Articles, Reviews

KBEar Aurora: The Northern Lights Are Lovely & Smooth!!

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A few months back KBEar discontinued their single dd flagship, the KBEar Believe. It was getting good reviews and positive feedbacks from audio enthusiasts around the globe, including me. I…

A few months back KBEar discontinued their single dd flagship, the KBEar Believe. It was getting good reviews and positive feedbacks from audio enthusiasts around the globe, including me. I loved that set, that set served me well with its smooth, rich tonality and powerful bass for my casual listening sessions. After its discontinuation, KBEar told us that they are working on a new single DD pair. Fast forward to last month when they announced the latest Aurora, a brand new single dynamic flagship from the house of KBEar. I, being a fan of KBEar Believe, was looking forward to the next iteration for a long time. So without any delay, I grabbed a unit of Aurora for myself that reached me a few weeks back. Let’s discuss how this little cyberpunk beauty sounds.

KBEar Aurora-1
Disclaimer:-

I bought the KBEar Aurora myself from HiFiGo. Feel free to order one for yourself from their store from the link below(Not affiliated). All impressions and opinions about the Aurora are based on my own usage with the pair over the past few days.

https://hifigo.com/products/kbear-aurora

Unboxing & Accessories:-

Aurora comes in a white cardboard box with a short slip-on cover. The box itself has an image of the earphone printed on one side, the other side the slip-on has Aurora and KBEar branding. The slip-on cover has the technical parameters printed on the backside. From the outside, the box has a simple approach, but once we open it up, we get to see the Aurora magic. First, we have a foam covering layer with a beautiful Aurora lightning image from the Northern hemisphere. Aurora is designed with inspiration from the Aurora lightning. Below this foam layer, we have both the earpieces and the KBEar’s traditional brown colored carry case. The stock cable is safe inside this carry case. There’s a slim foam layer at the side of the package that holds four pairs of ear tips. Three pairs of grey red ear tips and a cleaning tool is also present inside the carry case. That’s all about the package and accessories. From the outside it’s simple, from the inside the look and feel is completely inspired by the Aurora lights.

KBEar Aurora-2
Package Contents:-

>Aurora earphones.

>Stock cable.

>Four pairs of colorful ear tips.

>Three pairs of grey red ear tips.

>Cleaning brush.

>User guide.

Design & Build Quality:-

I have been a fan of KBEar’s build quality for their premium series. I have used the KBEar diamond, the KBEar Believe, and now this KBEar Aurora. Out of all three of these, I would say the Aurora has the most simple build with a rich chrome mirror finish on the earpieces. The earpieces have a neon blue-colored ring around the faceplate to complement the look. These earpieces have a full chromium finish. They are a finger magnet, you touch one place and you leave a mark. The build quality is top-notch, Despite being fully metallic they are not too heavy. I would say it is the lightest against Diamond and Believe.

KBEar Aurora-3

The included cable has a light blue insulated coating to match the neon blue ring design of the Aurora It has an 8-core braided structure with four cores for each side. All the shieldings on the cable including the connectors, Termination plug, Y-splitter, and cable slider have earphone matching chrome mirror finish. The cable overall has a soft feel to it. There are memory hooks near the connectors for a comfortable fit.

KBEar Aurora-4
KBEar Aurora-5

In terms of design and build, Aurora is a top-notch product from KBEar. The presentation, the feel, the build is excellent. The only con here would be the finger-print magnet behavior of the earphones. Literally, touch them anywhere and you are gonna leave them a mark.

Fit & Noise Isolation:-

Despite having a full metallic build, the earpieces of Aurora are lightweight and have an ergonomic design. They are neither too large nor too small and provide me with a comfortable fit(I have medium-sized ears). I don’t have any issues even after long listening sessions with the pair. Noise isolation is average, I can still hear environmental noises(I listen to low volume levels). 

KBEar Aurora-9

Driving The Aurora:-

KBEar Aurora can be driven fairly easily. They don’t have high-power requirements, Impedance rating is 18Ω with high 105dB sensitivity. The pair sounded well off my Samsung Galaxy S6 Lite tablet with the stock 3.5mm headphone jack. Obviously, with better sources, the audio decoding is better that results in better sound. So I will recommend using either a USB DAC/AMP or Hi-Res music player for best performance.

I personally used my Cayin N6ii(A01) for critical listening with the KBEar Aurora.

KBEar Aurora-6

Sound Impressions:-

As per me, the Aurora lights or the Northern lights at the Northern hemisphere of our globe are the epitome of nature and show us smooth transitions. I expect the pair that is inspired by them to have a natural, balanced, and smooth sound with no harsh peaks or brightness. Exactly this is what the KBEar Aurora delivers. In terms of sound, the pair has a balanced sound tuning with a slightly warmer than neutral tonality. Aurora produces some impactful mid-bass slams supported by a smooth sub-bass rumble but the primary focus in the lower end is with the Mid-bass section. Lower Midrange takes a step back with a slightly forward upper midrange. Vocal clarity is top-notch with the pair, they have a warm touch to them making them sound pleasing. Treble region is buttery smooth with no harshness or peak and has good extensions. Overall tuning is better than my former love the KBEar Believe.

Lower End:-

I was a fan of the thick and punchy lower end of KBEar Believe. The Aurora here has a more natural approach to the sound. It has all the punch present in the lower end with impactful, deep-hitting slams in the mid-bass region. Sub-bass presence can also be felt, though I would say the main focus in the lower end of Aurora is with the Mid-bass region. The pair produces a fast and precise bass response. If you hear Billie Jean by MJ, you can easily notice every slam coming and going out of the equation. Aurora prefers quality over quantity in the lower end.

Midrange:-

The mid-range section has amazing clarity for vocals and acoustic instruments. Both the male and female vocals have a smooth, warmer than neutral tone to them with no noticeable shoutiness or muddiness. Airiness in the midrange is just adequate, I would say the pair could benefit from a little more air between the instruments. Though the overall clarity of the mid-range is pretty solid. It sounds better than Believe in presenting a more natural approach for the vocals and instruments. With the Believe I found vocals to have a thicker tonality.

KBEar Aurora-8
Treble:-

Aurora produces a smooth and well-detailed treble response. The pair nicely produces decent details even in complex tracks such as “In The End” by Linkin Park, Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen, and the likes. The pair maintains its smooth tonality here with no noticeable harshness or sibilance in the treble region. Instruments such as Violin, Electric guitars also have good details.

Soundstage & Imaging:-

Soundstage with the Aurora has good width and height, depth could have been better. Imaging is excellent, one can easily point/separate different instruments on the stage.

KBEar Aurora-8
KBEar Aurora Vs KBEar Believe:-

I used to own Believe before. It was among my favorite single DD sets of that time. Here’s my take between the KBEar Believe and Aurora.

>Aurora has a more natural presentation for sound, Believe had thicker tonality.

>Bass response on Aurora has a good grasp on mid-bass with decent enough sub-bass, Believe had an overall elevated bass response and presented with thick, meaty bass response.

>Midrange and Treble are better on Aurora with a natural tone and no sibilance, Believe had a slight touch of sibilance for certain instruments(Violins, Flutes, and more).

>Soundstage is similar on both the sets.

>Aurora has a smoother tonality between the two.

KBEar Aurora-7

A Few Final Words:-

KBEar Aurora is a fantastic pair to own. It looks beautiful, it sounds smooth and natural, and overall has a better presentation than the former flagship Believe. I loved the midrange and treble performance of the set, with a single dd KBEar has delivered a quality performance at quite an attractive price. If I have to mention some cons with the set, I would say the soundstage could benefit with slightly more depth and some added airiness on the stage. Other than that, I am pretty happy with Aurora and can say this is an upgrade over the former KBEar Believe.

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