KBEAR Believe

KBEAR BELIEVE-
KBear has been pretty much known for their Kbear diamond iem which has got great reviews too!!! I use their cables a lot too and they are decent for their price !! Since I know the tuner for believe personally, hence I bought a unit to check what's the hype and how much has he succeeded !!

DISCLAIMER- I ain’t a reviewer or an audiophile , just an music lover !! I wasn’t sent a sample of Believe, I paid for it – then sold it later on for buying something else and regretted it since it went out of production

The second unit that I got was courtesy of HIFIGO since I wanted to have a listen one more time to the classical laid back sound and also as I had more experience with iems, I wanted to see if I change my thoughts!!! Hence, I wanna thank HIFIGO for letting me to have another go at it!! Here’s the link here(not affiliated ofcourse )

I might get the instruments name wrong but I have heard a lot of them during the college and school days but never bothered to get their names I just loved listening to them!

And lastly – if I make grammar mistakes forgive me

UNBOXING EXPERIENCE
On seeing the outer BOX- they look great!! It took me a solid hour before I started opening the box (it was Hifiman Sundara on my head & I was listening to a symphony) and me just like a painter appreciating others painting- I was appreciating the box and how wonderfully it’s made ( I wasn’t drunk , I came home tired and rather heavy work day so I was admiring )

Opening it , was not let’s say as good as Apple or OnePlus or even my LG phones the outer box didn’t slide off so I gave it a push !! And it came out
The inner box though slid off albeit not too smoothly but then again it felt so good and here came the presentation !!!
KBear, you guys just outdid yourselves here!!! You are so much better than the half-eaten Apple and you decked me with accessories too


Then came the iems , the multiple tips and the cable wow !!! And then the iem carrying case (seemed like synthetic leather) but man it feels so nice, wonderful work here

BUILD AND FIT
KBear Believe first time holding it, I felt the dense weight, it’s heavy (comparing to the likes of kanas pro), solid and wonderful looking, beautiful plates!!
Fit was really good for me and it just went in nicely !!! The stock tips are pretty good and you can definitely use it…

CABLES-
Now the cables are pretty good fit their price!!! Non microphonic and has a supple feel. It's thick but doesn't have any option for adapter or to get the stock cable in any balanced form...

SOUND IMPRESSIONS- Note this is entirely subjective and your experience might differ from me !!!

Now remember this was me reviewing it for the first time… so cut me some slack

1) ACDC-Thunderstruck: at 1:51sec – the drum beats differentiate and the second hit has an bass extension (sub bass rumble)
Now with Kbear Believe , the bass extension is there but not much profound but it ain’t much clear too with my LG G8X..
Now here comes the amping magic – The sub bass extension extends more, becomes clearer and damn the 2 beats even though milliseconds apart can be felt distinctively .

Amping of choice in decreasing order – Topping d50 with a30s (Burson v5i opamp modded ) > xduoo xd05 basic (Burson v5i opamp modded) > Fiio BTR5 balanced > Fiio BTR5 SE (RCA out to topping a30 ) ~ LG G8X (RCA out to topping a30) > My LG G8X

I would also like to say here that instrument separation is right at point in this and I don’t seem to find any congestion at all The timbre is average but not too shabby at this price range!!! The tonality is pretty good.

Notes do extend well but mids and others instruments are very laid back so having that emotional feel but not that energy !!! It’s a V shaped iem for sure!!!

2) Kaneda- by Geinoh Yamashirogumi – at 1:36sec -the separation, resolution and imaging ohh darn, this Believe made me BELIEVE similar to when I heard the Sundara for the first fking time !!!

3) like you know – Fat Larry’s band (hehe get it , Sir Larry aka the tuner!!! is in there ) – the trumpets , the drums – ouuu -an amalgam of bass
Believe just separates them, so nicely with more power( amping just like before) but don’t get me wrong it’s still good with just my phone too and the trumpets ( I think that’s what the instrument is called ) at 3:12sec with the drums and the bass guitar at the back – OMG pure bliss
The bass had a nice body here and it didn’t interfere with vocals so Believe
The bass had good punch but not a great body to accompany it , Subbass was decent enough to have a rumble but not too much tomove you !!!

The decreasing order of preference with more amping remains true !!

4) Dream Theater – the best of times ( black clouds and silver linings album) be ready for “the nun hiding in the background with guitar “ at 2:46 sec—coming right at you
Here I was checking for treble response with guitars and let me just say it – “ ooouu la la la “ – It’s clear , accurate , sparkly but not too sharp ( for a reference in the property of sharpness – it’s less than Hifiman Sundara and may be same as Kanas pro will update once I get it back ) and man it’s so engaging ,something I missed !!!

The treble is well extended and did have enough energy !!! What it lacks is in the notes microdetails which doesn’t come through much. The electric guitars have decent timbre and tonality but energy is lacking s bit!! There is though his dynamics and it a pretty good difference that can be easily noticed if you look at the notes height differences between different instruments…

Amping didn’t help much here except make it a bit airier and more separated!! It is difficult for my novice ears to come to a proper conclusion about this though (but it might just as good or maybe better than kanas pro will update by A/B between them)

5) Come together – the abbey road – The Beatles – ohh my from the beginning , the bass guitar.
Just wow, the band outdid themselves here!!

I found the bass from the bass guitar rather right on point with good extension and string distinction enough to get me to listen to the song 4 times

But yeah similar story continues for the Amping part

6) Diana Krall – The girl in the other room – album the girl in the other room & Must be desire – Mojo Juju
- for female vocals and separation from bass guitars!!

It’s clear as day here that the bass separation even though present, is slightly saying “Touché” to the Mids. But but but it’s with my LG G8X.

Coming to the Amping side if the story – you can literally tasteor rather hear the difference between them be clear, as sour is from sweet!! Female vocals sound pretty great per se , they are well balanced. Not a hint of sibliance at all. They are well extended with air in their voice which comes through pretty nicely!!

7) King- Lauren aquila & Hello – Adele & Sway – Diana Krall – lovely ladies and lovely songs – Female Vocals mostly – wew, these ladies have already taken my heart, what more do they want !!
Believe here makes them sound-Just WOW!! (period)

8) Kiss from a rose – Seal & Where did you sleep last night – Nirvana (MTV UNPLUGGED) & Sweet child of mine – Gun’s And Roses – Male Vocals – They sound like a Man should and damn I feel sad that my voice AINT like that Forgetting that , the male vocals had good extension and it’s not lush per se but it’s thick and does a good job!! It's not grainy either or boxy which is a great thing !!!
Believe here does an excellent job for its price!!!

9) Night torch – Denzel Moiz -for the excellent violin (correct me on this instrument please) play at start, I just love that part and then the slow dub step /EDM – I really wasn’t expecting this but it was really great on EDM—a relaxing and engaging type though!! But don’t get me wrong it was NOT slow , it was fast and accurate with the beats !! It was not congested either. The instruments notes had enough timbre to make it feel natural but the energy seemed a bit less ALWAYS.

10) Mozart Garett and Violin concerto No.4- David Garrett – Mozart moods – Believe made every violin proud pretty much!! And damn the concert I wish I could see one in real life one day

The positioning of the instruments were decent!!! They did have a diffuse area of presentation but the timbre and tonality with air around then made it much easier to identify stuff…The depth was good , it was wide but not tall in sounstage!!! The separation is great but too busy passages tends to get a little dicey here !!!

11) Bohemian rhapsody – Queen original soundtrack – I went for this for the piano and drums combo and ohh I loved it
Believe really works wonders here and amping story remains the same!!!

12) Rap God – Eminem (he is a god of rap pretty much) – I could distinguish him and the music going behind and the lyrics!! But still his rap, makes me so hooked up I went on to listen to Airplanes part 2 and some more songs!! This doesn’t happen with tint2plus or any other iems except BLON 03 and hence Believe is pretty good

The music is well felt in the background and every words coming out of him was just so way to identify , that it was the first time after trying out audiophile stuff I was glad to come to this hobby !!!

So all in all let’s summarise -
This is an all-around musical, laid back and kinda analytical iem , you would just engorge yourself in music and forget what’s going on in the entire world. It’s costly at what price it’s is going on, but it will grow on you slowly and surely…The staging and laid back experience with good mids presentation in V shaped iem is a rarity and this even after trying so many iems still gets my recommendation if you can buy one now (out of production but that means price will be less for who is selling it )

COMPARISON
SPRING 2
Better taller stage
Better extended treble
Better Subbass
Better micro-details
Better female vocals
More energy in mids
Better separation
BELIEVE
Wide stage
More mid-bass punch
More laid back and longer listening experience
Better imaging
Smoother treble

INTRODUCTION:

KB-Ear is a major game player in the chi-fi industry earphones market producing a lot of audio gears ranging from budget range to the high end stuff including earphones and cables. Their recent flagship variant is the BELIEVE model which looks similar to the Diamond model which launched a few months back. I reviewed the diamond a few days back and I really loved its sound for the price, it had a nice timbre with good bass response. The internals are completely changed now, adopting the new BERYLLIUM diaphragm imported from Japan for delivering outstanding sound quality. In this review let’s see whether Believe really lives up to the Beryllium sound signature.

NOTE: Now BELIEVE has been discontinued by the KB-Ear due to the resource constraints and currently not available for sale in the market.



DISCLAIMER:

This unit has been provided by the HIFIGO team as I’m being part of the HIFIGO review circle. This review is completely based on my opinion and I’m not influenced by any person to manipulate the review. Thanks to Pulkit Chugh for taking me in this review circle and the HIFIGO team for arranging this review circle. This review is completely subjective and it’s based on my sources and experience with IEM’S with similar configuration.

SPECIFICATIONS:

Unit: 9mm Pure Beryllium Diaphragm Dynamic Driver (Imported from Japan)

Cable: 4 strands of 6n single crystal copper Litz

Interface: 2 Pin 0.78mm

Plug: 3.5mm

Frequency Response Range: 20Hz-20 KHz

Sensitivity: 98Db

Impedance: 17 ohms

Color: Black with blue

DESIGN:

The design is similar to that of the Diamond but now it is slim. Now the earpieces got slimmer with reduced weight and the total profile got lean. It still got the gradient carbon fiber panel with the brand logo on it. The theme is based on the Sea where the faceplate has blue stripes resembling the waves and nature. The shell is made of aluminum cavity with five axis CNC aviation technology. This technology effectively suppresses the resonance and enhances the sound cohesion



The front and rear chamber balance pressure relief technology has been implemented to ensure a distorted sound output yet maintaining the natural sound output since the beryllium diaphragm is extremely light.

The nozzle is of medium length and gold plated with wide enough apertures covered with mesh. The whole shell is matt finished hence no more fingerprints. The cable is really nice and thankfully they don’t get tangled! The color is nice with a supple texture. The 4 core looks good; I would have appreciated it if they had provided 6 or 8 cores since the lower priced diamond comes with even nicer textured cable. The ear guides are soft and nice. Thankfully they went with the 2 Pin and not the troublesome MMCX.



FIT:

The fit is nice overall, the kb-ear team claims that their design isolates up to -26db which is quite nice. They fit well with decent isolation and with perfect ear tips you can get a nice fit in your ears. I found a perfect fit with the L size ear tips since my ears are big.

SOUND:

Sources: iPhone, FiiO Q3, Apple Lightning to 3.5mm dongle

The overall sound output is slightly U shaped with excellent bass extension and smooth yet detailed treble. The mids are placed forward with nice engaging vocals. They are quite energetic in sound output. There is a slight hint of sibilance which is like genre specific especially female vocals but not troublesome or fatiguing. In fact this is one of the best non fatiguing earphones I have tested.

This is quite power hungry hence a nice portable DAC amp is required to unleash the full potential of it. I have used the FiiO Q3 in this review hence the sound may vary with the sources.

BASS:

Nothing short of extraordinary! I just love the bass in it. Most of the bass head earphones lack in the resolution department even though they have a larger quantity of bass. This Believe has an adequate amount of Bass with nice resolution, separation, texture, quality etc. The separation and resolution are the biggest aspects of this earphone. They sound expansive with nice layering in the background.

1. WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WHEN YOU ARE NOT SAVING THE WORLD – HANS ZIMMER

What an experience listening to this! This track just sounds amazing in the Believe. Those sub bass kicks are pretty awesome. Most of the earphones I have tested struggle to get a separation between those sub bass kicks and the mid bass kicks but this one just easily clears it. The resolution is excellent. At 1:45 see the separation this will just blow away your mind. 2:22 will just create goose bumps all over your body because of that separation and resolution you are going to experience. At 4:37 the separation will just make you stunned.

1. INSTANT CRUSH – DAFT PUNK

Those starting drum beats kick nicely with a nice impact. When the vocals start they are clearly separated out with forward placement. There is no mid bass bleed and hence the resolving factor is 10/10. At 1:27 those sub bass kicks are nothing short of wonderful.

1. FLIGHT – HANS ZIMMER

I mostly use the Hans Zimmer tracks to test the sub bass because they have nice impact and attack. BELIEVE just stole my heart. At 1:31 the sub bass and the mid bass are separated nicely with superb resolution. At 1:52 I always look for that skull rattling subtle rumble when testing out all the earphones and this BELIEVE gave me that subtle rumble at ease.

1. EVEN HEAVEN – AIMER

This is amazing! At the start of the track the low end kicks are very nice and addictive. The sub bass extension is fantastic, the rumble just rattles your skull and I literally rewind that section to feel the rattle in my head! The mid bass and sub bass separation is in a different league.

In precise words the bass is attacking, resolving, detailed, controlled with excellent separation and textured response. 10/10 for bass



MIDS:

The mids are placed slightly laidback since it adopts a U shaped sound signature. The vocals are nice and crisp with good enough details in the mid section. The drums, strings and background instruments are well layered and have nice space between the instruments. Both the male and female vocals sound nice with a little bit of warmth. Since there is no mid bass bleed the vocals sound very clear and separated from the background instruments.

1. SULTANS OF SWING – DIRE STRAITS

This is kind of a complex track where a lot of instruments are in the background. Even in this track the BELIEVE does a good job by bringing out the vocals as natural as possible by maintaining the natural tonality and separated from the cluster of instruments. All the three frequencies are represented clearly without mingling anything.

The coherency of the sound is amazing in the Believe and that’s the thing I always like in the single DD iem’s because they never fail to do that. Believe does a good job in bringing all the frequencies in a single motion and it’s a pleasant treat to the ears.

1. WHEN YOU SAY NOTHING AT ALL – SUSAN WONG

The guitars are portrayed very well in the background. Susan's vocals just shine! It Sounds very smooth and nice. The guitar strings are separated out well from the vocals. At 2:00 when both the male and female vocals strike they sound coherent and under control. The layering and the soundstage is impressive in this track when listening via the Believe.

In precise words the mid section of Believe is slightly laidback giving a nice sense of wider soundstage and is very spacious in between the instruments. They sound very coherent and natural. The timbre and tonality are brought out excellent.

1. CAPSIZE – FRENSHIP

The female vocals sounded precisely well with no hint of harshness. The high end also sounded very open and spacious. The details are good with nice extensions.



TREBLE:

The treble is neatly extended with nice detail retrieval and resolution. There is nearly null sibilance observed and in rare cases they feel sharp in certain female vocals. The brilliance is tuned to perfection and that’s the magic of single DD’s. They give that coherent sound better than the hybrids. The high notes sound natural and no harshness is observed for the most part.

1. OUT FOR BLOOD – SUM 41

This track is kind of a rock/metal based genre and good for testing out the harshness and sibilance since a lot of electric guitars are played here. Believe has nice texture and resolution in the treble region and this track shows it. The complex guitar strings are nicely separated out without losing the detail. When the vocals start to cry out loud they are still under control and never disturbed the listening experience. Overall they have a nice extended treble region with excellent resolution and separation.

1. SHOOTING STAR – ANNA YVETTE

In this track the vocals normally appear sharp and it’s a good one to test out the sibilance. Believe easily passed this test and sounded nice and smooth. There is a bit of sibilance when the vocals really cry out loud but for the remaining part they sound nice.

1. MR.BRIGHTSIDE – THE KILLERS

This is a very complex track where a lot of instruments are placed in the background. Most of the earphones struggle to portray them clearly and even cause harshness but Believe is able to deliver them precisely and smoothly.

In precise words the treble is well extended, detailed, slight sibilant with specific genres which also adds a lot of brilliance in the top end which gives nice sparkle.



SOUNDSTAGE AND IMAGING:

The soundstage is pretty wide and large here and that’s the key aspect of the Believe. As this being laid back vocals they have a massive soundstage which is very attractive for the price. They have nice depth and width with enough height too. There is a lot of space present between the instruments.

1. HIDEAWAY – JACOB COLLIER

This track is composed of a lot of instruments in the background and has a lot of air and space between the instruments delivering a massive soundstage presence. The whole setting of those instruments appeared as if I’m sitting in a big massive hall. Overall I’m very pleased with the soundstage of Believe.

1. GLOBAL GEAR – PUNYA SRINIVAS

This indie classic is always good to hear at any point of time. The whole experience in Believe is very amazing with a good amount of air in between the instruments. This is well represented with a big sense of soundstage.

1. HOTEL CALIFORNIA – EAGLES

This good old track is always a favorite for everyone. In the beginning the guitar strings are represented well with distinct directions and when the drum kicks in the whole experience is wide and represented well.

The imaging is good and sweeps from the extreme right to the left. Each instrument can be pointed out easily even in busier tracks and sweeps smoothly from right to left.

1. CROSSING – YOSI HORIKAWA

This is the go to track for testing out the imaging technicalities of an earphone. In the beginning the auto crosses from the right to left and it’s well represented in the Believe.

1. SEPTEMBER IN THE RAIN – CAMILE THURMAN

The guitar strings in the left side and the drums in the right side are represented well clearly. The whole composition sounds very nice with nice coherency.

VERDICT:

BELIEVE, the flagship earphone from the KB-Ear brand is really one of its kinds. The amazing bass response which is well controlled, resolved, detailed combined with a laidback mid section and sweet vocals, again combined with a well extended non sibilant treble section, which is again resolving and detailed enough is worth the reason why Believe is one of its kinds. The instrument separation is done well and that huge soundstage makes believe the NO: 01 earphone in this price range according to me.

From the build to the sound output everything is fantastically done. It’s sad to see that KB-Ear has stopped the production and the sales of Believe. I hope the team is going to plan something in the future to give life again to the Believe to continue its legacy in some other way! But only time will tell and as for now don’t stop believing in the Believe cause it’s the HOLY GRAIL.

Disclaimer:

The KBEAR Believe has been sent to me by Hifigo as a part of a review circle. I am not working or affiliated to Hifigo and I am not being paid or influenced otherwise to say anything positive or negative about this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Note: Please note that my opinions and ratings are based on price, category, market competition and personal expectations and are subjective in nature.

Build Quality and comfort

Believe has a good build quality. The black shells are well built with beautiful faceplate, the IEM fits well and are not heavy, long listening sessions does not cause any stress on the ears. Believe features a 9mm pure Beryllium diaphragm dynamic driver.

The cable is a 2pin 0.78mm 4 strands 40 core 6N Furukawa single crystal copper litz structure with 3.5mm plug. It is flexible and no microphonics were observed. The included carry case looks premium with the KBEAR logo.

Score: 4.5/5

Sources Used

Cayin N6ii (A01) via 3.5mm phone out

Cayin N6ii (A01) Line Out to Pico Power

PhiDeca DAC with DIY Sapphire v4

Sound

The lows in the Believe are deep and slams hard, the sub bass has got good body and has decent extension. The bass is a highlight for the Believe and is definitely quite enjoyable. There is a slight lack in texture, but the bass has slow decay and has a good resonance to the sound signature.

The mids are laid back and has a good texture. The mids have a thick body to them supported by the lows. The overall sound signature of the IEM is warm. The upper midrange has some peak but are not fatiguing, rather makes the sound signature exciting.

The treble is smooth but has a slight peak adding to the fun signature of the IEM. For some people it might sound sibilant, but for me with Cayin N6ii with A01 which is a warm source I didn’t notice the sibilance.

However, with the PhiDeca DAC and Sapphire, the sibilance was slightly noticeable which was expected since PhiDeca DAC is neutral sounding and sapphire is extremely transparent.

With Cayin N6ii with A01 line out to Pico Power is where Believe shined. The lows became tighter and precise, the soundstage became holographic and the highs were detailed but not sibilant, and well extended.

Score: 4/5

Soundstage, Imaging, Separation

Soundstage on the Believe is pretty wide and has good depth. The imaging is good and has fairly distinct positioning. The layering is good and music, even with busy sections are being rendered correctly without sounding too congested, instrument separation is pretty decent for the price point.

Score: 4/5

Source and drivability

Believe is rated at 17ohms@98dB/mW, does require a bit of power to be driven. Portable sources like phone or even a DAP’s 3.5mm phone out might not have enough juice but adding a portable amp or desktop setup surely helps. The sound does scale up with power to be more dynamic with better punch in lows and good extension in the highs, the soundstage, layering and separation also improves when the Believe is driven with adequate power.

Conclusion:

Believe is a capable iem with lot of good points. the sound signature is laid back but quite enjoyable. It has average detail retrieval but has the brownie points for tonality. One point of concern would be the power requirement, but a portable amp can drive them pretty easily. For the current price of 180USD they are quite capable if you can satisfy its power requirements.

Overall rating: 4/5

Introduction
KBEAR Believe is a flagship IEM by Shenzhen Lingyin Technology Co. It comes with exciting new features like Pure Beryllium Diaphragm and long-stroke diaphragm composite molding.

The build quality is top notch, and by the looks and feel it appeals as much expensive and premium product. The classy design, faceplate adorned with 3D pattern with KB logo in silver and nozal made of golden color metal makes these a real eye catcher.

The overall design is sleek and has a gorgeous appeal to it. It is accompanied by a rectangular brown leather box which is sturdy and does a good job keeping the IEMS safe and stylish. Along with the IEMs we also get a nicely braided 4 strand copper wire that ends with a 3.5mm jack with metal housing and has a 2-pin connector. Metal housing for both Jack Connector and Y-splitter have the same 3D pattern design as that of faceplate.



Disclaimer:
I have received KBEAR Believe as part of review circle from Hifigo in exchange of honest reviews. All impressions of sound are subjective to my own listening and my sources and is based on my experience with IEMs of similar hardware configurations and price range.

Sources (Needs Amplification):
KBEAR believe scales well with a good desktop grade amplifier so for this review the unit has been paired to Fiio Q5 (AK4490) paired with Schiit Vali2(GoldLion E88CC) Amplifier as well as my other desktop stack with PhiDeca DAC(R2R) paired to Anode Acoustics Solid State Amplifier. I prefer using it with tube as of the sibilance factor it. I have tried these directly on SE100 and immediately felt that they do need proper amplification.



Highs:
Highs have a good sparkle in them and are quite energetic. The upper range has good extension to it. The micro detailing is also good for the price range. There is a good amount of air the treble region. Only downside I have observed is that even with proper amplification there is a hint of sibilance in it which can be irritating at time.

I had such experience while listening to “Taylor Swift - Love Story (Taylor's Version)” – It sounded great with lush sound and all micro details, the cymbals had much air and the violins sounded so great but on the other hand at time the vocals had hint of sibilance.

Mids:
The presentation of mid spectrum is bit recessed and towards more of relaxing side. Overall sound has a nice body giving the whole spectrum a lust experience. The upper mid-range is energetic and has nice details and intimacy to it. Female vocals do sound a bit sibilant at times. The lower mid-range on the other hand has warm presentation making male vocals sound fantastic. All the instruments sounded just fantastic over it and has nice details to it.

During my listening I have enjoyed “Céline Dion’s My Heart Will Go On (from the 2007 DVD "Live In Las Vegas)” a lot, The vocals , flutes, drums, electric guitars just sounded fabulous; the violins sounded exceptional and the overall presentation was full of details be it instruments or the chorus in the song.

Similar experience was there while listening to “Julio Iglesias - When I Need You”, with just perfect male vocals and a deep bass rumble in the background.

Lows:
The Bass presentation is very good in believe thanks to the DD, the sub-bass extends deep, the mid bass has nice texture and thickness. Its not at all overpowering and is very controlled. Its not at all bass oriented but yes in terms of quality of bass it’s kind of no brainier at this price range.

I enjoyed listening to my favourite bass-oriented track - “Tokyo Drift” by KVSH, the bass was tight and precise and with nice body to it perfect for listening to EDM music. The bass gave very nice complemented to elevated treble and overall presentation was very enjoyable.



Soundstage:
The Soundstage is very good; it has a very nice width to it but unlike other chifi these days this has nice depth to it. The overall height I would say is average.

Tested tracks like “Hello” by Neelix , “Dream Catcher” by Bassnectar, and has nice depth and above average height to it. The overall presentation was very engaging. It’s not holographic but well rounded.

Detailing/Imaging:
The detailing and imaging are also very good as per price point of view. The separation is very nice and instrument placement is very very good. It brings out the technicalities very nicely along with very nice and engaging dynamics.

It was a nice experience I must say while listening to Mark Knopfler & Emmylou Harris - Romeo And Juliet – the separation was very good, all instruments like guitars, piano, cymbals, drums were well placed with and whole presentation was very much detailed.



Final Verdict:
I must say Believe is a great IEM, and if one is into EDM, Jazz or Vocal based music it’s no brainer at this price range. Its very engaging and sounds just perfect specially the violins. The tonality is very good and has a warm and U-shaped presentation, and if you have a nice tube-based desktop setup then no need to go for any other IEM I must say. Also, the build and looks are just fabulous, and it feels far more premium then it is. But yes, with a brighter source there would be sibilance that once has to be careful if one is treble sensitive, and yes, they do need proper amplification.

Disclaimer:

The KBear Believe was provided to me by HiFiGo for the purpose of this review only. All views and impressions in this review are based on my own experience with the pair over a week of evaluation. I am not paid by anyone to write anything positive or negative about the pair.

You can buy KBear Believe from HiFiGO from the link below.

https://hifigo.com/products/kbear-believe?_pos=2&_sid=9ccd093ca&_ss=r







Design and Build

The KBear Believe is a beautiful looking IEM that resembles a jewel thanks to the semi-reflective blue layer under the faceplate. The IEM has some weight that inspires confidence without being too heavy for longer listening sessions. The included copper litz cable also has a premium look and feel to it. Thankfully, KBear has made sure that the richness transpires beyond looks and have delivered a capable IEM that easily stands out from other IEMs in this price segment.

Talking about the material used, the KBear Believe has a beryllium (Be) diaphragm that is unheard of at this price point. The 6N Furukawa single crystal copper-litz cable is soft and free of microphonics.

Sound

Bass

The bass response is natural and has just the right amount of depth to it. The bass isn’t bloated or muddy, nor does it have any unnatural boom. However, I’d like to mention that it does feel a bit off in the mid-bass section. This is especially prominent while listening to EDM, since the IEM tends to emphasize on the sub-bass notes for a tad bit longer thereby impacting separation.



Mids

The IEM has recessed mids with a good amount of note weight. This gives it a rather relaxed signature that makes it more suitable for smoother genres like jazz. Due to the heavy note weight, male vocals sound deep and emphasized. Female vocals sound great without getting sibilant or shouty or sibilant.



Treble

The treble on the believe is natural and non-fatiguing. The KBear Believe can be highly resolving with proper amping. The micro details on KBear believe are really good. There’s a slight peak in the treble that becomes prominent in a few genres, though it can be easily tamed by switching to foam ear tips.



Soundstage and other Psycho-Acoustics

The IEM provides a soundstage that is both wide and deep. The KBear Believe has excellent detail retrieval, though it requires amping to shine. The IEM is unforgiving towards poorly recorded tracks. Given the laid-back sound signature and emphasized sub bass, I felt it was more suitable for smooth and relaxed music rather than something up-tempo. The overall signature tends towards balanced though there’s some extra weight in the sub bass and some spike in the treble, making it sit somewhere in between well balanced and a V-shaped sound signature.

Conclusion

All in all, the KBear Believe is a fantastic IEM that checks a lot of boxes given the 180 USD price tag. I’d definitely recommend it to someone who’s looking for an IEM with deep bass and thick vocals. Although not suitable for all genres, it definitely shines in tracks that are relaxed and have lush vocals. If you’re looking to drive it off a smartphone, you may not be driving the IEM to its full potential. This one definitely performs better with amping. Last but not the least, it has a pure beryllium diaphragm, which at this price point is unheard of.

Disclaimer: This unit was provided by Hifigo as a part of a tour in exchange for an honest opinion. All thoughts and opinions are my own. You can buy the KBear BElieve here.
Build and Fit
Featuring shells made of aerospace grade aluminium alloy, BElieve is hefty! It's got a reassuring weight to the chassis which indicates premium materials used.
The faceplate is inlaid with volcanic ash carbon fiber layered with a blue reflective material that only shows itself when caught under the light.
The cable is made of 4 strands 40 core 6N Furukawa single crystal copper Litz structure. The cable feel and material is good and feels premium and the cable isn't stiff.
Top score to KBear for nailing the build quality of this, it really is built like a tank.



Amp Needs
BElieve being rated 17 ohms @ 98dB/mW is very insensitive for an in-ear headphone given that most people will use it with portable sources. Portable sources like phones and
laptops will just not be able to drive it properly. I found myself running out of juice off my trusty Zorloo Ztella MQA as well. A portable amp is recommended and best performance
is attained off a desktop grade amp. Not only that, I heard the BElieve scale with better amps.



Sound

Lows
Star attraction of the show, hits DEEP with no effort whatsoever. Thick full bodied subbass that slams reasonably hard. Unfortunately the caveat to this being that the bass is
one-note and lacks texture. The decay of the bass is slow, adding warmth and creaminess to the sound. I am guessing that this is the sound signature that KBear had being aiming for.



Mids
The entire midrange is kind of laid back with reasonably well defined texture and information. The bass does bleed into the lower mids slightly and the result is a heavy lower-midrange response.
This won't be a problem for male vocals as it adds a thick body to them, albeit making voices sound deeper and heavier than they are. It might be too thick for some.
There is enough presence in the upper midrange to make the overall experience have some bite to it, occasionally coming out a bit hot and screechy for the critical listener. The overall tuning makes certain female vocalists lose some detail
from their voices. Evidently the tuning of the BElieve was aimed to be a more relaxing and laid back kind and it does provide that.



Treble
Pretty much to my liking as I prefer a more natural and slightly warm tone in the treble. There is no hint of lower treble aggressiveness to which I am terribly sensitive too. It's smooth and laid back. But of course to add the balance back,
expectedly there is a slight boost in the mid-treble which does result in sibilance. The sibilance isn't bothersome but I have found the IEM to be prone in picking it up, and it sticks out like a sore thumb in some genres of music only.
Timbre in this region is warm, but isn't skewed much. So users that are treble sensitive or fancy a relaxing and soothing time with their IEMs will love the treble tuning in this. It strikes a relatively nice balance of sounding warm and relaxing but not boring or dull.



Soundstage, Imaging and Dynamics
Soundstage is pretty nice on the BElieve. Depth and width is considerably more than the average IEM in this price range.
Unfortunately height rendition isn't seen, but that is asking too much at it's 180 USD price range.
Same case for the imaging, it's on par with the good IEMs of this price range.
Macrodynamics are okay, could be better if not for the relatively slow decaying bass. You trade the fast footed sound for a creamy cup of hot chocolate sound. On the flipside, the microdynamics are quite good because of the impactful subbass.
This is clearly seen to shine in certain genres.

Resolution & Detail Retrieval
You'd expect the BElieve to lack in raw detail and resolving power given it's bass emphasised tuning, but that is simply not the case. It extracts plenty of raw detail even without the boosted treble which most brands incorporate to "increase" detail retrieval.
This means you're not missing out on detail even though the experience is relaxing. The BElieve scores high in detail and resolution! I have found the detail retrieval to scale with better amps as well.



Conclusion
BElieve is a rich flavor infused IEM, it doesn't aim for perfect accuracy and transparency. It aims for a sound signature that you can relax to, without thinking or analyzing the music too much. For some genres like Jazz/Contemporary Jazz, the BElieve is what you might reach for.
Kudos to KBEar for such a unique IEM. And of course, the Be diaphragm! How could I forget?

KBEar generated a lot of buzz when they announced the Believe.

“Is it truly a pure Beryllium (foil) driver?” — asked the dumbfounded onlookers. Why won’t they? The only two pure Be foil diaphragm drivers that are out in the market, Final A8000 and Dunu Luna, cost $2000 and $1700 respectively.

KBear Believe had a list price of $180.

Naturally, some were skeptical of the authenticity of the driver, and that led to long and winding story which I’d rather not go through here. In the end, if the KBEar Believe justifies its price tag in terms of sound quality I won’t give two-hoots about the underlying driver. Yes, there is always the question of ethics in false marketing, but KBEar at least seems to have sourced the diaphragm with firm belief that were pure Beryllium foils. As the flagship in KBEar’s earphone lineup, a lot rides on it, further magnified by the Beryllium hype.

Will the Believe turn skeptics into believers?

This review was originally published on Audioreviews

Note: the ratings given will be subjective to the price tier. My dear friend @Hooga was kind enough to loan me his unit of KBEar Believe. It will be sent back to him once the review is done. Disclaimer.

Sources used: Cayin iHA-6+iFi Neo iDSD, Questyle QP1R, Questyle CMA-400i

Price, while reviewed: ~$150 (with discounts). Can be purchased from KBEar official store

Click to expand...

Build: If you’ve seen the KBEar Diamond, you’ve seen the KBEar Believe. While there are some changes in the overall dimension, they mirror each other in general ergonomics. The biggest change is the color inlet in-between the carbon-fiber weave. It’s now a shiny blue hue instead of the plain gray one of its predecessor. It looks slick IMO, and definitely makes the Believe stand out. The shell color has also changed from olive-green to black. The gold nozzle remains, along with the dense CNC-milled aluminium build. There are two vents: one underneath the nozzle and beside the 2-pin connectors. There was no driver-flex even with deep seal.

Overall: a solid build that won’t keep you asking for more.
5/5

Accessories: I can’t comment on the packaging/accessory set as I requested only the KBEar Believe earpieces to help with logistics. Please refer to other reviews to know more.

Comfort and Isolation: The shells are fairly comfortable to wear as the nozzle has adequate length and the housing has no sharp edges. Isolation is also above-average. I think this is one IEM that you can wear for long.
4/5

About the sound…

The KBEar Believe is a single-dynamic driver IEM with a 9mm pure Beryllium (Be from hereafter) diaphragm attached to a PET surrounding. The thing is that Be is too rigid a material to be used as driver surrounding (which needs to be flexible to aid in the pistonic motion of the diaphragm). This is so far the biggest challenge in the pure Be foil-based driver diaphragms. Dunu solved it by using their own special glue and a newly developed PET surrounding which should be lighter than the ones typically used.



It also uses stronger N52 magnet to achieve higher magnetic flux (exact figures not given) and adopts a “long-stroke design” which seems to be basically a design that allows higher driver displacement from the base of the diaphragm, resulting in higher driver excursion (read: better driver control and such).

At this price-point I frankly don’t expect as many innovations as Dunu, for example, managed to integrate. As long as the Believe sounds good, I’m fine, so let’s just get right down to it.

The KBEar Diamond has an overall balanced-tuning with a bit of bass focus in the sub-bass regions (~60Hz). It’s got a pretty sparkly treble to go along with too.

The following impressions were made with Spinfit CP-100 tips and Dunu DUW-03 cable ($200). Listening mostly done on Cayin iHA-6 ($550).

Bass: The KBEar Believe has a rather interesting bass response. It is practically dead between 20–30Hz with very faint rumble ~27Hz onwards. Between 30–70Hz it comes to life, and seriously so. The bass is strongest ~60Hz region and the mid-bass (100–300Hz) also gets a good bump. This is one meaty sounding IEM, though it’s far from bass-head category.

There are two issues with the bass though (barring the lack of rumble in the sub-bass territories): the lack of bass texture, and the bloated upper-bass that spills into lower-mids at times.

The lack of bass texture is especially surprising to me since Be drivers usually excel in that regard. It’s just monotonous here on the Believe and to complicate things further the driver can’t seem to keep up in fast-flowing bass sections. Meanwhile, the upper-bass often spills into the lower mids adding some haze into the mix (this is even with ridiculous amping, more on that later).

On the plus side the bass punch was pretty good. Snare hits were handled with authority, though their decay was a tad slower than some of the competition. In the end, the bass response is a mixed bag, and one I think will divide opinions.
3/5

Mids: The lower-mids have a haze that can be mistaken as smoothness, but it’s not how a smooth midrange rendition sounds, not to me at least. This results in male vocals sounding disengaging and often clouded by other instruments (esp bass guitars/pedals). Female vocals fare better and sound pretty good on the Believe. Acoustic instruments also have a nice snap to them which is often missing in this price-range, esp in single-DD designs. Overall midrange resolution is good for the upper-mid regions but that haze in the lower-mids mask some of the undertones and thus bring down the overall resolution.

The good thing is that this midrange tuning isn’t too shouty (can get borderline on some tracks, e.g. Colbie Caillat’s Realize) and the timbre is generally good.
4/5

Treble: The treble on the KBEar Believe is very good actually, except for one pressing issue. Let’s get to the good stuff first. The treble has good amount of presence and clarity but never gets overbearing. It’s also fairly extended as cymbal decays aren’t abruptly erased from the scene. There’s no sibilance, and overall resolution in this area is very good and can go toe to toe with some of the most resolving IEMs in this price range.

The bad, then, comes with a noticeable peak~9KHz. It gives a metallic sheen to some instruments (higher-pitched acoustic guitars, for example) and can generate some fatigue over long-listening sessions. On Tool’s Chocolate Chip Trip I often winced with the high-pitched sounds being brought too forward, for example. This issue is exacerbated if you push the volume higher, so I’d not suggest the KBEar Believe if you’re treble sensitive and love to listen at a high volume (which isn’t a good idea in itself).
3.5/5

Soundstage: Stage-width is about average, but height and depth is very good for the price. Nothing sounds congested and instruments are layered well.
4/5

Imaging: Imaging is also very good, so is instrument separation. Coupled with the good soundstage I found the KBEear Believe to be quite adept at gaming/movies and such.
4.5/5

Source and Amping: Now this is where things get very confusing. At 98dB/mW @ 17ohms impedance, the KBEar Believe should be moderately hard to drive. Reality is bit more complicated. It requires above-average amping for sure, but I could get it to play nicely with something like the Audirect Beam 2 SE (out of the PC, mobile output is anemic). Out of the apple dongle and the LG G7 the Believe sounded bloated in the bass and lost quite a bit of separation. Resolution took a hit as well.

In the end, the amping requirements are above-average for sure. It’s no Final E5000, or the Campfire Andromeda in terms of source pickiness. At the same time for a sub-$200 device it requires a source that might run you well over that price-bracket. If you already own a good enough desktop amp (e.g. the JDS Atom Amp and a corresponding DAC) then perhaps it’s not big deal to you. For new buyers or those who’re just getting into the hobby, however, I’d advise mulling over potential source purchases if they are convinced about getting the KBEar Believe.



Bang-for-buck: I’m not gonna say that the Believe is a very cost effective product. It does have good technicalities for the price-range but there are more technical IEMs in this range, e.g. MeeAudio Pinnacle P1, or the classic Etymotic ER3XR. Moreover, the amping requirements make it strictly an enthusiast purchase. However, there are far worse offenders in the price-bracket and given the novel driver type, I’m willing to cut KBEar some slack.
3.5/5

Select Comparisons

vs Etymotic ER2XR ($80): The Etymotic ER2XR is another single-DD IEM tuned to Etymotic’s own target curve (Kemar DF) and costs about half of that of the Believe. Right out of the gate, the fit can be a potential deal-breaker with the ER2XR, at least it was for me. However, if you can get a good fit, then you’ll get a very uncolored presentation with natural timbre. The bass is tighter/more extended on the ER2XR with better texture. The treble is also free from that 9KHz peak and helps in long-term listening. Moreover, you don’t need some exceptional amp to drive them. The ER2XR doesn’t quite match the KBEar Believe in terms of soundstage/imaging so if you want a more traditional staging/imaging the KBEar Believe will be a better choice.

vs Final E4000 ($130): Yet another amp-picky IEM in this price-bracket. The Final IEM has a warm-neutral tuning with boosted mid-bass and sub-bass. Compared to the Believe the bass on the E4000 is a major improvement, provided you are amping them well. The midrange is good on both though I prefer Final’s rendition of the vocals (something they specialize in IMO). The staging is wider on the Final but imaging is better on the Believe. The Final E4000 does roll-off faster in the treble region which makes them sound less detailed than the Believe but also makes them easier to listen to.

If you’re after technicalities, I think the Believe is the better choice. If you want a soothing signature with better bass control/authority, the Final E4000 won’t let you down, provided you can hook them up to a good amp.



Conclusion
KBEar set a very ambitious goal for themselves — to give the masses a taste of well-tuned Be driver at a budget price. They’re about halfway there I’d say. It’s pretty apparent that they still haven’t managed to harness the full potential of the driver as there are some driver-control issues (characterized by the peaky treble and tad bloated bass). I hope they take their time with the next Be driver IEM and iron out the kinks. Also the amping requirements need to be made explicit as otherwise many might have a subpar experience upon purchase.

The KBEar Believe doesn’t break any new grounds, rather it acts as a proof of concept. I‘d call it a beta version, and I hope KBEar can make us true Believers with the next release.

Overall rating: 3.5/5​

Not the finished product I was hoping for, but not bad either

KBEAR BELIEVE - GREAT FOR INTIMATE MUSIC EXPERIENCE


Disclaimer:

I have bought this IEM with my own hard earned money and no one has paid me anything or supplied me with any review unit. So, everything mentioned in this review are purely my own based on my experiences with the IEM.


Introduction:

KBEAR has been ascending from nowhere to being a Chi-Fi player in the last two years or so with the usual hits and misses. Initially settling at the budget low end, they are slowly moving into “mid-fi”. Their KBEAR Diamond from a year earlier was probably a small success.

The KBEAR Believe was marketed as containing a pure Beryllium diaphragm, a stiff material that translates to a fast driver speed and maximum articulation in sonic reproduction. This is difficult to implement properly – and expensive. The two earphones that work well with this driver type are the Dunu Luna ($1700) and the Final Audio A8000 ($2000). Considering that KBEAR Believe seemed like a fantastic deal.


Specifications:

Drivers: pure beryllium diaphragm dynamic
Impedance: 17 Ω
Sensitivity: 98 dB/mW [amplification needed]
Frequency Range: 20 – 20,000 Hz
Cable/Connector: 4 strands of 6N single crystal copper/2 pin 0.78 mm
Price: $159-179


The Package:

The package is great for the price, without being too elegant nor too basic.
The box contains a long list of good stuff

Here’s what you find in the box itself:

• The KBEAR Believe
• The detachable cable
• 2 pairs of foam tips
• A plethora of silicon tips (found inside the leather carry case)
• A good looking artificial leather carry case
• papers

Design & Build Quality:


I don’t mind if a brand uses the same shell for different products. You may be wondering what was the need in writing this sort of “introduction” in this particular paragraph, and here’s the answer: KBEAR Diamond and KBEAR Believe have the same shell, just in different colors (silver vs black).

Apart from this, the build quality is excellent, and what really stands out is the attention to detail, which is a rare thing to see in the Chi-Fi industry, moreover in the entry-level segment.
The backplate is lucid and features a carbon fiber-like painting under the main transparent layer, resulting in an overall good presentation.

There are two pressure vents as you can see scrolling through the photos: one in the lower half of the nozzle and one more on the straight side, just near the L/R indication.
There’s no fear of losing tips or finding them stuck into your ears as the nozzles feature a useful lip that helps keeping the tips on it.


Though the cable that comes in the box is a decent one, it is not the one that can make this IEM shine. Hence, a better cable would've been much appreciated. Specially a silver plated one.

Comfort:

Although they aren’t the most comfortable pair of IEMs I have used, they’re very comfortable for long sessions - I have repeated similar listening sessions overnight while listening to music and relax forgetting I had them in my ears. I would like to point out that these are small to medium sized earphones, so the majority of the listeners will find them comfortable.



NOW LET'S TALK ABOUT THE SOUND....

Items used for this review:

Tracks used for this review:

INXS – Beautiful Girl (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
INXS – Need you Tonight (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
Anika Nilles – Mister (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
Eric Clapton – Tears in Heaven (Acoustic Live at MTV) (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
Lost Frequencies – Crazy (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
Martin Garrix - Pizza (24bit/48kHz)
The Chainsmokers – Something Just like this (24bit/48kHz)
Smith & Thell - Goliath (24bit/48kHz)
Owl City - Fireflies (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
Coldplay – Daddy (24bit/96kHz)
Coldplay - Hymn for the Weekend (24bit/96kHz)
The Doors – Spanish Caravan (24bit/96kHz)
REM - Losing my Religion (24bit/88.2kHz)
Mumford & Sons – There will be time (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
Ronan Keating – When you say Nothing At All (Flac 24bit/48kHz)


Source of Sound & DAC/AMP:

The iBasso DX-160 had been used mostly.
Other than that the IFI Hipdac & Hiby R6 PRO had also been used individually & also together (I got the best sound when combining these 2 items)

Other than that, the iPhone 12 Pro coupled with IFI HIPDAC and IKKO ZERDA ITM03 Dongle also used.

Let's now talk about the quality of Sound....


Do they need an AMP?

YES!! IT'S MANDATORY!
I am not gonna lie: these don’t sound good unless powered by a good dac/amp.
People who don't have good DAC/AMP should not go for these.
These are very hungry, and it’s not just a matter of volume: you can reach medium to high volumes without any amplifier as well, but you’ll immediately hear that there’s something that does not reflect the details given below.
So, an amplifier is MANDATORY if you want to hear what these IEMs are capable of.

Sound signature: the KBEAR Believe is a warm U-shaped pair of IEMs.

The BASS:

The Bass is incredibly textured and has a bit of added depth or thickness. This particular thickness is what gives the Believe a natural and a somewhat realistic bass, without being overemphasized. The bass shines more for its quality than its quantity, and you’ll hear that everything is coherent. The Bass is not bloated by any means.


The MIDS:

The midrange is slightly recessed, but not lower and upper mids. Starting from lower mids, in fact, the bass energy warm things up making both male & female vocals superb and detailed. Instruments are accurately reproduced, with good articulation and separation between each others, and although they have a slightly lower volume than the rest.

I had tried this out with a silver plated balanced cable and that makes the mids a lot more pronounced without losing any of the details and is not fatiguing at any point.


The HIGHS:


Highs follow the upper midrange energy with added sparkle. Highs have good extension and details, and there’s also a good amount of air even though they’re not the most open IEMs I have tried.

The SOUNDSTAGE:

Soundstage quite shallow actually, but it’s well rounded with good amount of depth making the overall staging good.

Imaging & Timbre:

Imaging is very good, and although soundstage isn’t huge for a pair of IEMs every instrument is placed right where it should play.



Conclusion :

I don't own any other pure beryllium IEMs and hence unable to compare this against the famou s others

I found this much better than other IEMs like Fiio FH3, Dunu Titan-6, Final Audio E4000 etc... in similar price range.

This IEM gives a very intimate music experience - almost as if you are there on the stage itself.
Though these sound great this may not be ideal for LIVE tracks or concert versions where soundstage plays a key role.

Having said all that I've found a quite satisfactory when paired with good cables & dac/amps.

About everything

Hi there and welcome to what I feel is an important chapter in the history of my reviews thus far. Few of us can have failed to see the stories coming out on the KB EAR BE-LIEVE. It's been hard for me to avoid reading too much about these, but, as you know, if there's any chance I can get hold of a pair to review, I really like to abstain from other folk's musings. This way, I give you a fresh insight into what you might be interested in buying. If you just want to know what it's all about, again, at least I should be original. This puts my credibility on the line as a reviewer. I don't mind about that. I want to do my own work. That's important to me. You can use this as a way to evaluate against other reviews out there. Between us all, there'll be a picture emerge.

Do you know about Beryllium?

Beryllium is considered to be an extremely efficient material to use in speakers. It has become a highly desirable feature in full size headphones. The Focal Utopia headphones use beryllium driver. The technology has now made its mark in the IEM sector. What is Beryllium? It's a metal, it's extremely rare, extremely dangerous and extremely strong. This is what it looks like. What you see below is as pure a beryllium as you might expect to see. It has to be extracted from minerals. For every 20 beryllium units there are estimated to be 1 million silicon units in the universe. Once beryllium enters the body it can't be expelled. We all have a tiny amount of this in our bodies. Beyond that amount, even a tiny increase is likely to be cancer causing. Therefore, the manufacturer of this extremely sought after material is strictly controlled and exorbitantly expensive. Whilst brittle at room temperature, once beryllium is heated it becomes strong. Very strong indeed. Not only can it make a fantastic driver, because it can be rolled out to an incredible thinness and yet still be stiff enough to keep distortion down, it makes for 17 times sharper x-rays images and keeps the space shuttle in 1 piece when it's coming home.

This bit of rock is choc full of Beryllium Oxide

Introduction
BE-LIEVE, by KB EAR

The sound, the most important thing, is shaped by a diaphragm made from pure beryllium. This is normally found in much more expensive IEMs, and, even then, there are few models on the market.
There is a single driver per side. Although there is little crossover distortion in earphones with drivers this small, a single design eliminates that issue completely.
Of course, to get a quality sound, you need a decent full range driver, and that driver needs to be tuned just right. To attain as good a response as they could, KB EAR have gone for a Beryllium dynamic driver. The strength and lightness of this metal makes it ideal for a speaker.
The sound signature of the Believe is a thick smooth one, that goes to a good level of detail without sounding harsh and goes very low in the bass with some visceral air being pushed around the contours of the ear.
I compare the IEMs against a number of others; they comfortably outperform the Etymotic ER4XR and the NF Audio NM2+, and compete well with the now discontinued ACS Evoke Studio.
The case is a nice thick leather affair.
The cable and shell designs are gorgeous. The fit is reasonable; some tips will slide the drivers out from the ear canal. The research on the tips has been quite exhaustive. I shall give you my findings and we will see where our opinions have met up, and where they've diverged somewhat.



As you can see, PURE BE diaphragm - cardboard outer

The controversy

A little snippet of what's gone on in my BE-LIEVE journey. It's quite an irony... they've stopped promoting these because some folks have questioned how legitimate the claims of a pure Beryllium diaphragm are. KB EAR have asked for evidence from their Japanese supplier, who have been quite dismissive of them. They can't find anyone who will test their obviously tiny diaphragms without it costing a bomb, so KB EAR are in limbo. The BE-LIEVE has become inexorably tied in with it's own name. Do you believe this is pure beryllium? Or is the cheaper, sprayed on variant? Either way, these should not be overlooked, no way.


The review takes shape - some days in the life of
The Sound, and how tips can make or break these monitors

The KB EAR Believe Beryllium in ear monitors. Day 1 is a tip rolling day, with some insights into 4 of the dozen or so supplied.

This is just the start - these are very tip sensitive

Day 3 and serious testing is now underway. The ACS Evoke is a single driver IEM. It was purchased by myself for £139 2 months ago, this was a 2nd hand price, it retailed for £299 when released. The Believe has a thicker, bassier and less detailed sound. The Evoke has a thinner, more precise sound. The Believe needs more volume than the ACS, as the ACS squash right into the entrance to the ear canal, being much smaller.

You can see the size difference, and bare in mind the Believe is a good fit...

A behind the scenes look at my review process. What you see below is 2 days worth of tip rolling and observations. I continued my head to head comparisons with suitable opposition, in this case, the vintage 4 driver from Sony, the XBA4ip. Still held in high esteem today, these trailed behind the KB EAR Believe in detail, bass, linearity. They would also have been beaten in the fit and comfort category where it not for my custom shells

A 4 driver hybrid from yesteryear - Sony's down from the ear 4 driver model - IP? That stands for iPhone

BE-LIEVE v Etymotic ER4XR & NF Audio NM2+2 more single driver IEMs which are both still on the market, neither we're anywhere near as good as the KB EAR in my opinion. The ER4XR has this reputation of linearity and stunning isolation etc etc. It's uncomfortable, for one. It lacks bass , for 2. And it doesn't the details of the BE-LIEVE. The NM2+ sounds like all the frequency ranges have been turned up compared to the KBEAR. It sounds like it's being pushed too hard, like everything is competing against each other. The NM2+ is far more sensitive, in fact I turned down the volume on my AK380 from 80 to 70 to get a volume match

The NM2+ was by no means a slouch The father of the universal IEM - Etymotic

Many hours later, in I'm now in Day 3 of the Believe. I have now tried and tested every one of the supplied tips. I have been given some advice in the group to try some non generic ones, so when I have recovered from this ordeal I'll try some of those... The best sounding tip was the one I started with! Even the size was the best fit for me.... Hours wasted....Still, it had to be done.And if you're still wondering whether tips make a difference to the sound, try taking the tips off and putting these in your ears

9 tips, tested twice per track, at least - how long did that take?

Spinfit

Day 5 - and on recommendation from an owner, I decided to see for myself whether there was anything in this Spinfit brand of eartips. And this is how it went...
The Spinfit CP145 tips arrived an hour ago. I am a medium fit. The barrel of a Spinfit spins around the outer silicon layer. The outer layer of the Spinfit is thinner than the poshest BE-LIEVE tips. The inner barrel of the Spinfit is more flexible but the same thickness as the posh tips. As you can see there is a significant height difference, but that doesn't translate into the Spinfits making the BE-LIEVE stick out from the ears, or fail to reach into the entrance to the ear canal. How does this translate into the listening experience? The CP145 have more bass, both sub and mid bass are more prominent, with more visceral effects. More air is being pushed around the ear. This airiness is also evident in the mids. The overall volume even seems to be higher. I suspect that this is due to the Spinfits being less rigid. Sometimes, I got the feeling that the micro effects were too much in my face. The upshot? What we need is a Spinfit/posh tip hybrid with the height of the Spinfit and the more rigid outer wall of the posh tip and l, of course, the spinny thing going on. Simple! The posh tips have a tighter bass. The mids and highs are more laid back. There is poise and control here, but at the expense of visceral bass. The track below has it all ; beautiful synth lines, commanding vocals and a raucous bass line to start. It became an excellent candidate for my evaluation.

Almost at the end of my tether tip exploring

Many portable audio fans swear by the Spinfit. I had to try it as I had heard so many people say that these are the only tips they use. The height is much more than the reds, but I was able to squash them in to pretty much the same depth. I've kept the CP145 on for the moment, as I think overall they're a narrow win! I'll try them against the RHAs next....

You get the idea? 25% taller, yet still a good fit - Spinfit is on the right

RHA Dual Density Tips

One of the KB Ear family recommended these, having been surprised (shocked) as to my preference of the CP145 from Spinfit. The RHA are the gent's current favourite. RHA tips? For an intrepid reviewer, no problem! I had some knocking around from a review of their flagship CL1 Ceramic and Dacamp L1. With great expectations I put these on. They weren't as good.... They weren't in the same league, in my opinion. The bass on the BE-LIEVE, when it's setup right, has sub and mid bass viscerality. The bass was not as powerful on the RHA tips. A BE-LIEVE track has rich mids; micro effects are revealed; highs are just short of listener fatigue(think here of cymbals/echo/intentional distortion). The RHA had muddier sounding mids; the sound was less defined, significantly less clear. The tips on the RHA were slightly smaller than the CP145, the inner barrel was much stiffer, the outer layer appears to be the same thickness. RHA tips start at £3.95, Spinfits are £18.95. Ultimately, the choice is yours. One thing I have learned in my week with the BE-LIEVE; they respond to whatever you are doing with them in an obvious way. This is both a blessing and a curse, because you may never be satisfied with your tip rolling on these! It is also a testimony to how much it is possible to achieve from these, rather special earphones.

Spinfit reigns supreme - so far

Sound Quality in a nutshell

The Believe is a seriously good earphone. The bass response varies widely between tips, but is a big feature of the IEMs. It benefits from silicon tips. I felt that the bass was too overwhelming with the comply foam tips. There is some visceral air being pushed around the ear, even with the silicons. That said, the bass was still pretty fast and accurate. I wasn't aware of much bleeding into the mids. The mids and highs sound very clear. The subtle parts of the mix, often lost in other earphones, are fairly easy to pick out. Particularly, percussion is both louder and more realistic sounding than other earphones I compared these too. Only one comparable earphone gave a mid response with more accuracy, at the expense of having less bass response than the Believe.

Are you becoming a BE-LIEVER?

Fit build and cosmetic appeal

KB EAR gave me a decent fit with their entry model, the Lark. These beryllium beauties are a quantum leap from their more humble brothers. The design should go under the flaps of the outer ear of most people. I am now about to get technical, so, stay with me here, you're going to learn something... There are 4 chambers we are concerned about when we put our IEM towards the entrance to the ear canal(that bit is called the external auditory meatus). The cavum is the bottom chamber, the dividing bit is the helix crus, and the top chamber is the cymba. There is a semi circle of cartilage you need to fix the IEM under, to lock it into place. The cartilage that sits to the right of the cavum is the antitragus. For the top bit, the cymba part, that bit is called the antihelix. There now - you haven't wasted your life reading this; you've been educated! Science aside, just how many manufacturers are ignoring all these locking points and just shoving double flanged tips on, or making the IEMs tiny so as they just shove into the ear canal? It's a bone of contention with me. The Sony, Etymotic and ACS mentioned above do not have that ergonomic fit. The newer KB EAR and NF Audio are the correct way forward. They are both trying valiantly to work with the ear's contours, not against them. The result is a nicer looking and a more comfortable fitting earphone. With more of the outer ear covered, there is more opportunity for isolation. With a larger shell, there is less chance of microphonics, that annoying audible thud that comes up through the cable and terminates at the nozzle. Did you know? The Spinfits can add to the luxury of a decent fit too. The inner barrel twists as you turn the shells in your ear, making for an even more precise fit. This is what the Believe looks like in situ.

Technical stuff - KB EAR know what they're doing

The finish of an IEM is important. We buy with the eye, like it or not. Of course, I want to think that you have a little read here to see what the thing performs like, but nevertheless. An IEM that looks nice will sell better than an IEM that looks ghastly. Other than if it has Apple written on it. The Believe not only looks the part, with it's holographic styling, smooth curves, soft copper twin braided cable with a beaded plastic chin strap, a posh as possible jack and 2 pin termination; it also has that practical benefit of staying in the ear without too much effort. I'd prefer a QDC connector, less of a metal termination on the 2 pin, and a right angled jack. I'm being ultra critical here, just to keep you on your toes. It's what I do. I need to point these things out, so you don't have to worry about them. The sensitivity of the BE-LIEVE shouldn't be in question, not at 17 Ohms. Yet, in my Astell & Kern AK380, which is a pretty powerful DAP, being a former flagship, I set my volume at 75-80 in everyday use. I think these IEMs need a DAP to be at their best, and a decent one at that. Something that can throw a bit of power around. Don't put it in a 100W integrated; I'm not saying that. Just something more than your average phone can produce. The BE-LIEVE deserves better.

Showing cable, tips, termination and vents

Conclusion

I hope that KB EAR can find the evidence they seek, and quieten down any dissenters that question the purity of the Beryllium content. Beryllium is a big draw for an IEM and I understand that the Company don't want to lose the trust of their followers. Let us not forget though; these IEMs are pretty special, no matter what they're made from. As a stepping stone to a Custom In Ear Monitor or an upgrade from the sub £100 bracket, of which there are some truly great bargains to be had, I am confident that you would see yourself as advancing your appreciation of your favourite tunes, if you put your faith in the quality that is oozing from every pore of the KB EAR BE-LIEVE. Just....Believe

Thank you for getting this far -I've had a good time


I hope you found what you wanted in
this posting of mine. Stay tuned, I don't think we've heard the last from KB EAR, they're going places


Til the next time


Takeanidea


The Geekologist


Team Subjective

This unit was supplied for review via Amazon.com at a substantial discount.
Product link:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B08N5XHV85

The KBEAR Believe is KBEAR’s flagship IEM featuring a dynamic driver with a 9mm pure beryllium diaphragm and a powerful N52 Neodymium magnet.
It resembles the earlier Diamond closely and is very well made, being crafted from CNC machined aluminium and finished in black with a carbon fibre faceplate. Apparently this is formed from volcanic ash! Behind this there is an iridescent blue colour with a holographic effect and in the centre there is a silver KBEAR logo. There is a glossy clear resin surface. The gold-coloured nozzles are of high quality with a silver grille. There is a small pinhole vent at the base of the nozzle and another on the side of the earpiece adjacent to the channel identification.
The earpieces are smoothly contoured and have a bit of heft to them, but are very comfortable. The interface is 2 pin and the supplied cable is also of very high quality, being a 6N single crystal copper type with a loose 4-core braid. It is very supple and fits very well over the ear. The plug, Y-split and chin slider are all metal with a black carbon fibre finish and silver end caps. The chin slider is a clear plastic sphere. The build quality is exemplary.
The packaging is also impressive, being sumptuous and comprehensive. A colour printed slip case with an image of the IEMs covers a black rectangular box with a gold KBEAR logo. Inside you will find:

• KBEAR Believe IEMs
• 4 core 6N single crystal copper cable.
• 3 pairs light grey silicone tips with red bore S, M, L.
• 5 pairs white silicone tips, medium bore, XS, S, M, L, XL.
• 3 pairs dark grey/blue silicone tips, S, M, L.
• 3 pairs black wide bore silicone tips S, M, L.
• 2 pairs medium foam tips, 1 white, 1 black.
• Velcro cable tie.
• Faux pigskin case with magnetic closure.
• Instruction manual

The IEMs were used with the stock cable. I initially used the large grey wide bore tips, and afterwards the dark grey/blue tips with a yellow bore. After some experimentation I ended up using some large KZ Starline tips which resulted in an improved fit and seal and produced a better bass response. A 100 hour burn-in period was carried out. The source was an Xduoo X20 DAP and I found that I needed to use an amplifier to obtain the best results so pressed my Fiio A5 into service.
The immediate impression was “natural and effortless”. The timbre was authentic and the overall profile was neutral with a gentle U shape. The bass was nicely judged and well-textured with the focus between the sub- and mid-bass. The mids were neutral and transparent and the treble was very smooth and silky-textured with good extension which lent a very natural tone to strings. Once the tips had been replaced, the staging improved with good extent in all three dimensions and layering and imaging being of high quality.
Bass
Once I had found the correct tips, the bass was just about perfect with zero distortion, exceptional clarity and transient response. Sub bass could perhaps have been a little deeper. Timbre was absolutely natural and possessed superb weight and extension. Bleed was totally absent. The mild mid bass emphasis imparted an attractive bloom to the area without adding colouration.
My first port of call was Roy Harris, Symphony No. 6, second movement. The amazing recording by the Pacific Symphony Orchestra under Keith Clark really came to life with the Believe. After an anguished and tortured melody in the brass, percussion joins, at first the timpani and then bass drum, gradually becoming more intense. A mocking passage with syncopated accompaniment follows, reminiscent of Bliss’s score from “Things to Come”. The bass drum becomes more extreme and all hell is let loose in a brutal conclusion with astonishing power and impact. The Believe took all this in its stride with superb depth and realism with the final bass drum strike incredibly clean and powerful.
Jonn Serrie’s “Le Tresor” from the “Midsummer Century” album features an acoustic guitar solo playing over synth washes and electronic effects with a deep sub bass foundation. The bass retained its musicality without dominating the presentation and the overall feel was lush, warm and inviting, although sub bass was a little lighter than ideal.
The deep bass elements in “Tubular World” from Mike Oldfield’s “Songs of Distant Earth” were conveyed with depth and power and a real sense of weight. The delicate electronic effects remained clear and distinct even during the most dynamic passages.
Mids
The midrange was neutral with an attractive natural warmth and timbre yet retained excellent transient qualities and a notable transparency.
The first movement of Holst’s “Japanese Suite” features a solo bassoon quoting the principal melody. The natural timbre was striking and imaging here was very believable. The melody is then taken by the strings and full orchestra and a wonderful atmosphere was created in this beautiful Lyrita recording with the LPO under Adrian Boult. The sense of being in the hall was palpable.
Mark Knopfler and Chet Atkins’s entertaining version of “I’ll see you in my dreams” had such an infectious rhythmic quality that it was impossible for me not to tap my feet! There was a real ‘live’ feeling here with Atkins’s electric guitar blending and contrasting perfectly with Knopler’s acoustic solos reminiscent of Django Reinhardt, and the bass and percussion driving the piece along with verve and enthusiasm.
Vocals shone with excellent projection. “For You” by Judie Tzuke was very clearly reproduced with her voice distinct above the clearly enunciated multi-tracked backing vocals. The string quartet instrumental in the bridge was beautifully realised, showcasing all the qualities of Lem Lubin’s superb production.

Treble
The treble was clean, pure and highly detailed with excellent extension and resolution, the finest nuances not escaping the Believe’s attention.
“The Glass Hall” is a track from “White Winds”, the third album by maestro of the electric harp, Andreas Vollenweider. It begins with delicate crystalline sounds spread across the stage. These were amazingly precise and clear on the Believe. A woodwind solo begins, followed by the harp and percussion. Every tiny subtle detail was captured in the complex and intricate production and the whole blended together in a most satisfying and musical way.
Charles Ives’s remarkable work, “The Unanswered Question” was perfect material to demonstrate the superb treble performance of the Believe. Underscored by a serene string accompaniment and strident trumpet solos, the aggressive woodwind tone clusters cut through the orchestration in a striking and incisive fashion with each instrument separately discernible yet combining perfectly to produce the required disturbing atonal chordal effect. The performance by the NYPO under Leonard Bernstein is a modern classic and the Believe’s rendition really highlighted why this is so.
The clean and immediate reproduction of Joe Morello’s amazing drum and percussion work in Dave Brubeck’s seminal “Take Five” was another example of the Believe’s treble quality. Cymbals shimmered and decayed very naturally and the timbre of the various drums was totally authentic. The rhythmic integrity of the piece’s unusual time signature was realistically conveyed.
Soundstage
There was a very expansive stage with good dimensions. Imaging was clear and precise with separation and layering first class.
The Believe’s portrayal of Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in a classic recording by the Saar Chamber Orchestra conducted by Karl Ristenpart was remarkable. So clear and detailed was the sound that it was amazing to think that this dated from 1960! Solo violin soared above the string accompaniment and lively bass line while the harpsichord continuo remained clear and well defined within the resonant acoustic. Each element was easy to follow and it all gelled into a most satisfying musical performance.
The spatial quality in “The Dawning” from “Vision Seeker” by new age artist Shayla was very expansive with the Believe revealing the choral elements which formed a huge three-dimensional stage for the sparkling piano lead which was clearly placed in the high centre of the image. Separation and clarity were the watchwords here with the open and airy nature of the atmosphere adding to the effect.

In the introduction to “Year of the Cat” by Al Stewart, solo piano is on the left and the percussion and guitar occupies the right channel. Soon the vocals appear, in the centre with the studio reverb endowing them with a sense of space and highlighting their position in the stage. Peter White’s wonderful acoustic guitar solo and the ensuing sax cameo both impressed with their naturalness and realism.
Comparisons
TRI i3 (1 DD + Planar + BA)
The i3 has a big bold ‘cinematic’ sound with a much deeper sub-bass and a warmer mid bass. Mids are wonderfully neutral and smoothly detailed courtesy of the planar driver with its superb resolution. Treble is more reserved and less prominent but still possesses good levels of detail. Timbre is very natural and there is a notable musical quality. Soundstage is particularly good being very expansive in all three dimensions. Like the Believe, an amplifier is mandatory to achieve the best reproduction.
TRI Starsea (1DD + 2BA).
With its four different sound profiles, ranging from bright and neutral to balanced and V shaped, all of which are excellent in their own way, it is like getting four high quality IEMs for the price of one. The Starsea is particularly good with classical music and the various switch options add versatility, adapting it well to different styles of music, offering the chance to choose the appropriate setting for a particular genre. Its proprietary drivers are perfectly integrated and the transitions are seamless. The silicon bass unit provides a fast and detailed sound and their own TRI-Hi-A BA treble unit the best I have heard so far with impressive extension and clarity.
KBEAR Diamond (Single DLC DD)
The Diamond has a very natural tonality with a prominent mid-bass and can occasionally be over-warm. It has an authentic and accurate timbre and tonality, good detail and an attractive musicality but the midrange is a little recessed. The Believe improves on it in all areas, especially in mid presence, treble extension and soundstage.
Tin Hi-fi T4 ( Single CNT DD)
The T4 has a solid bass foundation, a transparent and expressive midrange displaying good presence and a clear, extended treble. It has a largely neutral/bright presentation as expected from Tin Hifi, and the bass is well extended but linear in nature, so bassheads may want to look elsewhere. The midrange and treble are very refined and detail retrieval is very high. Soundstage is a particularly good feature, with width, height and depth all above average in dimension, and layering, separation and positioning all top class. The only caveat is the quality control regarding the MMCX connection which has suffered from problems.
Conclusion
IEMs with a pure Beryllium diaphragm normally retail at a much higher price. The implementation here has really paid off, with the Believe displaying a dynamic, warm/neutral profile with superb transparency, rhythmic ability and detail retrieval. The only minor criticism would be that I would have liked just a bit more sub bass presence.
KBEAR/TRI has emerged as one of the premier brands with recent successes like the Diamond, Lark, i3 and Starsea, and this has continued with the Believe which I feel is their finest product so far. It is tip sensitive, so experimentation may be required to find the best suited to your ear anatomy. It also does need additional amplification to give of its best, when it will reward the listener with a high quality sound commensurate with a much more expensive price tag. Very well made, beautifully presented and with superb sound, the Believe represents outstanding value. It recommends itself and cements KBEAR’s rising reputation in the earphone market.

Firstly , I bought the K Bear Believe with my own hard earned money. I have no affiliation with K Bear whatsoever .2020 started slowly it seemed the juice had run out on the Chi fi bandwagon . Mainly because of the pandemic.Towards the end of the year the wagon was moving at breakneck speed with great sets coming out seemingly every other day. Great tech innovations , cool designs we were spoilt for choice ! Under $200 became cluttered with much hyped end gamers. Riding at the front of the hype train was K Bear Believe . Sporting a pure beryllium driver usually found in kilobuck sets. The anticipation in the everyman scaled dizzy heights . Was the mythical Believe really pure beryllium ? Coming in at under 200 dollars? Well disbelief was the order of the day . So much so skeptical reviewers actually opened them up to find it was indeed pure beryllium. Mine arrived 2 days before Christmas. Let's dive in.... I really like the design especially the sparkly 3 d faceplate. Nice to see something other than the customary German resin cum custom design that have become rather boring . Of course they are similar to K Bear elegant Diamond. The cable is nice . A 6N copper litz with a 2 pin connector. All in all, the Believe looks elegant and attractive.

Now to the rather large elephant in the room . They are difficult to drive . Using a smartphone won't do the trick . Even with the hidizs portable dongle attached to the Galaxy Note 10. Whilst they sound clean enough you have to push them to the limit which doesn't really work unless the recordings are pristine . On my ifi dac amp they sound ok but on occasions can sound bloated , also congested With the Fiio M15 they sound really good ! But seeing as they cost much more than the Believe, it's not ideal . This reminds me of smart phones using luxurious first generation tech that doesn't get perfected until 3 or 4 th iterations . While I can't fault K Bear for being adventurous not everyone has expensive DACS / DAPS capable of driving the Believes and that in itself is a bit of a faux pas.
LOWS. Bass is thick, lush and resolving . Slam is good, note weight is punchy and thick . My issue here lies in the mid bass. On certain tracks kick drums sound too forward , sounding exaggerated and overwhelming. Apparently cable rolling can resolve this issue also using the open red silicone tips tame the mid bass slightly . It's a shame because this only happens occasionly in the main they sound creamy with good rumble, nice tonality and a relaxing feel and good musicality. We are not talking Penon Orb good but good enough for the price.

MIDS.
Midrange is very pleasant with good definition and clarity. Vocals sound relaxed never shrill or shouty. Female vocals sound exhilarating with clean tones also perfect weight. They spread nicely across the range never sounding boxy. Male vocals can sound recessed, lacking grumble and bite. Whilst being audible falsettos sound too far back in the mix . Baritones lacking roundness and heft albeit pianos , strings and guitars sound great. With natural timbre and great presence. Also commendable the air between notes sound fantastic. Placement and space are first class conveying emotions perfectly. HIGHS. Treble sound really good with good definition never sounding rolled off . Decays are quick, extension and transients shimmer making the highs sparkly never splashy or too sharp ! K Bear did a great job here . The highs never sound dark or overtly rich. They work well with the overall signature bringing clarity ,sparkle and resolution to the party. One of the highlights of the Believe SOUNDSTAGE/IMAGING.

Staging is not the widest I've heard I never had a problem as it doesn't sound too intimate. Width sound natural , at times they stretch beyond the ears and never really sound in your head. This is due to very good separation, spatial cues and very good air between instruments and vocals. This brings great musicality and also a really good sense of resolve . This is clever tuning . It makes the Believe sound very emotive. Details are very good not Blessing 2 good but thankfully they never ever sound fatiguing .
VERDICT. While I have a few issues I really like the Believe. It's a bold, adventurous , slightly flawed endeavour. I have to applaud K Bear for bring expensive tech to the masses. I love the design, packaging and cable. Also kudos for bringing a weighty, lush, emotive and resolving set to the table. My nitpicks can be put down to first gen issues , which hopefully will be resolved in their next iteration.

These drivers have been anticipated by an even denser than usual storm of hype-y marketing content. All sorts of information have been released before and together with the product, and the first “reviewers” spent nothing short of bold words about these.

Alleged magnificent features apart, a major disclaimer is one way or the other present on all articles : “BE-LIEVE require huge amping”. Of course I checked on that. Long story short: BE-LIEVE do require an uncommon source in a sense, but this is not about power figures as (milli)Watts written on the amp spec sheet, rather about quality of power delivery. You’ll find a detail of my analysis further down below.

This is very significant to our case today as – to me, at least – BE-LIEVE’s sound output when an inappropriate amp is being used is a total deal breaker. I pinpointed where and what I hear in such cases in my analysis down here.

BELIEVE is also sensible to cable and tips selections. Not at the same “dramatic” levels applicable to amping, but much more than other IEMs nonetheless.

Let me pass right away to my notes now, I’ll add more considerations and my conclusions at the bottom of the article.

Ah no, another dutiful thing first: I got this pair of KBEAR BE-LIEVE as a review unit from my friends at KEEPHIFI (www.keephifi.com) entrusting me to an unbiased analysis and openhearted subjective evaluation, which is what I’m reporting here below. You can purchase BE-LIEVE at their store.

Ok, off to the notes now.


Test setup

Questyle QP1R / Sony NW-A55 mrWalkman / Apogee Groove / Auglamour GR1 / ifi ZEN CAN / Hiby R3Pro / Hidizs AP80Pro / Fiio X3 mk-III / Lotoo Paw Gold Touch – Final E-clear tips – Nicehck 16core High Purity Copper cable – lossless 16-24/44.1-192 FLAC tracks.

Signature analysis

Tonality Timbre is almost natural with a light wam tint on top, with the exception of the highmids-lowtreble section sounding a bit artificial. Tonality is quite nicely calibrated, mildly warm, clearly U shaped, credible.

Sub-Bass Rolled down and slower compared to midbass, averagely textured. Sub-bass and low-mid-bass are one of the two areas where inappropriate amping quality is more evident (they turn sloppy and very bleeding in such case – in the worst cases the effect extends way into the midbass)

Mid Bass Definitely pleasant, relatively fast decay (attack is not snappy though), with good texturing.

Mids Flatly recessed but not for their entire extension, their high part goes up quite quickly. Low and central mids are lean; within that I find them nice. Mids in the higher part of the segment are instead thin and deliver a somewhat artificial timbre.

Male Vocals Quite nice, too lean to aspire to a “vocal rec” score for my taste, yet still natural, good.

Female Vocals Also nice, and also lean tendent to thin. They often get close to sibilance although very rarely I heard them pass the treshold (depending on tracks and source ofc).

Highs Trebles are forward and lively, quite energetic too. I find them “cold” if I take them per se, thus somewhat incoherent with the general warm-ish tonality. They also would do with a bit more air. I dont hear any dreaded metallic zings around which is very good. Lowtrebles are too thin and share a somewhat artificial (“plasticky”) timbre with highmids.


Technicalities

Soundstage Quite wide and height is beyond decent. It takes a higher end source to widen it further and especially to hear some depth which is just hinted or missing on lower tier sources.

Imaging Nice although it tends to a L-R distribution in lieu of a more natural X-Y casting. Inappropriate amping will severely screw imaging and instrument separation in the high mids, making them nothing short of “a mess” on crowded and/or loud orchestral passages.

Details When sub-bass bleed is controlled by appropriate amping bass detailing is quite nice. Treble details are average for the asking price.

Instrument separation Separation and layering are in general well done, see “Imaging” for exceptions.

Driveability Extremely capricious. Long story short: they sound inacceptably bad on lowend sources, so much that I strongly recommend assessing them on existing gear before purchase. Don’t ever take “reviews”, including this article of mine, as closely representative of your possible feelings about audio gear – and if you want to make exceptions don’t start with BE-LIEVE (pun intended)! They do get sensibly better with appropriate amping quality.


Physicals

Build Very nice housings both in terms of construction, sturdyness and style.

Fit Housing shapes are just a tad too big to seemlessly fit my concha which is a true pity but hey, we are all different. Nozzle length is ok for me, and insertion is easy. Although generous, stock tips’ supply is not adequate to my ears; after repeated tedious rolling sessions I settled on a pair of final E clear tips, which in spite of their realtively narrow bore don’t impact negatively on trebles here, and contribute to further control the very low end “sloppy” tendence.

Comfort Due to the housing being just a whiff too big and not lightweight (not too heavy either, luckily) I can’t say they are supercomfortable to me.

Isolation Good passive isolation once housings are properly fitted

Cable Stock cable is not bad per se. Oddly enough I find cheap Nicehck 16core High Purity Copper having some positive impact on the highmids weakness I mentioned above.


Specifications (declared)

Housing Five-axis-CNC “aviation grade” aluminum shells
Driver(s) Pure beryllium diaphragm dynamic driver (imported from Japan) (* I’m unable to assess such alleged “purity”)
Connector 2pin 0.78mm
Cable 1,2m 4 strands 6N single crystal copper Litz cable, with 3.5 single ended termination
Sensitivity 98 dB
Impedance 17 Ω
Frequency Range 20Hz-20KHz
Accessories and package Elegant & practical leatherette carry case, 1 set (S/M/L) wide bore soft umbrella black silicon tips, 1 set (S/M/L) wide bore stiffer umbrella white transparent silicon tips, 2 pairs of foam tips
MSRP at this post time $360,00 ($180,00 apparently “permanent” deal price)


How serious is BE-LIEVE’s need for “a good source”?

Simply put, it’s very serious.

As I mentioned at the beginning I found so many saying it’s a matter of sheer amping power. Of course I knew it very likely was not that, or more precisly not only that. In facts you do not need a source with a spec sheet mentioning “multiple watts” of output power to take the best out of BE-LIEVE (or any other IEM for that matter, even those featuring much lower sensitivity compared to BE-LIEVE).

What you do need is a source delivering an adequate level of current, that’s sure, and capable of delivering it in all critical sections of the spectrum exactly when needed.

Let me offer a synthetic view on my excursus on a total of 9 different amping sources, ranging in price from $50 to $3500, approximately, and from 8.8mW to 1.6W of 32Ohm load output power face value.

For reference, as a test track I’ve purposefully taken “Limehouse blues” from what many consider the best jazz master of the XX century being “Jazz at the Pawn Show”, which I happen to have available in 24b/192K flac format. The song’s elements which are significant to BE-LIEVE’s powering capriciousness are the constant contrabbasso’s line, which of course should be delivered as punchy, detailed and not bleeding, and the “treble-layered-crescendo” starting at +-7:00, which should offer good instrument separation, and no metallic zings or other artifacts.

For Single Ended sources the stock cable has been used. For Balanced Ended a NiceHCK 4N 23AWG High Purity OFC has been adopted.

Here’s what I heard on each of the tested sources:











Conclusions

When properly paired, BE-LIEVE are not bad at all. I’m not particularly fond of their timbre, especially that artificial-flavoured nuance in the high mids, and details are nothing more than average at their asking price, but the rest if more than OK and although not “inexpensive” they might be a sidegrade to assess for many.

There’s more to say though.

BE-LIEVE are extremely sensitive to source quality (DAC and AMP capacities).

No you do not need a multi-Watt amp to enjoy BE-LIEVE at the best of their abilities, and not even a mid-high powerful one. Even a quite low powered and definitely not kilobuck-priced DAP like Sony NW-A55 can get “correct” amping into BE-LIEVE and good sound quality out of them. Again, it’s not a matter of (big) amping power, it’s a matter of power delivery quality.

However, you do need an “adequate” amp for BE-LIEVE not to sound bad. Bad as in “cheap”. “Deal-breaking” bad, if you ask me. Ymmv, needless to say, but I-myself would not buy BE-LIEVE after auditioning them paired on an R3Pro, for example.

As I am a quite fortunate individual, I had the opportunity to assess BE-LIEVE on nine different sources ranging from a nice inexpensive portable amp to a multi-kilobuck TOTL DAP. Three of my sources could drive them properly – “BE-LIEVE bless…” – let’s talk about the rest though.

First: BE-LIEVE are not “specially well biased” by Apogee Groove. Given how spectacularly Groove feeds just about all other most capricious IEMs I own, I’m not going to book this situation as Groove’s limit rather as a testimony of how “unpredictable” (to be very mild) BE-LIEVE’s amping requirements are. I.o.w. the average BE-LIEVE user is called to be “un-rationally” careful about pairing.

Second: which parameters do I have to take into consideration to offer a comprehensive opinion on BE-LIEVE’s “value”, meant as the audio pleasure they deliver vs their asked price & pairing effort ?

Should I give all source pairing effort for granted, as I wrote above BE-LIEVE sounds nicely on A55, and even “very nicely” on QP1R. I’m not in love, but others might. Fine.

If I think to a few other drivers I personally like – on the same or different timbres – in the same price bracket and I imagine to apply the same enormous patience I dedicated to finding BE-LIEVE a suitable source pair, well… BE-LIEVE’s score will go down very sharply though.

Final E4000 on Groove or QP1R are not “just very nice”, they are “monumentally good“. Same for Ikko OH10, and for Shuoer Tape (these last on QP1R or A55 only, as Groove can’t bias Tape by design).

Oppositely, if I pair E4000 / OH10 / Tape with the same sources which make BE-LIEVE sound downright “bad” – let’s say an R3Pro – I do get lower output quality of course, but not so dramatically worse result compared to what comes out of BE-LIEVE.

So my bottom line is BE-LIVE are just OK if you apriori decide you "want to love them".
Their main “flaw” is their pretentiousness.

Introduction
I am extremely happy to write a review of this product.
I have been following KBEAR since they were born and I own many of their IEMs, from the old F1 to the newest ones.
The KBEAR Believe, which is their newest product, features a pure single Beryllium driver (pay attention, it is a PURE Beryllium driver, and not just a Beryllium plated one), and many people are already comparing these with products that cost 4x or 5x times their price.
Is there too much hype? I don’t know, as I do not own stuff like the Dunu Luna or similar products in order to compare, but I’m sure that after many hours of testing (around 60 hours at the time of the review, and I’m sure I will spend much more time with these even after this review) I’m ready to share my personal impressions on these.

VISIT US AT AUDIO MONKEYS: https://www.audio-monkeys.com

Disclaimer: the KBEAR Believe were gently provided by Keephifi with a huge discount (I have paid €0.87 for these) in order to write a honest review.
At the time of the review, the KBEAR Believe were sold for around €125 on the KBEAR Aliexpress store or for a bit more on the Keephifi store.



Technical Specifications

• Configuration: 1 x DD (Pure Beryllium)
• Sensitivity: 98 dB
• Impedance: 17 Ω
• Frequency response: 20 Hz – 20000 Hz
• Cable: 1.2m – Detachable – No microphone – 0.78mm PINs
• Connector type: straight golden plated jack

Packaging
The packaging is definitely good, without being too elegant nor too basic.
The box is definitely long as it contains some good stuff which is also well presented to the customer, and here’s what you find in the box itself:

• The KBEAR Believe
• The detachable cable
• Two sets of wide bore silicon tips (black ones are softer than transparent ones) and two pairs of foam tips
• A good looking pleather carry case
• Instruction papers

Design and Build Quality
I don’t mind if a brand uses the same shell for different products, as this also helps the company to lower the overall cost of the single products (why should they make a completely different shell, paying the cost which is needed to switch to another productive process, if they can manage to create different products by using something “ready-to-use”?).
You may be wondering what was the need in writing this sort of “introduction” in this particular paragraph, and here’s the answer: KBEAR Diamond and KBEAR Believe have the same shell, just in different colors (silver vs black).
Apart from this, the build quality is excellent, and what really stands out is the attention to detail, which is a rare thing to see in the Chi-Fi industry, moreover in the entry-level segment.
The backplate is lucid and features a carbon fiber-like painting under the main transparent layer, resulting in an overall clean ahestetic which is also practically immune to fingerprint.
There are two pressure vents as you can see scrolling through the photos: one in the lower half of the nozzle and one more on the straight side, just near the L/R indication.
There’s no fear of losing tips or finding them stuck into your ears as the nozzles feature a useful lip that helps keeping the tips on it.



Cable
I hope this one will last a long time as the first impression is definitely good: the cable is sturdy, features a chin slider and the jack connector is well soldered. The 0.78mm PINs have no problem in getting connected to the IEMs.
Unfortunately, there’s no way to get a pair of Believe with microphone, but this is something I don’t mind as I prefer getting a good cable like this one instead of a lower quality cable with a mediocre microphone. I have many 0.78mm PINs cables so I can always swap it if needed.
Overall, another thumb up for KBEAR.



Comfort and Isolation
Although they aren’t the most comfortable pair of IEMs I have used, they’re very comfortable for long sessions: I have been able to keep them in my ears for 7-8 hours with no issues while studying, and I have repeated similar listening sessions overnight while listening to music and relax forgetting I had them in my ears. I would like to point out that these are small to medium sized earphones, so the majority of the listeners will find them comfortable with no doubts (I have relatively small ears and I find them perfectly sized).
They aren’t super lightweight, but far from being heavy, so weight is something we can’t really complain about.
Isolation is ok (although is not excellent), I’d say average, and improves a lot if you use foam tips.

Sound
How do these sound?
This is the real reason you’re reading this review (I guess).
[Personal preference: I listen to almost every genre, even though my main preference goes to EDM subgenres. I always like a bit more energy on the bass and on the highs, leading to a personal preference for Y-shaped sound signatures, but if I have to choose, I’d prefer having many different IEMs with various signatures, in order to choose a particular one of them when I want to listen to a specific genre. I love switching between my IEMs so it’s even better if they’re very different from each others.]
TEST GEAR

• DAC: Topping E30
• AMP: Topping L30
• Mobile phones: Poco F2 Pro, Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge
• Portable DAPs: Benjie S8/AGPTEK M30B
• Other sources: Presonus AudioBox iONE, Cooler Master GS750

HOW DO THEY SOUND?
Do they need an amp?
Yes.
I am not gonna lie: these don’t sound very good if underpowered.
If you don’t have a good amplifier or a good source in order to drive these, look for something else. These are very hungry, and it’s not just a matter of volume: you can reach medium to high volumes without any amplifier as well, but you’ll immediately hear that there’s something that does not reflect the words you’re gonna read below, as the bass becomes muddy and the upper region (from upper-mids to upper treble) becomes more fatiguing and less refined.
So, an amplifier is MANDATORY if you want to hear what these IEMs are capable of.
Sound signature: the KBEAR Believe is a warm U-shaped pair of IEMs.

Lows: sub-bass extends deep, with great control and accuracy on lower notes. Bass is incredibly textured and has a bit of added thickness (which exceeded my expectations as I was expecting a more neutral low-end) and although the majority of times thickness means “slow bass” this is not the case: the Believe aren’t super fast like other IEMs (moreover if we speak about full BA sets) but can really keep up with fast tracks without showing any hint of difficulty by doing it. This particular thickness is what gives the Believe a natural and a somewhat realistic bass, without being overemphasized nor boomy (if amped well).
You may be thinking that low-end is extremely emphasized, but it’s not: in the overall signature, the bass shines more for its quality than its quantity, and you’ll hear that everything is coherent: it’s not a bassy earphone, but there’s some emphasis and this needs to be pointed out.

Mids: the central part of the midrande is slightly recessed, but not lower and upper mids. Starting from lower mids, in fact, the bass energy warm things up making male vocals superb and detailed. Instruments are accurately reproduced, with good articulation and separation between each others, and although they have a slightly lower volume than the rest, this is something that does not really stands out as soon as you put them in your ears as they perfectly amalgamate with the rest in the signature.
Upper midrange is interesting: while the added upper-midrange can be fatiguing for many, the Believe really have the ability to give energy, detail and intimacy to female vocals without becoming sibilant (I have heard one or two episodes of sibilance in the whole time I have tested the Believe, and it occurred in both cases when I was already listening tracks which are prone to get sibilant on very warm sets as well).

Highs: highs follow the upper midrange energy with added sparkle, and this really gave me the impression that the highs are perfectly counterbalancing the bass.
Extension and details are the two key words, and there’s also a good amount of air even though they’re not the most open IEMs I have tried.
I’m not gonna advise these to people who are sensitive to highs, but the resolution and microdetailing capability need to be pointed out.

Soundstage isn’t really big, but it’s well rounded in every dimension, even though I would have like some more added width. They don’t miss depth or height like other Chi-Fi sets, and the overall staging is more than satisfactory. Imaging is very good, and although soundstage isn’t huge for a pair of IEMs every instrument is placed right where it should play.

I don’t have any other Beryllium earphones so I’m just gonna compare them with my favourite ones under €200 (I feel sorry if I don’t have some mid-fi stuff for the comparison, but if you keep supporting one day we’ll be able to get even more stuff for this purpose): the Brainwavz B400.
KBEAR BElieve vs Brainwavz B400
This comparison is very easy, and this because these two earphones are completely different. The Believe are U-shaped with added bass and upper midrange emphasis while the B400 are flatter nearer to a flat-ish tuning.
Low end is tuned so much differently, with the B400 being faster and more controlled on weaker sources as well, whereas the Believe have a much more natural, slower and and thick response. Midrange is great on both but instruments stand out a bit more on the B400. Vocals are good on both but really shine on the Believe. Highs are much smoother on the B400 but they’re far from being as detailed and extended as the Believe.
Soundstage is less expansive on the B400 and imaging is also slightly better on the Believe, this also thanks to the better extension in the upper end which helps separating the instruments giving some air between each of them.
The Believe also come with a much better cable (plus, the 0.78mm pins are more reliable than MMCX, at least for me).
The B400 insulate better and are a bit more comfortable.
The Believe don’t sound good without proper amplification, while the B400 sound well even if paired with a simple smartphone (they also benefit when used with a proper source but the improvements aren’t as noticeable as on the Believe).
I cannot choose between them, I love both and considering I had the chance to try both sets I cannot figure out which one I’d take if I didn’t have any of the two. Sorry for this, but it’s very hard to decide between two sets that have many differences and that can be used for different purposes or different genres.

Final Thoughts
It’s not easy for me to find the proper words to end this review.
The Believe are just great: they sound very well, with an engaging sound signature, energetic vocals and excellent resolution. Plus, there’s a lot of attention to detail in terms of manufacturing and excellent build quality.
There aren’t big flaws and this is something that’s worth mentioning, considering the price: yes, there are some minor flaws like the average isolation or the limited soundstage width but the overall experience you get with these is definitely worth every euro spent.
There’s no need to look for something else if you’re not very sensitive to highs and if you have a proper source, as these are extremely good, but please, DON’T BUY THESE IF YOU DON’T HAVE AN ADEQUATE AMPLIFICATION, or you’ll end up using them without hearing what they’re really capable of.

SPECIFICATIONS

• Driver Unit: pure beryllium diaphragm dynamic driver
• Sensitivity: 98 dB/mW
• Frequency response: 20Hz – 20000Hz
• Impedance: 17 ohms
• Cable: 2 Pin 0.78mm
• Tested at $130 USD (Aliexpress coupons)

ACCESSORIES



Comes with:



1) PVC leather case



2) 4 strands of 6N Monocrystalline Copper Litz - Original cable is better than most iems at this price, no miking and 3.5mm terminated.



3) Two types of silicone tips in stock in various sizes - one is softer in consistency (black) than the other (gray).



4) Foam tips (2 sizes)



In this review, I limited myself to the standard silicone gray-red tips and the standard cable.



The standard grayish-red cable and tips included in Believe are perfect. You should not worry about it. Great sound, great fit, and most importantly (they are short tips so as not to cover the driver's ventilation hole in the mouthpiece), in addition, due to the large upper opening of these tips, it is responsible for providing great clarity to the All the range of frequencies and organic tone of the mids ... The tips with less aperture and longer, will bring more remote mids, less organic, and a set with less clarity, muddy, worse image.



BUILD- INSULATION- COMFORT

The construction is very good. The housing is metal, small, with a 3D carbon fifra back plate with blue tones. They are very nice ... The insulation is average. The fit is excellent and they are very comfortable, to be enjoyed for hours.


DRIVABILITY/SOURCE


I first tested them with more modest sources like LG V30 and Sony NWA55 (Japan region with no European volume limit). On V30, it drives them fairly well at a volume of 60 (total 75), beyond that, distortion appears and the picture gets muddy. In MWA55 it drives them medianly at a volume 95-100 out of a total of 120 (without distortion). Later, I ran them with my DAP A&K Kann Alpha (medium gain) at a volume of 75-83 over 150. Here they escalated to another level. And finally, I ran them with my Pro-ject Prebox S2 + Burson Soloist SL MKII amp desktop combo, on low gain (volume knob between 10-11). My review is based on these last two sources, as BElieve needs good amplification to show its full potential.

I do not recommend anyone to buy this iem to use with a pc, tablet or mobile phone, as it will simply sound muddy and the experience will be disappointing.





SOUND



KBEAR BElieve is an off-road, neutral-warm IEM in the shape of a U. Organic tuning, refined, mature and smooth, with good technicalities. The upper media are very soft and not tiring.



If I had to describe them in two words, they would be (analog valve).



Extremely natural and delicious high-mids and highs, with clarity, resolution and extension. They go to the limit, but it's amazing how they manage to spread, right to the point of derailment, but, in the end, you say ... Wow! And you wonder: is this DD or EST? Yes, it is strange, but the dynamic driver gets confused with an electrostatic at this point. (Don't get me wrong, it's an extension of ROUNDED notes), never bright or hissing.



The bass is very decent, with good spread and an adequate amount, not too loud, but it's there when you need it. With fast decay and more extension and amount of the sub bass and less in the low.



It's amazing how they reproduce blues, folk, acoustic tracks, live tracks, rock, and very good metal.



The voices, both male and female, are very intimate, organic. Magical.



Where other Iems leave you indifferent due to their extreme security of tuning or their tuning of false brilliant clarity that is annoying when things get complicated, Believe has that perfect point to enjoy MUSIC with capital letters in all its splendor.



For only 1 dynamic driver, KBEAR BElieve has very good details (micro and macro) with good recovery, instrument separation and clarity. Visuals are above average in this price range, and it performs very well with very complex musical passages.



The soundstage is not the widest, but it is deep and high, with good holographic imaging, especially when amplified. Let's say an 8.5 / 10. If you are looking for an immense soundstage, on the verge of being artificial due to its immensity in an IEM, this is not the place.



Those looking for a tremendously analytical-technical IEM, look elsewhere.



Basshead's will also have to go 'with the music elsewhere'.


CONCLUSION AND SUMMARY


I have other iems and headphones 3,4,5 and even 15 times more expensive. BElieve has come stomping into my collection. It is a value in itself, regardless of price. It is one of those IEMs that you listen to, and it leaves you so satisfied that you are not able to put a specific price on it.


At the $ 130-150 price that can be found, not only does this strike me as a real bargain, but it also happens to top MY preference over all my other purchases, and I rate KBear BElieve as (IEM OF THE YEAR 2020).


Buy and enjoy, BELIEVE.



DISCLAIMER OF LIABILITY


This is an honest review, from a particular audiophile; I have bought this iem for myself, and nobody has paid me or given me anything. It's just love for BElieve.

Packaging is very good similar to the Diamond that I also though was great in its presentation. Build is similar to the Diamond a nice style shell ..metal with a carbon fiber backplate, I personally love the blue in it.. so pretty.
Comfort is great and it has a large selection of tips to fit most people.

Comfort and isolation is very good, the shape seems to be perfect for my ears.

Sound:

Bass: Mid Bass is punchy and clear , Sub Bass is present yet not overpowering overall the Bass seems a neutral with a little lift in the Mid Bass, Sub Bass can be more aggressive if not properly amplified this gives the Believe a dual identity depending on how you power it. I found it a bit more warm using the ifi hip-dac but I liked it very much that way. Running of the Aune X1s it sounded as intended as that until is very transparent.

Mids: Are very nice neutral and full of details with lower amplification they sound rich and warm. either way wow such good mids vocals are very pleasant with a slight recession in heavy bass recordings. Upper Mids are forward but never reached the shouty level some others have, very good detail retrieval here and tonality in general the tonality was quite good with a smooth transition from low to high.

Treble: Has a great extension and reaches that perfect sparkle point with natural details far past this price point and better than some BA hybrids in my opinion. No harshness or lazy treble just some good tuning here with highs that are non fatiguing and rich with details.

Soundstage: Was natural in its shape and while not the widest it fits perfectly into the Believes tuning, with great accuracy, imaging , details it just sounds right. I have many wide soundstage IEMs sometimes it just sounds unnatural the believe is great as it is. Even with Dolby, THX or DTS:X on still sounds great but not really needed.

Conclusion:

The KBEAR Believe performs far better than many things in this price range, its built solid, has great premium accessories, It is a worthy successor to the Diamond ( that I still Love) the signature is engaging and I find myself wanting to use them a lot , considering the amount of IEM and headphones I have this is a big compliment to KBear and to the Tuning that went into this product.
I can recommend these to people who listen to many kinds of music it will not disappoint.




SPECIFICATIONS

Driver Unit: pure beryllium DD
Sensitivity: 98 dB/mW
Frequency response: 20Hz – 20000Hz
Impedance: 17 ohms
Cable: 2 Pin 0.78mm

KB Ear Believe is the first beryllium DD ever sold below $200. I was really skeptical towards Believe initially. I was not expecting much because I already have a bunch of low tiered and mid tiered Chifi, and they don't differ that much from one another, probably about 5%.

I wanted to confirm it that it's not just the hype, so I jumped the gun on Thanksgiving getting my very first Beryllium driver from KB Ear.

I received my KB Ear two weeks ago and unboxing KB Ear Believe was just quite an experience.

KB Ear Believe comes in Aluminum 5-axis CNC casing with 3D plate at the back that looks very nice. It is smaller than typical IEMs, as a matter a fact KB Ear Believe probably one of the smallest IEM that I have.

KB Ear comes with plentiful accessories, 3 silicone tips regular bore, 3 silicone tips wide bore (Standard), 2 memory foam ear tip, upgraded Copper Silver plated cable 2pin 0.78mm - 3.5mm jack, and a really nice leather pouch.

I love the industrial all metal design with 3D back plate and I consider KB Ear Believe as very cool and good looking pair of IEM’s.

Ok, before we move forward to the essence of this review, to be fair, I did my 100 hours burn in for my KB Ear Believe. I also purchased KB Ear balanced Copper Silver plated cable with 2.5mm jack. Word of caution, KB Ear Believe NEEDS a lot of power, so please get yourself a DAC/DAP to extract its full potential. If you are going to just plug this to a phone or Iphone, I would suggest don't even bother getting Believe. It does have low impedance of 17 Ohm; however it also has lower Sensitivity than most IEMs at 98dB. With my Iphone X, max volume only yield about 60dB of sound.

With 2.5mm jack balanced cable you get extra boost about 10dB, however I don't really need 2.5mm jack balanced cable, with the 3.5mm jack unbalanced cable I don't have to max out my BTR5 with Believe, at 50% there is plenty to hear.

For the purpose of this review, I will be pairing KB Ear Believe with my FIIO BTR5 DAC.

Fit:
KB Ear out of the box fit likes a glove to my ear canal. I don't even have to do tip rolling. It provided me with great seal to start with, probably due to its small size.

Sound:
The overall sound of KB Ear Believe is perceived as neutral balanced with enhanced the upper mid range that gives great detail retrieval and crystal clear treble without sibilant. I am so surprised that Believe can walk that thin line of being sibilant and not, and able to maintain that crystal clear clarity without being too brilliance. I don't really understand this, but this makes Believe as an exceptional IEM. Out of the box, the sub bass and mid bass were fast and detailed without bleeding over to the mid range. Initially, I did not like the bass because even though it was detailed enough, but it's lacking in punch. However, it changed after 100 hours burn in, the bass really hits it when the song requires it. Sound stage also improved after 100 hours burn in, it is wider, taller and deeper with great separation. I usually do not enjoy Coldplay songs on other IEMs because they sounded congested, but OH BOY!!!, not with Believe, I was so surprised how Believe can handle complicated track accordingly, providing much details, accuracy and precision on percussion. To me, it's just heavenly. Instrument placement and separation on Believe, I think is the best compared to any other single DD within its price range.

Comparison vs NM2+:
NM2+ is a lot bigger than Believe, fit and seal is better with Believe than NM2+
The bass out of the box, probably NM2+ is better; however its mid bass do bleed out to the mid range giving that warmth overall feeling compared to Believe clear clarity full bodied overall feeling. The mid range, no doubt Believe has a clear edge against NM2+, Believe has clear and precise mid range without mid bass bleed, male vocal more full bodied and female vocal more intimate and seductive in my opinion (I listened to Halsey and Blackpink songs alot). NM2+ has a tendency for distortion an higher volume, not sure making the Treble diminished especially with Bass ear tips provided by them. With Believe, the treble is spot on, plenty of extension, BRILLIANCE and yet not sibilant.

I want to thank KB Ear in creating this exceptional IEMs for me to enjoy.
Thank you.

DISCLAIMER

I would like to thank the KBEAR Official Store for providing this review unit.


EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

BEAR WITH ME, ISN’T IT BARELY BELIEVABLE THAT THE BELIEVE IS BRIMMING WITH BERYLLIUM?

The KBEAR BElieve is a purported full beryllium single DD set, priced so that one doesn’t need to sell our kidneys! It sports an organic, refined and smooth warm U shaped tuning, with very good technicalities (for a single DD). Timbre is good as per its single DD roots, but it has high power requirements due to the low sensitivity. When paired with lower powered sources, the bass is muddy, smears and is congested, so those that do not have optimal sources best look elsewhere. But once adequately amped, the magic starts and I daresay it can hit about 70% of the technical performance of the fabled DUNU LUNA, which is truly lunatical, no pun intended!


SPECIFICATIONS

• Driver Unit: pure beryllium diaphragm dynamic driver (imported from Japan)
• Sensitivity: 98 dB/mW
• Frequency response: 20Hz – 20000Hz
• Impedance: 17 ohms
• Cable: 2 Pin 0.78mm
• Tested at $159 USD

BEAR WITH ME, ISN’T IT BARELY BELIEVABLE THAT THE BELIEVE IS BRIMMING WITH BERYLLIUM?

Please skip on to the next section if you don’t want to read about beryllium and its controversies.

Alliterations about bears aside, 2020 is truly the year of the beryllium driver. Indeed, a lot of CHIFI brands are riding on a beryllium made hypetrain, and there’s been lots of single DD beryllium coated/plated gear released this year like the Moondrop SSR/SSP, Fiio FD1/Jade Audio EA1 and Urbanfun YBF-ISS014 (assuming it is not the “noble metal” driver version and that the QC is not a fail), amongst other hybrid containing beryllium coated/plated sets too.

Marketing aside, my personal take, is that what is more important than driver type/driver materials/driver count, is the actual implementation of the material/driver and the actual tuning. Also, I think beryllium may be toxic to process, so we have to be eternally grateful to the workers who risk their lives to get these pieces of audio nirvana to us!

That also leads us to talk about the issue of price. The beryllium coated/plated sets discussed above are generally cheaper than a purported full beryllium driver. So let’s address the biggest elephant in the room: does the KBEAR BElieve truly have a full beryllium single DD at this relatively cheap price point of $159 USD? Before the KBEAR BElieve, probably the cheapest advertised full beryllium DD set would have been the Periodic Audio BE ($299 USD) which has equivocal reviews, and deeper down the beryllium rabbithole, you have more expensive luminaries like the SummitFI single DD beryllium DUNU LUNA ($1700 USD) and Final Audio A8000 ($2000 USD).

Skeptics will surely ask, “How can the same tech be possible for $159 USD?” “That’s bearly barely believable for the price!” Well I’m on the fence about this, but just 3 years back, I would have laughed at you if you told me a multi driver IEM (some even with piezos) could be gotten at $16 USD (you can ask more in the Chinese brands or sub $100 thread on headfi). Back then, a triple driver set from a western/japanese brand then would have minimally cost north of $150 – 200 USD. I’m not privy to the inner workings of CHIFI land, but with economies of scale and cheaper labour/assembly in CHIFI land (and perhaps less robust patents/licensing), I would say, “never say never”, I wouldn’t discount the possibility?

I know there’s been a big shakeup in the audio world recently when a member of Audioreviews Facebook (Delta Fyre) dissected a certain brand’s IEM shell and realized the driver wasn’t beryllium as advertised, so biggest respect to him for exposing this (literally), and it prompted a withdrawal of that product by the company. Delta Fyre for sure deserves a noble metal prize for services to CHIFI (no Urbanfun beryllium pun intended). So now in addition to graphs for IEMs, this year we also move on to dissecting drivers and doing x-rays of gear to see what’s inside (yes there are folks doing x-rays in the audio forums!)

A famous and well followed Youtube reviewer also likewise dissected the KBEAR BElieve’s shell, showing the driver looks at least metallic, but I don’t have the necessary tools/expertise to proof otherwise for my set. There’ll be skeptics and “believers” (no pun intended) of the KBEAR BElieve regarding this beryllium question. Some will say even if KBEAR sends the driver to a lab for testing, the report may be rigged, or even if they send it to Facebook laymen brethren to dissect, it may be a planted set. Anyways, one can open the driver and show the world it looks like beryllium, but do non professionals have the necessary equipment (eg spectrometer) to show the type of metal and even the purity and coating amounts? So this will be a beryllium made can of worms that will be argued till the cows come home, so I guess we need to move on to how it actually sounds. However, let me state for the record that false advertising of a purported driver material/type is a big no go for me, even if the IEM sounds great.

FWIW, take it from me that the driver in the KBEAR BElieve takes to EQ like a champ (with minimal distortion), even with massive EQ, which is kind of a hallmark of other beryllium sets I’ve used, though as discussed, I can’t prove anything, cause maybe plated beryllium sets also can also take EQ very well. And as stated above, I do feel that what is more important than driver type/driver materials/driver count, is the actual implementation of the material/driver and the actual tuning. And I daresay when adequately amped, the KBEAR BElieve can hit about 70% of technical performance of the DUNU LUNA (which is lunatical [no pun intended], considering the LUNA costs 10 times more). So question about driver type aside, the price to performance ratio for the KBEAR BElieve is very good. I will do further comparisons with the DUNU LUNA and other similarly priced single DD types in the comparisons segment below, but let us continue with the review proper.


ACCESSORIES

In addition to the IEM, it comes with:

1) PVC leather pouch

2) 4 strands of 6N single crystal copper Litz – the stock cable is very well braided and thick, with no microphonics. It’s very good haptically and asthetically. Cable skeptics and believers (no pun intended) can have your own arguments whether aftermarket type cables will improve the sound, which is beyond the scope of this review.

3) Two types of stock silicone tips in various sizes – one is of softer consistency (black) than the other (grey). The KBEAR BElieve is extremely tip sensitive, using wide bore silicone tips on it drops the bass and using narrow bore ones boosts the bass quite markedly. Of course YMMV as we all have different ear anatomies, but do explore with eartips to do slight modifications in the sound to suit your preferences.

4) Foam tips (2 sizes)


Accessories are very nice, and are quite similar to the predecessor, the KBEAR Diamond. The cable however is different from the KBEAR Diamond, the one included here in the KBEAR BElieve seems to be a 4 strands 6N single crystal copper Litz cable rather than the SPC cable of the Diamond.

For the purposes of this review, I stuck to the stock greytips and the stock cable.







BUILD/COMFORT

The KBEAR BElieve’s shell is very well made, comfortable and well fitting. It is on the heavier side as it is made of metal, but I had no issues using it for long listening sessions. I didn’t find any driver flex, but YMMV as this may be partially related to the eartips we use and different ear anatomies.

I liked that it came with a 2 pin connector, as I’m not a fan of MMCX connectors due to potential longevity issues, especially with frequent cable swapping.


ISOLATION

Isolation on the KBEAR BElieve is average with the stock tips used, as per most vented single DD types.


DRIVABILITY/SOURCE

I tried running the KBEAR BElieve with a Khadas Tone Board -> Toppping L30, Khadas Tone Board -> Fiio A3 amp, Shanling Q1 DAP, Ziku HD X9 DAP -> Fiio A3 amp, a low powered smartphone, Sabre HIFI DAC (ESS ES9280C PRO) and the Tempotec Sonata HD Pro.

So other than whether the KBEAR BElieve contains a full beryllium driver, let’s address the second biggest elephant in the room: the KBEAR BElieve is one power hungry IEM, I already suspected it from the store specs of a sensitivity of 98dB/mW (impedance: 17ohm). But on actual listening, this drove the point in that amping is mandatory. It sounds muddy and gooey on smartphones and lower powered dongles, with the bass smearing when underpowered. Sure you can drive it from a non LG smartphone or lower powered source at higher volumes. It's not a matter of absolute volume, but amping tightens the bass, increases dynamics, microdetails and perhaps soundstage.

Personally, I think most 3.5 mm dongles can’t drive the BElieve optimally, maybe some extreme dongles like the 9038S may be able though. On high gain with the Topping L30, them the real potential is shown, with the sound opening up. The Final Audio E5000 was similarly another power hungry IEM in terms of raw amping needs, also sounded meh and muddy without amping, though the BElieve is not as power hungry as the Final E5000. The KBEAR BElieve is actually a tinge more power hungry than the TRI I3 (which has a planar)!

For the rest of this review, I used the Khadas Tone Board -> Topping L30 (high gain). I suspect a lot of folks who will be getting the KBEAR BElieve, may be using it from lower powered sources and are not gonna get the intended sound, and may walk away thinking it is a muddy set, similar to the Final Audio E5000 being muddy when underpowered. So be warned, it needs amping to scale to its real potential.

Since the KBEAR BElieve is on the warmer side, it doesn’t pair the best with warm amps/DAPs, as the bass may be a bit more woolly and muddy, so do consider neutral or brighter sources with the KBEAR BElieve.

Some folks will then ask, what is the point of pairing a more expensive source such as an amp/DAP with the KBEAR BElieve, doesn’t that add to the additional costs of the IEM? Well, for one, the KBEAR BElieve is a midfi IEM, and I guess folks that buy midfi stuff may probably own a higher end source or two and they will probably read up about the source requirements. And getting an amp/good DAP is probably a one time investment as we progress further down this rabbithole hobby. Sources may end up being the limiting factor in the audio chain sooner or later, and is a worthwhile investment I feel, more worthwhile then spending tons on cables for sure. Getting a good amp/DAP will also be future proofing as we can unlock other gear that have high requirements. I mean if it were a sub $20 set like the recent BLON BL-01 (which is aiming for a different market segment) and someone told me I need an amp to unlock the BL-01’s potential, I would ask them to fly a kite. But a lot of other IEMs such as the Final E series (Final E3000, Final E5000) and even the more expensive full beryllium Final A8000 are not the easiest to drive, and need amping to scale to their optimal sound.

One can also argue that IEMs are for their portability (compared to headphones), and that getting a desktop amp (or a powerful DAP) doesn’t make economic sense for a midfi IEM. Well that’s a valid point, and at the end of the day, if one doesn’t intend to invest in a powerful source, then I would advise to look elsewhere from the KBEAR BElieve, there’s lots of other options around the same price that don’t need amping. Horses for courses as they say, I apologize if I’m boring everyone here with this long discussion about source pairing, but I want to reinforce to everyone that the source will be the limiting factor and probably the biggest variable in getting optimal sound when it comes to the KBEAR BElieve. Do know make an informed decision: I don’t want to see people getting the KBEAR BElieve only to realize later that you don’t have a proper source pairing for it.


SOUND & TECHNICALITIES


Graph courtesy of KopiOKaya from Audioreviews (IEC711 compliant coupler). 8ish kHz area is probably a resonance coupler peak.


The KBEAR BElieve is a warm U shaped set, it sports an, organic, refined and smooth U shaped tuning, with very good technicalities. The upper mids do look emphasized on the graph, but on actual listening, with adequate amping, they are very smooth and non fatiguing, managing to balance a fine line between having forward upper mids without shoutiness. With boosting the volume a lot (Fletcher Munson curve) or on poorly recorded material, then there might be rare instances of shoutiness at the upper mids. This isn’t a set that has the typical CHIFI sawtooth upper mids, but goes for a more mature and refined tuning.

For a midfi single DD set, the KBEAR BElieve has very good details, instrument separation and clarity. Imaging is generally above average but may not beat some multi BA/hybrids at this midfi price bracket. Nevertheless, the KBEAR BElieve manges to keep up with very complex musical arrangements. Soundstage is not the widest but it is quite deep and tall in soundstage, especially when amped. Those that want very large soundstages (you may argue even on the verge of artificially large soundstages) better look elsewhere.

Note weight on the KBEAR BElieve is a tinge thinner than average. The timbre for acoustic instruments is very good, as per its single DD roots, but there might be some rare instances of a metallic tinge for violins (which I have heard in some other beryllium sets).


Bass:
The KBEAR BElieve has a midbass that is north of neutral but not at basshead levels. Subbass is of less quantity than midbass. With lower powered sources, some may find the midbass quantity overly thick and the midbass decay slow, but this improves with amping as discussed. Subbass extension is okay for a single DD, the subbass can give a visceral rumble when called for, but this is not a subbass focused IEM, nor a basshead IEM.

In terms of bass transients, it is not the fastest (especially when compared to other beryllium type DD bass), texturing is good but not class leading. Even when amped, the slower bass decay does damp the transients and resolution a bit. This adds a bit of warmth to the music, I like it, but I know some who are adverse to it. Dynamics and timbre in the bass are very good. When amped, there is almost no midbass bleed, which is quite surprising for the slower bass decay, so no worries about the bass impinging into the other frequencies.

If you want to boost the bass to basshead levels or tame the bass to something more neutralish, then please feel free to EQ to your heart’s content. As discussed, the KBEAR BElieve takes to EQ like a champ (with minimal distortion), even with massive EQ, which is kind of a hallmark of plated and full beryllium sets, so EQ lovers will have a field day with this set.


Mids:
Mids-wise, they are slightly recessed at the lower mids, but are quite natural and transparent nevertheless. Upper mids are boosted, but as discussed, the upper mids are very smooth and not shouty (when amped). Female vocals are slightly more forward than male vocals, vocals for both genders are very intelligible. I liked that the upper mids manages to balance a fine line between having forward upper mids without shoutiness. As per the Fletcher Munson Curve, it can on rare occasions be hot in the upper mids at high volumes or with poorly recorded material. This isn’t a set that has the typical CHIFI sawtooth upper mids, but goes for a more refined tuning.


Treble:
The lower treble of the KBEAR BElieve continues on from the safe upper mids tuning, and is non fatiguing. The higher treble does extend quite well and is not harsh for my treble sensitive tastes. I didn’t find any sibilance (unless it is already present in the recording). Details, clarity and resolution are captured very well in the treble regions and cymbals sound very natural (cymbals can sound splashy on other CHIFI types).


COMPARISONS

As per comparing apples to apples, I left out multi BA/hybrids and rarer driver types from the comparisons as they have their own strengths and weaknesses among the different transducer types. I apologize that I’m not able to audition or get hold of a loaner unit for the hypetrain NF Audio NM2+, I think a lot of folks are interested to see how it performs against the KBEAR BElieve (as both are single DDs around the same price). If i do get it one day, I’ll definitely update this review, but I’ll make do for now to compare some TOTL single DD types all the way to $100ish USD single DD types.


DUNU LUNA ($1700 USD)

Just to put it out there, the DUNU LUNA is my most favourite single DD set in terms of how it melds technicalities, timbre, tonality and musicality. The DUNU LUNA is usually discussed in the same breath with the other full beryllium single DD summitFI set, the Final Audio A8000, and I do think the Final Audio A8000 has better technical performance, though I found the Final Audio A8000 too bright/fatiguing for me due to the wealth of resolution and details and there’s a peak somewhere at the 5 – 6 kHz region, so it isn’t my cup of tea.

I know it is kind of lunatical (no pun intended) to compare the KBEAR BElieve ($159 USD) to the $1700 USD DUNU LUNA, but since they are both advertised to have full beryllium DDs, here we go:

The DUNU LUNA has better timbre and thicker note weight. The DUNU LUNA is more refined, has faster transients and has better technicalities/dynamics, but it costs 10 times more, so that’s kinda expected. If I were to give a ballpark figure, I think the KBEAR BElieve can hit around 70% of the DUNU LUNA’s technical performance (when amped). Despite the high price, the DUNU LUNA is also not perfect, it has a subbass/higher treble rolloff. The DUNU LUNA is easier to drive, but has worse isolation.

So between the 2, it depends if you wanna chase the last 30% sound for huge diminishing returns, or are happy with hitting 70% performance for 10% of the cost, but the only problem is I can’t unhear what I have heard (the 30% improvement) in the DUNU LUNA hahaha.


Final Audio A8000 ($2000 USD)

The Final Audio A8000 as discussed above is another summitFI set that has excellent technicalities and also is advertised to have a full beryllium single DD. I would say the Final Audio A8000 has the best resolution, transparency, transients and technicalities I’ve ever heard in a single DD set, though it needs amping as it is also not that easy to drive.

For sure the Final Audio A8000 has better technicalities than the KBEAR BElieve (in clarity, transients, resolution, details, imaging, soundstage), but I found the Final Audio A8000 too bright/fatiguing for me due to the wealth of resolution/details and there’s a peak somewhere at the 5 – 6 kHz region, though I’m treble sensitive. Ballpark, I would say the KBEAR BElieve can hit about 60ish% of the technical performance of the Final Audio A8000 but the latter costs 12 – 13 times more, so big diminishing returns once more as you go up the ladder. Likewise it is an unfair comparison at the different price point for these 2 sets, but I brought it out since they are both advertised to have full beryllium single DDs. Between the two, the tonality is rather different too, the Final Audio A8000 goes for a brighter and crisper tonality compared to the warmer and more analoguish KBEAR BElieve.


KBEAR Diamond ($79 USD)

The KBEAR Diamond is the predecessor of the KBEAR BElieve, they both look similar externally, but are of a different colours and driver types (DLC versus purported beryllium). The nozzle is also slightly shorter in the KBEAR BElieve compared to the KBEAR Diamond, I actually find the fit more secure in the KBEAR BElieve cause the longer nozzle seems to “push” the KBEAR Diamond out of my ears.

The KBEAR Diamond does scale with amping too, but is easier to drive than the KBEAR BElieve. The KBEAR Diamond has poorer technicalities, is more V shaped, and can get a bit hotter in the upper mids, with a more depressed lower mids region (which some found polarizing). KBEAR Diamond is more bassy (when same tips are used). I do believe, no pun intended, that the KBEAR BElieve is a true upgrade over its predecessor, and is worth the extra outlay assuming you have an optimal source.


TFZ No. 3 ($109 USD)

The TFZ No. 3 is a more V shaped single DD basshead set. The TFZ No.3 has more copious midbass and subbass quantities, but the bass quality is worse, in being not the most textured, with boominess and midbass bleed in spades. The TFZ No. 3 also has a more shouty upper mids at higher volumes (Fletcher Munson curve), and it also has worse timbre and technicalities than the KBEAR BElieve, with a quite compressed soundstage too.

The TFZ No. 3 would suit bassheads and would be very good for bass forward music genres, but is kind of a one trick pony. I think the KBEAR BElieve is the more refined pair between the two, and is smoother and has better technicalities, although the TFZ No. 3 is much easier to drive (in fact it has a higher sensitivity and can hiss like a snake with certain sources).


Toneking Ninetails ($125 USD)

The Toneking Ninetails is more versatile as it has 9 tuning options (from basshead to V shaped to neutralish), so it has more sonic signatures than the KBEAR BElieve. The Toneking Ninetails IEM was a cult classic with good reviews among owners, but a lot were hesitant to purchase it due to the unconventional looking design. The Ninetails is actually quite well fitting and comfortable once you know how to wear it, but the KBEAR BElieve is still more comfortable due to the more ergonomic and conventional profile.

The Toneking Ninetails is easier to drive but has weaker technicalities than the KBEAR BElieve. Timbre between the two is similarly good. The Toneking Ninetails is also semi open backed and hence has a better soundstage, though this double edge sword makes it poorer in isolation.


CONCLUSIONS

The KBEAR BElieve is a purported bearly barely believable full beryllium single DD set, priced so that one doesn’t need to sell our kidneys! It sports an organic, refined and smooth warm U shaped tuning, with very good technicalities (for a single DD). Timbre is good as per its single DD roots, but it has high power requirements due to the low sensitivity. It can be played from a lower powered source, but the bass is muddy, smears and is congested, so those that do not have optimal sources best look elsewhere.

The big question about whether you “believe” or do not believe that the KBEAR BElieve does contain full beryllium drivers can’t be answered conclusively here, but I’d say it has good value proposition compared to some other full beryllium luminaries like the DUNU LUNA, just that the requirement for a higher powered source may limit the potential pool of buyers or some folks may be underpowering the KBEAR BElieve with weaker sources and may walk away thinking this is a muddy set.

The KBEAR BElieve hits close to my preferred tuning target actually. I do recommend this set for those that want a warm and smooth organic tuning, to chill back and just enjoy the music (without much loss of technical performance). Diehard bassheads or those that want a very crisp and analytical signature may need to look elsewhere. Technical chops, as we discusssed, are very good for a midfi single DD, although some similarly priced multi BA/hybrid types may trump it in this department.

The KBEAR BElieve has quite a smooth and well balanced tonality, and it will be accompanying me on many late night chill jazz sessions after a long day of work!

The KBEAR Believe is a warm sounding earphone with a thick low end and a good resolution from the midrange into the well extended treble. It relies strongly on (neutral) amplification.

Resolution in midrange and treble is excellent, but the bass is a bit strong for me in the mix...which can be fixed with the right amping.





I formulated my thoughts on the KBEAR Believe in this video: