Don’t think murder would quite be on the table but divorce would certainly be a candidate.
2 Likes
My take on the KBEAR Dumpling
KBEAR Dumpling
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Added byHeadphones and Coffee
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Create dateSep 16, 2022
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TheDeafMonk
- 2.00 star(s)
- 7 minutes ago
Should I Buy the KBEAR Dumpling?
Pros: - Small & Light
- Comes in Rose Pink ( My Choice )
With or Without Mic. - Non Fatiguing Sound Signature Can
listen to forever - Super Comfy even for small ears (
Daughter Tested ) - Great For Sleeping In.
- Male Vocals sound meaty and
musical. - The cable mic sounded very clear on both ends!
Cons: - Intimate stage ( Does not go wide ,deep or high. ) Like two point sources
- Male vocals can get congested on busy tracks in this case from the lack of balance as it needs more h8gh frequency energy.
- Cable is Non Detachable Cable no complaints on the quality as it seems to tangle free and terminated with a gold plated 3.5mm Single Ended Cable ( Non Balanced )
- EARTIPS - Now here is the big one , the Dumpling comes with 3 sets of different sizes S/M/L as for the tips and they are quite long and accommodate sliding over the entire end of the IEM. The width I measured at 7.25mm huge; and as such awesome tip rolling aftermarket tips a challenge some will work but many others simply not designed to stretch that wide. So really your stuck with provided set.
Hello all: Thanks for reading my review.
I share my impressions as I hear them with my ears.
I spent 25 years in the Audio Industry, building , designing , selling and Installation of high end car audio at first and moved on the home and ultra high end home audio at a few boutique stores. I worked with studios and club for commercial sound and worked with a few speakers manufacturers in design, enclosure construction , crossover builds , and sound evaluation.
As all our ears are different shapes & sizes so what I hear as bright you might hear as dull and Vise-Versa; just something to be mindful of.
What makes my ears happy as a sound signature is a aggressive U shape in that I love my Bass Sub and Mid Bass love it all; and in quantity.
With the Bass I prefer a faster decay the faster the better as to not bleed into the mids. Imagine the bass of a 5-10" Sub in a small sealed enclosure (My Preference) vs a 12-30" Sub in a big ole ported 3-4th order - Ported enclosure with the fat, tubby, musical kind of bass.
I prefer the fast speedy bass of the Nano Carbon Driver of my LetShuoer EJ07M there are exceptions as I also find the bass of the Bio Diaphragm used in the Yanyin Canon special - has some special sauce like a 8" subwoofer that feels like a 12" Has the slam and some serious sub bass!
As Such here is my take on the: KBEAR Dumpling:
Sources: E1DA SG3, Shanling UP5, Geshelli JNOG J2 with AKM4493 chip.
DAP/TRASPORT: From Lenovo Laptop with Amazon Unlimited UlTRA HD, Hiby R6 2020,Samsung S22 Ultra
Amps: LoxjiP20 tube amp and Topping A90D
Tips Used for Best Result and subjective: Stock: Read Notes Plz.
Cable Used: Non Detachable Stock Cable.
Paid For: YES
Sponsor Provided: KeepHiFi Reembursted me without conditions or expectations on either end.
PRO’S:
- Small & Light
- Comes in Rose Pink ( My Choice ) With or Without Mic.
- Non Fatiguing Sound Signature Can listen to forever
- Super Comfy even for small ears ( Daughter Tested )
- Great For Sleeping In.
- Male Vocals sound meaty and musical.
CON’S:
- Intimate stage ( Does not go wide ,deep or high. ) Like two point sources
- Male vocals can get congested on busy tracks in this case from the lack of balance as it needs more h8gh frequency energy.
- Cable is Non Detachable Cable no complaints on the quality as it seems to tangle free and terminated with a gold plated 3.5mm Single Ended Cable ( Non Balanced )
- EARTIPS - Now here is the big one , the Dumpling comes with 3 sets of different sizes S/M/L as for the tips and they are quite long and accommodate sliding over the entire end of the IEM. The width I measured at 7.25mm huge; and as such awesome tip rolling aftermarket tips a challenge some will work but many others simply not designed to stretch that wide. So really your stuck with provided set.
EVALUATION SCORE FOR SOUND IMPRESSIONS: 1-10 ( 1 Lowest - Poor 10 Highest - Mind Blown )
OVERALL SCORE: Out of possible 130 Points : 51/130 39% Rotten Ears Score
BUILD QUALITY: 5
SUB - BASS Quantity: 9
SUB - BASS Quality: 3
MID - BASS Quality: 4
MID - HIGH Quality: 4
TREBBLE: 2
EXTENTION: 2
SEPERATION: 2
STAGE OVERALL SCORE: 2 - WIDTH: 4
- HEIGHT: 2
- DEPTH: 1
COHERIENCY (Drivers Blend in together) : 4
MACRO DYNAMICS: 2 - (How well does the IEM convey a emotional and skillful use of change of volume in the musical piece your listening to make it interesting and bring a tear to your eye.)
- Elements of good Micro-Dynamics (Drums have the snap and impact your feel in your chest and this was observed to be best achieved with a slower attack on the bass notes to add weight and blend the proper attack relative of the rest of the mix; Also how does the IEM express its ability to replay the song mix in a way you can enjoy the dynamics in different volumes not only with the various different instruments ; but as well as give you a sense of space of whether or not your listening to a live recording or a large , medium, small recording studio.
MICRO DYNAMICS: 2 - (How well does the IEM give you the sense of emotion in the overall relay: Does the emotion of the entire song change tone with verses having various rises? Did the engineer make the choruses feel more powerful?)
SOURCE & RECORDING PLAYBACK QUALITY MAKES A MASSIVE DIFFERECE AND ONLY GOOD IEM’S CAN GET HIGH MARKS ON ABOVE!
MY VALUE SCORE: 10
1-20 ( 1 Nobody Should Buy This - 10 Good Value as over-all package this IEM will appeal to some who will love It - 20 ( SOUND/WALLET/EMOTION/FIT/COMFORT )
- ( My score purely subjective to current selling price and competition at time of review)
SUMMARY FOR : KBEAR Dumpling $15 USD - $20 CDN ( Dec 2022 )
- Although these are not my preferred sound signature - Bass is messy and I like way more sparkel and zip inthe highs.
- That being said as the Dumpling may not be for me and if your listening preference matches mine than the Dumpling is a hard pass.
- But if you want a inexpensive set , don’t need or want a detachable cable and are fine with the stocktips then OK.
- If you are looking for a small IEM with a easy to listen to sound. Warmer Male vocals and highs not designed for non treble heads then THIS IS A GOOD ONE TO LOOK AT!
NON AFFILIATED PURCHASE LINK:
KEEPHiFi in-Ear Earbuds-[KBEAR Dumplings] HiFi Earphone, Stereo Wired in Ear Headphones Beautiful Vocals Powerful Resolution Noise Isolating Headsets with HD Microphone (Pink with mic) https://a.co/d/96qV5AU
2 Likes
Thank God for this friendly reminder.
I almost climbed up on the toilet and shat off the side…lucky I saw that.
13 Likes
I pray the onslaught of same faced harmanish tuned stuff will wane and reviewers using music can offer other flavors and have the balls to break away from the pack.
I finished this vid and realized it is 5 versions of Vanilla.
2023 is me breaking free
11 Likes
I would like to see more QDC, UM, ISN, PENON tunings.
Of course nothing egregiously off-road, but interesting and tasteful deviations from the established tuning target.
1 Like
Few days break from the Cadenza. I’ve put some medium spiral dots on them, and other than a hair dry, the first couple of minutes are a good impression! I’ll have to elaborate later if I get longer today, I’ll try to listen while I get this grading done I’m not expecting any visitors.
EDIT: So far very balanced overall. Missing a tiny bit of “thickness” in the lower mids and upper bass but that’s preference only and might be preferred by most… I almost wish it was “dirtier” in that sense but clean isn’t a negative.
Playing “Don’t stop me now” by Queen the treble was unpleasantly hot not necessarily throughout, but for tambourine hits. With some treble sibilance in Freddy’s words.
(That being the only track so far, it’s probably a track thing)
6 Likes
Hey guys! I was wondering which eartips are you using with your Mahina? Mine should arrive soon and was wondering if I should order any eartips in advance to try out with them alongside the stock tips.
Thanks in advance!
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Maybe spinfit CP100
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I already like the cp360 with the sony wf-1000xm4 so it is good to hear that you think the CP100 are a good fit with the Mahina
I’ve been using mine with FA E Tips. I’ve come around to liking it considering it’s price. There are a few tracks though that are just a no go for me mainly for what you mentioned. It’s definitely the set I’d first rec to someone new to IEMs and has no idea what their preferences would be. Give a good starting point to see what might be lacking or to much in the simple senses.
Question though that I mentioned elsewhere. Have you perhaps tried it on the Q5K in high output power mode? I swear it’s doing something mainly to the mids. If my mind isn’t going bongers it seems to actually be pulling them back and smooths them out. Makes them seem more smoothed out.
I don’t have the Q5K but I’ll try putting it into high gain on my player. I’ve also been using SE but can switch to 2.5 to see. I guess I’ve been finding a lot of my sets (if they sound different, and it’s not placebo) sound less V-shaped on a lower gain but higher volume, so I’ve been avoiding it for the most part. Better battery life if nothing else!
Makes sense a single beryllium coated DD might thrive on power. I’ll have to check! I’ll be using a Hiby R3 Pro non-saber (CS43131).
EDIT: After switching to low gain I have to volume adjust back up to match, but I’d say high gain is either completely the same or a little more strident, as far as I can tell with volume matching after switching. Different device though, sorry if you only wanted to know specifically for the Q5K.
I heard the Maestro se sounds like the diva at max bass settings. Is that true? How do they compare?
6BA v.s
1DD 7BA 4EST
They sound almost nothing alike.
(I love both though)
Treble quality is better on SE…cleaner.
Bass hits much harder on SE…tactile ear vibe.
1 Like
Whatever it is you’re doing, have them make the shell smaller in the end… Look at the chonk on that one wow
Optical illusion?
GAEA and many others are thicker
This has a 14mm open back driver and an 8mm enclosed…it’s gonna be biggish but no more than many sets.
Think that 1st pic made em look like behemoths
4 Likes
Scale for IEMs is always tricky, I’m often surprised how much smaller an IEM is when I get it compared to the isolated photos of it in reviews and marketing.
If in your earlier photo someone was to imagine the box being like a box for Christmas tree baubles… that would be a hefty set!
2 Likes
Can’t find it now, but what seems to be the consensus for the Cadenza? Wider bores or not? Since I’m gifting it to a newbie, I doubt they’ll do much tip-swapping
What about mids on se vs diva?
Cleaner on DIVA but lack a bit of note weight for rhythm section at times. Still a top 5 set for me