Review: KBEAR Limpid Pro
Note: This item was provided for review by Wendy Li from KBEAR via AliExpress.
Product link: https://m.aliexpress.com/item/10050...er_id=86e396fa4ec64b26a1f537cd23c65965&is_c=N
The Limpid Pro is a new product from KBEAR. It is an 8-core pure silver cable and is an upgrade to the original which was a 4-core type. The Pro version doubles the number of cores which consist of 10 strands each. The material is 99.99% pure silver.
It is attractively presented in a small square black box with a gold KBEAR logo. There is a circular window displaying the cable, and also included is a soft grey carrying pouch with black KBEAR branding. The cable is beautifully made and very supple with a fairly loose braid and the earhooks are comfortable. The gold plated 3.5mm plug is in silver metal with branding as is the Y-split. The 2-pin plugs are also metal and feature colour coding for channel identification and the chin slider is a metal ring with separate holes for the two wires but is a little awkward to use as it does not easily slide up and down the cable.
The cable was tested using an Xduoo X20 DAP via the 3.5mm output with a variety of IEMs.
KBEAR Diamond (Spiral Dots ML)
The KBEAR Diamond is a single DD design featuring a DLC diaphragm. With the stock cable (which is very good) the Diamond has a V-shaped profile with powerful bass, a mid-bass emphasis which does slightly colour the lower mids and a generally recessed midrange. The treble is well detailed and smooth but occasionally does display a thin quality. With the Limpid Pro there were notable improvements. Listening to "Private Investigations" by Dire Straits, the bass was more controlled and tighter. Mids were more forward, resulting in a more shallow "V" profile. Treble became more detailed without harshness and the soundstage was improved with extra depth. These improvements elevated the Diamond to a higher level of performance.
KBEAR Lark (Stock tips M)
The KBEAR Lark is a dual hybrid (1DD + 1BA) and with the stock cable it has a well balanced profile with a bit of extra brightness at the top end. Its sound belies its price. The silver plated stock cable is rather thin and tangly. Fitting the Limpid Pro resulted in a considerable increase in detail and clarity with an improved transient attack. The soundstage increased in size. In Mike Oldfield's "In the Beginning" from "The Songs of Distant Earth", the deep bass drum was very clear and textured, thelq guitar solo had good bite and impact and the percussion was cleaner and more incisive. The spoken words "Burning-Melting-Dissolving" were exceptionally well resolved and their locations very well defined. Once again, the Limpid Pro cable managed to unlock the maximum potential of the IEMs.
TRI Starsea (Spiral Dots ML)
The Starsea is a triple hybrid (2BA + 1DD) and has tuning switches providing four sound profiles. Like the Diamond, it is supplied with a high quality cable and this does provide a good quality sound. For the test with the Limpid Pro the Starsea was set with the standard switch setting (Balanced). With the stock cable, the Starsea has a neutral, very detailed sound with excellent layering and separation. The treble is exceptionally extended and clear and the soundstage is holographic. In Holst's "Uranus" performed by the LSO under Andre Previn, the Limpid Pro managed to extract every last detail from the performance. In the climaxes, the bass drum was very controlled and airy with a natural decay and after the first climax the harp and bass drum play very softly together. The effect here was magical with perfect resolution and separation. The Limpid Pro seemed to lift a veil from the recording with brass particularly crisp and authentic in tonality. The performance gains were very apparent and the advances in quality were certainly worthwhile.
The Limpid Pro cable can be recommended without reservation. The results will vary with equipment used, but I found a significant improvement with each IEM I tried. It was particularly successful with the KBEAR Diamond and I would encourage any owners of the Diamond to purchase this cable. I would also suggest it would be beneficial with other warmer sounding earphones as in this case the gains were greater than with the brighter IEMs I tested.
I’m not sure (how it sounds, or compares to the Faaeal cable), but they sure look nice! Probably worth a try.
That's the point, it looks great.
This one may suit you. It’s inexpensive.Some suggestions for a warm sounding cable without these hangers over the ear (I hate that)?
Thanks
I had one, unfortunately, there is no earhook.
How does it compare with other pure silver cables like the TRN T3?Review: KBEAR Limpid Pro
Note: This item was provided for review by Wendy Li from KBEAR via AliExpress.
Product link: https://m.aliexpress.com/item/10050...er_id=86e396fa4ec64b26a1f537cd23c65965&is_c=N
The Limpid Pro is a new product from KBEAR. It is an 8-core pure silver cable and is an upgrade to the original which was a 4-core type. The Pro version doubles the number of cores which consist of 10 strands each. The material is 99.99% pure silver.
It is attractively presented in a small square black box with a gold KBEAR logo. There is a circular window displaying the cable, and also included is a soft grey carrying pouch with black KBEAR branding. The cable is beautifully made and very supple with a fairly loose braid and the earhooks are comfortable. The gold plated 3.5mm plug is in silver metal with branding as is the Y-split. The 2-pin plugs are also metal and feature colour coding for channel identification and the chin slider is a metal ring with separate holes for the two wires but is a little awkward to use as it does not easily slide up and down the cable.
The cable was tested using an Xduoo X20 DAP via the 3.5mm output with a variety of IEMs.
KBEAR Diamond (Spiral Dots ML)
The KBEAR Diamond is a single DD design featuring a DLC diaphragm. With the stock cable (which is very good) the Diamond has a V-shaped profile with powerful bass, a mid-bass emphasis which does slightly colour the lower mids and a generally recessed midrange. The treble is well detailed and smooth but occasionally does display a thin quality. With the Limpid Pro there were notable improvements. Listening to "Private Investigations" by Dire Straits, the bass was more controlled and tighter. Mids were more forward, resulting in a more shallow "V" profile. Treble became more detailed without harshness and the soundstage was improved with extra depth. These improvements elevated the Diamond to a higher level of performance.
KBEAR Lark (Stock tips M)
The KBEAR Lark is a dual hybrid (1DD + 1BA) and with the stock cable it has a well balanced profile with a bit of extra brightness at the top end. Its sound belies its price. The silver plated stock cable is rather thin and tangly. Fitting the Limpid Pro resulted in a considerable increase in detail and clarity with an improved transient attack. The soundstage increased in size. In Mike Oldfield's "In the Beginning" from "The Songs of Distant Earth", the deep bass drum was very clear and textured, thelq guitar solo had good bite and impact and the percussion was cleaner and more incisive. The spoken words "Burning-Melting-Dissolving" were exceptionally well resolved and their locations very well defined. Once again, the Limpid Pro cable managed to unlock the maximum potential of the IEMs.
TRI Starsea (Spiral Dots ML)
The Starsea is a triple hybrid (2BA + 1DD) and has tuning switches providing four sound profiles. Like the Diamond, it is supplied with a high quality cable and this does provide a good quality sound. For the test with the Limpid Pro the Starsea was set with the standard switch setting (Balanced). With the stock cable, the Starsea has a neutral, very detailed sound with excellent layering and separation. The treble is exceptionally extended and clear and the soundstage is holographic. In Holst's "Uranus" performed by the LSO under Andre Previn, the Limpid Pro managed to extract every last detail from the performance. In the climaxes, the bass drum was very controlled and airy with a natural decay and after the first climax the harp and bass drum play very softly together. The effect here was magical with perfect resolution and separation. The Limpid Pro seemed to lift a veil from the recording with brass particularly crisp and authentic in tonality. The performance gains were very apparent and the advances in quality were certainly worthwhile.
The Limpid Pro cable can be recommended without reservation. The results will vary with equipment used, but I found a significant improvement with each IEM I tried. It was particularly successful with the KBEAR Diamond and I would encourage any owners of the Diamond to purchase this cable. I would also suggest it would be beneficial with other warmer sounding earphones as in this case the gains were greater than with the brighter IEMs I tested.
I'm sorry, it's the only pure silver cable I have.
I’m not super sensitive to hearing subtle differences that may be present between similar cables, so I didn’t notice any significant sonic differences between the T3 and the Limpid Pro. The build quality, however, is much better on the Limpid cable.
