Overall and Final Verdict
After testing the Antlion Audio Kimura Duo for the last month it has been an eye-opening experience in a few different ways. For starters, I learned that I could have a sensitivity to foam ear tips, which was a big bummer because I was excited that they were included with the Kimura Duo and before I had issues they did do a great job of sealing my ear canal and if not for the burning they would have been comfortable. I also learned that even having used in-canal earbuds that the experience could be better. The Kimura Duos did a better job at staying in place and cutting out background noise than anything else that I have used other than products with active noise canceling. There was a little more of an adjustment period getting used to putting them in/on while also getting the over-the-ear cable all situated. Antlion Audio also did a nice job including a variety of sizes of the standard ear tips on top of the foam option.
Audio performance was great, utilizing the balanced armature that is only in the Duos to leave voices and highs crisp all through the volume range. Bass, on the other hand, was lower than I would have expected, and for anyone who prefers the bass-heavy EQ that a lot of the more trendy headphones and earbuds have you will need to dig into your EQ and adjust things up. But the Kimura Duos handled bass when turned up well even up to high volumes. Speaking of, the Kimura Duos are capable of painful volume levels if you turn them up so much so that you really should be careful. The microphone which is Antlion Audio’s specialty was also impressive in its quality though it was noticeably quieter than some of the other microphones we have tested in the past. Our microphone comparison video speaks for itself though, it sounds great. Antlion Audio included a nice hard carrying case for storage and for transporting the Kimura Duo but I would love to see the cable also get a small reusable Velcro strap or similar to be able to tie up any extra cord length and make things easier when storing them.
As far as pricing goes, the Antlion Audio Kimura Duo isn’t exactly going to be budget friendly at its MSRP of $149.95 but it also is a drop in the bucket as far as how expensive in-ear monitors can cost. For comparison, the Sennheiser IE300s can be found for $199 and that is without the microphone and they can go up into the thousands quickly. Antlion Audio does also have the Kimura Solo which is cheaper at $99.95 or if you already have IEMs that support MMCX or 2-pin connections you can get just the cable and microphone for just $59.95 to make your own setup. In the end, it really is amazing what they were able to fit in such a small package. The Kimura Duo is a nice upgraded option for anyone who prefers their wired earbuds when gaming or at their PC listening to music or watching videos and it is exciting to see Antlion Audio reaching out beyond their ModMic lineup to new markets like that.
Live Pricing: HERE
