KB EAR, or KBEAR as many call it, is a quickly growing Chinese company which specializes in In Ear Monitors. Whether you are a new-comer to the IEM market or a close follower, KBEAR Diamond should ring a bell. A single dynamic driver, to be exact, an 8.5 mm driver with a Diamond-Like-Carbon (DLC) coated diaphragm. But does it shine bright like a diamond?
An interesting thing about single dynamic driver IEM’s is that they can very well outperform a hybrid with multiple drivers. This comes at no surprise, because quantity never equaled quality. This is the case with the KBEAR Diamond, a very well polished product.
The more I get familiar with the company, the more I fall in love with what they are doing. To be quite honest with you, I am very excited to see what KBEAR has got for us in the future, because they are pretty impressive. Looking at the ever so growing Chinese market, there are way too many garbage products. This can be a common result of mass production, and when there is little attention to the product itself. Mass production is a logical strategy, and it works, you work in quantity within the margin of it being profitable. This often results in poor performance, and bad quality and accessories. KBEAR is one of the companies which I can see are taking what they do very seriously. From the packaging to the accessories, the Diamond is very well put together.
I was sent KBEAR Diamond free of charge by AK Audio store. I was required to write an honest review and not overstate the advantages. Everything said in this review is my opinion and how I feel about the Diamond. My opinion may have been influenced because I was required to put out the review in a certain time frame.
Unboxing experience -
When I received the Diamond, the first thing which popped up in my head was “Hm that’s a very nice box”. Now, of course we will not judge a book by its cover, nor will we judge the Diamond by its packaging, but I have to say that it feels like what you would get in your local tech store, like an official product. It doesn’t feel like a low quality Chinese product. One of the things which I have a problem with, is that many people associate China or Chi-Fi with something of lower quality, and that just isn’t right. Chinese Hi-Fi is getting quite serious, even though it has been serious for a long time already, I think that slowly but surely the Chinese Hi-Fi market, at least IEM market, is spreading towards the average people. More attention and recognition is being attracted, which is a good thing, as far as people learn to appreciate it.
Back onto track; I was very pleased to be met with a nice, firm and good quality box which had nice departments. I like how the foam tips are separated from the rest. Overall a hassle-free unboxing experience, exactly what you would want. It’s very interesting to see that KBEAR is neither cheating out on the packaging, nor the sound quality and overall quality of their products, that is one thing which caught my attention. Whether you are aware of it or not, packaging does cost, and depending on your connections and knowledge that cost can vary a lot, that’s why you see bad packaging a lot. It’s very embarrassing, because there are so many products with bad packaging… but also bad product performance and quality too. So I am very happy to see a product and company which doesn’t fall into that category. It’s a very pleasant presentation, and I like what KBEAR is doing.
Smell -
Yes, you read it right. Before you go on to think that I’m insane for mentioning the smell, take a deep breath and let me explain. I think it’s a fun little thing to mention, because it’s always overlooked… not that it needs to be payed attention to, but I thought I’d mention it. There is no foul smell, and I always appreciate that. Sometimes, and we will not mention any names, the product smells horrific, and it ruins the overall experience. I don’t know about you, but I personally cannot stand when a horrible smell hits me when opening a new product. KBEAR didn’t even have a bad smell… so all and all - Very good job KBEAR! We need to find an aspect which KBEAR didn’t get right…
What’s in the box -
Many fail to include at least alright accessories, and I was very happy to finally see a practical carrying case alongside with normal accessories. It’s not as though it’s an innovation, but a very practical accessory. I personally hate pouches, and they are unfortunately the most common. Foam tips are very much appreciated at this price point, and they were my choice of preference. The carrying case is firm and sturdy, it’s very convenient and I would go as far as to say that it’s perfect.
Of course we will not forget the little guy: the cable tie. It’s a standard cable tie which has KBEAR branding on it.
Let’s put the accessories in a formal format:
1x S/M/L wide bore tips
1x S/M/L silicone tips (it feels more like XXS/S/L, yes you read this correctly)
2x foam tips
1x Velcro cable tie
1x Faux leather hard carrying case
1x 8-core silver plated copper cable (0.78mm 2-pin)
Design - Daniel Arsham, is this you?
If the “sage green” was just a couple of shades lighter, these would be the exact representation of how Daniel Arsham’s in ear monitors would look like. I seriously love the design and overall color choice for the Diamond, it might be one of the most elegant and vintage pair of IEM’s I have come across yet. Their color palette is iconic, much like the one of Sennheiser HD 598. I would definitely want to see another pair of IEM’s with this color scheme (KBEAR take notes!), because it is well put together.
You may think that the drivers are larger judging by the size of the shells, however if you had a Hifiman RE-600s in your hands, you would know how small the driver actually is. Speaking of the shells, they feature a gold-plated copper nozzle which sits at an angle. I do have to admit that the shiny “gold-plated cooper nozzle” is VERY sexy. You know what else is sexy? That carbon fiber faceplate which sits under an epoxy-like layer. On the faceplate there is a KBEAR logo in a gold finish to match the nozzle.
I also appreciate that KBEAR made the decision to put use subtle branding on both the housing of the 3.5mm connector and the Y-splitter.
KBEAR didn’t have any intention to stop doing a great job… so they included a good cable. The 8-core silver plated copper cable is of high flexibility, and of high quality. Everything about the cable is good: highly flexible, pre-formed ear hooks which are also very flexible, metal housing for the 3.5mm connector, metal housing for 2-pin connectors, metal housing for the Y-splitter, metal chin slider… Speaking of the chin slider, another little guy which is overlooked. I will take the time to appreciate it and state what is good, and chin slider should be of no excuse. This is the best chin slider I have come across yet, and I hope KBEAR keeps using it. It has a hole for both “strands” of the cable, and there is a thin plastic which separates them. Usually the chin slider is a single ring which you just slide, and here it’s different, and it stays put in the place where you put it… it won’t go anywhere unless you put force.
Diamond has two vents: a single vent located on the bottom side of the shell, and another vent on the nozzle.
Build quality - Built like a tank
By now everything about the Diamond has been good, and you might think that KBEAR might have messed up at least in one field. Well… no, it isn’t build quality, because KBEAR nailed it. I swear I am not sugar-coating anything, you simply cannot deny that they are well built. With a metal shell and metal parts on the cable, you cannot say they aren’t of good built quality. Let’s be nit-picky and go beyond our way to find something to “complain” about… the faceplate isn’t perfectly sitting underneath the epoxy-like top layer, that’s as far as we can go to find something negative… a damn faceplate.
Comfort -
If there is one thing which you need to know about me, it’s that comfort is the single most important aspect to me. When something is in your ears, there is no tolerance for bad comfort. Even if a product has good sound performance, if the comfort and fit is bad… I cannot use it. I am very strict when it comes to comfort, and Diamond is no exception to that.
The comfort was good, but the fit isn’t ideal. I couldn’t find myself using any of the silicone tips, and the only solution were the foam tips… and even with them I didn’t find the seal and fit to be ideal, which didn’t quite make it a solution. This means that to get the ideal fit, you probably need to do some tiprolling. Another thing which you should know about me is that I am not about tip rolling. The reason behind it is simple: I believe that it’s manufacturer’s job to make their product satisfy the majority. If I, as a consumer, I need to go and search for tips (or cables) to make the product do what it needed to do in the first place, then I don’t believe it’s an easy recommendation, especially because not everybody know what to search for, or where to search for.
Now, this wasn’t very horrific with the Diamond, as though I did find them quite comfortable with the foam tips, it’s just that the seal wasn’t as tight and was a bit loose.
This being said, I will clearly state that they do not have bad comfort, it’s just a field where KBEAR could put more focus on and play around. For example, KBEAR TRI i3 has to be one of the most comfortable IEM’s which I have tried… and I formed this opinion only based on the 20 minutes which I spent with them. My advice to the manufacturer, continue doing what the TRI i3 is doing and implement that in your future models.
Sound -
Lows-
The low range is the better part of the Diamond. The combination of good weight and good punch is what result in a good performance. The Diamond can very well keep up with a track like “Smoking Mirrors” from Lee Curtiss, while not the busiest or the fastest track, I do like the general pace of it. There is a very good amount of body to the bass, and there is a tight punch, which set the rhythm of the track right. Oh… and “Hydrogen” M|O|O|N (or M.O.O.N), damn is that a beatiful performance, seriously packing a punch, it delivers the weight of the bass very well. While the Diamond does have a reasonable sub-bass extension, it fails to rumble, and that can be noticed in tracks like “Why so Serious?” by Hans Zimmer. In similar fashion, I found mid-bass to be generally lacking definition. But as a whole, the low range performance is pretty good.
Mids-
One of the first things I noticed is that the vocals do not sound natural or too pleasant, and that is expected with a V shape sound signature. Being a person who primarily listens to vocal focused and vocally intense music, this is one aspect which stood out to me. However I cannot deny that they have a natural timbre when it comes to instruments, this lives up to KBEAR’s marketing of the Diamond having a natural timbre. I felt like I am missing something out, everybody loves the Diamond and usually praises its mid range performance, so it feels a bit vulnerable to say what I am about to say, but I never fell under the influence of clichés and masses opinions. I already said that I mainly listen to music which is heavily focused on vocals, and I will say that the KBEAR Diamond portrays vocals in a shouty and tinny (definition: sounds like music is coming through a telephone or a tin can). Not a particularly vocally intense track, but this is the track in which I came to realize this: Lana del Rey - Off To The Races.
My goal is to state what I hear without falling for the illusion just so my opinion or experience matches to the one of the masses. Everyone hears differently and this is what I heard, and therefore I will mention it. That’s the whole concept and purpose of reviews, so you know what other people experience… but you will never be able to use anybodies opinion for yourself, sound is a personal subject, and you can follow or trust somebodies opinion/reviews if you found out that it matches to your perception, and that you and that person share the same observations, but that’s about it.
This sound characteristics makes them not so ideal for vocally focused music, and if you decide to listen to quite vocally intense music for longer periods of time, they can come off as fatiguing because the upper mid-range is boosted, that’s exactly what the terms shouty and tinny mean. And fatigue is an expected characteristic of tinny and shouty sound performance.
Highs-
Top end would be perfect if the mids weren’t tinny. The Diamond is able to reach the peaks and give the sparkle which is always appreciated, if this top range performance was combined with a good mid range, then it would significantly contribute to vocals. As always, “Stop Trying to Be God” by Travis Scott, my preferred reference track for hitting the peak of Stevie Wonder’s harmonica at mark 5:19, and the Diamond certainly did not disappoint and was able to produce the peak notes. However due to the fact that the mid range is tinny, the highs do sound overemphasized and can sound pretty steely, this overall creates fatigue if played at moderate-to-loud levels.
Soundstage -
While definitely not the most spacious and open, the Diamond does have an above average soundstage, and you can’t deny it. While imaging isn’t the most accurate and precise, I did find the extra space pleasing.
Separation -
I found separation to be quite lacking. Let’s clarify and explain what separation means, or at least what I am referring to. Separation is referencing to the ability to distinguish different sounds and frequencies, if separation is bad then some frequencies will get lost because they will get mushed together with the others… this leaves to an overall muddy-like performance because you lose the ability to hear certain elements in music, you lose detail. That’s exactly what happens with the Diamond, while I continued to listen to Lana del Rey’s “Born To Die” album, when I came to the track “Dark Paradise”, there is a very subtle snare, this snare can be heard but it is quite muddy and lacks definition. It’s hard to hear it and it sounds very flat, that’s why it gets lost with the other frequencies dominating over it.
Conclusion -
KBEAR’s Diamond is certainly an interesting IEM, not quite my cup of tea because my music taste is mainly within vocally present tracks. I do believe that KBEAR is going in the correct direction. With getting some correct tuning in mind, I think it will be able to make some serious progress. Diamond is one of my favorite IEM’s when it comes to it’s design, I would go as far to call it iconic. I wish that the separation was much better, and that the mid range was clearer and not recessed, this would take advantage of the soundstage which is has… otherwise that extra space from the soundstage is taken for granted because muddy and not well defined sound performance take up most of that space.
Going beyond my personal preference in terms of music, I can say that I will recommend the KBEAR Diamond to people who listen to electronic music, whether it’s techno or rave, or just not vocally intense and present music genre, I believe that the Diamond is a very well polished choice which gets most things right. As a single dynamic driver, it has a very good bass performance which I appreciate, and so should you.
As a reviewer there is certain bias, if you like a certain genre and the product doesn’t perform well in it, you will naturally have bitter feelings about it. However I have to keep in mind that other people may enjoy a product, like the KBEAR Diamond, which is a excellent product, and I believe it wasn’t made to be focused on the mid range and vocals, but rather implement a sharp V-shape sound signature.
**Those are my three latest reviews, hope it serves a good read! Didn’t intend it to be spam, I just finished them and forgot to post them here… so yeah. **
However if there is any issue, I won’t have anything against removing them, so please let me know 
).
