Kiwi Ears KE4's Review - The new Meta?

 

General/Packaging/Comfort/Build

Kiwi Ears is no stranger within the community, names like Orchestra Lite, Quintet, and a few others including one that i have tested recently, the Canta, most of them are well received by the community. I have the KE4 with me today sporting 2DD+2BA configuration with the new Meta sound profile. 

The packaging comes in the usual Kiwi Ears styled packaging, black colored box, within the box it consists of a rather roomy storage case, and a very good looking cable and Kiwi Ears’s new eartips. Build quality is rather solid with beautiful faceplate, the shell itself is neither too big nor small, very good isolation and comfort based on my experience throughout the listening session for approximately 2-3 hours. No pressure build up issue nor driver flex.

Equipment and Software used

• Kiwi Ears Allegro Mini

• Dita Navigator

• Macbook Air M2

• Apple Music/Tidal/foobar2k

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

Upon first listening impression, the midrange on the KE4 is what strikes me first, it is very natural and  full sounding. Bass performance is also good with smooth transition between the sub bass and mid bass, they are slightly more emphasised on the mid bass rather than sub bass, overall timbre is very natural as well.

Bass

• Sub bass performance is good but slightly lacking extension to my ears, can be felt rather than heard, but when the track calls for it, it is there and not too overpowering, certainly not basshead level kind of rumble but good enough

• Mid bass is very punchy and has good texture to it, doesn’t sound bloated nor bleed into the mids

• The bass is quite speedy and can keep up with complex song such as Slipknot’s People = Shit

Mids

• The mids are my favourite part about the KE4, it is just so natural and full sounding

• They are slightly forward 

• Male and female vocal has good texture to it and doesn’t sound thin, male vocal is full and it sounds correct to my ears, female vocal also have sufficient energy to it

• The bass doesn’t bleed into this range which is good

• Pinna gain is rather safe and never shouty even when the volume is being cranked up

Treble

• Treble is very smooth and non offensive, but retains enough energy to not sound dark

• The con is that the resolution is just average the same goes to detail retrieval as well

• Amount of air and presence is slightly above average but this is understandable as it is the tuning that they strive for

Soundstage/Imaging

• Soundstage is slightly out of your head with good width, depth and height perception is good

• Imaging is good as the instruments can be pinpointed easily even during busy track, certain complex orchestral track might not perform that well

Driveability

• KE4 is not hard to drive but it does scale well with more power, in terms of dynamics and bass control

• Most of the entry level/mid range dongles will do just fine but desktop setup or mid range DAP will squeeze every bit out of the KE4

Comparison (Thieaudio Hype 2) Similar configuration

• Warm sounding overall and sub bass focused, mid bass is less punchy compared to KE4

• Bass texture and speed’s performance is more or less similar

• Treble is smooth but resolution and detail retrieval capability is slightly better compared to KE4

• Soundstage is just slightly out of your head but imaging is good

• The mids are slightly recessed and not as forward compared to KE4, slightly thinner sounding

• Upper mids are not perceived as shouty as well

• Noticeable BA timbre but sounds quite natural overall

• Overall, Hype 2 is a warmer set compared to KE4, in terms of price, it is also 100$ more expensive compared to KE4, in terms of price performance ratio, i would personally go for KE4

Final Thoughts

The KE4 certainly set itself apart from many of the 2DD+2BA set, I believe this is the first in Kiwi Ear’s lineup to opt for the Meta tuning and honestly, they’re doing it right and the KE4 certainly sounds good. If you are looking to try something different from the harmanish crowd, KE4 is the one that i will recommend.

*A big thanks to Linsoul for sending this over for the purpose of this review. Thanks for the support and opportunity as always

Head over to their store if you are interested in getting a pair:

Kiwi Ears KE4 - Non affiliated