KBEAR Toubillon Pro
At just over $100, KBEAR is doing it again with the Tourbillon Pro.
On paper nothing in particular sticks out as being new, different or innovative, but sometimes you don’t need to reinvent, you just need to do it better than the others.
Let’s have a little gander.
More info can be found here (non affiliate link)
Unboxing
Normally I ignore this part, but I have to make a comment.
The $100 segment is getting extremely competitive, so it’s almost no wonder the unboxing experience here is getting out of hand across the board.
The Tourbillon Pro unboxing experience is kind of insane compared to the KB16 Cepheus, despite costing less than half the price, but sadly today, this is the trend.
Bigger boxes, more paper, more packaging, more hype and ultimately a greater sense of inflated value.
Just to be clear; the unboxing experience is purely an exercise in marketing brainwashing, or preconditioning, which is why I only show it in photos, so I don’t think anyone should let it become part of their product purchase decision making process.
That said, I found myself ooh’ing and ahh’ing in my head while opening this one up.
It’s pretty damn addictive.
Build Design & Ergonomics
I can’t start this review properly without first addressing the main focus of the Tourbillon Pro.
The design.
The biggest clue is given in the spec-sheet, which describes it as Zinc Alloy Gear-appearance Design.
Anyone who knows anything about basic metallurgy, smelting or casting will know that Zinc is one of the best and easiest metals to work with for low temperature, fast and detailed designs, so it comes as no surprise to me that it was used for the intricate cog-wheel design.
The close-up photos online kind of don’t do it justice, because anything under a macro-lens immediately becomes more simple, with rougher edges and minor flaws show up very clearly.
In reality, at normal viewing distances and lighting conditions, they’re actually really eye-catching.
My inner-child really wanted these to be exposed to prying fingers and actually rotate when poked at with a toothpick or something, but they are covered with a thin glass-like plate.
The shells are heavy, solid, very simple in design, and generally more ergonomic than average, at least for my ears.
I had no problems with discomfort, slippage or wearing position.
I feel like KBEAR kind of went all-out on these.
The cables are also a beautiful two-tone twist which might be the most perfect IEM cable I’ve ever used.
It’s not too thick or too thin, it’s extremely soft and pliable with practically no memory and very strongly resists tangling.
The only thing missing is a detachable termination for balanced 4.4mm, something increasing in popularity in this price segment, but something I also think is redundant for most users.
I think KBEAR should release this cable as a separate accessory, it really is that good.
The other accessories are kind of neat too.
You get two sets of tips, one very simple set of narrow-bore black tips, and one higher quality set of wide bore tips.
You also get a totally redundant dust-cloth for the glass face plates, because your t-shirt will do just fine, and one cleaning brush for removing debris from the tips and nozzles.
Finally, the carry case is kind of awesome.
It looks and smells like leather, but since I’m not a leather expert, my best guess is these are a low-grade bonded leather. If these are an extremely high quality synthetic leather, then I’m very impressed.
Altogether this might be the fanciest $100 segment IEMs to come out this year.
Sound
The overall tone achieved with the single 10mm dynamic driver can be described as a master-class in leaning towards bassy and smooth.
There is only a hint of pinna-gain, which is the only part that I dislike, so no big surprises there, but it should be near the correct amount for the average ear.
They have a good amount of mid-bass without edging into boom-town like the BLON BL-03II, and a smoother treble too.
Overall, these are quite close to the Fosi Audio IM4, but sound fuller, bassier and smoother and a not only a step closer to my ideal sound, but only a step away from it.
If I wasn’t comparing these to other IEMs, I wouldn’t feel like they’re missing anything, but of course they are not quite as detailed or airy and spacious as other higher end models or even some peers, like the Fosi Audio IM4, with it’s beryllium coated dynamic drivers.
But really those differences are tiny compared to it’s generally superior tonality which is more obvious and for most people far more important.
I wanted to do something a bit different this time and try to stay grounded, so I whipped out the old classic AKG Samsung IEMs for comparison.
Every now and then it’s good to go back to basics to remind myself how small or big the differences can be sometimes.
In terms of overall detail, the KBEAR really isn’t that far ahead.
But in every other aspect, the AKG/Samsung is soundly beaten, most clearly in tonal response, soundstage and separation.
The AKG/Samsung sounds significantly more claustrophobic and small, while the Tourbillon is obviously more spacious and spreads out the sound more clearly.
I think initially the AKG sounded just as detailed because it has such a strong treble spike, so it’s really an artificial sense of detail, like the DT990 Pro treble spike.
After more careful listening, it’s clear the detail of the AKG is inferior.
The Soundstage of the Tourbillon is a normal size, and the sense of imaging is equally average, but both are more accurate than average, which is more than enough to destroy the very diffused two-blob left and right imaging of the AKG/Samsung.
I wouldn’t give the Tourbillon a super strong recommendation for gaming, but they are more than adequate.
Finally, the isolation on these is a little above average too, which is always a bonus.
Final Thoughts
KBEARS has done it again.
They really know how to tune IEMs for the masses.
If you love the design, don’t hesitate, these are an easy recommendation.
The whole package and it’s execution is near flawless.
Final Feelings
You really get the feeling that someone at KBEARS has a watch hobby.
The presentation and feel of every part of this product is meant to give you the premium experience, and they nailed it.
If 4.4mm termination is a requirement, then look elsewhere.
If you’re happy with just one of the most well rounded IEM products at $100, then these are a no-brainer.
At just over $100, KBEAR is doing it again with the Tourbillon Pro.
On paper nothing in particular sticks out as being new, different or innovative, but sometimes you don’t need to reinvent, you just need to do it better than the others.
Let’s have a little gander.
More info can be found here (non affiliate link)
Unboxing
Normally I ignore this part, but I have to make a comment.
The $100 segment is getting extremely competitive, so it’s almost no wonder the unboxing experience here is getting out of hand across the board.
The Tourbillon Pro unboxing experience is kind of insane compared to the KB16 Cepheus, despite costing less than half the price, but sadly today, this is the trend.
 |
 |
 |
 |
Bigger boxes, more paper, more packaging, more hype and ultimately a greater sense of inflated value.
Just to be clear; the unboxing experience is purely an exercise in marketing brainwashing, or preconditioning, which is why I only show it in photos, so I don’t think anyone should let it become part of their product purchase decision making process.
That said, I found myself ooh’ing and ahh’ing in my head while opening this one up.
It’s pretty damn addictive.
Build Design & Ergonomics
I can’t start this review properly without first addressing the main focus of the Tourbillon Pro.
The design.
The biggest clue is given in the spec-sheet, which describes it as Zinc Alloy Gear-appearance Design.
Anyone who knows anything about basic metallurgy, smelting or casting will know that Zinc is one of the best and easiest metals to work with for low temperature, fast and detailed designs, so it comes as no surprise to me that it was used for the intricate cog-wheel design.
The close-up photos online kind of don’t do it justice, because anything under a macro-lens immediately becomes more simple, with rougher edges and minor flaws show up very clearly.
In reality, at normal viewing distances and lighting conditions, they’re actually really eye-catching.
My inner-child really wanted these to be exposed to prying fingers and actually rotate when poked at with a toothpick or something, but they are covered with a thin glass-like plate.
The shells are heavy, solid, very simple in design, and generally more ergonomic than average, at least for my ears.
I had no problems with discomfort, slippage or wearing position.
I feel like KBEAR kind of went all-out on these.
The cables are also a beautiful two-tone twist which might be the most perfect IEM cable I’ve ever used.
It’s not too thick or too thin, it’s extremely soft and pliable with practically no memory and very strongly resists tangling.
The only thing missing is a detachable termination for balanced 4.4mm, something increasing in popularity in this price segment, but something I also think is redundant for most users.
I think KBEAR should release this cable as a separate accessory, it really is that good.
The other accessories are kind of neat too.
You get two sets of tips, one very simple set of narrow-bore black tips, and one higher quality set of wide bore tips.
You also get a totally redundant dust-cloth for the glass face plates, because your t-shirt will do just fine, and one cleaning brush for removing debris from the tips and nozzles.
Finally, the carry case is kind of awesome.
It looks and smells like leather, but since I’m not a leather expert, my best guess is these are a low-grade bonded leather. If these are an extremely high quality synthetic leather, then I’m very impressed.
Altogether this might be the fanciest $100 segment IEMs to come out this year.
Sound
The overall tone achieved with the single 10mm dynamic driver can be described as a master-class in leaning towards bassy and smooth.
There is only a hint of pinna-gain, which is the only part that I dislike, so no big surprises there, but it should be near the correct amount for the average ear.
They have a good amount of mid-bass without edging into boom-town like the BLON BL-03II, and a smoother treble too.
Overall, these are quite close to the Fosi Audio IM4, but sound fuller, bassier and smoother and a not only a step closer to my ideal sound, but only a step away from it.
If I wasn’t comparing these to other IEMs, I wouldn’t feel like they’re missing anything, but of course they are not quite as detailed or airy and spacious as other higher end models or even some peers, like the Fosi Audio IM4, with it’s beryllium coated dynamic drivers.
But really those differences are tiny compared to it’s generally superior tonality which is more obvious and for most people far more important.
I wanted to do something a bit different this time and try to stay grounded, so I whipped out the old classic AKG Samsung IEMs for comparison.
Every now and then it’s good to go back to basics to remind myself how small or big the differences can be sometimes.
In terms of overall detail, the KBEAR really isn’t that far ahead.
But in every other aspect, the AKG/Samsung is soundly beaten, most clearly in tonal response, soundstage and separation.
The AKG/Samsung sounds significantly more claustrophobic and small, while the Tourbillon is obviously more spacious and spreads out the sound more clearly.
I think initially the AKG sounded just as detailed because it has such a strong treble spike, so it’s really an artificial sense of detail, like the DT990 Pro treble spike.
After more careful listening, it’s clear the detail of the AKG is inferior.
The Soundstage of the Tourbillon is a normal size, and the sense of imaging is equally average, but both are more accurate than average, which is more than enough to destroy the very diffused two-blob left and right imaging of the AKG/Samsung.
I wouldn’t give the Tourbillon a super strong recommendation for gaming, but they are more than adequate.
Finally, the isolation on these is a little above average too, which is always a bonus.
Final Thoughts
KBEARS has done it again.
They really know how to tune IEMs for the masses.
If you love the design, don’t hesitate, these are an easy recommendation.
The whole package and it’s execution is near flawless.
Final Feelings
You really get the feeling that someone at KBEARS has a watch hobby.
The presentation and feel of every part of this product is meant to give you the premium experience, and they nailed it.
If 4.4mm termination is a requirement, then look elsewhere.
If you’re happy with just one of the most well rounded IEM products at $100, then these are a no-brainer.