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Shining Bright - KBEAR Diamond Review

Project A³by Project A³  in aliexpress , chi-fi , dynamic , headfi , iem review sub 100 , in ear monitor , kbear , project a3 , review , sub 100 0 comments
Sound Review by Mikan
Disclaimer: KBEAR has graciously provided us with this sample unit in exchange for an honest review. The views discussed below are a reflection of Project A3's thoughts surrounding the product. The sample has been run-in for at least 50 hours prior to reviewing in order to achieve an accurate representation of the product.







CLICK HERE TO JOIN US now in Project A3's Official Telegram group for exclusive news and more.

 
TL;DR
Not Recommended if you like:
  • Vocal-focused signature
  • Sparkles & Airiness for the treble
  • Neutral Sound
Recommend if you like:
  • Deep & Thick Bass
  • Exciting V-shaped Signature
  • Smooth Sound







 
Introduction:

Originated from Shenzhen, KB-Ear Audio is a new entry of the highly competitive Chinese head-fi market. After quickly firing different models with different configurations, Tri i3 has been successfully attracting people to pay attention to their products, and treat them as a brand with high potential in the community.

The Diamond is the first attempt of single DD earphone which they have ever released. Equipped with an 8.5mm DLC-coated dynamic driver, and priced as US$79, it would be such a great opportunity to showcase the tuning ability of the brand. Available at KB Ear on Aliexpress.


ProsCons
  •  Refined & Sturdy Aluminium Shell
  • Fun V-shaped Tuning
  • Bass Boost without sacrificing the other parts
  • Various accessories included
  • Heavy Housing
  • A bit limited in resolution



Frequency Responses:

1/6 octave smoothing applied.



Specification:
  • ·8.5mm PET dynamic driver with diamond-like carbon coating 
  • ·Frequency Response: 20-20kHz · SPL: 102dB 
  • ·Impedance: 16 ohms 
  • ·Sage green aluminium alloy with carbon fibre face plate
  • ·Two pins 0.78mm plugs and support cable replacement 
  • ·4 core silver-coated copper cables


Gear Used & Tracklist:
iPhone 6s | Topping DX3 Pro
Genres Artist Songs
Live Recordings Diana Krall Desperado (Live)

Natalia Lafourcade Soledad y El Mar

Case Lang Veirs Atomic Number

Depeche Mode Question of Lust (Live 1998)
Instrumentals Max Richter On the Nature of Daylight

Santa Esmeralda Please Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood

Nils Frahm Toilet Brushes (Live)
Jazz Bill Evans A Waltz for Debbie

Chet Baker I'm a Fool to Want You

Sons of Kemet Your Queen is Harriet Tubman

Ryo Fukui Scenery
Rock Avenged Sevenfold Nightmare

The Stooges Down On The Street

Avenged Sevenfold Unbound (The Wild Ride)

Guns N’ Roses Sweet Child O’ Mine

Ozzy Osbourne Crazy Train

Green Day 21 Guns
Classical Niccolò Paganini La Campanella (From Violin Concerto No.2 In B Minor)

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky The Year 1812 Solemn Overture

David Arnold Independence Day
Pop Hu Yang-Lin (胡楊林) Perfume is poisonous (香水有毒)

Fish Leong (梁靜茹) Love Song (情歌)
Western Pop Anamanaguchi MEOW

Iamamiwhoami Chasing Kites

Algiers Dispossession

New Order Bizzare Love Triangle (Extended Mix)

Marian Hill Breathe Into Me

Tyler, The Creator EARFQUAKE

Tones and I Never Seen the Rain

Red Hot Chili Peppers Around the World
ACG Saori Hayami オレンジミント (Orange Mint)

RADWIMPS 前前前世 (Zenzenzenzense)

RADWIMPS スパークル(Sparkle)

DAOKO Cinderella Step

Kana Hanazawa 恋愛サーキュレーション (Renai Circulation)




 
Unboxing:
KB Ear Diamond comes with a rectangle box with premium look. The earphones, two sets of sponge eartips, a pleather case and instruction manuals are seen right after unboxing. The cable and other silicon eartips are included in the pleather case.

Overall, a pleasant unboxing experience, given that other products with the similar price range comes with less accessories.





Scalability:
Since I am both owning a mobile device with limited output power and a desktop amp which could drive over-ear earphones pretty easily, it is easy to listen if the equipment is power-hungry or not. Based on that, it is confident to say that the IEM performs quite well in different output power, thanks to the 16 ohms impedance that makes it easy to drive. However, the extra bit of the lower subbass could only be heard with the desktop DAC, so feeding a better source to the buds can definitely help it to shine.


 
Fit:
At the first look and touch of the shell, it is a very sturdy aluminium shell processed with nicely-done CNC. Because of the aluminium shell is quite thick, it is heavier than the IEMs with resin shell which I own, and during my listening session with prolonged wear, several drops out from the ear were experienced. Although there are drops, I have not experienced any discomfort during the session.

Also, the isolation of Diamond is above-average, thanks to the sturdy shell. It blocks outside noise effectively.



Sound Signature
Delicious bass-boost without overblowing the mids, accompanied with natural timbre.The Diamond is demonstrating a V-shaped sound with a focus on bass.

The entire bass region is emphasised but without any leakage to the lower mids, and few extra dBs of the treble brings the soundstage forward and not to be recessed.



Lows
Pros
  • Lower subbass boost improves the presence of the bass
  • Bass articulates correctly with proper decay and attack
  • Distortion free from large volume
Cons
  • The lower subbass boost narrows the soundstage
Reference Tracks / Remarks:
Utada Hikaru & Skrillex – Face My Fears
The DD IEMs can thump the chest pretty easily when it is drove by the desktop DACs. The similar effect could be achieved when driving with portable devices in a less perceptible way. The bass from Face My Fears & Feed are reproduced with lots of impact without being muddy from leaking the bass to lower mids.



Mids
Pros
  • Correct timbre and tonality throughout the spectrum
Cons
  • Recessed lower midrange
Reference Tracks / Remarks:
Blur – Go Out
My Little Airport – Reason of Being Lonely
Mika – Live Today

The diamond has amazed me during the first impression of how well tuned the mids are, and it still continues to amaze me. Unlike multiple-drivers earphones, notably V90 and AS16 I have listened, both guitar and vocals, which mainly reside in the mids, sound natural and not boxy at all with the Diamond. Even though some emphasises from mids are lost due to the bass & treble boost with the V-shaped signature that tuned the earphones, it does not sound hollow nor opaque at all.



Highs
Pros
  • Nice extension
  • Sparkles exists
Cons
  • Lack of airiness
Reference Tracks / Remarks:
SOPHIE – Lemonade
Tokyo Incidents – Ride Every Wave
Both tracks some vital parts in treble, and the equipment is required to present them well to make it shine. It is safe to say that the Diamond performs decently and exceeded my expectations. The cymbals and hihats in Ride Every Wave is not leaned back and the impact is spot-on.



Soundstage
Pros
  • Wide soundstage for acoustic tracks
  • Not too veiled by the bass boost
Cons
  • Moderate soundstage when bass are present in the tracks
Reference Tracks / Remarks:
Sodagreen – City Trapped by Rain
Most of the basshead IEMs/headphones usually suffered from soundstage presentation with the bass leak into mids, completely ruining the soundstage. This is not the case for KB Ear Diamond, since the precaution is done with tamed higher subbass. With very few bass leaked into mids, the recordings sound clear with moderate soundstage. But then, as there is a lower subbass boost, the presence of bass narrowed the soundstage when compared to that from tracks with only acoustic instruments presented.



Separation
Pros
  • Every element could be listened to
  • Decent imaging and translation
Cons
  • Positioning shifted during complex tracks
The Diamond is capable of separating instruments from tracks. The vocal is always in the centre of the spotlight, which is also one of the surprises when some of the pricier IEMs encounter difficulties for that essential component to construct the soundstage. Although the separation is a piece of cake for the earphones, the positioning is hindered when complicated tracks are played, a general weakness for single DD IEMs.



Musicality
Pros
  • Forgiving for poorly recorded materials
  • Thumping bass for bringing EDM tracks to their full potential
  • Vocals are separated correctly
Cons
  • Lack of energy for drums and electric guitar due to a leaned-back mids
The Diamond is lovely for the tracks with less than pristine production. The flaws from those tracks are not shown clearly as the proportion of lows is more than that of the highs. It is even way more enjoyable when the diamond is paired with EDM tracks, where the main element for those songs – bass is fun and not yet overbloated.



Vocal Performance
Pros
  • Stays in the centre of the head
  • Suitable for both male/female voices
Cons
  • A bit sibilant
Because of the fun tuning which the Diamond is adopting, there is not any higher subbass leak into the mids. As a result, the vocals do not sound nasal at all. Moreover, the lead vocal for tracks, which is usually mixed in mono, always stays in the centre of the head, which is surprising accurate in terms of translating mixes. But then, the treble boost of the IEMs may resulted in some sibliance when the vocal has not been done any proper treatments.


Instrumental Performance
Pros
  • Excellent reproduction for bass and double bass
Cons
  • Recessed performance for synthesiser and electric guitars
The Diamond excels at maxing out the joy of EDM tracks with its superb bass articulation. Meanwhile, it is also capable to be an all-rounder as the midrange and treble do not sound hollow or too dark at all. However, due to the recessed lower midrange again, the synthesiser and electric guitar is somehow recessed, and the emphasis could not brought to its full potential.



Comparison Chart
How we compare: We chose other similarly priced earphones or similar offerings from the same brand that Project A3 has reviewed in the past, to ensure that we remain as impartial as possible in our comparisons.

KBEar Diamond Hidizs MS1 TinHifi T4
Suggested Retail Price $79.00 USD $65.00 USD $99 USD
Driver Configuration Diamond Like Carbon Coated Dynamic Driver  Biodynamic Dynamic Driver  1 Carbon Nanotube Dynamic driver
Scalability Mobile/Dongle friendly Mobile/Dongle friendly Mobile/Dongle friendly
Fitting Good Very Good Snug and lightweight
Comfort Very Good Very Good Good
Sound Signature V-shape signature, focus on bass region Aggressive V-shape signature, with a shouty upper-midrange Fairly Linear, slight bass lift
Lows Fat bass with appropriate decay, precaution taken on higher subbass for not leaking into mids Deep sub-bass rumble, but doesn't bleed into the mids Speedy mid-bass, faint sub bass. Overall linear bass response
Mids Lower-mids are turned down a bit compared to the upper-mids Lower-mids are recessed, with the upper-mids taking centre stage Clear and Neutral, zero emphasis on either lower or upper mids.
Highs A bit airy with average extension Great sparkle, average extension Pristine highs, good extension with little colouration
Soundstage Above average width Good lateral width between L-R Channels Above average horizontal width
Separation Above-average imaging, struggles busier tracks  Above-average imaging, manages busier tracks  Above average imaging, struggles with busier tracks
Vocal Performance All-rounder for all types of vocal. Pairs well with female vocals, with great clarity and air but it lacks body in the lower mids. Great clarity, needs alittle bit more lower-mid warmth on male vocals
Instrumental Performance Making bass shine, less emphasised on the electric guitars and synthesiser Pairs well with wind instruments like trumpets or string instruments like the violin. Needs more lower-mid warmth for oldies and intimate recordings Sounds great with almost all instruments
Remarks A pair of bassheads IEM without sarificing much in musicality. Great for consumers who enjoy an exciting signature that emphasizes vocal performance.  Perfect for a flat/reference signature or as an “everyday carry” IEM.


Conclusion:
From the shouty tuned Hi7 to this very competent Diamond, it shows the passion and the ability of the brand to produce engaging and mature IEMs. The Diamond is the revolutionary product for the brand itself, and it would now be my go-to recommendation for budget bassheads who do not want to miss any details from the recordings.

Be sure to follow Project A3 on Facebook for more reviews*.





*All ratings are accurate as of date of publication. Changes in price, newer models may affect Project A3's views on the performance and value of the reviewed product.





aliexpress chi-fi dynamic headfi iem review sub 100 in ear monitor kbear project a3 review sub 100
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Project A³
Project A³ is a collection of individuals that are passionate and dedicated to consumer and enthusiast audiophile products. Originating from various countries and involved in different fields what they all have in common is an appreciation for listening to music in the best way possible.
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