Kiwi Ears - Cadenza

I am very sorry to say this but GK kunten is probably your best choice. I've tested out different ones and I own 3. My first purchase was the Kiwi Cadenza's I've owned them for over a year, I love using them for vocals (examples: Wave to earth, laufey, and soft type of music) I recently bought the GK kunten, and its just a fun IEM to use. Its good without eq and I use it in the gym. I'm not afraid about it getting dirty or wearing out since its just cheap (6 USD in my country). I love using it in the gym because of its bass it slams my ears even at half volume. So my takeaway is it really depends on what you're gonna use it for, I switch around on what to use everyday but the only problem I have is the inclusions. GK kunten inclusions suck, the wires also suck, so I would suggest just buying it then get a good wire and eartips since they change how it sounds.

I have the cadenza's rn and have tried the chu 2. I can say that the Cadenza's are better overall and its a nice experience in playing story-driven games + listening to music while chilling. I can't say the same for FPS tho the imaging is not that good for me. I guess its better to have 2 options when buying IEMS. 1 for purely competitive gaming and 1 fun IEM for chill games + music listening.

Agree cadenza 12 have lingering impression on me, even after trying $10k iems

Kiwi Eara Candenza green one and the Tangzu Wan'er SG II Jade edition, GOATED

I have two sets on my desk: XENNS Tea Pro TRI I3 MK3 The Tea Pro is my main gaming set, because of the really good imaging and beautiful bass texture for the bass heavy genres I tend to listen to while gaming I love the tuning on the Tea Pros, though female vocals are a bit recessed if I want to listen to vocal heavy songs. I've made the big shells fit in my ears really well, but I do still get pressure points from the wings in my outer ear Thats what the TRI I3 MK3 is for. Its my going-out set because of the beautiful purple shells that I paired with a purple cable, but I have it similarly EQed to my Tea Pro, almost same bass amount, but more forward vocals. So if the Tea Pro ever give me pressure points or I want more vocals I switch to those and they are more comfortable since the wings are not as defined. Downside of the TRI I3 MK3 is that the wings are not as big, so if I wear them for too long (8+ hours) they start sliding out. Thats when I switch back to the Tea Pros. I also have 2 other sets in my rotation, both on bluetooth earhooks Aful Explorer on the TRN BT20 Pro Kiwiears Cadenza on the TRN BT30 Pro The Explorers are connected to my phone and I use them for sleeping or when I want to go out without cables. The Cadenza are connected to my Tablet for watching Youtube/movies/anime while making/eating food. I can also connect them to my PC in case I dont want to deal with cables at all I'm planning to switch out my bluetooth sets for iems with metal shells at some point since they dont get as oily as resin shells do and I prefer that

I quite like my Kiwi Ears Cadenza, sound amazing for the price but comfort is just okay. I wore Bose IE2 for years with my iPod nano before they broke, most comfortable earbuds I’ve ever worn but they tend to cost a lot, even on the used market.

Awesome. Just snagged red Kiwi Ears Cadenza's. Needed wired earbuds to wear when using my VR headset. Honestly really satisfied by the quality and comfort on these things for the 35 bucks I paid. Cheers!

Haven't heard the other two, but I'd pass on the Cadenza. Here are my quick notes: "Treble is tinny and maybe a bit sibilant, bass hollow and unsatisfying. Mids are clear and have nice punch/microdynamics. Resolution is maybe a bit lacking? A little bit hollow and disappointing all around. Feels cheap, though I like the subtle purple color. Cable is actually pretty decent at this price. Comfortable, but hard to get a good fit (especially the left earbud)."

I can't even appreciate it for them; the timpanis, tubas, string basses, etc. just all sounded awful, and flutes VERY tinny. I just went back and listened to them again for a lunchtime walk, and while they're okay for loud environments where you're not really listening closely ... yeah, I'm going to pick a bunch of much cheaper pairs over them.

I personally found the Cadenza pretty disappoining, so I'd advocate for anyone moving on to something else almost all of the time. 😂 Don't know anything about the Klean, but I think the Cadenza tinny and sibilant, with hollow and unsatisfying bass. So if you haven't tried anything else ... snag a $20 pair of Tangzu Wan'er and see if you like taht tuning better.

The Wan'er 2, hands down. Definitely skip the Cadenza; at least to me they're super tinny and sibilant, with hollow and unsatisfying bass. Chu II are also great, but I think the Wan'er are a more resolving headphone.

I'd skip the Cadenza; to me they're both tinny (treble) and hollow (bass). Honestly if you like neutral tunes the Tangzu Wan'er 2 are great at $20, and I've heard few pairs under the $100 mark that are substantially better. Maybe look at the Kiwi Ears x Crinacle Singolo if you lwant Kiwi Ears; they're wildly overpriced at MSRP but they're basically half off everywhere these days and they're good at 40 USD.

**Pretty but sound is decent** under $110 ======================================= Fosi Audio IM4. Black. I think silver looks good too but can't confirm; I have the black one. I was actually pretty surprised by the sound. Pretty good. Very pretty and elegant shell. Nicely designed. Sound is actually purty good. Defiant. In emerald green. Gorgeous shell!!!!! Solid iem. But note it does have Quality control issues. Dunu Kima 2. Get the Raven version for better artwork. Looks nice! One of the best iems at the $100 pricepoint. Celest Wyvern Abyss original. Not remaster. Gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous shells! More of a vocal set. Has no technicals, ie no soundstage or imaging. But great for vocals. I got it for 9 bucks. Celest Pandamon 2.0. Purty shells. Beautiful shells. Chill sound. Pair it with Kiwi Ears flex eartips. I love the way it sounds. Very comfortable. Xuan NV. Not gorgeous per se. But the box art is stunning. But the iems aren't ugly by any means. Great sound. Great vocals. Great bass. I dig it. Also comes with Tang Sancai eartips. Save those for another iem in the future. Those eartips brighten stuffy iems. **Pretty shells but I'm not sure** under $110 =================== Letshouer S08. GORGEOUS shell. I can't find myself to enjoy it. It's a weird sound. I think Artii T10 (WAY WAY uglier) sounds better. **Pretty shells but sound is eh** under $110 ========= Zero Blue 2 and Zero Blue 1. Very pretty shells. Don't recommend for sound. Gets very harsh and sibilant. Cadenza v1. In purple. I bought it. Pretty. The sound is eh though. It's thin with male vocals. Pretty though. That purple color is gorgeous. Chu 2. It's a pretty shell. Sound is eh. Thin-ish with vocals. Not full. Cadenza v2 in Blue. Pretty shell. Recently checked it out. Still have it. Has a typical sound. 7hz G1. Pretty shell. I think it looks sick in white. Bought it. Too bright. Simgot EW300. Shells look nice. I didn't care for the sound. Celest Phoenix Call. Currently $69. Gorgeous! Absolutely gorgeous!!!!!!! But the sound is oh, so close but not there. :S I still kept it because I love its design. I like the clear one! https://preview.redd.it/lnubp4i6qkkg1.jpeg?width=600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=007704c2d634b3df2c5c4b51b196efc50aa20cfa

I'm not sure I'd call the Cadenza a basshead tuning, but they certainly have plenty of bass. It gets deep and rumbly, with some punch but not as much as the Castor Bass (not sure about the Pro: apparently that's not as hard-hitting as the OG, which I have). The also have very smooth treble that's a touch darker than some similarly-tuned IEMs like the Chu 2, which adds to the overall warmth/bassiness, while they sill have good clarity, imaging, etc. Sometimes someone will complain that these have little or no bass and without fail it's because they aren't getting a proper seal. Make sure you try out all the tip sizes if you aren't hearing enough bass.

Kefine Klean if you can find them in budget (they're generally right around that price, depending on sales etc.). Otherwise KBear KB01 or the Kiwi Ears Cadenza. The KB01 is a 1:1 clone of the Cadenza, so choose based on price/looks. They sound identical. Failing that I'd go for the Chu 2 as IMO they sound the best in that price range and have the best build & accessories (only the Klean is ahead of them). But they do need a bit more looking after than most IEMs and can be prone to moisture issues if not kept dry between uses. I've also heard good things about the Bunny DSP, but haven't heard it myself. The fact it's plastic makes it lower maintenance than the Chu 2, but it won't look or feel as high quality. They do have them on Aliexpress, but it's possible they don't ship to your region and that's why it's not showing up. Sometimes Aliexpress search can be a bit weird so try googling it with "site:aliexpress" (you need to add .com to that but I don't want to get caught in the spam filter). That will sometimes help with finding listings that Aliexpress decides not to show for some reason. If you get a "not found" error that normally means it's not available in your country. Also another one that's not on your list but is excellent is the QKZ HBB. It's a very warm, laid back tuning. Quite bassy, but not energetic bass, just really warm. One of my favourite IEMs at any price, because there isn't really much else tuned like that. It's not as good and all-rounder as the others, but I think it might suit the genres you mentioned quite well. I like it for background listening because it pushes vocals back a bit (without making them sound muffled or unnatural) so it can make otherwise distracting music sound less distracting. It also volume scales really well if you decide to crank it up (just don't damage your hearing doing this!)

I would avoid the Zero Red unless you have quite large ears because the nozzles are huge, so it can be uncomfortable or painful depending on your ear canals. The Cadenza is a solid choice, quite often comes up as people's long-term favourite IEM even after they get more expensive ones. The Kefine Klean is good as well and feels quite high quality because of the metal shell, but with metal shells you do need to take a bit more care about condensation & should get some silica gel to store with it. Between the Klean and the Cadenza you can't go too far wrong, so I'd buy whichever one is cheapest if there's a big price difference, or get whichever one you like the look of the most.

The Cadenza is pretty good. IMO quite a bit better than the Zero 2, both in terms of sound and also comfort (some people find the pointy edges on the Zero/Zero uncomfortable). I haven't heard the Vivian or seen any reviews from anyone reputable that I can think of. You could also have a look at the KBear KB01, which is a pretty much exact clone of the Cadenza, but it's usually around $20 instead of $40. It's a pretty safe all-rounder that most people will like for most music. The Zero 2 is more of a very-warm-neutral that can sound a bit dull and either too bassy or not bassy enough depending on whether you like bass or not. The only potential issue with the Cadenza/KB01 is that the nozzles are a bit above average, so I wouldn't recommend it for anyone with small ear canals. Another option is the Moondrop Chu 2, which sounds very similar to the Cadenza/KB01 as well, just with slightly sparklier but slightly less smooth treble - the differences in sound are pretty small tbh. It's small and the shells are metal. The overall package is quite nice & it's very pocketable. It can have some issues with condensation though, so needs a bit more looking after, especially if you live somewhere humid. And going up from that the Kefine Klean is very good. It's a bit bassier sounding than the Chu 2 but still quite clean-sounding. It's a bit of a step up in terms of the accessories, and I haven't seen as many reports of issues happening with clogged filters on these despite the metal shells - I think they use a different type of filter that's a bit less prone to that issue.

Kiwi Ears Cadenza or KBear KB01 if you have a chance to try them and make sure the nozzle isn't too big for your ear canal. The KB01 is a 1:1 clone of the Cadenza, so the fit and sound is identical, but the KBear is usually cheaper. My standard "blind buy" recommendation is the KZ EDC Pro because you can find them for around $7 normally, it's small, ergonomic and competently tuned, so it competes with the usual recommendations around the $20 mark. I don't normally recommend KZ as a company, so don't recommend spending more than about $10-15 on anything from them, but at this price point they're impossible to beat. Plus the EDC Pro has been out for a while, with no controversies about QC problems or other shenanigans. If you go with this one and decide to keep it long term you will want to upgrade the cable, but it works with standard 2-pin so any upgrade cable you buy should transfer to any more expensive IEM(s) you might buy in the future. Check the sub sticky for the common recommendations, in case neither of these is available or or the Cadenza nozzle is too big. The Tanchjim Bunny is another one that gets recommended a lot (specifically the DSP version because it has built-in EQ), which I haven't heard myself but it's worth considering as by all accounts it's very good (but only the DSP version, so not if you need the 3.5mm analogue jack).

Not sure. The only Kiwi Ears I have are the Orchestra Lite (fairly large) and the Cadenza. The Cadenza is fairly small, but has larger than average nozzles (and it's still slightly bigger than the EDC Pro). There's also the KBear KB01 which is a cheaper, 1:1 clone of the Cadenza. Either would be a slight upgrade from the EDC Pro, but not a huge one & probably not worth the cost. You also have the Chu 2 which is small, but it also has pretty bad ergonomics for anyone with small ears. And it's really a sidegrade from the EDC Pro. I prefer it personally, but there's not a huge difference, it's just tilted slightly brighter. For comfort I'd say the IE200 is the absolute best you're going to get, although personally I think the sound is a bit meh for what it costs. It's not bad, but it's probably not going to sound like much of an upgrade from the EDC Pro. Also the stock cable is pretty bad, so it's a good idea to budget another $20 for the OpenHeart one.

> kb02, the kiwiears cadenza Ah, shame you don't have those as I was going to ask about them specifically. Mainly because they all have Beryllium drivers (most likely the exact same driver). The graph looks very similar to the Cadenza (which the ~~KB02~~KB01 sounds identical to). The Moondrop Chu 2 is also very similar to the Cadenza is you have one of those. The treble on the Cadenza is slightly smoother, but it's barely noticeable. In fact, the Chu 2 graph is almost identical to the Unicrom except for about 1-2dB more eargain - everything else could be two channels of the same IEM: https://squig.link/?share=Harman_Adjusted_Target,Super_22_Target,IEF_Comp_Target,Pula_Unicrom,Moondrop_Chu_2_(S2) I think the Pula *looks* really good and I'm very tempted to get one at some point, but I'm definitely wondering if it justifies its price purely on sound quality as a 1DD. If you listen to a Simgot EA500 or EA500LM it's very clear that it's a much better driver than the Chu 2, Cadenza or EW200. Those (EA500s) can easily keep up with things like the Hexa in terms of resolution (albeit with a different tuning), whereas the others can't. Edit: I meant KB01 (which is the clone of the Cadenza) not the KB02 (which is the crappy sounding one with the bone conduction).

If you're going to give someone an IEM as a gift, the Chu 2 is the safest choice. It's got a balanced, mild-v sound that isn't going to offend anyone and most people will like, it feels high quality and comes as quite a nice little package with a decent cable and a carry pouch. People will have their own preferences for tuning and whatnot, but it's the most complete package. One thing to watch is that metal IEMs can need a bit more care than plastic ones, especially in a humid environment. The main risk is condensation, especially if they are worn for hours every day. IEMs need time to dry out. If in doubt, it's a good idea to get a better case and some silica gel to keep in it (the Chu 2 pouch isn't airtight or large enough to fit a pack of silica gel in with the IEMs). If the Cadenza is in budget, it's a slight upgrade from the Chu 2 (they sound almost identical, but the Cadenza is very slightly more refined). It has a plastic shell, so it's a bit lower maintenance, but also feels lower quality. It doesn't come with a case or pouch and the cable is also slightly worse. And since it has 4 colours, you better know which colour they will like. It might be outside your budget, but if it's on sale around the same price as the Cadenza, also consider the Kefine Klean. It's a much nicer package than any of these and comes with a proper semi-hard case & pretty good cable. It's a metal shell like the Chu 2 and if anything it feels even higher quality. It's not quite as small though. Again, the tuning is pretty similar, although the Klean also comes with 2 tuning nozzles to experiment with changing the sound slightly. Ones I would personally avoid as gifts: * Wan'er - feels very cheap & plasticky with a terrible cable & no accessories. Not great technical performance though most people won't notice if it's their first IEM. * KZ Castor / Castor Pro - quite an intense v-shaped signature that isn't all that balanced. Not everyone will like it, nor is it a good all-rounder * 7Hz Zero / Zero 2 - comes with a very poor quality cable and the angular shell shape get more complaints about comfort than the rest of the options around the same price. The case is plastic. Not as cheap looking/feeling as the Wan'er, but worse than the Cadenza. The Wan'er 2 is a more complete package that's potentially giftable (nicer cable than the OG but still not as nice as the Chu 2; the tips it comes with are the best part; no case included), but it still looks/feels very cheap and plasticky up close. It's much lower quality than it looks in photos.

Yes, like I said the Chu 2 is a better overall package, but the Cadenza is worth considering as well. Definitely wouldn't recommend the Wan'er.

Cadanza -2.8k good for music but less durable Kiwi zero 2 - 2 k good for music but less durable Waner sg 2 - 1.8k warmer and best quality , consider bunny to from Linsoul , headphones ,audio store websites