Kinera Celest Plutus Beast

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>>I am brazilian and I speak portuguese, so forgive my english, I’ll use translation tools to help<<


INTRO:

Here's a review video if you prefer to watch​

Introduction​

Out of all driver configurations I can find under $200 USD, anything that uses bone conduction isn’t one that I’ve thought of. Then, Kinera comes out with an interesting tribrid combination that uses a bone conduction driver, a square planar driver, and a BA driver. I guess I want to check it out, and thankfully, HiFiGo is willing to provide me a unit.

Disclaimer: As mentioned, this unit was sent over by HiFiGo. With that said, they have neither seen this written review nor the review video before publication; all of the statements are my own.

Build, Design, and Comfort

The Kinera Celest Plutus Beast is one of the most beautiful IEMs I’ve tried. It sparks a black translucent finish with gold (or blue) flakes. It is sleek but stylish. In terms of comfort, the fit for my ears is a bit on the large side, so I recommend tip-rolling to a smaller size or maybe avoid for people with smaller ears. My first annoyance is that I always feel a resonance from the shell every time I wear them. Thankfully, it doesn’t seem to detriment the sound quality (no rattling when playing music), but it’s something that you have to deal with.

Subjective Sound (Sound Impressions)​

Midrange. Sounds. Weird​

Specifically if we’re talking about vocals in the lower registers or lower pitches. Female vocals have this nasally character, so whenever they sing, it sounds like they have a stuffy nose in the recording booth. It isn’t necessarily shouty for my ears, but it is elevated in a way that causes that effect. Male vocals get a more “barky” characteristic, which results in them sounding too aggressive (male shoutiness I guess). Guitar and snare drums have an exaggerated attack and forwardness, which can be a taste thing for some people, so I think this midrange presentation may be fine for people who listen more to instrumentals than vocals. However, for my preferences, it throws off the balance of every part of the band. Lower mids may be a bit muddy, as male vocals can be a bit chesty in its presentation, but it’s not among my highest complaints.

Treble. Sounds. Dead.​

Cymbals lacked shimmer and spice. The texture of acoustic and electric guitars felt dull and boring. Honestly, everything sounds dull and boring with the Plutus Beast. A lot of instruments lost their shimmer and even their texture. While this may result in a non-fatiguing sound signature, the timbre sounded very off. This is one of the first times where it’s not natural because it has too little treble. It lacks the higher extensions of vocals and instruments, and even the subtle ambiance just seemed to...not exist anymore.

Bass. Sounds. Interesting​

It has a sense of depth that gives instruments like drums and bass a bit of presence and bloom, and brass instruments in orchestra tracks have a nice extra authority because of it. With that said, it’s not one of the tightest bass responses that I’ve tried. Bass can sound a bit more one-note at times, and can be a bit undefined in some music.

One last thing to note is its staging performance, which is quite lackluster. While it’s not too bad in terms of instrument separation because of the sensation of depth, imaging is a bit blurred, which may be a possible disadvantage in busier passages.

Objective Sound (Frequency Response Analysis)​

Here is my graphtool. I publish graphs measured with a clone IEC60318-4 (IEC711) coupler I bought from Sounds Good Store in AliExpress.

A few points of focus here:

• There’s a lot of energy from 1kHz to 2.5kHz, peaking at 2kHz. This relates more to the tonality of vocals in general. I may not perceive this as shouty, as most of the tracks I used didn’t suffer or exhibit the feeling of the singer shouting to your ears. However, it exacerbates a timbral characteristic, which results to making me perceive vocals as being “barky” or “nasally”. This region is what I recommend to EQ down to clean up, and make vocals sound more natural or, at the very least, become more “correct” to my ears.
• While I don’t hold 10kHz and above in high regard, as IEC711 measurements are not supposed to be accurate at that range, I think it is representative enough to what I heard. And that’s the lack of sparkle on this set. Even adding a high-shelf filter here would benefit this set.
• Depending on normalization or volume, the lower mids to mid-bass can be too much, but it’s not much of a concern in my opinion.

Comparisons​

vs Simgot EA500​

• The EA500 is not as forward in the 1k to 2.5k, which makes it more tonally correct for my ears in terms of vocal presentation and even the placements of the parts of the band.
• The EA500 can be a bit fatiguing, however even so, I find the EA500 to recreate the texture of instruments better.
• The Plutus Beast slightly has better bass tonality, as the EA500 can be lacking in terms of kick drums. However, the EA500 has better tightness and control. It makes drums sound clear and defined, at the expense of the warmth and bloom that the Plutus Beast has.

While I’m essentially comparing 2 products with different signatures (heck, they are complete opposites), the EA500 is honestly a more well-rounded option.

vs QKZ HBB (yes, I'm going there)​

Now, I’m comparing 2 products at different price ranges. The thing is I prefer the cheaper one.

• It just ends up with how I like my midrange. While the QKZ HBB is also not what I would prefer, since it has the opposite problem of vocals where it sounds lacking, it’s still more tonally correct than the Plutus Beast’s midrange.
• The QKZ HBB Plutus Beast’s bass is more interesting to listen to as it has an interesting sense of depth, which the QKZ HBB lacks. The QKZ HBB sounds very boomy and too rounded, and while the Plutus Beast doesn’t stray away too much from it, I consider it to sound more clean and defined.

vs other IEMs​

I’m just going to do this very quickly, because at this point, I’m going to sound like a broken record.

• Truthear Zero:Red destroys the Plutus Beast (better timbre and bass dynamics)
• 7Hz Salnotes Zero:2 destroys the Plutus Beast (it’s a better QKZ HBB for me)
• Letshuoer Galileo destroys the Plutus Beast (better execution of relaxed treble)
• Truthear Hexa destroys the Plutus Beast (better midrange and treble)

Let's Wrap This Up​

The Plutus Beast is…a very hard sell. This is even a harder sell than the Phoenixcall because as much as I don’t like the Phoenixcall, I can kind of see why people would like how it sounds. Not to mention that the Phoenixcall is one of the more technical IEMs I have tried in its price range. The Plutus Beast is not that. It is trying for a more relaxed sound signature, and it fails at it due to various quirks in its tuning that make my music sound wrong as a result. Combined with a lackluster in its technical performance, and it results in another niche pick that I’m not willing to recommend to people unless the midrange tonality does not bother them. It is a beautiful-looking IEM, with one of the more interesting bass responses to try, but it isn’t something that I can just use out of the blue. I don’t mind owning an IEM that sounds very different because it has potential to give me something exotic. The Plutus Beast just makes me confused on its existence.

TONALITY: 7/10
TECHNICALITIES: 8/10
TIMBRE: 6.5/10
SOUNDSTAGE: 8/10
IMAGING: 8.5/10
MUSICALITY (Subjective): 6.5/10
CONSTRUCTION: 8/10
ACCESSORIES: 8/10
SOUND VALUE: 7.5/10

Celest is sister company of Kinera, aimed to offer a budget solution for audiophiles seeking new acoustic tech that more often found in pricier IEMs. They have released a budget 50$ 1SPD+1DD hybrid as well as the well acclaimed Pheonixcall 1DD+2BA+2SPD tribrid that I've reviewed lately and found indeed very impressive in technical performance.

Today I will review the Plutus, which is another tribrid using 1SPD+1BA+1 bone conduction driver this time, making it the cheapest tribrid with BC out there. This was quite a big deal to me, and i’m grateful Kinera finally send this review sample to me after it was hold off by hifigo for near 6 months now.

Let's see how it sounds to my ears and if the sound value meets some kind of musicality too.


CONSTRUCTION&ACCESSORIES



The Plutus is made of basic plastic, not thick resin. It's light and feels sturdy enough but I would be worried about dropping it on a hard floor or stepping on it lightly.
The backplate design is quite magnificent and shows again how good Kinera is when it comes to aesthetics.
On top there is a 2 pin connector, it's not recessed and will match most 2 pin cables apart QDC.
The nozzle is quite thick and it’s long enough for deep and shallow fit, though deep fit is mandatory to get proper bone conduction transmission.

The included cable is of good quality and can be chosen in a balanced 4.4mm plug which is a big plus.Its a 5N silver plated copper, its 4 core braided and has a total of 48strandes. Construction feels very good and urgent cable upgrade isn’t necessary due to decent quality of this cable.



When it comes to packaging, we have a sober presentation and a generous amount of accessories. We have a small round carrying case of good quality. 6 pairs of silicone ear tips. A cleaning too. The nice balanced cable and the Plutus Beast (Pi Xiu) mythical creature medaillon. All in all, more than decent accessories, construction and design.

SOUND IMPRESSIONS



The tonality of Plutus sits between V shape and bright neutral with slight bass boost, it’s not a basshead nor the most fun sounding IEM, sense of clarity is magnified with the bone conduction driver that focus on mids presence and mid bass texture and dynamism.

These are the kind of IEM that sound bright both in and out of your head, thanks to the bone conduction driver for adding extra sound layers richness, though it does concentrate upper mids presence energy and will be too much for treble sensitive people.

These aren’t lush and warm sounding IEM, nor thick and natural in timbre nor particularly airy and open in spatiality, it’s an intimate and focused listening experience with plenty of attack bite and crunch but not a very extended treble in terms of sparkle and air. The drivers mix is quite exotic and the bass part being dealt both with BC and SPD driver, it again focuses more on energy of attack than its natural release like rumble density and longevity.

Yep, we are in speedy and exciting musical territory here, which is hit or miss depending on the music style you listen too.

The bass is certainly unique in its flavor, it’s fast and boomy, effortlessly textured and when we get an impact we have a hint of concentrated energy that helps define the mid bass presence and kick drum rendering.
Bass lines feel a bit compressed in articulation, in the sense it doesn’t resonate nor extend deep, it’s magnified in grunt vibrancy and not very transparent even if not very thick. Headroom isn’t wide and underlines the compression of dynamic release.
The punch feel more in your head than hitting the eardrum, this had an extra dimension to musicality but it doesn’t mean bass resolution is incredible, we have a mix of euphony from square planar driver that stricken bass to lower mids with hint of warmth that stay in the back of sound layers, canceling the possibility of perfectly black background but helping cohesion of 3 drivers flavors.
Though punchy, it’s not hard energetic impact and feels a bit diffuse in sound pressure, i can’t pinpoint the kick it’s physical and a bit sloppy in impact definition.
Cello and double bass sound a bit boxy and dark, again, we have the physical presence being extracted effortlessly but the presence is euphonic and distorted.
Unique bass for sure, but not something that I find addictive or appealing tonaly and dynamism wise.

Then the mids are mostly lean and bright, with concentrated energy in upper mids so they feel loud but not refined, it’s grainy and plastiky in timbre, acoustic instruments sound artificial but both male and female vocal are well bodied and forward in presence.
It seems Plutus specializes in vocal and nothing else, which means piano, saxophone, trumpet and cello will sound half cooked and off tonaly.
Back to the female vocal, they are bright and upfront, very focused, more so than other instruments. Their slight instance of sibilance and they are borderline shouty, it’s quite aggressive and the BA timbre is on the rough side.
I really struggle to find anything positive about mid range, it’s not clean nor open, it’s intimate yet not immersive or cuddling enough for pleasant listening, we can say it’s near monitor in rendering yet again not crisp enough in imaging and instrument definition to be applause in that aspect.

Then the treble isn’t as extended or impressive as expected with such tribrid. It seem Celest goes all lower treble presence boost with Plutus and forget to add air and sparkle as well as proper attack edge so macro dynamic feel properly open and sharpened.
It’s a fast and aggressive treble with the main focus in the lower treble region where presence grain and loudness peaks are magnified.
The snare drum is very aggressive and pops up in track with authority, but this can be spiky too and fatiguing.
Percussions aren’t very crisp, they are euphonic and noisy, fast in attack but without proper definition, so the complex rhythm part will be a bit messy especially if a lot of cymbals crash. They have boosted resonance too that is border line splashy. It’s energetic and excited in both attack speed and release.
Acoustic guitar will sound loud and a bit spiky, this can do the same with double bass in the sens string pulling attack will pop up loud in soundscape and underline texture of the snap, in other word, the (non harmonic) presence of instrument is again too boosted like it is for all high pitch instrument that can dominate the mix in loudness energy, this make me often play with volume to avoid shouty spike aggression.
This means that clarity is boosted and tweaked, for acoustic guitar the result is rather pleasant, i could say the same for harp and even some percussions part but this is overal not very well balanced treble and quite rough in attack sustain-release.

The soundstage is impressive in term of holographic intimate cocoon, like a mini hall you hide it, it’s not very wide and a hint taller, but most of all it’s deeper due to center stage being a bit recessed, so it’s between a tunnel like and mini-hall like spatiality.

The imaging is above average for the price, it’s easy to pinpoint instruments especially those in high frequencies range, but since presence is ‘’monitor like boosted’’ attack lead of bass instruments like double bass or electric bass is easy to pinpoint too.


COMPARISON



VS BQEYZ WIND (1DD+1 BC-220$)

The Wind is warmer, bassier and more mid centric as well as more natural and cohesive in smoother balance.

The Plutus is more energetic and V shape in balance with greater treble boost and focus as well as similar roll off pass 10khz, so both this IEM lack sparkle and extension in treble but Wind has more mid range focus as well as notably deeper bass response.

Everything sounds thinner and more boxy with the Plutus, we can say shoutier and brighter too from dryer and snappier bass response to crunchier and edgier treble, sense of speed is more magnified than relaxed balance of the lusher sounding Wind.

Bass is thicker and weightier with the Wind, it's more boomy-boxy with Plutus, bass line are fuller and more natural in tone with Wind while thinner, more recessed and unbalanced in lower harmonic with Plutus, this make plutus feel notably more rolled off in sub bass than more vibrant, rumbly and wide in headroom bass presentation of the Wind.

The mids are wonkier, shorter and thinner with the Plutus, it’s more recessed yet louder in upper mids and shout release for female vocal, this mean its more prompt to sibilance and fatigue too, presence is more centered and compressed too, which make vocal of Wind wider and more immersive, nearer the listener while smoother and less unbalanced in loudness energy too, i can’t enjoy vocalist with the Plutus while i adore them with the Wind, this is the same for piano which is more artificial and recessed sounding with the Plutus while all brass instrument like saxo are more wonky and bright sounding too.

The treble is edgier, brighter and more aggressive with the Plutus, it’s more resonant and brilliant too, it’s a notch airier and attack speed is faster. WInd is smoother and darker with less micro details like texture spike boost, it’s notably less fatiguing and better balanced, violin sound thicker and more natural with wider presence while harp and acoustic guitar has more body, lusher tone and less spiky brilliance, so less resonance boost too.

The soundstage is notably wider and taller with the Wind, while deeper like a tunnel with the Plutus.

Imaging is about on par with both but different in presentation since sound layers are wider and closer to the listener with the Wind. Presence separation in stereo positioning is better with the Plutus which has edgier definition of instruments but smaller and closer presence too. For the wind, sound layered are wider and more transparent even if thicker, i would use the Wind for post production and final mastering cohesiveness while the Plutus for technical monitoring.

All in all, tonaly wise the Plutus is less well balanced, wonkier in musicality, more artificial and thinner in timbre as well as more boxy in musicality, while for technical performance it have an inferior bone conduction driver and more excited SPD and BA drivers that ultimately show the price different in techs quality.

CONCLUSION



The Plutus Beast is quite a technical beast for sure but feel more like a rushed experiment than properly fine tuned IEM.

Those are sure not made for natural timbre seeker or lush mid centric tonality lover, nor for treble sparkle seeker. As well, i feel these shine more with instrumental music due to boomy bass response when it come to attack punch.

Yet, Celest push sound engineering in sub-100$ market making available a tribrid with bone conduction driver, in that regard, I really respect this company yet as always I feel they need to improve in tonal balance since cohesive tuning is harder with different drivers flavors, which is evident here especially between bass and mids response.

Anyhow, the Celest Plutus Beast offer great imaging and resolution for the price as well as an energic and captivating musical experience.

Recommended for those seeking exotic musicality on a limited budget.


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PS: I want to thanks Kinera for sending me this review sample. As always, i have zero affiliation or $ compensation and these are my honest subjective audio impressions and opinions.