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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.

KBEAR KS2

Verdict: Inessential

KBEAR KS2

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.

Our generic standard disclaimer.

You find an INDEX of all our earphone reviews HERE.

You find an INDEX of our most relevant technical articles HERE.

YouTube review by Jürgen Kraus.
KBEAr KS2

MORE KBEAR KS2 REVIEWS:

…by Jürgen Kraus.

…by Baskingshark.

KBEAr KS2

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Author

  • Loomis T. Johnson (Chicago, USA)

    Head-Fier since 2014. Based in Chicago, Loomis T. Johnson is a practicing attorney, failed musician, and lifelong music fanatic and record collector. He has frequently contributed to such review sites as Headfi, Sound Advocate, and Asian Provocative Ear (as well as many other far less interesting non-musical periodicals). A former two-channel and vintage gear obsessive, he has sheepishly succumbed to current trends in home theater and portable audio. He’s a firm believer that the equipment should serve the music and that good sound is attainable at any budget level.

Loomis T. Johnson (Chicago, USA)

Head-Fier since 2014. Based in Chicago, Loomis T. Johnson is a practicing attorney, failed musician, and lifelong music fanatic and record collector. He has frequently contributed to such review sites as Headfi, Sound Advocate, and Asian Provocative Ear (as well as many other far less interesting non-musical periodicals). A former two-channel and vintage gear obsessive, he has sheepishly succumbed to current trends in home theater and portable audio. He’s a firm believer that the equipment should serve the music and that good sound is attainable at any budget level.

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