Freya is a goddess in Norse mythology associated with love, beauty, war, gold, and magic, and is the inspiration for Kinera's fresh sequel. The design is one of dynamism and delicacy featuring a transparent resin and blue-hued gradient and intricate white texture creating a vibrant wind and falling snow visual. The magic behind the new Freya is the hybrid quad-driver design that delivers an upgraded tuning with highlighted bass response and a focus on the extraction of sound texture. The overall package and presentation is bold for its price point and features a premium cable with modular terminations of both 3.5mm and 4.4mm balanced options.
Kinera's Freya 2.0 is fresh take on an established UIEM from a brand growing in popularity!
Freya 2.0's housing is made of transparent resin with a reverse coating, creating a blue-hued gradient with intricate white textures. Multiple layers overlap, creating a dynamic and vibrant visual effect reminiscent of flowing wind and falling snow. Delicate specks of glitter are carefully applied in empty spaces, resembling the crystalline voice of a divine maiden singing solemn and mysterious hymns amidst the snow, penetrating the heart in the direction of the wind and snow.
Freya 2.0 features a hybrid quad-driver design, consisting of (x1) Dynamic driver and (x3) Balanced Armatures. It utilizes a custom 7mm Dynamic driver from Kinera for the low-frequency range, delivering a more authentic and immersive audio experience. The mid-frequency range employs (x2) Knowles Balanced Armatures, providing strong density and presence. The high-frequency range incorporates a single custom Kinera Balanced Armature driver, ensuring transparent, clear, and textured sound reproduction. This combination allows for a seamless integration of different frequency ranges with impactful bass, strong mid-frequency density, and clear, detailed high frequencies, resulting in a high-quality listening experience.
The main sound characteristic of Freya 2.0 is textured bass response with good extension. The mid and high frequencies exhibit a sense of density and clarity, with prominent linearity and good penetration. The soundstage has a certain sense of scale, with a pleasing atmospheric quality. Freya 2.0's tuning would be a great fit for those who prefer pop and electronic music.
The tuning upgrade focuses on extracting the texture of sound. The original Freya featured a bold and powerful sound, inspired the passion and fighting spirit of the Valkyrie. Freya 2.0 carefully integrates Knowles's Balanced Armature technology in the high-frequency range. It not only eliminates the excessive aggressiveness in the high frequencies of traditional Chinese driver units, but also upgrades the high frequencies to a more exquisite texture. Like a refined wine, it sheds the initial sourness and undergoes a remarkably subtle chemical reaction, improving the taste and achieving greater harmony and balance, ushering in a new level of quality!