Frequency Response: 20Hz-20kHz
Sensitivity: 110db SPL/mW
Impedance: 32ohm
Earphone Material: Medical-grade resin
Cable Material: High-quality oxygen-free silver-plated copper cable
Connector: 0.78mm 2-pin
Cable Length: 1.2m ± 5%
Total Score
Introduction
I’m here with Quartet, the new iems from Kiwi Ears, known for their affordable and competitive products. Cadenza was great, Forteza was not so good, let’s see how this one is. I purchased the product myself to write an independent review.
Build/Design
Quartet comes in a simple box with carrying case, cable and tips. The cable it comes with is similar to that of the Cadenza. The shells have a great look. Their shape also fits the ear well. Quartet in 2ba+2dd configuration. It has a pleasant color between navy blue and purple with black. Moreover, both the cable and the shells are very light and therefore comfortable.
Sound
It has a standard resolution and average detail reproduction, but great note weight and overall texture. It is a very warm iem, between a U-shape and a V-shape. The lower frequencies are very strong and have a good impact.
Switches
The Kiwi Ears Quartet has 2 different switches and these switches are very effective in shaping the tonality. They offer a total of 4 different tone options. I will analyze the sound through these 4 different options. (The first number is switch 1, the second number is switch 2.)
00 Position
U-shape and mids are quite recessive, lower mids have both resolution and texture loss. Trebles are bright and detailed, but the overall sound is dark and warm.
10 Position
00, the bass is significantly stronger and the mids less recessive. Still, in these 10 positions the sound is quite compressed and the bass is abundant. The trebles are about the same but with less resolution. Sounds unnatural and bass boosted (this mode is terrible).
11 Position
It reminds me a bit of a w-shape character. At least it’s balanced compared to previous positions. Bass is again too much but this time the sound is more V and balanced. When I switched to this mode I felt the need to turn down the volume a bit. The instruments are much better than in the previous positions, not only very bassy but also more acceptable. Reasonable for bassheads.
01 Position
Oh please, thank you for saving me from this terrible bass. This position is about as good as it gets. Very stable tone between V-shape and U-shape, good strong bass (weak compared to the previous ones). Treble a bit brighter but well tuned. Mid is the best of all positions.
Techs & Tune
In this section, I would like to elaborate on the audio part of the review with the 01 position because it is by far the best and most acceptable position. Everything you will read in this section applies to 01.
Technically it’s actually quite normal, but there are some things it does well. If we categorize them: resolution, detail, scene and averaging for separation. The scene is intimate and the separation is ordinary. The good things are the note weight, the bass texture and the naturalness of the treble extension. The mid performs well on uncomplicated tracks but fails when there are too many instruments. The Kiwi Ears Quartet is also very good at conveying the emotion of the songs with its warm presentation.
Bass
The lower frequencies are quite adequate for both instruments and electronic music. Quartet excels in the trio of double bass, drums and bass guitar, but is also quite enjoyable in hiphop, pop and EDM genres.
Mid
Overall it is adequate but lacks in some aspects, it should have been more transparent. On the other hand, it sounds very natural and almost analog-like. The instrumental timbre is very nice in this part. I would say that it passes the class as a complement.
Treble
I would say it has high accuracy in terms of amount of extension and low accuracy in terms of texture. If the cymbals are in the foreground of the track it’s okay, but when they’re in the background it’s very good. In general, it’s good in the lower-mid treble where the cymbals start, but it’s not detailed enough where the cymbals extend and end and where the air frequencies are. Tonally well tuned saves the day.
Last Words
Not bad for $109. It has a lot of potential but some faults are critical. I think it could be a great iem with very minor changes. It’s never a bad iem with good bass, timbre, keys and good fidelity. It just needs a little more resolution.
