This is my review of the Kasina Mind Machine by MindPlace.
In this Kasina review, I’ll explain everything you need to know, including:
- The best features
- The worst features
- How the device works
- What it can be used for
- And much more
So if you’re thinking about getting the Kasina device, this review should help you decide.
Let’s get straight into it.
Table of Contents
My Personal Experience with Kasina
In mid 2020, I was looking for something I could use as a meditation aid.
Specifically, I wanted a device that could get me into a theta state. I had heard of the Muse, but I wanted something more than just improving meditation.
I wanted to reprogram my mind by achieving altered brain states so that I could influence my subconscious on a deep level.
That’s when I found the Kasina mind machine by a company called MindPlace.
I had never heard of mind machines before and never seen or used anything like it. After researching more about what mind machines can be used for, I purchased one without a second thought.
That was in June 2020 and since then, I have been using my Kasina device almost every day (sometimes multiples per day), ever since.
To help you get an idea of my experience of the Kasina, it’s worth explaining my state of mind before I started using it.
I had recently moved home to a different town, split from a long-term relationship, and quit my job to pursue entrepreneurship full-time.
In a nutshell, I was freaking out, not to mention feeling the full effects of a global lockdown.
When my Kasina device arrived, I was excited, but nothing prepared me for what I was about to experience.
I don’t remember the first session I tried out, but that first session brought me to a state of deep inner peace that I had never experienced before.
The closest thing to it was that elusive feeling you sometimes get when falling asleep.
But this was on another level, and for a prolonged amount of time. I remember drifting into this state and getting the sense of being suspended in time and space.
It was like I was floating, the feeling I would expect from a sensory deprivation tank.
And I still achieve these states almost every time I use it.
Other than the experiences I’ve had whilst using the Kasina device, I have achieved phenomenal leaps in personal transformation.
I have shifted my beliefs about myself, broken bad habits and developed new and empowering ones, made more money, and expanded my personal presence and awareness.
I am thrilled with my purchase.
Warning for People with Seizure Disorders
Please note: Some images on this page are flashing gifs of the Kasina device.
As Kasina uses technology that flashes LED lights to stimulate the mind, this device is not recommeded to anyone with a seizure disorder.
There is even a warning notice on the glasses as you can see in this picture:
If you have any kind of seizure disorder, please do not use Kasina or any other Mind Machine without first seeking professional medical advice.
What is Kasina?
Kasina by MindPlace is a device called a Mind Machine. Mind Machines use audio and visuals to shift your mind into deep states of relaxation or heightened states of awareness.
Kasina uses music and audio containing binaural beats or isochronic tones through the supplied earphones to change your brain’s frequency. The device also uses glasses with built-in LEDs to further aid the shifting of different brain wave states.
Kasina can help you meditate deeply, manage stress, improve focus and concentration, recondition your mind, reduce heart and breathing rate for healing, achieve a trance-like experience, and promote tranquil states of consciousness.
How the Kasina Mind Machine Works
Kasina works primarily by using binaural beats, which are two separate tones play in different ears. These two sounds combine to create a single sound frequency that alters the user’s brainwaves.
What makes Kasina different is the pairing of flashing LED lights that are synchronized with the audio.
The audio sessions included on the device are also specifically designed to induce states of relaxation by shifting the frequency of your brainwaves.
Benefits that Kasina can help with are reduced stress and anxiety, increased focus and concentration, improved confidence, and deeper meditation.
Glasses: A Choice of two for eyes open or closed
There are two types of glasses that you can use with the Kasina device.
The standard pack comes with the standard glasses which require closed eyes or you can buy the upgraded version, which includes the glasses for eyes open.
With the eyes closed glasses, the flashing LED lights are bright enough, but allow you to rest your eyes.
I think the major difference with the eyes open version is that they are supposed to help create hallucination like affects for improved experience.
I have had slightly different experiences with the eyes open glasses, but they weren’t consistent. There was one instance where I saw geometric shapes and colors. It was like my brain was creating them. It was very surreal, but a wonderful experience.
Though, I do prefer the closed glasses, but only because I prefer to close my eyes during the session.
If I use the DeepVision Ganframes glasses too often, my eyes sometimes get a little dry.
Earphones: Earbud style earphones
The supplied earphones are standard earbud style earphones that get the job done.
They aren’t anything special, but they aren’t cheap rubbish either. The actual sound quality and volume levels are quite impressive for what they are.
I haven’t felt the need to upgrade them at all.
I have tried my £260 headphones though, but I don’t think they have the same effect. I think that’s because they have active noise cancellation, which influences the way the binaural beats function.
Every time I’ve used them, my session isn’t as good as with the ones supplied with the device.
Interface: iPod like design with Back-lit LCD screen
The device itself looks similar to the old iPod classic with smaller features and more squared edges.
The LCD screen is in color and lights up the interface when you turn it on. There’s four options to choose from the primary screen.
The setting menu lets you adjust things like the language, power management, default audio settings, and how long the back light screen stays on.
Aux audio allows you to change between visual modes of the glasses and the USB setting is for transferring files to the micro SD card.
The session’s menu is where all the sessions are stored. More on that later.
Other features of the device are the on/off button on top of the device, alongside the USB slot for connecting to a PC, and an Aux connection for playing tracks on speakers.
I’m sure of the use this would be, but you could actually put your own music on the device and use it as an MP3 player.
Other button functions are up/down volume control on the left and up/down brightness control for the glasses on the right.
The memory card slot is at the bottom, next to the connections between the glasses and headphones.
Music: 49 pre-loaded sessions in 6 mood categories
The main sessions are found under the option SpecrtaStrobe. There are additional sessions which I have looked into little, but from what I can tell, they are fairly similar to the main sessions.
The SpectraStobe sessions are broken into six categories:
- Accelerate
- Meditate
- Mind Art
- Night Voyage
- Rejuenate
- And Trance
Each category is filled with sessions that will induce different states depending on the category they belong to.
For instance, Before Learning, Create, and Focus belong to the Accelerate category because they are designed to boost concentration and focus.
Whereas Alphabet, Vapor-Chill, and Zodiac belong to the Trance category because their purpose is just that, to create a trancelike state.
My Favorite Sessions
I do the same sessions depending on the time of day. In the morning I like the Gamma Rejuvenation from the Accelerate category. It allows me to drift into a deep relaxing state and slowly ramps up to rapid modulations to make me feel alert and free of distractions.
Deep rejuvenation from the Rejuvenate category is absolutely incredible because it sends me into such a peaceful and hypnotic like state. It truly is a beautiful feeling. I’ll usually do this one in the afternoon.
Another one I like to do in the afternoon from time to time is Biomarkers. This one slows down your breathing and heart rate for a deep relaxing and healing like state.
And then there’s Alphabet! Wow, just wow! This is the one that made me feel like I was floating, like I’m completely weightless. It’s a wonderful and soothing experience.
Light Settings: 16 different color-mapping presets
There are two different light settings to choose from, AS/SpectraStrobe and ColorOrgan, and within each mode, there are individual color settings to choose from.
I believe the main one is the SpectraStrobe mode which displays the lights in sync with the music and you can adjust these to your preferred requirements.
Likewise, with the ColorOrgan mode, I think this is more specific colors and pre-programed modulations that display light independently to the music.
Storage: Comes with 8GB micro SD card
The included 8GB micro SD card is preloaded with all the sessions you need to get started.
You can also find more sessions online, through SoundCloud or other dedicated websites selling audio/visual tracks for mind machine devices.
If you want to add more tracks to your device, you can upgrade to an SD card with more storage. I purchased a 16GB one from Amazon so I could put some additional hypnosis audios on there.
Battery: Built-in rechargeable lithium battery
The Kasina device comes with a built-in non-removable lithium battery that’s rechargeable with the supplied USB cable.
You can charge it through any USB power source, like a PC, or for a faster change a USB plug that you charge from the wall.
When I first started using the Kasina, the battery lasted for several days, but now that I have gotten a lot of use out of it, I have noticed a decline in its battery life.
I’m not sure if it’s a common issue, but I will sometimes charge the device and the battery will die after one use, whereas other times it lasts much longer, often over 6-7 times.
It’s strange and I’m unsure why it does this, but it isn’t too much of a problem.
What I want to do it find out if there’s a way to upgrade the internal battery. I am yet to contact Mindplace to find out if this is something they offer or if other people have figured out how to do this.
If I find a simple solution, I will update this post when I learn more.
Technical Specs
- Color LCD display
- Back-lit screen
- Glasses have 6 colored LED’s per eye
- 255 shades of each color
- 16 color-mapping preset
- Built-in rechargeable lithium battery
- 255 shades of each color
- Built-in MP3 player
- 6 different session moods
What You Get in the Box
- Ganzfeld frames (glasses for closed eyes)
- DeepVision Ganframes (glasses for open eyes)
- Kasina Console
- Earphones
- USB Cable Power Supply
- MicroSD Card with SD Adapter
- Carry case
- Soft cloth
- Quick Start Guide
- Stereo Patch Cable
Kasina Pros and Cons
Kasina: Pros
- Easy to use
- Good for people to struggle to meditate
- Great selection of audio sessions
- Induces profound and deeply relaxing states
Kasina: Cons
- It’s wired, which some people might not like
- Battery life isn’t consistent
The Bottom Line: My Mindplace Kasina Review
As you might have guessed, I am loving the Kasina mind machine, and it has become somewhat part of my daily mindfulness and spiritual practice.
But is it for everyone?
If you’re looking for something to provide you with brainwave feedback like some meditation devices offer, then this won’t be for you.
But, if you are on the search for a device that will get you into incredibly peaceful states of consciousness and help quiet your mind and reduce stress, then you might just love Kasina as much as I do.
Conclusion
So there you have it, that’s my full Kasina review. I’d love to hear about your experience with this device.
Have you tried Kasina before? And what did you think?
Let me know in the comments below and if you have any questions.
Excellent review. I bought the Kasina for my son to help him relax and also get into a meditative state. He hasn’t used it very often which is a shame as he still stresses and has possible stressed induced arrhythmias. I was an early adopter to mind machines before the term was coined. I had a Polysync Pro about 28 years ago. It was a lump of a machine but gave me about 30 programs and I could also program the machine although it must have had a small programable memory and I think it was more kilobytes than megabytes and Gigabyte hadn’t been conceived of! I had Ganzfield glasses that were red diodes only. I used it for meditation, stress relief, learning and sports performance. I just tried the Kasina to have a quick experience with Starlit Night with the goggles (eyes open) then Patternity with the Ganzfield. I preferred the latter. I drifted off to sleep (not my intention but I was exhausted from being up at 5am to get a flight to Phuket from Bangkok). As the program stopped I suddenly woke up with a huge smile on my face (I wasn’t consciously aware of what I experienced so whatever it was it must have been profound at an unconscious level). I will post other experiences with different programs when I get into it. I may consider another mind machine or one with biofeedback though the Kasina may provide me enough to explore and discover. I still have my old Polysync that had stopped working but I recently got an electronics person to fix it. The battery originally in it was the size of brick (Not literally! 🤣). It was a bit cumbersome so haven’t used it since being sorted. The Kasina looks like a great of kit. I hope you found my ramble of some interest. Gerry
The very fact that 1), battery performance is inconsistent( I’ve seen this issue referenced several times in a number of forums), and 2), the battery is sealed inside the unit and thus cannot be replaced by the user, makes it a no go device for me, steer clear unless you are happy with suboptimal performance from time to time, this device has a short life span built right into the design. get a device that allows you to replace the batteries when they start to wear down. Either the Limina, (which allows you to change the batteries) but requires an auxiliary device to be connected if you want background music or sounds, or the laxman( again batteries can be replaced), in addition the laxman has a slot for a mini SD card and has a built in MP3 player, no need to connect an auxiliary device, additionally the session editor(laxedit)is a better implementation compared against the kbseditor offered by mindplace. you can integrate an mp3 file into the laxman session file you are developing, and the session file will be synchronized with the audio file( just remember that the session file and the included MP3 file must both have the same name. only the filetype extension is different).
I agree! There are definitely some downsides to the sealed battery.
However, I still use my Kasina to this day, 3 years since I purchased it.
I will have a look into the Limina and Laxman for sure. Thanks for the suggestion.
Opening the Kasina : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJcwp07RYHw
The battery is 323458 (3.2mm thick, 34mm witdh, 58mm Length) 1200mA
Room for a thicker battery as foam is used to take it in place, at least 5mm thick will be ok. The length can be 60mm too.
But, the battery is hold in a removable frame, so wider or longer model can also be used, using foam.
The battery is soldered, no connectors.
Inside pictures : https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/qiw34gadcoursc3sstx14/combo-batt.jpg?rlkey=p2zhyu69s5f1jpdr512fowut0&dl=0
This is incredible Pierre, thank you for sharing!