HBB X KZ PR2 Planar IEM

[jeromeglen896]

I still can't believe my eyes after seeing the price. This is gonna disrupt the under 100$ segment... I already purchased them the other day, looking forward to them! Can't wait to try it.

 

[Vini darko]

Yeah I'm tempted. Welcome to asr

 

[LearningToSmile]

Price itself is the same as PR1 I think, but tuning is a bit better. The price is low enough that I got it just to see if there's anything special to planar IEMs, because I haven't heard one before. Paid $39 straight from KZ, and I think it was possible to go as low as $30 by buying from their aliexpress store, at least in non-VAT countries. Should have it tomorrow or Monday if local post doesn't slack off, so I'll post some impressions.

 

[Vini darko]

The rubindum magnets are a fairly new thing as far as i can tell. Wonder how they will progate though the industry. Seems that only Chinese firms currently use it as it's a Chinese invention , here's the patent info for anyone whos intrested.

CN102832038A - Production technology of rubidium iron boron permanent magnet - Google Patents

The invention relates to a production technology of rubidium iron boron permanent magnet. Due to the adoption of the production technology, the thickness of alloy reaches 0.2 to 0.4mm, the crystalline grains are fine and uniform, rich rubidium is uniformly distributed, and the problems of an...

patents.google.com

 

[charleski]

Early FR measure looks quite impressive

KZ x HBB PR2

13.2mm planar magnetic driver 7+ 7 N52 rubidium magnet array silver plated circuit

www.head-fi.org

 

[Vini darko]

Gave in and ordered a set. Worked out at £35

 

[TimW]

Just bought a pair from Linsoul.

 

[jaatre]

Looking forward to read the first impressions

 

[jeromeglen896]

Yeah I'm tempted. Welcome to asr

haha, yes

 

[jeromeglen896]

Just bought a pair from Linsoul.

How does it feel?

 

[BillG]

I just received my PR2 this morning, and here's my hot take on them after about 30 minutes listening time:

1) They're very clean and fast sounding. That is, there's no noticeable distortion and transients (drum hits, snares, etc.) don't smear.

2) Their tonality is quite good, even without EQ. I am going to EQ them later for a comparison, though.

3) They're not lacking in bass presentation, but it's not particularly overblown, either.

4) They're power hungry and require potent output to drive them properly. Without that, one might be underwhelmed by them.

5) The fit and finish, the aesthetics, are quite good and not at all cheap feeling or looking.

All and all, I'm satisfied with them...

Now, after I lived with them for a few more hours, here's a suggestion:

Just in case anyone is interested, I've EQed them to Harman using Paul Wasabii's measurements and it's an improvement to my ears in that it's enhanced their spatial qualities.

If you wish to do so for yourself, here's the URL:

Squiglink - IEM frequency response database by Paul Wasabii

Compare hundreds of frequency response graphs between IEMs and earphones from manufacturers like Moondrop, Sony, 64 Audio, Fiio, and more.

pw.squig.link

 

[LearningToSmile]

I also finally received mine today - no fault of the seller, I bought directly from KZ on launch day and they shipped them immediately, but local post took their sweet time to get them to me. I did hear that some people who ordered them later had to wait quite a while, it wouldn't be a surprise to me if they just were popular enough for the initial stock to run out.

The packaging and accessories are minimal. At this price point this is a plus for me, since it shows that the money went to the IEMs themselves, but if you're used to lavish accessories that are sometimes included with Chinese IEMs even below $100, best temper your expectations. No case is included, one pair of foam tips and 3 different sizes of silicone tips, and a very budget cable. I prefer this type of cable over the black twisted one that sometimes comes with budget IEMs, as it's less prone to tangling, but it definitely feels cheap. The foam tips are probably my one piece of criticism towards the set - they come preinstalled, which made me worry they'd be needed to improve the bass or tame the treble, but turns out they weren't really needed. They were however compressed by the box and didn't want to return back to the original shape until I used them for a while and they got warmed up with my body heat. There's only just one pair of them, which is maybe a bit lacking if they're presented as default and with how much foam tips deteriorate with time.

But that's the one nitpick. The IEMs themselves seem well made, and I like the design, between the clear plastic cavity and the metallic(I think it's actually metal) top plate they look nice, which isn't a given when looking at previous KZ IEMs. The fit is obviously personal, but I think they should fit most people - the stems are a good length, not too short, not too long. The IEM body is also compact enough, with smooth curves in all the places they touched my ear. I had a very easy time getting good seal with them, I can't really use foam tips for too long as they irritate my ears, so I quickly switched to the included silicone tips in medium sized, and was happy to find they worked just as well. Wore them out to the shops and found no tendency to lose seal or slip out. As I mostly use IEMs on the go, this was very important to me, and I was happy with the fit - but of course this may very for you as everyone's ears are different.

As for the sound, I will need a bit longer with them and maybe to do some A/B comparisons to really get into the details, but first impressions after a couple hours is they sound... correct. A very versatile, universal set with good tonality that doesn't lack in any particular aspect, nor does it emphasize anything. Just by the graphs I thought I'd maybe need to broadly tone down the treble a bit, but so far it wasn't necessary. The bass is there, quite tactile and natural if the track calls for it, the treble isn't fatiguing, and the mids are clear. The bass increases smoothly towards lower frequencies, which I prefer over a more tucked-in presentation. There were some things that I thought maybe they did a little bit better than dynamic driver IEMs, and some bits were things were maybe a little less natural, but all so minimal that I'm not confident to say that before I get some direct A/B switching in. Soundstage was fine, but nothing special. Overall a very solid set that I think most people would be more than happy to have as their only pair of IEMs.

Oh, one thing - they're definitely very power hungry, I never had to crank the volume with any IEMs anywhere near close to where I had to crank it with these, but in the end they're still IEMs so I was able to power them even with my phone. But some sources that are very low power or that distort when pushed closer to 100% might struggle.

 

[IAtaman]

Just in case anyone is interested, I've EQed them to Harman using Paul Wasabii's measurements and it's an improvement to my ears in that it's enhanced their spatial qualities.

That 8K peak, is that real or a measurement artifact? Do you have any 8000hz filters in the EQ you use and like?

 

[BillG]

That 8K peak, is that real or a measurement artifact? Do you have any 8000hz filters in the EQ you use and like?

I overlaid the GEQ below upon the AutoEQ generated one. However, it's something that I usually do as I find the region in Harman has a bit too much bite for my taste otherwise.

 

[Human Bass]

That 8K peak, is that real or a measurement artifact? Do you have any 8000hz filters in the EQ you use and like?

8k peaks are artifact 95% of the time. HBB is sensitive to treble, he wouldnt tolerate that.

 

[IAtaman]

8k peaks are artifact 95% of the time. HBB is sensitive to treble, he wouldnt tolerate that.

Appreciate that. I was thinking the same until I got a pair of Kiwi Cadenza's. Those IEMs do not agree with my ears.

Sorry, got confused a bit. You have the IEMs or is your judgement based on your take on HBB's preferences?

 

[LearningToSmile]

That 8K peak, is that real or a measurement artifact? Do you have any 8000hz filters in the EQ you use and like?

I definitely don't hear anything offensive in this region, Paul Wasabii measurements are the only ones that show that peak this high, all other measurements(and I've seen three so far) show it being 4-5 dB lower than the 2.5 and 5 kHz peaks.

 

[Human Bass]

Appreciate that. I was thinking the same until I got a pair of Kiwi Cadenza's. Those IEMs do not agree with my ears.

Sorry, got confused a bit. You have the IEMs or is your judgement based on your take on HBB's preferences?

Im waiting for them to arrive. HBB is a basshead sensitive to treble. You can check his Blon Z300 also, the same 8k peak that is just a ressonance of the tube.

 

[ugur38]

That 8K peak, is that real or a measurement artifact? Do you have any 8000hz filters in the EQ you use and like?

I don't think it's real. Most of IEM reviewers are using cheap couplers rather than expensive GRAS ones.

Spoiler: Coupler Difference

 

[BillG]

I like the cable, personally; it's light, tangle proof and doesn't introduce microphonics. It's white which matches my current phone, too.

I've honestly never liked thick, braided cables.