REVIEW – I’m back with another, more affordable offering from Kiiboom, a company I had never heard of until I reviewed their, in my opinion, stellar IEMs, the Evoke. I loved the Evoke but admit the price could be prohibitive. But are you tired of only getting 4-6 hours out of your Bluetooth earbuds? Do you prefer wired headphones, earbuds, or IEMs for their reliability, ease of use, and more often than not, better sound quality? I know I am. But what if you don’t want or can’t drop $200 on a set but still want great sound? Could the Kiiboom Allure be your answer? I think they could be. Read on to find out.
What is it?
The Kiiboom Allure is a set of in-ear monitors containing single beryllium-plated diaphragm dynamic drivers.
What’s in the box?
- Kiiboom Allure IEMs
- Braided cable
- Large, medium, and small silicone ear tips
Hardware specs
- Driver Information – Single Beryllium Plated Diaphragm Dynamic Driver
- Impedance – 18ohm
- Sensitivity – 112db
- Cable Connector – 0.78mm 2PIN
- Frequency Response – 20-40kHz
Design and features
Let me set the tone for the rest of this review. The Kiiboom Allure IEMs are usually $99. No, they aren’t going to blow any $200 or more IEMs out of the water. They do, however, punch above their weight for their price, in my opinion, although I’m no audiophile. My champagne taste for audio equipment is overridden by my beer budget. So what makes these so special?
To begin with, the Allure has beryllium-plated diaphragms. Master and Dynamic, who produce audio equipment well beyond my reach, say they use the same type of technology in their offerings. To quote Master and Dynamic, when asked why they use beryllium, “One big reason: it’s expensive. But here at Master & Dynamic, we like to use the best. And beryllium is pretty much the best, second only to diamonds. So the ideal material you use is very light, but also exceptionally rigid. Beryllium checks both those boxes beautifully. It has one of the highest strength-to-weight ratios of all materials.” So you can see right there Kiiboom is incorporating features in much more expensive head and earphones at a much more affordable price.
The Kiiboom Allure also uses single dynamic drivers saying, “While balanced armature drivers provide easy workability in an earphone setting due to their small size, they cannot compare to the sheer power, tonal coherency, and acoustic timbre a full-sized dynamic driver can provide.” Since I’m not an audiophile, I can’t really say if that’s true or not. I will say that when comparing the Allure to some other earbuds I’ve tried that boasted of balanced armature drivers, the Allure sounds much richer with a more rounded sound.
The housing of the Kiiboom Allure was designed to get them tonally accurate like a studio monitor. The housings were produced using CNC to ensure there were no parallel surfaces, which they say prevents the cancellation of soundwaves inside. I think they look terrific. I can’t tell if there’s wood in them or just resin, but don’t they look a million times better than boring old plastic?
Kiiboom includes three sets of silicone ear tips in the case with the Allure, small, medium, and large.
I wish they offered some foam tips. Silicone slips out of my ears too easily. This slipping out breaks the seal between my ears and the outside world, and a good seal is what you need with pretty much all earbuds to get optimal sound. When first inserted, the Allure sound great, so if silicone works for you, these should make you happy. I plan to get some foam tips so I can continue to use them.
Kiiboom also uses a 4-strand, braided cable with 2-pin connectors, so each conductor is individually shielded. I’m assuming this is done to avoid any electromagnetic interference. I’m sure someone out there can tell me if I’m wrong. So if you know, let me know! The cables also have ear loops to help keep the IEMs where they should be. The loops slip over the ears and run down the back of them, preventing them from falling out of your ears easily. Trust me, you want this for IEMs because they’re typically heavier than regular earbuds.
Performance
So how do they sound? They sound really good when you consider the price. I’m spoiled by the Kiiboom Evoke which are 2 and 1/2 times the price, but for less than $100, the Allure sound better than most other offerings at the same price or more. Again, most of this depends on getting that good seal in your ears. When I had that, I was impressed. The sound stage was not as large as the Evoke, but it was comparable to my old set of Shure earbuds that I paid $170 -ish for back before I had all of my tribe. Yes, they’re old, but they sounded great then and still sound great now, and the Allure can compete with them. High ends aren’t as bright as I’d like, and the bass can get muddy at times, depending on what you’re listening to, but again at this price point, I can forgive that.
Let’s talk about the cable. I like that it’s braided, and the color looks great. The ear loops work perfectly. I like the use of the 2-pin connector. But what I don’t like is how easily they get tangled. The Evoke had a coating on the cables that kept them from tangling, so I wish Kiiboom had done the same thing here. It was a little frustrating having to spend time unraveling them each time I took them out.
Another thing I don’t like has nothing to do with the IEMs themselves but the comically large case they come in. I had the same problem with the Kiiboom Evoke monitors. That case is inconvenient, to say the least. Sure, you could put it in your bag, but it’s roughly 6.5 in x 5 in x 2 3/4 in in size. There’s no way you’d get it in your pocket.
Finally, this gripe I already mentioned. Kiiboom needs to offer other types of ear tips for their IEMs. I want FOAM.
What I like
- Sound great for the price
- The looks
- Premium materials
What I’d change
- More ear tips
- A reasonably sized case
- Coated cables like the Evoke
Final thoughts
You could do a lot worse for more money when comparing IEMs. The Allure are high quality, great sounding, and won’t break the bank. The Kiiboom Allure in-ear monitors are comfortable too. I wore them for hours on end with no discomfort. They were a welcome addition to my EDC on the work trip I took recently, allowing me to watch movies and listen to music while plane hopping and taking Uber rides. They aren’t replacing my Kiiboom Evokes, but they will be replacing my wife’s hand-me-down buds, the aforementioned Shures. I know she’ll be thrilled!
Price: $99.00
Where to buy: Kiiboom and Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Kiiboom.
