I'm late to the party with the KB Ear F1, so I'm just gonna go ahead and dive right in. Info about other stuff like specs and package inclusions should be available on other reviews posted by other members of Head-Fi.
The Good:
- Lightweight driver housing. Very unique design, too, and comes in a variety of colorways to choose from.
- Detachable/replaceable cables. This is always a plus for easy maintenance once the cables need replacement due to breakage or if it becomes too oxidized (which I'm guessing is most likely to happen with this type of cable).
The Bad:
- No "lip" on the nozzles, so the eartips can easily slip out. High chance of loosing eartips when using these as an everyday carry or for listening to music while sleeping. I recommend using eartips with narrow bores for better grip to compensate.
- The y-split on the included cable is located too far down, and there are no chin-sliders/keepers, which makes the cable prone to tangling.
- No way to repair anything on the housing. If a wire inside the housing becomes loosely connected for example (which is probably less likely to happen), or if either the nozzle or he female MMCX end gets broken, it will be really hard to do some first aid repairs for them.
- While I give my props to KB Ear for deciding to launch their line with an IEM with an original design, they need to work in the quality control of the construction of the housings. The female MMCX connector that is held by the resin mold on one of the IEMs is slightly skewed at an angle. Not exactly much of a big deal, but I just have to mention this and I hope KB Ear takes this as a constructive feedback.
The Ugly:
- Metallic treble, which also has sibilant tendencies. Cymbal tail-ends seem to be cut-off early, and can sound too congested at times. There's an obvious spike in the lower treble region, which can probably be fixed with a bit of manual equalization.
The Great:
- Plus points again for the original design of the housing.
- The versatile form factor of the housing makes it easily worn either on "cable-down" or "over-ear". I personally like wearing them with the cables over my ears as it makes for a good comfort and fit.
- A very "clean" overall sound signature. While the 1BA configuration shows it's weakness on the bass frequencies, it makes up with a clear presentation in the mid-range and lower-treble region. The F1 is definitely not an "all-rounder". While it is borderline bass-light, the bass-drops never clip nor distort when it tries to push it's limits to the single BA driver. The mid-bass is fast and punchy, never bleeding into the mids. I never sensed a "veil" in the sound presentation while using the F1. Bringing up the treble region again, I feel kinda conflicted. The spike in the lower treble region makes the overall sound as if it is an "analytical" IEM but the sibilant tendencies and metallic rendering can sometimes be bothersome. The perceived soundstage is actually pretty ok. I'll say this, soundstage and imaging greatly depends on how the song was recorded in the first place. I think the F1 is able to convey the illusion of a decent breadth of soundstage in it's presentation. Not bad for a single BA configuration. Not bad at all.
Some suggestions to improve your experience with the F1:
- The included set of eartips are not the best kind there is, but they're decent enough. However, I still suggest buying and using other eartips that are more comfortable for your ears.
- The stock cables are decent, too, for the price, but KB Ear also sells their own version of a 16-core configuration copper cable, which I highly recommend getting. It is less prone to tangling and seems to be more durable overall in comparison to the stock cables. Do note that the cables have ear-guides, but as you can see in the pic below, I have removed them because I like it that way. The cables also help in determining which side is which (Left or right side channels).
In conclusion, I can say that the F1 is a commendable and valiant attempt by KB Ear to put their name out there in the plethora of emerging Chinese brands in this scene and age of modern portable hi-fi. They haven't blown everyone else out of the water yet with the release of the F1, but they have the potential to get there, if they do well with their future releases.
The KB Ear KB06 is on it's way to me, too. Stay tuned.
KB Ear on Aliexpress:
https://www.aliexpress.com/store/5017064?spm=a2g0s.9042647.0.0.78114c4dmh62vH
KB Ear Official Group on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1839109692856710/
*The fine print:
A representative from KB Ear reached out to me a few months ago and offered to send to me a review unit of the KB Ear F1. I happily obliged. I did not received any monetary compensations, but I also did not have to return the review unit. Please take the opinions above as my own. Thanks for reading.
The Good:
- Lightweight driver housing. Very unique design, too, and comes in a variety of colorways to choose from.
- Detachable/replaceable cables. This is always a plus for easy maintenance once the cables need replacement due to breakage or if it becomes too oxidized (which I'm guessing is most likely to happen with this type of cable).
The Bad:
- No "lip" on the nozzles, so the eartips can easily slip out. High chance of loosing eartips when using these as an everyday carry or for listening to music while sleeping. I recommend using eartips with narrow bores for better grip to compensate.
- The y-split on the included cable is located too far down, and there are no chin-sliders/keepers, which makes the cable prone to tangling.
- No way to repair anything on the housing. If a wire inside the housing becomes loosely connected for example (which is probably less likely to happen), or if either the nozzle or he female MMCX end gets broken, it will be really hard to do some first aid repairs for them.
- While I give my props to KB Ear for deciding to launch their line with an IEM with an original design, they need to work in the quality control of the construction of the housings. The female MMCX connector that is held by the resin mold on one of the IEMs is slightly skewed at an angle. Not exactly much of a big deal, but I just have to mention this and I hope KB Ear takes this as a constructive feedback.
The Ugly:
- Metallic treble, which also has sibilant tendencies. Cymbal tail-ends seem to be cut-off early, and can sound too congested at times. There's an obvious spike in the lower treble region, which can probably be fixed with a bit of manual equalization.
The Great:
- Plus points again for the original design of the housing.
- The versatile form factor of the housing makes it easily worn either on "cable-down" or "over-ear". I personally like wearing them with the cables over my ears as it makes for a good comfort and fit.
- A very "clean" overall sound signature. While the 1BA configuration shows it's weakness on the bass frequencies, it makes up with a clear presentation in the mid-range and lower-treble region. The F1 is definitely not an "all-rounder". While it is borderline bass-light, the bass-drops never clip nor distort when it tries to push it's limits to the single BA driver. The mid-bass is fast and punchy, never bleeding into the mids. I never sensed a "veil" in the sound presentation while using the F1. Bringing up the treble region again, I feel kinda conflicted. The spike in the lower treble region makes the overall sound as if it is an "analytical" IEM but the sibilant tendencies and metallic rendering can sometimes be bothersome. The perceived soundstage is actually pretty ok. I'll say this, soundstage and imaging greatly depends on how the song was recorded in the first place. I think the F1 is able to convey the illusion of a decent breadth of soundstage in it's presentation. Not bad for a single BA configuration. Not bad at all.
Some suggestions to improve your experience with the F1:
- The included set of eartips are not the best kind there is, but they're decent enough. However, I still suggest buying and using other eartips that are more comfortable for your ears.
- The stock cables are decent, too, for the price, but KB Ear also sells their own version of a 16-core configuration copper cable, which I highly recommend getting. It is less prone to tangling and seems to be more durable overall in comparison to the stock cables. Do note that the cables have ear-guides, but as you can see in the pic below, I have removed them because I like it that way. The cables also help in determining which side is which (Left or right side channels).
In conclusion, I can say that the F1 is a commendable and valiant attempt by KB Ear to put their name out there in the plethora of emerging Chinese brands in this scene and age of modern portable hi-fi. They haven't blown everyone else out of the water yet with the release of the F1, but they have the potential to get there, if they do well with their future releases.
The KB Ear KB06 is on it's way to me, too. Stay tuned.
KB Ear on Aliexpress:
https://www.aliexpress.com/store/5017064?spm=a2g0s.9042647.0.0.78114c4dmh62vH
KB Ear Official Group on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1839109692856710/
*The fine print:
A representative from KB Ear reached out to me a few months ago and offered to send to me a review unit of the KB Ear F1. I happily obliged. I did not received any monetary compensations, but I also did not have to return the review unit. Please take the opinions above as my own. Thanks for reading.