obileye obiyemi
100+ Head-Fier
Has anyone who has heard both the kbear believe and the h40 please do a small comparison??
Thanks!
Thanks!
ISN Earphones impression thread. New ISN NEO 3!
- Thread starter Dsnuts
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ChrisOc
Headphoneus Supremus
Has anyone who has heard both the kbear believe and the h40 please do a small comparison??
Thanks!
I will try but it may take some time, a few days. Finding the time to devote to critical listening without disruption is the issue, but I will try.
From memory, the Believe is a better set, but I will get back to you.
Last edited:
davidmolliere
Headphoneus Supremus
Just got myself an ISN Solar cable and let me tell you Solar is not only a beauty but a strong performer.
An interesting 2 shares of 126 cores, main core is pure silver gold-plated + pure silver palladium-plated, the outer part is single crystal copper gold-plated + single crystal copper plated with silver & copper. It's a more refined cable than the already excellent AG8, also the build is better with excellent shielding and feels overall quite robust.
Sonically, it's a very organic cable with superb bass presence and full bodied mids, very refined treble with good energy.
I'll be working on a full review with in depth pairing section
An interesting 2 shares of 126 cores, main core is pure silver gold-plated + pure silver palladium-plated, the outer part is single crystal copper gold-plated + single crystal copper plated with silver & copper. It's a more refined cable than the already excellent AG8, also the build is better with excellent shielding and feels overall quite robust.
Sonically, it's a very organic cable with superb bass presence and full bodied mids, very refined treble with good energy.
I'll be working on a full review with in depth pairing section
ChrisOc
Headphoneus Supremus
Has anyone who has heard both the kbear believe and the h40 please do a small comparison??
Thanks!
As requested a small comparison between the ISN H40 and the KBEAR Believe, here goes:
You are probably aware of the driver setup on both of these IEMs. I am not touching on the drivers and the contents of the packages as I presume you are aware that as well.
Form and Fit
The H40 is a pseudo custom shape with contours in all the right places. The Believe on the other hand is kidney shaped which is borrowed from the KBEAR Diamond.
For me the H40s fit very well, they are comfortable and give excellent isolation.
The Believe set do not fit as snuggly as the H40 and do not give me as much isolation as the H40.
Sound
I used the same sources for both and stuck to the cable and tips with which each set came. The only exception is that I used a balanced TRI Through 4 strand cable on the Believe.
The H40 is easy to drive and the Believe set really need lots more power to deliver volume at the same level as the H40. I am talking of 10 or 12 notches more (on my M11) to deliver the same volume as the H40.
Bass
They both have potent mid-bass which I have to say, I initially thought was excessive. The mid-bass was initially excessive on both sets to me, but I did a bit of tip rolling and I must say I now find the mid-bass on both controlled and rich with good texture. However, the Believe have much more mature and well defined bass quality. The Believe make you appreciate the subtle variations in bass tones.
As much as I have enjoyed using the H40 in the past few months, I have to say the Believe pull away from the H40 from here on.The sub-bass on the Believe give me more viseral feedback from music than the H40, which appear not to have much sub-bass feedback while listening to the same tracks.
Mids
Mids are good on both but again the Believe have some delightful mids which just makes you want to keep listening to music for hours on end.
The Highs
The H40 highs give you some lovely ear tingles and delicate sonic nuances. You will have great fun with the H40, if you bought them but I have to say compared to the Believe, they have come up against a really good set. The highs are delivered in floods of sparkle, splashes and pick up detail from tracks I have heard numerous times with ease, such joy to listen to.
Instrument Separation and Stage
The H40s do not disappoint, they give plenty detail which in turn give you a clear sense of where instruments are placed on stage but falls short when set against the Believe, in my view. The Believe give you good sound stage, and the location of instruments appear to be clearly identifiable on stage.
Timbral Accuracy
My view is that dynamic drivers give the best reproduction of the natural timbre of instruments. The Believe's byrilium single dynamic driver certainly sound like a true reproduction of the "natural" timbre of instruments....so realistic!
Power and Scale
They both scale well when given lots of power. However, the Believe set really shines even brighter. They sound like a high-end set, which arguably they are, when given a good amount of power.
Conclusion
The H40 is a highly competent set, which I have enjoyed listening to, but compared to the Believe they have a seriously exceptional competitor.
Having said all the above, If you want earphones solely for commuting, I highly recommend the H40 on trains and planes. Their fit and isolation is one of the best I know. The potent mid-bass (the frequency which suffers most in noisy environments) deal with most external noise invasion, and if that fails, the loudness will drown out the noise invasion.
I hope you enjoy your music regardless of which set you choose.
obileye obiyemi
100+ Head-Fier
@ChrisOc This is really helpful. Massive thanks for your help! Hugely appreciated, Kind regards.
MichaelSaint32
New Head-Fier
How do they compare to the Ikko oh10 with regard to soundstage?
Dsnuts
Headphoneus Supremus
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Never heard an Ikko earphone maybe someone else can chime in.
I purchased the Ikko oh10 & ISN H40 more or less at the same time. For my tastes the ISN H40 is the clear winner. The Ikko oh10 was returned to Amazon within 24 hours of purchase even though I had something like 4 weeks to keep if before the return deadline expired. I would say the ISN is the more musical IEM of the two. Sub bass on the ISN is highly addictive. The kind of thing that has you scrolling through your tunes to see how this sounds or that sounds. I think the presentation of the ISN is very full sounding, almost speaker like? It does kinda reminds of the Sony IER Z1R I used to own. High praise indeed. No I not saying its as technically gifted as the Sony but there are definitely similarities in the way the music is presented. I experimented with several tips and settled on the AZLA Xelastec. For me this helped holding on to most of the sub bass but also opened up the high mids and treble a tad more giving more clarity and overall balance to the FR.
Hope this helps
I have both these IEM's and enjoy them immensely. you really can't go wrong with either. it might sound weird but I also like the fact that you can fall to sleep with KBEAR in your ear they really are that comfortableAs requested a small comparison between the ISN H40 and the KBEAR Believe, here goes:
You are probably aware of the driver setup on both of these IEMs. I am not touching on the drivers and the contents of the packages as I presume you are aware that as well.
Form and Fit
The H40 is a pseudo custom shape with contours in all the right places. The Believe on the other hand is kidney shaped which is borrowed from the KBEAR Diamond.
For me the H40s fit very well, they are comfortable and give excellent isolation.
The Believe set do not fit as snuggly as the H40 and do not give me as much isolation as the H40.
Sound
I used the same sources for both and stuck to the cable and tips with which each set came. The only exception is that I used a balanced TRI Through 4 strand cable on the Believe.
The H40 is easy to drive and the Believe set really need lots more power to deliver volume at the same level as the H40. I am talking of 10 or 12 notches more (on my M11) to deliver the same volume as the H40.
Bass
They both have potent mid-bass which I have to say, I initially thought was excessive. The mid-bass was initially excessive on both sets to me, but I did a bit of tip rolling and I must say I now find the mid-bass on both controlled and rich with good texture. However, the Believe have much more mature and well defined bass quality. The Believe make you appreciate the subtle variations in bass tones.
As much as I have enjoyed using the H40 in the past few months, I have to say the Believe pull away from the H40 from here on.The sub-bass on the Believe give me more viseral feedback from music than the H40, which appear not to have much sub-bass feedback while listening to the same tracks.
Mids
Mids are good on both but again the Believe have some delightful mids which just makes you want to keep listening to music for hours on end.
The Highs
The H40 highs give you some lovely ear tingles and delicate sonic nuances. You will have great fun with the H40, if you bought them but I have to say compared to the Believe, they have come up against a really good set. The highs are delivered in floods of sparkle, splashes and pick up detail from tracks I have heard numerous times with ease, such joy to listen to.
Instrument Separation and Stage
The H40s do not disappoint, they give plenty detail which in turn give you a clear sense of where instruments are placed on stage but falls short when set against the Believe, in my view. The Believe give you good sound stage, and the location of instruments appear to be clearly identifiable on stage.
Timbral Accuracy
My view is that dynamic drivers give the best reproduction of the natural timbre of instruments. The Believe's byrilium single dynamic driver certainly sound like a true reproduction of the "natural" timbre of instruments....so realistic!
Power and Scale
They both scale well when given lots of power. However, the Believe set really shines even brighter. They sound like a high-end set, which arguably they are, when given a good amount of power.
Conclusion
The H40 is a highly competent set, which I have enjoyed listening to, but compared to the Believe they have a seriously exceptional competitor.
Having said all the above, If you want earphones solely for commuting, I highly recommend the H40 on trains and planes. Their fit and isolation is one of the best I know. The potent mid-bass (the frequency which suffers most in noisy environments) deal with most external noise invasion, and if that fails, the loudness will drown out the noise invasion.
I hope you enjoy your music regardless of which set you choose.
I would also highly recommend the Tripowin TC-01 if you are slightly on a stricter budget
DynamicEars
Headphoneus Supremus
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H40 soundstage is wider than OH10 for sure.
and like I always said, H40 is like baby Z1R, unplished, unmatured Z1R but definitely have some of their DNA with similar tonality, but more bass on H40. I concur @Imusicman 's statement there.
Looking to replace my h40 with D10.
With LX being my main iem, and h40 only for my jog sessions. It seems like i keep wanting a bit more weight in low end.
So D10 would probably be more suitable.
Question would be. Are there any good alternatives with similar signature to D10 around that you are aware of? Up to $200
3 words for description. Subbass, soundstage, fit.
With LX being my main iem, and h40 only for my jog sessions. It seems like i keep wanting a bit more weight in low end.
So D10 would probably be more suitable.
Question would be. Are there any good alternatives with similar signature to D10 around that you are aware of? Up to $200
3 words for description. Subbass, soundstage, fit.
BobJS
Headphoneus Supremus
While
While I enjoy the D10, I think it's a step down from the H40. Especially relative to the LX. In my opinion, the D10, relative to the H40 has flabbier bass and highs that are not as well defined.
But fit is prime, and if you can't get a good fit with the H40, that's that. In terms of similarly priced alternatives to the D10, I'd have to stew on that one ...
While I enjoy the D10, I think it's a step down from the H40. Especially relative to the LX. In my opinion, the D10, relative to the H40 has flabbier bass and highs that are not as well defined.
But fit is prime, and if you can't get a good fit with the H40, that's that. In terms of similarly priced alternatives to the D10, I'd have to stew on that one ...
Thanks. Interesting. I thought D10 should slightly more reassemble LX sig.
H40 has absolutely nothing in common with LX signature and my brain just gets a bit confused and i feel a bit of fun missing. And its also not working with my dx300 or R8 as well as it did with dx228.
H40 is excelent iem and for a price is a jewel. But because i rarely use it. I just want to get something a bit more . I am not prioritising technical abilities too mucj except for soundstage
I especially love h40 fit. Best i ever had. So hoping D10 to have the same.
Also Chi Fi market is growing fast so thought it maybe has something new to offer as alternative.
Btw. How is TFZ no.3 ti comparing to D10 or H40. Anyone owns them together?
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