Kinera Freya 2.0: Nice try ... but Not Enough!

 Pros

• Exquisite unboxing experience
• Premium ear tips
• Stock cable comes with interchangeable plugs (3.5/4.4)
• Stunning aesthetics
• Amazing fit and comfort
• Decent bass impact and slam
• Warm, rich lower midrange 
• Energetic, forward upper midrange
• Extremely non-fatiguing treble 

Cons

• Bass lacks a bit of speed and tightness
• Lacking a lot of treble sparkle and air
• Subpar technicalities
• Not competitive at this price bracket 

Disclaimer

• Huge thanks to Kinera for providing the opportunity for me to review the Freya 2.0 through a tour. However, all thoughts and opinions are my own, and are not influenced in any way. 
• Please take this review with only a grain of salt, as everyone's hearing, fit, and gears may differ, so our experience may be different.

Price(MSRP)

• $269

Source(s)

• It is not hard to drive but not exactly super easy either. However, any cx dongle should work fine. When using them on my JM6 Pro, I never have to exceed 40%. 
• Topping DX1
• Truthear Shio
• JCally JM6 Pro

Ear tips

• Dunu S&S

Unboxing and Quick Summary 

Packaging

• Kinera Freya 2.0
• Round, hard carrying case
• Soft to touch, but is a hard case, very premium. 
• Premium selection of ear tips.
• 3 pairs of K-07 balanced silicone ear tips (S, M, L)
• Looks and feels like a 07 clone, which are pretty decent. 
• 3 pairs of 221 vocal silicone ear tips (S, M, L)
• Looks and feels like generic silicone ear tips.
• 5 pairs of Final E ear tips! (SS, S, M, L, LL)
• One of the most popular ear tips among hobbyists, and they can get quite pricey, so it is an extremely good inclusion in my opinion
• Cleaning brush
• 4.4 modular plug 
• Modular Alloy Copper Cable attached with the 3.5 modular plug
• Excellent stock cable, premium build quality. 
• Comes with interchangeable plugs as well.
• However, it has a bit of memory, and is not as soft as I would like. 
• Furthermore, ear hooks can be awkward on the ear sometimes.

Build Quality

• Build quality is decent, shell is made out of resin and is very beautiful.
• Very lightweight. 

Fit

• Nozzle length and width is slightly above average, but I have no problems with them.
  
• Even though it is a resin nozzle, I have no issues with slippery ear tips like Dunu S&S.
• Fits is excellent. Very lightweight and the shell is super comfortable. 

Tonality

• Mild V shaped

Bass

• Bass is quite balanced between sub bass and mid bass. 
• Very well bodied and textured
• Has decent rumble, slam and impact. 
• Not very tight or snappy, bass is on the slow and boomy side. 
• Overall, bass is decent, nothing too outstanding but not bad. 
• Quantity is a touch more than average, not basshead level yet but is on the warm and bassy side. 

Midrange

• Lower midrange has some warmth to it, giving a good amount of weight and lushness to male vocals and some instruments without being muddy bloated. 
• Upper midrange is done decently too, being quite energetic so female vocals are forward and lively, but not to the point of being shouty while maintaining good energy to pop off from the warmth. 
• Note weight has a nice weight and density to it but not overly heavy.
• Most instruments do sound great without any oddities, timbre is quite natural as well. 

Treble

• Treble is overly safe and inoffensive, lacking a lot of energy and sparkle throughout most of the region.
• Rolls off extremely hard from mid treble onwards, so notes and cymbals lack so much incisiveness and bite to it, so much so that they just sound blunt, unengaging and lifeless. 
• Extension is also very poorly done, basically killing all sense of airiness. 
• Details are pretty much hidden due to how hard the treble is rolled off. 

Technicalities

Resolution

• Resolution and detail retrieval is subpar at best, due to lack of sparkle and extension in the treble.

Soundstage

• Soundstage is average in terms of width and depth. 
• At least it is not overly closed in but it is on the more intimate side. 

Imaging

• Imaging and accuracy also average at best.
  
• Not really pinpoint accuracy due to it being blunted but still fine. 

Separation

• Separation and layering is average as well.
• Instruments and vocals are not clearly separated but it is not very congested on busier tracks. 

Conclusion

• I have very mixed feelings about the Freya 2.0

• In my opinion, it is tuned very decently from bass until the upper midrange, which is quite surprising to me considering that it is from Kinera ... but treble is just way too dark and dull, which throws off the overall balance.
• I think Kinera is heading towards the right direction in terms of tuning with their recent releases, but I think they have to put in a little more work in order to compete in today's market. 

• Overall, I think the Freya 2.0 is an IEM that has decent bass, warm and natural midrange but with overly dull highs and subpar technicalities. It is very hard to recommend especially at this price, but if you are extremely sensitive to treble and want a set to be as inoffensive as possible, then this may be the set for you. Accessory inclusions, aesthetics and comfort is top tier for the price though. 

Thanks for reading!