l would really appreciate your help and experience with an issue.
l own CCA CA16, ZS10Pro, T2, IT00, Starfield, Form 1.1. And also the KBEAR Diamond.
l have an issue with the Diamond that’s unique to them and its a bit strange.
What l hear is that either side can become weaker and weaker in level after 1-2 hours of listening. So at first l thought it was a major channel imbalance - right side becoming really weak to almost no sound.
l thought it was an electrical issue. Changed cables, polarity and the problem remained. KBEAR sent me a new right side earphone after contacting them and sending a video showing the problem. The right side was the first to fault like that. Letting them ““rest”” for 30 minutes/hour “solves” the problem until it happens again.
The new replacement right earpiece arrived today but the problem remains. And is happening on the left side too.
So its not electrical l believe. Its not a cable issue.
The only thing that l think is happening is that the drivers get stuck or fatigued by the air pressure between them and my ear drum. l use tips that really seal well. And the diamond have only 1 vent opening but still feel very “vaccumy” . So there is a noticeable pressure.
Can air pressure cause this problem?
Any of you experienced that with a single dynamic iem?
This DOES NOT happen with any of my other iems[!] with the same tips[!]
l will now try different sized and smaller tips and see how it affects it.
Also, l have to say - yes they are a V shaped iem and are very intensive for long sessions. But l really like them and to my ears they sound most coherent, detailed, realistic and “life like” of the iems l have.
It sounds like a moisture issue. Are you using silicone tips with them?
Foam tips should be able to help it otherwise changing the mesh filter might work. But I havent heard any problems with moisture (actually any problems at all) with the Diamond, so I am not completely sure.
But what is happening is that you are using it for a few hours and then one or both sides starts sounding lower in volume? That really sounds like a moisture problem to me. May I ask if you have the wet earwax type and not the dry type? I think that most people that get a moisture problem with their iems is due to them having a lot of ear wax and it being the wet type.
Thank you
That actually makes sense and might be it. Moisture.
It solves the mystery of it becoming normal again after a while.
Yes l use silicone for their fit and sound. Foam usually are too small for me and dont seal and therefore sound bad to me.
As for ear wax. l think I’m more on the dry side but because they seal so well moisture can gather up.
np, sorry for not having a fix for that.
But I think I have seen a mod where someone put a hole in the stem on the tips so that it allows moisture to get out easier. BUT I am not sure and I might misstake that as a mod for something else.
If you want to try that, you should do it with some garbage tips first.
Yes l bought a pile of my favorite tips for $5 so l can experiment.
l had a similar issue with the TRN BA5 which resulted in returning them. With them l punched a few holes on the stem. They really had a lot of air pressure and at least my pair had no vents [BA only iems have no need for them?]
l will try.
Thanks !
how about letting the iem to play a some songs for an hour without putting it in your ear,
for moisture problem on the BA5, replace the nozzle filter with moondrop dual filter, my ba5 is still fine.
maybe will also work with the diamond,
I just started experiencing this same issue, last night, but with the Kbear Believe. I’ve been using the Believe for around 5+ hours a day since I got them this past Monday. I had no issues with sound/volume changes till last night, and only after using them for about 2 hours straight. (Left channel only.) I tried wiping off the white filter and noticed it was damp. This also made the sound worse. (To be clear, it is mostly the volume that is changing/reducing.) I then blew on the filter and wiped it again, and that seemed to do the trick. Then, when I used the Believe this morning, I only used it for about 20 minutes and the issue returned. I’m afraid, due to the filter, moisture may be building up inside the iem and the filter is preventing it from fully drying out. Does that sound like a possibility to anyone? And to be clear, when I’m not using the iem, I leave them out in the open to air out. I almost never place them into their case.
Sorry to hear… so frustrating!
I bet they sound good! But that filter design is so frustrating…
I think the company should at least know about it (if not replace them too).
Ugh. They do sound so good! I’m quite sure this is a moisture issue, but just in case, I’ve ordered a replacement on Amazon. If it happens again, I’m just going to return them for a refund. I’ve read on other posts where people have removed the white filter to play with changing the sound characteristics, but I don’t want to get into that. I’m crossing my fingers the replacement doesn’t have this issue. They really sound good.
it is 100% a moisture issue. If it is due to their design, then your replacement will have the same problem.
I am guessing your earwax is the cause of it. So maybe cleaning your ears might help. If not, I suggest placing a silica gel packet inside a storage case with the iem.
Honestly l think it will happen with the replacement. Mine didn’t help.
As for moisture and earwax… shouldn’t be a problem at all. Simple fact… my starfield it00 form 1.1 kz cca none have this issue…AT ALL! NO CHANNEL IMBALANCE ON THEM.
So a modern iem should be able to be resistant to moisture! Period. Exactly like the ones l mentioned above are. So kbear should try and do what others are doing.
My opinion.
Good luck of course!
My ears are/were clean. I’ve canceled the replacement order already, thinking the same thing, that this is a design issue. It’s a bummer because they sound so good.
EXACTLY my feeling with the Diamond… Great driver and sound, terrible detriment in the mechanical design ; [
The Starfield, though not really similar in sound but are close in driver set up, keep truckin’ along with no issues and still have this single dynamic sound… so for now these are IT for me…
Thought about getting the Believe but no…because of this problem they’re off the table. l don’t know about many other single DD in $100-$200 range options so looking at the FH3. But l’m not in a rush ;]
In my experience I can get condensation issues that sound like the same issue.
My personal solution ended up being to make sure the iem was seated deep enough that the body of the Iem made contact with my ear (concha I believe?) specifically to warm the majority of the iem’s body.
No experience with bullet shaped iem’s and this issue however, but it may help in this case.
