KEFINE DELCI

TLDR version on YouTube: TDLR - Kefine Delci

The Kefine Delci have been sent to me by Kefine for me to try them out and to share my opinions in this review. Kefine have not made any requests and, as usual, I will attempt to be as unbiased as humanly possible.

I was going to post the official page of the Delci, as usual, but looking around it seems that it is available from many retailers. I mention the price of 55€ in my review but it is available are various prices from various places, so I suggest you look around and pick the deal that interests you the most.

To avoid being repetitive in my reviews, you can find all the info about how I create the reviews, equipment used, how I receive the products and how to interpret my reviews by visiting: About my reviews



Intro…

This is not the first set of IEMs that I have reviewed from Kefine, although they are still a new brand, with the Delci being only their second set of IEMs (as far as I am aware). Their first set, the Klanar, is a planar set that I reviewed in November last year. I said that, while the Klanar wasn’t my favourite tuning, there was no doubt that they had done a good job with their first entry into the market.

The Delci moves away from the planar driver and opts for a 10mm dynamic driver that combines DLC and PU. Priced at just over 50€, 55€ to be exact, it falls only just outside my ultra budget limit buy only by 5€, so I would still consider it to be a very well priced IEM.

So, how have Kefine done with their second set? Let’s find out.



Presentation…

As far as packaging, there is very little difference between this model and the Klanar, which comes in at almost twice the price. The outer sleeve is black instead of white but still features an image of the IEM, with some basic specs on the back.

Opening the simple black box that slides out from the sleeve reveals content that us also very similar to the previous model. The IEMs sitting in a simple piece of foam and a storage case underneath that contains the cable and 6 extra sets of tips (so 7 in total) in 2 core sizes.

As with the Klanar, the presentation of the Delci is nothing special but it is half the price of the previous model so I have no complaints.



Build and aesthetics…

As far as build and aesthetics, we again find they are very similar to the planar model. In this case we get gunmetal grey shells rather than black, and there is a slightly more pronounced elevation to where the simple Kefine lettering sits in the center.

The cable also opts for gunmetal grey hardware and connectors, this time in metal rather than plastic in the case of the Klanar.

In general, I find the IEMs to be simple but very well built and extremely comfortable. I literally put them in my ears with the tips that were already on them and they instantly felt great.

I actually feel that these are a step up from the Klanar, which is great news at the price!



Sound…

All tracks mentioned are clickable links that allow you to open the reference track in the streaming service of your choice (YouTube, Tidal, Qobuz, Spotify, etc.)

I first placed the Delci in my ears one afternoon in the office while listening to some blues, acoustic jazz and other simple relaxed music. I was immediately surprised by how much I liked what I was hearing. Things were relaxed yet detailed, smooth and warm but not dark, just a very nice listen.

I could honestly stop there and say that I really like these IEMs but I did my usual stint of using them for 5 days or so before moving on to my test track list and looking for specific points of good or bad, so I guess I will be a little more in depth than that

Before moving on, here is the frequency response in comparison to my usual preference graph:



I really am glad that I listen to things before measuring them as, looking at the graph above, I would have immediately thought that they were dark and bassy, yet that is not the case.

Don’t get me wrong, they are certainly not bright and bass thin, but the warm smoothness that they offer doesn’t make me feel like it is missing detail and treble.

In the subbass region, I of course put them through my “Chameleon” test, which brought back quite a bit of rumble, making the track sound pretty impressive, but what was more impressive was that it managed to do so without becoming out of control or overshadowing the remaining frequencies too much. It is not the most subbass I have heard, nor is it the most balanced outcome that can be achieved with this track, but it is certainly not a bad rendition of the craziness that “Chameleon” can be.

With “Sun Is Shining”, there is a little too much in the lower ranges in comparison to the upper ranges, yet it is not something that I immediately dislike. In fact, I found it quite a pleasant and relaxed listen, with maybe a bit too much in the bass department but doing a good job of controlling it.

“No Sanctuary Here” gives me a similar impression to “Sun Is Shining”, where I would not say that the Delci presents the track in the way I would consider my favourite, but even with that emphasis on the bass, it makes for a bassy electronic listen that I don’t find as tiring as I usually do with this kind of reproduction.

In my midbass fatigue test, I do find “Crazy” to have a little too much boom in that low end of the guitar but not enough to make me feel fatigued, meaning that it does a good job of both controlling the midbass, with good detail, and not bleeding into the lower mids too much.

In fact, I find that the midbass throughout the mids is the highlight of these IEMs. I spent a lot of time enjoying the Delci with a lot of blues and other electric guitar focused music and found the overall tonality to be very nicely presented. It is maybe missing some of the crunch that you would get on sets with a more present upper minds/lower treble range, but it does not lack detail and gives a great smoothness to the guitars that I find very enjoyable.

Vocals may be a little further back that usual but they are by no means absent and they have a great body and smoothness to them. For example, “Dreamin'” puts quite a bit of emphasis on the low end with the vocals not being the centre of attention but it does work well and presents a very relaxed sound that does not come across as anything being lost, just presented in a smoother way.

This presentation also works well for tracks that were a little too bright in their original recording and maybe missing a little warmth to the bass. “Walking On The Moon” by The Police makes the bass, and track in general, a lot more pleasurable than usual, although Sting is pushed back slightly more than I would prefer. This may not be the best for balancing the vocals against the music but it certainly helps get rid of the harshness that is present in this recording.

While the signature is not something that focuses on details, it also doesn’t give the impression of details missing, the driver does a great job of presenting them in a more subdued way.

In fact, my only complaint would be a peak that appears in the treble ranges that can sometimes coincide with cymbals and other metallic high pitched sounds, making them a little harsh on occasions. This is not a regular occurrence, at least I haven’t found it to be, but sometimes the percussion on a track will just find this peak and suddenly stand out against a very smooth track otherwise.

Don’t think that this is something that puts me off the Delci, it is not like they are sibilant or harsh at all, just that peak that sometimes pops up and says high, sort of bringing me out of the trance into which these IEMs seem to place me.



Conclusion…

The Delci are a set of IEMs that have a musicality that I never thought I wanted, until placing them in my ears and just finding great pleasure from listening to them. They are not a set that makes details stand out, yet they are detailed. They are not shy on bass, yet they are not overpowering. They don’t make vocals the center of attention, yet vocals don’t get lost. They are just a very musical set of IEMs.

As I mentioned in the sound section, I found these to be an absolute pleasure for a lot of blues recording, especially those that are a little older and can be harsh and lacking a bit of warmth in the bass. The add body and warmth yet sound very natural doing it. They don’t sound like they are boosting the bass, they sound like they are smoothing it but without losing definition.

These are not a sound signature that I see people specifically asking for, yet I do see them as a sound signature that people will enjoy if they just sit back and listen to them. Yes, there is that peak that can make an appearance at times, but I really can’t find myself complaining about anything else.

While I found the Klanar to be a good first try by Kefine, I think that the Delci are a win, especially at the price point they come in at. They will obviously not be everybody’s taste as far as sound signature, they aren’t even my taste as sound signature, but I think they are a great set to have on hand when you just want to relax.

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As always, this review can be found in Spanish both on my blog (www.achoreviews.com) and on YouTube (www.youtube.com/achoreviews)

All FR measurements of IEMs can be viewed and compared on achoreviews.squig.link

<small>All isolation measurements of IEMs can be found on achoreviews.squig.link/isolation

Hello peeps, here is my take on Kfine Delci


Disclaimer:
this unit is lend from a friend. I won't get any benefits from this review. I'm just here to share my experience with it

Sound signature:
Bass is clearly boosted, and mid-range is little bit recessed, and highs are boosted (not extended just boosted). hence, I'm considering it's U shaped signature
Well, the first thing I noticed at my first listen is how crazy the bass is, they do reach bass head territory.

Construction & tech:
It is a single Dynamic driver. it is built like a tank, made of CNC aluminum alloy and the finish is gunmetal. provided cable is very soft and thick
It has two vents closer to nozzle which can be blocked if we insert in ears hence it is giving more bass in sound.


My preference:
I'm kind of guy who prefer neutrality with little bit of musical presentation either warm or bright doesn't matter.

Equipment:
Aful snowyNight dac
Final E tips
<16bits-44.4hz Offline flac files
Roon
foobar
UAPP
Hiby music player
Tidal app
Qobuz app
*All tracks are played in USB exclusive mode

bass:
It has It has great subbass ruble. throw whatever the song you like and clearly you will feel the rumble and the best part is bass never gives muddy sensation which quite surprising and bass decay is not really fast like planners but it's decent
good amount of mid-bass but I wish it could have more tight response. and texture is just fine.
Snare drums and Kick drums are just okay. instrumental bass is not that great but electronic and Edm bass is excellent
best part is bass has wide attack which make your head bang

Mid-range:
Due to the it's big bass, mid-range instruments sometimes masked but elevated treble helped them and added brightness hence midrange sounds thick as well as thin depending on the track. All the midrange instruments are more refined from engaging factor made them sound clear and snappy.
however, vocals are little recessed from my liking, but they have good clarity rather than engaging sometimes. Male vocals has heftiness due to big bass and female vocals sounds sweet, sometimes female vocals sounds little aggressive, but never found sibilant and still vocals have good details and sounds very Cohesive

treble:
Early roll off in treble but good thing is still treble is elevated enough to balance out the other frequencies. It has perfect amount of shimmer and shine
splashy instruments sounds really exciting due to it's boosted treble
and often times some instruments like guitar, violin and clarinet sounds little edgy, but percussion instruments sounds really nice.


technicalities:
bass hits wider that give you the wide soundstage sensation definitely than all bassy Iems
imaging is excellent I can say we can clearly Identify all individual instruments. I do play FPS games and they really standout in terms of stereo imaging
it has good tonality and natural timber never sounded any metallic nor plasticky

conclusion:
It is definitively best entry level Iem handles most of the genres and doesn't require additional power.
this one has solid bass impact without sacrificing details offers good sound quality, for 60 Dollars it makes your head bang.


Tracks used:
Aaj ki raat - A.R. Rehman
rolling in the deep - Adele
oxytocin - Billie Eilish
get lucky - Draft punk
Raaftarien - A.R. Rehman
teardrop - Massive attack
thundercloud - Sia feat diplo
uptown funk - Mark Ranson
Happy nation - ace of base
Another one bites the dust - Queen
The four season summer - Vivaldi
Starboy - Weekend
Legendary - Weshly Arms
Take on me - Aha
Redrum - 21 Savage
Happy face - Ibrahim Maalouf
L-O-V-E - Diana Krall
Porcelain - Moby
Concorde - Gregory Porter
Music sounds better with you - Stardust
Unfinished sympathy - Massive Attack
Fast land - Moderat
Leaving Caladan - Hans Zimmer
Rose Rough - St Germain
Outrageous - Britney Spears
Poker face - Lady gaga

Kefine is a fairly newcomer in budget Chi-fi audio realm, initially they came up with Klanar which was their first planar iem which I really liked and now they’ve came up with Delci which is their first Dynamic driver IEM with a price tag of just $75 USD which I feel like is a fantastic price range for beginner audiophiles who want to try something better than $20 kz and blons. I expect fantastic tuning and above competition sonic performance from Delci, lets see how it turns out and fulfills my expectations or not.



Disclaimer: -
I received the Kefine Delci directly from Kefine for the purpose of this review. I have no monetary benefit (I wish I had) with this review, neither I am influenced by anyone to write positive or negative about the pair. All thoughts are based on my usage consisting of mostly Anime, Bollywood, EDM, Hiphop, Alt rock, electronic and R&B music (pretty much whatever is currently trending or was trending in last few decades). I am no professional reviewer and I’m just sharing my thoughts and opinions.

Design & Build:-
Build quality wise, Delci is very similar to Klanar, which means metal solid shells, light weight and comfortable in ears. It has 3 venting to give you that solid bass and eliminate any pressure in you rears. It comes with a quality cable for the price which pairs very well with the IEM. The nozzle is a little short for my liking and the eartips came with it are also short nozzle. So getting long nozzle eartips becomes sort of mandatory for optimal fit. Spinfits and Azla worked great for me with Delci.

Technical Specs:-

• DRIVER TYPE Dynamic Driver
• DRIVERS 10 Mm DLC + PU Dynamic Drivers
• FREQUENCY RESPONSE 20Hz-20kHz
• SENSITIVITY 108dB+/-3dB
• IMPEDANCE 28Ω +/-15%
• WEIGHT 5.3 Grams For One Side
• CABLE Dual-Color Cable Made Of 164 Copper Wires

Power Requirements
Delci is decently demanding IEM, requiring close to Planar IEM levels of power but it scales and improves the sound too. I used it with Fiio Q15, Aful Snowynight and Also my Topping A70 Pro (sounded the best among others).

Sound Quality:-
To start with, I find the Delci to had an tasteful emphasis on the bass and sub-bass region giving it a weighty sound. It’s decently detailed, imaging is precise and with a more realistic tonal approach. The coherency on these is amazing and timbre is very organic.
The bass on these is a tiny bit boosted in the sub bass which adds to the over experience, it’s detailed, and transitions are speedy and does not interfere with the mids at all. Mid-bass on these is fast, precise, and got a lot of texture to it.
Mids in Delci is really amazing and sound very natural, this gives new life to all the vocal centric track you have in your collection. Overall midrange is very sweet sounding.
The treble on these is smooth and comfortable sound, It’s a bit rolled off but that makes it easy to listen to it for hours.



Soundstage on these is decent but imaging is very precise on these, you can easily identify multiple instruments in the stage. Soundstage on these depends on how deep you put on the eartip on the nozzle but it’s still average to below average depending upon your track preference
Clarity is very good and the detail retrieval is on par with the competition and at times better than most single DD and Hybrid IEM under 100 dollors and only gets surpassed by planar iems.

This is a very versatile IEM with a very safe tuning which will suite pretty much every genre of track you through at it, it plays like a champ. Only gripe and this is a very subjective point but I feel like if the treble was a tiny bit more airier it would’ve added to the special feeling and more separated.

Short note on Tiprolling
The stock tips come with shot stems, so, you need to change to something from Spinfits or azla which will improve the fits and could also improve the sound by helping with the treble extension. I liked the CP100+ and Azla sednafit light for it as it smoothens the sound and also provides a better response in the air region.

Quick Comparisons

Kefine Delci vs DDhifi Janus 3
Janus 3 is a well tuned IEM which came from DDhifi and Moondrop collab providing a decent tuning and comfy sound in earbud style in comparison Delci has better bass quality and quantity along with better separation but Stage width is a tad bit wider in Janus 3. Delci is smooth with decent extension but her Janus 3 wins by giving a better treble extension.



Kefine Delci vs Truthear Nova
Nova is one of my favorite IEMs launched last year due to it’s fantastic tuning and how well it handles every genre, In comparison Delci is pretty similar sounding with a little more weighty and faster bass but rest Nova takes the cake by giving you more details, better separation and a more realistically wide soundstage.



Kefine Delci vs Kefine Klanar
Here bigger brother just wins in every regards Hands down, better bass, better treble extension, better dynamics but but but if you want a bit more earfriendly and natural sound the Delci wins by a tiny margin.


Tracks used for testing
My playlist consists of Anime/jpop tracks, Hip-Hop, Jazz, R&B and some Bollywood but not limited to this only.

• Shinunoga E-Wa · Fujii Kaza
• 夜に駆ける · YOASOBI · Ayase
• KICK BACK · Kenshi Yonezu
• NIGHT DANCER · imase
• Fire · Queen Bee
• Suzume (feat. Toaka) · RADWIMPS
• Royals · Lorde
• Low · SZA
• Sign of the Times · Harry Styles
• Glimpse of Us · Joji
• Until I Found You (Em Beihold Version) · Stephen Sanchez
• Under the Influence · Chris brown
• Starboy · The Weeknd
• Creepin' · Metro Boomin, The Weeknd, 21 Savage
• Do It Again – Pia Mia feat. Chris Brown and Tyga
• Collide (feat. Tyga) · Justine Skye
• Don’t gamble with love – Paul Anka

Conclusion:-
My time with Delci was very enjoyable, it’s a fun, agile, comfy sound IEM that’s very accessible to the masses providing a well tuned enough to suite most genre and specially fullfil those audiophile basshead needs without compromising in details and clarity. Under $100 it’s a very good option and surely deserves atleast 4 Stars from me !!