I have completed my testing of the KBEAR F1 and here is my short review:
The KB EAR (sometimes writen KBEAR) F1 is a single BA IEM. The packaging is fairly basic, with a simple box with a colour illustration of the IEMs on the front and specifications on the rear. Opening the box reveals the IEMs in a foam cut-out along with three pairs of silicone tips with a red bore of medium diameter, with the medium size pre-fitted. Below the cut-out there is a white box with the KBEAR logo inside which there is the cable and a set of three Spinfit-style tips.
The earpieces are formed from a transparent amber-coloured resin through which the components can be seen. They are L-shaped and of a square section, with the MMCX socket located in the base. The supplied cable is silver-plated and has a very long run from the Y-split to the earpieces which results in a tendency to tangle. The 3.5mm plug is finished in a brushed aluminium as is the y-split dongle. The BA used is numbered “32257” and is a full-range unit, possibly made by Bellsing and based on the Knowles unit with the same number.
The earphones were left burning in for over 50 hours before testing and included tracks of white and pink noise, glide tones and other audio conditioning tracks. After this I used a Hifi Walker H2 DAP with a Fiio A5 amplifier for evaluation.
The overall balance was neutral with the midrange somewhat forward and a slightly brighter than neutral treble with good extension. The very natural, even-handed quality of the sound suited every type of music except, perhaps, bass-heavy genres.
Unsurprisingly for a full-range BA the bass was a little reserved but there was some sub-bass presence, albeit reduced in level. Based on what I heard, I would estimate that the bass roll-off begins at around 50Hz. The rest of the bass region was neutral, with good texture and resolution and high levels of detail. Decay was quick and clean. The bass responded well to EQ; I employed the bass boost on my Fiio A5 amplifier and gained some extra depth and warmth in the lower registers, resulting in a more relaxing sound.
The midrange also displayed good detail and imaging due to the forward nature of the presentation. This did somewhat reduce the impression of depth, however, but width and height were well portrayed. There was good transparency and spatial and directional cues were well handled. The transient attack was also notable which endowed the sound with an attractive immediacy and a lively presentation. There was a slight increase towards the upper midrange and this gradual climb continued into the lower treble, after which the response flattened out and maintained a good level into the extreme HF.
The treble was clean and smooth with above average levels of detail and resolution. Stereo imaging was very good. There was a good sense of “air” and sparkle and sibilance only occurred when actually present in the recording.
The KBEAR F1 is a good example of an IEM with a full-range single BA. The superior transient capability of the armature results in a sound full of life and verve which keeps you on the edge of your seat. Although generally well-balanced in tonality, the treble was a little north of neutral. At its current price of around 28 GBP it represents excellent value. It does not quite attain the quality of the Tin Audio T3 (which is a hybrid with a Knowles BA) but it is around half the price and does share some of the T3’s sound profile, only falling short in the bass department.
