Étude

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.

Consider also Kiwi ears etudè, i love it for gaming

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

Ask me tomorrow and the answer will be different. As for today - Kiwi Ears Etude for their really physical bass.

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.

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.

**Merry Xmas ya'll!** Here's a quick list of the best IEMs I've heard that **came out** in 2025. Full video breakdown [here](https://youtu.be/jnNvbrCh8Yg). IEM Ranking List [here](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZHVib50XFQW4up3SwOZUTbI-hZB6Ir5LX6XnZblIM6o/edit?usp=sharing). \--------------------------------------------------------------------- **Under $25 (Sales Included)** * TangZu Waner 2 (Balanced/Clean) * Tanchjim Bunny/Zero Ultima DSP/3.5 (Balanced/All-Rounder) * HM: KZ Duonic (Bassy All-Rounder/Sub-bass focused) * HM: GK Kunten (Bassy All-Rounder) * HM: Kiwiears Belle (Warm/Bassy/Thick/Smooth) **Under $50 (Sales Included)** * 7Hz Elua Ultra (All-Rounder/Dynamic/Slight V) * KZ Zenith (Balanced/Clean/Smooth) * HM: Truthear x Crinacle Zero Blue 2 with 5 Ohm Adapter (Basshead) **Under $125 (Sales Included)** * Simgot EG280 (All-Rounder/Bright Leaning/Vocal Forward) * Tanchjim Fission (Neutral/Balanced/Smooth) * Kiwiears Airoso (Warm/Airy) * Kefine Quatio (Bassy/Dynamic/Versatile) * HM: JUZEAR Defiant (All-Rounder/Slight V/QC issues) * HM: Kiwiears Etude (Bouncy Bass/Scaling/Bone Conduction Drivers) * HM: 7Hz Diablo (Warm/Bassy/Thick/Dark) * HM: 7Hz Divine (Clean/Balanced) **Under $200** **(Sales Included)** * LETSHUOER S12 ULTRA (All-Rounder/Slight V/Bassy) * Crinear DayBreak/EPZ P50 (Balanced/Smooth/Vanilla) * Kiwiears Aether (Balanced/Airy) * Ziigaat Lush (Balanced/Warm Leaning/Scaling) * MYER CK2V (Bright/Sparkly) * HM: Punch Audio Portazo (Basshead) **Under $300 (Sales Included)** * Kiwiears Astral (All-Rounder/Slight V) * EPZ K9 (All-Rounder/Fuller-Less Shouty Harman 2019) * Softears Volume S (Balanced/Warm) * Ziigaat Crescent (Warm/Sparkly) * Punch Audio Martilo (Basshead) * Kiwiears Orchestra 2 (Neutral/Vocal Forward) * Yanyin Canon Pro/YU9 Que (Neutral/Smooth/Scaling) * HM: Kiwiears Septet (Bright/Airy) * HM: Tanchjim Force (Vocal forward/Clean) * HM: Juzear Defiant (Smooth/Scaling/Mid-Range) * HM: Dunu 142 (All-Rounder/Slight-V/Sharper Kiwiears Astral) **Under $500 (Sales Included)** * Thieaudio Hype 4 MK2 (Bright/Energetic/Clean) * Xenns Tea Pro SE (Balanced/Natural) * Xenns Top Pro (Balanced/Clean/Sparkly) * NICEHCK ROCKIES (Balanced/Full/Airy) * Ziigaat Luna (Warm/Airy) * Ziigaat Arcanis (Vocal Sauce/Mid-Range Scaling) * HM: HiSenior MEGA 7 (Balanced/Smooth/Neutral) **Under $2000** * Thieaudio Monarch MK4 (Clean All-Rounder/Bassy with Switch) * Thieaudio Valhalla (All-Rounder/Dynamic/Bassy) * LETSHUOER MYSTIC 8 (Neutral/Bright/Airy) * Softears RSV MK2 (Bassy All-Rounder/V-Shape) * FIIO FX17 (Warm All Rounder) * HM: AFUL DAWN-X (Sub-bass/Smooth/Scaling) * HM: BGVP SOLOMON (Bright/Slight V)

Nope, bone conduction was my main curiosity so I bought a lot! I've got Kb02, Kiwi Ears Etude, Apevoix Grit (the Anvil's sister), Penon Fan 3s, BGVP DMA. I've not tried the KB03- I have been tempted but reviews seem to be all over the place! My point is definitely not to put you off, because each of these IEMs is brilliant for their price (apart from the Fan 3s) It's more a warning not to expect a huge difference, and better implementation usually means subtlety. My personal recommendation to experience BC would be the Etude- because it's a great sounding IEM on its own, and the vibration is obvious at high volume.

For $50- Artti T10 always and forever! I strongly recommend pushing up your budget $20 for a Hidisz mp145. It's one of very few in that price range where I noticed a bigger soundstage and better seperation. I loooove big soundstage and seperation, but for whatever reason, I find it's very rare in IEMs. The stage all just kinda felt the same to me. For example the Tea Pro is excellent, it sounds amazing, and so clear... But the soundstage felt just as small as the $20 IEMs. Even bone conduction, which is supposed to be the holy grail of soundstage didn't do much for me (BGVP DMA and Kiwi Ears Etude) Again, they sound great, but little soundstage improvement. Then I tried the ISN H60 and it was a revelation. I finally I got what I was looking for! And recently I borrowed a QoA Martini and it's even bigger. I have no idea what they do differently to 95% of other IEMs, but they feel special. And for $120, the MP145 is the closest option I've tried.

There's so many! Ones I can personally recommend: Planars- Artti T10 - my first "holy shit, IEMs are great" best $50 I ever spent. KZ PRX is a good, even cheaper alternative. TRN Shell- Great value everything, even the accessories are great. CCA Hydro- A taste of what a $500+ hybrid can be. 2DDs, 8BAs. KZ Decet- 5 DDs. Very bassy boy- it should be a muddy mess, but it's so impressive for the price and super fun. Kiwi Ears Etude- It sounds great, but also vibrates. It's weird. It's gloriously unique, some may hate it, but I love it. Apevoix Grit- Bone conduction, can be subtle, but on the right tracks (especially live recordings) it's awesome. Punch Audio Martilo - Only had it for a few hours. so far on most tracks it's an excellent, comfortable all rounder, but put on bassy songs and it shows what it can do. Similar to the Decet, but more details. You have to decide if that's worth 4x the price though. Instead of one $100, it may be worth buying 2 pairs eg the T10 and the Decet- Planars sound very different to 5DDs, it's fun to swap. I always hoped I'd be able to just have 1 IEM that did everything, but it turns out I really love swapping between them.

Bone conduction is VOODOO that sometimes does nothing and sometimes does everything. Mini reviews- 1) Kb02 Most days- "This sounds pretty bad, and I hear no bone conduction". Random days "WTF why do I hear bone conduction really strong with Oasis, this is fun" 2) Kiwi Ears Etude - "This actually has really strong vibration, it's so fun... But... Why is it doing it only on snare drums and not the bass?" 3) Apevoix Grit - A great IEM, but the BC is usually fairly mild, but occasionally, wild. 4) Penon Fan 3s - "Why can I feel and hear it vibrate really strongly in my hand, but it changes nothing to the sound?" (I returned this one- it just wasn't very good. But may have been broken) 5) Bqeyz Wind- Didn't get very long with these but no obvious BC to me. 6) BGVP DMA- "Everything else used cheap BC. I bet if I buy one with Sonion BC, it will be great!" It was not great. It's a really great IEM, but it has the LEAST obvious bone conduction effect. 7) QoA Martini - Borrowed it... I loooove this IEM. BC is good, and always noticeable, huuuuuge soundstage and seperation.

None. That's my sad conclusion after trying so many IEMs of all driver types up to $800 including various bone conduction sets. There's just not enough air being moved to vibrate you like a headphone can. Closest was the Kiwi Ears Etude, which could tickle on certain songs.