Kinera BD005 Pro

If you prefer a IEM with tight articulate bass and a emphasis on Vocals and highs this one's for you.

I paid for this IEM from Amazon a while ago and was benched for a good year while new ones came. I kept this arround to remind me what a bright IEM sounds like as a reference.

My preference is brighter IEM's that focus on clarity and stage and I am also a unapologetic bass head.

The DB005 Pro does not check all those boxes for me but there are people who will appreciate it.

I used it on the following sources- Hiby WU1 , Shanling UP5 and Hiby R6 2020, Geshelli AKM J2 DAC, Topping A90D and Loxji P20 amps.

Best pairing to bring out the best for me was the AKM DAC the warmer the better. A pure tube amp would excell here.

I used a 300 level filter on nozel but should have used a Olina level 500 to tame the highs. Pure copper cable and I prefer wide bore nozels for stage. I tried tip rolling with spin fit and KBEAR 07 and 08 tips as well as Final E.

Sound profile, and impressions:

On busy tracks bass gets muddy and loses its composure just can't keep up.
At high volumes gets shouty. I like bright but it's too much for me.
If it had bass to balance then that would change the tuning overall but alas it's too shy on that department.

On a rating of 1-10
Sub Bass Quality (5)
Sub Bass Quantity (4)
Mid Bass (4)
Mids / Vocals (8.5)
Highs (4)
Highs with 450 level filter to tame (7)
Staging (3)
Stereo Seperation (3)
Value - Subjective IMHO at current prices and competition at $50+ NOV 2022 (1)

If it was sold say at $15 this should appeal to some with its tuning and build quality who want clarity and non Bass head level bass.

Firstly I would like to thank HiFiGO for sending this sample for me to review.

*disclaimer: This sample was provided for the purpose of writing a review, no incentive was given to write a favourable review. All opinions expressed are my own subjective findings

Gear Used:
Pixel 3a / iBasso DX200 > BD005 Pro (Silicone tips)



Tech Specs:
3D Printed Earpieces
9.2mm Beryllium Diaphragm Dynamic Driver Unit
Custom tuned 30095 series high-frequency BA driver
2-Pin 0.78mm Connectors
Impedance: 26Ω
Frequency Response Range: 20Hz-20kHz
Sensitivity: 108±2dB
Termination Plug: 3.5mm

Packaging, Build Quality and Accessories

The BD005 Pro come in typical Kinera packaging, a nice quality hexagonal box with the model printed on the front and specifications on the back, open up the box and you’ll find the carry case held in a foam insert. The earphones are in the carry case, you also get a user manual and also a card with all of Kinera’s social channels for you to joining their community. These are nice little touches and add to the unboxing experience, especially for the price.

The BD005 Pro are very well built, the 3D printed housings feel really sturdy and the 2-pin sockets and detachable cable are all of great quality too. The cable is the normal black twisted variety with mic and controls for smartphone use, these are designed for portable use and are easily driven from a phone, there is good strain relief and the moulded earhooks are comfortable.

Accessory wise you get a basic clamshell carry case and 3 pairs of silicone tips (S/M/L) – this isn’t a lot to be honest and a few more tips would have been nice. For the price you can’t really complain, but Kinera do only include the essentials with these.

Comfort and Isolation

The BD005 Pro are well designed, the housings are smooth and comfortable in the ear once you settle on the right tips. The cable is soft and falls neatly behind your ears, all in all they are great for daily use and long listening sessions.

Isolation is also good, they are vented so don’t expect sealed BA model levels of isolation, but they block out more than enough outside noise for most daily usage.



Sound

Lows: Being a dual driver hybrid setup you have a single dynamic driver handling the lows/mids and a BA handling the treble, the beryllium driver of the BD005 Pro is very clean and controlled though, whilst still having that dynamic driver tactility. The low end hits with good impact, and digs deep when called for, but it is very articulate and responsive never becoming bloated. The BD005 Pro are tuned to sound quite flat, with some EQ you could easily bring out a little more impact and presence, but I find this tuning to be really enjoyable and it works well with multiple genres. The lows don’t bleed in to the midrange, there is a slight sub-bass lift in the BD005 Pro which adds to the overall sound providing some body and rumble in a subtle way.

Midrange: Due to the lows not bleeding into the midrange, male vocals cut through with excellent presence and clarity, really impressive in this price range. Vocals could perhaps have a tiny bit more warmth to sound a little more natural, but they are not thin or too clinical luckily, there is also really good layering in the midrange which helps with the separation and sense of space. There is a tiny hint of sibilance in the upper midrange, but it isn’t problematic to my ears the lack of excessive warmth is good when it comes to more aggressive music as guitars have the power and edge to cut through the mix without being drowned out. If you enjoy a clean midrange these could be a great option in this price range.

Treble: The single BA driver does a great job up top, these are only $50 so taking that in to account they have a very complete and clean sound for the price. The treble isn’t the most refined, it does sometimes sound a little splashy, but it extends well and the presence is great. There is great energy in the lower treble without becoming too hot for my tastes, you don’t miss out on things in the upper region which is good. These are not dull, but they don’t have an exaggerated sound in any part of the spectrum, which means they are energetic but not too in-your-face.

Soundstaging and Instrument Separation

The BD005 Pro have an above average soundstage for the price, due to the controlled sound they have great air and space whilst still having good intimacy when called for. The soundstage is wider than it is tall, but overall it’s very good.

Separation is a strong point, you can clearly hear every bit of the mix even when it gets complex, Kinera have done a really good job at making these clean, transparent yet also engaging and easy to listen to.



Conclusion

If you are in the market for a cheap but well balanced model with a clean and crisp midrange the BD005 Pro should definitely be on your radar – for $50 they offer up a lot of control and detail for the price. These are not bass heavy, nor are they thin or bright sounding, they have an engaging but nicely balanced sound that is quite unusual at their price point.

Sound Perfection Rating: 7/10 (clean and crisp sound with great build quality and comfort)

Disclaimer : This review is part of the Hifigo Review Tour (https://hifigo.com/)https://hifigo.com/ of the Kinera BD005 Pro. The opinions provided are mine only and have not been influenced in any way

Kinera is a fairly well known brand with good iems (Odin, Norn etc). The BD005 Pro is a budget hybrid iem with 1 DD (Berylium) and a Knowles BA driver.

Package and Build : The Review unit came in a iem case with a set of 3 sized wide bore tips. The shell is acrylic, with a medium-large nozzle. It feels well built and fairly light. So comfort is very good with it. The cable is a stock 3.5 terminated twisted cable with a 2 pin termination into the iem. It can be switched with other aftermarket cables comfortably.

I switched to sony tips for getting the fit right, as well as to tame a little bit of the mid-treble brightness. The iems have excellent sound isolation, helped by a good fit

Sound

While the standard approach to the sound review is through separation of components, I will take a different approach while describing ceratain reference tracks that I use.

Out of the box, the sound stage is wide. Excellent instrument imaging and separation at this pricepoint is a very good positive about the iem. Orchestral pieces sound full. My reference track here is the Danish Orchestra's rendition of the Good Bad and Ugly title track. The instruments felt real and could be identified and layered very well with the iem.

The vocals department has a bit of nitpicks. For the most cases, vocals are nicely forward. However, for certain male vocals, the upper mids do get a bit shouty and harsh. This is also consistent with trumpets getting ahead of others in terms of energy. This is a potential tuning point.

Stringed instruments felt real, very fast decay and impact. The sound does feel cohesive and real, and are not just a bunch of instruments.

Comfortably Numb, Live in Pompei, felt like listening from the stadium. Very nice presence of space. Gilmour's rasping can be heard slightly left of centre, while the instruments and the chorus is in the background. When the electric main guitar rolls in, it is present and slight harsh. Rest of the track is enjoyable, nonetheless.

Closer - Kerala Dust is a track I use to review bass, bass extension and low end speed. The maracas in the start of the track feel real. The background flare is nice. Once the bass section starts off, the beats come on very nicely, without bleeding. The subbass is light, surprising for a 9mm Be driver. The decay feels more like BA. The vocals are clear and well present. There is a slight treble brighness coming through.
However, when I run it through the Corda Quickstep, this is something else altogether. The subbass is more present. The harshness is mostly gone, as I suspected. Amp it folks!

For speed test, I use the Janine Jansen's Vivaldi : Four Seasons as the test album, with 1. Primavera Allegro and L'estate Presto as the test tracks. The instrument attack and decay is very coherent and feels real. The speed is excellent with even the busy sections of both tracks well separated. They are able to present through the details without muddying the instruments. These do justice to well recorded orchestral peices. Some of the high sections do have a little bit of a harshness, especially at the ending of the Presto. Overall, well done indeed.

Conclusion : These are very nice for the pricepoint. I would like to tune the mids and treble a bit to take out some of the harshness. Otherwise, this is an easy buy recommendation. If the harshness is tuned out by the way of amping, this can be 4 or 4.25 rating.