Kinera Imperial Loki vs Softears Enigma

Last updated: October 17, 2026

Short answer: the Kinera Imperial Loki. It ranks #774 of 1291 in-ear headphones by sound quality, rated 3.6/5, at $3,099; the Softears Enigma ranks #792, rated 3.5/5, and costs $3,699, so there is little reason to consider the other one.

Kinera Imperial Loki vs Softears Enigma

What the Kinera Imperial Loki does well: A twelve driver flagship with a dynamic driver, six balanced armatures, four electrostatic tweeters and a bone conduction driver. The tradeoff: Treble sits about 2.7 dB below target, a dark, relaxed balance.

The case for the Softears Enigma: An elaborate tribrid flagship that combines 2 dynamic drivers, 6 balanced armatures and 4 electrostatic tweeters. Watch for: In the median of 8 hobbyist measurements on squig.link it reaches a preference score of only 68, with presence and lower treble both close to 3 dB below target and a 6.7 dB dip near 6 kHz that softens the bite of guitars and snare.

Buy the Kinera Imperial Loki. It is rated higher for sound quality than the Softears Enigma and costs less, which makes it the one to get unless you need something the other one does better.

Looking for alternatives? See the complete Headphones rankings.

Kinera Imperial Loki

A twelve driver flagship with a dynamic driver, six balanced armatures, four electrostatic tweeters and a bone conduction driver.

Kinera official store $3,099.00 eBay
$3,099
Softears Enigma

An elaborate tribrid flagship that combines 2 dynamic drivers, 6 balanced armatures and 4 electrostatic tweeters.

HiFiGo $3,699.00 eBay
$3,699

Prices on this page were last checked October 16, 2026 at 5:46 PM UTC. Product prices and availability are accurate as of that date/time and are subject to change; the price and availability shown on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.

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Specifications Side By Side

Kinera Imperial Loki Softears Enigma
Price$3,099.00$3,699.00
Ranked#774 of 1291 in In-Ear Headphones#792 of 1291 in In-Ear Headphones
Form FactorIn-earIn-ear
BackClosedClosed
ConnectionWiredWired
Driver TypeQuadbridHybrid (2 dynamic + 6 balanced armature + 4 electrostatic)
Drivers1 x dynamic + 6 x balanced armature + 4 x electrostatic + 1 x bone conduction2 x dynamic + 6 x balanced armature + 4 x electrostatic
Impedance12 ohms10 ohms
Sensitivity107 dB @ 1kHz121.5 dB/Vrms
Harman Preference Score68 (median of 4 squig.link measurements, calibrated to AutoEQ)68 (median of 8 squig.link measurements, calibrated to AutoEQ)
Deviation From Target2.09 dB standard deviation2.30 dB standard deviation
Tonal Tilt-0.64 (negative is warmer, positive brighter)-0.73 (negative is warmer, positive brighter)
Sub-bass ExtensionWithin 6 dB of target down to 20 Hz (+2.4 dB at 30 Hz)Within 6 dB of target down to 20 Hz (-0.0 dB at 30 Hz)
Frequency Response-8Hz - 42kHz (Manufacturer specified)

Frequency Response Compared

Both headphones’ measurements overlaid on the Harman target. Above the target sounds louder in that range, below it quieter. Each curve is the median of several independent measurements, shifted so its 500 Hz to 2 kHz average sits at 0 dB, so only the tuning is compared.

Kinera Imperial LokiSoftears EnigmaHarman target
Frequency response of the Kinera Imperial Loki and Softears Enigma-24-18-12-60+6+12+18dB20501002005001k2k5k10k20k

Measurement data: the Kinera Imperial Loki from mmagtech, silicagel, soundignity and tonedeafmonk; the Softears Enigma from aftersound, animagus, atechreviews, ducbloke, eliseaudio, hu-fi, sl0the and superreview, all via squig.link.

How Kinera Imperial Loki compares with other leading options: