QKZ x HBB
https://www.linsoul.com/products/qkz-x-hbb?variant=43369937305817&sca_ref=1723281.uURKdX74u0
QKZ x HBB Hades
https://www.linsoul.com/products/qkz-x-hbb-hades?_pos=1&_psq=hades&_ss=e&_v=1.0&sca_ref=1723281.uURKdX74u0
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Demo Channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxLp7pivSM4oioUY1ojsgXA
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❤️ Favorite IEMs and headphones (“Wall of Joy”)
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1yCEeALRlK2_05MIHE4Ch7oqRzf-A9Lfk_q7jEbMx71M/edit?usp=sharing
🎶 Tracks used in video
https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/dans-complete-reference/pl.u-alvrsP4PLpz
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🎶 Music I Love 🥰
https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/dans-audio-reviews-enjoying-now/pl.u-JG99ID5D0NJ
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Timestamps
0:00 QKZ HBB vs Hades
3:43 Legato compared
7:21 FUDU compared
9:10 Conclusion
13:07 Everything compared
source
If you like the QKZxHBB you need to get your hands on a Blon Jojo. Biggest surprise for me in as long as I can remember. You may need some Spinfits or JVC Spiraldots to fit them properly though.
Edit: Actually I remember you have the Jojo. I'm surprised it doesn't do the warm+detail better for you than the HBB. For me it hits just right.
I have the legatos and I love them. I'm not upset with or at you for your opinion of them. I even agree with you about it's funk. It's like the Hades in that they shine in only a few genres. The other sets are about balance, being warm enough but not too much to fit in more genres
When I was using Beats Solo back in 2015, all about that bass didn't care much about vocals or details of the track. Hades would have been a God sent. My taste has changed now. I look for a vocal forwardness, sparkle and detail, and of course, clean authorititave bass. QKZ X HBB would be my pick, compared to Hades. Just my opinion.
HI Dan, I really enjoyed watching your review. Here are my thoughts for what they are worth…
I don't like the tuning of the Hades since the 1 kHz to 3 kHz region is so horribly scooped out. This was blatantly obvious when listening to the sound demos, and this is what I expected when looking its frequency response graphs on squiglink. Even though the Hades is an IEM which is clearly met for bassheads, I suspect that there is only going to be a subset of bassheads who might like the tuning of the Hades. I don't think of the QKZ x HBB as being a basshead IEM. Instead, I think of the HBB as an IEM which somewhat leans into the basshead territory.
I don't listen to EDM and similar genres that much, yet the QKZ x HBB works quite well for these genres such that it sounded like I was at the actual venue and listening to a live performance. I did have to switch to wide bore eartips in order to somewhat tame the bass by around 2 dB in order to dial in the overly punchy bass to a somewhat lower level in order to suit my personal preferences for a bass boosted IEM. The wide bore eartips also improved the overall details. Since the QKZ x HBB is so affordable, it is a nice IEM to have in your arsenal for specific music genres or when watching some Netflix episodes and movies which were poorly mixed such that the audio was noticeably lacking in both the bass and lower midrange. For example, there was one episode of Star Trek: Strange New Words in which the audio was mixed rather poorly such that there was very weak lower midrange and very weak bass. I simply switched to the QKZ x HBB to mostly resolve the issue. In hindsight, I wish that I had kept the Kiwi Ears Quartet for this same purpose. It is so much faster and much more convenient to simply switch to a different set of IEMs instead of having to play around with parametric EQ in order to make some poorly mixed low budget movies or individual episodes of a Netflix series to actually sound good.
I personally prefer the Ikko High-Ear C over the QKZ x HBB since it has noticeably better details in the upper midrange and treble even though both of these IEMs have fairly similar sound signatures. The Tangzu Fudu Verse 1 sounded rather nice even though it does not have quite as much bass and lower midrange emphasis as either the QKZ x HBB or the High-Ear C. Surprisingly, I did enjoy the 7 Hz Legato fairly well even though its upper midrange tuning is not quite my cup of tea. I can see why a lot of people do enjoy the Legato.
I found the QKZ x hbb to be surprisingly versatile for being warm, it's a beautiful bit of kit, I felt that warmth through your recordings so i wanted it and I need to pull that set out again but I'm finding it hard to take my cca rhapsody out of my ears, the BA drivers are done so well for a cheap set and the bass kicks with 1&2 up. It can occasionally sound a bit unrefined, but for its price I can't complain. It is an iem you might need to EQ.
There's another set that's said to be tonally very good for about $30 named the EPZ Q1 pro. I blind bought. 😅 Sometimes I like a mystery. But every review ive heard or read is very positive.
Nice vid, as usual. Whats the name of that last track?
Qkz x Hbb is still good here.. but still, fudu is more good with amaizing soundstage..
After changing to HBB, the first sound was unnaturally muffled as if it was under a pillow
This really proves just how >personal< iems and iem tuning really is. Originally I thought balance was always king, but now I can really see that after listening to the Hades for a while you can really get used to the warmth and texture of the bass, like sinking your feet into the warm sand on a sunny beach. It's like the comfort food of iems, where it's not even trying to compete with anything.
Would love to hear more of this with other genres in a sound demo 😉
Your take on Kinera PhoenixCall please
I have the HBB(not the Khan) and i absolutely hate it… and Hades sound… muffled as you said.. its too bass heavy… even for EDM lovers.. i need a middle ground man… 🤌🏽
Thanks a bunch for this review. I’ve been waiting to buy hades as a sort of upgrade over qkz hbb that i also have and gives me goosebumps on the value for money front. I prefer it over my og hbb olinas. But man this video just mafe me realise qkz hbb is brilliant and king in this comparison.
Granted hades is a niche within a niche (more bass in warm bass arena), but again, it shouldn’t come at the cost of so much muffle. Even if I’m not expecting laser sharp imaging or crystal clear natural vocals, it feels DEFECTIVE and not tonally different. The graph held a lot of promise in midrange, but irl not really.
He did give a lot of disclaimers about the hades in his video, that vocal lovers will get their panties in the vag, but i dont reckon he said bass lovers with an eye (ear) for quality bass upfront that INTEGRATES with overall audio clarity will also get their panties in the 🐈.
He’s amazing and honest for most part, and I really like his audio signature. But this feels like a dud.
Thanks for the review man. You just saved my money.
Hades sounds like a bloated mess, I have no idea why HBB released this especially when he already had a bassy IEM with QKZ in his current portfolio.
I own the Fudu, the QKZ HBB and Blon Z300. Despite using my thousand dollars IEM, I still grap the Fudu from time to time just enjoy the warmth of it. For me, the Fudu is more balanced compare to the QKZ HBB, it has less bass, but more air in the upper mid and treble, the vocals are more clear and lively. Plus the Fudu is a way more comfortable IEM. The nozzle is a bit too big on the HBB and the cable is pretty flimsy too. However, having said that, the QKZ HBB is definitely a good IEM for it's price, love the sound too.
you might want to consider a 2nd attempt with a short video on demo-ing with heavy basshead tracks? Kendrick Lamar. The Weeknd. Busta Rhymes. Even EDM. Like from David Guetta. Avicii. Martin Garrix. Armin Van Buuren, etc.
HBB released a video on launch day explaining the rationale behind this set. It's a heavy Basshead set for a very specific target niche. It's not suppose to be versatile at all.
Well it's all about that sweet, sweet sub, clearly. That's probably why it's called Hades, because it goes low. While I wouldn't buy this one because I love treble I can think of at least two of my friends that would love it.
This set, the Hades, it’s meant for EDM, house, deep house, progressive techno, trance, Hip Hop, R&B, heavy rock and metal…that's why it sounds weird in very vocal forward generes. As slothninja5180 said, HBB is trying to recreate a very "subwoofer car-audioish" kind of sound that rumbles in your ears 🙂
Hey man your are amazing and doing wonderful work. I am confused alot in buying iem and i started watching your videos from last one week now thanks man for being Honest Raw and in your review the best part of your video is you understing the pulse of the normal listner who always doesnt care about the technicality. Keep Producing such videos. i am from india and hats off to you and your work
People buy colabs because they're hyped like crazy by youtubers, get that mula. It's sad for me as a consumer.
Maybe good for trance
Honestly, if you don't understand it, why are you reviewing it? This is a niche product and must be reviewed as such. You are stepping out of your competency as much as when HBB reviews neutral sets starts commenting about classical music.
You’ve got to remember, HBB recommended the Fearless Audio Roland which also had no highs.
Got the fudu recently, loving it so far..
If you haven't i think watching his video about the set explains what the intent with the set was the best. A set for the basshead not just enjoying a bit of extra bass. And was not made to be an allrounder. I personally really respect him for tuning a set for fun in a category of audio he enjoys as well, knowing it won't be something everyone is interested in and that will not get the best reviews from people comparing and using it outside of it's intend
tbh i prefer the hades over legato. but qkz sounds better to me compared to hades. definately its muffled. but it gives kind of a lofi feel to it which i would dig depending on mood.
reminds me of when my neighbour haves a party in the weekend 🙂
Obviously I should just watch his video if I would like to understand his intentions. That’s on me. I shouldn’t have asked for him to talk to me or say something here when I can check what he says, for myself, first!
But thank you in any case to everyone who has commented on his behalf who follow his videos closely and understand his target audience and intentions well. Thank you for giving me that insight despite my lack of due diligence to watch him for myself. My life is busy and I really don’t watch what other reviewers produce at all anymore. I’m a reviewer hermit who would rather just talk to the other reviewer if I could. But still, in this case I really should watch him. I’m sure he’s busy too 🙇🏻♂️
Though I do have to say, for people saying this set isn’t meant for me and that I shouldn’t review it or say my opinion…. What? My take as a reviewer is that I’m just one person sharing my own personal tastes. The set may be tuned for bass heads and for a specific set of genres, but I’m still going to say if I don’t like it personally. Even if I try bass heavy music, I still haven’t found joy in it.
And if I do pump up the volume as people suggest so that I could hear the upper end more, and this is a problem with any bass heavy set including the likes of QKZ HBB and FUDU, then the bass is just way too ear damaging loud for me. The idea that we need to dial the volume up to enjoy the recessed upper ends on warm sets is just asking for hearing loss and discomfort. It hurts. So no, I’m not listening past the point of pain on any set I try. And, from what I recall, HBB has said he doesn’t listen to music beyond 80 dB himself (if it’s higher than that you can correct me, but there WAS a limit he set for himself for the sake of hearing protection).
In my opinion, QKZ HBB is fine but too dark for me while the Hades is more darker than that.
Let me buy it to confirm…
Hades is perfect IEM for my dogs library. He is very able to enjoy and appreciate the rhythm and bass aspect of music as animals usualy can, but some other things are too complex for him. I wish there was speacial eartips for him.
Hades blew me away, it did not expect it to sound this muddy, muffled and bloated, thought maybe it is bad unit, it reminded me of super cheap Panasonic earbuds I once had. I saw someone make this comment and it was perfect describtion on how it sounds "cheap car speakers with sub in the back" where you hear only muddy resonance.
QKZ HBB is really illegal too good and crazy cheap, for 10$. I would say its Fatfreq Maestro SE grandson.😂