>>I am brazilian and I speak portuguese, so forgive my english, I’ll use translation tools to help<<
INTRO:
After the Cadenza and the Quartet, it’s time for the IEM with the most drivers that I’ve been able to test, the Kiwi Ears Quintet. I can already anticipate that this is the best Kiwi Ears IEM I’ve been able to test – till today. In addition to being very good, the Quintet is “correct”, a true “All rounder” (in my opinion).
The Kiwi Ears Quintet was sent by Linsoul, one of the main distributors of Kiwi Ears products, as well as several other brands and audio products. For those who don’t know, Linsoul is the same DD-Audio Store on AliExpress, so I’ll also put the links of both to make easier.
Price: $219 USD
Color: Black/Silver
Cable: No Mic
Previous Kiwi reviews: Cadenza, Quartet
LINSOUL store:
https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DFTiHcf
https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DlxKeiB
SPECIFICATIONS:
Hybrid: 5 drivers per side
- (1) 10mm DLC Dynamic Driver (DD)
- (2) Custom Balanced Armatures (BA)
- (1) 5mm Micro Planar Magnetic driver (MPT)
- (1) Piezoelectric bone conductor (PZT)
– Frequency range: 20Hz – 30kHz
– Sensitivity: 106dB SPL/mW
– Impedance: 32Ω
– THD: 0.5%
– Rated power: 5mW(min), 10mW (max)
– Termination Plug: 3.5mm (straight design)
– Connectors: 2pin 0.78mm
– Cable size: 1.2m (detachable)
– Cable: OFC copper silver plated
– Shell: 3D Resin
– Earphone weight: 4.7g (one side)(without eartips)
– Cable weight: 21.1g
– Total weight (packaging, iems, etc): 243.7g
– Packaging size: 13cm [H] x 11cm [W] x 6.5cm [D]
UNBOXING:
PHYSICAL ASPECTS:
Let’s start with the eartips, here we have the point that I found to be the weakest of the IEM. Honestly, the eartips are too simple for how good the IEM is (spoiler!), even for the price they cost. So, I confess to you that I didn’t even bother to test, I picked up a pair of SpinFit CP100 in size M and everything went well. So here’s my criticism of the Quintet’s set of eartips, I think they could have put something different, of slightly better quality. I did a test with the FiiO HS18 in size G and they were also good, although they took away a bit of the mid-bass, so, I preferred the sound with the CP100.
Cable. Very positive point in the Quintet. For my taste, I found it very beautiful, but besides the aesthetic part, the cable is also quite functional. It’s a very light cable, only the plug part that I found heavier, it seems to be a more solid metal piece, although this doesn’t interfere at all in the user experience. Easy to roll up, doesn’t tangle, doesn’t present microphony. The earhooks have a good curvature, don’t cause tightness. The connectors are 2 pin type, the indication to insert the correct side is through the red color (right side). The body of the IEM doesn’t have an indication of which side to fit, it will need a little experience here on this issue… in any case, the side with the name “Kiwi” is the right one, and the side with the name “Quintet” is the left one. The chin slider works 100%. I didn’t notice anything very different that could be criticized. Great cable.
Fit & comfort. As usual, these are very personal reports, each person will have a different opinion. In my understanding, the Quintet had an excellent fit, and the comfort of the IEM in my ears was also excellent. The body of the EIM is made of resin, and this made it super light, not even with the amount of drivers it has made the IEM heavy, this was a very positive point that I found in Quintet. The faceplate, at first I thought it was plastic, but I looked at the product info and there it states that it’s metal, and so here with me I gave a light tap one on another and it sounded like metal indeed.
The IEM fits more at a vertical angle and were 100% stable in my ears, they have a very anatomical design good for long musical sessions. The isolation I found very good but also confess that SpinFit’s eartip helped here in this aspect. I didn’t feel any internal pressure (in the ear canal). The insertion I found average but tending towards to a deeper insertion. My tip is to push the CP100 as far as possible into the nozzle base thus leaving the nozzle a little shorter.
The product info doesn’t show if it has sound conduction tubes but looking at nozzle up close you can see that there are 3 separate holes at top of the nozzle. This detail can only be seen by looking very closely because the protective grid hides it. I can’t confirm existence of ducts because I didn’t open IEM internally.
Accessories. Included accessories came with a semi-rigid style carrying case and zipper closure. I think for price of product it would be cool if case was synthetic leather and magnetic closure (but this is something subjective to my taste). The important thing is that case that came serves very well to store and protect IEM.
SOUND ASPECTS:
The sound of the Kiwi Ears Quintet I understood as an U-Shape. The adjective I would use to describe the sound I heard from the Quintet would be: “correct”. This IEM pleased me a lot, it’s a good “all rounder”, an IEM that plays several different music styles. There’s nothing in the sound of the IEM that you say: “it’s missing this”, or “it’s too much of this here”, it’s all very balanced (of course, for my ears).
Bass:
Quantitative: I found it at a moderate level. In some situations from moderate to high. I like bass and I was satisfied, the amount found here is great. In terms of sub-bass and mid-bass, I think there is a balance between the regions, both with good presence, and as I said in the eartips paragraph, the change between one eartip and another can increase or decrease the mid-bass, with the CP100 here for me it increased, and then comes the feeling that the IEM have “more bass” because of this. The IEM have good extension and don’t present roll-off. If a person is looking for a very large amount of bass, then the Quintet doesn’t reach this level, but I like to listen to music that needs a highlight for the bass (EDM, HipHop, etc), and I was able to enjoy and listen to these styles perfectly.
Qualitative: The Quintet’s bass has body, has texture, has a pleasant warmth that makes the sound very engaging, and the definition is also very good. The impact has strength and presence, and it’s not a dry impact, but rather that type that has filling, that you feel it has mass. Fortunately they are well controlled bass and don’t invade the mids. The bass has a good cutout, you feel that the dynamic driver is sending energy, but the sound doesn’t get lost within the presentation, they have their space delimited before other sounds/instruments. They aren’t boomy basses, much less “bloated” basses. It’s an IEM that you can listen to Metal and Rock with a lot of security because it doesn’t get fatiguing. I confess that I have heard more technical bass than the Quintet, but maybe the big deal here is exactly to bring more emotion.
Mids:
Quantitative and Qualitative: The mids of the Quintet are very pleasant, they are also very balanced, the tuning is excellent, nothing sounds aggressive or “over the top”, just as nothing sounds recessed or distant. Indeed, if you come from an IEM where the pinna gain is very “high”, you will certainly feel that the mids of the Quintet are more “low”, and likewise if you come from an IEM with recessed mids, you will find that the Quintet is more “forward”, you need to get used to the balance here. A lot of transparency, detail and resolution, this is how the mids of the Quintet are. This is a “full-bodied” and “engaging” region, which reminded me of the FiiO JD7, the timbre of the guitars are “warm” and “textured”, especially in the Riff and bases. Flutes present themselves with a very sweet and enjoyable sound to listen to.
Voices: Here we have a technical draw, this is because this time there wasn’t a type of voice that combined more than the other, both had a great performance, both male/low voices and female/high voices. The Quintet is an IEM that has a lot of texture in the bass, and this certainly contributes to making lower voices stand out, but higher voices also have a lot of life and detail. I found a better result for female/high voices when I increased the volume by 10% more with the DAP, I was doing auditions and felt that there was something for this type of voice that could be even better, then this detail in volume made all the difference, it increased the airy and presence without unbalancing other frequencies.
Treble:
Quantitative: I found that the level of treble of the Quintet was moderate. Presence in just great level (in my opinion). This is an IEM I consider good for those who are wary of more “present” treble, the Quintet is very calm, it doesn’t sound fatiguing. It’s true it’s good to make a good choice of eartips when using the IEM, not that it will turn into a “bright” IEM because of the eartip, it’s not that, but because if for example you choose a wide bore eartips, you can lose some bass and consequently increase treble zones (in my opinion). The Quintet has good extension, I didn’t feel roll-off.
Qualitative: The treble of Quintet are linear, balanced, coherent with reality, without coloration. They have excellent resolution and articulation, excellent detail (at micro detail level), good airy. The sparkle of this IEM is well adjusted, neither sounds dull nor thin, it presented itself very realistic (for my ears). They aren’t sharp, they aren’t strident, they aren’t artificial, nor harsh. The treble of Quintet didn’t present sibilance at any time during the time I evaluated the earphone. Hi-Hats sound with plenty of detail, it’s possible to hear micro nuances of instrument with excellent definition. Fingerpicking on guitar strings sound rich and with resolution. Drum cymbals present themselves with plenty of “naturalness” (opposite of sounding artificial for my ears). Chime brings brightness with exact clarity. I just didn’t find the IEM so good for Jazz because I like to listen to this genre in a slightly bright way with less bass and a more analytical touch in presentation.
Soundstage: The soundstage of this IEM I found to be excellent. Here is the whole package, in height and width the sounds expand excellently, already in depth, the level is in the very good range. In depth a Campfire Andromeda will have a feeling of greater distance than the Quintet, but interestingly the Quintet also manages to create this feeling of distance without making the sound feel “hollow”, or “empty”, “lost”, you can feel a proximity, but you can’t identify where the sound begins. Of course, in-ear monitors have their limitations in terms of acoustic design, you can’t compare them with headphones, but without a doubt the Quintet presents itself as one of the best IEMs I’ve ever tested in terms of spatiality. Very good performance.
Imaging: The instrumental separation is another excellent point of the Quintet. Nothing gets congested, not even the most extreme Metal songs I listened to, nor in Samba songs with several instruments playing at the same time. It was possible to identify all sounds being produced with quite definition and separation. In the song “L’île des morts – Alcest”, it was possible to hear at a certain moment of the song, the percussion changing position and it was possible to identify the correct position from where the sound came from, sometimes more behind, others more lateral. I found this detail very positive in this IEM. The stereo imaging of Quintet is also great (remembering that separation can also vary according to recording and other processes during musical production).
Driver Flex Test: With so many different drivers inside the Kiwi Quintet, it becomes more than necessary to do the driver flex test. The conclusion is that during all the time I spent evaluating the IEM, it didn’t present driver flex noise. Another positive point for the Quintet.
Amplification: I used the DAP FiiO M11S to do this review. The output used was 3.5mm and DAP in High Gain mode. In my opinion, Kiwi Quintet is an IEM that doesn’t need extra amplification to play correctly. With M11S I started increasing volume gradually and reached 70%, felt that it still gave to put more 10% of volume to reach my taste, then finished with 80% (of 120% available). I tested directly on the audio board of my notebook – an old Dell – and the Quintet played easily. I also tested IEM directly from my smartphone – an even older Motorola – and the result was equal, easy to push (but I always recommend that they have at least a good dongle for use with smartphones, regardless of the IEM needing more power or not).
Music is subjective, so below is the list of some musical genres that I personally think that was better with this IEM. Remember that were only few genres and few artists tested. If I describe that one genre was better and the other don’t, it doesn’t mean that you can’t listen to your favorite music genre with this IEM and love it. So, here goes:
Better:
Classical
Hip Hop
Reggae
EDM
POP
Rock
Blues
Metal
MPB*
Bossa Nova*
Samba*
*Brazilian musical genres.
Not so much:
Jazz
PLAYLIST LINK:
Graphs by Super* Review:
Thank you so much for being here!
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook to get all the news!
We also have a group on Telegram, come and join us!
IEMs and Music 