This product was bought with my own money. The Kiwi ears Quartet can be purchased from Linsoul for 109usd. The Kiwi ears Quartet is a new option from Kiwi ears that attempts to enter the 100usd price bracket with versatile tuning and tuning switches for users to pick a sound that works for them. Kiwi ears has a good track record of IEMs at various price brackets. The Orchestra and Orchestra lite are both well reviewed IEMs in more expensive brackets. Similarly, the Cadenza is a popular option for people on a budget, providing a tasteful and well executed V-shape for those who want it. Can the Quartet live up to the expectations their past releases set?
tldr; a good set that works for a variety of music, but gets outclassed by specialist sets in their own niches.
Build, Packaging, and Fit
The Kiwi ears Quartet comes with a wide variety of tips in small, medium, and large: all of them with similar bore-diameter. The cable itself is a decent 4-core twisted cable, nothing special but very decent. The accompanying carry case is large enough to fit the earpieces with no issues. The set does not come with a pin for toggling switches.
The earpieces themselves are resin-built with a semi-custom shape. They use 2-pin connectors and are relatively large (16.7mm from the outer-side to the beginning of the nozzle). The nozzle itself is 6.0mm ins diameter. I found fit to be very good for my ears, no issues for me there.
Sound Impressions
This YT playlist
is representative of the genres or types of music I listen to when
coming up with a review (they are not the specific tracks I use for
testing). Any listening was done with S size Spinfit CP100 tips.
Down + Up
This configuration is my preferred one, so I did most of my listening on it. Out of all the configs, this provides the most vocal energy and adheres more closely to my tonal preferences. Instrument detail and separation is pretty good in my opinion while imaging is decent, not bad. I found vocals to be sufficiently forward on this config, not many complaints there. Treble is good enough, but can be jarring with the more forward pinna region of this config (a bit similar to the treble issues on the Blessing2). Bass is good, but also where I find my only major gripe with this set. The slam is fast and detailed, but can be too intense for me. In general bass quantity was too much for me. Sometimes it would be enjoyable.On just another day by yanaginagi, the quality of the bass really shines. Though, I generally found a Low Shelf EQ at around 300Hz was pretty good (I found -4dB to be sufficient for me). Other configurations had some issues or quirks that I didn't like. though, the Up + Up configuration (the default) was good enough in plenty of cases.
Vs. Letshuoer Galileo
The Galileo could be considered a specialist set that focuses more on mids and lower treble for vocal clarity and detail. This kind of tuning is what I generally prefer. In isolation, mids and vocals on both sets could be comparable, but the overall tonal balance of the Galileo makes this region shine even more. I prefer this, as well as the general cleanliness of the bass. Though, any time I would listen to music where I want to enjoy bass, I might lean towards the Quartet.
Vs. Fiio FH3
The Fiio FH3 is one of my favourite sets of all time. While it released in a higher price bracket it is normally found on sale between 109-119usd. Similar to the Galileo, the FH3 is more of a specialist set rather than a versatile one. The FH3 features my favourite bass in an IEM, featuring a slope rather than a hump. The Bass feels cleaner while having a similar amount of slam. On top of this, I find the FH3 to be much more detailed while never feeling like the set lacked vocal energy. In any case where I would prefer the Quartet over the previously mentioned Galileo, I think I would take the FH3 over the Quartet.
Conclusion
There's a lot to like about this set. Out of four configurations, I found two to be usable. The default configuration was enjoyable with a few issues while the Down + Up configuration was pretty good. This set brings very versatile tuning to the 100usd price bracket. Good bass and sufficient energy in the mids puts the Quartet as a heavy hitter and solid buy while being outclassed by more Specialist sets like the Galileo and FH3.
Final Verdict: Almost Good
Comments
Post a Comment