Kinera Tyr Review
Looks can be deceiving.
Well, we all know that, yet we are often too quick to judge stuff based on their appearance alone. Kinera Tyr is one such case, where the unassuming design and specs can easily get one into thinking, “yet another cheap single dynamic driver IEM, nothing we haven’t seen before”.
Kinera has been manufacturing IEMs for quite a while. They usually have a unique design language, but both the Kinera IEMs I’ve demoed previously (Seed and Sif) left me rather unimpressed.
Can the Tyr break that trend? Let’s find out.
(Note: the ratings given will be subjective to the price tier. Definitely the expectations from a $15 IEM won’t be the same as a $150 one, and that’s the approach taken while assigning scores. I would like to thank Nappoler Hu from HiFiGo Audio, as he was kind enough to send me a review sample. Disclaimer)
Sources used: Yulong Canary, LG G7, Questyle QP1R
Price, while reviewed: $30. Can be purchased from HiFiGo Audio or their AliExperss store. Look out for sales and discounts.
Build: The barrel-type IEM shell is a mix of aluminium with a chrome-plated finish, and black plastic. The plastic housing has the strain relief for the outgoing wire (color-coded for channel identification) along with the vent hole. The nozzle and the end-cap are both metal, with the nozzle having a substantial lip. Rest assured that your tips ain’t gonna come sliding out. The nozzle has a very interesting sports-car front-grille like filter pattern.
The cable, however, is a point of discontent. For one: it’s not detachable. I personally believe that non-detachable cables can last long too (my Meze 11 Neo has withstood 3+ years of constant abuse), but this cable in particular doesn’t inspire much confidence. For one: it’s springy and gets tangled easily. For two: there is no strain-relief above the Y-splitter. This is a very common point-of-failure for IEMs and I wish Kinera took this one into consideration. The strain relief around the 3.5mm plug is also stiffer than I’d like, thus making the cable withstand more strain. It also lacks a chin-slider.
As for the remote: it’s decent, and voice is picked up even in noisy environments. The button is a bit stiff, however.
In short: the housing itself is built really well, but the cable raises some questions over long-term durability.
3.5/5
Accessories: The packaging itself is rather unique with the Tyr, but the inclusion of Final E-type tips was surprising to say the least. Usually these tips alone cost ~$15, so that’s 50% of the IEMs price-tag. I am a big fan of the E-type tips, and if you want to get some spare E-type tips, buying the Tyr can be a good option in a sense.
As for the rest of the accessories: nothing much to write home about. There are 3 pairs of additional wide-bore tips, but they made the Tyr sound bland and lacking dynamics. The leatherette carrying “pouch” looks cool, but has no protection to speak of and will also let in dust etc as it doesn’t shut tight like typical clamshell cases or drawstring pouches. That’s about it. Though with the E-type tips and that price-tag, I’m more than happy with what I got.
4.5/5
Comfort: I personally find barrel-type IEMs rather comfortable, as long as I’m going for a cable-up/over-the-ear fit (this wearing style also eliminates cable noise as a bonus). The Kinera Tyr is very comfortable (especially with the E-type tips) no matter how you wear them, thanks to their good ergonomics and light weight. Do note that cable-noise is an issue if you go for the cable-down style. Also, you wouldn’t want to sleep-in while wearing them as they stick out quite a bit.
Passive noise-solation is above-average.
4.5/5
Now, on to the sound. This is a good ol’ 6mm micro dynamic-driver design, so no multi-driver coherency issue to bother about. It’s well-vented apparently as I couldn’t feel much driver-flex. Do note that the following sound impressions are with the Final E-type tips.
My reference headphone is the HD650, which I run on my Yulong Canary. They don’t have good bass, however, so I mostly refer to their treble and mid-range tonality/rendition/timbre while assessing other gears. As for the reference bass: Final E5000 for sub-bass, and Audeze iSine 10 (Cipher V1 cable) for mid-bass.
Bass: Micro dynamic drivers usually have good bass, and the Tyr doesn’t disappoint in that regard. The mid-bass has a couple dB of boost over the lower mids, but there’s not much mid-bass bleed to speak of. The sub-bass is boosted even more than the mid-bass, but it rolls off at ~40Hz. This results in a lack of visceral sub-bass response, so this might not be the bass-head’s dream.
Bass speed is on the slower side, with longer decay than usual. Bass texture is a bit hazy, but you can definitely tell the various notes apart. Angus and Julia Stones’ Other Things demonstrate that rather well.
In summary: overall good bass response, but sub-bass rumble and slower bass speed/hazy texturing are the sore points.
4/5
Mids: The lower mids are a tad behind the mix compared to the upper-mids, especially the 500–700Hz region. This results in an under-emphasized and distant baritone vocals. The frequency then starts rising until ~2.5KHz. Now, the rise from the 1KHz region is appreciated and actually makes most male vocals and snare drums sound… nice!
The issue is the upper mids, unfortunately. It’s a bit too emphasized and is treading near shoutiness. I didn’t find it to be an issue in most male-vocal tracks (though certain instruments would sound odd due this emphasis, especially acoustic guitars), but in certain female-vocal tracks this can pose a problem, with possible listening fatigue (esp anime soundtracks, e.g. this one).
As for the rest, mid-range detail rendition is above-average. Mid-range timbre and tonality is quite accurate, apart from the upper-mids and the dipped 500–700Khz region that thins out baritone vocals. I really enjoyed drum heavy tracks with the Tyr, with You Saved Me by The Winery Dogs being a particular highlight. Mike Portnoy’s virtuoso drumming is at full display here, and the Tyr does an admirable job in reproducing that (for the price, of course).
So, be wary of the upper-mid emphasis and how much sensitive you are to that particular region.
4/5
Treble: Kinera has gone for a relatively restrained treble tuning, with just a couple peaks around 7KHz and 10KHz (to my ears). The 7KHz peak might be problematic on certain tracks, with instances of sibilance, as can be heard in Queen and David Bowie’s Under Pressure. Such instances are rather rare, however, and most bright headphones/earphones struggle in that particular Queen track, but if you are sensitive to even the slightest hint of sibilance — take note.
Cymbals are a bit laid back in the mix, but the cymbals hits themselves are crisp and sound right. Treble rolls off sharply after 12KHz, so their is an apparent lack of “air” in the upper-treble region. This makes crash cymbals sound less dramatic.
Micro-detail retrieval is average for typical dynamic driver IEMs in this range, so the Tyr will fall behind the fellow BA/Hybrid driver setups in terms of absolute detail rendition. Then again, such cheap BA/Hybrid IEMs suffer from other tonality and coherency issues more often than not, so this is a worthy trade-off IMO. Another issue would be the slight smearing of instruments in fast-paced tracks. This is something that plagues many dynamic driver IEMs and the Tyr is no exception.
4/5
Note: the following two sections may have varying perceptions for each individual due to a number of factors e.g. pyschoacoustics, insertion depth, ambient noise etc.
Soundstage: The Tyr does not have a particularly wide soundstage, but soundstage depth is exemplary in this price range, with instruments often being placed very close to your eardrums (as they were in the mix). This gives rise to a very convincing perception of depth and I personally prefer this kind of presentation over a very widely scattered stage (HD650 also has a similar approach to soundstage and imaging).
4.5/5
Imaging: Imaging is great, and even the “cardinal” (top-right/bottom-left etc. instrument placement) is well done for the price-range. Left-right panning is rendered exceptionally well, and the soundstage depth aids in the layering of instruments, as can be heard in Yosi Horikawa’s Crossing. Spatial cues are especially well rendered (a lot like the BLON BL-03).
In short: really good imaging performance, even compared to some pricier IEMs. This is as good as the BLON BL-03 in terms of imaging performance for under $50, and that’s the best I’ve heard in this range.
5/5
Bang-for-buck: The flimsy cable is a sore area of the otherwise excellent value that the Kinera Tyr provides. You get premium eartips that often cost half as much as the IEMs themselves, and the sound quality is quite competitive for the price range as well. Had the build been better (and by that I basically mean the cable) — this would get a higher rating in this section, no doubt.
4/5
Source and Amping: The IEMs being rather sensitive (105dB/mW @ 1KHz, 16 ohms) helps to drive them from most portable sources. Be mindful of the output impedance of your source though, as when I connected it to a higher output impedance device (Yulong Canary, 10 ohms), the frequency response shifted noticeably with even more emphasis around the upper-mid/lower-treble region. Not something you’d want, presumably.
Select Comparisons
vs Final E1000: The E1000 ($30) is very similar to the Kinera Tyr: both comes with the E-type tips (Final’s ones are color-coded, however, a nicer touch) and both have a barrel type shape with micro dynamic-drivers inside. Both also have fixed cables, though I’d give the nod to E1000 in terms of build as the strain reliefs are more substantial and the cable is noticeably more robust.
In terms of sound quality, Final has more of a mid-range emphasis, with leaner sub-bass and mid-bass than the Tyr. The upper mids are not as emphasized as the Tyr, which results in a very smooth and fatigue-free listening no matter what track you throw at it. The treble response is also smoother, though the cymbals are not as pronounced as the Tyr, and the laid-back signature might not suit everyone. Kinera Tyr offers more excitement in the treble comparatively.
Soundstage is wider on the E1000 while it is deeper on the Tyr. Imaging is almost close, but the Tyr takes the cake with better layering of instruments.
I personally prefer the tonality and timbre of the E1000 over the Tyr, but I’d still use Tyr for using while commute due to more emphasized sub-bass, a bit more excitement in the highs, and better imaging.
vs BLON BL-03: One of the benchmark IEMs for the <$50 range, the BL-03 ($25–30) is pretty tough to beat across all regions. In terms of packaging and accessories, however, they are tough to not beat. Tyr has much better accessory package for sure.
In terms of build quality, I’d side with the BLONs, while comfort will be squarely in Tyr’s grasp.
As for the sound difference between them, they sound quite different in terms of overall signature and tonality/timbre. The BL-03 is warmer sounding in comparison with more emphasis on the mid-bass. Both have rolled-off sub-bass, though BL-03 rolls off earlier, and the Tyr’s sub-bass is boosted in comparison. Mid-bass on the other hand is where BL-03 focuses while the Tyr skimps on that a bit.
The vocals sound more intimate on the BLONs, and that’s what I love about them. The midrange timbre is also exceptionally well done on the BL-03, making them more suitable for acoustic and singer/songwriter tracks. The emphasis around 3KHz region is also less drastic on the BLONs, so there’s that.
Treble is about similar on both, but the extra crispness in cymbals hits on the Tyr makes them more enjoyable for metal tracks. Both have limited upper-treble reach.
To summarize — I’d still take the BL-03 over the Tyr, but that’s mostly because I’m a sucker for that midrange tonality of the BLONs. However, If you want more sub-bass and less mid-bass than the BLONs, better comfort and isolation, and a less messy initial setup (no tip/cable-change shenanigans with the Tyr) — the Kinera can be a good alternative.
Conclusion
The immense competition under the $50 range has proven to be a great thing: there are a plethora of good options out there, with each serving a particular audience. Cheap earphones never sounded so good, and good earphones have never been so cheap.
Kinera Tyr is yet another addition in the budget segment, and it does put up a good show. The eartips are top-notch, it doesn’t do much wrong in the sound department(apart from that upper-mid peak), and the soundstage/imaging performance belies the price tag.
The biggest downside would be that fixed, flimsy cable. A better built cable could alleviate my reservations about the build of this IEM, but alas.
If you can deal with the fixed cable and don’t mind that upper-mid peak, the Kinera Tyr is a good, if not great option.
Final Rating: 4/5
Test tracks (as Tidal playlist): https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/04350ebe-1582-4785-9984-ff050d80d2b7
Test tracks (as YouTube playlist, often updated):
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLetb5RqtcrlXdSG4tSCjCJpvoszUb4OjG
