[Dsnuts]

Seeing the comparo with the Believe above, I'm glad I held of on the GK10 as I'm not too keen on the Believe's treble presentation and this looks like even more of it. Believe's treble reminded me the most, although not quite the same, of IE800's treble of all the IEMs I've got and that one ain't my cup of tea at all either.

I wouldn't put too much stock on that graph. It is not what I am hearing at all. The SG-01 has more treble presence than the GK10. Never once did I think the treble was out of line on the GK10. In fact I prefer using some silver to highlight the treble a bit more for a cable.

 

[tkddans]

Nice!

Please make a video for the GK10 as Vlad is absolutely Geeking out over these things

Seriously though, congrats on your first patron and wishing you success...

Oh when the GK10 come in, for better or worse, I will be making a first impressions video.

A full review with a sound demo will have to wait until I get a mic delivery in a few days; that is, if the GK10 give me enough joy to spend time for a full review with sound demo recordings and the editing that goes with it all haha.

I got a lot ahead of me to make videos on, so full reviews have to be made for special stuff! Impression videos, I can do rather quickly

 

[activatorfly]

I wouldn't put too much stock on that graph. It is not what I am hearing at all. The SG-01 has more treble presence than the GK10. Never once did I think the treble was out of line on the GK10. In fact I prefer using some silver to highlight the treble a bit more for a cable.

I agree....with Kinboofi 4-core SPC...I was expecting over emphasis of treble presence. However, on the contrary - the overriding change appears to be speedier bass, more stage air, thickness of note rendering...& better authority overall. I'd like to try out a more expensive cable at some point...if anyone has any suggestions??

 

[Bitsir]

I'm similarly intrigued by the i3. Planar magnetic drivers are always a source of intrigue due to the acclaim they garner for their mids reproduction and timbre. Something about the agility of the driver and the way it handles decay ends up resulting in an incredibly natural sound signature out to the point that they start breaking up (most drivers recommend crossing between 5 and 7kHz for the 10mm and even lower for the 14mm). I'm curious how that kind of natural mid and lower treble would sound with a strong sub-bass emphasizing dynamic backing it and a better tuned BA giving it greater treble extension. Honestly, I'd love to see someone get their hands on the super-tweeter BAs that Sony is making and using those with a standard Knowles TWFK series to provide a silky smooth treble, but that's unlikely to happen since Sony is legitimately making those particular drivers in-house. They're interesting, though, because they're top-ported, which makes for stronger upper extension reinforcement. Tuning those peaks down with filters is how the TOTL Sony IEMs have their luxuriously smooth treble response curves.

The i3 has one of the worst, most artificial midranges I've heard.

Bass is flabby too.

 

[AmericanSpirit]

This is true, my measurement of the Believe is different. Yes, quite possible it sounds different than the graph or will even graph differently.

Very close to my listening impression of Believe. It’s shouty toward 3-4khz.

I feel 6kHz is much more than that measurement, I’m usually OK with 6kHz concha gain that hit near Harman-curve(say ones of Blessing2 and Blessing2 Dusk), but the Believe 6kHz is way beyond that level.

Overall bright-neutral-bit-shouty.
-good: strings and acoustic instruments except cymbals
-bad: female vocals because of edgy treble

 

[Dsnuts]

If I hadn't listened to Blon BL-03, I would have been impressed. - (For lovers of cheap bass and muddy sound - quite acceptable. If you listen to metal and pop music - an ideal choice, IMHO.)
But I was comparing spring2 to nx7 and the other in context. And I never called them ideal or a model. It's nothing?
By the way, if, for example, you say that the MT1 is an excellent headphone, I won't even argue. I'll just know what you are listening to, in what quality, and how to relate to your grades. And that's all. And that's okay. An excellent indicator of preferences, which is why I remembered about it. Why are you? You wanted to hurt me? I do not care. I am rather amused by your judgments. Good luck. Continue circus.

Just for you Vlad. Comparo against the GK10


Spring 2 is a nice sounding cheaper tribrid which share some similarities to the GK10 but using some dynamics for bass and both using some piezos for trebles.

The difference in the two is that Spring 2 uses a BA for mids and the GK10 uses a graphene 7mm dynamic for mids. Sound balancing between these two monitors are similar in that both portray good fundamental balancing to their tunings. Here is where things gets interesting if you want a bit of an upgrade to your Spring 2 for a more accurate timbre you of all people need to get a GK10. As good as the BA implementation is for the spring 2 I would put the upper hand on how natural and timbrally accurate the GK10 mids sound. It actually sounds a bit more dimensional than the Spring 2. Spring 2 has a touch more upper treble emphasis vs the GK10 otherwise the trebles are almost a wash showing identical emphasis/ presence and quality.

Bass is where these are clearly different. Unfortunately the bass of the Spring 2 is a bit like how moondrop did their Blessing 2 in that it is utilizing a large 13mm dynamic. It has proper presence and impact but sounds a bit soft in the presentation not as defined as I would like especially for sub bass. That was my only real nit pick about the Spring 2 presentation. BQEYZ chose a standard dynamic to do bass.

Titanium plated bass, though GK10 is using a much smaller 8mm dome bass dynamic. Bass is speedier, tighter, has a bit more authority vs the Springs 2 bass and sub bass texture is ideal on a titanium plated bass end.

I am a fan of the Spring 2 myself. It gives a nice little insight to higher end earphones but the one aspect I had to knock down a rating for was due to the bass end of them. GK10 does not have a soft bass. I suppose if your not into your bass music this aspect wont matter much but I listen to just about everything and bass is very important to how I hear my music. In any case I don't consider the GK10 a downgrade even though it is 1/3rd the cost. They sound like side grades if anything there are aspects of the GK10 that does one better than the Spring 2 and not the other way around. The Spring 2 sound a bit more snappier in the mids with a touch more clarity due to having more treble emphasis. GK10 has more weight to its sound and mids sounds more lush and musical.

Where the Spring 2 beats out on the GK10 would be its nice metal build.

 

[tgx78]

Agreed. Believe's bass actually sounds a lot more like the way his GK10s graph.

my measurement of the KBEAR believe

 

[Vladimir 198]

Dsnuts, thanks. What source are you listening from? Spring2 bass suits me perfectly. Almost And in terms of density and speed, when I started using link2. But the high frequencies are not enough for me. I would prefer to hear them more extended and distinct. But overall a balanced and natural sound. This is very important for me, because I mainly listen to jazz, guitar and piano. And naturalness is the first in my assessment of the sound.
https://deezer.page.link/u7nHenL3NFxfYyjL9

You made me doubt again .... And thanks for that too.

 

[Dsnuts]

I went back n forth on my Shanling M6 pro with a SPC cable on the GK10. If I use my Mix cable with silver in it GK10 sounds even closer to the Spring 2 in presentation.

I know a lot of folks that see some hype on a cheap phone will think they couldn't possibly be that good. The GK10 is not your standard cheapo phone. I am certain more folks will chime in, in due time.

 

[Bui Hai Anh]

my measurement of the KBEAR believe

This is exactly what I hear in KBEAR Believe: Harman-ish sound with slightly rolled-off subbass, slightly shouty at 3kHz, and excellent speed of the drivers.

The shoutyness disappears with DX300 + AMP12.

 

[Strifeff7]

Dsnuts, thanks. What source are you listening from? Spring2 bass suits me perfectly. Almost And in terms of density and speed, when I started using link2. But the high frequencies are not enough for me. I would prefer to hear them more extended and distinct. But overall a balanced and natural sound. This is very important for me, because I mainly listen to jazz, guitar and piano. And naturalness is the first in my assessment of the sound.
https://deezer.page.link/u7nHenL3NFxfYyjL9

You made me doubt again .... And thanks for that too.

the Endgame for this kind of music is
Unique Melody 3DT,

 

[Strifeff7]

Dsnuts, thanks. What source are you listening from? Spring2 bass suits me perfectly. Almost And in terms of density and speed, when I started using link2. But the high frequencies are not enough for me. I would prefer to hear them more extended and distinct. But overall a balanced and natural sound. This is very important for me, because I mainly listen to jazz, guitar and piano. And naturalness is the first in my assessment of the sound.
https://deezer.page.link/u7nHenL3NFxfYyjL9

You made me doubt again .... And thanks for that too.

I have some music recommendation for you,

I hope you like it,

 

[audio123]

I went back n forth on my Shanling M6 pro with a SPC cable on the GK10. If I use my Mix cable with silver in it GK10 sounds even closer to the Spring 2 in presentation.

I know a lot of folks that see some hype on a cheap phone will think they couldn't possibly be that good. The GK10 is not your standard cheapo phone. I am certain more folks will chime in, in due time.

Agreed. I own IEMs/cables that cost more than 3000 USD & got to say the GK10 is a must buy. Probably will get the blue variant too for collection. What a bargain for its price. Folks must be thinking why I own high end gears yet interested in this under 50 USD IEM. All I can say is the GK10 is revolutionary. Naysayers like PhonoPhi will probably say I am shilling but look at my previous recommendations, most of them went on to become benchmark IEMs. I have the experience and track record to recommend gears. The GK10 gets my approval.

 

[paulwasabii]

my measurement of the KBEAR believe

Thanks. I certainly didn't mean it as a backhanded swipe at his graph. His is different than mine which is different than yours. I just happened to be familiar with the Believe graph as I had questioned my own graph at the time.

 

[tgx78]

Thanks. I certainly didn't mean it as a backhanded swipe at his graph. His is different than mine which is different than yours. I just happened to be familiar with the Believe graph as I had questioned my own graph at the time.

Yes same here. Just wanted to provide another data point.

Also I want to stress that when you measure the DD IEM, it is crucial to check if their vents are not obstructed.
NM2+ for example has a vent on concha side and when it sits flush to you skin and gets a little air flow, it straight becomes a bass cannon.