KBEAR - KB02

I have 02 version I will not upgrade then. Actually I liked 02 but fatigue from BCD is noticeable compare to normal iems

KZ Castor Pro Bass - has bass but the other end of the spectrum was a hot mess. KBear KB02 - Having the BCD trigger at any frequency makes it only usable for music. Moondrop Chu - Not having earhooks made them constantly fall out. Moondrop Aria - Straight nozzle with no lip made it so the tips always came off in my ear.

The Tripowin Vivace is getting praise in that price range specifically for gaming. Otherwise, look into the KBEar KB01 or KB02. The 02 is an acquired taste due to the nature of the bone conduction drivers for the bass and their resonance, but they are pretty good for gaming (I own both) You can buy a cable with an in-line mic for about $10, as well.

I sing the praises of the Thieaudio Elixir anywhere I go. The tuning is Hexa with more mid bass and slightly more sub, wider pinna gain (more accurate mids), smoother and less peaky treble with just as much detail. The mids growl and follow all the details of distortion quite well, the bass thumps and booms with texture, and the treble is very detailed for a single DD. Runner up is the KBEar KB02. Despite its physical resonance, I really enjoy the bone conduction bass. It separates itself so well from the mids. The mids are just shy of shouty in the upper registers. Gives great attitude to rock vocalists and guitars, and allows synths in harder electronic music to really growl and percolate. The dynamic driver is pretty impressive for its price point.

The only truly good IEMs I've come across in competitive shooter games (that have a competent audio system) are the Xenns Mangird Tea Pros. They deserve all the hype they get *for competitive gaming*. Nothing else, imo. Are IEMs just better? No. In most cases, they are subpar. They *can* offer more bang for your buck. An odd runner up with good positioning is the KBEar KB02. Surprising gaming performance at the pricepoint. The BC driver for the bass allows the DD to shine in the mids and highs and doesn't mask those frequencies.

I love my KB02. The fact that the bass is BC frees that DD up to really shine. These are stupidly good for gaming at their price point, too.

No. It is very nice, but it's not this overpowering wash of low frequency information.

If you really, really want to try a BC driver, you can do what I did and pick up the KBear KB02 for about $20. Although I have to say, the Plutus Beast is much better looking, which nearly tempted me into buying it. Anyway, if you do get the KB02 consider that you're basically throwing away $20 for a novelty experience which you probably won't listen to again. The BC drivers do have a real effect, almost like haptics, but the tuning sounds like you're listening to music through a cardboard tube. There's also a weird resonance from the BC driver with certain frequencies. AFAIK the Plutus Beast has basically all the same issues, but it's more expensive. At least with the KB02 you aren't wasting too much money to try it out, if you really have a bad case of the FOMO. Also if you are wondering about higher end BCDs like the Thieaudio Origin, apparently that's a different type. I don't think there's a budget option with that kind of driver, so experiences with the KB02 or Plutus Beast won't give you any real idea what IEMs like the Origin are like. I didn't find that out until after I got my KB02. But also, some reviewers describe things like the springy resonance being the same on all of them, so maybe the difference isn't that big anyway. I will say that it has killed my interest in BCDs including the Origin, as I now see it as just a gimmick, like 3D movies.

Don't bother with the KB02 unless you really just want to try out bone conduction. It sounds like you're hearing everything through a cardboard tube. I suppose it's fine if you like Beats, Skullcandy and those sorts of things. Not so much if you've heard any good bassy IEMs. Audio Amigo and Paul Wasabii both have fairly balanced reviews, but I let my curiosity get the better of me. I suppose it's "unique" if you have a large IEM collection, if it's also what you consider throwaway money.

I wouldn't list the QKZ Hades, as it's pretty universally hated, unless you specifically mention that it's a *very* niche tuning most people don't like (even most bassheads). And even among people who like it at all, it's generally a one-genre set. I'd strike the Juzear Clear off the list because it appears to have [really bad unit variance](https://old.reddit.com/r/iems/comments/1insj4z/some_thoughts_on_the_juzear_clear_and_myer_audio/). I still recommend it for the cable if it's on sale for $20, but only if you really want that cable (it normally costs about $15-20 on its own). It's not a highly recommended IEM anyway, it just had a brief period of hype as a basshead IEM. Rarely gets mentioned nowadays. Neither of my two units are true basshead sets (and one is quite bright), so clearly some golden units went out to reviewers. The Blon BL03 ii hasn't got particularly good reviews. It seems to be that if you care about tuning, the original is better. The new one has 2-pin but it has all the ergonomic problems that plagued the original, so I don't think it should be recommended at all, with maybe a nod to the original as being a classic if people are able to pick one up cheaply. I don't think the KBear KB02 is worth recommending unless you specifically want to know what a BC driver does, in which case it's the cheapest way to get one. I got one for that reason. It sounds pretty bad. All the reviews point out the same issue - there's some weird "springy" resonances, especially noticeable with spoken word. It also makes everything sound like you're listening through a cardboard tube. It's just weird, not good. Audio Amigo and Paul Wasabii both have good reviews btw, I agree with pretty much everything they say about them. I don't see the Tin Hifi C2 mentioned on your original list or the new one. That's a 2025 version out recently. I have both and they are both excellent. Lots of reviews out there, but fewer for the 2025 version. I'm not sure if the old one is being discontinued, but it seems to be still for sale for about $20 while the new one is closer to $40. The difference between the two versions is quite subtle. The Moondrop Starfield 2 got pretty universally terrible reviews. The Juzear 41t and the Flame are the same IEM, so I'd put them on the same line - the flame just has a different faceplate. I have the 41t and it's good aside from the annoyingly bad venting, but I'm hesitant about recommending it for the reasons mentioned in my post about the Clear. Since it's a hybrid it really *should* be fully vented and I now consider this an engineering flaw rather than "just the way it is". Every other manufacturer seems to be able to vent their hybrid IEMs properly. The 7Hz Timeless probably shouldn't be on the list because it's very outdated nowadays. It's only a classic because it was the first reasonably-tuned planar, not because it's good by current standards. It was still an early and not-very-refined version of a formula that's been iterated on continually since then. The AE is better but less widely reviewed. The 2 seems to be getting good reviews but I believe it's closer to $300.

I can't tell you what higher end sets with BCDs sound like, because I haven't tried any. However, following a lot of reviewers a few have remarked that the characteristics of a BCD are basically the same regardless of which IEM it's in. As I wanted to try it out without wasting loads of money, I bought the KBear KB02 to see if it's just a gimmick. You can pick one up for about $20 and I'd advise doing that just to get a sense of what it's all about, even though the higher end implementations may be a bit subtler, it will give you the basic idea of what the BCD actually does. My conclusion is that, at this time, it's a gimmick like 3DTV that will probably have died off in a year or two. The main characteristics of the KB02 are: it has a weird resonance that causes "robot voice" on some vocals, caused by the BCDs vibrating. You can also make the BCD vibrate by tapping the shell, which sounds like a spring. The BCD only kicks in within a narrow frequency range, so the effect is quite track-dependent. I believe some higher end ones have less of a contrast than the KB02 but the KB02 highlights what's *actually* going on. It can be fun on some tracks and I'd recommend buying one for $20 just to try it, but I wouldn't recommend it as a $20 IEM. It's mostly not good and sounds like you're listening to music at a party in the next room from the speaker system. There are some IEMs that say they are using bone conduction, but actually use PZT drivers (piezo-electric - same thing you get in novelty xmas cards; normally used for supertweeters & have a reputation for sounding harsh). I haven't yet seen a technical explanation of how these PZTs work, how they're different to a normal PZT or BCD, and if they're even true bone conduction in the first place. The Thieaudio Origin is the only IEM with bone conduction I'm aware of that seems to get consistently positive reviews. I believe that's a true BCD, operating over wider frequencies and at a lower level than the KB02, so it's a bit more subtle. Someone posted to say they were getting the springy noise from one earpiece but not the other, so I guess they must be doing something to reduce that effect, with some QC issues. The Penon Fan3 also tends to get good reviews, including one from Audio Amigo who I consider trustworthy, but I'm a bit suspicious of Penon/ISN. Most of their reviews come from a small group of "fans" and the Fan2, which I have, sounds nothing like the reviews that made me buy it. AFAIK there's no "old gen" and "new gen" it's just BCD vs PZT. The actual BCDs are basically a DD with the diaphragm replaced by a metal weight, which causes the shell to vibrate. I've seen a video of Hi-Fri taking one apart. Unfortunately he seems to have retired from audio, so probably isn't going to do a comparison with the PZT drivers and I'm not aware of anyone else consistently taking apart IEMs to analyse the drivers. My view on BCD is it's probably going the way of 3DTV, but I'd give it a year or so to let the dust settle and see if it ends up becoming a standard thing like subwoofers in a hifi system. It could go that way, but at this stage it's not mature enough or well-understood enough. And the effect varies a bit from person to person depending on the amount of shell contact with the ear, stiffness of eartips used, etc., so it's hard to know to what extent people are actually experiencing the BCD. Especially in cases where people say the only thing it does is make the soundstage wider (since that's just a psychoacoustic effect you can achieve with some EQ).

Try the Kbear KB02, it's great, and around $30

As someone that has the Fan3s and the Kb02, I can offer a little insight into this. Like you said, the Kb02 has the springy-ness when you tap the shell and there's some sort of resonance feedback at certain frequencies, but the Fan3s does not have that effect whatsoever. By no means am I a Penon Fan3s, quite the contrary, the Fan3s was my first purchase, but I've had nothing but issues with them to the point I had to send them back for inspection. I don't feel the BCD rattled and provided more bass, but they do provide a soundscape that is different than traditional hybrid driver IEMs. One that is more holographic and 3d, it's less apparent with music but I can tell the difference when gaming.

Kbear kb02 has a wide and holographic soundstage, much better than any IEM I've tried and I've tried quite a few. Don't let the price fool you, they beat out sets exponentially more expensive.

They dont have to be kz either just as long as the pins match you can use any brand of iem you want. Cause ive got one set hooked to a set of kz zax iems and one set hooked to a pair of kbear kb02.

AliExpress, I bought for example kb02 for $20, obviously with coupons.

kbear kb02 on ali- good budget set, worth the 20$, bone conduction works!! ew300 x hbb on ali - another budget set, worth the 60 i spent, going to take this pair to work kiwiears aether on linsoul - my favorite planar so far sivga que on linsoul- on the way! fiio ft1 on linsoul - branching out from iems, also on the way!

funny because i was also looking at all the sets that you bought this sale haha, maybe next time we'll align in the 11.11 sale i also have the pula anvil 114 and the kbear kb02 is comparable, much cheaper and you get the soundstage the bone conduction gives in the pula, but missing some technicalities/texture, but if you like the pula you'll enjoy the kb02!

i would 100% recommend the kb02, it’s super cheap and so worth the money, i actually have them in right now haha ive tried the s12 2024 and the kz prx, so not that many, but the aether definitely cuts down on the planar sharpness that’s signature of the other two

Ok so I chased the same bone conduction hype when I was getting in to IEMs.... The problem is, the better implementation, the less obvious it's actually doing anything at all. Kb02 vibrates at high volume, which is fun and obvious. But it HAS TO be high volume. BGVP DMA- The cheapest way to get the "proper" Sonion bc drivers, so I was expecting a lot. But I couldn't tell you what it's bone conduction is actually doing. I have no idea if it's even connected. The IEM sounds great, but if that's because of or in spite of the BC driver, I don't know. Bone conduction is voodoo.

I was super interested in these because I ended up loving the KB02, but I've only seen bad reviews about this one. This is the first positive I've seen!

Funnily enough when I first tried the 02 I absolutely hated it- I couldn't feel the bone conduction at all, and it just sounded bad. Somehow, I tried it a month later, and it was ALIVE. I was shocked at how much I loved it. I think it's volume- you really have to crank it up to get the effect, but when you do it's so immersive and fun. So the KB03 being even stronger bone conduction is what intrigues me. It will never be my main set, but as something fun to put on when I want to be shaken...