KBEAR KB04

KB EAR KB04 REVIEW
I have had this IEM for a few months, and now (after a long delay...) and now I bring this review.

Accessories:

The earphone comes in a very compact box, with a basic set of accessories: a shirt clip and two sets of eartips: black and transparent.







Build Quality:


Despite being an 35 USD IEM, its construction is one of the best I've seen, regardless of the price. The Shell is made of metal and its finish is excellent.
However, there are some cons: this is the heaviest IEM I have ever used. The fit is also not so good, because the shell is flat on the part that touches the ear and the bore is too short.



Another con is the cable. At first, I found the cable excellent, apparently durable and very flexible. However, with less than two months of use, the two thinner cables that are above the Y splitter (as shown by the red arrow in the photo below) became rigid and lost all flexibility. Sometimes they look like two sticks... This, unfortunately, made the fit even more difficult. I suspect that this was due to some kind of oxidation.




Sound:

In summary, KB04 presents a very lively and energetic sound signature, with prominence in the 3 regions of the frequency spectrum: low, medium and highs (W - shaped).

LOWS: The bass is high when compared to something neutral, like the Etymotic ER4SR, but it has a lot of control and definition. The punch is very present and tight, as are the subs. There is no exaggeration in this frequency range and the detail is excellent. I would say that they are identical, in quantity and quality, to the bass of Tanchjim Cora, which are also some of the best I've heard in an IEM.





MIDS: This region is very present on the KB04. There is some elevation between 3.5 ->5khz (upper mids -> Low treble), which brings more presence, clarity and extra energy to the midrange. Because of that, voices, guitars, trumpets, for example, sound a little more prominent, more crunchy and more in your face, than they do on a neutral IEM like the Etymotic ER4SR, for example. Even the Tanchjim Cora has softer, more neutral mids in comparison. In the vast majority of recordings, this brings extra energy and flavor to the sound. However, in a few situations, such as recordings that have high pitched voices, or in recordings that aren't well mixed, the sound can end up being shouty, aggressive, and fatiguing.


HIGHS: KB04's treble is also not neutral and has a considerable peak around the 8 kHz region. In practice is perceived a brighter and more "S" sounds in cymbals, for example, than would be perceived in a neutral IEM. In the same way that happens with the mids, in the vast majority of situations, the treble of the KB04 does not bother and brings more energy, more brilliance and more excitement to the sound. On the other hand, when a recording is not refined enough in the treble region, the experience can be fatinguing.


In terms of resolution/detailing, KB04 presents an excellent performance. It is one of the most detailed IEMs I've ever heard, across all frequency ranges. I would say that, like Tanchjim Cora, it is close to Etymotic ER4SR, in that regard.
Imaging/soundstage: The KB04 also excels in this regard and is also one of the best I've heard in an IEM. You can't expect the performance of an open headphone, for example, but for an IEM, the presentation is quite wide. In that regard, I found Kbear better than Etymotic ER4SR

About imaging, I also have nothing but praise to make and I also say that it is among the best I've heard. There is a lot of precision between the left and the right side; this also makes this IEM great for gaming. It is in the same level as ER4SR and Tanchjim Cora.

Overall, the KB04's sound has an energetic character and will please those who like a brighter and more colorful sound, with good punch and control on the bass. Even though I prefer the natural and more relaxed presentation of Tanchjim Cora or the flat neutral experience of the ER4SR, the KB Ear KB04 has served me as a great all-arounder and I highly recommend it.

Delivering good value at a (very) low price is not an easy exercise, and this is a case where that has been well executed.

KB04 is an overall remarkable product in terms of price/performance and even price/quality ratios. There are a few parts I like more, others less, but no “defect” really. Those liking a bright-leaning presentation will find KB04 an outstanding performer, at a no-brainer pricing.

I got this pair of KBear KB04 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 KB04 at Friendly Audio Store (Keephifi official store).


Test setup

Hiby R5, Fiio X3-mkIII, Tempotec V1 + Fiio BTR5 / Anaudiophile ESS DAC dongle as sources
Stock grey tips
Stock single ended cable
Lossless 16/44.1 – 24/96 – 24/192 FLAC tracks.


Signature analysis

Tonality Tonality is unblalanced towards the bright side, on an otherwise V-shape signature.

Sub-Bass Rolled-off and therefore lacking on the extreme end (Contrabasso). The segment immediately above is quite good instead, fast and present, very enjoyable.

Mid Bass Probably the best part of the product to my personal taste, it’s fast, tight, punchy, present and well dosed. People liking boomy (sometimes called “fun”) bass will not like it though.

Mids Recessed as expected on a V-shape signature, but also thin.

Male Vocals Those are most suffering from general mids thinness, they lack body and appeal.

Female Vocals Female voices come accross a bit fuller than males. A tendency to sibilance is there, especially on some tracks. Luckily for me stock grey tips are ok to minimise that.

Highs Highs and trebles are both well executed, crispy, reasonably extended, with good detail and some air. Too bad for their relative invasiveness in the general signature perspective, which comes out “too bright” in my taste (I am particularly picky on treble calibration), but I believe not on my books only.


Technicalities

Soundstage Stage is quite wide and not very deep at all. Eartips may offer some more room, but this is a feature to be crossed with the need of minimising sibilance. In other words good luck with tip rolling: it’s not going to be easy and as always this is one of most subjective sides of the story. In end I settled for stock grey ones as they better reduced the sibilance risk although not helping on deepening the soundstage.

Imaging Space distribution is per se well executed and it is reasonably easy to find the various instruments on separate positions. However, the lack of stage depth puts them in un-natural positions quite often.

Details Especially thanks to treble crispyness and air quite some detail gets retrieved from the high-mids, definitely above average in its class here.

Instrument separation In line with this price bracket: there is “some” space amongst instruments, and that’s about it. Layering is not great but then again more than acceptable considering the price.

Driveability Easy: even a phone will have enough power for KB04. Power apart, a better resolving DAC will of course be beneficial but that’s quite obvious isnt it.


Physicals

Build Full-metal “tank”-class housings. Very positive as much as uncommon on this price reference typically dominated by cheap plastic alternatives.

Fit Can only be worn with the cable up. In my case the fit is easy in a static position, but it turns out to be quite difficult to make it a firm one even vs common head or facial movements, let alone gym activity. After a long tip-rolling session, the tips that help best on this respect are reversed KZ Starlines, then again I chose stock grey ones instead as I preferred to “cure” sibilance risk than getting a firmer grip (I’m a couch potato anyway – I don’t gym…).

Comfort Not good for me: the housings don’t accomodate very comfortably in my outer ear and moreover they are definitely heavy, which of course doesn’t contribute positively to long session comfort nor to fit firmness (see above)

Isolation Once fitted with stock tips, housings offer a quite good passive isolation.

Cable Cheap 4-core copper, with 2-pin terminals. Sound performance apart, the sheath is quite itchy and I find it uncomfy over my ear.


Specifications (declared)

Housing Die-cast Zinc-Alloy
Driver(s) 1 BA + 1 DD
Connector 2-pin
Cable 1.2m 4-core copper single ended cablevvv
Sensitivity 104±3dB
Impedance 16Ω±10%
Frequency Range 20-40KHz
Package & accessories 1 set of 3 pairs (S/M/L) grey silicon tips, 1 set of 3 pairs (S/M/L) black silicon tips with a wider front bore, 1 shirt clip
MSRP at this post time $39,99 (street price below $30,00)[/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE]

The review is mostly a video



To shortly sum it up, it is great for the money, doesn't have many drawbacks, and it sits well in the ears.

I prefer it above BLON BL-05, and I don't know many IEMs at 30 USD I could recommend more.

Good overall value .