Kinera IDUN Golden Review
Kinera IDUN Golden (IDUN 2.0) Review
Introduction:
Kinera Electronic Co. Ltd. is a well-known Chinese HiFi Brand that is specialized in the production, design and development of portable audio equipment’s such like “In-Ear Monitors and TWS Earbuds”. The company is also known for its attention to the design of their products and the packaging.
- The motto of the Company is “LIVE ONLY FOR HONOR”.
The IDUN Golden aka IDUN 2.0 is the successor of the highly popular IDUN In-Ear Monitor that was released back in 2018. The IDUN Golden comes with a Hybrid Driver Configuration, which is a combination of 1x Knowles + 1x Kinera Custom Balanced Armature Driver & 1x 7mm diameter Titanium Plated Dome Dynamic Driver, which are located inside a impressive looking monitors shell.
Disclaimer:
I would like to thank Kinera for providing me the IDUN Golden sample for review purposes. I am not affiliated with Kinera beyond this review and all these words reflect my true and unaltered opinions about the product.
Price & Availability:
The Kinera IDUN Golden comes with a pretty competitive price that is actually 169.00 US$. More information’s can be found under the link below;
Package and Accessories:
Kinera is known with its attention to the design of their monitors and to its packaging, which makes it to one of my favorite companies when it comes to the presentation of their products.
The IDUN Golden (aka IDUN 2.0) comes inside a relative small (compared to the NORN and SKULD) stylish hexagonal box that shows some product related brandings and the “Tree of Life”, which is a part of the Norse Mythology.
Inside the box are the following contents/accessories;
- 1x pair of Kinera IDUN Golden (IDUN 2.0 ) In-Ear Monitors
- 1x 8 cores OFC+ OFC with silver plated modular cable
- 1x Modular Adapter 4.4mm & 3.5mm
- 7x pairs ( K-07 & K-285-02 ) of Kinera Custom ear tips
- 2x pairs of Foam tips.
- 1x PU Case with inner velvet protection
- 1x 3.5mm to 6.35mm adapter
- 1x User Manual
The IDUN Golden comes with a pretty rich set of ear tips, which includes Foam Ear Tips, Kinera K-07 Balanced Ear Tips (Red, Green and Yellow Color) and Kinera K-285-02 Vocal Ear Tips (in Skin Color).
Inside the box is a fancy looking zipper carry case with a velvet inner protection.
It comes also with 2 different adaptors, one 3.5mm SE to 6.35mm SE adaptor and one 4.4mm Modular Adaptor, which is part of the interchangeable modular cable design.
Design, Fit and Build Quality:
Kinera IDUN Golden features an impressive looking hand-painted shell design. The faceplate features the illustration of the “Tree of Life”, which is IDUN’s Blessing, a part of the Norse Mythology. The shells are crafted using high-precision 3D printing technology.
The IDUN Golden features three-way frequency crossover with a dual acoustic tube design. The 7mm dynamic driver handles the lows; the Knowles RAF-32873 BA driver produces the midrange, while the Kinera custom BTC-30095 BA driver is responsible for the highs.
The amazing looking “Hand Painted” faceplate is the highlight of the IDUN Golden that features the Kinera Branding logo and the illustration of the “Tree of Life”, which is IDUN’s Blessing, a part of the Norse Mythology.
The Kinera IDUN Golden is available in two main color options that are combination of black blue and white blue. More over you have the chance to choose one of the 10 random color options.
My review unit shows a color combination of black, blue and gold that looks really gorgeous.
On the top of each monitor shell is the one 0.78mm diameter 2Pin female connector that offer a pretty tight and secure connection with the male connectors of the detachable cable.
At the rear side of the monitor shell is a small opening, which is a vent dedicated for the 7mm Titanium Plated Dome Dynamic Driver that is responsible for the lower frequency production.
The sound nozzle has 2 bores on the top for the Three-Way Frequency Crossover with Dual Acoustic Tube Cavity Structure.
The build quality of the IDUN Golden (aka IDUN 2.0) is decent like any other IEM that I have reviewed from Kinera.
The Cable:
Kinera IDUN Golden comes with their new 8-core OFC+Silver-Plated OFC cable. The cable has 25 strands of 0.05mm Silver-plated OFC wires and 25 strands of 0.06mm OFC wires with PVC outer insulation.
The 0.78mm diameter 2Pin connectors do have metal housing. The cable features also flexible heat shrink ear guides on both sides, which offers extra comfort, especially on the go.
Each connector sports Left and Right markings, which are Red for Right and Blue for the Left connector.
The detachable cable has a y-splitter and chin slider with a fancy shape, which are made from the same metal material like the connector and headphone jack housing.
The cable has a swappable termination plug system with 4.4mm balanced and 3.5mm single-ended termination plugs included in the package. The headphone jack has a straight profiled metal housing with the Kinera brand logo on the top. 
The design/appearance and overall build quality of cable is very good for a product at this price range.
Fit, Comfort & Isolation:
The monitor size and shape of the Kinera IDUN Golden is pretty small and very comfortable, which was created by the shape of the cavity that is more in line with the Asian auricle. The monitors are also very lightweight with about 3.9grams, since the housing is made by 3D printed resin material.
The passive noise isolation is above average, which makes the Kinera IDUN Golden ideal for the use in relative noise environments such like a bus or train.
Drivability & Pairing:
The Kinera IDUN Golden has a impedance of 32Ω and a sensitivity of 112dB. This values makes the IDUN Golden to a fairly efficient IEM for the use with relative weak sources like Smartphone’s, Tablet’s and DAP’s that do have a weak amplification. However, what I have found out that the IDUN Golden sounds much better when you pair it with powerful sources such like DAP’s with better amplification (iBasso DX300, iBasso DX220 MAX) and even better with Desktop Amplifiers (Soncoz QXA1).
Technical Specifications:
- Model : IDUN Golden aka IDUN 2.0
- Driver Combination : 2x BA + 1x DD with 7mm Dia. Titanium-Plated Dome Diaphragm
- Sensitivity : 112 ± 2dB
- Impedance : 32 Ω
- Frequency Range : 20 Hz – 20 kHz
- Rated Power : 3mW
- Dynamic Distortion : <3% (1kHz, 100dB SPL)
- Connector Type : 0.78mm Diameter 2-Pin
- Cable Length : about 120cm
- Plug Type : 3.5mm TRS, 6.35mm TRS (via adapter), 4.4mm TRRRS
Remarkable Features:
- Hand-painted Monitor Shell
- 1x Knowles + 1x Kinera Custom Balanced Armature Driver
- 1x 7mm Diameter Titanium Coated Dome Dynamic Driver
- Three-way frequency crossover
- Dual Acoustic Tube Design
- High-quality Silver-plated OFC cable with swappable termination plugs
- Premium set of accessories including high-quality ear tips and premium carry case
Equipment’s used for this review:
IEM’s : Kinera IDUN Golden, Ranko Acoustics RIE-880, BGVP NS9
Sources : HiBy RS6, iBasso DX220MAX, iBasso DX300, Soncoz QXA1
Albums & tracks used for this review:
- Adele – My Little Love (Spotify)
- Randy Crawford – On Day I Will Fly Away (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Hayley Westenra – Odyssey Album (Dezzer HiFi)
- Dionne Warwick – Walk On By (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Sarah McLachlan – Angel (Flac 24bit/48kHz)
- Sertap Erener – Aşk (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Edith Piaf – Non Je Ne Regrette Rien (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Diana Krall – So Wonderful (DSF)
- Aretha Franklin – I Say A Little Payer (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
- David Bowie – Heroes (Flac 24bit/192kHz)
- Elton John – Rocket Man ((Flac 24bit/96kHz)
- Barry White – Just The Way You Are (Flac 24bit/48kHz)
- Isaac Hayes – Walk On By (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Sting – Englishman in New York – (Flac 24bit/48kHz)
- Eric Clapton – Wonderful Tonight (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
- B.B. King – Riding With The King (Tidal Hi-Fi)
- Dave Gahan – Kingdom (Tidal Hi-Fi)
- U2 – Sunday Bloody Sunday (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Bro Safari, UFO! – Drama (Deezer HiFi)
- Armin Van Buuren – Vini Vici (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Really Slow Motion – Deadwood (Deezer HiFi)
- Massive Attack – Angel (Flac 24bit/192kHz)
- Twerl – Lishu (Spotify)
- Lorde – Royal (Flac 24bit/48kHz)
- Toutant – Rebirth (Deezer HiFi)
- Gogo Penguin – Raven (Flac 24bit/192kHz)
- Portishead – It Could Be Sweet (Spotify)
- Charly Antolini – Duwadjuwandadu (Flac 24bit/192kHz)
- Michael Jackson – Billie Jean (Flac 24bit/192kHz)
- Ferit Odman – Look, Stop & Listen (Flac 24bit/192kHz)
- Chopin – Nocturn No. 20 In C-Sharp Minor (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Fazıl Say – Nazım Oratoryosu (Live) (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Vivaldi – Le QuarttroStagioni “The Four Season” (Deezer HiFi)
- Otto Liebert& Luna Negra – The River (Flac 24bit/192kHz)
- Lunatic Soul – The Passage (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Deftones – My Own Summer (Shove it) (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Photek – The Hiden Camera (Spotify)
- Muse – Hysteria (Flac 24bit/48kHz)
- Metallica – Sad but True (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
- Opeth – Windowpane (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Megadeth – Sweating Bullets (Tidal Hi-Fi)
- Rush – YYZ (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Rush – Leave That Thing Alone (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Slayer – Angel of Death (Spotify)s
- Liquid Tension Experiment 2 – Acid Rain (Spotify)
- Yosi Horikawa – Bubbles (Spotify)
The Sound:
The Kinera IDUN Golden is a mildly bright yet pretty natural and balanced sounding In-Ear Monitor that is ideal for longer listening periods, since neither the bass nor the treble range sounds overly emphasized.
The lower frequency shows pretty clean, moderate deep and fairly controlled tuning, while the midrange is the star of the show, which is produced in a very natural and balanced manner that shows a nicely touch of warmness. The treble range on the other is mildly pronounced, pretty smooth yet detailed, and offers a sufficient level of airiness and extension.
The Kinera IDUN Golden review has been written after a burn-in process of about 70 Hours. I can confirm that the IDUN Golden sounds much better after the first 20 hours, while I couldn’t hear any significant changes after the next 50 hours. I have used the stock cable and the Kinera’s K-07 Balanced Ear Tips that are part of the standard packaging.
Bass:
The Kinera IDUN Golden has a fairly soft and warm subbass tonality, with above average sense of clarity. The depth and rumble of this area is on a moderate level that is pretty sufficient with a wide variety of genres, with expectation of bass heavy ones like Dubstep, Bassline, Glitch Hop, etc. The subbass depth and rumble in Massive Attack’s “Angle” or Portishead’s “It Could Be Sweet” is pretty entertaining and enjoyable.
The IDUN Golden shows fairly balanced midbass character with a soft and clean presentation, without to show any muddiness and mixings. The emphasis is on a moderate level and is not very dominant in the general presentation. The midbass that is produced by the 7mm diameter Titanium Plated Dome Dynamic Driver shows in general a pretty good sense of attack and efficient level of intensity with instruments in metal music such like cross, double cross or snare drums.
The IDUN Golden offers good level of resolution and layering in this area especially for an In-Ear Monitor at this price range.
Midrange:
The Kinera IDUN Golden has a close to neutral, mildly bright, transparent and pretty detailed midrange presentation, which is not too laid back or to upfront. It shows a quite natural and balanced character from the lower midrange up to the upper midrange area.
The IDUN Golden is a quite successful In-Ear Monitor, when it comes to both female and male vocals that do sounds quite natural, silky smooth yet musical. The lower midrange is produced with an adequate grade of depth and body when I do listen to male vocals like Dave Gahan, Sting or Eric Clapton, while the level of clarity and resolution is on an efficient level.
The upper midrange of the Kinera IDUN Golden do sound nicely pronounced without to show any annoying type of sibilance or sharpness. Female vocals from Adel and Diana Krall to Sarah McLachlan are reproduced in a very controlled yet lively manner. The female vocals are shown with a mildly warm tonality, while the extension is on a sufficient level.
The instrument tonality of the Kinera IDUN Golden is pretty neutral, slightly bright and shows nice touch of warmness. The general instruments presentation is pretty transparent and spacious, which makes the separation of the instruments quite easy, while the positioning is decent for an In-Ear Monitor at this price level.
For example, string instruments such as guitars do have a sweet and warmish tonality, while pianos are nicely pronounced but do get never harsh even at higher volume level. Overall, the general instrument presentation of the IDUN Golden can be described as transparent, smooth and detailed.
Upper Midrange & Treble:
The Kinera IDUN Golden offers a pretty good upper midrange emphasis, which has a close to natural tonality. The upper midrange is quite transparent and spacious, and the transitions are in general controlled. You will not hear any unnecessary sharpness or over brightness in this area, which is a remarkable feature of this IEM.
The upper midrange is detailed and has a good extension. The extension and emphasis shows a good performance from female vocals to the instruments. The violins are lightly shiny, while the bow tractions air fairly fast and nicely controlled.
The Kinera IDUN Golden has a mildly highlighted, airy and well extending treble presentation. The treble range sounds never too harsh. The general treble intensity and sharpness of the IDUN Golden sounds pretty well tuned and shows a good sense of speed, separation and control for a product at this price level.
For example; the cymbals in trash metal are fast and obvious. Instruments such like Hi-hats are little bit laid back in presentation but are clearly to hear, while crash cymbals do sound controlled and are shown with a tight and well extending manner. The general treble presentation is quite pleasant when I do listen to a wide variety of genres, which is pretty satisfying for its price, from rock to jazz, from pop to electronic music, while it has not enough bite that is needed for treble intensive genres such as metal music.
Soundstage & Imaging:
The Kinera IDUN Golden offers a nice 3D like soundstage atmosphere with good sense of depth and a quite impressive level of wideness, which allows enough space for a fairly precise placement of instruments and vocals.
Comparisons:
Kinera IDUN Golden versus Ranko Acoustics RIE-880:
The Ranko Acoustics RIE-880 shows a warmer tonality and fuller overall presentation compared to the Kinera IDUN Golden, which has a more natural tonality and balanced presentation with better sense clarity and airiness.
The subbass of the RIE-880 has more depth, rumble and extension than those of the IDUN Golden. However, the IDUN Golden offers a higher level of clarity, resolution and control in this area. The midbass of the RIE-880 sounds more impactful, dense and colored, while the IDUN Golden shows a more balanced presentation that stands out with its better grade of authority and transparency.
The midrange of the Ranko Acoustics RIE-880 has a warmer tonality and sounds slightly fuller compared to the midrange of the Kinera IDUN Golden that has a more neutral, transparent and lively presentation. The lower midrange of the RIE-880 offers slightly more body and depth, while the IDUN Golden shows a slightly higher grade of clearness and macro resolution in this area.
The upper midrange and treble region of both the Ranko Acoustics RIE-880 and the Kinera IDUN Golden sounds nicely controlled and is free of sibilance or sharpness. The upper midrange and treble region of the IDUN Golden is slightly more pronounced, and shows in general better level of clarity, resolution and extension.
The soundstage of the Kinera IDUN Golden is slightly more successful in terms of depth and wideness, while it is clearly superior when it comes to the separation and placement of instruments and vocals.
Kinera IDUN Golden versus BGVP NS9:
The general presentation of the BGVP NS9 is slightly warmer than neutral and shows a strong subbass presence, with pronounced upper midrange and a fairly forgiving treble tuning.
The BGVP NS9 has in general a warmer and fuller tonality compared to those of the Kinera IDUN Golden, which offers a better sense of clarity and resolution from the lows up to the highs.
Both the subbass and the midbass area of the BGVP NS9 is more highlighted, impactful and dominant in direct comparison to the Kinera IDUN Golden that shows a better sense of speed, control and resolution. The NS9 sounds a bit too bommy in the midbass area, where the IDUN Golden shows a better grade of authority.
The Kinera IDUN Golden is more successful when it comes to the overall vocal performance due to the more forward & highlighted midrange tuning. Male and female vocals do sound more transparent, musical and natural, while the BGVP NS9 suffers in this regarding.
When it comes to the treble range I can say that the Kinera IDUN Golden has the upper hand in terms of treble extension and detail retrieval, while the BGVP NS9 offers an average level of resolution and technicality.
The soundstage of the Kinera IDUN Golden is slightly more expansive and airy, and offers also a better level of wideness, while the BGVP NS9 has the slightly edge when it comes to the depth of the stage.
Conclusion:
The Kinera IDUN Golden is a piece of art with its Hand Painted wonderful looking monitor shell and faceplate design that is inspired from the “Tree of Life”, which is IDUN’s Blessing and a part of the Norse Mythology. Moreover, it shows a very balanced, pretty transparent and nicely natural sound presentation from the lows up to the highs, which makes it to an In-Ear Monitor that you will highly enjoy even after longer listening periods.
Pros & Cons:
- + Nicely Balanced, Natural & Musical Sound Character
- + Clarity & Vocal Performance
- + Silky Smooth & Controlled Upper Midrange & Treble
- + Amazing Monitor Design!
- + Fit & Comfort
- + Rich Set of Accessories (Cable with Modular Plugs, Various Ear Tips, Fancy Carry Case)
- – Not the most ideal choice if you are a Bass- or Treble-Head
- – Needs a Powerful Source to show its True Potential
Thank you for the Read!
