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⭐ Kiwi Ears Quintet | The Ensemble

▶️ Demo unit is available for auditions now!

Linsoul Kiwi ears have been on a roll so far, their few latest releases have been very much well received by the audiophile community. Today we deep dive into their latest model, the Quintet, priced at the RM1k range, it stands to compete in probably the most intense price point segment. Despite being a young company, how does Kiwi ear’s latest model stack up with the other players?

 

 

 

Build quality and design is rather lackluster for the price; Just a basic carrying case, a set of silicone eartips and the IEM itself, all in a small plain box. The IEM design shell is painted jet black, with the company’s logo etched on the aluminium faceplate, and the shell’s overall slim yet long nozzle ergonomics are pretty comfortable. Personally I would have preferred a bit more flair in their faceplate designs and better accessories included as other brands like Moondrop or SeeAudio provide a bit more in that dept.

 

 

The Quintet setup is quite interesting, instead of using the usual hybrid or even tribrid setups, Kiwi ears decided on going for a 5-driver setup, each designed to work to their specific frequencies: consisting of 1 Diamond-Like Carbon (DLC) dynamic driver, 2 balanced armature (BA) drivers, 1 planar magnetic driver, and 1 piezoelectric (PZT) bone conductor. The audio engineers at Kiwi Audio were also proud to showcase the MPT (Micro Planar Transducers) driver. A new driver in the IEM industry, these new tweeters feature the classic planar magnetic driver circuitry but with a smaller footprint for use in hybrid designs. With an extremely low noise floor and high output capacity, these planar magnetic drivers deliver crisp and detailed treble that is unique from typical BA or EST (electrostatic) tweeters used in most IEM’s today. The piezoelectric driver was utilized to deliver ultra-treble microdetail and air. 

 

 

 

Upon first listening to the Quintet, I was immediately surprised at how coherent it was despite having so many types of drivers with a crossover to handle them all. The tuning of the Quintet can be described as Neutral/Flat, with plenty of details. Its technicalities are the main highlight as its bass is fast yet punchy and the highs are clear and solid.

 

Bass wise the Quintet has very good deep, tight clean bass. Like a small and fast subwoofer. It does lack some rumble and decay but it's punchy and tight. I wouldn’t call this a basshead IEM, but people who enjoy bass will be impressed with its overall quality and tactility. Midbass is slightly boosted but again clean and not muddy. Mids are tuned very well, they are relatively centered, instruments having good details and definition with its position to be slightly in front compared to the vocals. Highs are pleasant and enjoyable; they offer nice detail and sparkle, but it never goes into sibilant territory unless the recording was done as such. It’s not laid back or forgiving when it comes to lesser quality recordings but its default signature is clean and detailed without being shouty or piercing. It has air and extension too, with music having enough headroom and presence. 

 

 

Soundstage is decent, at least above average for IEMS, although they don’t provide a huge soundstage (this applies to most IEMs too). The Quintet overall is more taller than wider compared to others, but nothing congested or boxed in. The imaging is pretty well done, it's easy to tell where instruments are placed, and it has enough separation in the instruments to pick them apart without much effort. One thing that I guess you can say is a bit of a con (depending on your taste), but the Quintet overall comes off a bit flat or clinical. The tuning is very well judged and has technicalities in spades, but it's not the most engaging or soulful sounding.

 

Conclusion, despite the Quintet sporting several different driver configurations (1DD+2BA+1 Planar+1 PZT), they sounded very coherent and impressive. The Quintet is tuned well, with great technicalities and good treble extension, not to mention fast and deep punchy bass. It is not everyday where you encounter an IEM with a well tuned balanced signature, yet presents a very technical yet audiophile-like presentation. Overall an impressive and unique IEM worth having a listen!

 

✒️ Author : Kah Hon  | 📷 Photo : Kah Hon
👉 More Stars Picker's In-House Review | starspickeraudio.net/blogs/blog

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■ 4 Driver Type Setup
■ New MPT (Micro Planar Transducers) driver
■ Balanced Tonal Signature
■ Detachable 2 pin 0.78mm cable
■ 3d Printed shell Housing

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⭐ Official Store | https://bit.ly/Kiwiears-Quintet-S |

◇ Retail : RM1049 (PM for best price)

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■ Physical shop / audio specialist⁣ since 2013
■ Directly imported from Linsoul
■ 100% genuine / warranty covered⁣
■ Malaysia’s first audio theme cafe / library