The Baldr 2 is what we're looking at today on Headfonia. According to @Virtu Fortuna it is a fantastic flagship IEM and one of the best bass & treble performances in this price range. Find out why he likes it so much and why we're giving it our recommended buy award, now on Headfonia!
The Baldr 2 is what we're looking at today on Headfonia. According to @Virtu Fortuna it is a fantastic flagship IEM and one of the best bass & treble performances in this price range. Find out why he likes it so much and why we're giving it our recommended buy award, now on Headfonia!
The Kinera Freya turned to be pretty great. Matter of taste and even more importantly, fit.
I have my suspicions the wildly different reviews are not so much attached to the "demo" units that has often been cited, or bad quality control, but simply a matter of trying what works on other IEMs right away. In my experience, a shallow insertion is working best, with the stock white/clear tips. Immense clarity without losing bass-too deep an insertion likely produces a very middy and unsatisfactory tone, lacking in the highest highs and overly congested. The IEM is very mid-centric as it is.
No burn in necessary, IMHO. But I did have to figure out how and at what insertion level to use the tips. If you insert them too deep, they lose flexibility and do not sound very good. Just a bit on top of the nozzle is enough (obviously deep enough so it doesn't slip out.)
BTW, the included final E tips do not work... they slip!!! Usually they are very taught, but since the Freya lack lips on its nozzles, it is not tight enough. The stock tips are super tight and a pain to put on at first, but work great.
When I get home-I am on the subway- I will try Azla Crystal and Xelastec, but I suspect they may slip as well. Hoping not, as both sound good, even though not the same. May be stuck with the stock tips, but at least they make the Freya sound great-and you do not want even good tips stuck on your ears due to a bad fit with the IEMs.
I found them quasi neutral and not the warmest, but more following a diffuse field+ sort of goal with a bit more of bass, not that much Harman much less Crinacle's more mellow, very conservative target (which is fine.) It is not very bassy, muddy, or too warm at all in my current experience.
So please do consider that your favorite reviewers may be either very conservative or had a bad fit with these rather good sounding IEMs-IMHO. They are definitely not a flavor of the month sort of IEM, so you should likely enjoy an upper-mids emphasis in order to better appreciate their strengths.
Feel free to disagree, to be sure. Enjoy your music.
The Baldr 2 requires an amp to pair up to open its full potential. I still remember that my Lotto PGT does not drive it well and hence it sounded loose in the classical. Once paired with a powerful amp, its another world.
BTW, personally I don't like its original cable. It has too much sound signature with it and compresses the highs. A regular copper or silver cable would deliver a more balance sound.
The Kinera Freya turned to be pretty great. Matter of taste and even more importantly, fit.
I have my suspicions the wildly different reviews are not so much attached to the "demo" units that has often been cited, or bad quality control, but simply a matter of trying what works on other IEMs right away. In my experience, a shallow insertion is working best, with the stock white/clear tips. Immense clarity without losing bass-too deep an insertion likely produces a very middy and unsatisfactory tone, lacking in the highest highs and overly congested. The IEM is very mid-centric as it is.
No burn in necessary, IMHO. But I did have to figure out how and at what insertion level to use the tips. If you insert them too deep, they lose flexibility and do not sound very good. Just a bit on top of the nozzle is enough (obviously deep enough so it doesn't slip out.)
BTW, the included final E tips do not work... they slip!!! Usually they are very taught, but since the Freya lack lips on its nozzles, it is not tight enough. The stock tips are super tight and a pain to put on at first, but work great.
When I get home-I am on the subway- I will try Azla Crystal and Xelastec, but I suspect they may slip as well. Hoping not, as both sound good, even though not the same. May be stuck with the stock tips, but at least they make the Freya sound great-and you do not want even good tips stuck on your ears due to a bad fit with the IEMs.
I found them quasi neutral and not the warmest, but more following a diffuse field+ sort of goal with a bit more of bass, not that much Harman much less Crinacle's more mellow, very conservative target (which is fine.) It is not very bassy, muddy, or too warm at all in my current experience.
So please do consider that your favorite reviewers may be either very conservative or had a bad fit with these rather good sounding IEMs-IMHO. They are definitely not a flavor of the month sort of IEM, so you should likely enjoy an upper-mids emphasis in order to better appreciate their strengths.
Feel free to disagree, to be sure. Enjoy your music.
Just wanted to add, after more than 6 months with the aforementioned Freya, a few revisions to my initial thoughts.
Very tip sensitive, the white tips it comes with are fine, but with a hard, slightly congested sound relative to other tips. Final E tips increase bass as usual, but I do not prefer them as they also limit the air-which the Freya needs in order to have an airier signature, as the upper treble is not emphasized. Tips are not slipping for me that much anymore, including with the Final Es.
Preferred tips, in order of preference (subjective, to be sure):
JVC Spiral Dot++ - Makes them sound really refined, with very good treble-better than stock white and Final Es. A more spacious and well-layered sound
Azla Xelastec - Brighter top end, though be wary these sound already bright due to their diffuse field type+ sort of tonality. Still very good vs the stock white-night and day even, as these included white ones are bright but less airy. Xelastec is "definitely" better as it does the same in a more refined way, with better treble air. Definitely not as spacious as the Spiral Dot++
Azla Crystal - more bass than both options above, but without the treble/air region muffling of the Final Es. Good treble, I think the mids get tamed a bit, so it appears as if they lose some of their magic. They are somewhat popular but I still like Xelastec more. Still, they sound great with Crystal, and much better than with any of the included tips.
Tried a few spinfits models too, which were nice but still not beating any of my aforementioned favorite tips.
The Spiral Dot++ do have a relaxed fit on the nozzle-they won't slip, and will be stable, but it's best not to suddenly pull them off your ears. Do so gently and they will always remain in place.
The DD bass of these is good but not powerful/in your face. Some BA IEMs have better depth. It has just enough to sound natural-their color is attractive and "bouncy", despite not being a bassy IEM (of course, many tips can improve on this tonal area, but not something I enjoy because of the usual sacrifices in the treble.) The best "bassy" sound for them IME was with the Crystal tips.
Mids are still magical to me, but if you are very conservative, you may find them dangerously "shouty"-I think that Kinera chose the more delicate treble to balance the sound around the mids-too much treble would have been a super bright and slightly thin-sounding IEM. As it is, it is not a very "thick sounding" esrphone to be sure.
Still, the lower treble is excellent, mid treble average/"normal", and air just slightly under it should be-to my taste (I love treble more than most). Does NOT sound air-less with the right tips and ear fit, so do not worry too much about this area being a true problem.
Very mature, high quality tonality with the Spiral Dot++. Do try them with Freya if you still have them. Will still be upper mids forward, but won't sound lacking in air and space for the surrounding non-upper mids instruments to shine. A very beautiful, mid-centric, "diffuse field+" IEM, and I *always* enjoy using them. Vocals and violins sound marvelous, a hint forward and above "accuracy", but that makes them the Freya. Still recommended.
(I do not find them V-shaped in the slightest-either a unit variation issue, or using bassy tips is what I believe led to those impressions with some.)
Not much being said on the Kinera Hodur, I've had them for maybe 3 weeks, on and off listening. The sound signature might surprise most people, the theme going by Kinera's production and packaging (if you like to read or like boxes) process is DARK. There's a really really strong mid-bass presence, and that's with not being necessarily bloated. "Basshead" for sure, and it really stands out and its accurate & precise on most tracks. To me, midrange vocals can be almost as strong and a full presence, but not "muddy'ed or bleeded in" like I've heard others say. They are comfortable and are pretty unique in more than a few ways and are definitely in my rotation.
I guess Kinera doesn't get much love here on Head-Fi like other brands. But I waited years and overlooked other models so that I could finally own the Nanna. Just thought I'd share
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