KIWI EARS QUINTET: Cheap, Affordable Quadbrid Set

Quintet is a set of musicians consisting of five members in a musical group. The prime examples of famous quintet acts are the Jackson 5, The Temptations, Backstreet Boys and Spice Girls. Quintet is also a typical set-up for rock and metal bands like Anthrax, Scorpions, Avenged Sevenfold, Malice Mizer (a 90s to early 2000s band act from Japan) and Twisted Sister.

This is Kiwi Ears Quintet, a follow-up product from their previous model, The Quartet. Unlike the Quartet which has a usual hybrid driver set-up, the Quintet takes another level for a hybrid driver configuration as it added another two types of drivers, a piezoelectric driver and a "micro-planar" driver which makes it a "quad-brid" set.

The number of drivers that were implemented to the Quintet's transducers on each side consists of a single dynamic driver, two (2) balanced armature drivers, a MPT (micro planar transducer) driver and a single piezo-electric driver. The dynamic driver is a 10mm size with DLC (diamond-like carbon) diaphragm and it has good ductility properties to deliver speed, precision, slam and more responsiveness on the bass part. The two Knowles balanced armature drivers handles the midrange part to deliver a natural and better resolving on both vocals and instruments.The " 'MPT (micro planar transducer)' " or Flat Panel Driver which is more flexible to integrate with other drivers as it gives a better efficiency on extracting a full range frequency on the treble region, while the piezoelectric driver will added more air and stereo spatiality.

These drivers were encapsulated in the shells made of composite materials composed of aluminium alloy in a silver coating with matte-like finish and a black-coloured acrylic resin on its cavity base. The shell chassis of Quintet takes an archetypal UIEM (universal in-ear monitor) form factor for wearing versatility to all ear sizes. Like all Kiwi Ears products, Quintet has a 2-pin connector as its detachable mechanism for straightforward on doing cable replacement.

As for Quintet's fitting and comfort, With its pretty light shell chassis with smooth contours and a stabilising fin for better insertion, it rests well in my lugholes as I can wear it  for long listening sessions. Passive noise isolation seems to be fine as it was able to block some noises for the outside.

Kiwi Ears included a stock cable for Quintet of decent quality. It has 4-core High-quality, Oxygen-free silver plated copper wiring with 3.5mm as its termination plug.

The product presentation of Kiwi Ears Quintet seems pretty simple but with its basic inclusions, it does fine for its usage.

Here are the following contents inside:

■ Pair of Kiwi Ears Quintet IEM.

■ A stock cable.

■ IEM storage case.

■ Six (6) pairs of black-coloured ear tips.

■ Instruction manual.

Regarding its amplification, Kiwi Ears Quintet is easy to drive as it only needs a sufficient power output from a multimedia source like smartphones, laptop and DAP. A decent power output will deliver an optimal performance on Quintet to have a full range sound.

The tonality of Kiwi Ears Quintet has a mild u-shaped sound signature which is quite balanced. It has an elevated low and high frequencies with a pretty linear and neutral midrange.

(This graph was provided by [USER=553763]@koyawmohabal[/USER] , credit to his effort on this one)

LOWS/BASS:

It seems that the bass quality and quantity of Quintet is fairly balanced as it has a good sub bass presence while a sufficiently textured mid bass. Therefore, it gives a cleaner, precise and incisive bass response that is quite well-separated from other frequencies.

Sub bass can be relatively felt in the sonic spectrum as I discerningly felt those reverberations and rumble from synthesisers, drum machines and low toned bass guitars. On mid bass, as I mentioned a while ago, it has sufficient texture but I also notice that it has a depth to a lesser degree and less darker pitch that would affect some tonal colours on some instruments and male vocals. Bass guitars have a rather sombre and resonant sound though there are some instances that it sounds a bit hollow. Bass kick drums have a thudding and eerily sound while bass trombones have a rounded and soft sound from them though it is quite lacking on fullness and darker tone. Bass-baritone has a sufficient woolly and density but it isn't that gravelly nor has a darker tone due to lack of depth on it as I noticed on the vocal quality and texture of Andrew Eldritch, Louis Armstrong and Barry White.

MIDRANGE:

The midrange of Quintet appears to have a neutral, clean and translucent with bright characteristics that will be beneficial more on some female vocals, strings and woodwinds. Although I noticed a slight notch presentation on its overall frequency range spectrum.

As I noticed that male vocals especially on most baritones and tenors are quite lacking in strength, weight and volume but it manages to give a flexible and bright tone on leggero tenors, some lyric tenors and countertenors. Baritones have milder and less warm tone as I'm listening to Billy Idol, Lenny Kravitz and David Bowie, Don't expect a steely, fuller and strength on Kavalierbariton and Verdi baritone as they sound rather sweeter and way too smooth as I listen on both Dmitri Hvorostovsky's and Robert Merrill's vocal qualities. Countertenors sounds excellent on Quintet as they have a smooth, agility and fiery style as they are hitting with their highest modal range. Andreas Scholl, King Diamond and Geddy Lee are few exceptional countertenors singers that I'm for volume and texture on vocal quality of this particular vocal type. Contraltos seems to have decent warmth and power but I also noticed that they don't have depth and volume to give a fuller and rich tone on singers like Annie Lennox, Anggun and Toni Braxton. Mezzo-sopranos and sopranos somehow sound better as the former vocal type has a smoother and tender while the latter one has more silvery and shimmering that benefited on how this set was tuned. Florid and rapid vocal passages along with an energetic and volatile tone on coloratura sopranos was almost perfect executed on how I enjoy to listen to Olga Pereyatko and Diana Damrau with their sweet and provocative vocal qualities although there are some pitfalls in which I will point it out later.

On instruments, string instruments like acoustic or electric guitars have this bright, crisp and lingering sounds as I hear those plucking, strumming and fretting on their string notations while violins have a bright, clear and metallic sound. Woodwinds like flutes have brilliant, silvery and bright though sometimes there's a shrill on it. Piccolos have a brilliant and penetrating sound from them while both clarinets and saxophones have incisive, bright and reedy sounds. Percussive like snare drums seems to have dry and sharp sound from them, field drums and toms have resonant and hollow sound, and then kettledrums seems to have a resonant and dry sound from it. Brasses like trumpets have a vivid and metallic tone while trombones have sinister, intensity and overpowering sound that somehow doesn't blend well with other types of instruments. Pianos relatively sounds more balanced to bright tone that gives an even and sparkly sound.

HIGHS/TREBLE:

The treble response of Quintet is definitely on the brighter side tuning as it has shimmer, crisp and clarity due to the perceptible elevation on the upper midrange and presence part of the treble region. But there will be some trade offs on that in a long listening session, it might give some treble-sensitive folks a listening fatigue due to some minor occurrences of sibilance on sibilant-laden tracks particularly on female voices with high vocal range.

It gives a more precise tone and attack on some instruments like cymbals, hi-hats, glockenspiels and celestas. Cymbals have a glistening and metallic sound on every hit, glockenspiels have a bright and penetrating sound and celestas have that ethereal and shimmering sound, and then on hi-hats, they have a shortened buzzing to give that distinctive chick sound. When it comes to brilliance treble quality and quantity, Kiwi Ears Quintet is one of the few sets that is quite excellent on sparkle and treble air. It has a good amount of harmonics and a remarkable quantity of air.

SOUNDSTAGE, IMAGING AND OTHER TECHNICALITIES:

While it has an impressive lateral span on its perceived sound/speaker stage with good height ceiling, its depth was its chink of its armour as I definitely notice its inadequate texture to give a rather flat and linear presentation but in my opinion, I think its fine as there are times that my listening mood wants a more neutral, flatter and clinical presentation. So far, it gives me a good spacious head room within my aural sphere.

The imaging presentation of the Quintet has a concave-like sound field that gives me that almost atmospheric-like impression as I was able to pinpoint the position of vocals and instruments with good separation and decent arrangements of each tonal and frequency layers of instruments and vocals in a black sonic canvas. With good projection of its imaging aspect, playing some complex tracks will be easy-peasy for this set.

On cohesive performance of its quad driver set, it has a good transient speed on its dynamic while the balanced armature drivers, piezoelectric driver and MPT driver able to deliver a resolving and good output capacity for seamless sonic performance.

Regarding its resolution capabilities, it has good micro-dynamics due its sharp definition on retrieving a substantial amount of details and nuances of datas from an audio track. But on the macro-dynamics, while it has solid fundamentals, you will also notice a tad leaner on its note weight but at least it doesn't  have that mushy nor too smoothen characteristic that will be detrimental on its overall resolution.

PEER COMPARISONS:

CELEST AUDIO PHOENIXCALL

■ Like Quintet, Phoenixcall also has a hybrid driver configuration albeit it doesn't have a piezoelectric driver. It also has a resin shell but on its form factor, it has a modified UIEM-style but still gives a good fitting and comfort. Both have good product packaging but Phoenixcall has better product presentation and more ear tips and other paraphernalias. And it should be noted that Phoenixcall is way cheaper when it comes to its asking price.

■ Phoenixcall has a warmer V-shaped sound signature which is quite contrasting to a mild U-shaped with a more balanced and neutral sound of the Quintet. It has a more pronounce bass response with more bodied mid bass, a recessed midrange but somehow it has more texture on male vocals and instruments like percussion and brasses and similar treble response but Phoenixcall have less airy treble compared to the Quintet.

■ On technical performance, Phoenixcall projects a smaller sound/speaker stage compared to the Quintet but its depth is more substantial compared to the sparseness of Quintet. It has a similar imaging which projects a concave-like sound field presentation. While Quintet has better detail retrieval, Phoenixcall has more solid macro-dynamics.

SEE AUDIO RINKO

■ In an IEM which has similar driver configuration and also has a new type of driver which is a flat panel driver that is also marketed as "micro-planar transducer". But the difference was that Rinko doesn't have a balanced armatures nor piezoelectric driver. It has a 3D-printed shell chassis. On product presentation, both have its own strengths, while Quintet has more ear tips to choose from, Rinko has better quality on stock ear tips and a more premium-looking IEM storage case and other quality goodies. And Rinko is more cheaper than Quintet, like over half its price.

■ Rinko has a more V-shaped sound profile that makes it a fun sounding compared to the Quintet. It has a more punchy bass response, a noticeable notch on its midrange presentation especially some instruments and vocals are either laid back or less pronounced in the overall presentation and similar treble quality as they both have a brighter response but Rinko has only a moderate treble air.

■ On technical aspects, Rinko has only  an average sound/speaker stage proportions but at least it has better depth compared to Quintet. Rinko has a more solid volume and density on its macro-dynamics while its detail retrieval is above average as it able to extract some nuances and details from an audio track.

To summarise the overall facets of Kiwi Ears Quintet, it is definitely an improvement compare to the Quartet as it has newer driver set-up, more compelling design of its shell while removing the toggle switches and better tuning and more improvement on its technical capabilities over its predecessor. Kiwi Ears Quintet is truly a well-polished and all-performer set despite minor noticeable drawbacks on some of its capabilities.

Kiwi Ears Quintet is a product testament on what Kiwi Ears can do on their continued refinement of their products. This is actually the first "quadbrid" configuration in under $US300/£242 price range and its a very compelling product that portable audio enthusiasts should try.

Kiwi Ears Quintet is now available in LINSOUL, check out the unaffiliated link down below.

★★KIWI EARS QUINTET - LINSOUL★★

And also checkout my reviews on other Kiwi Ears products:

● KIWI EARS CADENZA

● KIWI EARS QUARTET

SPECIFICATION:

MODEL: KIWI EARS QUINTET

IMPEDANCE: 32Ω

SENSITIVITY: 106dB

FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 20Hz – 30KHz

CABLE LENGTH: 1.2M

PIN TYPE:  2-PIN CONNECTOR (0.78MM)

PLUG TYPE: 3.5mm

DRIVER UNIT(S): (1) DYNAMIC DRIVER + (2) BALANCED ARMATURE DRIVERS + (1) PIEZOELECTRIC DRIVER + (1) FLAT PANEL DRIVER.

PROS:

△ Solid yet lightweight shell chassis, good colour contrast between its cavity base and face plate.

△ Inclusion of a good quality stock cable.

△ Sufficient amount of ear tips to choose from.

△ IEM storage case for carrying and decent protection for the IEMs.

△ Mild U-shaped, almost neutral sound signature for neutralheads.

△ Precise and punchy bass response.

△ Clear, transparent and neutral midrange.

△ Remarkable tonal colour presentation on female vocals and instruments especially strings and woodwinds

△ Bright, crisp and airy treble response.

△ Wide and tall perceived sound/speaker stage to have a good spacious headroom.

△ Remarkable imaging projection with good separation capabilities.

CONS:

▽ Definitely not for bassheads.

▽ Bass tones seems to have that lack of depth and less darker pitch.

▽ Male vocals particularly on baritone-type doesn't have an enough note volume to have a warm and lusher sound from them.

▽ Instances of sibilance on a sibilant-laden tracks.

▽ Quite a paucity on its sound/speaker stage's depth.

Some Tracks Tested: ( * = 16-bit FLAC, ** = 24-bit FLAC, *'* = MQA, '*' = DSD, *'= .WAV)

Alison Krauss -When You Say Nothing At All *

Jade Wiedlin - Blue Kiss**

Led Zeppelin - When The Levee Breaks **

Mountain - Mississippi Queen *

Queen - Killer Queen **

Guns N' Roses - Patience *'*

Eric Clapton - Tears in Heaven '*'

Sergio Mendes- Never Gonna Let You Go '*'

Pearl Jam - Daughter **

Roselia - Hidamari Rhodonite *

Assassin - Fight (To Stop The Tyranny)*

Celtic Frost- Visual Aggression *

New Order - Blue Monday *

The Corrs- What Can I do (unplugged version) *

Jimi Hendrix Experience - Voodoo Child *

The Madness- Buggy Trousers *

Metallica - Motorbreath **

Mariah Carey- Always Be My Baby *

Destiny's Child - Say My Name *

Malice Mizer- Au Revoir *

Mozart - Lacrimosa *

New York Philharmonic Orchestra - Dvorak- Symphony 9 " From the New World." *

Eva Cassidy - Fields of Gold (Sting cover)*

Michael Jackson - Give In To Me *

Exciter - Violence and Force *

Diana Krall - Stop This World **

Debbie Gibson - Foolish Beat *'*

The Sisters of Mercy – Lucretia My Reflection**

Suzanne Vega – Luka **

Lauren Christy – Steep *

Ottoman Mehter - Hucum Marsi *

Diana Damrau - Mozart: Die Zauberflöte*

Type O Negative - Black No.1 *

Felix Ayo - Vivaldi: Presto **

Three Tenors - Nessum Dorma *

Mercyful Fate - Witches' Dance *

P.S.

I am not affiliated to KIWI EARS nor receive monetary incentives and financial gains as they provide me a review unit for an exchange of factual and sincere feedback from yours truly.

Once again, I would like to send my gratitude to KAREENA TANG of LINSOUL for providing this review unit as a loaner unit. I truly appreciate her generosity and trust towards me and other reviewers.