Man, I wish I had discovered Kinera’s Bd005 yesterday, on July 4th. I could have worn these red and blue earbuds at the beach to compliment my star spangled bikini. But that’s neither here nor there. I’ve been listening to a lot of Kinera’s earbuds recently, and there’s no question that the company offers a great bang for your buck. So, I was curious about what Kinera could do with its most affordable model, the Bd005. Will these IEMs be another winner for the budget shopper? Let’s find out in this Kinera Bd005 Sport Earphone Review.
Kinera Bd005 Sport Earphone Review
FIT
Because the bottom sides of the shells are so flat and lack any real contours, the sound isolation isn’t particularly effective. And you might need to fiddle around with the fit to get the intended sound signature. More about this below. That being said, they’re comfortable enough to wear for long listening sessions. And because these buds are so flat and don’t protrude out of the ear, they might even be suitable for cat naps.
DESIGN
The Bd005 sports dual drivers, with a dynamic driver for the lows and a balanced armature for the higher frequencies.
The frequency range on these buds is a standard 20 Hz – 20 kHz. And they’re pretty easy to drive as well, with a sensitivity of 103 dB and an impedance of 12 Ohms.
The nice thing about all of Kinera’s affordable earbuds is that they have detachable MMCX cables. And it’s rare to find this feature on budget earbuds.
Now, I’m not too sure what makes the Bd005 a sport earphone, considering they’re not advertised as being water resistant. But perhaps the flat shape of the shells helps to keep them secure during sweaty workouts. I couldn’t be bothered going for a run to test this theory. But anyway, I never sweat or fart. Just lucky, I guess.
The cable is pretty thick and sturdy looking for an IEM at this price point, and I didn’t run into too many tangles for this reason. The terminations also look reasonably sturdy. Not sure what the warranty period is for these buds, but they should be able to withstand some wear and tear. The cable also comes with a mic and single button remote, which allows you to play/pause, skip tracks and answer calls.
SOUND
Lows
Like all IEMs, the kind of fit you get will make a big difference in the sound signature. And the Bd005 felt very light on the bass until I really pushed them hard into my ears. So, if you don’t hear enough bass from these buds, really shove them in there until you can taste them. If the fit is optimal, you hear ample bass presence, bringing huge punch and energy to pop tracks. The rich low end also gives a lot of warmth to rock tracks, and provides a rich feel to all genres in general. In terms of clarity, you can expect more smoothness than detail when listening to acoustic instruments like double basses and cellos. But the weightiness of this sound signature really gives these instruments a grand and powerful feel.
Mids
You’ll hear emphasized upper mids, which bring vocals forward in the mix and give a dynamic flavor to pop tracks in particular. Snare hits also have a lot of impact and energy for this reason, giving rock tracks very lively vibe. The only caveat is that this sound profile can sometimes cause a little harshness in the higher frequencies, and if you’re ears are sensitive to this, it may make for an uncomfortable listen. (Saxophones in this range, for example, were a little painful to listen to). But with respect to transparency and separation, the Bd005 is an impressively clean and detailed headphone in this frequency range for the price. Guitar strums were tidy and clearly outlined, and acoustic instruments conveyed a reasonably natural tone.
Highs
The nice extension in the highs gives percussion a tight and crisp feel, making pop tracks snappy and vibrant. At the same time, listening to Miles Davis’ trumpet in the highest registers, my ears didn’t start bleeding. So, the highest peaks aren’t to piercing. But don’t expect too much detail in this range. Violins and vocals, for example, had more smoothness than substance. That being said, I doubt you’ll be doing much critical listening on the elliptical.
Soundstage
Not bad at all. Though the soundstage is less than vast, you will hear dimension in terms of height, and depth. And varying degrees along these axes are apparent as well.
SUMMARY
I only have two issues with the Bd005. The fit is less than ideal, and the upper mids cause some uncomfortable harshness. But in terms of clarity and separation, these buds do a great job for the price. And considering how affordable the Bd005 is for an IEM with a detachable cable, these patriotic earbuds are a pretty good deal. At least for Americans. Oh wait…Red means right and left means blue. Duh. (Other colors available).
Minus 2 skulls for the reasons stated above.
You can find these earbuds for the best price here:
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