So these earbuds are probably the best-looking earbuds I’ve seen in a long time. They’re called the KBEAR K2s and they’re technically classed as an IEM or In-Ear Monitor type of earbuds, which are generally used by high end audiophiles and even musicians during live shows. That’s where I know IEMs from anyway. Most of the time they’re usually quite expensive but KBEAR have got these on offer for around the £40 mark here in the UK which I think is an absolute steal. And right now I just want to state that I am no picky audiophile. I can appreciate great-sounding music, but I’m not chasing lossless audio, or can really comment on the intricate details of music that may or may not be there, so please, take that as you will, and thank you KeepHiFi for sponsoring this video.
So the KBEAR K02 IEMs are made from a resin-type moulded material and they look absolutely stunning. I’ve got the Maple Brown version here which looks to have a bronzite-type finish, with specs of blue and purple. There are also Crystal Violet and Misty Blue variants too if they’re more your style. They fit extremely well in the ear, and you have a choice of earbud size. As usual, I dove straight for the largest bud available and went about listening to my music. There are three types of bud in the box which I read somewhere they give the earbuds a different sound. I couldn’t tell the difference between them, unfortunately. I mean I’m not saying it’s wrong, and maybe my ears just aren’t as sensitive as others I’m not sure. But either way, the larger earbuds fit me the best, and opted for the white clear eartips in the end for my testing.
Being IEMs these things are not Bluetooth, they’re not wireless, and they need no app. The two earbuds plug into an included cable which is thin and braided and apparently “anti-tangle” though a week at the bottom of a woman’s handbag and you’ll see a different story. There’s no such thing as anti-tangle, or at least I’ve never seen it anyway. The cable though I will say is nice and soft and covered in plastic which if you’re using these as monitors and trailing them through your clothes while on stage say, there’s a low chance they’ll get snagged on clothing.
Inside are two drivers which make these earbuds special. The first is your Beryllium-plated 10mm diaphragm dynamic driver which is there to drive most of your music through. However, there’s also a 100mm bone conduction driver which aids with those ultra-low bass frequencies and can produce a really nice deep rumbling feeling in the earbuds. Listening to that Pedro racoon song because that’s probably the best example I can think of with that much front-end bass in it, sounded very controlled, and there was a nice separation between your higher frequencies and that bassline. Note the keyword ‘feeling’ too.
Being bone conduction you can really feel the bass in your music, rather than typically turning up the volume or making any EQ changes to compensate. And it works really, really well. Okay some smaller details in your music are still missed, and I’m talking top-end stuff, but they’re a £40 pair of earbuds, you can’t really go wrong here they sound amazing. They’ve tuned the headphones to a typical V shape pattern, with a massive drop-off towards the very, top end of the treble scale which I think will give most people’s music a lift. Of course you could use your own custom EQ apps an whatnot on your phones or whatever you’re plugging these into to counteract what’s been tuned already, but I quite like it as is, and as I stated at the start, I’m no audiophile, I can just appreciate a lovely set of earbuds.
Are these going to be for everyone? No, I can’t say they are because the biggest thing is you have to rely on a cable. Do they sound better than cheaper wireless earbuds? HELL… YES! For £40, there’s not really much better out there at this price that I’ve used anyway. They fit very comfortably, are tuned well, have a great cable and are just an all-round great looking set of earbuds.
