Redcarmoose
Headphoneus Supremus
Hi Kids Meet Cubu!
Ok, the name does sound like the name of a clown, and frankly these earbuds look like a joke. Your not going to be buying these for looks or construction so let's get into the sound.
I had been going into a shop and listening to these off and on for about four months. The demo pair never had foam covers and I just could not get excited about them. I never thought about adding foam covers as they already seemed to be very unusually bass-centric for an earbud. Last week I tried them with thick foam covers and a light-bulb went on above my head. No wonder they sell millions of these things in Indonesia. They tuned out to be some of the best budget audiophile earbuds I have found, despite looking like they should cost 50 cents.
A reference recording used here is John Astley's 1996 remix and remaster of 1969's Tommy by The Who. Such a song as the 9:55 "Underture" instrumental ends up being the perfect test track to judge these headphones. Other tracks on Tommy also show great recordings of lead vocals and in combination such a disk is the final test to find out just how natural and accurate these $7 earbuds can go. Failing only slightly at bringing the cold snap of the orchestral wood block percussion up to the front becomes my only critique. Still coming in with great skills relaying the multiple guitars and background male vocal segments. The best feature here is the earbuds convey the musicality of the track, though slightly warm and not as detailed as home reference replay, they still do a swift pure and smooth rendition of the number. This song ends up being such a test tour de force due to so many tracks doing so much at once. Large kettledrums with room reverb in the background get their fair share of dramatic acoustic presence right along with the acoustic guitars and electric guitars at hand. I can't dramatize just how many things are going on with "Underture" and how so many IEMs or earbuds are not up to fully relate the sonic fireworks here to the listener. Not an easy job and a straight up profound enigma for a $7 earbud to do with such ease.
It's when they bring out the acoustic 12 strings into the mix and you instantly recognize a 12 string guitar is when you realize these silly toys are actually keepers.
Bass:
A bunch of heavy bass, and maybe the strongest bass I have ever heard from an earbud at any price. More bass than the $70 MrZ Ting but maybe a slightly less detailed rendition than the more refined Edifier H180 earbud. In fact you would not ever call the bass as sloppy but maybe not as defined as some earbuds. Still this mega bass ends up making these the ultimate earbuds for listening to Psytrance or EDM all day long.
Mid-range:
These follow the simple V shape signature which diverges from our regular mid-centric standard earbud response. So with the V shape the mid-range gets just a slight pull. After long listening runs I have to relate the balance here is just right. At the nicest of times little extra musical filigree present themselves in their own nice place in the mid-range.
Treble:
The Edifier H180s are really a more refined and pretty treble in this price range. The 180s are also going to be just slightly more accurate and detailed. Still most are going to want to use the Cubu as they are just so very musical. Vocals never seem too laid-back or distant. The treble is never sharp or cutting, making the Cubu just a party ready for extended listens fatigue free and fun.
Sound-stage:
This is why we are here. The magic of each instrument and reverb effect feathering off into infinity right outside your ears. The playful way they do pan effects and high pitched effects way-way out of your head. Still everything is coherent and natural and in place.
These little green toys do stuff with ease that many of my more expensive headphones struggle with. You gotta love that.
Pros:
Cheap as a sandwich
Low-weight and easy to fit
Signature allows for fatigue free 10 hours listening runs
Easy to buy or replace
Buttery smooth heartwarming magic bass
Slightly dark
Cons:
Ugly as sin
Look like they may break if you look away
Foam covers which come with them break apart on first use
No packaging, only zip-lock bag
Strange colors like mustard yellow, pumpkin orange or army green
Thin budget cords
Slightly dark
https://m.tokopedia.com/albarq/earphone-kube-dan-cubu
Equipment Used:
iPod Touch 5th Generation
Cambridge Audio DACmagic Plus
Schiit Asgard One
Apple Lossless and 320 MP3 files
Remember everyone has different ears and equipment. Everyone has different sound signature choices and musical genre demands. Your millage may vary.
[VIDEO] https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZtR_-TPYIc [/VIDEO]
https://www.bukalapak.com/p/elektronik/headphone/1a9gh6-jual-the-kube-earbuds-earphone-headset-murah-kualitas-studio-dijamin-mantep-suaranya-gan-gak-diragukan-lagi
Edit:
Noted in the photographs after the Cubu name is a very small "s". Some Cubu editions have this "s" and some do not. I do not know if there is a sound quality difference between the two models?
