KIWI EARS AETHER: A New Standard Of Planar Magnetic IEMs?

The concept of Aether is an old hypothesis about the universal substance which is abundant and ever-present across the universe as the ancient scholars proposed on how the natural phenomena order processes such as the propagation of gravity and the transmission of electromagnetic waves and light which are unexplainable and lack of understanding at that time by means of modern physics and mathematical calculations, until it was supplanted by Einstein's Theory of Relativity which supports more compelling evidence on how these phenomena works. It is said that this word itself originated from a primordial deity in Greek mythology, Aether which happens to be the goddess that personifies the bright upper atmosphere in the Cosmos.

The KIWI EARS along with the ZIIGAAT has a strong partnership with the global audio distributor, LINSOUL as they created a diverse audio products that will cater audio enthusiasts around the world and also to satisfy their tonal craving of high fidelity experience at portable form factor as they also driven in pursuit to deliver the best possible  audio quality as they are fully committed to provide it to its customers for a reasonable price and with better aftersales service. And this is actually my 8th product review for this company as they keep releasing new models after new models on a monthly basis, and I think that I'm lost on their constant product releases.

What I have here is the KIWI EARS AETHER and it has a single driver configuration, and this is somewhat my second KIWI EARS product of similar driver technology which is a magnetic planar as I previously did some review on their KIWI EARS MELODY almost two years ago, around 4th quarter of 2023. Unlike the MELODY, this model has a newer generation of planar magnetic driver which is larger, with a more efficient performance in terms of power output and tonal accuracy compared to the previous generation of the said transducer technology.

The planar magnetic driver that was implemented here has a diameter size of 15mm which was constructed with multi-layered high-grade neodymium magnetic structures as it provided greater power output with a greatly reduced distortion at almost minimal to none level. This new generation of planar magnetic driver will deliver a clear, airy and detailed sound quality with a natural tonality on it for deep and precise bass, a warmer and rich midrange, and crystal clear treble quality.

The driver was then encased in a rather large and a bit chunky composite shell chassis that divided into parts; an acrylic resin material on its cavity base and a metal alloy on its faceplate part topped with a laminated resin panel and beneath of it, the logo of KIWI EARS brand etched in a black coloured background with added layers of glittery swirls and varying colour bands on it. The nozzle length is above-average enough to latch itself into the outer ear canal. Inside of its cavity was its well-designed acoustic chamber with some sophisticated ventilation as it allows to escape some excessive air pressure that are generated by its high performance transducer for a less ear fatigue during long listening session and also, it somehow simulates the expansiveness of some open-back headphones in terms of a perceived wide and accurate soundstage with more pinpoint imaging for an immersive and dynamic listening experience. Like the previous sets that I've reviewed in the past, it still features a proven and stable 0.78mm bi-pin connector for its detachable cable.

While the shell chassis of the AETHER is on the larger and chunky size, with its lightweight and smooth curve design on its outline, it offers a well-secure fitting as it comfortably rests well into my lugholes without any discomfort as I wear it for over an hour during the testing phase. It seals well and gives me some excellent passive noise isolation as it was able to block unwanted external noises while I'm enjoying its full sonic quality.

The cable of this one is rather decent, but with the current state of portable audio right now, there are some sets which are similarly priced or even much cheaper yet they have better stock cables with better build quality material (cough..cough..SIVGA QUE, cough…cough KEFINE QUATIO, cough…cough…BQEYZ CLOUD). The cable itself is a 4-core structure and it made of  oxygen-free copper wiring conductors and each strand is sheathed with outer layer  PVC insulator, and it was braided  for better durability, less kink and greatly reduces microphonic effects for lossless signal transmission of audio data, and it is termination part, it has a gold-plated 3.5mm single ended plug.

As for product packaging, this one is fully-packed with accessories inside of its medium-sized rectangular packaging box. The packaging box's sleeve has a purple-ish hues on its background with an illustration of AETHER at the front while on its rear, there we can find its company address on both its local manufacturer and international distributor, and also, if you are looking for its product specification, it was printed on the top part.

Here are the following contents inside of its packaging box:

• Pair of KIWI EARS AETHER transducer pieces.
• Stock cable
• PU-leather storage case
• Three (3) pairs of opaque black balanced bore silicone ear tips in different standard sizes.
• Three (3) pairs of velvety black-coloured balanced bore silicone ear tips in different standard sizes.
• Three (3) pairs of opaque white balanced bore silicone ear tips in different standard sizes.
• User's manual

Since this is a planar magnetic driver set, it is given that these types of drivers are quite power-demanding in terms of power output requirement, and to drive this IEM to its fullest potential, either you need to increase the volume level up to maximum level in which still sounds a bit hollowed, lean or boxy on regular smartphones, although on my LG phones with quad DACs, 60 out of 75 volume steps in a normal gain mode is quite sufficient but still less dynamic sounding if you will pair it to other with stronger gain power output level. If it was properly driven through a portable headphone amplifier also known as USB/DAC dongle or DAPs, this one will sound quite vivid and deliver an incisive attack with a full range sound.

When it comes to its tonal profile, this one seems to have a balanced-neutral sound signature with a tinge of bright tonality that makes them ideal for some vocal and instrumental tracking as we will enjoy its high fidelity sound with a technical performance of a planar magnetic.

LOWS/BASS:

The bass quality of this one is fairly balanced as it has some sub bass presence that has an ample depth and reverberating for a planar magnetic, while on its mid bass, it has a sufficient texture enough to deliver a snappy, tactual and precise attack on its overall bass response.

On its sub bass presence, we can feel its rumbling and reverberations that were generated from instruments like synthesisers, drum machines and low-tuned string instruments like bass guitars and double basses. The mid bass on this one, while it has a sufficient texture to give an adequate note weight on bass-clef instruments and deep male vocals although I still noticed it has a bit soft and a less dense tone that will also affect some tonal colour on them but it has a clean and agile tone.

The bass guitars have a resonant and a bit sustaining sound while the double-basses sound a bit broad and raspiness, and then on bass kick drums, it has a sustaining, soft and resonant sound on every stroke. Low octave male vocals like basses and bass-baritones, while they have that deep resonance with their respective vocal types but apparently they have that lacking of dark timbre and a bit less texture on their vocal note density for the dusky, dense and gravelly sound characteristics that these type of male vocals should have.

MIDRANGE:

The midrange of this one is quite neutral and even on its overall presentation. It has a sufficient warmth and vibrancy with a bit transparent presentation as it gives a pretty balanced vocal texture for both male vocals and female vocals, although on the some male vocals, they might sound a bit lean and somewhat a bit hollowed due to its translucent nature but I still considered it as closer to a life-like and organic tone, and also for instruments, they sound rich and sufficiently textured with that almost realistic and natural tone for a planar magnetic driver without those overtly metallic energetic tinge that some planar magnetic planars have those characteristics.

Regarding on male vocals, baritones have those smooth, steely and plushiness on their vocals, while the tenors have a clear and ringing sound and then, countertenors have agile, tender and sustaining sound from their falsettos. As for female vocals, contraltos a have a rich and lush sound from their chesty vocals, mezzo-sopranos have the coppery and fiery sound, and sopranos sound creamy, crystalline and brilliant as almost all types of this particular female vocals from dramatic sopranos up to the coloratura sopranos as they convey more expressive and airy sounding.

When it comes to instruments, on string ones, guitars have crisp, lingering and sheen sound, violins sound lively and sweet, and then cellos have a clear, vibrant and sensuous sound. The woodwind instruments on how they sound like, piccolos sound bright and delicate, concert flutes sound clear and graceful, clarinets sound rich and lively, and then saxophones have that mild, pale and reedy sound. Brasses like trumpets, trombones and horns have a vivid, full and rounded sound respectively. On the percussion instruments, snare drums sound sharp and clear, tom-toms have an ample warm resonance on every stroke on its drum head, field drums sound sonorous with a bit of sustaining sound, and kettledrums sound resonant and hollow. The pianos have rich, sweet and crisp tones that make them sound pleasantly balanced.

HIGHS/TREBLE:

As I mentioned its tinge brightness presence of its treble response as it has a noticeable slight accentuated peak from upper mids up to presence section, yet it maintains that smoothness and energetic delivery with a good amount of air. Those elevated sections in the between midrange and treble region also highlights the clarity and definition on both vocals and instruments for their articulation and sharp attack notations respectively, and I don't hear any overboosting issues like shrillness, sibilance and harshness but there are some tiny bit of metallic sound on some tracks, and yet I could still recommend this one to the treble-sensitive folk out there.

Since this is a planar magnetic driver, I already expected that it would have a very airy presentation that would clearly hear those harmonics. It has a good sparkle that gives those treble-clef instruments that realistic and natural tone as the cymbal strikes sound brilliant and resonant, while the hi-hats have those shortened warm, dull and dry tones to its distinguishable chick-y sound. The chordophone instruments like the celestas and glockenspiels, there are those ethereal and silvery sounds on the celestas, and then, bell-like and lustrous sounds from the glockenspiels.

SOUNDSTAGE, IMAGING & OTHER TECHNICALITIES:

This set is excellent when it comes to perceived soundstage size as it presents a moderately spacious head room on how roomy its sound field was that it has a wide lateral span, good height ceiling and depth reach within my aural sphere. The stereo imaging projection of this one presents an atmospheric 3D stereo presentation with a well-layered soundscape and good separation of musical elements as if they are divided into sections where I can pinpoint the placement of vocals and instruments in an acoustic panorama. With an excellent imaging, playing some complex multi-instrumental tracks like a philharmonic orchestra recordings, jazz and musical cinematic scores would be easy-peasy on the AETHER as I don't encounter any congestion nor note constraints.

The coherency of its driver is pretty consistent on delivering fast transient attacks on bass and a well-defined sharpness and clarity on instruments and vocals to sound as realistic and accurate as possible. The resolution capabilities of this one seems evident on how it shows a firmness of its macro-dynamics as it was able to highlight the varying degree of loudness on the chorale sections and instrumental passages from the quietest up to its loudness level, while on micro-dynamics, it has sharp definition on extracting subtle details, nuances and grains from a sonic background of a played audio track like the notational textures, vocal ends, note attacks and instrumental reverb tails.

PEER COMPARISONS:

7TH TIMELESS

• Probably the most influential Chi-Fi planar magnetic driver IEM as this one is responsible for starting the battle of planar IEMs that still persists even today.
• It has a smaller 14.2mm planar magnetic driver encased in a circular shell chassis made of aluminium alloy.
• This one is pretty fully-packed with accessories inside of its packaging box, and it offers four types of ear tips to choose from.
• The tonal profile of this one is bright V-shaped sound signature as it has a tighter yet rumbly sound, a recessed, leaner yet energetic midrange presentation and a brighter and airy treble response.
• On its technical performance, it has an above-average soundstage size with two-dimensional stereo imaging presentation, less layered soundscape and a competent resolution capabilities which is quite detailed.

HIDIZS MP143

• The successor of the successful and highly-rated planar IEM, the MP145, and like its predecessor, it is still housed in a metal alloy shell structure with swappable tuning filter nozzles.
• It sports a smaller 14.3mm planar magnetic driver and it was encased in a light aluminium alloy shell chassis with an irregular outline.
• This one is fairly packed with accessories although it includes a PU-leather pouch with magnetic clasps as its storage case which makes its protection a bit questionable.
• Since it has a detachable tuning nozzle system, it offers three distinctive sound signatures – a U-shaped sound with a balanced-warmish tonality as it has punchy bass, less recessed with ample warmth and energetic midrange presentation and a glossy treble response, V-shaped sound with a warm tonality as it has an impactful bass quality, noticeably more recessed yet warmer and rich sounding midrange, and a smooth and less shimmering treble response, and last but not the least, a bright U-shaped sound with a tighter bass response, a bit leaner and more energetic midrange and a bright and airy treble response.
• It has moderately roomy head stage with just a decently layered soundscape, and fairly detailed resolution capabilities with a sharp micro-detail retrieval on some tuning nozzle settings.

SHOZY P20

• This is another SHOZY's set with planar magnetic driver aside from another IEM model but with a dual driver configuration, P10.
• It has a 14.5mm planar magnetic driver which is a bit smaller compared to AETHER's larger transducer and it is encased in a gibbous waxing-shaped aluminium alloy.
• This one was sufficiently packed with accessories, although its stock cable is a bit on a leaner build with a 4.4mm balanced termination.
• This set has a mild U-shaped sound profile with warmish-neutral tonality that is somehow more of a mid-centric as it has more punchy and weight bass response, a warm, rich and full sounding midrange presentation, and smooth, even and with moderate amount of airy extension.
• It has a moderate size head stage that makes it a bit intimate presentation, a concave-like stereo imaging presentation and a solid macro-dynamics.

LETSHUOER S12 2024 ANNIVERSARY EDITION

• It is a third reiteration of the S12 series model but this one was released in the market in few numbers that makes them more of a limited edition.
• Like the original S12, it is still equipped with a 14.8mm planar magnetic driver encased in a gold-plated titanium alloy shell chassis.
• Since this is a LETSHUOER product, it is expected to include a lot of accessories and it also has a high quality stock cable with modular termination plug.
• This one has a more of a gentle U-shaped sound profile with almost a balanced-neutral tonality as it has a balanced bass quality with ample punch and rumbly sub bass, a slightly recessed but well-balanced midrange presentation as it has clean with sufficient warmth and energy for natural sounding vocals and instruments, and then a lustrous with sufficiently airy extension.
• It has a moderately roomy head stage in concave-like stereo imaging presentation with a well-layered soundscape, and well-detailed resolution capabilities.

As I conclude this product review, I think that KIWI EARS has a main goal on this one, to bring an experience that simulates on being in a well-treated acoustic room with a high quality stereo speaker system with its high performance, new generation planar magnetic driver which are larger, with an improvement of its power efficiency for a lower distortion rating to deliver an astounding audio quality for its responsive, speed and clarity for an accurate sound reproduction. And with those capabilities, KIWI EARS manage to bring its price down that makes it more reasonably affordable for the audio enthusiasts who want a product that gives that price-to-performance preposition for the money they spend and this one is among those recently released products in the audio market for the past few months.

The AETHER has those qualities that I am really looking for when it come for overall tonal performance; well-balanced bass presentation, a neutral midrange presentation with a balanced texture, clarity and detailed  sound from all vocal types for a natural sound and the realistic tones from instruments, and then smooth, lustrous and airy treble response with excellent technical performance. Although I wish that it has a better cable with a modular termination plug feature. But still, I will highly recommend this set to audio enthusiasts looking for a mature sounding, neutrally-tuned IEM without batting an eyelid.

KIWI EARS AETHER is exclusively available on LINSOUL, if you are interested to purchase this product, check the non-affiliated link below.

LINK:

https://www.linsoul.com/products/kiwi-ears-aether

More KIWI EARS product reviews?

★ KIWI EARS CADENZA

★ KIWI EARS QUARTET

★ KIWI EARS QUINTET

★ KIWI EARS MELODY

★ KIWI EARS SINGOLO

★ KIWI EARS ALLEGRO

★ KIWI EARS FORTEZA

SPECIFICATION:

MODEL: KIWI EARS AETHER

IMPEDANCE: 14Ω

SENSITIVITY: 105dB

FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 20Hz – 20KHz

CABLE LENGTH: 1.2m

PIN TYPE: 0.78 2-PIN CONNECTOR

PLUG TYPE: 3.5mm

DRIVER UNIT(S):  (1) PLANAR MAGNETIC DRIVER

MICROPHONE SUPPORT: NO

PROS:

● Lightweight yet solidly-constructed composite shell structure.

● Despite its bulky profile, it still offers a comfortable fitting into my medium-size Asian lugs, therefore expect a good passive noise isolation.

● The new generation planar magnetic is indeed capable of delivering a responsive, clear and detailed sound quality.

● Fully-furnished with contents inside of its packaging box.

● Three types of eartips to choose from.

● A sound quality that will be pleasurable to neutral heads hence it has a balanced-neutral tonal profile.

● Reverberating, snappy, precise and clean bass response.

● Well-balanced midrange as it has an ample warmth, clarity and energy on its dynamic texture while maintaining a neutral and less colouration on its overall sound.

● Quite a natural sounding from both vocals and instruments.

● Steely and lush sound on baritones, ring-y tone from tenors and agile with tender voice from countertenors.

● Clear, expressive and open sounding female vocals, especially from mezzo-sopranos and sopranos.

● As for instruments, crisp and lively sound on some strings, brassy and powerful on some brasses, brilliant, graceful and airy sound from woodwinds like flutes and piccolos, and then, an incisive, sonorous and resonant sound from percussions.

● Lustrous and airy treble response.

● An open-back headphone-like sound/speaker stage presentation.

● 3D-like stereo imaging presentation with a multi-layered soundscape.

● Excellent resolution capabilities.

CONS:

● Well, planar magnetics drivers still need better and stronger power output to deliver a well-optimised sound quality, despite some advances of this type of transducer.

● Not for bass heads due its a bit hollowed mid bass texture that can't possibly deliver that authoritative and vigorous bass response.

● Looking for a fun and warm analogue-ish type of sound? this is not the set that you are looking for.

● Might be too energetic to some treble-sensitive folk on their listening threshold.

● Wishing for a bit better stock cable with modular termination feature as 4.4mm balanced output is the better choice for planar magnetic in my opinion.

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 LINSOUL 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. KAITLYN WU of LINSOUL for providing this review tour unit. I truly appreciate her generosity and trust towards me and other participating audio reviewers.