Second Impression: KBEAR Diamond vs. BLON BL-03

Full review of the KBEAR Diamond by Loomis Johnson Here!

Fellow Head-Fi member and countryman Baskingshark wanted me to compare KBEAR Diamond with the legendary BLON BL-03. I was reluctant at first because Jürgen and I also tune for BLON. It will be “conflict of interest”. However, Baskingshark insisted I should do it because he felt it is appropriate as almost every living audiophile and non-audiophile owns the BL-03 and it will make a fantastic “yard stick” for all. Well, here it goes…

Disclaimer: Everybody “accessorized” their BL-03 differently. Mine is equipped with Azla Sedna EarFits (Medium), mechanical keyboard O-rings to elongated the eartips and Yinyoo 8-core silver-plated copper cable (black). Diamond with stock cable and eartips (Medium).

First thing I noticed is BL-03 plays louder (volume 43 for BL-03, compared to volume 51 for Diamond on my PC). Once both earphones are levelled, Diamond comes across as smoother… a lot smoother than BL-03. Bass digs deeper, slams with authority and gusto. I am not saying BL-03 is a whim… It just don’t possess that kind ascendancy Diamond has.

Some folks find the BL-03’s bass a bit too overwhelming for them. I don’t want to lie… Diamond’s bass is stronger but is firm and tight with good depth, texture and clarity. 

Mids and treble are interesting. First listen to the BL-03 gives the impression it is clearer and brighter than Diamond. But after a few tracks, I could detect a tint of harshness and sibilance in the upper-mids. If I increase the volume by just a few decibels, vocal (especially female vocal) becomes a grainy, mashed-up ball of light, beaming blinding rays at its listener. On other hand, Diamond remains composed and in command, yet highly-resolving. 

After a short 20 minutes of comparison between the two earphones, Diamond, although playing at slightly higher volume, remained a joy to listen. With the BL-03, I began to show sign of fatigue. BL-03 just doesn’t have the finesse of Diamond.

Let’s be very clear. I don’t think this is a fair comparison. Both earphones use different carbon drivers. Both earphones are priced and marketed differently. Back to our “yardstick” analogy. A yardstick can only stretches so far. There are many ways to measure a yard. KBEAR Diamond gives you that one yard and more.

ADDENDUM

Baskingshark wanted me to elaborate on timbre, comparing Diamond to BL-03. What better instruments to use as reference than violin and guitar. I dug out my favorite duo piece – Paganini and Giuliani’s Sonata Concertata in A Major, with Itzhak Perlman on violin and John Williams on guitar.

Now, let’s get straight to it… With Diamond, both the violin and guitar sounds fuller, richer, sweeter with better tonal depth and accuracy. Perlman and William’s seamless playing convey a sense of ease and flow, without sounding as if both musicians are competing for attention Playing the same track through the BL-03 is a different story. Both instruments sound busy overlapping each other and one-dimensional. Violin sounds edgy and shrill. Guitar sounds more jarring and bland. On a positive note, the BLON does sound more lively and cheerful.

Overall, both earphones excel in tonal colours and quality for their prices. Dynamic drivers always have an unparalleled advantage over its balance armature counterpart. To put this into perspective, carefully-tuned dynamic drivers sound more natural and pleasing to the human ears.

Many folks can’t be bothered about timbre. Some even don’t know what timbre is. I remember not long ago, a YouTube earphones reviewer wanted me to explain what timbre actually is because he only knows two kinds – plywood and compressed fiber board.

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