Since getting the kiwi ears etude, I've been using my tea pros less and less. Sure, they're more tonally accurate and more comfortable in ear. But there's something about the tuning and reverb in the etude which I just really jive with.
Agreed, the Aether is this expressive and emotional sound. I would argue if money isn’t an issue try the Kiwi Ears septet as it’s my favourite out of the Kiwis I’ve tried (ranking in order from best to worst) Septet, Aether/Orchestra, Quintet, anything else, then the Etude as these were seriously muddy imo
In my opinion, these IEMs are bass/mid-bass oriented, but the clarity and detail are on a high level. Maybe not as shiny as my other favourite – the Aether – but nothing to be ashamed of. They are really airy and good in terms of detail.
I paired them with my usual choice of eartips – the TRI Clarion (size L, although my ears are rather M-sized) – and they’re really comfortable.
A tough choice! Aether and Etude sound a bit different. For these three songs I’d call it a tie (Etude sounded better in “Lone”, Aether in “Borderline,” while “Easy” had no clear winner).
Etude – more mid-bass, almost a physical sensation, especially around the 2:43 mark in What So Not – Lone.
Aether – a more U-shaped tuning, which also makes them feel more spacious. Less aggressive mid-bass, but the sub-bass goes very deep.
Both have plenty of detail up top; it’s more noticeable on the Aether, but I don’t feel like Etude is lacking anything. In my experience Aether needs a bit more power to reach the same loudness (probably because it’s a large planar for an IEM).
In my opinion both Aether and Etude are good choices, and the accessories in the box are almost identical.
Also keep in mind that Etude has a characteristic resonance, a sort of “twang” from the BC driver vibrations—I hear it especially around \~180 Hz. Some people dislike it, but I actually bought these IEMs for that exact effect ;)
And one last thought—if you sometimes listen to podcasts/audiobooks on your IEMs, Aether is the better pick.
If I read a reviewer complaining about the comfort of the KE Etude, it's a sign to me that I shouldn't take that author seriously. For me, these are some of the most comfortable IEMs I've ever owned. Well, everything is subjective in this hobby.
I have a few IEMs that I rotate depending on my mood or the music I'm listening to at the moment.
When I want to focus more on the details at the top of the spectrum or listen to my favorite movies soundtracks, I reach for the KE Aether, when I want something with strings, I reach for the Aful MagicOne, for EDM, I prefer the KE Etude, but when I just want music for fun, I grab the QKZ x HBB.
So far the only $100+ iem I got is the Kiwi Ears Études and I love them. They definitely aren't perfect and I'd say the Aethers are likely much better for the extra cost in terms of sound quality from what I've seen online.
But there's something special about the vibration transducers that make me feel the oomphs in my chest that I can't help but love them every time I use them for some thumpy songs with long rolling bass.
Love my Études, use them at work pretty often when I just want to tune things out and listen to some bassy tracks, used to not care much about dnb/jungle but it made the tracks a lot more fun with these.
Only complaint is that I originally had a weird issue when I first got them where the left iem's KVT just didn't work at all. Even when tapping on the iem with my finger it didn't make that hollow vibration noise like the right one did, it sounded stiff. While in the process of opening a warranty claim I decided to record a video for my warranty claim by playing a bass test at full volume on them while it sat on top of a plastic cup to show that it isn't vibrating. In that moment it magically came to life and started vibrating aggressively.
Ever since then I've never had that issue reoccur and it feels just as thumpy as my right iem.
an5783
