[ToneDeafMonk]

KeepHiFi said they ran out from demand and new stock will be shipped in the next few 2 days or so. Hold tight peeps. Both colors are killer but love my green one.

 

[s2kphile]

KeepHiFi said they ran out from demand and new stock will be shipped in the next few 2 days or so. Hold tight peeps. Both colors are killer but love my green one.

How many did they have? Only 10?

 

[samandhi]

Haha by the time they process the order in another 10 days, a new hypetrain would have been launched, and maybe this IEM will be forgotten!

I suspect that this is exactly what is going to happen.

KeepHiFi said they ran out from demand and new stock will be shipped in the next few 2 days or so. Hold tight peeps. Both colors are killer but love my green one.

Thanks for inquiring with them about this. Although, it probably would have been nice if that is the answer that they responded to with all of those (also) asking, rather than silence, or that they will ship the next day, when it will be 2 (or more). I hate to sound mean, and I really do like these a lot, but 1 week or more to ship an item deserves a bit of an explanation from them, rather than just make the customer wait (indefinitely).

I suppose it is just one of my pet peeves that a company is that arrogant that they feel like they owe the customer nothing. Actually they make the customer feel like they owe the company something. In this case, unquestioned patience. I hate to sound like a negative Nancy here, but if it were me, and there was no reply from email, and nothing on their site to let people know the issue, I would have canceled my order some time ago. I guess I am saying that just because these are budget IEMs, I still feel like the company should provide good service regardless of the price. [/end rant]

Having said all of that, leaving aside the poor service offered by the company (IMO), and if you can wait for them, these really are a very nice sounding set of IEMs. That is, once you also let these condition for some time (I still find them changing after days of using them, or letting them play). I am still very much in shock at how much these have changed over time. Not that these were bad to begin with, but they were certainly not my cup of tea. Now, they are MUCH more versatile; the bass has calmed down, and the treble has opened up. I would still call them a decidedly "L" shaped signature, but nothing near what they were in the beginning. And while the treble has indeed opened up, they will never be considered treble heavy (no matter the setting you put the switches at). The upper mids are a bit boosted to help with this, but I also do not find it to be fatiguing to my ears (and I am VERY sensitive to this region, though not to treble).

And honestly, I find that I cannot tell there are two drivers here at all. They have done some really nice work in crossovers to make this happen. And while these will never be accused of being "detail monsters", I don't feel they lack in this area significantly. They are a really nice "fun" sound that you can kick back and relax with. But, if you have a lot of music that has a lot of sub bass, these can become fatiguing fairly quickly. Because of the linear tuning in the low end, and lack of mid bass hump, music that doesn't have much sub bass at all might even sound a tad bit "bass lite", but otherwise these are at bass head levels of bass. This means that these can fit into both camps where bass is concerned IMO. Very nice job with this!

I think that these will be a keeper for me, because they don't really sound like any other IEM I have in my collection (which is my goal; finding those unique sounds to compliment my other IEMs). This is also only the third pair of budget IEMs I have been brave enough to purchase (the CCA CRA, and CRA+ as the other two). I have been fortunate in not having to sift through all the crap coming out of China (and let's face it, there is a LOT of copy cats or just badly implemented gear flooding the market), and have gotten only the "gems" so far. At first when I got these, I certainly thought of these as worth their cost, now I am pleased to say that these sound better (overall) than some higher dollar IEMs I have heard in the past.

Edit: Also, and this could be considered a good thing or a bad thing depending on your preferences, these are NOT picky with the music you throw at them. Purchasing some 24/384 PCMs or DSD512 files will be wasted on this set. But, the good news is that they sound just as good with 320 .mp3 files.

 

[ToneDeafMonk]

I suspect that this is exactly what is going to happen.

Thanks for inquiring with them about this. Although, it probably would have been nice if that is the answer that they responded to with all of those (also) asking, rather than silence, or that they will ship the next day, when it will be 2 (or more). I hate to sound mean, and I really do like these a lot, but 1 week or more to ship an item deserves a bit of an explanation from them, rather than just make the customer wait (indefinitely).

I suppose it is just one of my pet peeves that a company is that arrogant that they feel like they owe the customer nothing. Actually they make the customer feel like they owe the company something. In this case, unquestioned patience. I hate to sound like a negative Nancy here, but if it were me, and there was no reply from email, and nothing on their site to let people know the issue, I would have canceled my order some time ago. I guess I am saying that just because these are budget IEMs, I still feel like the company should provide good service regardless of the price. [/end rant]

Having said all of that, leaving aside the poor service offered by the company (IMO), and if you can wait for them, these really are a very nice sounding set of IEMs. That is, once you also let these condition for some time (I still find them changing after days of using them, or letting them play). I am still very much in shock at how much these have changed over time. Not that these were bad to begin with, but they were certainly not my cup of tea. Now, they are MUCH more versatile; the bass has calmed down, and the treble has opened up. I would still call them a decidedly "L" shaped signature, but nothing near what they were in the beginning. And while the treble has indeed opened up, they will never be considered treble heavy (no matter the setting you put the switches at). The upper mids are a bit boosted to help with this, but I also do not find it to be fatiguing to my ears (and I am VERY sensitive to this region, though not to treble).

And honestly, I find that I cannot tell there are two drivers here at all. They have done some really nice work in crossovers to make this happen. And while these will never be accused of being "detail monsters", I don't feel they lack in this area significantly. They are a really nice "fun" sound that you can kick back and relax with. But, if you have a lot of music that has a lot of sub bass, these can become fatiguing fairly quickly. Because of the linear tuning in the low end, and lack of mid bass hump, music that doesn't have much sub bass at all might even sound a tad bit "bass lite", but otherwise these are at bass head levels of bass. This means that these can fit into both camps where bass is concerned IMO. Very nice job with this!

I think that these will be a keeper for me, because they don't really sound like any other IEM I have in my collection (which is my goal; finding those unique sounds to compliment my other IEMs). This is also only the third pair of budget IEMs I have been brave enough to purchase (the CCA CRA, and CRA+ as the other two). I have been fortunate in not having to sift through all the crap coming out of China (and let's face it, there is a LOT of copy cats or just badly implemented gear flooding the market), and have gotten only the "gems" so far. At first when I got these, I certainly thought of these as worth their cost, now I am pleased to say that these sound better (overall) than some higher dollar IEMs I have heard in the past.

Edit: Also, and this could be considered a good thing or a bad thing depending on your preferences, these are NOT picky with the music you throw at them. Purchasing some 24/384 PCMs or DSD512 files will be wasted on this set. But, the good news is that they sound just as good with 320 .mp3 files.

 

[ToneDeafMonk]

Everyone who didn't hear back should be a bit pissed. When the website says 285 in stock but they are not Shipping because they sold out reflects badly on them.

Speaking of slow ass shipping I ordered a set of KZ DQS over 2 weeks ago and still not shipped. My first order also direct from KZ on AliX was even longer 3 weeks before they shipped I had to extend the shipping allowance 25 days so my PR1 PRO didn't get cancelled.

I see that more and more tons of marketing and hype only to find out they are still in production.
I noticed the Galelio didn't get launched until there was stock so bravo LETSHUOER and Timmy for that.

 

[baskingshark]

Have decided to cancel my order. Radio silence for 9 days from KeepHIFI after payment. Not acceptable in my book. No tracking number and no communication. Their messenger service is not responsive, very disappointed.

Will see if I can purchase the Star River from other platforms.

 

[domq422]

I have been receiving communication with the rep. And my pair has finally “shipped” which I assume just means a printed label set aside that hasn’t found a package to call
Home.

Because of the communication, I guess I’m a little more forgiving. I’ll wait for my pair, probably won’t get them till around April which is … kind of insane. Oh well.

The latest message I received from the KBear official store:

Friend, we need you to extend the delivery time here. This product is so popular that it was looted as soon as it was put on the shelf. We have urgently increased the inventory. We will help you deliver it in the next two days. Please wait patiently

 

[s2kphile]

Shipped but tracking unavailable. LoL this is some funny crap.

 

[baskingshark]

Shipped but tracking unavailable. LoL this is some funny crap.

This is standard Aliexpress shenanigans to bypass the portal's ship-out dateline, encountered it a few times before. The shops put a placeholder tracking number to show Aliexpress that it was shipped out, so as not to incur penalties from Aliexpress. But probably there is no actual item shipped out till much later. Sometimes the tracking number mysteriously gets changed a few weeks later LOL.



I am actually a bit worried that even if say KBEAR/TRI rushes to produce more Star Rivers to meet the demand, will there be any corners cut with regards to QC, to meet the rushed datelines to fulfil orders for the IEMs?

 

[qua2k]

I must be one of the lucky ones? Ordered a blue one via KeepHifi/Amazon on 2/18 and they shipped it with tracking via YunExpress on 2/19. Tracking says carrier has picked up the package. I figure 2-3 weeks until US arrival?

 

[samandhi]

Shipped but tracking unavailable. LoL this is some funny crap.

This is standard Aliexpress shenanigans to bypass the portal's ship-out dateline, encountered it a few times before. The shops put a placeholder tracking number to show Aliexpress that it was shipped out, so as not to incur penalties from Aliexpress. But probably there is no actual item shipped out till much later. Sometimes the tracking number mysteriously gets changed a few weeks later LOL.



I am actually a bit worried that even if say KBEAR/TRI rushes to produce more Star Rivers to meet the demand, will there be any corners cut with regards to QC, to meet the rushed datelines to fulfil orders for the IEMs?

This is exactly right. I had a seller actually explain it to me one time. They will create a label at the delivering company which simply says that there is a package inbound. This basically stops the clock for "shipping" rules from AE and begins the (longer) "delivery" clock, which is usually something like 90 days. Any company that tries to work the system like this is probably not very honest in other things (just my opinion).

I am not sure I believe that they are being truthful about there being such a shortage due to popularity (though I certainly could be wrong here). I think KeepHiFi has just dropped the ball. I almost feel guilty for receiving my set so early while others are having to wait (and potentially losing interest and moving on). I ordered mine (from Amazon) on Feb. 11th, and recieved them on Feb. 17th.

And, for those in the US, they still have the $10 off coupon available.

Also, I don't know their policy for the AE store (or direct), but their Amazon store cites:

Shipping Policies​

Unless noted otherwise in the ordering pipeline, KEEPHIFI ships all items within two days of receiving an order. You will receive notification of any delay or cancellation of your order.

Mine did indeed ship out the same day or next day.

 

[s2kphile]

This is exactly right. I had a seller actually explain it to me one time. They will create a label at the delivering company which simply says that there is a package inbound. This basically stops the clock for "shipping" rules from AE and begins the (longer) "delivery" clock, which is usually something like 90 days. Any company that tries to work the system like this is probably not very honest in other things (just my opinion).

I am not sure I believe that they are being truthful about there being such a shortage due to popularity (though I certainly could be wrong here). I think KeepHiFi has just dropped the ball. I almost feel guilty for receiving my set so early while others are having to wait (and potentially losing interest and moving on). I ordered mine (from Amazon) on Feb. 11th, and recieved them on Feb. 17th.

And, for those in the US, they still have the $10 off coupon available.

Also, I don't know their policy for the AE store (or direct), but their Amazon store cites:


Mine did indeed ship out the same day or next day.

Funny thing is I ordered on the 10th and there was 3 sold on the Alixpress store. I was number 4 so

I just think they didn't have that many made during the first batch and or they were waiting to see how many sales they can grab so they can fulfill it so it's not sitting around in a warehouse not being sold.

 

[lushmelody]

Funny thing is I ordered on the 10th and there was 3 sold on the Alixpress store. I was number 4 so

I just think they didn't have that many made during the first batch and or they were waiting to see how many sales they can grab so they can fulfill it so it's not sitting around in a warehouse not being sold.

My guess is also that they are applying lean management for Star River. Manufacturing according to demand is okay, but the delay is already starting to test our patience

 

[s2kphile]

It's been 2 weeks and I still haven't got an update to my tracking. It's still awaiting dispatch. I think I just may cancel my order and skip this IEM all together. I've got to many sets to enjoy anyways.

 

[samandhi]

It's been 2 weeks and I still haven't got an update to my tracking. It's still awaiting dispatch. I think I just may cancel my order and skip this IEM all together. I've got to many sets to enjoy anyways.

I don't blame you one bit.