KBEAR KS2 Review (3) – Too Big A Bottom
Yet another consumer-tuned $25 hybrid, the KBEAR KS2 will look and sound awfully familiar to owners of the KZ ZSR and its ilk. Generic plastic shells look cheap but provide for surprisingly good fit, comfort and isolation; thin stock cable is likewise unimpressive but free from microphonics.
Soundwise, the KBEAR KS2 is a bass-enhanced, deep V with a slightly bright, energetic tonality. Soundstage is nicely rounded, with good height and an inside-your-head feeling; however, unlike its KZ competitors imaging is imprecise and location of the performers tends to float uncertainly across the stage. Bass is the real Achilles heel here—it’s deep and throbbing, but shapeless and slow, like a cheap department store subwoofer turned up too high, and there is considerable bleed into and obscuring of the mids (EQing down the bass level reduces bleed, but doesn’t improve the texture). Mids, as Baskingshark notes, are quite recessed, as if the vocalist and guitarists are standing a few feet behind the front stage, but sound pleasant and clear on acoustic and less bass-heavy fare. Treble isn’t especially extended or detailed, but uncolored and inoffensive; these lack the peakiness and occasional high-end shrillness of the KZ ZST/ZSR/ZSN and I found them non-fatiguing over extended use. The KZs, however, trump the KBEAR KS2 in terms of coherence and are better-tuned, especially at the low end.
The KBEAR KS2 are a completely different animal than more-refined price peers like the BL-03 or the Senfer DT-6, which have a more seamless presentation and are much better for critical listening but are more finicky and less suitable for running, airplanes, etc. That said, innumerable, comparably priced models from Tennmak and KZ (not to mention slightly pricier models from TRN, BQEYZ, etc.) do the same basic signature better, and the KBEAR KS2 don’t represent especially good value.
Verdict: Inessential
Disclaimer: I received these unsolicited and unexpected from one of Jürgen’s hook-ups.
Get the KBEAR KS2 from KBEAR Official Store or Wooeasy Earphones Store.
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