Kiwi Ears Astral IEMs Review – Boundless Starlight Rain
Kiwi Ears Astral is a $299 USD pair of 1 DD + 6 BA Hybrid IEMs designed with a beautiful faceplate and part of the current Kiwi product artillery to take down the Chifi competition. Today we review the Kiwi Ears Astral and also compare them briefly to the market, including comparison with Dunu Vulkan 2 (359 USD), Punch Audio Martilo (329 USD) and Moondrop x DD HIFI Surface (279 USD).
Introduction
Kiwi Ears is pushing their attack on the chifi market, adding more IEMS to their rich selection of options for every price range, and this time they take on the midrange market, with Astral being their pair to dominate the ~300 USD price range, still with the more neutral – natural signature that Kiwi embeds in their more affordable IEMs.
As an Amazon Influencer, I earn from qualifying purchases, and using the purchase links in my reviews helps me maintain this website and Youtube Channel. Huge thanks to Kiwi Ears for providing us with the sample for this review.
Product Link
Amazon – https://amzn.to/3V09Xzg
Aliexpress – https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_oELHW0V
Build Quality – Aesthetics
Kiwi Ears is kicking right into action witht he Astral, as it bears a hybrid design with one dynamic driver and 6 balanced armatures, with the dynamic driver acting as a subwoofer and the other Balanced Armatures being precision drivers for resolution, mids, and treble. Looking at the frequency response graph, Astral looks like it is going to be fun, a considerable bump below 200 Hz, mostly linear below that and then a sudden bump from 14 kHz up to 17 kHz.
For the more technical and geeky reader, Astral has a Sensitivity of 105 dB and an impedance of 23 OHMs, a THD lower than 1%, and a Frequency response between 10 Hz and 22 kHz. With a 1.2 meters detachable cable, they feel well-equipped to fight in this entry price range.
Subjective Usage
Kiwi Ears Astral works nicely right out of the box, no need for eartip upgrades or any tweaks. The original cable is flexible but well made, long enough and the way the cable / IEM coils around your ears eliminates all cable handling microphonic noise.
Insertion depth is medium-shallow, they offer around 10 dB of passive noise isolation, enough for listening and most background noise is drowned out if you play music at least at 40 dB, which is usual.
There is no void, driver flex and no usage issues. IEM shells are on the slightly heavier side, but ergonomic and with no sharp edges. Comfort is bliss with Kiwi Ears Astral.
Sound Quality
Pairings – To review the Kiwi Ears Astral, I have paired them with a selection of sources, including Rose Technics RT-5000, Dethonray Clarinet, SMSL M20, Surfans F28 DAP, TempoTec March V, Cayn RU9, SMSL C200 PRO, JDS Labs Element IV, iBasso DX340, Lotoo PAW GT2, FiiO K17.
Kiwi Ears Astral is a little too easy to drive for their own good, very nice sound with portable sources, they have outstanding control easily, not sensitive to source noise that much, but still sensitive to overdrive, so they sound best with low or medium gain, need a source that has a proper voltage / power delivery which does not oversaturate. This means that most DAC AMPs you’re likely to use will do really well on low and medium gain.
Overall Signature – Kiwi Ears Astral sounds detailed, very revealing, with a vibrant and direct midrange, a slightly higher emphasis on female voices and drama, having a high dynamic range and strong transparency. There’s a good sense of space and instrument separation with most energy being found in the upper midrange and bass, but with a linear-neutral frequency response creating a satisfying signature.
Bass – At the bottom end, Kiwi Ears Astral has a bit of emphasis on the sub-bass and mid bass, with the whole dynamic driver offering extra strength up to about 100 Hz, different from the graphs on the Kiwi Ears Website, but in a good way, as this signature feels more refined and detailed than the one promised on the webby. Bass is solid, thunderous and impactful, with a strong substance and fast recovery rate, creating a highly technical sound. There is plenty of depth and power for EDM, Dubstep, but no coloration and sound stays rather linear for rock and metal. Even pop does not have that much extra bloom, sounding rather controlled and technical.
Midrange – For a revealing, detailed midrange with a bit of upper midrange emphasis, Kiwi Ears dedicates Balanced Armatures only, resulting in a sound that gives female voices, drama, pianos and violins a higher energy level, more strength and more punch. This also makes bands like MEtallica sound sweet, guitar solos take a central place in most songs, and Kiwi Ears Astral is super fun for all music styles, even EDM, Pop, Dubstep and commercial music.
Treble – With a brilliant, sharp and detailed treble, Kiwi Ears Astral has a strong extension up to about 16 kHz, although here the actual sound is different from the graph offered by Kiwi Ears, with more of a whole treble emphasis upwards of 10 kHz, with a strong detail revealing ability up to 15 kHz. This results in a slightly too detailed and analytical sound at times, but I enjoy a more technical approach, detail being comparable with what you can find today at around 500 USD.
Dynamic Ran
ge And Textures – With a fast sound, even bass coming from that dynamic driver is rather fast and snappy, but balanced armatures have an almost immediate response, attack and decay, resulting in strong details, but no smoothness, no glossing over micro bits of information and Kiwi Ears Astral is instead very fast, has a short decay and precise. If the song has a long decay, you will hear it, but it does not apply a beauty filter over your music. Dynamic range is generally on the flatter side, normal for a pair of IEMS with most sound produced by balanced armatures.
Loudness Saturation Gradient – Kiwi Ears Astral is rather sensitive to volume, but stays constant at all volume levels. Dynamic range decreases at higher volume, sound gets compressed, more details spill forward, but DR is flatter. Sound is more punchy, more engaging at louder volumes, which is a normal reaction, but THD stays low and controlled. Overall, they prefer medium volumes for the best balance of DR, resolution and impact.
Soundstage – with a rather airy soundstage and vivid instrument separation, Kiwi Ears Astral is the kind of earphone that shows beauty in a wide stage. Depth is produced on a flatter level than width, but there still is plenty, especially if you listen to music with a deep bass, where there’s sharp separation between the low-end and midrange and a drastic difference in depth.
Comparisons
Kiwi Ears Astral vs Dunu Vulkan 2 (299 USD vs 359 USD) – At the heart, Vulkan 2 is heavier, having a metallic shell, but the cable quality is comparable, vulkan 2 has a better transport case, while Astral has a slightly more ergonomic fitting. They are almost equally sensitive to source quality, and vulkan 2 has a stronger passive noise isolation. Sonically, Vulkan 2 is more V-Shaped, has a higher dynamic range, and a bit more life in the sound, while Astral has a higher detail revealing ability, a more technical, faster, more linear-neutral sound. Both are great options for enjoying both older and newer music, but Vulkan 2 is more of an audiophile sounding IEM, while astral is a good cross between studio and audiophile hifi, with more lean towards the studio signature.
Kiwi Ears Astral vs Punch Audio Martilo (299 USD vs 329 USD) – MArtilo is a slightly heavier, more compact looking IEM, but Astral has a better comfort and fitting. Cable quality is comparable, but the cable of Martilo is thicker, less flexible while Astral has a lighter, more ergonomic cable. Martilo has a far stronger passive noise isolation. Astral is a bit easier to drive but also a bit more sensitive to source quality and the voltage power gradient saturation. Sonically, Martilo is just a bass canon, deep and bloomy, while Astral sounds more neutral, more transparent, more linear, has a higher transmittance and just a faster, more precise sound. Astral thus also has a better instrument separation and detail level, making them a far more technical choice, unless you want the thunderous and slower bass of the Martilo.
Kiwi Ears Astral vs Moondrop x ddHiFi Surface (299 USD vs 279 USD) – Astral and Surface are both comfortable, but the cable that ddHifi bundles with the surface feels more premium and so does the transport case. Passive noise isolation is comparable. Physically, the Surface is a bit lighter and more comfortable, but they are comparable. Sonically, Astral has a much higher detail revealing ability, a more transparent, more neutral sound signature, better impact and a sharper resolution. Surface just sounds warmer, thicker, deeper and smoother up but with less information revealed and a more bloomy sound.
Value and Conclusion
Under normal circumstances my entire review might feel clickbaity, but most IEMS that achieve a similar resolution and clarity compared to Kiwi Ears Astral are over 500 USD, those just reveal that much information, and have a nice package, top price / performance ratio for sure.
At the end of the day, for 300 USD, Kiwi Ears designed a pair of IEMS that are almost fully monitors, but with a bit of extra bass impact and kick, they have outstanding resolution and clarity for the price point, a nice transport case and are fully recommended if you’re looking for a detailed IEM Etymotic style but with actual bass, comfort and treble extension worthy of a complete sound package.
PROs
- Detailed, crisp and clean
- Analytical, fast and revealing sound
- High Resolution
- Linear-neutral signature that allows all instruments to breathe
- Good bass klick kick and impact
- Sharp and brilliant treble
- Airy soundstage with strong instrument separation
- Strong passive noise isolation
- High quality cable
- Very good package
- Great overall deal
Cons
- Neutral tuning not for everyone
- A bit too analytical at times, reveals harshness easily
Product Link
Amazon – https://amzn.to/3V09Xzg
Aliexpress – https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_oELHW0V
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Full Playlist used for this review
We listened to more songs than those named in this playlist, but those are excellent for identifying a sonic signature. I recommend trying most of the songs from this playlist, especially if you’re searching for new music! The playlists are different for Spotify, Tidal and Youtube, and based on the songs I enjoy and are available on each!
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_cjBXGmwSHSdGcwuc_bKbBDGHL4QvYBu
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5J3oloz8Riy9LxEGenOjQ0?si=979ba4f082414be7
https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/330fd544-8e5b-4839-bd35-676b2edbb3d5
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