Kinera Idun Golden (Idun 2.0) Review (1) – Hybrid Maverick

INTRO

With many brands trying to go full fancy dynamic driver the $169 Kinera Idun Golden or Idun 2.0 sticks to the Hybrid route with the dual BA + dynamic driver configuration. This appears to be an “upgrade” version of the original Idun, unfortunately I do not have the original to compare so we have to use our imaginations or check out some other reviews. They utilize 1 Knowles BA driver, one custom BA from themselves for the mid and top range, and the bass is rounded out with a controlled 7mm titanium dynamic. What ensues is a wonderfully neutral leaning upper presence extravaganza of pleasure for jazz and classical.

Disclaimer: HifiGo provided this review piece free of charge and let me speak my mind without influence. You can purchase it here.

GOOD TRAITS

• Wonderfully flexible interchangeable single ended 3.5mm/6.35mm or 4.4mm balanced cable
• Sweet treble
• Easy going bass
• Good sized carrying case with faux wood coloring

NEEDS IMPROVEMENT

• A little more bottom extension haptic

COMFORT / ISOLATION

Kinera Idun Golden at $169 comes equipped with three sets of eartips, one set of wide bore, one set of medium bore and then 2 pairs of foams. The wide bore really lets the treble do it’s business, and the small bore causes a slight increase in midbass output. I prefer to go with the widebore tips since the increased bass from small bore always feels a bit artificial to me at the expense of closing off the treble output.

Fitment is deep and isolating with the widebore tips placing the molded nozzle tubes closer to the end of the eartip ensuring a less obstructed channel to your eardrums. The shells are on the larger side and the nozzle has no lip so the eartips do tend to slide off sometimes and get stuck in my ears. It is a very artistic design that looks more like jewelry than something vanilla and plain.

The cable included with the Kinera Idun Golden is a extremely flexible braided quality feel with a tight and solid connection end where the user can swap the 3.5mm single ended for a 4.4mm balanced connection. It also comes with a 3.5mm to 6.35mm adapter.

The final piece of what I expect with a mid-level set of IEM’s is an included carrying case which the Kinera Idun Golden fulfills. The case is right sized, zippered and has a wood grain look to match their tree motif.

SOUND

Tested with my LG G8 and also equipped with the Moondrop Dawn balanced DAC dongle.

I like my bass extension and the Kinera Idun Golden plays it safe with a type of extension that is more heard than felt. The 7mm dynamic driver does cover it in an inoffensive softness that is pleasing to bass averse listeners. The bass has a small bookshelf sound signature with a quick transient snap. Others might feel it has a blunted effect if expecting a little more rumble. It strains to deliver the throb required for EDM style music from Bob Moses. It avoids coloring the lower midrange because of the neutral signature.

The midrange is a bit unforgiving on overly hot pop and rock music. There is a forwardness to vocals, maybe a slight ring to the tail end which can lead to some sharpness or coarseness. Male vocals are masked a bit by the lower treble peaks. With rock they get lost behind the guitars and feel muted. Female vocals sound delicate without any shrillness and I find they are nicely balanced within the music.

The treble really shines brightly on the Kinera Idun Golden, stringed instruments really come alive. I sense some smearing however. For those that like to get horny, these will excite your eardrums in that nature. Guitars are heavily favored as well. Cymbals have some bite but the shimmer finishes softly in an exciting way.

TECHNICALITIES

The Kinera Idun Golden has excellent depth and height with somewhat good width extension driven primarily in the midrange treble. Staging and imaging can feel a bit crowded sometimes. They are highly sensitive, and so the use of a balanced dac dongle feels overkill fortunately the Moondrop Dawn has a lower gain setting available, I would prefer to stick with more volume control. Since the impedance of the dynamic is actually about 160ohms while the impedance it lower for the BA drivers, use of power is almost a requirement to extract the proper bass control.

COMPARISONS

The Kinera Idun Golden midrange and treble really cause it to stand out to something like the Moondrop Kato ($179) that utilizes a Harman tuning model of extended bass enhancement and a softer treble experience. Orchestra and jazz seem to benefit for the Kinera tuning, however it doesn’t have that bottom umph the Kato dishes up more inline with the rest of the response. The Kinera Idun Golden just livens it up instead.

Compared to another go-to favorite of mine the Shozy Form 1.4 ($199), the Kinera Idun Golden again is balanced in the opposite direction. Whereas the Form 1.4 covers you in warm and luscious extended boosted bass and a very mellow but even treble with minor midrange lift, the Kinera Idun Golden midrange and treble magnify the vocals and stringed instruments in a way that feels very uplifting and the bass only serves not to detract from the main attraction.

CONCLUSION

The Kinera Idun Golden is a midrange /presence centric, bookshelf bass with a nice treble finish. It works wonderfully for jazz oriented music and also for classical, but fails to pack a punch for rock, EDM or modern style music. The cable options are plentiful and it is a solidly built one at that. I can see myself using this for a change-up to my usually preferred tuning. I rank this as a nice to have, but not my one sized fits all option.

SPECIFICATIONS

PACKAGE CONTENTS

• One pair of Kinera Idun Golden ( Idun 2.0 ) in-ear monitors.
• One 0.78 2 pin 8 cores OFC + OFC with silver plated cable.
• Modular Adapter 4.4mm & 3.5mm
• K-07 Balanced Eartips ( Red, Green, Yellow Colour ) : Sound balanced and stereo
• K-285-02 Vocal Eartips ( Skin Colour ) : Release high frequencies, pleasant vocals
• Two pairs of Foam tips.
• PU Case with inner velvet protection.
• 3.5mm to 6.35mm adapter.
• User Manual

GRAPHS

• Left vs Right
• Small bore vs Wide Bore eartip
• Impedance Plot

Contact us!

DISCLAIMER

Get it from HifiGo Store

Our generic standard disclaimer.

About my measurements.