THE GIANT KILLER
The $99 Kiiboom Allure is a metal body single dynamic driver construction. The Allure uses a “diamond-like carbon” (DLC) polymer diaphragm with three layers of Beryllium. This creates a light diaphragm with high surface tension, with very good acoustic properties. The CNC-machined housing has been carefully designed using acoustic software tools to minimize resonances.
When Kiiboom reached out to me, asking if I wanted to review the Allure, I did not have high expectations. Kiiboom is mainly known for their mechanical keyboards and other non-audio gear. They currently have only two audio offerings in the form of IEMs. I decided to give Kiiboom a chance and accepted the offer. Now, I am truly happy I did, because I sure was in for a pleasant surprise.
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SPECIFICATIONS
- Driver type: Single Beryllium Plated Diaphragm Dynamic Driver
- Impedance: 18 ohm
- Sensitivity: 112 dB
- Frequency Response: 20Hz-40kHz
- Housing material: Metal
- Cable Connector: 0.78 mm 2PIN
- Cable termination 3.5 mm TRS
- Cable length: 125 cm appr.
- Carrying case 16x13x7 cm
IN THE BOX
- Allure In-ear Monitor
- IEM Cable
- Eartips: 3 pairs of silicone type
- Unnecessarily large storage case
We want to thank Kiiboom for providing the review unit.
STANDALONE LISTENING IMPRESSIONS
First, I run through some familiar tracks with the Kiiboom Allure. The amplifier used is a Monolith THX AAA 887, the source is the RME ADI-2 DAC FS.
Dance of the Elders by Muthspiel, Colley and Blade
This album sounds absolutely wonderful with the Allure. The guitar has a warm glow whether it is acoustic or electric. The bass is strong but very textured and well-defined. The treble is very clean and especially fantastic on the song Invocation. The sound stage is wide and deep.
A classical tribute to Astor Piazzolla by Orchestra de Camera Fiorentina
This is a great album with Piazzolla’s tango music with a string orchestra and the fabulous accordion player Mario S. Pietrodarchi.
The strings are beautifully rendered and it is easy to follow every instrument line. The accordion sounds great. The soundstage is again wide and deep with good imaging and separation.
Anthologie by Solveig Slettahjell
An album by “The Queen of Slow Jazz Songs”. Solveig’s vocals are warm, textured and nuanced. The piano has body and clarity, and percussion and other background instruments have a very spacious quality to them.
Assume Form by James Blake
There’s lots of great bass in this album. The Allure delivers the goods, but it is no bass-head IEM. The bass is tight and deep, but well-defined and neutral in quantity. Vocals sound great and natural, and percussion and other various instruments too. Again, spatial qualities are excellent.
I do indeed like this the Kiiboom Allure very, very much. Let’s move on to see how it holds up against the competition:
COMPARISONS
The amplifier used during all comparisons is the Monolith THX AAA 887, the source is the RME ADI-2 DAC FS. This is a powerful and expensive desktop setup. Using this I can be certain that no headphone is underpowered. However, the results of comparisons can vary with different upstream gear.
KIIBOOM ALLURE VS KIWI EARS QUARTET
The Kiwi Ears Quartet is a 4-driver IEM designed to have a bass shelf boost below 350Hz. Two switches regulate the bass and the treble. The stock setting is high bass and high treble. However, I start with the Quartet’s switches set to low bass and high treble. With this configuration for the Quartet, the Quartet and the Allure are not very different. The Kiiboom is a bit more precise and spacious, whilst the Quartet has a more velvety and smooth mid-range presentation, albeit with more treble energy.
The Quartet, however, has a few tricks up its sleeve. In the low bass low treble configuration, the Quartet is smooth as butter, also in the treble. The Kiiboom is tighter and crispier. I like both. Setting the Quartet in the stock configuration of high bass and high treble boosts the bass considerably whilst the treble is clearer. The Kiiboom isn’t bass-light but the Quartet is more serious about bass quantity, to put it that way. The treble is cleaner with the Allure.
The Kiwi Quartet is a smooth performer, with at least three great sound signatures to choose from. The Quartet has a smoother, more silky character, especially in the mid-range. The treble and bass vary heavily with the settings. Relative bass amounts vary heavily with the switch settings. However, it really delivers a hefty bass experience in the stock configuration. I do, however, find that the Allure has better all-round resolution, deeper and wider soundstage, better imaging and tighter bass.
LETSHUOER x GIZAUDIO GALILEO VS KIIBOOM ALLURE
The Galileo is a $110 Dual-Driver Hybrid IEM. It has both a dynamic driver and a balanced armature driver. It’s made of resin rather than metal and is a bit bigger than the Allure.
Depak Ine by John Talabot
The Allure has lots of detail and a great soundstage. The bass is tight and has a satisfying amount of punch.
The Galileo has less bass presence, it also feels less tight. It too has much detail, but feels a bit dry, crowded and disorganized compared to the Allure.
Never Forget The Good Ones by Solveig Slettahjell
The Galileo sounds very good, spacious, open and clean. Moving over to the Allure, however, things get even cleaner and the soundstage even more open. Vocals get a bit more body. The bass is more powerful, the general presentation has a bit more warmth.
Vivaldi 4 Seasons by the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra
Great performance by the Allure. Tons of detail and, a great textured presentation of the strings. Punchy and dynamic. The Galileo also delivers a solid presentation quite similar to the Allure. Great sense of space, here it’s maybe even more spacious than the Allure, but not as punchy. Galileo is more airy and ethereal. They are both great.
Compare Manuel by Vicente Amigo
The Allure sounds punchy and authoritative, with lots of detail and great sense of space and a hint of warmth. The Galileo has less bass and punch. It’s more ethereal sounding, more airy. The Allure has great spatial qualities, I don’t think the Galileo is better, however, the impression is that the music is less grounded and lighter.
Muggen Fallskjerm by Jøkleba
The Galileo has some bass when called for and the bass drum sounds good. The presentation is very detailed and airy sounding. The Allure has a lot more bass punch, though. It’s also very detailed and spacious. In addition, it has some nice warmth. The Galileo can sound a bit dry.
Hav Av Tid by Ola Bremnes
Slow male vocals and acoustic music. The Allure is quite warmish and full sounding, yet retaining lots of space and detail. Galileo is also very good. A little less warmth, and bass presence but they are quite similar with this song.
Concluding: These are two extremely good headphones for the money. Both are very detailed and spacious. The Allure has significantly more bass quantity and quality. It is also tighter sounding and better articulated, while also generally being a bit warmer sounding. The Galileo can sometimes sound a little dry and might benefit from a warmer-sounding amp.
On the practical side, the Allure is a bit easier to drive than the Galileo. It is also smaller and can comfortably rest in your ear while you are lying on your side.
LETSHUOER S12 PRO VS KIIBOOM ALLURE
The S12 is a $160 planar magnetic single-driver IEM. It is built of metal and it is quite similar in shape and size to the Allure, just a tad bigger. It requires a bit more power.
Hav Av Tid by Ola Bremnes
The S12 has a powerful bass. The male vocals are very full-sounding. The general presentation is very good but the sound-stage is smaller than with the Allure. The Allure also has better treble. The S12 has more bass and a bit fuller presentation but they are not very different.
Muggen Fallskjerm by Jøkleba
The bass drum hits very hard with the S12. It sounds generally thicker and fuller than the Allure. The Allure is more spacious and has better instrument separation.
Vivaldi 4 Seasons by the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra
They don’t sound miles apart, but I find the Allure to have better treble with more clarity and detail. The Allure is also a bit more spacious sounding. The S12 is good but I find the Allure to be better.
Sue by David Bowie
The Allure has lots of bass and detail, great separation and imaging. The S12 Pro doesn’t have more bass on this track, again I find them quite similar in many ways but the Allure has the edge in the treble and spatial qualities.
Bored by Deftones
The S12 Pro has a polite treble and allows you to play at high volumes without fatigue which is a good thing with metal. The Allure sounds quite different on this track. It has both more bass and treble energy. I find that it has a better separation and more detail but I cannot play as loud without fatigue – but I don’t feel the need to either.
These two headphones have lots in common. They both have plentiful bass and the sound signature is not too far apart. Sometimes, the Allure has more bass, sometimes the S12 Pro. The treble is always more pronounced with the Allure, though – in a good way. I generally find it to have more fine detail and better sound stage and imaging.
SENNHEISER IE200 VS. KIIBOOM ALLURE
The Sennheiser IE200 is a $150 single-driver IEM with a tiny plastic body. The IE200 sounds offensively close to the IE600, so it’s a great IEM. It requires significantly more power to reach the same loudness level as the Allure.
Limit to Your Love by James Blake
They sound remarkably similar on this track. And they both sound remarkably good. The bass is full and deep with both but still very controlled. The bass seems to be a bit better with the Allure. I think this might have something to do with the metal body. I also remember that IE200 had less precise bass than the metal-body bigger brother, IE600. The soundstage is open and wide and there is plenty of detail with both, even though the IE200 seems to have slightly more mid-range detail than the Allure.
Reload by Ministry
This is a very noisy track. Again, I found the two headphones to sound pretty similar but the Allure has more energy in the higher mid-range and treble – while still having great bass presence. The IE200 sounds a bit fuller and darker, but not much. Detail and separation are quite similar.
Irish Blood, English Heart by Morrissey
The bass is more punchy with the Allure, and the vocals/mid-range are more upfront. I also find the Allure to have great separation.
Nevermind by Leonard Cohen
They sound quite similar across the frequency range. The Allure actually sounds a bit more open with better separation.
The Young Vivaldi Violin Concerto in D by Ensemble Modo Antiquo
Again they sound similar. Not identical but they are close both in sound signature and technicalities.
In conclusion, I am pretty surprised at how good the Allure holds up against the IE200. Not just when its price is taken into account, but in absolute terms. My preference varied a bit from track to track but more often than not I preferred the Allure.
MOONDROP KATO VS KIIBOOM ALLURE
The $190 Kato is, like the Allure, a single-driver IEM. It is also made of metal but bigger and heavier than the Allure.
Maple Noise by Greene Serene
This bass and percussion-heavy track sounds great with the Kato. Very punchy, dynamic and spacious. I could say the same about the Allure. The Kato sounds a bit fuller and meatier, and the Allure a bit more spacious. The Allure isn’t inferior at all, despite the price difference.
As Before by Olga Konkova
Very dynamic, natural-sounding and dynamic presentation from the Kato. And again, the Allure is on the same level, just a bit different. More upper midrange energy and more spacious.
It Could Be Sweet by Portishead
I’m begging to repeat myself. Both are fabulous.
Bored by Deftones
Once again they both sound great. Great bass, good punch, lots of detail and good separation. The Allure is tuned a little bit more towards the upper midrange, making vocals sound slightly less meaty.
Holberg Suite by 1B1
Another good performance from the Allure. Very effortless, detailed and spacious. When I listen to it on its own it is great. There is, however, something slightly off about the tuning when I compare it to the Kato, which sounds more natural. Not much, but a little more warmth in the mids which really sounds nice.
Vivaldi Recomposed Spring 1 by Max Richter
More strings. It is the same here – the Allure seems to have more energy in the upper mids, making the strings sound less weighted. It is a minor thing, they are both great, but I prefer the Kato.
Unfinished Sympathy (2012 mix/master) by Massive Attack
The bass is great with the Allure and it has lots of space and detail. Similarly, the Kato performs extremely well. Again, it’s not as spacious sounding, but has that slightly meaty mid-range instead.
In conclusion, these are both equally great IEMs. They are punchy with great bass, offer a natural sound signature, good soundstage and clarity. The Kato has a slightly more even bass response and less upper midrange energy, which can make it sound warmer. The Allure has better clarity and spatial qualities. To me, they are on the same level, and that makes the Allure really great value.
AMPLIFICATION
So far, I’ve primarily used my powerful desktop rig as the source and amplifier for the Kiiboom Allure. With its 16-ohm impedance and 112 dB sensitivity, it’s not an excessively demanding load for a portable setup. When connected to my LG V40 phone, it delivers very good sound, though the volume needs to be set close to maximum. However, with the Dragonfly Black, the volume is set quite low, and the audio quality is noticeably improved compared to the phone. The Dragonfly Red takes the sound quality even further. The THX Onyx is also a great option, with a less “meaty” sound compared to the Dragonflies. I think my favourite of the three dongles is the Red, although the differences aren’t very big. While the desktop rig offers the best performance, all of these portable solutions are excellent choices.
CONCLUSION
The Kiiboom Allure is a fabulous-sounding pair of IEMs. They have deep and punchy bass with good texture, clear and open-sounding mid-range and clean, airy treble. They sound natural, balanced and engaging. The build quality is excellent and they are very comfortable. The Kiiboom Allure is great value for money, competing both in sound and build quality with much more expensive IEMs.
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