KEFINE QUATIO: The Yuri Boyka Of Entry-level Sets

“God has given me a gift, only one as I am the most complete fighter in the world!”

~~Yuri Boyka, Undisputed II

This is my third product review from KEFINE and what I have here is their latest product and it is their third IEM model after the Nightingale and Que. This is KEFINE Quatio and this is their first IEM model with hybrid driver configuration. The name model is derived from the portmanteau of the words “Quad Driver” and “Audio” as it has 4 drivers inside of its shell chassis.

This set has two types of driver inside consisting of two dynamic drivers and two balanced armature drivers that were encased in a modified UIEM style CNC-milled aluminium alloy shell chassis that was anodised and sand-blasted. The dynamic drivers that were implemented here are two different types of diaphragm configuration, a 10mm with DLC diaphragm and 8mm one with composite diaphragm composed of two types of materials, and all of them will handle the low frequency to have a more tactile bass response. Aside from the dynamic drivers, it was two custom balanced armature drivers that were responsible for midrange and high frequencies for clarity and detailed vocals and instruments. This set also features both active and passive three-way crossovers as it has an acoustic conduit and an electrical frequency divider for a pure and clear sound quality on its overall frequency spectrum.

When it comes to fitting and comfort, the Quatio offers a comfortable fitting inside in my lugholes and it seals well that it gives an excellent passive noise isolation as it is able to block some unwanted external from the outside surroundings.

The KEFINE Quatio like its predecessor, the KEFINE Delci AE has a detachable nozzle with tuning filters inside and it offers three types of nozzle tuning filters that are colour-coded and each of them conveys a different tonal profile. Aside from the shells, it has a good quality cable made of high purity silver-plated copper strands in a 4-core structure with a modular termination plug.

The modular termination adapters that are included are 3.5mm single-ended jack and 4.4mm balanced jack, and all of them are gold-plated for better conductivity and wear resistance. The overall quality of the cable is quite supple and flexible, it delivers a seamless pure audio signal transmission without any microphonics issues at all.

The Quatio is sufficiently well-packed with a quantifying amount of accessories inside of its packaging box that is also pretty well-made but quite bulky. With the number of inclusions and also its qualities that were included inside seems justified for its asking price.

These are the following contents that we can find inside of its packaging box:

• Pair of KEFINE Quatio ear piece transducers with silver-coloured tuning filter nozzles.
• Pair of gold-coloured filter tuning nozzles.
• Pair of black-coloured filter tuning nozzles.
• PU-leather storage case.
• Stock cable with modular termination.
• 3.5mm single ended plug adapter.
• 4.4mm balanced plug adapter.
• 6 pairs of grey-coloured silicone ear tips in different standard sizes.
• 6 pairs of white-coloured silicone ear tips in different standard sizes.
• Paperwork like Q.C certificate, instruction manual and warranty card.

When it comes to driveability and source matching, this one can be driven with a device in standard gain mode amplification but it scales well to a higher input of gain modes as it sounds more dynamic and also has broader frequency coverage.

As for its tonal profile, this one has three tuning filter nozzles and each of them gives a different tonal flavour. And also, I incorporated the parts of the frequency range for each tonal signature.

I will use the Creedence Clearwater Revival or CCR’s ‘Have You Ever Seen The Rain” as a main testing track on this one

SILVER TUNING FILTER

This one has the most balanced sounding as it also has the most “neutral” sounding among its tuning filters, It has a sufficient and tactile bass response with a rumbly end that  as it has clear sub bass presence and sufficient note weight on its mid bass texture for bass note instruments and male vocals. Midrange have a well-balanced and neutral presentation as it has clear, transparent and sleek enough to emphasis the plushness and smoothness of male vocals, the sweetness and ethereal sound on female vocals and as more instruments, a crisp and mellow sound on strings, more airy and graceful sound on woodwinds, a resonant and preciseness on the percussive, and lastly, the brilliant and magnificent sounds on brasses especially trumpets. The treble response of this one  is quite an even and it has a  sufficient amount of air as it sounds rather lustrous without being any piercing, sibilant and tinny sounding.

On “Have You Ever Seen the Rain” track, John Fogerty dramatic tenor vocals have a grit and ringing sound to project the rawness of his voice albeit its a bit less rich and less darker tone, his guitar lines have a balanced tone on every strumming on its strings notes while the  supporting rhythm guitar lines of his brother, Tom, delivers that clean and sustaining sound harmoniously. Bass guitar lines from Stu Cook have a resonant but a bit less weighty as he is known for his solid and full bodied groovy lines, and then on Doug Clifford's percussive passages, snares have a incisive and resonant sound, kick drums sounds a bit sonorous, a crisper and sizzling sound on hi-hats and a lustrous sound on cymbals.

GOLD TUNING FILTER:

This one has a bit more brighter presentation as it has a noticeable emphasis somewhere in the upper mids to the presence treble part. It still retains the tactility of its bass response as it was able to give a reverberating sub bass but a bit tighter mid bass texture.  The midrange appears to sound a bit recessed as it has a bit leaner presentation but it has more energetic that gives more lively and vibrancy on female vocals particularly on mezzo-sopranos and mezzo-sopranos, a more brilliance and intense sound on woodwinds particularly on flutes and piccolos, a bright and lively sound strings like guitars and pianos, a precise, sharp and a bit dry sound on percussive like snares, tom-toms and kettledrums, and a metallic brilliance and pale sounds on brasses. As I previously mentioned a while ago that the emphasis on the upper mids and presence section makes the treble quality makes its more bright and animated with an improved brilliance air, it also highlight the a sharper definition on the attack on the instruments while its adds more clarity on its vocal articulation albeit it adds some tinny sound as the sounds of cymbals has a more sizzle and metallic while celestas will have a brighter sound.

On the other hand, in regards to CCR’s “Have You Ever Seen the Rain” track, John Fogerty’s vocals have a more ringing and emotive vocals while his guitar lines have a more crisper and bright sound on every strumming and picking on its strings notes that it have those clearer overtones while Tom’s supporting rhythm guitar lines still delivers that clear and bright sound as it has this clean strumming that will blend more with lead guitar lines. Stu Cook’s bass guitar grooves appears to sound less weighty, hollow and raspy and Doug Clifford's drum lines, snares have a bright and incisive sound, kick drums have a sustaining and vibrant sound, a more shimmering sound on hi-hats and then, a brilliant but a tad dryer sound on cymbal strikes.

BLACK TUNING FILTER:

It has an added warmth on overall tonal profiles as it has more colouration that makes it even more dynamic. The bass has an added texture on its mid bass as it gives more punchier and dense sound on bass-clef instruments as the bass guitars has a weighty and rasping sound while double-basses have a broader and somber sound, bass kick drums have a thudding and full sound on every stroke, and deep male vocals like bass and baritones have a deep resonating voices to sound richer and denser with a dark timbre. The midrange seems to have that richer and warmer sound as it makes a fuller sound on baritones as it sounds lusher and tenors have a more juicy but less brighter voice. On the other hand, instruments like brasses have a more brassy and fuller sound especially on trumpets and  trombones, percussion instruments like snare drums and tom-toms have a hard and warm resonance sound on every stroke. Treble responses have smooth and softness on the delivery but it presents a modest amount of treble and a less intensity of its sparkle as the cymbals sound more lustrous and undulating and the hi-hats have a warm resonant and a bit dull sound.

And then again, on the CCR’s “Have You Ever Seen the Rain” track, John Fogerty’s vocals have a rich and fuller with raspiness while his guitar lines have a more buttery sound on every strumming and picking on its strings notes but not to point its sounds distorted and heavily compressed sounding. Tom’s supporting rhythm guitar lines still delivers that clean sound but it has a resonant and warmth on it that supports the other instruments overall harmonic foundation. Stu Cook’s bass guitar grooves appears to sound a bit more fuller weighty and sombre while on Doug Clifford's drum lines,snares have a hard and more resonant sound, kick drums have a full and thudding sound, warm but a bit duller sound on hi-hats and a full yet undulating sound on cymbals.

OVERALL TECHNICAL PERFORMANCE:

The headstage projection is somehow pretty impressive on how it presents a wide lateral span and good height reach and immersive depth especially on gold coloured tuning filters. On its imaging, it exhibits a concave-like stereo presentation in which I was able to pinpoint the placement of musical elements in fairly layered soundscape with some good separation on them so that playing complex multi-instrumental tracks would be easy-peasy on its playback.

The overall cohesion on its hybrid driver performance is quite excellent as the dynamic drivers have a quick transient speed for its bass response while the balanced armature drivers have a consistent performance as they produce clear high fidelity sound waves generated from the vibrations of its armature tongue. When it comes to its resolution capabilities, it show some firmness of its macro-dynamics at it was able to highlight the fluctuations of its loudness degree on both instrumental lines and chorale passage and its micro-dynamics especially on its micro-detail retrieval was able to extract some grains, nuances and other sonic background details like vocal ends, notation attacks and instrumental reverb tails.

PEER COMPARISONS:

EPZ K5

• It has a more compact size and it is made of medical-grade resin shell chassis.
• Driver layout consists of one dynamic driver and four Sonion balanced armature drivers.
• Its stock cable has a modular termination feature and it even includes a 2.5mm balanced plug.
• It has a mild U-shaped sound with a pretty balanced sound as it has ab bit tighter bass response, a slightly recessed midrange presentation with some tad of warmth and also an energetic one as it has clear vocals and a bit brighter sound on woodwinds and strings, and shimmering and airy treble response, albeit it is sounds a bit metallic and shrilly.
• On its technical capabilities, it can project average-sized perceived soundstage in an atmospheric-like stereo imaging presentation and good resolution capability as it is able to delineate both its macro-dynamics and micro-dynamics.

TANGZU FU DU VERSE. I

• This one has a smaller profile and it is made of a 3D-moulded resin shell.
• It is a hybrid driver consisting of a single 10mm dynamic driver and two balanced armature drivers.
• It has a single ended termination plug on its 4-core OFC cable and inclusion of a Divinus ear tips is one of its product highlights.
• This one has a U-shaped sound profile with a balanced-warmish tonality as it has punchier and impactful bass response, a recessed yet warm, rich and plush midrange which are quite ideal for male vocals instruments like brasses and percussive, and it has a smooth treble response but its airy extension is rather a modest.
• Technicality-wise, this set is quite decent on projecting an average-size soundstage, layering is rather decent on its soundscape as it presents a two-dimensional stereo imaging and less resolving on its resolution capability, particularly on its micro-dynamics.

SIMGOT EM6L

• Another set with hybrid driver configuration that also houses a metal alloy chassis.
• Its hybrid driver consists of a single 8mm dynamic driver and four balanced armature drivers.
• It uses QDC-type bi-pin connector rather than a proven standard 0.78mm 2-pin connector and it has a 3.5mm single ended plug on its silver-plated OFC cable.
• This one has U-shaped sound profile that aligns with a Harman tuning curve as it has tiger and rumbly bass response, a recessed yet energetic midrange that give more clarity and brilliance on female vocals and instruments like strings and woodwinds, and then a bright and airy treble response.
• As for its overall technical performance, it has an above-average sound/speaker stage size in a two-dimensional stereo imaging presentation within its a fairly layered soundscape and also, it has a good resolution capability especially of its micro-detail retrieval.

In summary, KEFINE again keeps striving on its ingenuity as it has some fresh take on introducing a product that differentiates itself from its models by implementing new features. The KEFINE Quatio is a very capable set on how very versatile this set was from its replaceable tuning nozzles up to modular termination plug, as the former offers a well-done tuning in three types of sound profiles as a testament of some of the KEFINE’s audio tuners’ skill and the latter’s convenience of without changing the whole cable due to a termination plug mismatch to their sources as we can simply replace it with plug adapter for output compatibility. This is one of the recent sets that truly impresses in terms of tonal prowess and technical capabilities that I can recommend this det without batting an eyelid. And like what I mentioned regarding its title review, this is probably the most complete IEM within its price range.

KEFINE Quatio is now available at KEFINE’s official online store, just simply check it out in the link that I have provided below.

HIFIGO LINK: https://hifigo.com/products/kefine-quatio

For more KEFINE product reviews, check out more stuff below:

■ KEFINE KLANAR

■ KEFINE KLEAN

■ KEFINE DELCI

■ KEFINE DELCI AE

SPECIFICATION:

MODEL: KEFINE QUATIO

IMPEDANCE: 32Ω

SENSITIVITY: 107dB

FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 20Hz – 20KHz

CABLE LENGTH: 1.2m

PIN TYPE: 0.78mm 2-PIN CONNECTOR

PLUG TYPE: (MODULAR) 3.5mm, 4.4MM

DRIVER UNIT(S):  2 DYNAMIC DRIVERS + 2 BALANCED ARMATURE DRIVERS

PROS:

● Firm and lightweight shell chassis made of aluminium alloy

● It has compact size and neat minimalist design despite its quad driver set-up.

● Offers a comfortable fitting and a good passive noise isolation. 

● The shells seem to have undergone a sandblasting process to achieve its matte-like texture for fingerprint mark resistance and are less susceptible to scratches.

● A copious number of accessories that were included inside of its packaging box.

● Inclusion of a high quality stock cable with a modular termination plug feature.

● A plentiful amount of stock ear tips to choose from

● It has detachable tuning filter nozzles as it offers the three types of sound profile 

● It offers a range of sound profiles; a mild u-shaped with an almost balanced-neutral tonality(silver nozzles), a warmish-balanced U-shaped sound (black nozzles) and bright U-shaped sound signature (gold nozzles).

● Punchy, tactile and pithy bass response. (silver and gold nozzles)

● Tighter, precise and cleaner bass response. (black nozzles)

● Well-balanced, silky and smooth midrange. (silver nozzles)   

● Rich, lush and well-textured midrange. (gold nozzles)

● Full, warm and smooth male vocals. (gold nozzles)

● Energetic and a bit transparent midrange (gold nozzles)

● Shimmering, crisper  and more expressive sound of female vocals and also on some strings and other woodwind instruments. (gold nozzles)

● Depending on tuning nozzles, instruments will sound natural and accurate.

● Smooth and balanced treble response. (black nozzles)

● A bit bright and silvery treble response. (gold nozzles)

● Commendable technical performance as it justified its asking price.

CONS:

● Still a bit coloured for keen neutral heads.

● Not for bass heads looking for a boomy and more potent bass response even on black nozzle mode.

● Lack of treble bite for ardent treble heads even on gold nozzle mode which is the most energetic and bright tuning.

● The treble air has a rather modest extension.(black and silver nozzles)

TRACKS TESTED: ( * = 16-bit FLAC, ** = 24-bit FLAC, *'* = MQA, '*' = DSD, *'= .WAV)

Alison Krauss -When You Say Nothing At All *

Jade Wiedlin - Blue Kiss**

Led Zeppelin - When The Levee Breaks **

Mountain - Mississippi Queen *

Queen - Killer Queen **

Guns N' Roses - Patience *'*

Eric Clapton - Tears in Heaven '*'

Sergio Mendes- Never Gonna Let You Go '*'

Pearl Jam - Daughter **

Roselia - Hidamari Rhodonite *

Assassin - Fight (To Stop The Tyranny)*

Celtic Frost- Visual Aggression *

New Order - Blue Monday *

The Corrs- What Can I do (unplugged version) *

Jimi Hendrix Experience - Voodoo Child *

The Madness- Buggy Trousers *

Metallica - Motorbreath **

Mariah Carey- Always Be My Baby *

Destiny's Child - Say My Name *

Malice Mizer- Au Revoir *

Mozart - Lacrimosa *

New York Philharmonic Orchestra - Dvorak- Symphony 9 " From the New World." *

Eva Cassidy - Fields of Gold (Sting cover)*

Michael Jackson - Give In To Me *

Exciter - Violence and Force *

Diana Krall - Stop This World **

Debbie Gibson - Foolish Beat *'*

The Sisters of Mercy – Lucretia My Reflection**

Suzanne Vega – Luka **

Lauren Christy – Steep *

Ottoman Mehter - Hucum Marsi *

Diana Damrau - Mozart: Die Zauberflöte*

Type O Negative - Black No.1 *

Felix Ayo - Vivaldi: Presto **

Three Tenors - Nessum Dorma *

Mercyful Fate - Witches' Dance *

P.S.

I am not affiliated to KEFINE nor receive monetary incentives and financial gains as they provide me a review unit for an exchange of factual and sincere feedback from yours truly.

Once again, I would like to send my gratitude to Mr. Collin Yang for providing this review unit. I truly appreciate his generosity and trust towards me and other reviewers.