KIWI EARS MELODY: The Unlike Planar Set
"Music is the melody whose text is the world"
~~Arthur Schopenhauer, German Philosopher during Romantic Period, Author of "Die Welt als Wille und Vorstellung". (The World As Will and Representation)
Kiwi Ears recently released a lot of models and all of them have diverse driver configuration from single dynamic drivers up to quad drivers set-up. And now, they are now releasing an IEM with planar magnetic driver and they are really eager to introduce it in an even more competitive audio market.
This is Kiwi Ears Melody, Kiwi Ears' first IEM with planar magnetic driver. Planar magnetic drivers in a small form factor became readily available and many audio companies are taking its potential performance and implementing it with their products. Planar magnetics have different principles compared to dynamic drivers and balanced armature drivers, it is a magnet that is suspended in a thin flat diaphragm with some wires embedded on it and it will react responsively via electromagnetic signals which makes it even more sensitive compared to traditional dynamic drivers. Planar magnetics drivers are known to have a consistent motion and agility that gives them a faster transient response and even more precise sound.
The planar magnetic that was implemented on Kiwi Ears Melody is 12mm of a diameter which makes it one of the smallest sizes in this type of driver. The drivers were encased in a medium-sized UIEM-shaped composite shell structure consisting of 3D-moulded acrylic resin on its cavity base and a metal alloy material alloy on its faceplate. The faceplate has a Kiwi Ears logo printed on it and I find it appropriate and fits well on its overall aesthetics. Like all Kiwi Ears products, Kiwi Ears Melody uses a 0.78mm 2-pin connector as it is more logical and proven to be more stable.
Fitting and comfort of this set is excellent as it rests well into my lug holes and gives me a good passive noise isolation due to its good sealing that blocks some unwarranted external noises from the outside surroundings. I can certainly wear them during long listening sessions and even during my daily physical activities.
The stock cable of Kiwi Ears Melody is of 4-core oxygen free copper wirings that were braided to ensure durability and better signal output. On its end, it has a 3.5mm termination plug that was gold-plated for better conductivity and resistant to corrosion.
The product packaging of Kiwi Ears Melody appears to be elementary and minimalist with basic inclusions inside of its small packaging box.
Here are the following contents inside the box:
■ Pair of Kiwi Ears Melody IEMs
■ Stock cable
■ 3 pairs of balanced bore ear tips in different standard sizes.
■ 3 pairs of wide bore ear tips in different standard sizes.
■ Instruction manual
Regarding its power scaling and amplification, it is given that planar magnetic drivers need more powerful output from its sources to generate more electromagnetic signals to its transducers and this set appears to be in that case too. But once this set is amplified properly, it delivers a more dynamic and full range sound that benefited from the performance of its driver.
To determine its tonality, Kiwi Ears Melody has a V-shaped sound signature which is quite warm sounding for a planar set which is quite uncommon.
LOWS/BASS:
This is the most prominent part of this set's frequency range. It is unusual to encounter a planar bass which sounds quite authoritative, borderline boomy and impactful bass response. In my lugholes, this is definitely a mid-bass focus bass response as it has a quantity of texture on it to give more body on certain instruments and vocals. I even thought this one sounds like inbetween good quality dynamic driver and vented Sonion subwoofer balanced armatures that I have in my collection.
There's a decent sub-bass presence as I was able to felt some grumbling and reverberation from instruments in some genres like old school hip-hop, RnB and synth-pop. These sub-bass focused instruments like low tone bass guitar, synthesisers, drum machines..you name it. As I aforementioned regarding of its mid-bass quantity, it definitely gives more volume and texture on some instruments and male vocals, particularly bass to bass-baritone ones. Bass kick drums have a full, thunderous and pounding sound to give more authority and tactility, while bass guitars have a weighty and mighty sound on how it roars and growls, and cellos have a thick and dark sound on every motion of its bow string or plucking. Bass and bass-baritone vocals sound quite deep with dark tones on them to have a guttural, resonating and voluminous sound as I enjoy listening to Andrew Eldritch, Bryn Terfel, Louis Armstrong, Barry White and Peter Steele.
MIDRANGE:
The midrange is definitely recessed on its presentation on the overall frequency spectrum. But despite its recession, it has a warmth and well-bodied texture to give an even more broadness and density on its note weight on vocals and instruments but there are some caveats on which I will expound later.
This type of tuning will give more emphasis and definition on vocals mostly baritones, some tenors and contraltos but on some tenors, countertenors, mezzo-sopranos and sopranos, they might sound less expessive and less energetic as there are some instances that they sound lethargic and a tad dull in my liking. On baritones, it appears that it favours more on Kavalier baritone, Verdi and dramatic ones as they sound steely, richer and fuller respectively. Light and lyric baritones appear to have too warm, a tad less mellow and too rich sounding on its intended tonal colour. As for tenors, it seems that spinto, robusto, dramatic and heldentenor types fares better on how this set was tuned for them as their voices have more weight, ringing, rich and deep sound while on higher pitch tenor vocals like lyric and leggero sounds too warm and less brighter that it sounds less spicy, hefty and dazzling. Contraltos sounds very prominent on this one and somehow natural albeit there are some instances they might sound too exaggerated on their intended timbre and tonality as they have a distinctive husky, rich and lush sound. Countertenors, mezzo-sopranos and sopranos will sound less engaging and bright sounding as countertenors and mezzo-sopranos have less tender, too velvety and too "coppery" sounding that these vocal types should sound lighter, less warmer, sensitive and smooth as their vocal characteristics intended to sound like. Then on the sopranos, they have less brighter, quite monotone and less gleaming sounding as if that they have almost the same range and pitch with mezzo-sopranos which shouldn't sound like that. Despite this shortcoming on correlation of its tuning and its effects on its timbre quality, we will still be able to enjoy them as they sound fruity and luscious to our ears.
When it comes to instruments, it looks that brasses and most percussives will sound more natural and on The Melody than strings and woodwinds which I will describe later on. On brasses, all of them have substantial darker timbre for a planar set as the trumpets have full and warm sound while horns have full and resounding yet occasionally it has this ponderous tone that lingers, and then on trombones, they have these rounded, brassy and solid sound. In regards of percussive instruments particularly snares, toms, field drums and kettledrums, there's a hardness and sharpness on sound of snares, tom-tom drums have warm, full and resonant sound, field drums have booming and sonorous sound on them, and last but not least, kettledrums have a deep and substantial sound from them. Pianos have a rather a tad warm and richer tone that sounds akin to German antique pianos. On string instruments, guitars have a rather warmer and buttery sound while violins have less vibrant sound as they have this solemn and lustrous sound. As for woodwinds, concert flutes have rich and mellow sound, piccolos have graceful sound on them, clarinets have sonorous and warm while the saxophones have sombre and forceful sound.
HIGHS/TREBLE:
Due to the prominent and more emphasis on the low frequencies, it appears that it balanced out the peaks on upper-mids up to the presence part of the treble region that the treble response appears to have a smooth and quite well-balanced while maintaining a sparkling and airy treble extension. Sibilance are well-controlled and harshness is nigh to impossible on how this set was tuned. That emphasis on the upper-mids will give more precise attack on instruments particularly on percussive ones and a bit of vocal articulation.
Cymbals have a full and resonant sound with a good amount of sizzle while hi-hats have a correct timbre as it has a shortened buzzing sound. Glockenspiel have some lustrous with a hint of glistening sound, and celestas have a sweet and velvety sound on them.
SOUNDSTAGE, IMAGING AND OTHER TECHNICALITIES:
Its overall sound/speaker stage proportion appears to be above-average as it has a fairly wide span on its vertical axis, has a sufficient height reach and incredibly immersive depth which gives me a rather moderately spacious headroom within my aural sphere.
Its imaging projects an ambient 3D-like stereo presentation where I was able to pinpoint decently the positioning on instruments and vocals on its sound field. It has good separation of instruments and vocals with well-defined arrangement of frequency and tonal layers which makes them able to play the most complex tracks without being congested or disorganised sounding at all.
Coherency of its planar magnetic driver is quite excellent as it was able to perform a fast transient response with good control on decay. It also has a commendable resolution capability as it has a solid macro-dynamics with good micro-detailing as it was able to extract some details and nuances like note ends and notation attacks from an audio track.
PEER COMPARISONS:
KEFINE KLANAR
■ This set is somewhat a competitor of Kiwi Ears Melody as both sets were also released at the same time. Klanar has a larger planar magnetic driver and it was encapsulated in an aluminium alloy shell chassis and surprisingly it has a smaller form factor. And also, Klanar has storage case while the Melody doesn't have one.
■ Both sets have similar tuning as Klanar also takes a V-shaped sound signature albeit its sounds a bit more balanced than the Melody. It has a more balanced bass response as sub-bass is more present and a rather ample mid bass. Midrange is definitively recessed on this one but somehow, it has fairly balanced texture and apparently has a more transparent sounding. Treble response of both sets are quite similar but the upper-mids of Klanar is quite more emphasised. On technical capabilities, both sets are similar on soundstage, imaging, layering and coherency performance. On resolution aspect, Klanar has a tad less solid macro-dynamics but it has more sharper micro-detail retrieval compared to the Melody. Klanar is a bit more easier to drive though for a planar set.
KZ PR1 (Standard/Balanced variant)
■ KZ's first foray on planar magnetic IEM and was considered as the cheapest planar IEM in the market. It uses a smaller planar magnetic driver like the Melody and it was encased in a shell chassis made of composite materials. both of them are packed with rudimentary accessories but the KZ PR1 stock cable is of a lesser quality compare to the Melody's better stock cable.
■ PR1 is also a V-shaped sounding set but compare to the Melody, it has less authoritative and incisive bass response, a noticeable more recessed and even leaner midrange but it has brighter and energetic sound that will be benefiting to female vocals and string instruments then a more prominent and peaky upper-mids that there are some instances of mild sibilance and has less snappier crashing on cymbals. On technical capabilities, compared to Melody, it has less spacious sound field but it has similar imaging, layering and separation. On resolution capabilities, PR1 is a bit inferior as it has less solid macro-dynamics and less sharper micro-detail retrieval capabilities. It is also noted the PR1 is even harder to drive as it requires more power output to sound more dynamic.
HIDIZS MP145
■ HIDIZS' first planar magnetic IEM product and it uses a larger planar magnetic driver. It has a rather humongous solid shell chassis made of aluminium alloy and it has detachable nozzle filter system. Like all Hidizs products, it has a lot of accesories like variety of ear tips, other detachable nozzle filters parts and even an IEM storage bin.
■ Due to its detachable nozzle filters, MP145 offers a variety of sound profiles from warm L-shaped sound signature up to bright U-shaped ones. The red nozzle tuning filter mode which has warm L-shaped sound signature is the closest comparison to the Melody in terms of tonal aspect, while the Melody is quite more authoritative and has more slam on its bass response compared to the MP145 (red tuning filter mode), but overall, MP145 sounds more balanced as it has sufficient bright and energy for female vocals and for instruments like strings and woodwinds while maintaining smooth and evened treble response. Technicality-wise, it has a tad wider sound/speaker stage dimensions compared to the Melody but the rest of technical aspects are similar to one another. On power scaling, this is quite astonishing as the MP145 is somehow a bit more easier to drive compared to the Melody despite its larger driver.
To summarise my review on Kiwi Ears Melody. This is one of the latest planar sets at under US$100/£80 thats offer a rather unusual tuning for planar set which is quite bassy and it managed to tame down some "planar sheen" timbre which are usually associated to the majority of planar magnetic sets available in the market.
As I conclude my review on this set, Kiwi Ears Melody will probably stand out among the planar sets out there due to its tuning philosophy which make truly a peculiar and "The Unlike One" compared to its peers. If you searching for an planar IEM with more fun and engaging factor in an affordable price, simply checkout this set and you will absolutely feel its uniqueness of sound quality.
Kiwi Ears Melody is now available at LINSOUL, you can check out the unaffiliated link below.
★★ KIWI EARS MELODY - LINSOUL ★★
Also, check out my previous reviews on other Kiwi Ears products.
SPECIFICATION:
MODEL: KIWI EARS MELODY
IMPEDANCE: 18Ω
SENSITIVITY: 102dB
FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 20Hz – 40KHz
CABLE LENGTH: 1.2m
PIN TYPE: 2-PIN CONNECTOR (0.78mm)
PLUG TYPE: 3.5mm
DRIVER UNIT(S): (1) PLANAR MAGNETIC DRIVER
PROS:
△ Solid build construction of its composite shell chassis.
△ UIEM-type shells that will be more versatile to all ear sizes.
△ Good quality stock cable.
△ Probably one of the easiest to drive planar set with good source scaling capability.
△ It has a fun, engaging and musical tuning.
△ It has one of the most authoritative and slamming bass response among the planar sets available in the market.
△ Quality and quantity bass response for bassheads.
△ A deeper, more lush and weighty vocal timbre on bass, baritones and contraltos.
△ Good for tracking on specific class of instruments like brass and percussives.
△ Smooth and well-balanced treble response with ample amount of sparkle and has a good airy extension.
△ Not a hint of harshness and sibilance is somehow well-controlled.
△ Well, planar sets have. superior technical capabilities and this set possesses some its technical performance properties.
CONS:
▽ Absolutely not for neutral heads and treble heads, too coloured and less energetic and bright sounding for them.
▽ Still slightly inferior when it will be compared to an IEM with a high quality dynamic driver in terms of the depth, vividness, physicality and tactility on the bass response with even lesser power output requirement.
▽ Recessed midrange presentation.
▽ Absence of IEM storage case.
▽ Less bright, less crisper and insufficient amount of energy that affects the tonal colour and tonality on most countertenors, mezzo-sopranos and soprano vocals.
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 MS. KAREENA TANG of LINSOUL for providing this review unit. I truly appreciate her generosity and trust towards me and other reviewers.
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