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KBEAR KB02
For the watchers...
Introduction & Disclaimer
At around 48 Euros, the KB02 is reaching the upper limit of what I would consider a budget IEM and brings some interesting features not commonly found at this price point.
This review sample was provided free of charge by KeepHIFI in exchange for my opinions.
Non-affiliate link for more product details - https://keephifi.com/products/kbear-kb02?_pos=1&_psq=kb02&_ss=e&_v=1.0
Build, Design & Ergonomics
There is very little to complain about the KB02’s design especially with regard to the 3D printed resin shells that are finished with individually designed and hand-polished face plates which are exceptionally well finished.
How they manage to add the extra human labour hours at this price is a mystery to me.
Inside the resin shells lies the party piece.
Two drivers, including a beryllium coated 10mm dynamic driver and a 10mm ‘bone conduction driver with elastic piece’
Lightly tapping on the housings causes the bone conduction driver to vibrate, although they do not vibrate for as long when the shells are damped by your ear lobes. Thankfully nothing short of actually tapping them with your finger nail will cause this vibration to occur and it’s not a particularly shrill or annoying sound if it does happen, so I don’t see this as a big negative point, just something I thought was interesting.
Ergonomically, I had the feeling that they almost do not fit my ears, with a slight tendency to want to escape my ear canals with their larger than average metal nozzles with a diameter of 6.5mm, but switching from the usual large tips to medium managed to mostly fix this problem which was a little unexpected.
The cable is almost a highlight comprised of a tight 4-core twisted coil, it also resists tangling very well even after the y-split.
It is almost identical to the cable provided with the Kiwi Ears Airoso.
In the hand, I get the impression of an IEM costing up to twice as much, but with accessories being limited to 3 different generic sets of silicone tips, no carry case and very simple paper and card packaging, I can possibly understand how they’re keeping costs down and presumably passing on those savings to the consumer.
I’ll let you be the judge of that.
The Sound
In the first 10 minutes of testing the KB02, I wasn’t blown away.
I was of course hyper focusing on the tuning which has a touch of pinna-gain around 4.5KHz, which gives vocals in particular an extra push out in front of the mix. This is something I am quite sensitive and averse to, so I knew I would have to be a bit more patient with this IEM.
(Comparison with Kiwi Ears KE4 (Grey) as it is a known 'meta' tuned IEM)
Without making any adjustments for tone correction, the tuning reminds me quite a lot of the Simgot SuperMix4 (Grey).
A very brief comparison confirmed my suspicion although the KB02 has a slightly darker treble presentation and a touch less sub-bass.
After making the usual small EQ adjustments on my smartphone; reducing the 4KHz region and boosting sub-bass by about 2-3dB, I got a tonal response I was happy and familiar with.
This allowed me to focus less on the tone and more on the other aspects of sound.
Starting with the negative, the bone conduction driver does some ‘interesting’ things in the sub-bass region.
Very deep notes and rumbles sound very artificially textured, which I suspect is the bone conduction driver excessively vibrating which could be it’s resonant frequency, it could be adding harmonics, or is simply crapping out and reaching it’s physical limit. I’m not sure exactly which one it is, but thankfully I have only found it on two very bass heavy tracks so far, so it’s not a common occurrence.
It is very clearly audible on opening bass notes in Thunder by The Prodigy, and in Why so Serious? By Hans Zimmer in the bassy part, you might have to turn the volume up quite a bit to hear it, but the bass texture is all wrong after cranking it up a bit.
On the whole while it has it’s limitations, that isn’t to say that it isn’t without it’s merits.
Not just the bass, but even much of the midrange has an added veiled layer of tactility and weight to every note that sounds just a touch more lifelike and scaled-up than any other budget IEM I’ve heard. It’s not an obvious effect, it is in fact very often extremely subtle, but every now and then with the right recording, small percussive sounds feel bigger and more real.
Going further into the less tangible aspects of the sound, imaging is excellent with no obvious diffusion that clearly translates well to a 3D gaming experience.
The soundstage is also incrementally above average for the price, and is complemented well by the good imaging.
And finally, after just a little EQ’ing, they do almost nothing obviously wrong, with just about as much detail and separation as any regular mortal could ever need.
Comparisons
BLON BL-03II
Without any tone correction, the BL-03II sounds more correct to my ears, but doesn’t quite have the same scale and agility of the KB02.
Both possess similar detail and timbre, but the KB02 is so much easier to wear because the BLON is let down by it’s unusual form and strong cable coils.
CCZ Harmony BC01 PRO
The BC01 sounds bombastic by comparison with an overblown but very fun sub and mid-bass response, and a darker treble response.
The KB02 sounds more accurate, natural, spacious and detailed.
Both possess very good imaging, so I’m happy to hear the KB02 isn’t slouching here.
Conclusions
I think most people would not be disappointed with this purchase.
The build quality and design is superb, the cable is excellent at this price point and the audio quality, aside from the very deepest sub-bass is well above average.
Personally I wouldn’t hesitate to take this over the Truthear x Crinacle ZERO:RED due to it’s poor imaging, or over the Moondrop Chu II because of it’s hot treble and weird shape, but I think there are some who might be persuaded to go for the safer sound of something like the BLON BL-03 II.
The KB02 is priced extremely fairly and anyone who is used to making small EQ adjustments will most likely find these more than acceptable, especially regarding the unique resin faceplates and inclusion of bone conduction at this price.
I will definitely give these a soft recommendation, especially for anyone who wants to try out new driver technology for less, or if you really just want these for their looks as they do very little wrong at the price.
And for the sceptics, this is at the very least a good indication for things to come as bone conduction driver technology and implementation will also improve in the future.
For the watchers...
Introduction & Disclaimer
At around 48 Euros, the KB02 is reaching the upper limit of what I would consider a budget IEM and brings some interesting features not commonly found at this price point.
This review sample was provided free of charge by KeepHIFI in exchange for my opinions.
Non-affiliate link for more product details - https://keephifi.com/products/kbear-kb02?_pos=1&_psq=kb02&_ss=e&_v=1.0
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Build, Design & Ergonomics
There is very little to complain about the KB02’s design especially with regard to the 3D printed resin shells that are finished with individually designed and hand-polished face plates which are exceptionally well finished.
How they manage to add the extra human labour hours at this price is a mystery to me.
Inside the resin shells lies the party piece.
Two drivers, including a beryllium coated 10mm dynamic driver and a 10mm ‘bone conduction driver with elastic piece’
Lightly tapping on the housings causes the bone conduction driver to vibrate, although they do not vibrate for as long when the shells are damped by your ear lobes. Thankfully nothing short of actually tapping them with your finger nail will cause this vibration to occur and it’s not a particularly shrill or annoying sound if it does happen, so I don’t see this as a big negative point, just something I thought was interesting.
Ergonomically, I had the feeling that they almost do not fit my ears, with a slight tendency to want to escape my ear canals with their larger than average metal nozzles with a diameter of 6.5mm, but switching from the usual large tips to medium managed to mostly fix this problem which was a little unexpected.
The cable is almost a highlight comprised of a tight 4-core twisted coil, it also resists tangling very well even after the y-split.
It is almost identical to the cable provided with the Kiwi Ears Airoso.
In the hand, I get the impression of an IEM costing up to twice as much, but with accessories being limited to 3 different generic sets of silicone tips, no carry case and very simple paper and card packaging, I can possibly understand how they’re keeping costs down and presumably passing on those savings to the consumer.
I’ll let you be the judge of that.
The Sound
In the first 10 minutes of testing the KB02, I wasn’t blown away.
I was of course hyper focusing on the tuning which has a touch of pinna-gain around 4.5KHz, which gives vocals in particular an extra push out in front of the mix. This is something I am quite sensitive and averse to, so I knew I would have to be a bit more patient with this IEM.
(Comparison with Kiwi Ears KE4 (Grey) as it is a known 'meta' tuned IEM)
Without making any adjustments for tone correction, the tuning reminds me quite a lot of the Simgot SuperMix4 (Grey).
A very brief comparison confirmed my suspicion although the KB02 has a slightly darker treble presentation and a touch less sub-bass.
After making the usual small EQ adjustments on my smartphone; reducing the 4KHz region and boosting sub-bass by about 2-3dB, I got a tonal response I was happy and familiar with.
This allowed me to focus less on the tone and more on the other aspects of sound.
Starting with the negative, the bone conduction driver does some ‘interesting’ things in the sub-bass region.
Very deep notes and rumbles sound very artificially textured, which I suspect is the bone conduction driver excessively vibrating which could be it’s resonant frequency, it could be adding harmonics, or is simply crapping out and reaching it’s physical limit. I’m not sure exactly which one it is, but thankfully I have only found it on two very bass heavy tracks so far, so it’s not a common occurrence.
It is very clearly audible on opening bass notes in Thunder by The Prodigy, and in Why so Serious? By Hans Zimmer in the bassy part, you might have to turn the volume up quite a bit to hear it, but the bass texture is all wrong after cranking it up a bit.
On the whole while it has it’s limitations, that isn’t to say that it isn’t without it’s merits.
Not just the bass, but even much of the midrange has an added veiled layer of tactility and weight to every note that sounds just a touch more lifelike and scaled-up than any other budget IEM I’ve heard. It’s not an obvious effect, it is in fact very often extremely subtle, but every now and then with the right recording, small percussive sounds feel bigger and more real.
Going further into the less tangible aspects of the sound, imaging is excellent with no obvious diffusion that clearly translates well to a 3D gaming experience.
The soundstage is also incrementally above average for the price, and is complemented well by the good imaging.
And finally, after just a little EQ’ing, they do almost nothing obviously wrong, with just about as much detail and separation as any regular mortal could ever need.
Comparisons
BLON BL-03II
Without any tone correction, the BL-03II sounds more correct to my ears, but doesn’t quite have the same scale and agility of the KB02.
Both possess similar detail and timbre, but the KB02 is so much easier to wear because the BLON is let down by it’s unusual form and strong cable coils.
CCZ Harmony BC01 PRO
The BC01 sounds bombastic by comparison with an overblown but very fun sub and mid-bass response, and a darker treble response.
The KB02 sounds more accurate, natural, spacious and detailed.
Both possess very good imaging, so I’m happy to hear the KB02 isn’t slouching here.
Conclusions
I think most people would not be disappointed with this purchase.
The build quality and design is superb, the cable is excellent at this price point and the audio quality, aside from the very deepest sub-bass is well above average.
Personally I wouldn’t hesitate to take this over the Truthear x Crinacle ZERO:RED due to it’s poor imaging, or over the Moondrop Chu II because of it’s hot treble and weird shape, but I think there are some who might be persuaded to go for the safer sound of something like the BLON BL-03 II.
The KB02 is priced extremely fairly and anyone who is used to making small EQ adjustments will most likely find these more than acceptable, especially regarding the unique resin faceplates and inclusion of bone conduction at this price.
I will definitely give these a soft recommendation, especially for anyone who wants to try out new driver technology for less, or if you really just want these for their looks as they do very little wrong at the price.
And for the sceptics, this is at the very least a good indication for things to come as bone conduction driver technology and implementation will also improve in the future.
When unpacking, there was a very positive surprise, the design. They look very nice and they look much more expensive than they are. Not sure how they manage to make them for that price, but its very nice.
The first disappointment, 2-pin... but common, what do you expect for that price? Taking that into consideration, it would be naive to expect MMCX or T2.
Other than being 2-pin the cable is actually very nice and comfortable. I am very satisfied with the cable. I know a lot way more expensive earphone that have way worse cables. Its not springy, it doesn't tangle. Other makers should take a note.
They come with a wide selection of earpieces, non of them really fit my ears well or are really comfortable, which is no issue because i do all reviews with the exact same earpieces, so they are comparable.
In this specific case, i used the COMPLY TRZ-500 for the whole review (which is kindy funny as a set of these cost almost as much as the earphone, but it would be unfair to use different ones just because they are cheaper)
The comfort is good, i could wear them for the whole review without any comfort issues whatsoever. Very nice.
The isolation is rather average but... they are not advertised for being noise isolating, so that doesn't matter. Its not bad though its just not isolating.
The only strange thing about the earphone is that they sound like they have a spring inside. When i talk or bite or walk or something like that, i can hear an rather loud "spring" like resonance that is very annoying. I have to remove them while talking or walking, so they are not suitable for meetings or very outgoing people and stuff like that.
Not sure what exactly is inside them, but whatever is there, when i am clacking my teeth, the resonance is louder than the music on medium volume. It sounds exactly like this typical "springy" sound of a small spring like in ball pens. Maybe its the bone conducting technology? Not sure, but i hear it. I noticed that right away when i unpacked them. Even gentle tapping against the housing will cause them to "ring".
I have to admit, that i am rather sensitive for any disturbing sounds, i usually use isolating IEM for a reason
so maybe you will not notice it. I did.
Other than that, there is absolutely nothing wrong with 40$, its much better than i expected.
The sound is also better than expected. No distortion issues or horrible tuning or whatever. They are pretty safe.
For that low price, if you like the design, just get them. There is nothing wrong with these and for that price, they are much better than i expected. Its a 5* product putting the price into consideration unless you want to use them outside the house. The slightly low isolation and especially the springy sound while walking would be 4*. I will give them 4.5*, depending on how you want to use them its 4~5.
You like the design and have 40$ to spend? Just get them, its a no brainer.
I will now go into more detail, and if you do that, of course you find issues. I will report them here but keep in mind, this is a 40$ set and also keep in mind that some things i will mention here, are even present in >1000$ sets.
For those who care and want to know how a 40$ set will compare against Flat/Accurate Studio Reference Monitors, here is the result:
The Bass is... weird. The Sub-Bass is strong but after that, there is a gap. For example if you listen to a bass guitar, the bass will not be linear. Very deep bass sounds will be much louder than the rest of the bass guitar. Until the Bass Guitar gets into the higher region where there will be a jump again.
Sometimes the bass guitar simply gets too low in volume and almost disappears in the mix. But that sound is intentional, this Earphone tries to sound fun and does. Its a fun bass, but not accurate and also rather ""cold"".
If you have middy instruments, it will sound cold. If you have a very warm instrument like a bass guitar or an double bass, they will also sound cold. Things will not sound how they are supposed to sound. So especially for music where this is important like everything that uses a lot of acosutic instruments, things will start to sound off/wrong.
The upper mids and lower treble are _very_ pushed. If you have any percussion instruments in your music, they will be in your face, always. No matter if they are supposed to be there or not, they will be.
Clapping of an audience in an live recording, they will clap right beside your ear. With a lot of music, that will throw of the balance. Things in the upper-mids/lower treble region will overshadow everything else. If you turn up the volume to hear "the whole thing" they will get uncomfortable loud.
Even with music that does not use a lot of acoustic instruments, this overall tuning does have issues.
Example: Party Maker from Perfume. An rather warm, bassy song that will sound rather "cold" with these and the sound effects used in that song will be way to loud. If you turn the volume up to an level where it starts to actually get fun, several sounds will start to get uncomfortable or even hurt.
The Bass on that song will be surprisingly low as the bass is in the upper bass region where this earphone has a gap. Party Maker is supposed to sound like the title of the song. Its a fat, fun, party like sounding song. With this earphone, even though it has a very fun tuning, this "fat, big, party" sound is gone. Its an rather sterile sound. If you want them too sound fun, you have to listen to something that has a lot of sub-bass and then, it will actually do. So your choice of music is important.
An Drum Kit will not sound balanced but rather bum tsss bum tsss if you understand what i mean. The Bass Drum and the high hat/cymbals will be louder than everything else. You have a dry snare drum? That will almost disappear. You have a springy snare? It will slam right into your eardrum. The Tom Drums will almost disappear too. If the drummer goes Kick --> (large) Tom --> (Medium) Tom --> (High) Tom --> High Hat it will sound something like
BUM Bum bum buM TSSS
The Mid-Section of an Piano will sound fine, but as soon it gets into the higher octets, the piano will suddenly jump up in volume and start to clirr/sound shrill.
Its an rather Harmany tuning. If you like that type of "fun" tuning, this earphone will be perfect for you and you will find nothing wrong with it.
But again, and please keep that in mind, this is an 40$ set. Even with all these ""defects"", they are absolutely worth their price. Buy them with the right expectations and you will be very happy with them. If you want more, you have to pay more, there is no way around it. And they are good enough, that you have to do quite a jump to get a better sound.
The first disappointment, 2-pin... but common, what do you expect for that price? Taking that into consideration, it would be naive to expect MMCX or T2.
Other than being 2-pin the cable is actually very nice and comfortable. I am very satisfied with the cable. I know a lot way more expensive earphone that have way worse cables. Its not springy, it doesn't tangle. Other makers should take a note.
They come with a wide selection of earpieces, non of them really fit my ears well or are really comfortable, which is no issue because i do all reviews with the exact same earpieces, so they are comparable.
In this specific case, i used the COMPLY TRZ-500 for the whole review (which is kindy funny as a set of these cost almost as much as the earphone, but it would be unfair to use different ones just because they are cheaper)
The comfort is good, i could wear them for the whole review without any comfort issues whatsoever. Very nice.
The isolation is rather average but... they are not advertised for being noise isolating, so that doesn't matter. Its not bad though its just not isolating.
The only strange thing about the earphone is that they sound like they have a spring inside. When i talk or bite or walk or something like that, i can hear an rather loud "spring" like resonance that is very annoying. I have to remove them while talking or walking, so they are not suitable for meetings or very outgoing people and stuff like that.
Not sure what exactly is inside them, but whatever is there, when i am clacking my teeth, the resonance is louder than the music on medium volume. It sounds exactly like this typical "springy" sound of a small spring like in ball pens. Maybe its the bone conducting technology? Not sure, but i hear it. I noticed that right away when i unpacked them. Even gentle tapping against the housing will cause them to "ring".
I have to admit, that i am rather sensitive for any disturbing sounds, i usually use isolating IEM for a reason
so maybe you will not notice it. I did.Other than that, there is absolutely nothing wrong with 40$, its much better than i expected.
The sound is also better than expected. No distortion issues or horrible tuning or whatever. They are pretty safe.
For that low price, if you like the design, just get them. There is nothing wrong with these and for that price, they are much better than i expected. Its a 5* product putting the price into consideration unless you want to use them outside the house. The slightly low isolation and especially the springy sound while walking would be 4*. I will give them 4.5*, depending on how you want to use them its 4~5.
You like the design and have 40$ to spend? Just get them, its a no brainer.
I will now go into more detail, and if you do that, of course you find issues. I will report them here but keep in mind, this is a 40$ set and also keep in mind that some things i will mention here, are even present in >1000$ sets.
For those who care and want to know how a 40$ set will compare against Flat/Accurate Studio Reference Monitors, here is the result:
The Bass is... weird. The Sub-Bass is strong but after that, there is a gap. For example if you listen to a bass guitar, the bass will not be linear. Very deep bass sounds will be much louder than the rest of the bass guitar. Until the Bass Guitar gets into the higher region where there will be a jump again.
Sometimes the bass guitar simply gets too low in volume and almost disappears in the mix. But that sound is intentional, this Earphone tries to sound fun and does. Its a fun bass, but not accurate and also rather ""cold"".
If you have middy instruments, it will sound cold. If you have a very warm instrument like a bass guitar or an double bass, they will also sound cold. Things will not sound how they are supposed to sound. So especially for music where this is important like everything that uses a lot of acosutic instruments, things will start to sound off/wrong.
The upper mids and lower treble are _very_ pushed. If you have any percussion instruments in your music, they will be in your face, always. No matter if they are supposed to be there or not, they will be.
Clapping of an audience in an live recording, they will clap right beside your ear. With a lot of music, that will throw of the balance. Things in the upper-mids/lower treble region will overshadow everything else. If you turn up the volume to hear "the whole thing" they will get uncomfortable loud.
Even with music that does not use a lot of acoustic instruments, this overall tuning does have issues.
Example: Party Maker from Perfume. An rather warm, bassy song that will sound rather "cold" with these and the sound effects used in that song will be way to loud. If you turn the volume up to an level where it starts to actually get fun, several sounds will start to get uncomfortable or even hurt.
The Bass on that song will be surprisingly low as the bass is in the upper bass region where this earphone has a gap. Party Maker is supposed to sound like the title of the song. Its a fat, fun, party like sounding song. With this earphone, even though it has a very fun tuning, this "fat, big, party" sound is gone. Its an rather sterile sound. If you want them too sound fun, you have to listen to something that has a lot of sub-bass and then, it will actually do. So your choice of music is important.
An Drum Kit will not sound balanced but rather bum tsss bum tsss if you understand what i mean. The Bass Drum and the high hat/cymbals will be louder than everything else. You have a dry snare drum? That will almost disappear. You have a springy snare? It will slam right into your eardrum. The Tom Drums will almost disappear too. If the drummer goes Kick --> (large) Tom --> (Medium) Tom --> (High) Tom --> High Hat it will sound something like
BUM Bum bum buM TSSS
The Mid-Section of an Piano will sound fine, but as soon it gets into the higher octets, the piano will suddenly jump up in volume and start to clirr/sound shrill.
Its an rather Harmany tuning. If you like that type of "fun" tuning, this earphone will be perfect for you and you will find nothing wrong with it.
But again, and please keep that in mind, this is an 40$ set. Even with all these ""defects"", they are absolutely worth their price. Buy them with the right expectations and you will be very happy with them. If you want more, you have to pay more, there is no way around it. And they are good enough, that you have to do quite a jump to get a better sound.
