[brsdrgn]

Thanks to government of India my AliExpress shopping will be on hold for a foreseeable future as the app is banned. Do anyone know other platforms or sites as AliExpress alternative? I know Linsoul and Penon but their prices are at MSRP and hardly have sales/discounts. Amazon doesn't ship/sell chifi in India. It only outsources for the context KZ ZSN costs ~$23 on Amazon India with no return and warranty Would be helpful if someone knows and can share other alternatives.

Can't you use VPN? Or tor browser and keep shopping on AE? Do they have a system to distinguish thag you made shopping from AE?

 

[ironbrewer]

Hum...nice choice,it would be interesting to compare timbre of both, as they don't same ba models.

Mine arrive via DHL.....it was fast but costy (31$ cad scam fees)....I'm from Canada so I can't tell for US sorry. Just hope you dont have extra fees, if its not DHL it could take longer for sure...

I just couldn't bring myself to spend $30 for faster shipping. I will let you guys know how long it takes with free shipping from Hisenior.

 

[NymPHONOmaniac]

I just couldn't bring myself to spend $30 for faster shipping. I will let you guys know how long it takes with free shipping from Hisenior.

you do well. you avoid DHL abusive fees this way.

 

[NymPHONOmaniac]

By the way, no sub-100$....but anybody got a KBEAR BELIEVE pair on hand??

Ive rarely been as obsess by an IEM than with those....because i gaga about Pure Beryllium. I know what it can achieve in term of effortless transient response...and it aint BS.

 

[ce3eoa]

Thanks to government of India my AliExpress shopping will be on hold for a foreseeable future as the app is banned. Do anyone know other platforms or sites as AliExpress alternative? I know Linsoul and Penon but their prices are at MSRP and hardly have sales/discounts. Amazon doesn't ship/sell chifi in India. It only outsources for the context KZ ZSN costs ~$23 on Amazon India with no return and warranty Would be helpful if someone knows and can share other alternatives.

I would recommend Linsoul, they have real good deals, and their shipping is very reliable and fast

 

[Barusu Lamperouge]

Can't you use VPN? Or tor browser and keep shopping on AE? Do they have a system to distinguish thag you made shopping from AE?

I use Tor in general but there is a note on the home page which indirectly states that all services are discontinued. And this will definitely impact disputes. And without consumer protection, Aliexpress is as good as lottery. I can still access my account via a VPN but the overall appeal is now a bummer

 

[Barusu Lamperouge]

It's a big shame that politics higher up give the general public the short end of the stick.

I have some friends from India who use a freight forwarding service to get Aliexpress gear. Or maybe try places like HIFIGO, KeepHIFI, shoppee, and Linsoul/Penon as above.

Shoppee doesn't ship to India. But will check other portals. Thanks for the recommendations!

 

[Kumonomukou]

By the way, no sub-100$....but anybody got a KBEAR BELIEVE pair on hand??

Ive rarely been as obsess by an IEM than with those....because i gaga about Pure Beryllium. I know what it can achieve in term of effortless transient response...and it aint BS.

By the way, no sub-100$....but anybody got a KBEAR BELIEVE pair on hand??

Ive rarely been as obsess by an IEM than with those....because i gaga about Pure Beryllium. I know what it can achieve in term of effortless transient response...and it aint BS.

Yeah I almost pulled the trigger on 11.11. The price was around $110 with all the coupons, which is quite attempting for a pure beryllium new release. I decided to wait for more feedbacks, and ended up going with MT300 + Cyberfox T1 as the alternative purchase.

There's a bit skepticism over the 'pure berryium' claim, as the material cost is very high for earphones of this price range. There's some reviewer asked for pictures of the driver diagram, Kbear never replied. But who cares if they actually sound good. Based on the graphs that found online. Believe still shares a bit similarity with Kbear Diamond. Probably a bit less bass and different treble characteristics for a big V.

Graphs credited to Jürgen Kraus/Audioreviews.org


I also found them similar to Moondrop SSR for mid range graphs. Of course with elevated bass and far extended treble. I'm still on the fence because of that huge recession around 1K, but they are probably technical superior, and also aesthetic pleasing.

 

[Nimweth]

I have just ordered the Openheart resin IEMs off Ali Express (£22). I chose the purple version. Looking forward to these!

 

[NymPHONOmaniac]

Yeah I almost pulled the trigger on 11.11. The price was around $110 with all the coupons, which is quite attempting for a pure beryllium new release. I decided to wait for more feedbacks, and ended up going with MT300 + Cyberfox T1 as the alternative purchase.

There's a bit skepticism over the 'pure berryium' claim, as the material cost is very high for earphones of this price range. There's some reviewer asked for pictures of the driver diagram, Kbear never replied. But who cares if they actually sound good. Based on the graphs that found online. Believe still shares a bit similarity with Kbear Diamond. Probably a bit less bass and different treble characteristics for a big V.




Graphs credited to Jürgen Kraus/Audioreviews.org


I also found them similar to Moondrop SSR for mid range graphs. Of course with elevated bass and far extended treble. I'm still on the fence because of that huge recession around 1K, but they are probably technical superior, and also aesthetic pleasing.

Your right, im one of those dude asking for a picture.

It seem BGGAR do a tear down of Believe to show the driver....which indeed have the look of pure Bery. Crazy! But this doesnt promise perfect sound either. As i have on hand Final A8K which show the true speed potential or pure Bery, i will do obsessive comparison.

I like the Diamond, even more with Inversed KZ Starlines (with shorted nozzle tube). I think Believe is suppose to be wamer a bit.

For SSR, i never wanna try them cause i dont like Spaceship...so, well, the graph tell you some stuffs, but shoutyness can have to do with transient response speed too, resonance etc...

for now, Believe impressions i read are rather positive, but vague so....for example Jurgen say it got too much mid bass boost...Larry say it have some metallic timbre somewhere...both say it need serious AMPING too....hum

 

[HerrXRDS]

There's a bit skepticism over the 'pure berryium' claim, as the material cost is very high for earphones of this price range. There's some reviewer asked for pictures of the driver diagram, Kbear never replied. But who cares if they actually sound good. Based on the graphs that found online. Believe still shares a bit similarity with Kbear Diamond. Probably a bit less bass and different treble characteristics for a big V.

Beryllium foil is only a few $ / kilo and you can stamp thousands of diaphragms out of a kilo of foil. I take the tooling and manufacturing process is the expensive part. IMO once you have those figured out it shouldn't be any more expensive than PET or other materials.

 

[baskingshark]

Yeah I almost pulled the trigger on 11.11. The price was around $110 with all the coupons, which is quite attempting for a pure beryllium new release. I decided to wait for more feedbacks, and ended up going with MT300 + Cyberfox T1 as the alternative purchase.

There's a bit skepticism over the 'pure berryium' claim, as the material cost is very high for earphones of this price range. There's some reviewer asked for pictures of the driver diagram, Kbear never replied. But who cares if they actually sound good. Based on the graphs that found online. Believe still shares a bit similarity with Kbear Diamond. Probably a bit less bass and different treble characteristics for a big V.




Graphs credited to Jürgen Kraus/Audioreviews.org


I also found them similar to Moondrop SSR for mid range graphs. Of course with elevated bass and far extended treble. I'm still on the fence because of that huge recession around 1K, but they are probably technical superior, and also aesthetic pleasing.

We are discussing about the KBEAR BElieve in the dedicated KBEAR thread. I wrote a small impressions here: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/kb-ear-audio-impressions-thread.912673/page-44#post-16012375

BGGAR also has done a formal review about it, in the link above.

The KBEAR BElieve does look similar in shells and graphs to the KBEAR Diamond, I have both and they are quite different sounding. I have a feeling for beryllium type gear, the graphs may sound quite different from conventional drivers due to their faster transients. Diamond is bassier and more V shaped (when same source/tips are used), with the midbass having some bleed in the Diamond. Diamond is also a bit hotter in the upper mids for me.

One thing is the KBEAR BElieve needs amping, as per the low 98 dB sensitivity. Using a low powered smartphone or underpowered source makes the bass muddy and congested. The Final E5000 is similar in sounding muddy when not amped, it also has a low sensitivity, so for folks who don't have adequate amping on hand, it might be wiser to look for an alternative IEM.

 

[superuser1]

Thanks to government of India my AliExpress shopping will be on hold for a foreseeable future as the app is banned. Do anyone know other platforms or sites as AliExpress alternative? I know Linsoul and Penon but their prices are at MSRP and hardly have sales/discounts. Amazon doesn't ship/sell chifi in India. It only outsources for the context KZ ZSN costs ~$23 on Amazon India with no return and warranty Would be helpful if someone knows and can share other alternatives.

My app and web access to AE is still working. Which ISP are you using? However, the authorities are charging so much customs import duty its insane at times. I know people who paid 60% of the MRP

 

[NymPHONOmaniac]

We are discussing about the KBEAR BElieve in the dedicated KBEAR thread. I wrote a small impressions here: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/kb-ear-audio-impressions-thread.912673/page-44#post-16012375

BGGAR also has done a formal review about it, in the link above.

The KBEAR BElieve does look similar in shells and graphs to the KBEAR Diamond, I have both and they are quite different sounding. I have a feeling for beryllium type gear, the graphs may sound quite different from conventional drivers due to their faster transients. Diamond is bassier and more V shaped (when same source/tips are used), with the midbass having some bleed in the Diamond. Diamond is also a bit hotter in the upper mids for me.

One thing is the KBEAR BElieve needs amping, as per the low 98 dB sensitivity. Using a low powered smartphone or underpowered source makes the bass muddy and congested. The Final E5000 is similar in sounding muddy when not amped, it also has a low sensitivity, so for folks who don't have adequate amping on hand, it might be wiser to look for an alternative IEM.

Interesting. Yes I check Chris review...and yours....and both LUNA comparison doesnt come to same conclusion but thats normal...i really enjoy its Beleive tearing appart: RESPECT.

In fact, my expectation begin to go lower now. Especially because you underline that all technicalities of LUNA are from another league. In term of transient, Luna is notably inferiorr to Final A8K so i wasnt blown away. The Believe tuner say he purposedly intended to slower the transient response, which make make utterly confuse....is it the low sensitivity choice? Dunno...But the goal of using a pure beryllium diaphragm is to take advantage of its fast flexibility property IMO

Have you the NFaudio NM2+? If so, how did they compare?? I'm curious about a comparison with the HZsound Mirror too, because it have crrazy fast transient response for a sub-50$ DD iem.

 

[baskingshark]

Interesting. Yes I check Chris review...and yours....and both LUNA comparison doesnt come to same conclusion but thats normal...i really enjoy its Beleive tearing appart: RESPECT.

In fact, my expectation begin to go lower now. Especially because you underline that all technicalities of LUNA are from another league. In term of transient, Luna is notably inferiorr to Final A8K so i wasnt blown away. The Believe tuner say he purposedly intended to slower the transient response, which make make utterly confuse....is it the low sensitivity choice? Dunno...But the goal of using a pure beryllium diaphragm is to take advantage of its fast flexibility property IMO

Have you the NFaudio NM2+? If so, how did they compare?? I'm curious about a comparison with the HZsound Mirror too, because it have crrazy fast transient response for a sub-50$ DD iem.

The LUNA and Final A8000 are faster in transients than the BElieve, and better in technicalities too. I think BGGAR didn't mention about the technicalities of LUNA versus BElieve in his video, just that he didn't like the tonality of the LUNA's mids and treble. LUNA does have a subbass and treble rolloff. Yep. also agree the A8000 has better technicalities than the LUNA too, when the A8000 is amped properly. But it may not be fair to compare the $150ish USD BElieve to the $1700 LUNA and $2000 A8000, but I think the BElieve can hit about 70% of the LUNA's technical performance, which is really amazing considering it costs 10% of the price. The LUNA has a bigger soundstage than BElieve too and isn't as power hungry. Perhaps the beryllium diaphragm is not only for fast transients but also for better EQing, these beryllium sets can take massive EQ especially at the bass with no distortion.

I don't have the NM2+ unfortunately, but if you get the BElieve I surely look forward to your comparisons with the NM2+, those seem to be around the same price range and are hyped single DD types.

I haven't done A/B testing between HZSound Heart Mirror and BElieve, but I will go back later to compare the 2. HZSound Heart Mirror is another underrated gem that has fast transients yeah, more people should know about it. It has superb timbre and nice forward vocals without shoutiness, a damn tough line to balance but the Heart Mirror does it well.