Article source: https://note.com/sekixyo/n/nff960a9d3af3
KBEAR is a brand that sells a variety of earphones and cables, ranging from inexpensive to mid-range products. It's a good value brand.
Among them, the KBEAR KB02 was newly released at the end of November 2024. It is 1DD+1BC, with DD being 10mm beryllium coated and BC being 10mm, and uses elastic-piece type bone conduction (shrapnel is a mistranslation). The cable is made of 6N oxygen-free copper.
Before the KB02, KBEAR released a beryllium-coated DD1 earphone called KBEAR KB01. The KB01 was an entry-level model that offered very well-balanced sound, and the sound it produced was one or two levels better than the Kinera Celest Wyvern, which also offered well-balanced sound. The KBEAR KB02 seems to be the KB01 with bone conduction added.
The actual selling price on Amazon is less than $39.99, so there are also potential campaigns available.
Speaking of wired earphones with bone conduction, there is the Winter series from BQEYZ, which uses a piezoelectric bone conduction system that is effective mainly in the high range. In addition, there is a similar bone conduction system called Kinera Celest Plutus Beast , which has a strange configuration of " bone conduction driver + square flat surface + BA" , but I have not tried it. According to other people's reviews, it makes a big difference depending on how you wear it, but I have not tried it yet.
In conclusion, I really liked the KBEAR KB02 and think they are earphones worth recommending.
Let's get straight into the review impressions.
It arrives in a simple box.
KBEAR KB02 back of the box
Upon opening the package, you will see a beautiful faceplate with complex coloring. This color variation is brown.
The faceplate has a complex color scheme and is very beautiful.
The accessories are three types of ear pieces in three sizes and a cable. It's simple, but it's nice that it comes with three types of ear pieces.
KBEAR KB02 with earphone cable attached
KBEAR's new earphones KB02.
The package comes with 3 types x 3 sizes of ear tips and a 3.5mm standard unbalanced cable.
It's nice to have a wide variety of ear tips, but since there are only 3 sizes, they may not fit all ears. However, it will be enough for many people.
Unfortunately, no earphone case is included.
The biggest feature of the KB02 is that in addition to the normal dynamic driver (DD), it also uses a shrunken, elastic-piece type bone conduction unit that is coaxial with the DD. It's
interesting that if you flick the housing with your finger before playing the sound, it produces a unique, bouncy sound.
This bone conduction unit seems to transmit the sound to the ear canal through the acoustic stem (tube) of the housing, and the sense of separation, detail, layering, stacking, depth, and depth are particularly prominent in the bass, midrange, and low treble ranges.
At first I was wary of a cheap, bubbling noise being carried over to the bass, but this turned out to be a completely unfounded worry.
I listen to it with the built-in DAC (analog Type-C conversion) of the Xiaomi 13T Pro, and I don't feel any difficulty in playing it. I can enjoy very clear sound even before aging. I think the effect of bone conduction will vary depending on the amplifier output, compatibility with the DAC, and earpiece.
I use the standard clear earpiece because I find it easy to feel the effect of bone conduction, and I recommend it. I
also recommend lowering the one-son earpiece more than usual to make it fit closer to your ear.
A distinctive feature of these earphones is that the effect of bone conduction can be felt from the ultra-low to mid to low treble tones. In particular, the bass sounds three-dimensional, and it is refreshing to hear that the normal bass, not the true sub-bass part, is not a rumbling sound, nor is it saturated with a lot of volume, but a three-dimensional sound with depth.
Furthermore, the price is less than 6,000 yen on Amazon, making it affordable, and there are some unexpected good products, so it feels like an unexpected dark horse has appeared.
The high and ultra-high frequencies are on par with or better than ordinary earphones for enthusiasts, and although the housing is made of resin, it doesn't have a plastic feel to it.
Unlike the BQEYZ's piezoelectric bone conduction, the effect is particularly noticeable in the mid-range and lower ranges, allowing you to enjoy sounds that even audiophiles have never heard before.
To be honest, when it comes to products that are donated to me, I'm grateful, but I also feel like I have more responsibility to review, so I'm actually less excited than if I had bought it myself. However, with the KB02, I wasn't feeling any favoritism at all; I was simply surprised.
The deep bass tones are particularly distinctive, and you can enjoy a three-dimensional, layered sound. Beryllium is used in the high range, so the sound is likely to improve further with aging.
What's great is that it produces very good sound even out of the box with the included cable. Even though it's a donated product, I think there are few products that can boast such quality. There is a slight noise when you turn up the volume, but this will calm down with aging.
It would probably be a good idea to re-cable it, but I'm impressed with the sound that can be produced even without doing so.
The bass has a great texture that even people who aren't bassheads and like strong bass should definitely listen to.
It looks very beautiful, is well made, and has many advantages and no drawbacks. I have a feeling it will be a big hit.
When checking with an online tone generator, there is a sharp dip (DIP, concave, point where the sound becomes quieter) around 160Hz to 200Hz, which may be a characteristic of the bone conduction driver.
This does not necessarily mean that the part is bad, and it does not feel like the sound is bad in actual music. (Because 100-200Hz is the low frequency range) In actual music, this may appear as distortion or a change in tone, but this dip may also be related to the unique bass of the KB02. However
, this dip occurs in different places on the left and right earphones, which was a concern when checking with a tone generator.
Those who place the utmost importance on the absolute smoothness of the F characteristic should be careful with the KB02.
I burned in the KBEAR KB02 with "pink noise" for about three days, and the intense peaks in the high frequencies of the beryllium-plated drivers became much smoother and more comfortable to listen to. It also gave off a kind of sticky sexiness, and this condition is quite good, so I think it's a good idea to let it age as well.
KBEAR KB02 Other people's reviews
X's follower, Ange, has written a glowing review, so we'll link them together.
For reviews like this, it's helpful to look at reviews from multiple reviewers neutrally!
Introduction: I'll explain in detail what a bone conduction unit is.
The KB02 really does deliver a sound never heard
before. In particular, bass tones, which could only be expressed as being high in volume or saturated, are expressed in a new way, so I would like even those who call themselves "bassheads" to try them out, and the depth of the bass makes them different from other earphones.
Of course, the amount of bass itself is not too much, so those who are not so-called "bassheads" will be even happier, and the high range is not neglected either, so I highly recommend them.
The depth, sense of ensemble, and three-dimensionality may be easier to understand if you compare them to a "three-dimensionality similar to that of Paper Mario 3D."
These earphones offer a completely new sound that even audiophiles who have been buying earphones for many years have never heard before.
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