Kiwi Ears Quintet Review - Punching above its price point

 

General/Build/Comfort/Packaging

Everyone should know Kiwi Ears by now, adding Quintet into the count, that makes a total of five Kiwi Ears IEM that I have reviewed to date. Having good experience with the previous models, naturally, the expectation on Quintet is high, and it does not disappoint in fact. Build quality is good, with a good track record, Quintet’s build quality is consistent with the previous releases as well. Packaging is the usual Kiwi Ears style, a black storage case, two types of eartips and a high quality OFSPC cable in 3.5 termination, if only they were to offer a balanced 4.4 termination. Good unboxing experience and packaging overall. It is also comfortable to be worn for long listening session, i have it in my ears for approximately 2-3 hours when i’m testing it, i did not encounter any discomfort or pressure build up as it has two venting hole.

Gears used for this review

• Earmen Angel Dac/Amp

• Earmen ST-Amp

• Earmen Colibri

• Earmen CH-Amp

• Hiby RS2

• Kiwi Ears Quintet Stock cable and Stock Eartips

Foreword

My review is solely based on what I hear via my equipment and I never consider my reviews to be objective in any way rather a subjective approach. Do take into consideration that everyone’s ear anatomy is not the same, so the psychoacoustics perception might be different as well, but i believe it will not stray too far

Sound Impression

The Quintet is impressive sounding in many ways, amazing technicalities and good treble extension, not to mention fast and deep punchy bass. Despite sporting several different driver configurations (1DD+2BA+1 Planar+1 PZT), they sounded very coherent and I'm really impressed. Timbre sounds natural to my ears, with very minor BA timbre. Tonality is slightly warm to my ears and very balanced sounding across the frequency range. Let’s take a look at the breakdown below:

Bass

• Bass is very fast and punchy with good textures all around

• When i’m listening to Metallica’s Lux Aeterna, all the fast drumming has very good punch and impact to it, very satisfying and it doesn’t sound bloated at all

• Sub bass has good rumble to it but it doesn’t go very deep, suitable for EDM based on my preference, but definitely not basshead kind of bass quantity

• Bass doesn’t bleed into the mids

• Very good speed and good control especially when amped

Mids

• The mids are not recessed by all means yet not too forward to the point where it’s in your face

• Male and female has good textures, but Quintet seems to favour female vocal as it has a bit more energy compared to male vocal, but rest assure, the pinna gain is rather safe and certainly not shouty at all (but do take into consideration that we might have different tolerance)

Treble

• This is the exciting part about Quintet, the treble response is just amazing

• Despite sporting a piezo, it doesn’t have the usual piezo “zing” that i heard from other brands, possibly due to the implementation and tuning as well

• Treble extension is excellent and the piezo does add quite a bit of sparkles on the top end, transient response are very dynamic to my ears

• It has plenty of air as well, contributing to a good soundstage, due to the implementation and tuning of the treble, switching over to Final Audio’s Type E eartips gives the soundstage a lift, as well as more body overall

• Very good detail retrieval as micro details can be picked up easily

Imaging/Soundstage

• Imaging is good with precise positioning of instruments coming from various directions and also good layering

• Soundstage on stock eartips is slightly out of your head, but when i swapped to Final Audio’s Type E eartips, the overall experience is different, it sounds more 3D-ish with better width, depth and height perception

Driveability

• Quintet is fairly easy to drive, however it does scale with a better source

• Pairing it with Hiby’s RS2 DAP gives a very dynamic listening experience with R2R tonality

• Doesn’t really need amping, but when amped, bass does exhibit better control and also slightly larger soundstage

Comparison with Orchestra Lite

• Decided to make this comparison because the price point is quite similar with Orchestra Lite costing a little bit more

• Orchestra Lite is all about smoothness and well bodied sound, very smooth overall and has good body and detail retrieval

• The tuning is different compared to Quintet, in terms of tonality, Orchestra Lite is leaning towards the warmer side while Quintet is neutral with slight warmth based on my listening experience

• The technicalities on the Quintet is way ahead of Orchestra Lite, this is not to say the Orchestra lite has bad technicalities, it’s just tuned differently for different audiences

• Orchestra Lite has no vent, hence some people might experience pressure build up and discomfort after a while, also, the shell size is slightly bigger for Orchestra Lite

Final Thoughts

Having tested several Kiwi Ears IEM, it is safe to say that Quintet exceeded my expectations as well. Unique driver configuration coupled with the right tuning, this is definitely the recipe for success. The tonality sounds natural, good technicalities and treble extension, snappy and punchy bass, and right pricing, at the time of writing, Quintet is priced at 219$, which in my opinion is definitely a steal considering the unique driver configuration coupled with good tuning, not to mention despite sporting several different drivers configuration, the coherency is just amazing. This will definitely be an easy recommendation from me. They definitely deserve more attention.

*Quintet is sent over by Linsoul for the purpose of this review. I thank them for the opportunity and support as always.

Head over to their store if you’re interested in getting a pair

Kiwi Ears Quintet - Non affiliated