Kinera SEED

Kinera — not a new player on the IEM market. Many audiophiles or fellow «compassionates» already familiar with Kinera IEM models and share their thoughts on the most popular internet resources. There are plenty of reviews and comments, mostly positive. Since the establishment in year 2010, along with selling their own end-user products, Kinera also acts as a vendor of BA & dynamic drivers to other manufacturers. Here is some of their background taken from the official website:

«Yutai electronic acoustic research center established in 2010, cooperates with top acoustic research institutions and commits to research and develop new generation of high-tech electronic products.At present,Kinera has obtained 24 patent authorization.

Kinera has a strong R&D team, from research, design, production to sales. commits to bringing the most beautiful sound to the world. With the most enjoyable listening experience, focusing on «quality, sincerity , innovation, win-win» business philosophy, Kinera controls all details, from product development, raw material to produce. All items are strictly complied to European environmental standards (with CE&RoHS certificates).

Kinera produce balance armature drivers and earphones, which have been popular since it launch in 2012. With high quality, excellent service, Kinera products have been sold to Europe, America and Southeast Asia and win reputation from our customers. Now, Kinera is developing hybrid dynamic-balanced armature earphone, to lead the music trend of world.»

This is the first time for us to deal with Kinera brand and to understand what they have to offer in the most modern market niche of hybrid IEMs at under $50 price range. In this review we would examine Kinera Seeds hybrid IEMs and try to compare it to their class rivals. Note that according to Kinera — Seed are the 2nd generation of BD005 IEMs that they have started their story with…



Kinera Seed technical specifications:

• Drivers: 1 dynamic driver + 1 balanced armature driver
• Sensitivity: 108 ± 2db
• Impedance: 17Ohm
• Dynamic Driver Diameter: 8mm
• Frequency Response: 20 — 20000Hz
• Plug Type: 3.5mm
• Connectors: 0.78mm, 2-pin (detachable)
• Cable: 1.2m, silver-plated copper wire, 6-core
• Cable options: with mic and remote control, without mic and remote control

AFR graph:



According to this graph Kinera Seed should have some V-shaped sound with a slight tendency to overemhasize on midbass and treble. Pretty common situation for hybrid IEMs… But this dosn’t tell anything about such aspects as tonality, coloration or resolution of the sound which we are about to find out.

Build structure:



Seed IEMs are using 1 x 8mm dynamic driver with N50 magnet and 1 x Kinera own BA driver that claimed to have an extent up to 24kHz and low amount of distortion.

Packaging and box contents:



People behind Kinera brand definitely know how to draw the attention to their product and build the first impression… No matter the budget, packaging is almost perfect — very neat boxes with lots of technical details, brand name and product name inprints, good design graphics, social pages invitation and «thank you» leaflets.



This is the first time we see so much efforts and investments spent to envolve a customer into further relationships with the brand.

Box contents are great:

• Kinera Seed IEMs
• cable
• 3 pairs of silicone eartips (S/M/L size)
• protective pouch
• social pages leaflet
• detailed user manual

Again, wanted to emphasize Kinera efforts to deliver much of the details about their product to the end user. Never seen such detailed IEMs user manual before — plenty of infromation about company, product, technical structure, AFR, cable, background story, ect. This is a must for any IEMs with sophisticated technical design but only few companies would do the same. Customer always likes some additional background for the current investment. (Moreover, the whole audiophile segment is based on stories, fairy tales and legends ) Good for Kinera and shame on other brands…

Materials and build quality:

Seed are made of glossy black plastic with gold brand logo and side indicators molded and additional model and brand name grey inprints on the inner part.



Output nozzle is also painted in gold with interesting two separate output holes instead of regular protective grill/filter (not detachable, though). Cable ports are 2-pin 0.78mm type with very tight openings.



Crafting is great, all elements are perfectly aligned, no signs of any movement or free play, no sounds when excessive squeezing force is applied.

We’ve got black cable with the mic and in-line remote. Although there is not much of the infromation about it — we think that it is very similar to white cable option. It is 1.2m, 2 sets of 3 x AWG28 silver-plated oxigen-free copper wire (+ a pair for mic function) twisted from IEMs connectors down to audio source plug.



It also features transparent tube ear guides, Y-splitter and retainer, wire bending protection and gold-plated 3.5mm plug. The only problem in this cable is that it doesn’t have sides indicators apart from red / blue pin base which correspond to right / left channel. This might be tricky for a newbe to align everything correctly.



Kinera Seed fit is perfect. Thanks to the shape, eartips choice and ear guides — they are very comfortable to wear — hold tight even when excercising, not producing any sounds and perfectly cutting outer noise. We would say that Seed are one of the best IEMs so far in this regard. You can spend much time wearing those with no signs of fatigue or pain.

In-line remote:



Works as expected. Tried to use it with Xiaomi Redmi Note 4X smartphone. Volume buttons do the corresponding job and play|pause button would also advance tracks on double clicks.

Sound quality tests:

Source equipment: Hidizs AP200 DAP, Hidizs AP80 DAP, Xiaomi Redmi Note 4X smartphone.



Lows and bass:

Definitely not for deep bass lovers which is virtually absent here. The most of the emphasis is made on midbass section with moderate amount of resolution here. There are obvious boundaries with fast decay but even this section lacks some room and air to create a full power for punchy delivery. Despite of good articulation and speed, drums sound a bit thin as for our liking. Good news are that there is some good layering and different instruments would not mix into one blurred sound. In overall, there is a feeling as if 8mm dynamic driver that is responsible for bass delivery has been placed far behind in the shell or doesn’t have enough cavity volume to gain the full power.



Mids and vocals:

Despite the fact that mids are hanging slightly behind — they have the highest amount of details and resoltuion. Even if Seed show V-shape on AFR graph — mids and vocals sound naturally and play a main role in the overall tonality. Again, we would say that vocals sound a bit cool and thin to our liking but it is definitely mids-oriented IEMs for getting the most of different genres like pop or lounge. Besides, female vocals would not tend to shout at certain ranges and there was no lisping. Upper mids are perfectly controlled and delivered gently and accurately.

Treble:

Very peculiar experience here — usually inexpensive hybrid IEMs would suffer from lots of sibilances and oversaturated clarity on treble due to the quality of BA drivers which would eventually lead to much of irritation during long listening sessions. It is not a case here. Instead, Kinera tuned Seed so that treble feels very soft and balanced to mids. There is no sparkling feel or excessive sharpness — just a good and gentle presence. This reminds us of another good pair of much more expensive IEMs — Earnine EN1J… Anyway, thanks to Kinera for doing a great job on selecting a proper BA driver for Seed IEMs instead of forcing customer to bleed… Still some drawbacks of further tuning comes into play — treble also lacks the amount of details that we would expect from hybrid IEMs. So, let’s say that this section sounds good, has a good presence and gentle delivery but just a moderate resolution.



Soundstage and channel separation:

The lovely feel of slightly desynchronized BA and dynamic drivers is present here which extends overall channel separation and layering. Instruments have their appropriate place in the mix, vocals are clearly defined, everything sounds disctinctly.

Stage width and depth are moderate, binaural recordings lack some additional distance on horizontal and vertical planes.



Sound in overall:

Kinera Seed have slightly V-shaped, tube-like sound with a tendency to bright side. Their tuning is mostly suitable for mids-oriented music genres and vocals. Those IEMs might be called more or less well balanced across the entire range, except for the low bass portion. Sound is straight and thin which is suitable for most of the modern music with high compressor impact.

Background noise is moderate — slightly elevated due to low impedance but kept reasonably low by additional tuning and lowering treble.

Comparison to Shozy Zero:

Shozy Zero is a bit higher priced rival with single dynamic driver. The sound they produce has more deep bass presence and more thick and airy mids. At the same time treble is not so clean. In overall, Shozy Zero sound warmer and richer, only loosing some details on highs. Such IEMs would be better for slow and old classic rock, jazz or blues but fall short in case of modern pop.



Comparison to Dawnwood ST08:

Another higher prices dynamic driver rival. Dawnwood ST08 are great IEMs with very balanced AFR delivery. A clear winner in midbass section in terms of a punchy delivery but lack the resolution in mids and more prone to sibilances on treble in comparison to Kinera Seed. In overall — sound more naturally for any types of music genres wuth more thickness in sound. Although, have less comfortable fit.

Conclusion:

Some controversial conclusion it would be (like Master Yoda used to say)… The strongest sides of Kinera Seed are the box contents, design, build quality, excellent fit and good representation of mids toghether with great attempt to balance treble to the rest of AFR.



If it would deliver more bass and resolution throughout the entire range — this would become one of the best products…

We think that Seed are good and worthy to try in case of such musical preferences as popular music and other modern genres. At least we have already agreed that even modern compressed rock sounds better with Kinera Seed rather than Shozy Zero (for example). Therefore, while making the same decision — mind the most preferred genre.

Finally, Kinera Seed are definitely a better option to start with in comparison to cheaper, less balanced and more roughly tuned hybrid rivals like KZ (many series) or Magaosi HLSX-808 which would sound more harsh.

You can purchase Kinera Seed at PenonAudio store

Specifications

• Driver(s): 1 Dynamic (8mm) + 1 Balanced Armature
• Sensitivity: 108 dB
• Impedance: 17 ohm
• Frequency: 20 ~ 20000 Hz
• Plug: 3.5mm
• Connectors: 0.78 mm, 2-pin
• Cable: 1.2m; Silver-Plated Copper wire

*the IEM unit was sent by Penonaudio for review*

Price: U$D 49. From Penonaudio and Aliexpress/Ebay Store


Design

The new Kinera SEED is very good in both build quality and design, and for the price it’s almost flawless if looking for a fixed over-ear IEM option. The shells are made of what it looks a fairly solid plastic material, consisting of two pieces that are well assembled, with an all black color in a bit glossy finish. The oval form factor is practically identical to the known Shure or Westone shells, which have also been used by so many Chinese companies and small DIY brands. It is completely smooth, compact and very ergonomic. On the outer part there’s the ‘Kinera’ writing and on the inner part the ‘Seed’; quite an elegant touch for the price.

The nozzle is made of metal painted in gold color. It has a certain angle and a standard diameter of ~5mm with a smooth lip that can fit most eartips with no problem. Instead of the typical mesh or grill at the tip of the nozzle, in the Seed IEM it is divided into 2 bores. It’s impossible to confirm the actual inner driver configuration due the solid black color, but can be assumed that there are different tubes for each of the drivers.


The nice looks of the SEED continues with the included cable. First of all, it applies a 2-pin (0.78) removable connection, instead of the most common MMCX option used for the low budget IEMs. It is indeed a much wiser option, as the 2-pin are more solid than the typical cheap MMCX implementations.


The cable itself is made of 6 twisted strands on the lower half that then divides into 3 for each channel. This is too rare on any $50 earphone over the usual 4-wire cable setup (maybe the Tin Audio T2 is an exception with an 8-wire cable). The wire type is advertised as silver-plated copper. Quite a comfortable cable even with the fixed guides for over-ear wearing. However, it’s not perfect; it arrived with some strong dark sections along the whole length of the cable, probably due the black paint on the plug or y-split. Moreover, silver-plated cables are prone to some discoloration or oxidation after some regular use. Not something that affect the sound quality anyway, so unless you’re too picky, the cable is of great quality at just the $50 price.

The fit is very easy with this type of ergonomic shells and they are really very comfortable. Isolation, too, is decent, a bit above average level, but the shells do not appear to be completely sealed as a very small vent can be spotted.



Sound

The simplest way to describe the sound on the Kinera Seed should be raw, forward and a bit aggressive. While using a hybrid drivers combo of an 8mm dynamic and a single balanced armature unit, it presents the sound as each driver working on its own. Not that there is lack of harmonics, rather that it sounds as each driver works independent of its counterpart. The result is the more forward and a tad aggressive presentation, and the reason to describe it as ‘raw’ the less noticeable combination on the two drivers. With other dual hybrids on the same 1+1 setup, the drivers were tuned as being one driver complementing its counterpart; such as the Remax RM800, or more expensive Magaosi K3 HD and Mee M7 Pro. It is not to say the Seed sounds worse or better, just simply different, and actually the clarity is quite good for the price.

Starting with the bass frequencies, the focus is mostly on the mid-bass region, with a bit less emphasis on the upper bass, but a much less perceived sub-bass. The mid-bass has a dominant presence and strong attack, but then the rumble and depth are rather limited. The speed and control are decent, and it doesn’t sound overwhelming despite the extra power from the mid-bass. In fact, the transition towards the lower mids is a bit sharp and the dynamic driver does not add much of warmth or coloration to the rest of the sound.

Up to the midrange it is rather forward in a not uncommon single BA way. Thanks to that characteristic, the mid bass strength doesn’t affect much the lower mids, but as result does not give much of extra warmth or texture to the midrange. Voices have a more forward priority over most instruments when it gets to position, so the presentation is not too natural or wide nor the image very accurate. The separation is decent but lacks some air due the more forward signature. Detail, however, is quite good for a $50 IEM, and shows good articulation, speed and resolution for what should be expected from a BA driver. There is some extra tilt towards the upper mids; not harsh or tiring, but does get more attention. Tip rolling is recommended to achieve the best balance possible as the stock silicone tips are not the best option I found (my preference, foam tips).

For the highs, there’s a strong focus on the lower treble region while the upper treble is much more limited and laid back. Nothing too surprising for a single balanced armature performance on the $50 tag. As such, there is limited extension and more intimate presentation. The treble results to be a bit splashy and too forward, not fatiguing, but not too pleasant either. Balance between quantity and quality is actually fair enough, though.

Moreover, I didn’t find the Seed better for a specific music genre, though the texture is not the most natural against dynamic drivers on its similar price range like the TinAudio T2 or VSD5s, which have a better timbre and balance. On the other hand, the Kinera has more speed and accuracy which is reflected in fast tracks.


Eartip rolling didn’t make huge differences, but the little nuances can be critical with the Seed. Personally, I didn’t find the stock silicone tips to give the best balance, as it sounded kind of a W-shaped sound, with forward mid-bass, forward vocals and lower treble, but leaving the rest on the background. Sony or Dunu silicone (aka ‘hybrids’) gave a bit more balanced mid-centered sound, but also smoother. With wide dual-flanges the sound was much better in terms of overall balance, stage and neutrality. Foam tips also worked excellent on the Seed, and probably my best pick. Although the result is more laid back on the mids and highs, and a bit thicker bass texture, the presentation is smoother and gives more sense of musicality. The detail is not really affected, just drops a couple of dBs on the treble region, but brings more linearity to the whole sound.

I was on a month-long vacation back home when a very familiar parcel arrived in my workplace, the Kinera Seed Yin or Kinera Seed black as most would call it which retails for $49 and is a hybrid single Dynamic with a Balanced Armature driver configuration. It was sent directly by the Kinera group for me to be reviewed. Note that this is my first attempt at reviewing an audiophile grade item so feel free to close the page already but it wouldn’t hurt if by chance you would see through this realview until the end, see what I did there with the “Realview”, a novice trying to sound cool. Before the review, a quick description from yours truly, I started having this audio hobby way back 2013 when a friend introduced me to a local audio group and found the glory there is in Hi-Res audio and the chain from the source file to your earphone ear tips will greatly impact how a gear would produce sound. I’ve had my fair share of research and experience and personally prefer neutral sounding gears leaning towards the brighter side but so much about me and let’s get back to business. Going back to the Seed Yin, the package was made of matte white cardboard box loaded with the necessary information one needs about the IEM (In Ear Monitor for those not familiar), take a good look on them before you proceed onward.


The Seed Yin package covers the basic needs, 3 sized S, M, L black silicon tips and a rubbery snap-on pouch with red trim and a pale “Kinera” logo. The 3 silicon tips provided decent sizing options, texture is great which isn’t slippery at all and not too rough as well, great for entry level personal use, no noticeable irritation was observed and for the rest of the realview, we would be using the M sized tips. The pouch was the one that got the most interest within the overall package, it is delightfully easy to use on to go and the snap-on feature is just too easy and fast to use and store the Yin Seed on, here’s to hoping they would continue providing this on the next entry level Kinera IEMs.

Staying true to its name, Seed Yin mimics your typical seed silhouette which rests easy on the ears, taken into consideration individual ear shapes, mine is of the rounder frame. Made out of 2-part plastic bound into a single earpiece, no noticeable glues are observed if ever glue was used in the first place. The backside of each is printed with a faint white Kinera Seed branding while the frontside is highlighted by gold trimmed Kinera lettering along with the L-R markings along with a vent. A gold-plated metal nozzle is used with no mesh included but instead utilizes the dual bore system so better keep those ears clean. The Seed Yin has removable cables and uses the .78mm 2-pin configuration which is widely used so cable rolling can be done if the idea is welcome with you. It is also a 6 core AWG SPC OFC cable with black plastic Kinera branded Y-split and 3.5mm gold-plated jacks.


Kinera is widely known by some either by their previous BD005 and H3 IEM’s, the BD005 showcasing the warm sound signature and the H3 showcasing the uber bright sound signature. You’d be guessing by now that the Seed Yin would be neutral? Well, the Seed Yin was marketed as such. Do take note that it was recommended to let it undergo a 50-hour “burn-in” process, for those who believe it, you’re the North, those who don’t, you’re the South which really is based on personal experience but for the benefit of the doubt, the recommended 50-hour burn-in process was done using my trusty old rockboxed Sansa Clip+. For the realview, I used the Opus 1, a known neutral sounding player, on a 110-step volume configuration and no EQ’s used. Listening to Incubus’s Megalomaniac in FLAC made me lean my head, the usual crash and ride cymbals that I wholly adore were noticeably tamed down yet the highs were easy to the ears and sparkle was barely there, the bass had the body of a supermodel, narrow but has a touch of impact to it. As the song progressed, vocals came in and there we go, it made me smirk, it was clear and crisp and had air that didn’t cloud the spectrum. I played the same song again to check if the supermodel was still there, present! I then moved mover to Pink Floyd’s Money because I needed some cash for the supermodel, right off the bat the coins falling down each side exhibited a semi-intimate soundstage the one you would feel on a private cinema or a pub, then the guitar plucks chimed in, crisp and clear but had me looking for pronounced plucks. The mid bass was there again, just showing up but not showing off and then came the vocals, David Gilmour sang definite and clear. He might be serenading the supermodel so I finished the song twice and moved over to Spandau Ballet’s True. I was again greeted by the crunchy guitar plucks but not the one similar to a roast pig’s skin, this might have been sitting on the table for a good 20 minutes losing some of the crunch. The bass was still narrow and had impact, sub-bass skinny. Succeeding songs such as Linkin Park’s Sharp Edges, DNCE’s Toothbrush, Fleetwood Mac’s Rhiannon, Shawn Mendes’s I don’t even know your name were then used and overall the Seed Yin exhibited the easy sounding nature of this IEM, mids and vocals detailed and airy, highs and treble toned down, bass narrow and had subtle impact, sub-bass echoes but doesn’t cloud. This might not have accurately represented the neutral sound signature it was targeted to achieve, it did however push the right buttons to be used on the go and for breaktime sessions that would last longer than you planned.

The Kinera Seed Yin, priced at $49 is definitely a recommended gear, sounds easy to the ears, comfortable design language which may be subjective and the inclusion of the snap on case just sealed the deal. It did however had a drawback when it was initially released as the 1st batch came with the problematic cables being tainted black in some areas, my realview unit had the stain but had no sound signature effects, I was ready to call it a bummer as who likes a brand new gear looking like it was dirtied and used but to my surprise, Kinera released a statement and updated all Seed Yin cables to a new one and sent non-tainted brand new cables and as a plus, you’d get to keep the older one. How’s that for after service. However, new purchases will come with the new cables and no replacements will be sent. See you next time and by the way, the Supermodel would still be around.