Today we share our full review of the $549 USD priced QoA Margarita Hybrid IEM by Kinera.
Disclaimer: The QoA Margarita was provided by Kinera. You can purchase it here.
About QoA/Kinera
Queen of Audio, is a sister brand of now renowned Kinera, and its products are positioned on the more affordable side. Nowadays they prefer to release flagship and higher-end units under the Kinera brand, and the performance/price units are swarming around the new QoA brand. This is our first review of QoA, but we already reviewed several Kinera units.
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 learn more about the Kinera brand and its roots here.
Our goal is to bring the most valuable earphones to the market.
Kinera shifted its focus on the overseas market in recent years, and they’re now picking up the fruits. The Nanna has been a shining example of their best efforts, which is one of the best choices in the hybrid market at that price. It’s my all-time favourite IEM from the brand and it’s still on our Best Universal IEMs page with its performance. Nanna is an important IEM for this review because this new QoA Margarita is mainly based on it.
QoA Margarita
Well, we started to see lots of IEMs named after notorious cocktails, and the Margarita is one of them. I can’t say I agree with the idea, but surely the names are catchy.
The QoA Margarita is a tribrid IEM. The configuration consists of 2 Sonions EST65DA01 + 1 Titanium Coated DD + 1 Kinera Customized QA11021 BA. Overall it’s a familiar internal design from Kinera IEMs. Margarita has a 3-way crossover.
The design is finished with a hand-painted faceplate, and the chassis itself is 3D printed. The design is classic Kinera with an eye-catching faceplate but it’s more subdued and plain in its QoA model when compared to Kinera units.
Packaging
In contrast with classic Kinera fashion, the QoA Margarita arrives in a simple rectangular box. The stylish hexagonal-shaped box is no longer. The box and its content are satisfying, but after the premium packages of Kinera models, it’s a bit of a letdown. I guess that’s one of the methods to cut costs.
In the package, you get 3 modular adapters for the cable; 4.4mm & 3.5mm & 2.5mm. Yes, Kinera has come up with a modular approach with the stock cable, and I mentioned that in my previous Idun 2.0 review. This is a perfect solution and the fact that they also provide this design with their entry-level IEMs is wonderful.
Apart from that, we have seven pairs of custom Kinera tips, and two pairs of foams. The storage case also has a simpler and more common design, perhaps another way to cut some costs.
Page 2: Build, Design, Fit, RUM Cable, Sound Quality
Page 3: Technical Performance, Comparisons, Conclusion
