With a series of once-popular products such as BD055 Pro, Freya, Norn,… Kinera has built a name and a remember in the hearts of music lovers. Recently, Kinera created a fever in the audiophile world when it launched the Kinera Celest Gumiho headphones. So what makes this headset so hot and what is its sound quality?
Packaging and accessories
With a price of just over $40, the Kinera Celest Gumiho headphones are packaged very neatly and make many people mistake this as a product in the higher price segment. Covering the outside of the cardboard box is a layer of glossy plastic decorated with beautiful antique motifs. Due to its transparent form, users can see the headphones and some accessories inside the cover box. The technical specifications and detailed information about Gumiho are printed by the manufacturer on the back.
Inside the cover box, users will receive:
1 pair of Kinera Celest Gumiho headphones
1 cable
A badge printed with a nine-tailed fox symbolizing “Gumiho”
3 pairs of Celest Custom ear tips in black
3 pairs of Celest Custom ear tips in white
1 drawstring bag
1 mini brush used to clean sound ducts
Detailed user manual
Table of Contents
Design and wearing experience
As in the previous introductory article, Kinera’s Celest Gumiho headset was inspired by the mythical nine-tailed fox in the book “Classic of Mountains and Seas: Quingqiu Mountain”. The image of the “nine-tailed fox” is printed by Kinera on the faceplate of Gumiho. This is also the most impressive highlight of this headset. Advanced relief technology helps the patterns on the faceplate have impressive durability, preventing them from falling off after a long time of use.
The use of 3D printing technology allows manufacturers to create lines on Gumiho accurately down to every detail. The ergonomic shape with curved edges at the edges allows Kinera Celest Gumiho to provide a snug, comfortable, and pleasant wearing experience. Eye-catching and sophisticated colors also contribute to adding highlights to the headset. There will be 2 color options for Gumiho: black and white.
Another big plus point for Gumiho is that the connector is sunk into the housing, making the overall design more seamless. The cable that comes with the headset is of good quality and uses a 3.5mm jack and a 0.78mm 2-pin connector. Inside the cable, there will be 124 conductors made from copper alloy and silver-plated copper. The cross-braided structure between the wire cores plus high-quality materials allows the accuracy and transmission speed to be pushed to the highest level.
Driver configuration and sound quality
Hidden inside the housing of the Kinera Celest Gumiho is a hybrid driver cluster made up of a 10 x 10mm Square Planar driver developed by Kinera itself and a Balanced Armature driver. In terms of parameters, Gumiho has a frequency response range of 20Hz – 20kHz, a sensitivity of 106dB, and operates at 9Ohm impedance.
With the first listen, Gumiho has quite a bright sound quality with a very recognizable metallic timbre. Experiencing 50 hours of burn-in will help the treble range become smoother. Kinera Celest Gumiho possesses a fast response and well-controlled bass range but is a bit lacking in volume and texture. The bass range has good resonance, curls up a bit when reaching the listener’s ears, and lacks a little extension. The midbass is more focused and the warmth in the midbass also adds a little thickness to each note. The sound of low-frequency instruments (like drums or brass) sounds richer and fuller. If you want to add a little more boom and power in the sub-bass, my advice is to pair Gumiho with the DAP iBasso DX170 or FiiO M11S.
Gumiho has a very mellow and comfortable-sounding mid-range but lacks a bit of energy. Both the male and female vocal parts are expressed very inspiringly, however, the female vocal part sounds a bit more seasoned. The vocal part has good contrast with the instruments so it doesn’t drown out, but instead is vivid and prominent. Using EQ on your phone or DAP to increase the 5kHz – 6kHz area will make the vocal part more vivid and natural.
Kinera Celest Gumiho Hybrid Driver in-Ear Monitors, 10mm Square Planar Driver + 1BA IEMs in-Ear Earphones (Black with Logo): Buy it now
Kinera Celest Gumiho Hybrid Driver in-Ear Monitors, 10mm Square Planar Driver + 1BA IEMs in-Ear Earphones (Black): Buy it now
The treble range has a good amount of volume (not too much) and creates a sparkling effect for the piano and guitar sounds. Only when the listener increases the volume to a high level does the harsh sound phenomenon begin to appear. So keeping the volume at 50-60% is most reasonable. The ability to retrieve signals is relatively detailed, and the presence of the treble range is only average, but in terms of performance level, Gumiho is one of the best headphones in the $40 segment.
Technically, the Kinera Celest Gumiho has an impressive soundstage with well-staged depth and width but lacks a bit of height. Although the sound image is quite accurate, Gumiho still has a bit of difficulty when handling highly complex music. Having relatively high sensitivity and low impedance makes Gumiho quite “easy-going” when choosing a combination. You can comfortably pair the headset with your smartphone without having to use an external dongle.
Compare
Vs Shuoer S12
With the housing made of metal, the S12 has better sturdiness and durability than Gumiho. However, the light weight helps Gumiho feel more comfortable and pleasant when worn on the ear. The ear fit of both headphones is the same. Moving on to the sound quality, the bass range on the S12 has a better presence and more power. Technical factors such as depth, layer separation, and sound imaging are all shown well, but the openness is not clear.
For Kinera Celest Gumiho, the sound is tuned in a neutral direction and has a more focused mid-range, so the vocals sound better, creating a more realistic, emotional feeling than the S12. Although the layering ability is not as clear as the S12, with a more spacious soundstage, the sound that Gumiho provides has better airiness and sounds more uplifting and pleasant.
Vs Tripowin x HBB Mele
Just like the S12, Tripowin x HBB Mele has a housing made from metal and has very good finishing. A stone eye-shaped faceplate with delicate veins helps Mele’s appearance become more sparkling. Both headphones are beautiful. Although it is only made from plastic, bringing the nine-tailed fox image to the faceplate has helped create Gumiho’s uniqueness.
Mele possesses a unique V-shape sound quality with a bass range that sounds quite solid and powerful but encroaches slightly into the mid-range. The treble sound is safely adjusted so it sounds quite comfortable and rarely causes harsh noise. As for Gumiho, Kinera’s latest headphones have a more coherent sound quality, the extension in the bass range is handled better and there is less encroachment into the mid-range. The technical characteristics are better expressed from the sound imaging, and soundstage to the ability to layer. Thanks to that, the sound stage is staged more realistically and vividly.
With an extremely attractive price and many outstanding advantages such as unique design, good finishing quality, easy-to-fit ears, and realistic and attractive sound quality, it is not difficult to understand that Kinera Celest Gumiho is One of the hottest headphones at the moment.