Kiwi Ears Etude IEMs Review – Music From Across Rivers Of Gold
Kiwi Ears Etude is a $119 USD pair of IEMS or In-Ear Monitors with a complex Bryllium Dynamic Driver, 3 Balanced Armatures and one Vibration Transducer at the core, to increase the quality you are getting when listening to music on a limited budget. Today we review the new Etude and will briefly compare them to the market, giving insight on how the latest Kiwi Ears Earphones sound compared to the market.
Introduction
Kiwi Ears made the Etude beautiful, with golden, black, silver and violet glittery accents. Those are IEMS from the future, looking beautiful, with a metallic shell, and multiple drivers. Kiwi Ears products are widely available, from their own Kiwiears website, Linsoul, aliexpress, and my favorite, Amazon. With Amazon you get the lowest tax, fastest shipping rate and the best deal you might grab today.
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. Audiophile-Heaven has no Ads and our Youtube Channel has no midroll ads, and our work is supported by Affiliate Links and Donations. Huge thanks to Linsoul Audio and Kiwi Ears for providing the sample for this review, in exchange for my honest opinion.
Product Link
Amazon – https://amzn.to/3HGxhze
Aliexpress – https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_olbzBMb
Build Quality – Aesthetics
Kiwi Ears Etude is built for sound, and to achieve the magical sound it can deliver it uses multiple drivers, including the Exclusive KVT Vibration Driver, 10mm Beryllium Plated Dynamic Driver acting as the subwoofer, and Custom In-House Balanced Armature Drivers.
If you read the official web page, Etude looks like it has one of the smoothest, most linear and blanched frequency response graphs, but we will study that in the sound quality part of the review. For the more technical reader and geeky audiophile, Etude has a theoretical impedance of 5 OHMs, SPL or Sensitivity of 104 dB and uses a 0.78mm 2-Pin cable that is 1.2 meters long. This being said, I highly doubt the 5 OHM impedance, as I did experience a pair of headphones once with such a low impedance, the Verum One, which exhibited huge sonic issues by putting most sources into overdrive.
Subjective Usage
Default eartips of the Etude do not work at all with my ears, and there is no seal, so replacing them with a pair of ddHiFi ST-35 is absolutely necessary to enjoy the Etude.
After replacing the eartips, we have a pair of IEMs with a rather thin cable, but which is flexible, there is some microphonic noise that travels through the cables to my ears, and they offer only a modest passive noise isolation of about 10 dB. There is a unique effect where Etude has a metallic resonance inside, if you speak while wearing them, you hear like an empty hollow metallic space is resonating inside.
Comfort is good, shells are a bit large, but lightweight, insertion is shallow-medium, and Etude feels rather cool inside of my ears, without getting too hot despite not being made of metal. It is a good pair of IEMs for comfort and daily usage if you have larger ears.
Sound Quality
Pairings – To review the Kiwi Ears Etude, I have paired it with a selection of sources, including Rose Technics RT-5000, Dethonray Clarinet, SMSL M20, TempoTec March V, Cayin RU9, JDS Labs Element IV, iBasso DX340, Lotoo PAW GT2, FiiO K17. Etude is very easy to drive, in line with what you’d expect from an entry-level pair of IEMS with a low impedance and high SPL.
Overall Signature – Kiwi tuned the etude to be neutral-modern, it has mostly a neutral tuning but with some extra bass, some extra impact and oomph, at the cost of midrange naturalness, which sometimes sounds a bit nasal and like it is sang from the throat. The metallic tinge / tint I mention in the wearing part of the review is also audible in music, deeper drums and highly impactful parts have a metallic resonance / tinge to them. I heard this with multiple IEMS in the past including most Unique Melody MEST IEMs, although not with their latest Unique Melody MEST Jet Black.
Bass – With a rather full bass, Kiwi Ears Etude reaches around 20 Hz really well, which would by itself be a strong selling point for a pair of IEMS that is less than 300 USD. Bass is full, rounded, smooth, lush and deep. It has no extra texture, but it is not lazy, it is fast enough for EDM, Dubstep and even technical death metal. I like how it sounds with modern music, it is a bit overprocessed for classical, jazz and most acoustic music.
Midrange – The metallic inner chamber resonance that I mention is mostly audible in the midrange, and more audible at higher volumes, which makes the Etude a bit hard to listen to at very high volumes. This being said, they have a low compression, high contrast sound, are enjoyable at lower volumes, and they also have a really high resolution for the price point. Etude has a better vocal performance for male voices than for female voices. This kind of sound works really well for commercial, new music, dynamically compressed music, and modern music in general.
Treble – With a rather good treble extension, Etude rolls off gentle and smoothly after 6 kHz, but there is still enough presence and pop up to 12 kHz to give cymbal crashes a bit of energy and oomph, good for rock, modern EDM and pop music. It is a more dry, crisp treble, which helps Etude sound a bit more revealing, considering the smooth and leaner sounding midrange and bass.
Dynamics and Textures – Etude sounds a bit compressed in the dynamic range, it is great for commercial and new music, but takes away some of the dynamic drama from classical, jazz and cabaret music. This being said, it brings forward details and information usually hidden in pop, rock and metal tracks. Etude has a smooth texture in the bass and the midrange, but is a bit dry, aggro in the treble, can be a bit harsh and fatiguing up top.
Loudness Saturation Gradient – With a better performance at medium volumes, Etude has a sound that is a bit too relaxed at low volumes, and gets very aggressive with the metallic tinge audible at very high volumes. This is not the metallic harshness in the treble, but an acoustic chamber resonance, it is easy to not notice it if you’re not looking for it. With most pop and new music, modern tracks, you will not hear it, and can pump the volume high.
Soundstage – Kiwi Ears gave Etude a good lateral separation, but a natural soundstage, it is not very wide nor very deep, but has an equal depth to width ratio, it renders music beautifully, and sounds pleasing – natural for the most part.
Value and Conclusion
Kiwi Ears Etude is not pricey, but it delivers a fun sound, reliable build quality and a fun shell style. There is nothing quite unique about them that would make them an instant deal, but it is a fairly versatile, rounded IEM with a good performance.
At the end of the day, if you’re looking for a natural-neutral with a big bass sound, Kiwi ears Etude is a good option, has a single ended simple cable, a bit of metallic resonance inside, but resolution, clarity and engaging sound makes them a good option for modern music styles, including EDM, Dubstep, Pop and most commercial music.
PROs
- Easily likable sound that is engaging
- Good wearing comfort, which gets better for those with larger ears
- Shallow-medium fit that is great for most people
- Lightweight shells
- 3.5mm connector for the cable that is very common, good for an entry-level product
- Sensitive and easy to drive
- Fun and affordable
Cons
- Metallic resonance inside of the IEMs when you talk while wearing them, audible with certain songs, and more audible at high volumes
- Does not handle distortion well
Product Link
Amazon – https://amzn.to/3HGxhze
Aliexpress – https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_olbzBMb
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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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