KIWI EARS ALTRUVA: Lively Sound And Clarity

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KIWI EARS has been one of the rising stars among the audio companies for a while as they are very active and enthusiastic to release some of their latest products that defines the tagline “value for money. And it's been a while since I've evaluated a Kiwi  foam Ears product model, this product assessment is quite new for me as this is my first to review a full-size headphone from this company.

This is KIWI EARS ALTRUVA, a full-size open-back design headphone, equipped with large transducers on each side and it also features a detachable cable. This one is also priced at US$69.99 or around 52 quid which is quite affordable for a can with some notable features that some audio brands don't have one like the cheaper Audio-Technicas M-series like M20X and M30X (I actually have one) doesn't have a detachable cable.

This headphone features a custom-built 50mm dynamic driver with some newer features like implementing a high-grade neodymium for stronger output and better sensitivity due to its power efficiency and it was supported with composite diaphragm consisting of thermoplastic material like PEEK (Polyether Ether Ketone) and a polymer one, PU (Polyurethane), and these materials known for tensile strength, durability and flexibility as it makes it more responsive, consistent vibration and less prone to distortion and the diaphragm was reinforced with a pure copper ring. And with this new generation of dynamic driver, it will deliver a precise, clear and delineating sound reproduction for an immersive audio experience within its  encompassing frequency string.

The driver was then mounted in a high quality plastic earcup speaker frame with a cut-out and gaping outer part, and there is a foam panel protecting the dynamic driver on each side as it was used for limiting excessive sound dispersion, along with a protective grill on the outer side panel. The earcups were installed in a PVD-treated stainless steel headband, and underneath of it is a supporting cranial headband yoke used for adjustment to have a proper fitting on user’s head size or wearing preference, and this headband yoke piece is made of soft and flexible materials that it will mount in the calvaria part in our skull comfortably. Another good feature of this headphone was its detachable cable and it uses a 3.5mm port as its interlocking mechanism in which we have an option to use other third-party cable of similar profile. The ALTRUVA offers two colourway options upon ordering; a plain black colour and a wood grain-like accent one in which the unit has.

When it comes to its stock cable, the length itself is quite long for casual listening and it was used specifically for studio works and it has a two-channel 3.5mm TSR plug for connecting on each part of the stereo channel, and also, it has a 3.5mm single-ended plug on its end as it uses a multi-strand copper wires sheathed with a cloth fibre-like material that adds durability and protection while having a flexible and resistant from entanglement. It also offers a seamless lossless audio transmission without any distortion that produces microphonic effects.

Back to the earcups again, on its stock set-up, it has an over ear-designed earpad cushion made of foam covered with PU-leather material, and it offers a soft padding in our lugs as it lessens clamping force. As expected from an open-backed design headphone, it doesn't offer the best passive sound isolation as you will hear some external noises from the outside surroundings.

When it comes to its product packaging, the KIWI EARS ALTRUVA has a minimalist presentation that only has a few inclusions inside of its packaging box. My main gripe on this one is that it doesn't have any form of carrying case to store it.

These are the following contents inside of KIWI EARS Altruva’s packaging box:

• KIWI EARS Altruva headphone
• Stock cable
• 3.5mm to 6.5mm adapter
• Pair of velour-padded earcup cushion
• Instructional manual

As for its driveability and amplification requirement, with an impedance of 32 ohms and sensitivity rating of 98dB, this can is relatively sensitive enough that it can be driven by device sources with a usual standard gain output, so there’s no need for headphone amplifiers of any form unless you need a dongle for analogue output. With an enough power output, it will scale well even if it increases its volume level a bit that doesn’t produce any distortion or unwanted noise floor as it still sounds very dynamic and full range.

The ALTRUVA has a U-shaped sound signature that it has more emphasis on the lows and highs, and in that regard, the term “studio-grade” seems does not correlate with this tuning all along, given its coloured tonal profile.

LOWS/BASS:

It seems that the low frequency tuning of this one is more focus on mid bass texture as it has that warmth, rich and fullness on the bass-centric instruments and low-octave male vocals, but still we can still feel some physicality on the sub bass presence as those reverberation and grumbling feedback that were generated from synthesisers, drum machines, bass guitars and double-basses that adds some depth extension and substance on the bass-line foundation. Overall, it delivers that striking and tactile with some rumbly presence of its bass response.

On bass-clef instruments, the bass guitars sound sombre and resonant, while the double-basses have rasping and weight sound on them, and bass kick drums produce a full and pounding sound on every stroke. Regarding the low octave male vocals, both the bass and bass-baritones have an ample deep reverberation and somehow dark timbre on their singing voices as they sound dense and wool-y enough.

MIDRANGE:

The midrange presentation of this one is quite a bit recessed on some parts of vocals and instruments, notably on male vocals, brasses and some percussives. But it has adequate warmth to add some density on its note weight for rich, clear and resonating sound on male vocals along with an energetic tuning that adds some sense of openness on some female vocals, crisp and lingering sound on strings and sharpness on percussives.

As I will expound the overall qualities on the vocal part, when it comes to the male vocals, baritones have a smooth and somehow rich sounding, while the tenors sound clear and dazzling quality from their voices and countertenors with their falsettos  sound light and coppery. About the female vocals, contraltos have rich and a bit mellow sound from their chesty voices, the mezzo-sopranos sound more fiery and glowing, and lastly, the sopranos sound shimmering and gleaming as it gives that ethereal and delicate sound on coloratura-types and then, a clear and bright on soubrette and lyric types.

Regarding instruments, strings ones like guitars, violins and violins, in corresponding order, they sound crisp, lively and brilliant, while the woodwind ones like the concert flutes, piccolos, clarinets and saxophones, they sound bright, delicate, reedy and pale. On the brasses, an intense and substantial sound from trumpets, a rich and full sound on trombones, and the more sonorous and dulcet sound from horns. Then on the percussives, snares have sharp and bright sound on every stroke while the tom-toms have a mellow and resonant sound, field drums have a sonorous and sound, and the kettledrums produce a resonant and rumbly sound on every stroke. As for pianos, they sound rich, clear and sweet on every press on its note keys.

HIGHS/TREBLE:

The AlLTRUVA is definitely tuned on the brighter side as it has a vivid, brilliant and airy quality on it. I also noticed that it has an accentuated upper-mids and presence section as it highlights a bit intensely to give that sharp clarity and definition on both vocals and instruments for attack on instruments and articulation of vocals, although there are some instances that there's some sharpness, tinniness and shrillness.

When it comes to its brilliance treble, I just noticed that it depends on the earpad cushion that you are setting, the velour one is the option as it somewhat adds some air over the PU-leather earpad ones as the latter doesn't extend that much as I would like to have on my ultra-high frequency presence. It has a very sparkling and shimmer as it affects the quality of the treble-noted instruments as the cymbals sound bright and a bit metallic while the hi-hats have a crisp, sizzle resonance, a shimmering and sensitive sound from celestas, and then, a striking and a bit thin sound from glockenspiels.

SOUNDSTAGE, IMAGING & OTHER TECHNICALITIES:

Given that this one has an open-back design, it will project a spacious and well-extended headstage although this is not the widest one that I've heard from this type of headphone design. It has a wide lateral span, good height and immersive depth between front to rear.

Another good aspect of this one was its atmospheric-like stereo imaging presentation with a good layering and separation of musical elements on its soundscape that we can somehow pinpoint the placements of vocals and instrument in the mix, therefore playing some complex multi-instrumental tracks will be easy peasy on this headphone model.

The coherency of its dynamic drivers is excellent; it has a very responsive, high sensitivity and absence of any distortion performance as it delivers fast bass attacks, clear and detailed sound on mids and highs. As for its resolution capabilities, it has a solid macro-dynamics as it emphasises the varying volume levels of its dynamics from the quietest up to its loudness level on chorale lines and instrumental passages, while it has a good sharp definition on its micro-dynamics as it was able to extract fine details, subtleties and grain from a played back audio track like notational attacks, vocal delays and instrumental reverb tails.

PEER COMPARISONS:

AUDIO-TECHNICA M30X

• An old proven over-ear studio headphone with a closed-back design entry-level model from Audio-Technica and it is at the same price range with the ALTRUVA.
• It has a 40mm dynamic driver mounted in a high quality plastic earcup speaker.
• The supporting headband is made of metal covered with PU-leather padding and it has a limited swivel rotation.
• It doesn't have a detachable cable but rather it was firmly fixed on the one side channel.
• This one has a balanced-neutral sound with strong emphasis on midrange, it has a punchy bass response, a neutral and balanced midrange but well-textured with a velvety, lush and natural sound on vocals and instruments, and less pronounced and a bit flat treble response with a modest airy extension.
• Technicalities weren't its strongest point as it has an average-size sound/speaker stage as it presents a bit compressed and intimate acoustic landscape, a decently-layered soundscape with a tolerable facet of its separation of musical elements and a good resolution capabilities.

AKG K240 (DEMO)

• Another old but highly-praised headphone model from AKG and like the ALTRUVA, it also has an open-back design and also in the same price range too.
• It sports a smaller dynamic driver in a 30mm size but it has patented “Varimotion” diaphragm mounted in an over-ear design earcup speakers made of plastic reinforced with metal parts on its accents.
• The earcup speakers were installed in a two perpendicular metal headband frame with self-adjusting PU-leather supporting headband.
• It has a detachable cable that uses a proven XLR as its interlocking mechanism.
• This one has a balanced-neutral sound signature as it presents all parts of the frequency response as well-balanced, almost uncoloured and accurate sound as possible, it has a punchy with less rumbly bass response, a neutral but it still has a bit of warmth and energy on its midrange presentation as it presents an organic and tidy sound on vocals and instrument, and the smooth with enough liveliness on its treble response with good amount of its airy extension.
• Unlike the M30X that was compared a while ago with the ALTRUVA, this one has solid technical capabilities, it has very spacious and airy soundstage projection that makes it even wider to ALTRUVA, with a well-layered soundscape and good separation of musical elements, and excellent resolution capabilities for its price.

SENNHEISER HD 598 (DEMO)

• This is an old model from SENNHEISER and it also has an open-back design just like ALTRUVA albeit this one is more pricey.
• It also uses a large 50mm dynamic driver with a composite diaphragm and it was mounted in a plastic earcup speaker with some wood accent.
• It has a detachable cable with a 2.5mm jack with a twist and locking mechanism and a 6.5mm termination on its end.
• It has a headband frame made of plastic with a soft, velvety fabric beneath it for comfort.
• This one also has a balanced-neutral sound signature as it has well-balanced bass presence with enough punchy and rumbly quality, a neutral yet well-balanced midrange with life-like and lively sound on the vocals and instruments, and a lustrous and airy treble response.
• It also has a good technical performance that it can even project a wider headstage compared to the ALTRUVA.

To sum up my assessment about this product, the KIWI EARS ALTRUVA is definitely performs particular for its best value proposition that an entry-level headphone the could offer like good build quality, inclusion of another type of earcup cushion, a detachable cable and a delightful coloured sound profile. For sure that moniker “studio-grade” tuning isn't the correct term for this headphone as its way too coloured to be used on music production, recording, mastering and mixing for some genres, unless you are using it for mixing on hip-hop tracks aided by some software plugins like virtual mixing room. Also in my opinion, if you say about studio-grade, it should be neutral, almost flat frequency response that could be used for critical listening to check out some flaws and also on details and other subtleties in mixing but the level of clarity and precision that the ALTRUVA have is acceptable to some degree.

But if you are looking for a headphone that sounds much better from your usual consumer-grade headphone, with more details on its fun, coloured and lively sound profile, the KIWI EARS ALTRUVA is a good option for you.

KIWI EARS ALTRUVA is now available on LINSOUL, you can check out the non-affiliated link below.

LINK: https://www.linsoul.com/products/kiwi-ears-altruva

SPECIFICATION:

MODEL: KIWI EARS ALTRUVA

IMPEDANCE: 32Ω

SENSITIVITY: 98dB

FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 20Hz – 40KHz

CABLE LENGTH: 3m

PIN TYPE: 3.5mm TSR PLUG CONNECTOR

PLUG TYPE:  3.5mm

DRIVER UNIT(S):  (1) 50mm DYNAMIC DRIVER, 

PROS:

● Affordability with a strong value for money proposition that makes this product more appealing to budget-conscious audio enthusiasts. 

● Well-built and somehow lightweight on its overall construction

● Its 50mm dynamic driver with composite diaphragm is really a good quality as it is indeed durable as it offers a coherent sound, power efficient as it only requires a standard gain output and pretty responsive.

● Can be driven with standard gain output of amplification due to its low impedance rating. 

● Easy to swap earpads.

● Detachable cable.

● Somehow, it has a good quality stock cable.

● An inclusion of a velvet earpad cushion as an alternative.

● A likeable coloured sound profile that will pleasing to both casual and audio enthusiasts alike that loves fun, engaging and lively sound quality

● Punchy, rumbly and impactful bass response. 

● Warm and full-bodied sound on both bass-clef instruments and low-octave sounding male vocals.

● In some way, it has a balanced midrange presentation with a tinge of warmth and energy as it doesn't sound too lean or dry.

● Smooth, clear and light sound on male vocals.

● Bright, melodious and open-sounding female vocals.

● Crisp, vibrant and lingering sound on some string instruments, airy and graceful sound on woodwinds.

● Bright, clear and detailed treble quality.

● It somehow adds more airy treble extension on the velvet earpads. 

● Good soundstage projection as it is quite spacious with satisfactory quality on its layering and separation capabilities.

CONS:

● Noticeably a bit recessed presentation on its midrange region.

● The studio-grade tuning as to how this headphone was presented to the audio market is rather questionable as it doesn't have the tonal qualities of a typical studio-grade tuning that is known for its neutral, almost flat and accurate sound reproduction.

● Too coloured sounding for neutral heads.

● While long length cable is good for studio works, it can't be used for casual and portable listening sessions. A shorter length cable should be included as an option for better portability use.

● Well, open-back design headphone, therefore poor sound isolation.

● Not the widest soundstage that I've perceived on an open-back design headphone.

● Limitation on its swivel angle of its earcups.

● No carrying case, not even a pouch that is used for storing this headphone.

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