Dan Reviews | QKZ x HBB and Khan. HBB is the BEST warm budget IEM 

I am sitting here listening to this over and over on some Gold Planar GL1200's hooked into even more expensive gear and I am just so blown away by how FAR the QKZ HBB hits above its price point. I know, the HBB loses some detail over the Maestro but my god, for 20 dollars this thing literally will make you wince with disgust at headphones and other IEMS that are hundreds if not thousands of dollars... I really appreciate this video, it's really taught be a lot about sound signatures and how the HBB makes me a lot more emotional. It's like the difference of being in a classroom where you have bright white florescent lights buzzing and a cozy room with a warm light. I bought a pair of HBB's, thanks Dan!

Me listening to these godly iems like maestro on my $2 earphone 💀😭

This reminds me of the way that wineries plan out wine tastings. They always start with the driest wines first because if you start with a sweet wine, it is going to color the taste of the other wines, which will all seem overly bitter.

Dan, at the beginning of the demo I swear to you I was almost unable to bear the sizzling brightness of the Khan, and even the Zero - compared to that regular HBB. As you continue to explain everything, things are still somewhat didn’t match my real life listening experience. So I split screen my iPad, fire up Apple Music and listen to the original recordings, comparing back and forth with the demo (fortunately I have the Zero as a direct reference). And then my brain start calibrating everything. Before the calibration, I was so hyped with the HBB because what I heard from the demo was so f good for cheap. But now I have a crude general estimation that in the real life the HBB will be more warm than the demo and I can adjust my expectations accordingly. It’s a good thing that you always started demos with budget IEMs so it might be useful for point of reference for many people, I mean, not everyone has an instant access to two kilo-bucks+ stuffs. Thank you.

I absolutely love the incisiveness of the Khan. It will be overly analytical for some but I love how it handles vocals and certain percussive hits.

This is really amazing quality content; this channel really deserves more attention.

The Maestro has been one of the few iems on this channel that seems (to me at least) incredibly close to a full-fledged sound out of a headphone, without compromises, even beating the Mest! No loss of bass to make way for more air, or unnecessary thinness in the vocal region. The HBB was a close second albeit in a different way. Particularly in the 3rd and last tracks, which since I listen to them often, I guess my brain immediately picks the 'better' compromise between either bloated but fun or the airy but more 'low-res' depiction . Quality work as always!

The Maestro is why U-Shaped is the best signature IMO. You won't go back when you learn to EQ that in with your own audio device. Sub-bass and air are the king and queen of this hobby. I can see why it's on the top of HBB's list, and he's been killing it with his collabs! The QKZ X HBB is an easy recommendation if you want a cheap & warm IEM to enjoy your music.

What an amazing review bro, 40 minutes of review before watching/hearing, I thought too much of time but 40 minutes of time just flew like it's just 4 minutes, this is how all iem reviewers should review the iem's, hats off to you bro, I just watched this being my first video of yours, I instantly became a life long fan of yours. Thank you for all the wonderful reviews.

I must admit, even in the face of the $2000 gear, there's something I recognized that I loved about the OH10. I'm thinking about picking up the HBB. I don't try to compare two new IEMs, I try to compare two I own to see the sound signature differences. I literally picked up the Aira because so many people have it and compare other too it. My true favorite to compare is the OH10 because it has, so far, been my top price to quality ratio.

Man, the Maestro SE blows the other IEMs reviewed here. Sadly, this costs an arm and a leg over here in the Philippines. Thank you for the thorough and thoughtful review.

I really appreciate how you actually give definitive answers.

Now i must save up to my 4 months food cash for the SE thank Dan

What your brain detects as loss of timbre is what we in the pro audio world call transient response. The cheaper drivers can't reproduce great transient attack and sustain very well. This is why we choose to use tools like the "SPL transient designer" as a way to bring out the attack of a note or lengthen it. So if you have a bass heavy dynamic driver you have to augment it with an equally powerful yet not annoying high end. Its the same balance studio monitors try to find in those products.

Brain burn in is a thing for me 😅 I started with the Chu and got used to the metallic treble and then spent a month with the Hola and now I can’t handle the Chu. Probably would do well to include FR graphs while talking about the sound signatures for a visual comparison. The Harman bass tuck seems to lend itself to a hollow low mid feeling as opposed to something not tucked or even bass bled.

Dan I have around 40 IEM’s and totally agree with you as your ears definite acclimatise to a sound and the same applies to full size cans.I’ve Loved all my IEM’s since purchasing them all yet must admit to still now listening to my QKZ x HBB,Kiwi ears Cadenza and Truthear x Crinacle yet wear any pair for 2 minutes let your ears adjust then swap and the next pair sound horrendous for 20seconds until your Ears adjust to that next pair.

Mannn so much soooo much salute to you fuc… you are marvellous your videos omggg i love the long vid of yours with so much detail wow no one is better than you I promise.

Thanks Dan, because of this type of demo, I finally got my QKZ X HBB, and I'm watching this video again using my QKZ X HBB 😁

the qkz hbb for me sounds fuller and meaty. Finally found someone with the same ear for music that reviews iems.. love it

What I've have experienced with the demos is that the slam of the subbass and bass freqs. are nerfed, for example the Khan/Salnotes sound thin and lifeless here and only the HBB and Kai sound realistic. But in my actual ears the Khan/Salnotes sound closer to the real life reproduction and the HBB sounds bloated and bleeding into the mids. (In the last track you can hear somewhat what I mean). Just consider this if you are here to make a purchase decision. :)

I think Dan is doing some unseen magic...What? I bought the HBB's after watching this video. They sound damn good for the price! Love this channel! BTW, a great sound playing my guitar through my mustang micro !

I bought the qkz hbb about a year ago, never used them much, well.. Never.. I just spent the last three days listening to them on a good dac.. These things are phenomenal, just something about the tone and timbre, I am really unable to put them down. I put Kaya Project on continuous mix streaming, and next thing you know, 2 or 3 hours had passed, I didn't even notice.. Eyes closed, lying on the couch. That never happens to me..Hard to believe they are so engaging at that price. Good recommendation, I bought them after hearing this soundtest the first time. Thanks for that. Funny thing is, I have the Khans, and I don't like them much.

Interesting concepts you bring up here. Years ago when I sold stereo systems for a living this was the biggest challenge for many of my customers. They were used to hearing their junky old stereo systems and when then came into the store to upgrade, they often gravitated to a system with expensive electronics and crappy speakers that probably sounded a lot like the junky old speakers they had been listening to for years. Sometimes I could "convert" them by presenting a speaker that provided good detail and a stereo image with good stage width and depth. If I could open their eyes (ears) in this way then I could often sell them a good set of speakers deserving of their expensive electronics. I find that the true test of any system is a serious listen with Classical or Acoustic Jazz music. If you have listened to live acoustic music anywhere then you "know" what it is supposed to sound like and if your stereo system can fool you into thinking you are sitting in the concert venue, then you know it is doing its job well. It's not so easy to do this with electronic music since there is no real reference for you to "know' how it should sound. On this front, some acoustic music in your demo's might be something to consider. Regardless I found the review very interesting. Keep up the good work. This is my Go To channel for IEM's. You are doing us all a good service here. :)

Awesome video as always Dan! I don’t regret picking the QKZ x HBB as my daily/first IEM. The maestro SE is the upgrade path to it but too expensive. I wonder if maestro mini is a good path. Still expensive but a more doable in my financial state. Lol

Qkz X Hbb is my daily driver throw anywhere in bag , Salnotes Zero is good but i don't like much treble and Zero can't be eq about bass

*Whatever I like, I always get back to the HBB!*

Finally I found an IEM reviewer who has same taste with me. Yes I agree QKZ x HBB is the best budget WARM iem, and for the brighter alternative is salnotes zero. For the high end range, fatfreq Maestro is one of the best warm IEM. Like, dang... we have same taste, buddy!! Now I am looking forward for your reccomendation about a clear banlanced IEM with a just little bit bass. In mid range ($200-$500). Cuz I need one for listen to jazz or reggae or spanish songs.

Brain burn in is certainly a real thing. Listen to something long enough and it becomes the norm. This is one of the reasons I love ABing gear, to help highlight and understand the differences.

I'm pretty happy with ur efforts on videos that help out to get a glimpse of how an iem sounds🙌😎. Thanks

My latest EQ setting for my BL-03 on the Qudelix 5k was actually somewhat inspired by the ginormous bass mountain on the Maestro SE. I’d been primarily listening with sort of a mishmash of Harman-ish ear gain with extra mid-bass down low for a little heft to the sound, and it made for a really satisfying balanced listen, but then I saw the Maestro SE’s frequency response and thought to try tacking on an extra 5dB of sub-bass since the preamp on my EQ setting was already -5dB, and boy does the thing slam now on all my hip-hop library. Can’t get the same treble extension on the BL-03 as there is on the Maestro SE, since the Blon’s driver just isn’t capable of it, but man, shoutout to Fatfreq for putting out an absolute bass demon. I HAVE to audition it one of these days. Sounds so ridiculously full without compromising on detail. That was the first time the Obsidian sounded truly beat at its own game in one of these demos. As for the brain burn-in topic, I was already aware of it being a thing, but I wasn’t as aware of just how quickly the brain adapts to a new sound signature. Psychoacoustics do be a thing.

MAESTRO IS SO GOOD WTF. Warm but it has incredible detail and seperation

Wow not going to lie, that has to be the BEST Review video I've ever seen!! 🙌🏾 I saw the timestamp and thought there was no chance I'll watch it all, but for me this is singlehandedly the most comphrensive way review headphones and to allow the viewer to see the objectivity of your opinions... 🙌🏾

This is a really special iem. I switched to other iem and switch back to this. it has good imaging, sound stage, good bass, warm sound. Its always pleasent to listen too.

Watched this video yesterday, and received my HBB today. As a user of Dunu SA6, and Focal Clear, I'm just so used to warm tuning. The HBB will definitely get my recommendation. Also AB it with the salnotes zero. The zero is much more airy and more analytical compared to the HBB. It really depends on your library, or you may get both to compensate each other. 😆

Brain burn in is real. AirPods first gen were my go to and I absolutely loved them. Got the AirPods Pro and stared hating the originals. Then got myself an S12, at first thought it was not that different from the APP, but after a week I went back to the APP for a jog and started hating them. Then last week my APP failed me and I got the AirPods first gens to use out and about. By the end of the week I was back to liking them.

Mixed into the psychology you have what I call music memory. I am treble sensitive, so for me the highs have to be tamed a bit. Now what is treble sensitive, I believe that are brains over time learn what are ears hate and anything that deviates from that brain perception will be unpleasant. So my brain from memory seeks out tamed highs and warmer sounding iems and recordings. That being said I own the HBB and am quite content with them so in my mind this is what I seek listening to my music so I have no need to buy a different iem when I can get sound that makes me happy and content. My Granny always said don't dwell on what you don't have be content with the gifts of what you do have. In this case a $20 iem that to my ears makes me smile 😊

Idk why this is such a revelation. Surely everyone has heard the saying "ignorance is bliss". Lol. I love these comparisons btw

That Maestro! That Rumble! That Slam! I'm in love 😍

I EQd my QKZ HBB Khan to the Fatfreq Maestro SE's Tuning and it surprised me how good it sounds and I'm loving it. Loved the thumping sub bass which I thought vibrated my head literally when it wasn't. Lol. Man, the Maestro SE sure will be on added to my dream IEM to own. For now, EQ does the trick.

OMG you really are planetary alignment sent! I have been waiting for this!

So glad I found your channel. It’s hard to trust reviewers that have a bunch of affiliate links. Now I see why they don’t do sound demos.

Dan, in a world of competitors reminiscent of old “Crazy Eddie” commercials you stand out like everyone’s favorite professor. I totally agree with your brilliant hypothesis of “brain burn-in.” Thanks for the education. Can’t wait for my new HBB QKZ, tossing in some DUNU tips which are mind-blowingly great. Thanks

Cant wait to watch this at home soon Thanks for the review in advance dan

Wow Dan, you've been coming out with videos fast lately. I 100% agree that people will hate on other people's preferences too much. It's a subjective hobby. That's why I love your videos, because people can just come here to see what they actually like rather than just relying on what person X says or what person Y says.

I'm still wondering why Tangzu wan'er SG has not made it's entry into this arsenal of 20$ IEMs. Still waiting with fingers crossed 🤞. Great video once again. Cheers👍

I have the timeless AE's and... I keep switching back to The salnotes zero, albeit it's now heavily eq'd, where the timeless, I see no reason to mess with it. It's great out of the box, but still, goes to show you, $20 vs $260 and I still reach for them.

What was said at 11:45 hit the nail on the head. Acclimation is crucial.

Great review as usual Dan 👍 Honestly Khan is currently my favorite sub-USD100 IEM at the moment. Salnotes Zero and KE Cadenza were my favorites, but the 2DD setup of Khan give the sub-bass much needed boost without smearing into the higher frequencies. QKZ HBB was a good IEM, but unfortunately sometimes with bass-heavy songs, I found them to be too muddy for my taste. I agree that's a good entry-level IEM for people who're into warmer sets though.

IMO, when you switched from the HBB to the Zeros, it felt like life was sucked out of the track. The Khan is somewhere in the middle.

13:00 yep that's the majority of comments I have seen in reddit. When I write my opinion on an IEM i state what I usually hear (EW200, artti R1) and what I like (detail, warm but with enough treble for vocals)

Honestly the QKZ hbb sounds the best to me

In my opinion the best way to create an opinion is by listening for days. Because yes you get used to it but if there is a issue with fatigue over days it will present itself. The is clear with the moondrop starfield. That high end peak kills me no matter what.

I am viewing this video for the 10 or 12th time... From the last week. Its just your explaination.... Ideology... The iems... Your expressions!!.. all are well tuned and in sync 😀

My god, the Maestro is so fantastic. It feels like I have dived into the music.

I followed your suggestion and purchased the QKZ x HBB and life is great. I upgraded to the Linsoul Tripowin Zonie 16 Core Silver Plated Cable and the sound improvement is noticeable with all my IEMs. Instead of replacing my 10 year old Shure 215 IEMs, I decided to experiment and purchased the Tripowin cable and the following IEMs: Linsoul KZ ZS10 Pro, KZ x HBB PR2 (planar), Linsoul QKZ x HBB, and QKZ x HBB Khan. I wanted to enjoy Lossless audio and needed a wired IEM for traveling on 10 hour flights without dealing with recharging. These affordable IEMs are a game changer. I use a portable USB Type-C DAC for times when I need more power to run high impedance or planar devices. You don't need to spend a lot of money to get a quality listening device any longer.

Have you tried using a 75-ohm impedance adapter on the Khan? In Hobby Talk's video review, he realized a dramatic bass boost when using one, which may level the playing field vs the more expensive gear.

You make some hell of a good job with these reviews! Very well done!IIts a lot of quality work!

I think you are absolutely right :). What we listen to last does affect our perception.

😮yep it’s a real thing….but I try not to let that happen by choosing a different iem and tws everyday and only listen to it and only it the whole day

Wanted to say thanks. I needed an upgrade for my last surviving set of knockaround IEMs but apparently wasn't looking in the right places because I've been coming up empty-handed; after finding this vid though I took a closer look at both the Sal Zero and the xHBB and both are now on their way to me. I have, as the kids say, "Liked and Subscribed."

Good video, I love the knowledge. Ive been knowing this brain burn in phenomenon and to me its even less than thirty seconds, its like 7-12 seconds burn in to get used to a sound signature, similar to vision burn in - for example while playing online poker on Bovada, they introduced different UI / table themes which were bright colors, people complained they were too bright so they updated some newer colors which were lighter on the eyes, but it literally takes like 10 seconds to get used to the brighter color table theme.

I’m listening to your video while I’m driving home. Thanks for keeping me company and it’s always an interesting video to be had take care.

I think you should add Tangzu Wan’er to your collection.. i just don’t like zero and i don’t know why… it sounds like I’m listening to a radio..

i started with iems just 2 weeks ago, i watched a lot of stuff but you are by faaaaar my favourite channel for this topic. thanks for the content

I have to say, I love your present consept very much. You have developed a real professional channel. Who want's just to look the IEM's between the chewed fingernails and listen some veird jargon of it's timbre, bass, treble, midrange, stage, etc from an invisible head, when you can actually LISTEN to the IEM's. I do understand the sound is not authentical, but is is great enough. Dan, there is no need to be too modest with your own opinions, many of us think the same way of "brain burning" or "besserwisser" mentality at sosial media. I listened this video many times with different IEM's (S12, IE200) and headphones (HE400se, HD600) and wherever there was a shift between HBB and Maestro I just could't find any notisable difference. One factor there can be my age, 69 y. So, I ordered HBB's in to my collection, they should arrive tomorrow (and the truth will come out... just mine though). EDIT: Yes, there is more low thrumble in Maestro...

Dayumn.. thats a nice setup/studio ❤️

This is the second go on this video as I am switching between QKZ HBb vs. ZVX, but here I was so shocked at how close to the Maestro the HBB was , though it is obvious the Maestro is so strong.

I'm thinking of getting a pair of OH10s for hip hop. I'm looking forward to the punchy bass!

The changes "burn in" as you said took 4-5 second for me. All these iems are superb for the price is that warm sound perceived as more energy which makes it sound "better".

At first I’m like “oh wow this is really cool, hadn’t heard of these before”. Then when I find out how much it costs I’m like “f me they better blow me away”. Probably amazing but just out of my league

Great video Dan! Thanks for all your efforts!

Your videos and opinions never ceases to amaze me.

🤯🤯🤯 This video opened up my mind in a different way. I’m gonna pin this video to watch it over and over again in the future… Thank you very much Dan.

I bought QKZ x HBB for Edm and was blown away if you sony XB headphones for Bass buy these you will love them esp for the price. I just got my first pair of fatfreq ref pros at £400 the cable was trash compaired and the sound quality isn't as good either but the ref pros are really for picking out mistakes in songs but for the price I was expecting way more detail or separation.

I feel like I have to look into qkz hbb and khan, have a bunch of high end iems, but my most used iem is still ie600 and Symphonium Meteor, both are just so good. Maestro SE, Elysian Diva, Mest MK2, Tia trio I just don't use them anymore. Outside ie600 and when home Meteor. I don't even open my iem box anymore. I noticed it last night. Kinda crazy. HOT TAKE - Zero is bright but it sounds kinda cheap. I think cheap sets with good bass are good at hiding the cheap drivers. With clean tuning I can focus more on the driver. Even the hola and quarks dsp sounds far better. BTW great video as always. good to see the OH10. Plini and Yael Naim, soo good 😘👌👌👌

Planning to buy the QKZ X HBB, for the upgrade to of my Qkz VK4 OG version, after that I also planning to buy CCA CXS and EDA balance for the collection and to try the kz IEM's.

maestro>oh10 (with eq)>hbb>kai>oh10 (without eq)>salnotes zero>khan. i believe in burn in to an extent but yes our brains do "get use" to a sound which can compensate for some issues. also tips and how long theyve been in your ear (ie cold vs warm, still filling in the space). i think dms said having a few pairs to switch between not right away but after awhile of using one can inspire more appreciation when you pick up another set. almost like we get bored of a certain sound signature after awhile until we leave and come back to it later. also if those signatures are very different it can be a shock for me. for me sometimes it even depends on the time of day (ie just woke up or just about to go to bed) that completely changes the sound for me

Fatfreq Maestro SE mannn. I listen to the comparisons with my eye closed and open them every time I like a certain sound. It's always the Fatfreq. So full and balanced.

The FatFreq did put a smile on my face !

Years a go I use to listen to music on crap gear & use an extreme v on the equalizer. I then bought a decent pair of IEMS & what i thought sounded good on the crap stuff sounded bad on the new. So each day I changed the equalizer over the space of a week so it was flat by the end, now the new IEMs sounded great. Yes the new IEMs were better but I also understood that I had changed my perception of what sounded better.

First demo qkz HBB is the good and over all balance sound, and in the last demo , when the maestro se came up all of them blew away , but I think qkz HBB is my pick because it's so affordable and closest to my preferences but maestro se is a complete highs ,mids , and bass , very crisps

Would u like to use my u12t for a bunch of comparisons??? I would enjoy that and I’m shure everyone including you would to 😊

when it comes to fun tuning which I enjoy far more than analytical sounds I enjoy the BL03. They had always been a love hate relationship due to the short nozzle. I tried many tips for my earholes which generally are a large for normal IEM's, for the BL-03's The extra large CP100's worked. The QKZ-HBB sounds like a good upgrade for my tastes so I've just bought a set, looking forward to receiving them. I also have the Hades which sounds great for bass heavy electronic music, terrible with everything else but man they are fun with the right tracks.

QKZ HBB is one hell of an IEM for the price

Mind blown 🤯

Great video. I own both the HBB and the Khan and I prefer the HBB. Mostly it's the bass on the Khan, it just doesn't sound right to me. The bass is slow and feels a bit separated from the midrange. It's also a bit boomy to me. The HBB could be in $20 price range my choice for relaxing listening if I didn't own the Tangzu Wan'er.

Listening through my old sweet Ath M50X. I don't want to change yet.

After a while of back & forth, my perception of going from the Khan to either of the other two was that the music became veiled, losing air & detail, rather than missing the warmth when going to the Khan (I had the same reaction when switching between the OH10 and the Maestro). That being said, my warm-leaning choices remain the Ikko Obsidian/OH10 and 7Hz Timeless, while my more detailed & balanced choices are the Letshuoer S12 Pro and HBB Kinda Lava. Although I can appreciate that the price/performance gap is shifting quickly toward budget sets and the diminishing returns are getting slimmer, it's only relevant for those starting out or needing a beater set they can carry around w/o worrying about ruining them.

The Khan are better for instrumentals but can't beat the vocals of the HBB due to the HBB's warmth. The Zero is a perfect happy median of the IEMs in this view

Man, after this video, seems like I have to buy the QKZ HBB! I really would like to see how CCA CRA goes against it, specially in bass segment.

thanks dan👍 your review is more help us better than other reviewer because they dont want show samples of sounds

To compensate the coupler + iem “ear gain” try parametric eq with 3470 Hz -10.9 dB Q 1.4 and 6150 Hz -2.6 dB Q 1.4

despite the brain burn in, i still prefer the QKZ x HBB's tuning. I just wish it was a little less bassy. I'm just a huge fan of warmer sounding audio gear, whether that be speakers, or headphones.

Hey Dan hope your ok Do you think of compare some of the iems you usually show us with Fiio's Iems? I have the FH3 and love them for it's bassy and airy signature... Would love to see fiio round your absolutely lovely channel. big hug

Man, the maestro just sound like an earthquake rumble, I was listening through my AirPods 2 and they were flubbing trying to lift that bottom end like a kid trying to flex his arm like his dad showed him!

I like my bass QKZ HBB delivers.

Stumbled across this channel, best review format I have seen ever. You should do a HBB vs Legato comparison.

Every video of yours makes me love the OH10 even more..

Great video/vidoes, currently watching the sun come up while listening to these great sound demos. Just ordered the HBB, would love to hear a review/demos of the Hype 2, your short of the Hype 2 was very eye opening, had a hard time hearing the difference between it and the MKiii. The psychology of how ones brain adapts to what you're used to is crazy, every "audiophile" needs to watch this video and do some self reflection. Great job, great takes, keep it up.

Great job Dan! Thanks for the samples.