Introduction
Kinera is a well known boutique earphones company from China that’s known for their amazing build quality along with their great high end audio performance that has been received very well these few years. Recently, Kinera has decided to expand their company into a more mainstream brand and they have created a sister company that is called Celest and they have been making waves with their newly invented Square Planar Driver (SPD) that they created in house that promises planar sound quality at a lower cost price. This SPD has been implemented into their debut product named Gumiho which is named after a mythical creature and Celest has kindly sent us a pair for an honest take on this product. How will they perform in their debut? We shall find out here.
Functions & Specifications
Before we start the review, here are the specifications of the Celest Gumiho;
- Driver type: Kinera 10mm Square Planar Driver + 1 custom Kinera BA
- Shell: 3D printed cavity and shell
- Impedance: 9Ω.
- Sensitivity: 106dB.
- Frequency Response Range: 20Hz-20kHz.
- Interface: 0.78mm 2-pin connectors.
- Termination Plug: 3.5mm.
- Weight: 8.6grams(without cable
- Impedance: 16 Ohms
- Cable type: 4-Core silver plated copper+alloy
- Color: Black & white plain or Black & white with Gumiho painting
Retail Price & Where to Get
The Celest Gumiho Planar In-Ear Monitor can be purchased at Kinera Official Store for only US $49.00.
Packaging & Accessories
The packaging of the Gumiho is pretty unique and nice though a little “toy”ish looking. They are actually packed quite complete along with an addition of a Gumiho creature souvenir that is just beautiful. They include a high quality braided cable, 6 pairs of eartips, a Celest soft case and the earphones itself. Very well thought of packaging and decent for their asking price.
Design
The design of the Gumiho is a distinct, comfortable shape that is super lightweight and very comfortable to my ears. For the Gumiho 9 tails painting, they are cute and have a unique flair to it and they are engraved onto a plate instead of just painting onto the faceplate. They are made from a high quality plastic that looks a little fragile but they are very light in weight which is a big plus. They are installed with a rather nice nozzle that has waves on it similar to in-ears like the 7hz Timeless.
The Gumiho is equipped with Kinera self developed Square Planar Driver that is quite unique in their build along with a Kinera custom tuned balanced armature. Both drivers are matched and tuned to complement every frequency in the Gumiho.
The cable included is a 1.2 meter, 4 core silver plated copper cable with a 3.5mm termination and has a standard 0.78mm plugs. The cable is very well braided and certainly worth the asking price of the Gumiho. The sound of the cable when used on other in-ears of mine sounds bright and a little thin in their signature.
Gears Used for Comparisons
FiiO M17
Questyle M12 & M15
LetShuoer D13
TForce YuanLi
TinHifi P1Max Panda
Gold Planar GL20
Rose Technics QT9 MK2
Hidizs MD4
BQEYZ Topaz
Dunu EST112
Songs list
Tone and Presentation
The tone of the Gumiho is a neutral balanced signature with a slight emphasis on their high range giving out a bright sound signature. Their main strength is their clarity in their details in their whole presentation. Their treble is a little on the strong side and might be a little too strong for treble sensitive users but they are fine to my ears as they are quite smooth overall. They have a little metallic shine in their decay making them a little unnatural in certain genres.
Soundstage
The Gumiho possess a good soundstage in their price range and they have great depth and width but their height is quite mediocre. They are able to give out an accurate soundstage with correct placements of sound and they work well even with movies but on gaming they lack great separation. It gives out an open, airy presentation giving a pretty decent headroom for an in-ears.
Separation and Timbre
Separation is quite average for the price paid but just in a very minor way but for hybrid in-ears, the dual drivers actually work harmoniously without any major gaps present. Layering on the other hand is quite good as they sound very clear in their layers without any congestion. They suit a wide range of genres from fast to slow but on certain genres such as metal, heavy rock and j-pop, they might sound a little hot on their treble and have some minor metallic sheen to them. Their timbre has a good intensity that makes music sounds energetic and fun without any added coloration but they are slightly unnatural at times.
Drivability
Rated at only 9 ohms with a 106db sensitivity, they are easily driven and a simple setup like a dongle is sufficient for them to sound great and with a great DAC/amplifier, DAP or a more powerful source, the Gumiho does sounds smoother but scalability in these in-ears is pretty average. They are picky with the type of files played and do perform better with well mastered tracks with higher bitrates like DSD or MQA.
The Bass (Low)
The Gumiho bass is presented in a very neutral way that has a good balance along with a tight slam. It is not a bass cannon for bassheads but it certainly has the quality of a well tuned bass response as they have a clean and clear type of bass. Details are very well presented without any haziness and they do not bleed into the other frequencies. Bass texture is quite good but I do feel it is a little thin in their bass body. Sub-bass on the Gumiho is rather mediocre as they do not extend deep but it does have the rumble when called upon. Overall, the bass here is quite good with it’s clean and clear signature but they lacked authority when compared to other planar based in-ears.
The Mids
The midrange in the Gumiho is yet again a neutral midrange with a little emphasis on the high end of the spectrum, making them sound bright. Details and clarity here is top notch as everything sounded crystal clear without any blur or gaps present. Vocals on the Gumiho are excellent as they are lush and intimate at the same time with male or female vocals alike, same goes to instruments where they excel in most musical instruments sound reproduction with a clean and clear presentation. Resolution is also pretty good with a vividness and organic sound that makes music very enjoyable suited for a casual or critical listening. Overall, their midrange performs pretty well for a neutral response without any major coloration present.
The Highs
The high range in the Gumiho is a fairly boosted high that is quite strong but still able to sound smooth without any major shout present. Details and clarity here is acceptable for the price paid and they do indeed sound quite clear with a powerful energy. They have a decent sparkle along with a crisp decay in their treble and they might get a little too intense at times but they are quite enjoyable for my preference. Timbre on the other hand might sound a little unnatural as they have a slight sheen of metallic taste to then making certain genres a little harsh and inorganic like metal or hard rock based music. With EDM, pop or acoustics, they seem to work fine and they can sound better with a little help from cable and eartips matching. Overall, the Gumiho high range is a hit or miss for me and they might incur some problems in their slightly unnatural timbre but it all depends on your music preference and they can be solved with some cable and eartips rolling.
Comparisons
VS TinHifi P1max Panda
The Panda is the latest iteration of a planar in-ears from TinHifi and they are my favorite planar in-ears to hit the shelves. They cost almost 3 times the asking price of the Gumiho.
The high range on the Gumiho has the edge of being stronger and more present than the slightly laidback highs of the Panda. Details and clarity on the Gumiho is a tad better but the Panda has the winning hand in terms of its resolution with an organic, lush timbre.
Midranges on the Panda sounded thicker and slightly more forward than the neutral midrange of the Gumiho. Details and clarity on both are on par with Gumiho sounding brighter. Resolution on the Panda is better with a more vivid and intimate signature.
Bass quantity on the Panda is slightly bigger with a better texture overall. Sub-bass presence and the extension on the Panda is also better. Details and clarity in the bass is slightly better on the Gumiho but overall the bass presentation on the Panda is more enjoyable.
Soundstage on the Panda has the better height and air but in terms of width, they are on par with each other.
VS LetShuoer D13
The LetShuoer D13 is a release from them that is equipped with a single DLC dynamic driver that has a well balanced sound with interchangeable nozzle filter and they are becoming one of my favorites in their price range. They are slightly pricier than the Gumiho.
High region on the D13 sounded more refined and natural without any metallic hint. Gumiho has a better sparkle and bigger energy than the D13. Details on both are quite similar but clarity and resolution on the Gumiho is better.
Midrange on the D13 sounds a little thicker and more balanced than the slightly bright Gumiho. Details and clarity are almost the same but resolution on the D13 is better. D13 midrange sounded more lush and intimate overall.
Bass on both of these units has the same quantity and they possess similar traits in their details but the D13 has a slightly tighter slam with better extension in the sub-bass region.
Soundstage in the Gumiho sounds wider by a small margin but the D13 is airier overall.
Synergy
FiiO M17
The almighty powerhouse of FiiO’s DAP , the M17 packed with enormous driving power with high end features, they are in my opinion as one of the DAP around aside from their bulky build. They have 5 levels of gain and I found the lowest gain suits the Gumiho best. The M17 is able to give the Gumiho a cleaner and slightly clearer bass performance, making their bass a little more authoritative and clearer. Sub-bass quantity extends deeper and they have a more definitive rumble Midrange sounded slightly warmer than usual with vocals pushed a little more forward and they sounded lusher. High range the M17 is able to give the Gumiho a more controlled peak for a smoother presentation with a better extension making them a tad airier. Treble is still quite intense but they have a more energetic sound. Timbre seemed to sound more realistic but the metallic decay is still there. Soundstage that they provide is awesome with an improvement in the width and height making them sound bigger and gives an extra headroom to them. Overall, the Gumiho does take the M17 traits of a cleaner signature from but the scalability that the M17 doesn’t really justify this pairing but they do sound great nonetheless.
Questyle M15
The Questyle M15, my favorite dongle and they sounded awesome with anything I feed it with, equipped with Questyle’s signature direct current amplification, they are sublimely awesome in their price range in terms of performance. They are a neutral to bright sounding device for a portable usage with a great extension on both ends. Bass on the Gumiho surprisingly has better quantity and quality as they sounded cleaner with a clearer bass response overall. Their mid bass has a slight lift in this pairing making their bass more prominent than usual. Sub-bass remains mostly the same with a slight cleanliness to them. Midrange has a more forward presentation with better clarity, lushness and more energy overall. Vocals sound lusher and more intimate overall with a slight thickness to them without added coloration. The M15 has added some airiness in their high range but their volume remains the same with some slight refinement in their presentation. Soundstage mostly the same on this pairing but they seem to have a slight air added to them but in a small margin. Overall, I do find the synergy of this pairing is quite good and it is an awesome pairing for a more portable setup on the go.
Who Is It For?
For those who want to have a taste of planar driver setup with top notch clarity with a rather well balanced signature, Gumiho might be for you. They are on a brighter side of the sound spectrum, so treble sensitive users might have a pass on this but those who love details with a fun bright signature, the Gumiho does the job quite well. The lean and balanced sound signature in the bass and mid-range matches those who want an audiophile sound reproduction will find the Gumiho quite pleasant.
Final words
Though this might be a debut for Celest, they are very well supported by the experience and know-how of Kinera and it really does show. Being priced well at a budget segment but they are still able to give out an audiophile level sound and a beautifully designed in-ears that gives the competition a run for their money. The SPD in my opinion has the potential to be great as they do sound quite good especially with their clarity but I do feel it lacks the distinct sweetness present in planar drivers. Though their timbre is a little unnatural, they are still well tuned in-ears with a rather balanced signature that sound really clean and clear along with a respectable soundstage. I can’t wait to see what’s in store from Celest in the future. A great entry indeed from Celest.
I would rate this product 4 stars over 5 stars.
