Kinera, the brand known for its impressive wide range of products in the IEM lineup has released its new product namely the URD. The brand has a unique design language and the sound signature which was seen in the Norn and the Skuld. To continue their legacy the URD has been released to the market and in this review let’s check out how it sounds.
SPECIFICATIONS:
- 2 Sonions EST + 2 Titanium Crystal Diaphragm Coaxial DD + 1 Kinera Customize 11021 BA
- Impedance: 20 ohm
- Sensitivity: 107db±2db
- Frequency Response: 5Hz-50kHz
- Modular 6N OCC + OCC with Silver Plated + OCC with Gold Plated Cable
- Plug with 2.5mm, 3.5mm and 4.4mm
DISCLAIMER:
This unit has been provided to me as a part of a review circle organised by the team HiFiGo. The whole review is based on my source and pairings with this product hence it might differ from person to person.
Table of Contents
DESIGN AND FIT:
The design of the URD is the same as that of the Norn and Skuld but now with some different colour patterns. The green colour has been used now with some depth effect on the faceplate creating a nice 3D look. The whole construction is made out of Resin but feels sturdy and premium in the hands. The shell is on the bigger side since it accommodates all the three different types of drivers inside them. The shell is custom shell shaped hence the fit and seal in my ears are just perfect.
The provided cable is very premium and has that nice gold and silver patterned texture with nice flexible ear hooks. The nozzle is pretty wide enough thus the eartips selection will not be a versatile option. The termination of the plus is customisable where the ends are interchangeable which is a pretty neat addition in the package. The different termination plugs are also included in the package too!
The provided case is very premium in quality and matches the colour of the IEM itself. The case has an external locking mechanism with a nice faux leather finish and great stitching.
SOUND:
The sound profile of the URD is a pretty balanced sound profile with some nice and needed bass boost. The mid range is kept pretty neat and clean without any modification while the treble has been tuned to sound smoother and less fatiguing but without compromising on the detail retrieval of the IEM itself. Let’s check out in detail in the following sections.
LOW END:
The bass in the URD is just sublime. The bass is pretty authoritative with excellent control and weight. Both the sub and the mid bass presence is just perfect where the rumble from the sub bass can be felt adequately and the mid bass punch and slam can be experienced greatly without any congestion or subdue.
Both the quality and the quantity is just on spot with no excess. The sub bass and the mid bass are elevated at the same level making the whole bass experience a pleasurable one. The sub bass reaches nice and deep with good extension and creates that nice satisfying rumble. The mid bass has excellent quantity with great punch and weight. The slam is authoritative and strong. The kick drums have a nice attack and decay.
The separation and the clarity in the low end is impressive while the texture of the low end is also kept excellent where there is no noticeable grainy texture instead they appear smooth and clean. The overall tonality is kept natural hence the whole bass experience felt three dimensional and ethereal. The decay of the bass is on an adequate side thus the bass presence can be felt even after the notes disappeared making a well rounded bass head approved experience. 10/10 for the bass !
MID RANGE:
The mid range in the URD is just sublime like that of the Bass where the presentation feels nice and grand. One can easily say the initial impression after listening to this is that it has one of the biggest stages in this price range. The staging both in terms of width and height feels bigger creating a nice sense of space. The instruments are nicely placed while the vocals are placed nicely in the forward position.
No sort of congestion or compression is seen in the midrange of the URD. The whole presentation feels wide and bigger. If not, it’s slightly bigger than the OH10, the stage monster. The tonality is kept natural which is a pretty big plus point of this product. The timbre of the instruments is also natural with no sort of colouring.
The piano notes and the acoustic guitar strings felt pretty natural making each pluck of the strings clearly audible with no artificial sense. The layering of the instruments felt extremely good due to that bigger sense of space. Both the upper and the lower midrange is boosted adequately making them sound more clearer and the female vocals have the nice crisp tone while the male vocals have that nice fullness that carries along from the mid bass presence. Overall the midrange is fuller yet very clearer and well separated making this a great pair of midrange sounding one.
TREBLE:
The treble in the URD is detailed enough for the most part yet they are non fatiguing! Pretty interesting tuning from the house of Kinera. The treble has that nice shimmer and sparkle in the top end making those details easily come out of each and every tracks. The cymbal crashes sound absolutely brilliant with great attack and decay which is very precise.
The electric guitar strings and the trumpets sound great with nice tone and attack. They sound nice and sharper with sparkle in the top end yet the sound is very offensive and non fatiguing. The upper treble is kept under control to avoid that harshness while the lower treble presence has nice energy in the top end making the treble sounds nice and bright enough for the energetic listen.
The instrument separation and clarity in the top end is pretty amazing for the extension they are at. They are tuned smoother yet brings out all the essential details out of the tracks. The percussion instruments especially have that nice tone and sparkle in the top end. The track sounds full of energy and nothing is subdued out. One of the best treble presence i have felt recently since this has all the qualities for a great treble presence. Has nice detail retrieval with non fatiguing smoother listening overall.
TECHNICALITIES:
STAGING: It’s big! That’s the first impression anyone would say after the initial listen with this IEM. The height and the width are just amazingly big while the depth is also pretty deeper due to that nice big bass. The bigger sense of space also led to that nice instrument placement and the vocal presentation. Everything is nicely spreaded out with a great grand presentation overall. One of the biggest stages in this price range for sure.
IMAGING: The imaging is precise with accurate placement of the instruments and the notes. The channel sweep feels smooth and the transition from one channel to the other feels organised and clean providing some nice theatrical experience. Even when complex tracks are played out the instruments are neatly laid out before you.
LAYERING: The layering feels extremely well with great presentation. Due to that bigger stage and the nice forward placement of the midrange everything feels nicely presented with precise layering effect.
Detail retrieval and the separation are top notch providing some serious level of details for the price. Overall I’m pretty impressed with the technicalities of this product making this a well worthy one to purchase.
VERDICT:
IMPERIAL URD, the latest offering from the house of Kinera became my favourite product after listening to this for the past few days. The brand never forgets to satisfy their customer by providing some serious sound out of their product. Their previous iteration Norn was my favourite product until I started listening to this gem!
URD ticks all the boxes of how a product should be. From the aspect of the sound to the design language it’s just perfect. The URD has a striking design where the faceplate has that unique green coloured depth effect creating design language. The whole construction is made out of resin but feels very premium and worth long lasting in hands. The bigger shell and the ergonomically shaped shell helps in attaining that excellent fit and seal. Even the accessories that are included with the product are very premium, especially the cable and the case.
The sound is the ultimate star show here. A pretty balanced one with nice bass boost, melodious midrange and the energetic treble presence. The bass is weighty yet has that impressive control and texture taken care of by the Titanium plated Coaxial DD while that sparkly treble is taken care of by the impressive EST drivers. The melodious midrange is taken care of by the customised BA creating a nice Tribrid experience overall.
The technicalities are especially excellent in this product. You are getting the biggest staging, impressive layering and precise imaging capability in this price range which is more than what you ask from the product!
Overall the URD is a LEAGUE ABOVE product from the already awesome Norn. Both these products are extremely good for the price and if you are in the market to purchase a well rounded earphone in the price range of around 600-700 usd then go nowhere and land straight on the KINERA URD!
PROS AND CONS:
Pros:
- Balanced Sound Profile
- Impressive frequency separation
- Textured and Weighty bass
- Tonality
- Bigger Stage, Impressive Layering, Precise Imaging
- Design and Fit
- Cleaner Midrange
- Sparkly Treble yet in offensive
Cons:
- Sorry Kinera failed to present any Con ☺.
This Review is Written By KATHIRAVAN.C
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I’m Kathiravan from Tamilnadu. A budding audiophile here with high love towards music and audio equipment. My first experience of enjoying the hifi audio came when I started to use budget chi-fi gears and now it came all along the way of reviewing the gears with high end stuffs. I love reviewing audio products.
Shubham
Shubham Garg (Editor Shubz.in) is an engineer with a specialization in Mechanical Engineering from AKTU, Uttar Pradesh. Being a mechanical engineer he has always loved to learn the inner working of various machines and consumer electronics. He regularly tests various audio, home appliances, and daily use products, to provide the best advice to readers. He is a wizard that can make your shopping easy, saving you time and stress of figuring out what to buy.
