Reviews by Bacon_N_Cheese
Disclaimer:
KBEAR sent me a free pair of the Stellar for review. I am not affiliated in any way with KBear or any sellers.
Introduction
The appeal of earbuds over IEMs is that their standard design makes them 1) comfortable for most people, 2) open-back; letting the listener hear their surroundings and avoid microphonics, and 3) easy to take on and off. For these reasons, I enjoy earbuds for casual, quick listening where sound quality isn’t the priority; such as going for a quick walk or when I am in the room with someone who I may need to chat with occasionally.
The KBEAR Stellar are $5 on AliExpress, and comes with a pair of foam pads and a light gray storage pouch. The fit and comfort is standard compared to other earbuds.
Sound
At $5, it makes more sense to ask if the Stellars are enjoyable to listen to rather than critically listen and nitpick. When I think of cheap earbuds that are sold at gas stations and convenience stores, the defects are often noticeable enough that they obscure the enjoyment of the music. Although the Stellars still sound muffled (though less so than most other earbuds at this price-point), its warm, V-shaped sound signature brings enough bass, mids, soundstage, and detail to deliver an enjoyable experience. I am impressed that the Stellars sound “good enough” for $5.
Comparison to Yincrow X6
The Yincrow X6 is considered one of the best budget earbuds. The X6 has a more controlled, punchier bass. However, the mids on the X6 sound a little more muffled than the Stellar. The treble is about the same, with the treble of the Stellar being a little more boosted and slightly shrill at times. Frankly though, unless you are trying to nitpick differences, you will have largely the same listening experience on both earbuds. That is a compliment to the Stellar, since it manages to match the X6 at about half the price.
Conclusion
The KBEAR Stellar are solid sounding, cheap earbuds. Get them if you need a beater pair to throw in your car or bag.
KBEAR sent me a free pair of the Stellar for review. I am not affiliated in any way with KBear or any sellers.
Introduction
The appeal of earbuds over IEMs is that their standard design makes them 1) comfortable for most people, 2) open-back; letting the listener hear their surroundings and avoid microphonics, and 3) easy to take on and off. For these reasons, I enjoy earbuds for casual, quick listening where sound quality isn’t the priority; such as going for a quick walk or when I am in the room with someone who I may need to chat with occasionally.
The KBEAR Stellar are $5 on AliExpress, and comes with a pair of foam pads and a light gray storage pouch. The fit and comfort is standard compared to other earbuds.
Sound
At $5, it makes more sense to ask if the Stellars are enjoyable to listen to rather than critically listen and nitpick. When I think of cheap earbuds that are sold at gas stations and convenience stores, the defects are often noticeable enough that they obscure the enjoyment of the music. Although the Stellars still sound muffled (though less so than most other earbuds at this price-point), its warm, V-shaped sound signature brings enough bass, mids, soundstage, and detail to deliver an enjoyable experience. I am impressed that the Stellars sound “good enough” for $5.
Comparison to Yincrow X6
The Yincrow X6 is considered one of the best budget earbuds. The X6 has a more controlled, punchier bass. However, the mids on the X6 sound a little more muffled than the Stellar. The treble is about the same, with the treble of the Stellar being a little more boosted and slightly shrill at times. Frankly though, unless you are trying to nitpick differences, you will have largely the same listening experience on both earbuds. That is a compliment to the Stellar, since it manages to match the X6 at about half the price.
Conclusion
The KBEAR Stellar are solid sounding, cheap earbuds. Get them if you need a beater pair to throw in your car or bag.
Design and Fit
Etymotics are famous for their deep insertion IEMs, which provide the best isolations out of all IEMS. This comes at a cost of comfort for some individuals. However, I will say that for me and a few other individuals who tried my ER2XR, they fit surprisingly well and I was able to wear them for 1+hour without discomfort. The ER2XR comes with two sizes of triple flange eartips and foam eartips to help find the best fit. If the included tips do not work well, a lot of people have had good success with the more recent Etymotic double-flange tips.
The cable has some microphonics but the included shirt clip greatly reduces it. The included soft storage pouch is a great way to travel with the ER2XR. A small con is that the nozzles have plastic filters that eventually get clogged by earwax and moisture. Rather than being able to clean the filters like many other IEMs, they must be removed by the included filter removal tool that destroys the filters in the process of removal. Two extra filters are included, but replacement filters run at $12 for 4 filters on Amazon.
Sound
The ER2XR have a very clean, neutral sound that is highly detailed. Mids are fantastic, especially vocals. Listening to indie rock, jazz, and acoustical music with the ER2XR is very enjoyable as they create great instrument separation, detail, and clarity. I own the HE400i, FiiO FH3, Grado SR60, ATX MTH-50, and these IEMs beat them all when it comes to detail and clarity.
XR version is tuned with slightly more bass than the ER2SE variety, and gives music a good punch. If you love bass, stay away, as these will never give you thumping low-end. However, I am a big believer in “mental burn-in” and that our brain adjusts to the sound signature of our headphones. At first, I thought that electronic, R&B, rap, and other bass-heavy music sounded boring on the ER2XR. But after about a week of use, music that at first sounded quite boring in the low-end (Kendrick Lamar’s Damn and Grimes Miss Anthropocene for example) had more impact and felt “sufficient”, though never blew me away.
Soundstage is narrow and makes the music sound inside your head, although I didn’t find it to detract from the experience at all.
My biggest criticism with the sound is that they do have a bit of a clinical, cold sound to them that can be boring or that I am not always in the mood for. But, at the sub $250 price point, pretty much any pair of IEM is going to have weaknesses. The ER2XR sound fantastic for the price (often on sale between $60-$80 USD on sale) and excel in detail and the midrange.
Verdict
If you are looking to get a solid bang for your buck for a neutral IEM, the ER2XR is one of the best choices. I was able to score a pair for $60 on Amazon and, for that price, I cannot stop listening to these IEMs. Even though they have a clinical sound, I keep finding opportunities throughout the day to listen to them because the detail is just so darn great. If you can fit them comfortably and give some time to adjust to their sound, the ER2XR are addictive and a great entry-way IEM to get hooked into the audiophile world.
5/5
Etymotics are famous for their deep insertion IEMs, which provide the best isolations out of all IEMS. This comes at a cost of comfort for some individuals. However, I will say that for me and a few other individuals who tried my ER2XR, they fit surprisingly well and I was able to wear them for 1+hour without discomfort. The ER2XR comes with two sizes of triple flange eartips and foam eartips to help find the best fit. If the included tips do not work well, a lot of people have had good success with the more recent Etymotic double-flange tips.
The cable has some microphonics but the included shirt clip greatly reduces it. The included soft storage pouch is a great way to travel with the ER2XR. A small con is that the nozzles have plastic filters that eventually get clogged by earwax and moisture. Rather than being able to clean the filters like many other IEMs, they must be removed by the included filter removal tool that destroys the filters in the process of removal. Two extra filters are included, but replacement filters run at $12 for 4 filters on Amazon.
Sound
The ER2XR have a very clean, neutral sound that is highly detailed. Mids are fantastic, especially vocals. Listening to indie rock, jazz, and acoustical music with the ER2XR is very enjoyable as they create great instrument separation, detail, and clarity. I own the HE400i, FiiO FH3, Grado SR60, ATX MTH-50, and these IEMs beat them all when it comes to detail and clarity.
XR version is tuned with slightly more bass than the ER2SE variety, and gives music a good punch. If you love bass, stay away, as these will never give you thumping low-end. However, I am a big believer in “mental burn-in” and that our brain adjusts to the sound signature of our headphones. At first, I thought that electronic, R&B, rap, and other bass-heavy music sounded boring on the ER2XR. But after about a week of use, music that at first sounded quite boring in the low-end (Kendrick Lamar’s Damn and Grimes Miss Anthropocene for example) had more impact and felt “sufficient”, though never blew me away.
Soundstage is narrow and makes the music sound inside your head, although I didn’t find it to detract from the experience at all.
My biggest criticism with the sound is that they do have a bit of a clinical, cold sound to them that can be boring or that I am not always in the mood for. But, at the sub $250 price point, pretty much any pair of IEM is going to have weaknesses. The ER2XR sound fantastic for the price (often on sale between $60-$80 USD on sale) and excel in detail and the midrange.
Verdict
If you are looking to get a solid bang for your buck for a neutral IEM, the ER2XR is one of the best choices. I was able to score a pair for $60 on Amazon and, for that price, I cannot stop listening to these IEMs. Even though they have a clinical sound, I keep finding opportunities throughout the day to listen to them because the detail is just so darn great. If you can fit them comfortably and give some time to adjust to their sound, the ER2XR are addictive and a great entry-way IEM to get hooked into the audiophile world.
5/5
amanieux
for earth shaking sub bass is fiio fh3 your recommendation or is there something out there you prefer at sub $150 price point ?
Bacon_N_Cheese
amanieux--I haven't tried many iems at the sub $150 price point. I don't have the fh3s anymore but I remember them having fine sub bass but nothing I would call earth shaking. they were certainly a fun pair of earbuds though
They were tools, not iems