They have arrived.
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Can’t wait!!!
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Looking forward to seeing your pair in your hands!
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So what your initial impressions?
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That was damn fast, didnt you like…just order it?
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Great timbre and fantastic tuning. I’ll have to do some A/Bs in the coming week for sure!
Yeah, dude, insanely fast shipping from AliX I must say.
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J…hijacked a pair of Advars for 450…well almost a hijack… now it’s a fair fight
bass has better decay and the overall sig is more fluid than the TS but very close in nature… nitpicking actually…classic Meze sound…just like their cans
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The more I do a a/b/c the more I appreciate the Advar , I was also doing the compare with the EA1000
Sure sounds like to me 3 separate levels of overall performance the big one between the Simgot and TS and a much smaller but noticable bump with the Advar.
But overall I feel the Advar is technically and upgrade as well how resolving it is the natural Tonality I feel is better for me.
Super great find on your set congratulations 
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Is your Advar vs _____ vid coming out this weekend
Yup vs TIMSOK TS-316 but mostly talking about the TS just doing more listening it’s very engaging as well.
Looking forward J 
QOA Aviation
Flying High
NOTES:
QOA is yet another offshoot brand of Kinera. They join Celeste in this regard in bringing to market quality products with careful attention to both form and function.
Tuning wise the Aviation is blessed with a sound that bucks the prevailing Harmon based trend yet does not stray far enough away to alienate those who have become accustomed to that type of sound.
The Aviation boasts a driver compliment of three Knowles Balanced Armature drivers and a single 8mm Dynamic Driver. That’s some quality hardware to begin with but is not a guarantee of good sound. Implementation and tuning are where the rubber hits the road regardless of the perceived driver quality and the Aviation does not disappoint in this regard.
Fairly easy to drive, the QOA Aviation really shines when driven by a quality source. I used the Ifi Hip-Dac 3 for most of my listening and was very satisfied with the synergy. Moving up to my Topping a50s/SMSL Sanskrit 10th stack afforded a touch more resolution at most not affecting the overall musicality. Tip selection is critical with the Aviation to help extract the best sound potential. In listening I went with a wide bore, shallow tip with good results.
Regardless of being the house or sister brand, Kinera has once again produced an iem with good sound paired with a great presentation. The reality though is that at its asking price of $199usd there is lots of competition. Read on to see how the QoA Aviation fared according to this opinionated music lover.
SPECS:
Drivers: 1x 8mm Dynamic, 2x Knowles 3287, 1x Knowles 33518
Impedance: 38ohm
Frequency Response: 20hz-20khz
Cable” 2-pin
BUILD, FIT & QUALITY:
The QoA Aviation is a beautiful iem. Pictures really don’t do it justice. The looks are matched by the build quality which is also excellent. The Aviation is on the larger side of medium and fit was snug and secure in my ears.
Quality of the included accessories was again, top notch. From the versatile multi-connector copper cable, above average tips to the included and posh case, the attention to quality and detail were unmistakable. QoA obviously paid lots of attention to the retail presentation and it does exude quality. Well done.
SOUND:
BASS:
The QoA Aviation offers a bass presentation that goes deep with a moderate mid-bass prominence over sub-bass. The low end is powerful yet smooth with good speed and control. This is far from a bass shy iem yet not what I would call one of the “Basshead” variety, although there is ample low end on tap.
Bass impact is commendable offering good slam and rumble with an organic decay following. The low end has a pleasant weight or thickness to it that I find pleasing. On “Angel” by Massive Attack, the power of the driving bassline was front and center with a fair amount of the texture coming through. On “Manix!” by Intelligent Hoodlum the bass drops were palpable yet still controlled.
If there are any negatives to the bass it would be the level of detail which at times could be wanting. This can be heard in reproduction of the double bass on the track “No Worries” by the Robert Glasper trio. The incredible bass work was clearly audible but lacked the detail that exposed enough of the character of this instrument. Such it seems may be the trade-off made by QoA to achieve this level of note weight given the driver used.
Overall, the QoA Aviation brings to the table a powerful and expressive bass that serves as a solid foundation to the rest of the frequency range.
MIDRANGE:
The midrange of the QoA Aviation is more vocal forward than recessed and offers a rich and vibrant presentation with good clarity. There is admirable balance of details, macro over micro in quantity. There is ample energy but it does not come off as overdone or become tiring despite the presence uplift noted. More musical than analytical, the Aviation, despite its energy, offers a smooth playback with little to no harshness.
Vocals are clear and expressive and there is a noticeable touch of warmth imparted to the lower midrange from the mid-bass that does not cloud the mids. The vocal on “Change Your Mind” by Moonchild came through with a lushness that was enjoyable yet retaining a high level of clarity. On “Tenderhearted Lover” by John Stoddart, the vocalist’s emotional delivery was not only heard but felt.
Note weight is satisfactory with the Aviation not sounding thin. Timbre is good and the mids do come of as organic. The sound is non-congested even when pushed. I found myself on more than one occasion playing music at higher than typical volume levels attesting to the Aviation’s ability to stay composed and clean even when pushed. Layering and separation is fine, again staying composed even when the music gets loud.
The handling of dynamics is very well sounding unrestrained with the playback of transients following suit in quality with sharp leading edges and natural decay.
I would say that the midrange of the QoA is a winner. A combination of vibrant playback with a smooth and natural delivery that I believe many will find alluring.
TREBLE:
The treble of the QoA Aviation is fairly well extended and follows the prevailing trend of the midrange. Here we have a treble with good clarity, detail and vibrancy yet still delivered in a smooth and controlled manner.
There is ample sparkle and air but it is not overdone, rather it adds to the overall feeling of space, not hanging around long enough to sound harsh neither overdone.
The treble here follows closely the midrange sonics and does its job quite well.
IMAGING & SOUNDSTAGE:
The QoA Aviation throws up a moderately large soundstage with good width and balanced quantities of depth and height. Instrument placement is solid overall. The image never sounds like it has gaps nor do the musical elements appear as being on top of each other. There is space to breath but it is offered in a more organic way rather than being overblown or artificial
VERSUS:
-Hisenior T4-
The T4 is a 4x BA per side iem with no dynamic driver in sight.
Bass power and slam are obviously more prominent on the Aviation but detail retrieval, texturing and speed are a win for the T4.
Midrange clarity, detail retrieval and separation are a win for the T4 while metrics such as note weight have the Aviation taking the lead. Both offer an organic playback but the T4 is more balanced and controlled vs the more energetic presentation heard on the Aviation.
Treble quality is closer and both offer fairly good extension with ample air and sparkle. As for detail retrieval the T4 gets the nod but each offers an enjoyable treble.
The T4 is my personal benchmark iem in the $200usd range and even above. The T4 also offers tuning switches, which I usually am not a fan of, but their implementation is done very well for added versatility. If I had to only keep one, it would still be the T4, but I would miss the Aviation.
CONCLUSION:
The QoA Aviation is a good iem. From the time it is unboxed to the first listen, the Aviation satisfies. This is a vibrant yet full sounding iem from top to bottom offering a smooth organic playback.
The $200usd price range is a competitive one and does include my personal benchmark iem the Hisenior T4. Still the Aviation deserves serious consideration by anyone looking to buck the boring trend of common tunings and who can appreciate and iem that looks as good as it sounds.
The QoA Aviation gets a recommendation.
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Jason…they put an addictive chemical in it to make you crave it fort nightly smartass …
HEED! PANTS! NOW!
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Damn I love that movie LOL so my kind of humor!
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Oriveti OH700VB Finally another IEM that’s not afraid of stepping off of the Harman Tuned Path and it does so I’m such a wonderful way.
Effortless and Ultra smooth replay
Steps off Harmanish Tuning and colored in all the right spots at all the right levels while keeping to its core monitor like tuning true to source.
Sub bass boosted but not scooped brings a unique playback into the mids that is ambrosia
The music replay sounds effortless and it’s a IEM you can listen to for days.
The Top mounted tuning switch is brilliantly placed and allows you to adjust on the fly per track or mood. The adjustment is SUBTLE but well done to slightly bring the mids from slightly darker/recessed to more forward airy and bright.
Amazing stage presentation and plays well into the overall experience.
Excellent Highs , and details with great extension.
Natural and organic effortless mids and highs. Making Vocals very realistic and instruments pitch perfect.
Unboxing experience was first rate and worthy of the price
Such a natural reproduction on the music made this one extremely hard to describe and put down on paper.
Made we want to forget all the other stuff I was supposed to listen to. So I did and kept sticking these back into my ears.
Sub Bass to the moon with very nice texture and authority
Unlike the AFUL P8 who tried to do a monitor like tuning the OH700VB nailed it with a exciting tuning and a additive sound that makes you want to crave it fortnightly!
Cable while high quality is the same as the OD200 and while even being modular, I found its tangly nature unruly and worthy of a swap Soley for that reason not sound.
Nothing else I wouldn’t change anything on its tuning.
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Serial pinna?
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Great review as per usual, brother 
Do you mind if you can just clear something up for me, though?
You mention the sub bass is great but not “scooped”, do you mean rolled off? I associate the word scooped with the mid bass and lower mids. From the graph, the mid bass absolutely appears to be pretty scooped so I’m just confused. Thanks, man 
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I guess it is looking at the graph but I guess the the mild climb onto the Pina it just doesn’t sound like a typical scooped tuning?
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Correct, scopped or dipped bass is usually referring to the mid-bass/lower-mids area if it isnt more linear.
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