First Look Sunday: Kinera Freya

Today I share my impressions about the $250 USD priced Kinera Freya Universal IEM for the first time.

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Disclaimer: The Kinera Freya was provided to us by HifiGo. You can purchase the Freya here.

Budget-Fi Hybrids

As technology becomes cheaper and more reachable each day, we see new hybrid IEMs with more affordable price levels. These IEMs offer great performance for the money. Some companies are pushing all the time to offer great value with their hybrid offerings, and Kinera is one of them. I reviewed their more expensive option around 2 weeks ago which is the Nanna, and it earned a spot on our  Best Universal IEMs page with its tremendous performance.

About Kinera Freya

Kinera operates in China under Yutai Electronics, which was established in 2010. This electronics company has the determination to develop a new generation of high – tech products for the consumer market. You can go to their Facebook page to get more information.

I have written three Kinera reviews before, and those were of the Idun, Odin and Nanna respectively. Kinera continues to give the model names after mythology. This time, Freya represents the most beautiful goddess among the gods, in charge of love and beauty.

Freya is a hybrid IEM with one Dynamic Driver and three Balanced Armature Drivers. The setup is very common and well-known with many hybrid models beforehand, but it’s nice to see a somewhat cheaper hybrid around, compared to some other IEMs that cost twice or triple the price.

Build, Design and Fit

Kinera Freya is a gorgeous looking IEM with a very impressive face-plate design. The sample I have is the white version which looks quite feminine, reflecting the associated model name. There’s also a black colored version if you find this design too pinky or too feminine. However, I think the color scheme is fantastic for female users.

Kinera Freya

The white Freya has beauty of red, tenderness of purple, and fearlessness(nobility) of gold.

Kinera claims that these shells are hand-painted which to me is even more impressive because of the asking price of this model. As I understand, these shells are 3D printed but technicians apply that marvelous paint and colors onto the shells. The result is simply great and especially the face-plate area is outstanding.

The IEM has a three-bore design just like the Nanna and the tips hold nicely on the nozzles. These tips are excellent for a rigid and secure fit. The Freya has a very nice shape for most ears. The new budget mode is shaped like a semi-custom IEM which fits great to my ears. I wish the Nanna had this kind of a semi-custom shape. The package provides a lot of tips to choose from and I’m sure you will find the best pair. Speaking of the package, you have much more then you expect for 250$. You even get smartphone headphone adapters for both Apple and Android users.

The cable is the same one that comes with the Nanna, so no compromise in there as well. The ergonomics of this cable is excellent and connectors sit in slightly recessed socket areas.

Sound

The Kinera Freya has a great sound performance for the price. If you don’t have the budget to go with the Nanna model, you can get the Freya with a fraction of the price and you can be very happy with it. This aggressive price bracket will result in very well for Kinera in my opinion. The IEM sounds like a leaner version of the Nanna with less coloration in the mid-range and less quantity in the bass region. The overall presentation is close to neutral with very good resolution and transparency.

Kinera Freya

Treble is of course not on the same level as the Nanna but it’s still very impressive. The extension is well done and treble resolution is quite nice. There’s plenty of articulation and air. On the tonality side things are also very good with breathy instruments and vocals. The note size is not that big but the timbre is very realistic with the Freya.

The sound-stage is somewhat boxy and studio-like but that’s not a minus for this price level I think. Stereo imaging is strong with a dark background, especially with a great source like the DTR1. As a whole, I think the Kinera Freya sounds above its price range in this market. The only other IEM that performs this good for the price is the Etymotic ER2XR to me, which costs even less. However, the Kinera’s packaging experience and the overall design qualities deserve a bit more money in my opinion.

Early Verdict

I think the Kinera Freya will turn a lot of heads in the near future for its looks and its sound performance. I can’t wait to publish its full review soon. But of course, we have many products to cover so just be patient and you’ll see the review in no time.