KBEar Robin Review

Intro

I believe the name KBear needs no further introduction as they’re an established brand among several chi-fi audio companies. Today the product that I'm going to review is KBear’s Robin. It is a 1 DD + 4 BA in ear monitor. The 4 BAs are customized as claimed by KBear. I will not be doing a tear down so I won't be able to verify the claim.

Packaging

The packaging is fairly standard with the usual KBear style. Separate box for the accessory. A carrying case within the box, Cables and ear tips in another box. KBear style of packaging similar to Neon. Average and nothing to shout out.

Build/Comfort

The shell of Robin is made out of plastic and the paint on it looks very nice. I do feel that it is kinda easy to chip if it’s not handled with care. Just be extra careful not to drop it or accidentally knock it on something.

Comfort wise, I can wear the Robin for several hours without feeling any discomfort around my ears. Doesn’t feel heavy and there isn't any sharp edge that protrudes that causes any discomfort.

An IEM that is priced at 55 USD, I do expect a little more about the cable, heck, even Neon’s cable looks better than Robin despite having a lower price tag. The cable is thin and above the strain relief, it is very prone to tangling, kinda annoying if you ask me, but not really a big deal compared to Moondrop Aria’s.

Source

Foobar2k -> CX-Pro 31993 -> KBear Robin (Stock cable and ear tip)

Cayin N3 Pro (Solid State Mode) -> KBear Robin (Stock cable and ear tip)

Sound

Putting on and hitting the play button, music is being played and I am greeted with a familiar sounding IEM, the CCZ Plume. Don’t get me wrong, they’re not identical in terms of tuning nor design, it feels more like Robin is a mini Plume, to my ears. Although by design they sport similar driver config. Tonality of Robin is V shaped and a little warm to my ears. First thing that i noticed is the bass of Robin, the mid bass is very prominent and sub bass rumble can be felt and heard. Although the bass is being emphasized, it is still nowhere near bass head IEM nor it severely affects other frequency spectrum.

Onto the mids of Robin, i find that the vocal rendition is being pushed too back and on tracks where it is busy, such as Rage of The Machine’s Bombtrack, the vocal sounded recess when the track gets busy. Is it very noticeable where you can hear the instruments more than the vocals. On some easy going song like Fei Wang’s, the tracks aren’t usually busy and you can clearly hear that the vocal is not being highlighted.

The highs of Robin are detailed and crisp enough, but you can hear that it is on the warmer side. Smooth and not sibilant at all. I enjoyed listening to Gary Cooper’s II. Tempo di menuetto Moderato. Very smooth and pleasant.

Soundstage of Robin feels rather small due to lacking some air. Rendition of the instruments placement puts me right in the middle of the artist that is performing rather than in front of the stage. Imaging is also not a strong point for Robin, instruments overlapping each other, at times sounded muddy when the track gets busy.

Enhancement/Cable Rolling

Well, now that the review is done in stock form. Let’s do some cable rolling and see how much better it can get. I swapped out the stock cable to Venture Electronic’s SPC 2.5 balanced cable, and also switched the ear tips to Audiosense’s S400.

The difference is very evident and i’m not gonna argue whether cable makes a difference or not, try it out yourself and judge them by your own ears. The debate about this is never ending anyway.

What changed then? - Mids are brought out more, however the recessed vocal is still there, just better than stock form

- Doesn’t sound as congested in busy tracks like Slipknot’s Duality and also RATM’s Bombtrack.

I would say the improvement in terms of percentage is around 10-15% to my ears. If you have extra cables laying around, feel free to try them out, and see which is your preferred signature. To my ears I like it being paired as what I mentioned above.

Thoughts

To be honest, in stock form, the overall experience is not that pleasant, i mean it is passable, but not excellent for sure. The Chi-Fi scene has been really crazy recently especially at the lower priced tier, many companies have been churning out products constantly, they are either similar or they have very bad performance, to me, Robin is just another sidegrade among the IEM within the same price bracket, that’s just my personal view towards this, it does not represent what the company think or other people.

If you like warm and bassy sounding iem, add this into your collection, but if you’ve already had something like this and you are considering whether to get this or not, skip it, not to mention if you are looking at CCZ’s Plume, just get Robin and get yourself a SPC cable and start enjoying. Hope my review is helpful for you guys.

*As always, big thanks to KeepHifi for sending this over in exchange for my honest and un-biased opinion. I do not gain any monetary benefit or am i affiliated with KeepHifi.

If you are interested in purchasing Robin, feel free to head to the site and grab one.