Since last year, the IEM (in-ear monitor) world has been in a phase of collaborations with major influencers. For the most part, the results have been exceptional, often bringing improved sound quality and better tunings to lower price points than was previously possible. It makes sense: audiophile creators know good tunings, so letting them craft the sound of their custom sets results in equally good tunings.
The Kinera Nanna 2.1 Z-Tune Edition is the latest such collaboration and brings together Kinera and Zeos Pantera of the Z-Reviews YouTube channel. He’s one of the biggest audio reviewers creating content today and the Kinera Nanna is one of the most well-regarded high-end IEMs on the market. The result sounds just as good as you would hope, but at a high price that will make it out of reach for many listeners. If you can afford it and can get past some ostentatious branding, it’s a solid choice for music and gaming alike.
Specifications
- Current Price: $949 (Linsoul)
- Model: Nanna 2.1 Z-Tune Edition
- Drivers: 2 Sonion EST + 1 Mids Sonions BA + 7mm Dynamic Driver
- Sensitivitiy: 110dB±2db
- Frequency Range: 5Hz-50kHz
- Impedance: 60 ohms
- Cable Interface: 0.78 2-Pin
- Cable Plug: 3-in-1 detachable cable (2.5mm/4.4mm/3.5mm plug included)
- Cable Material:: 6N OCC with Silver Plated Cable
- Cable Length: 1.2m±5%
Kinera Nanna 2.1 Z-Tune Edition - First Impressions and Key Features
The Kinera Nanna 2.1 Z-Tune Edition is one of the later collaborations in the audiophile world and one of the more exciting for listeners in the know. Zeos is one of the largest audio reviewers on YouTube and has a massive following. Followers of his channel already know of his love for the original Kinera Nanna and Nanna 2.0 (one of his all-time favorite IEMs), so this collaboration came with a lot of hype that was only slightly dampened by its high price.
The Nanna 2.1 isn’t far off the mark for other IEMs of its type, however. It uses a tribrid design with three separate types of drivers inside of its hand-painted shells. Compared to the original Nanna, this version (and the 2.0, as the internals are the same between it and this collab edition) uses a more powerful dynamic driver for the lows, a full-range Sonion balanced armature for the mids to upper mids, and two Sonion electrostatic drivers for the highs, beginning at 7kHz.
Tribrid earphones are almost always very expensive and they’re almost always capable of delivering superb clarity throughout the frequency spectrum. They take the philosophy of a hybrid IEM — split the frequency range between drivers and let each specialize in their strength — and add boutique electrostatic speakers to the mix. Dynamic drivers are great for bass, so bass frequencies are direct there. Balanced armatures can deliver outstanding, crisp mids and highs, so the BA covers that. Electrostatics excel in highs and ultra-highs, adding detail, air, and crispness to the sound; so two ESTs cover that. These bands are then channels with a physical crossover, directly out of the nozzle in separate sound tubes.
I’ll get into the tuning of the IEMs shortly, but Zeos played it very safe with this collaboration. The frequency range from 5Hz to 250Hz has been increased by 3dB to add more body to the sub-bass and bass. If you already own the Nanna 2.0, it’s not worth rebuying them for this collaboration because a minor EQ adjustment will get you to exactly the same place. Some people love that Zeos just added body and others think he didn’t go far enough. That’s in the eye of the beholder.
One of Kinera’s strong points has always been its sense of style and the artistry in its IEMs and that same thing is true here. Both ear pieces are beautifully painted. The left earpiece is black and orange. It reminds me of autumn leaves. The right earpiece is blue and red, a bit like a nebula with its sparkling finish. Unfortunately, that earpiece is all but ruined by a completely out of place logo. Zeos’ logo is a black skull with headphones in front of a red span and a black sawblade outer edge. It doesn’t match at all and looks a bit like it was printed on card stock and then sealed in the finish. I don’t understand who thought this was a good idea.
The other thing Kinera is known for is its outstanding packaging and accessories. The IEMs comes in a gorgeous hexagon box that can double as a shelf decoration when you’re done unboxing them. Inside are the earbuds themselves, a leather storage case, a gorgeous silver cable with modular ends for 2.5mm, 3.5mm, and 4.4mm balanced and single-ended connectivity, and multiple sets of Final Audio Type-E and Kinera silicone ear tips, as well as two pairs of foam tips, and a cleaning brush.
Kinera Nanna 2.1 Z-Tune Edition - Fit and Comfort
The Kinera Nanna 2.1 use a universal IEM (UIEM) shape. They’re designed to fit with a combination of ear canal support and resting on the folds of the outer ear. Most tribrids trend large, so reasonable nozzle sizes and proper tips are a must. With the right tips, I found that they fit reasonably well for being on the larger side. It’s well worth trying the different tips until you find a set that works for you, even if you need different sizes for each ear.
Kinera Nanna 2.1 Z-Tune Edition - Listening Impressions
Compared to the original Nanna 2, the Z-Tune Edition is extremely close. The goal of this collaboration was to maintain the tonal character, soundstage, and detail of the Nanna while filling out its body with a bit more bass. When directly compared to the frequency response of the original, the two are almost exactly the same except for a slight boost to the sub-bass (image credit to Headphonesty as the Kinera site was down at the time of publishing to grab our own screen cap).
Given that the Nanna 2 was widely positively reviewed, this is generally a good thing. It maintains the excellent clarity, detail, and tonal balance but has a bit more low-end emphasis. It doesn’t tread into bass-head territory but has that bit of extra “oomph” that some people, Zeos included, felt it lacked. His philosophy was “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it.” The resulting change is minor but good if you crave a fuller low-end to your listening.
The flip side to that is that this collaboration is really just the Nanna 2.0 with a hint more bass and a garish logo on the right earpiece. Is that worth a “collaboration”? That’s up to you to decide, but I will say that these sound good.
Bass: The bass on this set reaches low and has good presence. The dynamic drivers deliver an adequate punch to give kick drums a sense of impact. The bass is also quite fast, so the presentation feels sufficiently high quality and in keeping with its price. The machine gun kicks of Citadels by Mandroid Echostar have tactility and thump. The mid-bass makes floor toms sound particularly rich in this song, also. It might sound a bit light for hip-hop, but my impression is that the bass is tuned up about as much as possible without clouding the detail and balance with the higher registers.
This tuning is great for games. There’s enough bass to create an immersive listening experience but it doesn’t impact the clarity or positionality at all. For single-player story-driven games or competitive shooters, the bass is well tuned and enjoyable.
Mids: The mids are excellent on this set. The interplay between the dynamic driver, balanced armature, and the electrostatic drivers for the higher harmonics creates a sense that details are sharper. This especially in acoustic guitars, such as the strummed sections in NF’s Happy. Instrument detail really is fantastic and gives the sense that you’re peeking past a veil that you may not have even realized was in place previously.
Vocals sound great on this set, forward but not overly so, and very natural. There is no coloration making them sound extra lush for either male or female singers. Instead, there’s a sense of realism that’s very enjoyable.
The tuning of the mids lends itself to gaming. You’ll be able to hear dialogue and teammate callouts easily, even when there’s a lot going on. The layer separation in this range, which I’ll talk about in the detail section, also makes picking out multiple sources easy, so you can stop to recuperate mid-battle and still pick up on the enemy around the corner.
Treble: The Sonion balanced armature and electrostatic drivers do heavy lifting in the treble region and extend the highs with great reach and air. The delivery is excellent, offering a crystalline quality to the highs and harmonics that really draws out the detail and clarity this set offers. Highs aren’t sharp at all and won’t fatigue you while listening over extended sessions.
Technical Performance, Soundstage, and Imaging: The detail retrieval and technical performance on the Nanna 2.1 is fantastic. It renders each layer of sound with space and breathing room so you can truly hear every single thing that’s occurring at any given moment. Even in a busy tracks, it’s easy to hear tiny elements you might miss on lesser headphones, like a clap layered quietly on a kick drum for extra crispness. Drums seem to come from slightly different locations, giving each presence and identity. Haunted Dreams by Mandroid Echostar was rendered with exceptional depth in the atmospheric section ahead of the breakdown.
The soundstage is decent but not exceptional at this price point. Depending on the track, you can get a good sense of space and depth, but then at other times, it sounds just outside the ear, so it’s a bit of a mixed bag in that regard.
Gaming: The Nanna 2.1 Z-Tune Edition is a good choice for gaming. At $949, I wouldn’t recommend picking it up for just gaming, but if you do choose to log in wearing these, you won’t be disappointed. The technical performance and layer separation work very well to lend you positional awareness even when there’s a lot going on. The tonal balance is also well-pitched for games. The all-important mids are intact and clear while the bass and treble fill out and crystalize the sound respectively.
Overall Impressions and Final Thoughts
At $949, these are a very expensive set that are really targeted at dedicated audiophiles. They don’t disappoint, but I’m not sure they’re the best choice at this price range. For $50 more, the Thieaudio Monarch Mk II offer everything the Nanna has with even more body and detail, and lacks the logo on the right ear piece.
Even with that said, the Nanna 2.1 Z-Tune Edition are hard to be too critical of. They sound great. I can see why Zeos enjoyed them so much, and the bass enhancement this collaboration offers is very well done. It’s close to ideal, to my ear. They’re expectedly great, if safe on the tuning front.
I just can’t get past the logo. For almost $1,000, you expect something refined and Zeos’ logo is the polar opposite of everything the design of these headphones is going for. I love the sound, but a point has to be lost purely on that decision. If you also can’t stand the logo on the earpiece, the Nanna 2.1 non-collab edition are currently the same price and can be EQ’d to the same effect.
The product described in this article was provided by the manufacturer for evaluation purposes.
