanced is currently one of my favorite headphones when it comes to achieving a unique tuning, colored but cheerful, a wide soundstage, and excellent instrument separation. For those times when I simply can’t blast music in an open-back headphone, and when I need an extra bit of passive noise isolation, CZ-10 Enhanced delivers all the performance I need, bass extension and punch that I crave, along with the resolution and technical edge to satisfy my curiosity for music.
Product Link
You can grab one here – https://amzn.to/3WYXNZj
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Full Playlist used for this review
We listened to more songs than those named in this playlist, but those are excellent for identifying a sonic signature. I recommend trying most of the songs from this playlist, especially if you’re searching for new music! The playlists are different for Spotify, Tidal and Youtube, and based on the songs I enjoy and are available on each!
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_cjBXGmwSHSdGcwuc_bKbBDGHL4QvYBu
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5J3oloz8Riy9LxEGenOjQ0?si=979ba4f082414be7
https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/330fd544-8e5b-4839-bd35-676b2edbb3d5
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