Kinera Baldr 2 Review

Today we present to you the $1399 USD priced Kinera Baldr 2 Universal IEM.

Disclaimer: The Kinera Baldr 2 was provided to us by HifiGo through Kinera Official. You can purchase the Baldr 2 HERE.

About Kinera

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.

Our goal is to bring the most valuable earphones to the market.

I have written many Kinera reviews before, and the first ones were the Idun and Odin respectively. After those, I reviewed the Nanna, which is still a recommendation from us and is a wonderful IEM. If you’re looking for a great mid-fi IEM, you can still get one.

Kinera Baldr 2

It didn’t stop there of course. I checked out the budget-fi Freya, and low-to-mid-fi Norn. Matty reviewed the recent Skuld as well. And if those are not enough already, Nano also reviewed the ultra-budget model BD005.

Kinera loves to give the model names after mythology, and this one is no exception. Baldr is the god of light in Norse mythology. You can access their fully established site here. You can also go to their Facebook page to get information.

About Kinera Baldr 2

Baldr 2 is a tri-hybrid IEM with one 7 mm Dynamic Driver, two Knowles Balanced Armature Drivers, and four Sonion Electrostatic Drivers in a three-way system. The setup is very promising, but of course, the important thing is the harmony and cohesiveness of the sound.

Kinera Baldr 2

Apart from the engineering of the sound output, the Baldr 2 has oakwood earpieces with a fantastic-looking design. The first version also had oakwood shells but it didn’t have the metal ring design on the faceplate. Sound-wise the Baldr 2 has a refined tuning for a better and improved sound presentation, Kinera claims.

Speaking of the Baldr 1.0, you can check the differences between the two models in the picture below:

Build, Design and Fit

The Kinera Baldr 2 is simply a fantastic-looking IEM with a gorgeous design. The shell has beautiful brown wood with a golden metal ring design. The whole body is in a semi-custom shape with a mono-block impression. There’s a small vent on the backside for the dynamic driver. It’s a wonderful design and I have to say, this is easily one of the best-looking IEMs I’ve ever reviewed.

One detail I liked is the colour difference on the faceplates. The faceplates have a red-ish touch on them so the overall design doesn’t look boring in any way. Kinera produces one of the best looking IEMs in the market and the Baldr 2 takes it to the next level. The Nanna is also fabulous, the Freya is certainly eye-catching, but the Baldr 2 is a new level of elegance. It’s almost like a fully bespoke custom IEM design. Excellent.

The build quality is satisfying and quite impressive with a seamless transition and an integrated nozzle structure. There’s nothing to worry about here. Excellent work. The cable is claimed to be gold-plated 6N OCC with a 4 core structure. It comes with a standard 4.4mm BAL jack, but you get two adapters for other outputs. The ergonomics of the cable is excellent as well. Though, I don’t like the looks of it. The connectors sit in slightly recessed socket areas and they’re secure.

Kinera Baldr 2

The IEM has a three-bore nozzle and the tips hold nicely on the nozzles which are provided by Final Audio. These tips are excellent for a rigid and secure fit. The Baldr 2 has big shells and overall I can say it’s a bit bulky, but it surprisingly has a very comfortable fit. The package provides a lot of tips to choose from and I’m sure you will find the best pair for your ears. It sticks out from the ears quite a bit so you can’t lie down with these, but other than that the fit is secure and comfortable.

Packaging

Kinera presents their IEMs in generous packages with a hexagonal shape. The Baldr 2 arrives with the same principle but with a bigger package. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get the whole package with my sample unit. However, based on my previous experience with this brand, I think the unboxing experience would be excellent. Even the 250 $ Freya has great packaging and generous accessories so you shouldn’t worry about that.

Kinera collaborates with Final Audio to give its customers a good experience in terms of fit. Type E series of Final Audio tips are chosen to be supplied in the package. The Final Audio’s “all-time best fit” solution includes an optimum shape to reduce the feeling of the force inside the ear canals. Silicon rigidity is also at the optimum level to provide a tight seal.

Kinera Baldr 2

The carrying case is a very chic blue-coloured leather case with a zipper. It looks and feels very nice. There’s a strap inside to divide the case into two sections depending on your preference. So although I couldn’t experience the full package, I believe the Baldr 2 would provide you with one of the best experiences in the market, based on the previous samples from Kinera.

PAGE 2: Sound Quality

PAGE 3: Technical Performance, Comparisons, and Conclusion