KZ ZST (2016) vs Tribit Flybuds C1

The KZ ZST (2016) is an example of a great In-Ear Monitor at its $20 budget.

In the case of the $59 Tribit Flybuds C1, however, we weren't able to find enough data to come to any reliable conclusions. If you're considering buying a In-Ear Monitor in the $40 range, we encourage you to take a look at some other options.

The KZ ZST (2016) was well-received by reviewers at headphonesaddict.com, a trustworthy source that performs unbiased hands-on testing. It did great in their "9 Best Earbuds under $30 - Wired & Wireless In-Ear Headphones" roundup - they named it their "Ranked 3 out of 9", which, by itself, suggests that it's a noteworthy product.

As for the Tribit Flybuds C1, it was really well-received by reviewers at CNET, a reliable source that's known for conducting its own, high-quality, in-depth testing. It performed great in its "Best headphones for graduation 2021" roundup and was named its "Ranked 2 out of 11", which, on its own, makes it a product that warrants a closer look.

We couldn't find any sources that tested both of these In-Ear Monitors, so we only analyzed how they performed in reviews from different sites.

We first examined which sources rated each of these best and found that the KZ ZST (2016) got its highest, 8, rating from Head-fi, while the Tribit Flybuds C1 earned its best, 9, score from nerdtechy.com.

Lastly, in order to better compare them to the rest of their competition, we averaged out their review scores. The Tribit Flybuds C1 managed to get 8.5 out of 10 - considerably better than the 7.7 review average of In-Ear Monitors in general - whereas the KZ ZST (2016) earned 7.1 points.

It should be said that doing a direct KZ ZST (2016) vs. Tribit Flybuds C1 comparison might not be entirely fair due to the difference in their prices - some sources don't put much weight on value for money and thus tend to give better review scores to more expensive products.