Disclaimer: I received this pair directly from KB Ear’s Ali store in exchange for posting a review. This is my first review set ever and my first formal review. Thanks to Wendy at KB Ear for the offer. I consider this to be a mini review for my own sanity. I burned these in for ~220+ hours before listening for the purposes of this review.
Executive Summary: A great single DD in a crowded field with stiff competition, it is worth a look, but given some of the other products out there, I can only say that it is a very good performer and not a world beater.
Overview: The Diamond is an 8.2mm Single Dynamic Driver IEM with a Diamond Like Coating on the driver (DLC). It is currently priced around $75-80 US on most sites. At this price, it comes with excellent accessories that are quite impressive in the price bracket. I have bypassed the included 2 pin 3.5mm cable in lieu of needing a 4.4mm cable for accurate comparisons with my gear (using a similar FAAEL 4 core OFC Cable terminated to 4.4mm Balanced). I’ve also bypassed the included tips in favor of my go to tips, Large KZ Starlines. Both the aftermarket cable and tips work perfectly. Overall build quality is very nice and fit is very good. They are average/small size and do not protrude out significantly from my ears. I believe this would make this pair particularly good for those who want to wear these while laying with their head on the side of a pillow.
Testing Equipment Used:
Primary: Hiby R6 Pro. Secondary: Schiit Magni 3+, Cayin N3.
Music: My standard mix of mostly Indie, Electronic, Rock, Alternative, Shoegazer and Chillwave. I did not test with Rap or Country, as per usual. My files are a combination of mostly 320kbps MP3’s and FLAC files.
Overall Sound impressions:
Overall, the Diamond presents a delicately styled, mild V-shaped sound that is quite pleasant and not in need of any tweaking to sound good (versus the FAAEL Hibiscus for instance). By today’s standard I would actually call these pretty balanced compared to many sets in this price range. Bass is well extended, tight and on the fast side (versus Rumbly/slower). The bass is tuned, to my hearing, as to not bleed into the mids or cover up any detail. Mids are pleasantly located right in the middle between recessed and forward. Some people state this as meaning that you sound like you’re a couple of rows back in the audience of a show (Sure, why not?)…. I don’t find these to be as V-shaped as others have stated, certainly not to the extent of something like the TRN V90 or KZ ZSX. The mids have nice presence without sounding too thin (many V-shaped tunings make the mids too thin, they are “delicate” here) and the Timbre is VERY natural, and nearing the level of planar mids. Treble is good in terms of extension, there is not a whole lot of sparkle, but there also is not harshness or sibilance that I detect when not using EQ/DSP. Detail is very good, and on par with the best in this price range. These DLC drivers seem to excel at detail compared to other types of DD’s. The bass doesn’t overwhelm as is often the case in this price range for single DD and Hybrid sets. The staging aspects are good. They present good stereo separation and an average to slightly above average soundstage that sounds relatively wide. Imaging is a step below planar imaging and multi-BA setups, but “good for the price” and good by comparison to other Single DD’s.
Select Comparisons:
Blon BL-03 (Single DD, because it’s become so ubiquitous, for cheaper)
The Blon has deeper, slower bass that has more rumble. The Diamond is tighter, punchier and has better definition. The blon has very recessed vocals versus the “Middle of the road” vocals/mids of the Diamond. The blon appears to have a deep, but exaggerated soundstage due to this, while the Diamond sounds much more natural and has better attack/decay than the Blons so that it possesses an overall more pleasant, natural timbre and sound where the soundstage is noticeably wider than it is deep. The Diamond is smoother in the treble than the Blons. The build, fit, finish and accessories are all much better on the Diamond.
Gun to the head, pick 1 only Winner? Easy choice, the Diamond.
FAAEL Hibiscus (DLC Single DD for slightly cheaper)
The Hibiscus is a, similar in theory, DLC coated DD available for about $50. The most positive thing I can say about the Hibiscus is that the driver shows a lot of promise if you’re willing to EQ/DSP your way to an acceptable sound. Otherwise it is in every way inferior to the Diamond and the out of the box tuning is very bad. It sounds thin, incoherent spatially, bloated, and tinny all at the same time. The diamond is a far more polished product that can be plugged, connected to a source, turned on and will sound good. The FAAEL Hibiscus, when property EQ/DSP’ed, can sound a lot like the Diamond, but that’s as high of praise as it will get, as well as it does come with a nice-ish cable (which I’ve since ordered several variations of).
Gun to the head, pick 1 only Winner? Easy Choice, the Diamond.
NiceHCK NX7 Pro (2DD/4BA/Piezo Hybrid around the same price to slightly more expensive)
I threw this in just to make a point. I believe the detail retrieval on this single DD (DLC) set is as good as this multi driver set. Switching back and forth with my preferred settings, I don’t hear anything on the NX7 Pro that I don’t hear on the Diamond and vice versa. Bass is slightly more to my liking on the NX7 Pro given the Dual DD’s and slower tuning which extends deeper and provides more rumble. However, overall, I prefer the more natural timbre and coherence of the Diamond, as well as it having an actual soundstage. The NX7 Pro is brighter with any filter…. My biggest negative of the NX7 Pro is that there is really no soundstage to speak of. If they fix that, they’d be a much better set...
Gun to the head, pick 1 only Winner? The Diamond.
BQEYZ BQ3 (Hybrid Dual DD/3BA around the same price to slightly cheaper)
This is where things get fun. The BQ3 has exceptionally deep bass with good rumble. The tuning is a little on the slower side but the bass is an order of magnitude stronger on the BQ3 than on the Diamond (and most sets). The BQ3 has very smooth mids, but they still sound a little thin in comparison to the more natural sounding Diamond. The BQ3 has a lot of treble sparkle without sounding harsh, which is a difficult feat. The Diamond has nice, steady, average treble that isn’t as lush as the BQ3. Soundstage wise they are both good, but different. The BQ3 sounds vast and expansive, whereas the Diamond sounds more realistic and natural. Both sound precise in terms of imaging, the BQ3 just sounds very Vivid and sparkly compared to the more natural sound of the Diamond. These are two very different sets. Many like the BQ3 for EDM, and I can definitely see why. They’re very vivid and Euphoric sounding, kind of like listening to music on mind altering substances without those said substances….
Gun to the head, pick 1 only Winner? Tough one…. Personally, BQ3 because of the bass. I think most would like the Diamond for its more balanced signature and faster bass but both are worth owning. It has the more “crowd pleasing” tuning.
Urbanfun YBF ISSO14 (10 mm Single Beryllium DD, slightly cheaper)
This is a good set to illustrate how the Diamond is a relatively mild V-shaped tuning. The bass on the ISSO14 is as strong, if not stronger, than the BQ3 but with better speed. Both the Diamond and ISSO14 are great indicators of what a Single DD can do and how a Beryllium coated driver and DLC driver have slightly different timbre’s. They are tuned differently, with the ISSO14 having a huge bass bias that will bleed and cover up some detail in other frequencies. The ISSO14 is surprisingly well refined and a good competitor to the Diamond.
Gun to the head, pick 1 only Winner? ISSO14 because I am a basshead, but beware different versions and QC issues (which supposedly have been fixed…)
Comparisons I’d like to make but can’t because I don’t own them. TFZ No. 3, Moodrop Starfield, Tin T4, Dunu DM480, Shozy Form 1.1.
I can say I would take this pair over my beloved TFZ King Pro.
