KEFINE KLEAN: KEFINE really meant it as “CLEAN!”
KEFINE has launched a new budget iem , the KEFINE “Klean!”. And KEFINE has completely redeemed themselves with this Klean , which features a single dynamic driver and its priced at just 49.00$
NOTE
KEFINE sent this to my friends at Sonicmantra.org for review purposes. Huge thanks to KEFINE and the Sonic Mantra team. However, these are my honest opinions; I am not being paid or influenced in any way to say anything good or bad.
If you want to purchase this product you can order from KEFINE themselves or if you are from Bangladesh you can pre-order them from Geek Mart.
TESTED WITH
• Cayin N3 Ultra
• Cayin RU7
• ddHiFi TC44Pro E2
• Onix Alpha XI1
• iFi Hip Dac 2
• Fiio Btr7
KEFINE sent this to my friends at Sonicmantra.org for review purposes. Huge thanks to KEFINE and the Sonic Mantra team. However, these are my honest opinions; I am not being paid or influenced in any way to say anything good or bad.
If you want to purchase this product you can order from KEFINE themselves or if you are from Bangladesh you can pre-order them from Geek Mart.
TESTED WITH
• Cayin N3 Ultra
• Cayin RU7
• ddHiFi TC44Pro E2
• Onix Alpha XI1
• iFi Hip Dac 2
• Fiio Btr7
SPECIFICATIONS
• Driver type: Dynamic driver
• Driver size: 10 mm
• Frequency response 20 Hz - 20KHz
• Sensitivity: 107 dB +/- 3 dB I
• Impedance: 32 Ω +/-15%
• Cable length: 1.2 M +/-0.2 M
• Plug type: 3.5mm SE
• Weight: 10g (Each side)
• Driver type: Dynamic driver
• Driver size: 10 mm
• Frequency response 20 Hz - 20KHz
• Sensitivity: 107 dB +/- 3 dB I
• Impedance: 32 Ω +/-15%
• Cable length: 1.2 M +/-0.2 M
• Plug type: 3.5mm SE
• Weight: 10g (Each side)
WHAT’S IN THE BOX
• Klean Iems
• Silver plated copper cable
• Tuning nozzle
• Ear tips
• Carrying Pouch
• Klean Iems
• Silver plated copper cable
• Tuning nozzle
• Ear tips
• Carrying Pouch
BUILD & DESIGN
The build on the Klean is absolutely solid and fantastic! The all metal build is something to praise as we don't see that very often in this price bracket and also the matte finish is also a big plus point. Design wise I personally like the minimal matte black with squared white boxed pattern on the faceplate with their branding on it and I think many will prefer this sort of minimal approach than a more colorful and funky one but that's totally personal choice at the end of the day.
The build on the Klean is absolutely solid and fantastic! The all metal build is something to praise as we don't see that very often in this price bracket and also the matte finish is also a big plus point. Design wise I personally like the minimal matte black with squared white boxed pattern on the faceplate with their branding on it and I think many will prefer this sort of minimal approach than a more colorful and funky one but that's totally personal choice at the end of the day.
FIT & COMFORT
Fit on them are really good due to their shell size and also its very ergonomic design. Even though the whole design has a hint of industrialized look to it , each and every edge is smoothened making it an ease to keep it in the ear. I don't think even people with quite small ears will have an issue regarding getting a good fit on them. And coming on to the comfort part , yes it did take some time for my ear to get used to the weight of it but then when it did , it became one of the most comfortable iems in this price bracket.
SOUND
The Klean is tuned with balanced sound in mind but it also comes with two tuning nozzles and they aren't something which barely make any difference , the difference it creates is actually quite significant and noticeable. The default one it comes with is the silver one which features a more controlled upper midrange and air region. Whereas on the black nozzle the upper midrange and air is more emphasized.
I personally felt like the black nozzle sounded a bit too much for me , a bit on the shouty side of things and fatiguing on longer periods of usage. Hence I stuck with the silver one and tested it based on that , whatever I’ll mention later on will be based on how it sounds on the silver nozzle.
Fit on them are really good due to their shell size and also its very ergonomic design. Even though the whole design has a hint of industrialized look to it , each and every edge is smoothened making it an ease to keep it in the ear. I don't think even people with quite small ears will have an issue regarding getting a good fit on them. And coming on to the comfort part , yes it did take some time for my ear to get used to the weight of it but then when it did , it became one of the most comfortable iems in this price bracket.
SOUND
The Klean is tuned with balanced sound in mind but it also comes with two tuning nozzles and they aren't something which barely make any difference , the difference it creates is actually quite significant and noticeable. The default one it comes with is the silver one which features a more controlled upper midrange and air region. Whereas on the black nozzle the upper midrange and air is more emphasized.
I personally felt like the black nozzle sounded a bit too much for me , a bit on the shouty side of things and fatiguing on longer periods of usage. Hence I stuck with the silver one and tested it based on that , whatever I’ll mention later on will be based on how it sounds on the silver nozzle.
BASS
Sub-bass section is very clean and quite rumbly but I expected it to be a bit more in terms of quantity, it nailed in terms of quality in this price range. Though it goes quite deep and is very controlled if it had a touch more quantity it would've been perfect in my opinion.
Mid-bass is where the Klean is truly exceptional , not only it has the quality but also the quantity too. Very tight and controlled hits and slams. Not only that it also has a great body to it. And moreover it doesn't bleed into the lower mids which some of the iem in this price range does. All in all , the mid-bass performance will surely satisfy a lot of people out there for sure.
MIDRANGE
Male vocals are on point , very natural and smooth with a hint of warmth in them. They are full bodied and lush. Though their placement in the mix is a bit laid back , not as upfront as many might want but I personally don't have an issue with this.
Female vocals a bit towards the laid back side. They are quite smooth and lively but a touch more energy would really make them quite more engaging to listen to . I personally prefer more energetic and upfront female vocals , hence i felt them to be less lively here also i felt like the vocals are a bit too over-bodied!
Instruments follow the same path as the female vocals , smooth and laid back , not upfront and lively as I personally would like them to be but then again many might prefer this sort of presentation and this excels in that. One more thing is that the instrument separation is also quite good for the price.
TREBLE
As the name implies , it's nothing short but "Clean". One of the cleanest treble sections out there in this price segment.
It's very smooth, has quite some sparkle and air to it but all in a laid back manner , this is the perfect treble section for people who want a smooth and slightly dark treble section.
But people who want a livelier, more airy and sparkly treble section can switch to the black nozzle and it will be good to go!
Sub-bass section is very clean and quite rumbly but I expected it to be a bit more in terms of quantity, it nailed in terms of quality in this price range. Though it goes quite deep and is very controlled if it had a touch more quantity it would've been perfect in my opinion.
Mid-bass is where the Klean is truly exceptional , not only it has the quality but also the quantity too. Very tight and controlled hits and slams. Not only that it also has a great body to it. And moreover it doesn't bleed into the lower mids which some of the iem in this price range does. All in all , the mid-bass performance will surely satisfy a lot of people out there for sure.
MIDRANGE
Male vocals are on point , very natural and smooth with a hint of warmth in them. They are full bodied and lush. Though their placement in the mix is a bit laid back , not as upfront as many might want but I personally don't have an issue with this.
Female vocals a bit towards the laid back side. They are quite smooth and lively but a touch more energy would really make them quite more engaging to listen to . I personally prefer more energetic and upfront female vocals , hence i felt them to be less lively here also i felt like the vocals are a bit too over-bodied!
Instruments follow the same path as the female vocals , smooth and laid back , not upfront and lively as I personally would like them to be but then again many might prefer this sort of presentation and this excels in that. One more thing is that the instrument separation is also quite good for the price.
TREBLE
As the name implies , it's nothing short but "Clean". One of the cleanest treble sections out there in this price segment.
It's very smooth, has quite some sparkle and air to it but all in a laid back manner , this is the perfect treble section for people who want a smooth and slightly dark treble section.
But people who want a livelier, more airy and sparkly treble section can switch to the black nozzle and it will be good to go!
TECHNICALITIES
For the price of just 49.00$ it performs quite good , even better than some sets I've used which are priced closer to 100$ . Its not like it excels particularly in one section and average or below average in other sections. Rather it performs equally as good in every section.
SOUNDSTAGE & IMAGING
Soundstage wise it's pretty good , has a decent width and height to it . If i have to really nitpick it would be the depth section but then again looking at the price we can't expect any more from this.
Imaging is slightly above average , you can very easily pinpoint the instruments and even faint vocals without an issue!
DETAIL RETRIEVAL & LAYERING
Detail Retrieval is at its best for the price, it simply can't get any better than this while being this clean with this amount of detail.
Layering wise it's pretty good, identifying each layer was no issue at all , but then again due to its price it does have its limitations.
DYNAMICS & TRANSIENT RESPONSE
Dynamics wise it's really good , i didn't expect it to be this good but damn it really is that good!
Transient response is something that it does slightly above average in. Yes its quite fast and doesn't really feel slow or sluggish in very busy tracks.
For the price of just 49.00$ it performs quite good , even better than some sets I've used which are priced closer to 100$ . Its not like it excels particularly in one section and average or below average in other sections. Rather it performs equally as good in every section.
SOUNDSTAGE & IMAGING
Soundstage wise it's pretty good , has a decent width and height to it . If i have to really nitpick it would be the depth section but then again looking at the price we can't expect any more from this.
Imaging is slightly above average , you can very easily pinpoint the instruments and even faint vocals without an issue!
DETAIL RETRIEVAL & LAYERING
Detail Retrieval is at its best for the price, it simply can't get any better than this while being this clean with this amount of detail.
Layering wise it's pretty good, identifying each layer was no issue at all , but then again due to its price it does have its limitations.
DYNAMICS & TRANSIENT RESPONSE
Dynamics wise it's really good , i didn't expect it to be this good but damn it really is that good!
Transient response is something that it does slightly above average in. Yes its quite fast and doesn't really feel slow or sluggish in very busy tracks.
CABLE & TIP ROLLING
I didn't feel like it needed a different cable, hence I tested it with the stock cable. But in terms of ear tips , I personally didn't like the stock one and this is one of those iems in which if you don't pair it with a good ear tip it sounds bad. In my testing I found that it sounds the best to me with the “Final E Clear” one. Would highly recommend this tip with this iem if you're looking for a balanced sound overall!
POWER & SYNERGY
Its quite an easy to drive iem , you can even run it of your phone (if it still has headphone jack!). I tried running it off my phone's jack , it ran just "fine" but running it of a phone wont give you its true nature.
A proper dac will help you get the true nature out this iem and yes with proper power and source , this iem scales quite a lot. Coming on the synergy part Id say a slight warm to neutral sounding source will be good for this , try avoiding any sort of bright sources for this!
I didn't feel like it needed a different cable, hence I tested it with the stock cable. But in terms of ear tips , I personally didn't like the stock one and this is one of those iems in which if you don't pair it with a good ear tip it sounds bad. In my testing I found that it sounds the best to me with the “Final E Clear” one. Would highly recommend this tip with this iem if you're looking for a balanced sound overall!
POWER & SYNERGY
Its quite an easy to drive iem , you can even run it of your phone (if it still has headphone jack!). I tried running it off my phone's jack , it ran just "fine" but running it of a phone wont give you its true nature.
A proper dac will help you get the true nature out this iem and yes with proper power and source , this iem scales quite a lot. Coming on the synergy part Id say a slight warm to neutral sounding source will be good for this , try avoiding any sort of bright sources for this!
