Review on KBEAR KS1 - High-Resolution Noise Cancelling In-Ear Monitors with Detachable Cable (Black, No Mic) by Brett Gilbert

The Smabat ST-10 is the company's flagship and sits atop the new M1Pro. This is a high quality earphone with a large 15.4mm diameter dynamic driver, triple layer diaphragm and titanium coating. Like its sister model, it features detachable MMCX cables and the same unique Maze Bass Boost system inspired by transmission-line speakers. The packaging is simple and refined. The box is black with an embossed glossy Smabat logo, also in black. If you open the box, you will find that the foam insert, in which the headphones are located with the cable already connected, is covered by a lid. Underneath is a pair of foam caps, a pair of foam pads, and a set of perforated rubber caps. Under the foam tray you will find a leatherette storage pouch and an instruction manual. The presentation is very nice. The earcups are machined from CNC machined aluminum with a striking sage green grain effect and are embellished with the white Smabat logo. There is clear channel identification and on the top rim there is a silver exit port for the Maze system. This directs the driver's bass output along an extended path to complement the bass response. The included MMCX cable is made from high quality silver plated copper with a brushed aluminum 3.5mm straight plug and mating Y connector. The part closest to the MMCX connector is reinforced and designed to be worn on the ear. There is also a clear plastic chin slider. The build quality is excellent. As with the M1 Pro, the ST-10 required a good seal to fulfill its potential. I found it impossible to achieve an effective fit by wearing them over the ear. This was partly due to the elasticity of the cable and the large diameter of the headphones. So I followed the procedure I used with the M1 Pro and installed the ear hooks and standard supplied foams cable down using the earlier model's cable. The ST-10 was used with a Hifi Walker H2 DAP via the line out with topping amplifier NX1a for evaluation with a wide range of music in different genres and listened to after 100 hours of burning. As with the M1 Pro, I found the ST-10 to be power hungry and had to crank the volume up about 25% through my regular headphones. This was partly necessary to compensate for the poorer isolation in headphones. The immediate impression was "fast", with a fast transient response that makes the music exciting and actually depicts rhythmic elements very well. Like its M1Pro stablemate, the ST-10 exhibited largely neutral sound reproduction, with plenty of air and space packed with detail. However, where the M1 Pro was slightly brighter than neutral, the ST-10 had more warmth in the lower registers, not enough to V-shape the overall sound, but with more bass extension and mid-bass output. Detail extraction was similar with excellent layering and separation. The audio felt more like full BA headphones than the dynamic driver model, and the presentation also felt like listening to full-size speakers or headphones. Bass The larger 15.4mm driver combined with the Maze system delivers bass response that can best be described as 'light'. The expansion was good but didn't achieve the 'hum' that a good DD block often gives off, remaining precise, clean, crisp and musical in nature. A good example of this is the composition "Arrow of Time" from the album "A Thousand Stars" by space music maestro John Serry. This track contains some deep bass tones and the ST-10 delivered a very balanced performance here, allowing you to appreciate the atmosphere of the piece. Bass extension was also well demonstrated in Mike Oldfield's "Tubular World" from The Songs of Distant Earth. The synthesized low frequency percussive elements in this track performed superbly, remaining clean and precise. The timbre of classical instruments was particularly realistic. In the second movement of Holst's Moorside Suite, arranged for strings and conducted by David Lloyd-Jones, towards the end of the piece the warmth and character of the bass was transferred very authentically with the natural atmosphere of the recording location. very good. The outstanding organ part in Saint-Saëns Symphony No. 3, conducted by Louis Frémaux and the CBSO, sounds with a realistic, husky tone that provides a solid foundation and appealingly underpins a dramatic orchestral composition. , there was little or no bass leakage, allowing the lower mids to be reproduced with an open, clear and natural sound with plenty of air and space. The upper mids were a bit brighter, allowing for lots of detail. Julian Lloyd-Webber's cello solo in "Un Apres-Midi", accompanied by Vangelis on keyboards, was a very good example of the solo instrument having a natural timbre and being positioned high in the center of the stereo image, reflecting the perfect backdrop for a provides brilliant synthesizer accompaniment. "Castilla" from Albéniz's "Suite España" in the orchestral version conducted by Rafael Fruchbeck de Burgos was full of panache and panache, with shimmering brass, lively percussion creating lively rhythms and strings with a sharp attack combined to create a very pleasant to achieve effect. The slightly forward midrange character resulted in excellent vocal reproduction. Enya's song "Echoes in Rain" from her album Dark Sky Island has a very powerful backing, but the ST-10 was able to effectively project her voice over the background and ensure the lyrics were heard clearly. Treble As with the M1Pro, the treble was clean. , open and full of details. There was a slight emphasis on the lower highs and a further boost in the highs, adding brilliance and detail, but overall the impression was neutral, with perhaps some extra brightness. "Above the Stars" by Alexei Zakharov is an electronic track with a synthesizer drone and a powerful drum accompaniment and string melody. In addition, there was plenty of high frequency, which was handled with aplomb, retaining all the subtle nuances, creating a beautifully balanced sound. The subtle cymbal playing in Jacques Lussier's "Air on a G" was rendered very clearly, allowing for the perception of subtle brush tones, and in Linton Kwesi Johnson's "Man Free" Sly Dunbar's superb percussion was exceptionally clean with excellent transient attack cutting through the dub -production achieved great impact. Soundstage The soundstage and imaging were very good, due in part to the immediacy and fast transients with equally good detail resolution. The stage was roughly spherical in shape with equal dimensions in width, depth and height. "Metallic Rain" by Vangelis from his album Direct was a good example. A variety of electronic effects danced in stereo, maintaining precise detail and tonality even when accompanied by heavy synth bass and melodies. Classical music has also benefited from great clarity: the aggressive woodwind tone clusters in Ives' "Unanswered Question" played by NYPO under Leonard Bernstein contrast beautifully with the tranquil string background, with the prominent trumpet solo clearly defined in natural form. hall acoustics. Conclusion Having recently reviewed the M1Pro headphones, I had a pretty good idea of what to expect from the top of the range. Both models have the same sound quality, but the ST-10 adds extra bass extension and midrange warmth, clearer mids, and faster transient response. The soundstage was arguably a little more intimate than the M1 Pro, which excelled in this regard, but clarity was higher. The next IEM comparison in my collection might recall the recent All-BA TRN BA5 and (e.g. M1 Pro) Tin Hifi T3, both of which have clear, neutral/bright reproduction and linear bass. Achieving this with a single full-range dynamic driver is an achievement and the extra cost over the M1 Pro is certainly worth it.