Two Sub $25 USD IEMs Reviewed: Moondrop CHU II and KBEAR Flash
Cheap Audiophilia
Few things can wipe out a bank account faster than the wild goose chase of perfectly reproduced home audio. However, here is a secret that many audiophiles will scoff at, deny, or just outright rage over. You do not have to go broke to enjoy your music. (Shh…don’t read that out loud or they’ll hear and come after us.)
In this article I’m going to tell you about two sets of In Ear Monitors which can be had for under $25. That’s not each ear, and it’s not just the cable. Let the audiophiles riot as we move into my review of the Moondrop CHU II, and the KBEAR Flash IEMs.
Moondrop CHU II
The beginnings of this article are due to one of our Discord members reaching out to me and requesting a review of Moondrop CHU II. I thought about contacting Moondrop, but they don’t really know us yet. Then I saw the price of these and just ordered a pair. At $23.99 USD at time of purchase ($22.99 at time of writing), there wasn’t much risk, and I thought I could at least get an article out of it to get me back into the swing of things.
The first thing that will strike you about the CHU II is that they are TINY. These IEMs are just ridiculously small. They are also quite robust. The CHU IIs are built from what Moondrop calls a “mature alloy”, which is cast into two shells and fit together, and then painted to inhibit corrosion. The design is simple, elegant and appears quite classy in my opinion.
The CHU II comes with a small leatherette case, one style of tip in small, medium, and large sizes, and a reasonably decent 1.5 meter long cable with 3.5 mm male to dual .78 mm two-pin connections. The .78 mm two-pin is almost the industry standard at this point, so it would be very simple to find a different cable if you wanted something nicer, but the included cable functions just fine.
The CHU II uses a single, 10 mm dynamic Aluminum and Magnesium composite driver. Most of the technical details are included in the accompanying images. Impedance on the CHU II is a very low 18 ohm, with a sensitivity of 119 dB / Vrms @ 1khz. With numbers like this, you should be able to power the CHU II off just about anything, including a 3.5 mm connector on a phone (if you can find one).
KBEAR Flash
In comparison to the Moondrops, the $23.99 USD (minus a $3 coupon at time of writing) KBEAR Flash monitors are larger, with a mostly plastic construction. They are extremely lightweight, but they do just feel a bit cheaply made. It is kind of cool to look into the transparent plastic and see the crossover feeding the drivers.
The KBEARS do not include a case, but do include two different styles of silicone tips. The included 1.5 m, C-pin wire is certainly no better than the wire on the Moondrops; perhaps even a little cheaper feeling, but still adequate.
The size difference between the KBEARS and the Moondrops is accentuated by the KBEAR use of a C pin cable connection. This necessitates that the connector on the body of the IEM protrudes from the body. While the C pin connector is not as widely used as the standard 0.78 mm 2-pin (B pin), aftermarket cables are still readily available, and the connector is compatible with standard B pin, but you will still have the connection protruding out from the IEM in a way that might be uncomfortable to some wearers.
The KBEAR Flash are a hybrid IEM, utilizing two different types of drivers, a single 10mm dynamic, and one balanced armature driver. This design, along with the crossover, allows the dynamic driver to focus on the bass and mid-range, while the BA produces the high end. The impedance on the Flash is 35 ohms, with a sensitivity of 108 dB / Vrms @ 1 kHz. From these numbers, the Flash should be slightly harder to drive than the CHU II, but still easily powered by just about anything with an audio jack
Despite these numbers, in my own testing and repeated switching between the two pairs, as well as asking a few other individuals to verify what I was hearing, the KBEAR were slightly louder at the same volume settings on the same amplifiers
Okay, How do they sound?
I listened to both of these sets over several weeks, with the same cable, and on five different amplifiers. On both I used Spinfit Omni XL silicone tips, as I have found they fit my ear shape better than any other tips that I have tried. I did check fitment with the included tips on both IEMs. None of the tips included with the CHU II fit me well enough to either provide a seal, or even be comfortable. On the Flash, the largest set of the white silicone tips (which also have a very large bore) did fit, and I actually liked this set a lot on the Flash, though they were not quite as comfortable over long listening sessions as the Spinfits.
As I had the CHU II first, I will start with them. These have a slightly warm, soft sound signature. They just don’t seem to do anything wrong. The driver isn’t the fastest responding, or most precise driver, but it’s still quite good. Moondrop went for a modified Harmon Curve sound profile, and that’s what the CHU II gives you. I found the bass to be decent, perhaps elevated slightly, although not very tight. Vocals and woodwinds instruments are slightly recessed but still present in the music. Brass and guitars were presented quite well and very forward. At the very high end, symbols and piccolos were pulled back. The CHU II would most likely never be a fatiguing IEM to wear. The detail and high end never get to be too much.
I called them “soft” and that really seems to me to be the best word to describe them. They are detailed enough, but not so detailed that poorly recorded (or low bitrate) audio is going to sound like crap. Everything sounds just fine, and the music is enjoyable. Considering the price, I think the CHU II are pretty amazing.
Then I listened to the KBEAR Flash. These are ASTOUNDING! The Flash present very strong, and very tight bass, giving the feeling of real impact from drums. They also have a lot more detail than the CHU II. High end is much more forward with the Flash. Symbols and Piccolos are present, but somehow they never seem to be too much. Actually, the high end on the Flash is almost perfect to me. It is very present, but never harsh or sibilant, unless the harshness or sibilance was present in the original recording. Brass and Guitar are just as forward with the Flash as they are on the CHU II, but again, there is more detail. This is most apparent on plucked stringed instruments. Much like the CHU II, vocals and woodwinds on the Flash are slightly recessed, but again, there is still more detail. I also found that vocals had a bit of airiness to them, almost as if you could hear the environment of the studio.
Summary
If you read the last paragraph, then you probably have a good idea of what is going to be said here. I like the CHU II. At $23 US (currently) they are a great value and very enjoyable. Despite how much I like them, I keep finding myself just wanting to listen to the KBEAR Flash. They are truly a very enjoyable listening experience, and my set punches way above their price.
There is a caveat: Moondrop is a larger, much more established company. The CHU II are built really well, and there seems to be a consistency in the product that may not be there with the KBEAR. Since I established my view on the CHU II, I’ve looked at some other reviews and they all seem to mesh with my conclusions.
The same cannot be said about the KBEAR. As I mentioned, the construction is not close to the CHU II. Early reviews on the Flash were very consistent in calling it a warm signature with rolled off highs. That is just not what I hear from my set. Now, it is possible that early examples had a differently sourced balanced armature, or there something else in the tuning was just not right. Perhaps their manufacturing is just not as consistent as it should be. All I can tell you is my impressions listening to the set I have and they are very positive.
They are not as accurate as my favored Pula PA02 IEMs, but they are sometimes more enjoyable due to the impact of the bass, and, based on all of the above, if this is a product you are in the market for, or if you want to get into audio without Chapter 11, you should order the KBEAR Flash. If you don’t like them, send them back and order the CHU II. Alternatively, if you listen to a lot of low quality audio, get the CHU II at the start. They are both outstanding for the price.
Review Disclosures
This is what we consider the responsible disclosure of our review policies and procedures.
How Product Was Obtained
The products were purchased by the author.
Company Involvement
Neither Moondrop nor KBEAR had any control over the content of the review and were not consulted prior to publication.
PC Perspective Compensation
Neither PC Perspective nor any of its staff were paid or compensated in any way by Moondrop or KBEAR for this review.
Advertising Disclosure
Neither Moondrop nor KBEAR have purchased advertising at PC Perspective during the past twelve months.
Affiliate Links
If this article contains affiliate links to online retailers, PC Perspective may receive compensation for purchases through those links.
I bought the KBear Flash buds after the recommendation from last weeks episode. Yeah, they’re dope!
I ended up getting both based on your recommendation. Awesome! Thank you so much for letting us know about them!