One Too Many Drivers, KeepHiFi Saves The Day – KBEar Cepheus IEMs
KBEar Cepheus is a $248 USD pair of IEMs with a complex 2 Dynamic Driver + 6 Balanced Armature Driver array at the core, made for audiophiles, musicians and with a resin cover to make sure this IEM survives everyday wear and tear. Today we will review the Cepheus and see how it fits in the world of Chifi today.
Introduction
KB Ear Cepheus is provided by KeepKiFi, an upcoming Chifi vendor and seller. They have friendly and helpful people running the store, and although they currently mainly cover the entry-level part of the Chifi Market, they plan on expanding and offering the same quick, reliable service for more IEMs and headphones in the future. KeepHiFi is currently focusing on expanding their own website and shop, but I remember seeing them pushing the IEMs they sell on Amazon and Aliexpress in the past as well.
As an Amazon Influencer, I earn from qualifying purchases, and using the purchase links in my reviews helps me maintain this website and Youtube Channel. Huge thanks to KeepHifi for providing us with the sample for this review.
Product Link
Official Website – https://keephifi.com/products/kbear-cepheus-kb16-upgraded-2dd-6ba-hybird-drivers-hifi-in-ear-monitor-earphones-iem-for-audiophile-musician-dj-stage
Build Quality – Design
While I actively avoid reviewing products from companies that don’t have a clean recording like KZ, KBEAr is actually a company known for offering reliable IEMs with no dirty secrets, just plain high price / performance and engineering innovation. Cepheus refers to a constellation in the northern sky, named after the mythical king of Aethioptia in the ancient Greek Mythology.
This is why the cover has a starfield pattern, and it is violet in color, semi transparent, and you can see all the drivers inside, working and connected to the source. This hard PC shell allows you to see the craftsmanship, and the Dual DD driver combo with a 6mm + 10mm combo, plus a coaxial design. For creating the sound KBEar also has implemented 6 BA drivers which are proprietary for the company.
If you’re into graphs, KBEar offers a graph that shows a modest V-Shaped sound that has a 10 dB of bass emphasis over the midrange, up to 100 Hz, then above 1 kHz once again a peaking range that lasts between 1 kHz and 10 kHz, above which the treble rolls-off. KbEar Cepheus is supported by a 4-Core Alloy Copper Silver-Plated cable, with options for a version with microphone and one without mic. Technically, we have a pair of IEMS with a 14 OHM impedance, 102 dB SPL, 3.5mm jack connector, and 0.78mm 2-Pin connector at the IEM side.
Fit – Subjective Usage
Cepheus feels fairly tight coiled around my ears, but has no driver flex and no void. Cable is a bit kinky, remembers dents and has a bit of memory wire effect, but at the same time it is neither springy nor sticky. Default eartips are great and don’t require an upgrade.
Passive noise isolation is rather low, between 10 dB and 15 dB, while leakage is fairly minimal. There’s a good sense of comfort when wearing the Cepheus, it is ergonomic in shape and design, it has a natural – medium fitting, lightweight and feels well-made.
Sound Quality
Pairings – To test the KBEar Cepheus IEMs, I have paired them with a selection of sources, including Rose Technics RT-5000, Dethonray Listening M1, Dethonray Clarinet, iBasso DX340, Lotoo PAW GT2, FiiO K17, Hiby R3 PRO II, FiiO M21, and SMSL C200 PRO. You won’t need a lot of power to drive the KBEar Cepheus, you will do just fine with an entry-level source, and it actually feels like it prefers a low-power source being easy to overpower and overdrive when powered by a powerful source.
Overall Signature – Cepheus sounds natural, with a V-Shaped tendency, it has a bit of extra bass and a bit of extra treble, around 6-10 kHz, gives music a dynamic, engaging presentation that works particularly well for rock, metal, EMD, Pop and commercial music. Cepheus is really detailed and crisp sounding, not really dry, but instead the dynamic driver has a natural – slower speed while Ba drivers are faster, but still try to aim for a wet character to keep things balanced and enjoyable.
Bass – In bass we trust, and Cepheus has the kind of commercial bass that makes most music likable. While not basshead, it has a bit of extra oomph and bite, it has a nice impact and depth, although bass is mostly natural in speed and texture, presentation and overall quantity.
Midrange – Midrange is mostly natural, slightly recessed and has a slight favoritism for the upper midrange. This emphasizes well with weeb music, ACG and Pop styles, has a detailed, revealing tuning and sound, and Cepheus sounds really crisp and revealing, although it edges on sounding dry most of the time, due to the BA drivers being quite fast. You can hear how those drivers are different from usual ones, and how KBEar made their own drivers.
Treble – KBEar made the treble of the cepheus extend up to 10 – 11 kHz, with more focus on a wide range uplift rather than a specific peak. This makes the treble natural without sounding metallic, harsh or too spicy. It has enough air and brilliance for rock and metal, without becoming fatiguing.
PRaT / Textures / Dynamic – Cepheus is a mixed bag, each driver has a different speed, dynamic drivers are natural-fast while BA drivers are really fast, have a short decay and edge on being dry. Somehow, the acoustic chamber and driver tuning makes them slightly more wet and splashy in character which is desirable, as it allows Cepheus to have good detail without being dry and grainy or fatiguing.
Volume Control – Cepheus likes lower and medium volumes and it is easily overpowered by a high volume, too much power or music that is too loud. Basically, the complex array of drivers works best when it is kept within ideal working conditions and it is best to not push your luck with the Cepheus.
Soundstage – We get a natural – slightly smaller soundstage, but with a fairly good instrument separation. It works well for pop, EDM, Electronic and dubstep, and most commercial music.
Value and Conclusion
Like most KBEar IEMs, Cepheus has a really good price point for the performance, it is efficient, fun and has a crisp sound. You will get a high performance for the price paid, a nice package, and a beautiful looking pair of earphones, all with the excellent support of KeepHiFi.
At the end of the day, I feel like Cepheus has a few too many drivers, but they would have been better if they played more in sync, it is an excellent pair of IEMS with a good comfort, good price / performance ratio, and if you want a sound that works well for commercial music and is slightly V-Shaped, it is a fully recommended purchase.
PROs
- Beautiful shells
- High separation between instruments
- Great package
- Good cable
- Ergonomic
- Good default eartips
Cons
- Low passive noise isolation
- Edges on dry
- Different decay and resolution between drivers
Product Link
Official Website – https://keephifi.com/products/kbear-cepheus-kb16-upgraded-2dd-6ba-hybird-drivers-hifi-in-ear-monitor-earphones-iem-for-audiophile-musician-dj-stage
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Full Playlist used for this review
We listened to more songs than those named in this playlist, but those are excellent for identifying a sonic signature. I recommend trying most of the songs from this playlist, especially if you’re searching for new music! The playlists are different for Spotify, Tidal and Youtube, and based on the songs I enjoy and are available on each!
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_cjBXGmwSHSdGcwuc_bKbBDGHL4QvYBu
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5J3oloz8Riy9LxEGenOjQ0?si=979ba4f082414be7
https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/330fd544-8e5b-4839-bd35-676b2edbb3d5
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