KB Ear has already been featured here and it seems it won’t be stopping anytime soon. Their presumed aggressive approach suggests a desire to barge into the uber competitive chi-fi IEM game, what their motivation, be it profit or simply gaining traction as a build up for a planned slew of midrange performer IEMs will soon take shape, or not. What we have this time to realview is their tripe driver hybrid IEM, the KB-06. The sample unit was sent in by KB Ear in exchange for an honest review and no monetary factors are involved. You can check out the KB-06 on the official KB Ear website.
The KB-06 features a dual BA (30095+50060) and a single 10mm dynamic driver. It is spec’d out with a 7Hz to 40kHz Frequency Response, 24 Ohm Impedance, 111dB/mW Sensitivity and weighs 25g. The KB-06 surely reminds us of the other K named chi-fi brand that needs no more mention. Will the KB-06 even show some struggle of making it on its own, or will it just be another “look-alike”. Let’s find out.
Packaging and Build Quality
The KB Ear KB-06 is 100% made from the same place/plant/factory where K* IEMs are also made. The packaging alone is a dead giveaway. It sports the same usual K* packaging and accessory set and even uses the same K* ear tips. What made the KB-06 a little different from the usual K* stuff is its overall IEM size. Its tiny silhouette resembles that of your average candy sweets.
The KB-06 is made of a Zinc/Aluminum alloy faceplate which could come in either metal silver or metal black colorway with a resin shell in either smoked black or cyan. My review unit came in a metal black faceplate and a smoked black shell. The faceplates design makes for a comfortable user experience and the printed L and R as well as the vertical grilled vent is easy to the eyes, not too fancy and not too ugly. The shell features a single piece body which the nozzle is a part of, a single vent beside the dynamic driver is present while the dual BA drivers are situated on the IEMs nozzle. The nozzle has a metal shower-head vent as well as a lip which made tip rolling easy.
The stock cable that came with the KB-06 is similar with that of the K* Z series (.75mm 2-pin connection) minus the straight black gold-plated 3.5mm plug. The OFC stock cable comes with either a mic or with none. The microphonic noise of this cable is minimal as well, the lack of a chin slider is one of the areas it can improve on.
Tonality and Isolation
The KB-06 is an overall warm-sounding IEM with a width-focused soundstage. The prominence of the low-end is evident throughout various genre and tracks without being sounding congested. I used the included M-sized ear tips for the duration of the realview as it surprisingly worked well despite being almost identical to the usual K* ear tips that most chi-fi stuff comes with, the material might have been altered a little, no confirmation there. Isolation wasn’t the greatest due to its small footprint which is why it is essential to choose the best fitting ear tips when using the KB-06. The Sony A46HN and Sony CAS-1 off the MSI GF62-8RE-055th laptop outputting various FLAC files which would be mentioned along the duration of the realview.
Lows
The KB-06 being a dominantly warm-sounding IEM was kind of a letdown, it was an already given assumption for IEMs associated with the K* brand to be either dominantly warm sounding or be steely with its treble delivery. I pulled out Dead Mau5’s Cat Thruster in 16/44 FLAC to test out the KB-06’s lows and it gives out a decent sub-bass extension in a clean manner, the bass hits has slight thump to them and is full-bodied and lingers a tad more than what is necessary. It overall gives a smoothly textured low-end performance with a noticeable lack of stronger impact presence. Although this is your typical low-end dominated IEM which most IEMs around offers, a bloated head and feel won’t be keeping you company for this one.
Midrange
The KB-06’s midrange is soft and smooth. It enables me to enjoy and feel each distinct uttered words with an air to it. The clear dominance of the low-end is evident on the lower midrange of the KB-06, it creates somewhat of a blanket making the male vocals fat and dissipates towards the midrange. Savage Garden’s No Matter What in 16/44 FLAC was used to test the midrange of the KB-06 and that is where the midrange breakaway starts and signs of clarity and detail are taking notice. Female vocals and instrumental tones benefited from this giving their delivery accurate and full. Resolution is good and movies would be a welcome option for the KB-06 usage.
Highs
The higher frequencies is where the tricks of the KB-06 is rearing its head. Train’s The News in 16/44 FLAC was used for the highs test of the KB-06 and it sounds off-timbre at times which can be mistaken to be an attempt at keeping the highs a pitch lower and make the overall listening experience less-fatiguing. I would have performed a natural sounding highs that risks it by playing coy with sibilance and peaks. The KB-06’s highs overall gives out a mellow and play-it-safe, devoid of sparkle and extension. No play makes a dull boy.
Soundstage and Imaging
The KB-06’s soundstage leans towards being width centric with great left to right, right to left panning to be observed. While there is no congestion to be observed, the imaging of the KB-06 isn’t that great too. Positioning of instruments and vocal placement has moderate accuracy and would sometimes feel distant. There won’t be any deep intimate moments with the KB Ear KB-06, just a hint of what intimacy could have been.
Conclusion
The KB Ear KB-06 is a nice little IEM, both in size and price. It offers great comfort when used a low-end dominated sound that doesn’t make the experience congested. It won’t please trebleheads much but it would appeal great to those who are into a relaxed midrange and high frequency delivery. Its association with the K* aesthetics and stock cable makes it a hard to recommend set if you already own a set of K* IEMs, but if not, the KB-06 is worth checking out.
