Kefine Arnar Review: What $200 Gets You In The IEM World

Do you have $200 in your pocket and an urge to elevate your listening experience? There is a solution for that. Kefine has made some pretty great IEMs at a decent and affordable price point, and their latest release is sure to impress in the same way. The Kefine Arnar is a $189 dual-driver IEM that is perfect for everyday listening, all while upgrading your experience from a basic pair of earphones. What does $200 get you? In this review, we'll break down all the accessories and features you get with the Kefine Arnar. 

The Kefine Arnar is exactly what you think a classic IEM looks like. It's black shell is sleek and the design on the outside is a simple geometric pattern, giving you a unique style while also staying relatively simple. I really liked how the Arnar fit in the ear: secure, stable, and just weighty enough. I was definitely a fan of how the IEM was lightweight to not be bothersome during listening, but it didn't feel cheap or plasticky. It was a good balance of weighted in the hand to show quality and luxury as opposed to just heavy and fatiguing in the ear. With the assortment of eartips, it was easy to find a good fit. 

Like its predecessor, the Kefine Quatio, the Arnar comes with some options for customization and easy integration for any type of listener. The 2-pin 0.78mm cable terminates to 3.5mm and 4.4mm, providing interchangeable terminations as opposed to separate cables. This makes swapping easy and integration into any DAC or adapter seamless. 

In addition to the easily-swapped termination endings, the Arnar also comes with some different nozzles to change the sound signature. This is a feature you also see in the Kefine Quatio. The three different nozzles allow you to alternate between some slight signature differences to make sure you are listening at your preferred tuning preference.  

• Product Name: Kefine Arnar
• Type: Hybrid Planar + Balanced Armature IEM
• Driver Configuration: 1 Planar Magnetic Driver + 1 Knowles BA
• Planar Driver Size: 14.5mm
• Frequency Response: 20 Hz – 40 kHz
• Sensitivity: 107 dB ± 3 dB
• Impedance: 13 Ω
• Cable Length: 1.2 m ± 0.2 m
• Connector: 0.78mm 2-Pin
• Plug Type: 3.5mm Single-Ended / 4.4mm Balanced
• Housing Material: Aviation-Grade CNC Aluminum Alloy

SOUNDSTAGE & IMAGING

Now onto the listening. As mentioned earlier, the Kefine Arnar is equipped with three different nozzles that you can use to change the tuning of the sound signature. The three nozzles, distinguished by color, give the signature the following characteristics:

• Silver: Balanced
• Gold: Clarity & Transparency
• Black: Warm & Rich

Overall, you can hear how the Arnar does not shy away from detail or color in any tuning. Instruments are well placed in the sound signature, spreading out horizontally in the sound field as well as expanding backwards to create depth. The depth of the sound signature was most noticeable with the black nozzles; the richness coming from the bass carried throughout the whole signature and made everything have an added layer of warmth. I found that no matter the nozzle the Arnar had, you were able to hear a considerably wide soundstage with plenty of depth and separation. I was able to pick apart instrumental detail with ease, appreciating all the individual timbres and how they were placed in the field. 

BASS FREQUENCIES

The Arnar handles bass exceptionally well. It is easy for IEMs to get overpowered with bass with the seal of a good eartip and a powerful driver, but the Arnar treads the fine line between punchiness and detail very cleverly. You get the slam you expect in the low end when listening to EDM and other high energy tracks, as well as the mellow, relaxed profile in calmer genres. The black nozzles definitely gave the strongest bass response, as the richness and warmth coming from that addition was most prominently noticed in the low end. The Arnar's bass got plenty of power, but it stayed refined and detailed as to not become overly boomy and lose all recognition. I liked the foundation the Arnar set up, and it made the cohesiveness of the signature more noticeable and smooth throughout listening. 

MIDRANGE FREQUENCIES

The midrange got plenty of detail and clarity, something I was very appreciative of.  The Arnar has a high level of detail and clarity that made it easy to listen to any track and identify each of the elements. It was distributed pretty evenly across the signature, but with the gold nozzles, you could hear it come out in the midrange most to highlight melodic voices and instruments. The Arnar's midrange definitely took a step forward in comparison to the treble and bass, which was great for hearing the main melodies of tracks we all know and love. It wasn't a jarring separation, though you do get to hear voices come directly to center stage with the other elements accompanying them. With the gold nozzles, the midrange was the most forward and you definitely could hear the increase in clarity and transparency. It made the signature more dynamic and not as sterile as a balanced earphone might be. And speaking of balanced, the Arnar's silver nozzles were able to keep all the frequencies in line but still colorful as to not become too flat. 

TREBLE FREQUENCIES

To round out the whole signature, the treble frequencies come in to bring light and air to the entire picture. The Arnar is particularly bright, thanks to the configuration of a planar and balanced armature driver. It does a great job in balancing the low end that can get quite punchy, but doesn't get lost among all the other elements in a track. The treble opens up space in the top end, creating a bigger picture for the instruments and voices to live. I found the Arnar to have a bright treble response, one that was only heightened with the addition of silver nozzles. The clarity was just on the right side of sharp, not getting piercing or fatiguing with long listening sessions. I found it to be a great match for the controlled bass, and it kept up with the demands of everything, from busy instrumentation to relaxed tracks. 

The Kefine Arnar looks like a pretty solid budget option if you want good quality at a reasonable price. But what stands out as the competition? In the $200, there are a lot of options you could choose from that are catered to different kinds of listeners. You could check out something like the Sony Inzone E9, which is more wired for gaming, or the ever popular studio monitor, the Sennheiser IE 200. You'd be spending the roughly the same amount on either, but the catch is that the Kefine Arnar can do more. With something like the IE 200 or the even the Meze Alba, you have one set sound signature you can listen with. The adaptability of the Arnar is a step above and makes it an incredible value. 

So what about two IEMs from the same company? Between the Arnar and the Quatio, both offer incredible value for the adaptability of the cable and the nozzles.The sound between them is quite similar, but the Arnar has a step up in clarity and soundstage that make it worth the higher price point. You can get the right balance, warmth, transparency, and texture out of either of the earphones with the change of the nozzles, but soundstage and spatial detail is not so easily replicated by the replacing of a nozzle. 

The Kefine Arnar is a great first step into the audiophile IEM world. With an assortment of customization options, as well as a comfortable in-ear fit, the Arnar is set to elevate your listening and really get you appreciating your tracks. The precise detail and large soundstage is heard on every nozzle type, so you'll be able to appreciate that immersive space no matter what tuning you like to listen to. If budget is a very deciding factor for your next listening upgrade, I think the Arnar will surprise you with its incredible value for just under the $200 price point. 

You can get the Kefine Arnar at Audio46.