After having met a lot of satisfaction on another K’s Earphone bud (Bell-LBs – follow the link to read my analysis) I decided to renew my trust in this manufacturer by purchasing their K300 model, which promises a quite different tuning and presentation, and still costs a very affordable € 29,00.
Table of contents
At-a-glance Card
| PROs | CONs |
| Smooth, relaxing, warm presentation. | Warm coloration may be not for everyone. |
| Extended and pleasant bass and sub bass. | Limits on imaging and separation. |
| Holographic very extended soundstage. | Not very easy to drive. |
| Comfortable. | |
| Very good value |
Full Device Card
Test setup
Apogee Groove / Sony NW-A55 mrWalkman / Questyle QP1R / Ifi HipDac / Cowon Plenue 2 – donut foam covers – lossless 16-24/44.1-192 FLAC tracks.
Signature analysis
| Tonality | K300 offer a mild V-shape presentation. Tonality is definitely warm, with an evident bass prevalence. Timbre is somewhat soft and mellow. |
| Sub-Bass | Sub-bass is very extended for an earbud, and there is actual rumble. |
| Mid Bass | Mid bass is elevated and not fast. The result is a dominant presence, carrying a quite pleasant, mild flowery nature. On the other hand it’s lacking in terms of precision and texture. |
| Mids | Mid tones are recessed on the K300, and they also get “tinted” by the bass’ warmth. Apart from that they come accross quite well articulated. |
| Male Vocals | Male voices are good on K300, although made too warm by the bass presence. |
| Female Vocals | Female vocals are very smooth, nicely textured, totally inoffensive – forget any form of sibilance or shoutyness – but they are too warm and could definitely use more brightness and clarity |
| Highs | Trebles are very good in structure and timbre, while also “brushed” and “warmed up” by the general tonality, and as such they leave sparkles to be desired. The good news is that they are present enough to be enjoyable, and totally inoffensive for a very relaxed and unfatiguing listen. |
Technicalities
| Soundstage | K300 cast a full-holographic stage, with particularly significant width and depth |
| Imaging | Positioning is ok, although the general warmth gives the impressions of “less air” between instruments. |
| Details | Detail retrieval is quite limited from the bass (drowning under bloomy transients there) and somewhat better on highmids and trebles, although still not something to write home about there, either. |
| Instrument separation | Some concession is made here on the bass transients altar. |
| Driveability | Not particularly easy due to the significant impedance (300 ohm), but it does not take nuclear plant either. Just avoid a mere phone and you should be set. Ah, and avoid warm sources too! |
Physicals
| Build | Shells are plastic MX500-standards. |
| Fit | Easy fit (for me) as per MX500 standard. Best orientation is cable-up. Due to the apriori warm tuning, donut foams (or no foams at all) are highly recommended in this case. |
| Comfort | Although not my deepest love, I do find MX500 shells reasonably comfortable once fitted. |
| Isolation | Almost zero, as normal in the earbud category |
| Cable | The fixed 2-core sheated cable appears very ordinary. It’s free from microphonics, there’s at least that. |
Specifications (declared)
| Housing | MX500 full plastic |
| Driver(s) | Single DD |
| Connector | n/a |
| Cable | Fixed, 1.2m single ended 3.5mm straight plug |
| Sensitivity | n/a |
| Impedance | 300 Ω |
| Frequency Range | 15-25000Hz |
| Accessories and package | 1 pair of black full foams, 1 pair of white full foams, 1 pair of black donut foams, 1 pair of white donut foams |
| MSRP at this post time | € 29,10 street price |
Comparisons
vs K’s Earphone Bell-LBs (€59,00 street price)
By design K300 indeed offer a different tuning compared to Bell-LBs: warm and V-shaped vs neutral. K300’s sub bass is very audible and delivers nice rumble, on par with quite a few IEMs actually, and unlike Bell-LBs where it is just hinted. Mid bass is more elevated, bloomier, denser on K300 vs Bell-LBs’ leaner, faster, punchier one.
Mids are obviously recessed and also leaner on K300, vs unrecessed bodied and organic on Bell-LBs. Highmids and trebles are similarly elevated on both, but obvsiouly cleaner, sparklier, airier on Bell-LBs, and brushed, warmed and inoffensive on K300.
Soundstage casting is very similar, in both cases absolutely holographic, a further bit more extended on K300. Imaging and separation are evidently much better on Bell-LBs as a direct consequence of much faster transiets all over the spectrum. K300 is somewhat harder to drive due to its 300 ohm impedance, and less expensive.
Considerations & conclusions
K300 are another definite hit by K’s Earphone, the same makers of BELL-LBs. They deliver a very well calibrated warm-bass tonality and a stunning holographic very extended stage, offering a really pleasing, relaxing musical experience.