Ruyi is the third product that Celest, a sub-brand of Kinera has released. Their prior products were both budget iems with unique designs and this time they came up with a cable that has a detachable boom mic. Celest Ruyi is sold for 29$ and offers a lot for that humble price.
This is not the first cable with a boom mic Kinera has released however, Gramr, which I haven’t tried is a more premium and a little pricier product.
Pros
- Good sounding microphone.
- Good Length for desktop usage
- Comfortable.
- Doesn’t deteriorate the sound quality.
- In-line volume and microphone mute controls.
- Boom mic can be detached.
- Good value
Cons
- A cable clip or velcro strap would have been nice to manage the extra length for mobile gaming.
- There is no splitter for microphone and headphones for desktop usage.
Technical Specifications
Cable Parameters
Material : OFC
Braid Way : 2 cores manual braided
Diameter : 2.0 mm/core
Strands : 16 strands of 6*0.08 mm
Interface : 0,78 mm 2-pin / MMCX
Plug Material : Pure Copper
Plug : 3.5 mm
Cable Length : 1.5 m
Protective Skin : PVC
Metal Part : Aluminum alloy with sandblasting oxidation
Microphone Specifications
Microphone Patterns : Omni-directional
Sensitivity : -42±3dB
Resistance : 2.2kΩ
SNR : 60dB
Frequency Response : 50Hz-10kHz
Microphone Length : 13cm
Disclaimers
Without boring you too much, I don’t necessarily have a sound preference. I tend to enjoy different sound profiles as long as they do well at what they intend to do. I try to be critic in my reviews but I might be somewhat biased one way or another (Freebies, Recency bias, buyer’s bias etc.). Please keep these in mind. Also, Celest Ruyi is provided to us by Kinera, so we thank them. I will try to be as objective as I can, but you are free to take my findings with a grain of salt. If a unit I reviewed is given or loaned to me in the future, I will say so here.
Company Overview
Kinera’s roots extend to as early as 2011. However, they didn’t enter consumer market with Kinera name until 2016. They also created sub-brands such as Queen of Audio and Celest for different target demographics. Celest in particular, looks like they are aiming for budget segment of the market and have flashy designs for younger music lovers.
Packaging
Celest Ruyi comes in a simple black package. You can buy Ruyi with either 2-pin or MMCX connection. You can also buy USB Type-C or Lightning adapter separately if you don’t have any suitable ADC/DAC.
Boom mic and cable are in separate smaller boxes so, even with this kind of budget-oriented accessory, Kinera has been very considerate with their presentation.
Design
Cable has a smoky dark grey color. Y-splitter and 3.5 mm connector are covered with metal, rest of the cable is made out of plastic. Ear hooks are not heat-shrinked and would be problematic if you want to remove them but, I would advise against it since they are essential to support the extra weight the microphone causes. Overall, Celest Ruyi is a pretty well-made, very light and comfortable cable that didn’t negatively affect my calls or gaming sessions.
Celest Ruyi’s Sound
Output
For sound output, there is not much to say really. Cable has decent quality and doesn’t deteriorate the sound as far as I’m concerned. It worked flawlessly with several IEMs I used it with. You should not expect to enhance your sound quality with a budget conscious cables like Ruyi whether it has a microphone or not. I will however focus on its microphone performance.
Microphone
Celest Ruyi’s microphone has a pretty good sound quality. I used it with several phone and conference calls without problems. My voice reached to other side nice and clear. I also used it while gaming in more than one Apex Legends sessions. I never heard any complaints from my brother which is rare. From the tracks I recorded, I found that Ruyi’s microphone sounds clear, bassy and chesty.
Comparisons
I’ve recorded a test track using several other microphones, namely Behringer BC12 boom mic and Epos H6Pro Gaming Headset mic. In this test I’ve found out that:
- H6Pro is louder than rest, probably because it doesn’t have a foam cover. It can also be more sensitive.
- Celest Ruyi microphone is bassier and chestier than others.
- Behringer sounds the most neutral but also a little nasally.
- Although H6Pro mic focuses on voices and is the clearest, it also sounds more digital and compressed than others.
I’m leaving the test track here so you don’t have to take my word for it. The ADC I used to record this track is Fosi Audio K5 Pro Gaming DAC/AMP. You can find my review for it here.
Conclusion
Celest Ruyi is a no-frills cable that does what I’ve expected it to do and a little more. I have no problems giving it 5 out of 5 stars considering its price. Maybe the microphone isn’t as good as a +100$ Condenser microphone but I wasn’t expecting it to be. Gaming with it was a great experience and very comfortable. Ruyi helped me win games in Apex Legends, which I’m not very good at mind you. That alone is enough for me.