Kiwi Ears x Z Reviews Serene Headphones Review – Fully Closed-Back Linsoul Planars Sound Quaint
Kiwi Ears Serene is a 159 USD pair of closed-back headphones with a full planar magnetic driver at the core, featuring a scaled-down proprietary 72mm * 89mm driver, with a promised lifelike impact and high clarity. Today we review this very interesting pair of headphones from Linsoul and see how they perform against the crowded world of today’s
Introduction
Linsoul is always working on delivering new and interesting headphones to their fans, and the Kiwi Ears x Z Reviews Serene we review today is a new take on the planar world, with a full closed-back design. Priced quite affordable and with the Kiwi Ears at the design seat, I can confirm that it will be interesting, with most of the competition also coming from Linsoul.
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Product Link
Amazon – https://amzn.to/48FSIuP
Aliexpress – https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_c3InG5it
Build Quality And Design
Kiwi Ears Serene is an interesting pair of headphones with a unique planar magnetic driver, sporting a fast response and precisely tuned sound space. Kiwi Ears uses a thick protein leather pad and headband for the best comfort, built on an aluminium frame and polymer cups to keep the Serene light.
With Earpads filled with memory foam wrapped in the soft protein leather, and the driver’s custom refractory filter, serene should isolate a lot from the outside noise. To keep things universally compatible, the company uses a standard dual 3.5mm cable and the marketing material quotes the drivers as being sensitive and easy to tune with different cables.
Technically, the company quotes an impedance of 50 ohms +-15%, which I was able to measure at 60 OHMs. The SPL is 102dB, with a rated power of 10mW and a maximum power of 20 mW. A working voltage of 0.57V is quite good, but with a THD of less than 3%, Serene has a higher distortion than most headphones on the market.
Subjective Usage
First moment I put the Serene on my head I noticed that they offer exceptional passive noise isolation, even higher than some ANC based headphones, it is uniquely quaint to wear them. Unfortunately, the second thing I noticed was just how munich driver flex they have, and Serene has flex when moving your head, they work well if you just sit at the computer resting your head on your chair, but the flex is audible even with small head movements, walking or any kind of movement.
Default cable is quite good, but Serene is not easy to drive at all, and I am sitting at -17 dB on Luxsin X9, they eat a lot of power, with the measured impedance being around 60 OHMs. Serene is very tight on my head, feels uncomfortable to use for long periods of time and takes a while to get used to. They are super light though, so will likely work well for someone with a small head and small ears, as there is not a lot of space inside the earcups. They look trendy and cool. As a little side effect of the tight fit, strong flex, and small earcups, if the driver sits flexed, L R balance will be off by quite a bit.
Sound Quality
Pairings – I have paired the Kiwi Ears Serene with a collection of sources, FiiO K17, Audioengine HXL, Shanling Onix Beta XI2, Surfans F35 Music Player DAP, iBasso D17 Atheris, Burson Playmate 3, Rose Technics RT-5000, and Luxsin X9.
Kiwi Ears Serene takes quite a bit of power to be driven well, and they like a good source. It feels like the marketing material wanted to make them look easy to drive, but with most sources I end up with over 65% of max power.
Overall Signature – Kiwi Ears Serene sounds detailed, V-Shaped and sharp, has a strong bass and a strong treble, with a slightly recessed voice for both male and female voices. This makes me bump the volume quite a bit, but they have an intimate soundstage that makes the whole sound warm and gloomy. There’s something special about the presentation, bass is plentiful, while treble is sharp, balancing things quite nicely. Detail is plenty and THD is quite low, so you can safely increase the volume without a strong distortion.
Bass – From the bottom, Serene sounds thick, a bit gloomy, dark and with a full and lush bass. It has a strong presence starting with 40 Hz, with the peaking range between 40 Hz and 120 Hz, bass bass thickness, presence, body, impact and depth. Bass character is mostly natural, it can react quickly to impulse, but it can hold and create a big and sloppy impact for songs that call for it. Most of the time, the bass will be sludgy, sloppy and create a thick, satisfying kick for the Serene.
Midrange – In the middle, there is a bit of recession, giving Serene a somewhat absent voicing, which is the only element in their sound that creates space, as they sound quite narrow and intimate, with a strong instrument separation, but very low lateral expansion and a rather strong depth. It is unique, and both male and female voices are recessed in the same amount, with Serene allowing all music to sound a bit distant, yet very personal and close to the listener.
Treble – At the top end, Serene sounds sharp, defined and crisp, with a strong resolution and a very low distortion. This is rather characteristic for a planar magnetic driver, but they deliver exceptional resolution and clarity, with strong detail considering the price point. Most detail is between the deep bass, upper midrange and treble.
Dynamics And Textures – Serene sounds dynamic, it has very low compression, and will not force details to stand out or force the background instruments to come forward, but they will render a thick, lush, somewhat slow texture that gives them part of their warm magic.
Loudness Saturation Gradient – Serene sounds far more natural, and more balanced at lower volumes, with a lower total distortion, but it has the disadvantage of also sounding more compressed at lower volumes. I found that the best sonic performance can be had at lower and medium volumes in general, where the soundstage feels much larger and sound is generally pleasing even in noisy environments thanks to the high passive noise isolation of the Serene, but you hear the driver flex much louder when moving your head if you’re listening at low volumes.
Soundstage – Soundstage of the Serene changes with volume, it is much wider, holographic and fun even, at lower volumes, but becomes really narrow at medium and higher volumes, which I used for most of this review. If you know you listen quietly, you’ll find that the stage is large, and also the sound more balanced and more neutral.
Value and Conclusion
For the low price of 159 USD, Linsoul delivers a very interesting pair of headphones, likely the only closed-back planar magnetic headphones that really have a strong passive noise isolation. Value sure is strong for the resolution and bass depth, Serene is unique in the tuning.
At the end of the day, Kiwi Ears Serene has a V-Shaped sound with a thick bass, delightful body for each instrument, a narrow and intimate soundstage and personal presentation, giving all music a sense of belonging and personality. I fully recommend the Kiwi Ears Serene if you’re ready to put up with the driver flex, small earcups and tight fitting, basically if you have a smaller head and ears, situation in which they’ll be perfect.
PROs
- High passive noise isolation
- Closed-back design for a planar pair of headphones, a very rare combo
- Detachable cables
- Exceptional looks
- Detailed and sharp sound
- Low actually perceived THD and distortion
- Unique, personal and tight presentation with a narrow soundstage giving all music a warm and closed sound
Cons
- Very strong driver flex when moving your head even slightly
- Very high clamping force
- Small earcups that don’t have enough space for my ears, design is almost on-ear
- Narrow sound with a thick bass is an acquired taste and not universal
Product Link
Amazon – https://amzn.to/48FSIuP
Aliexpress – https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_c3InG5it
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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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