Kiwi Ears Cadenza – $35 of “Good Enough”

Cost – $35 USD

Drivers – 10mm Beryllium Dynamic Driver

Connectivity – Removable 0.78mm cable

Colors available – Blue (pictured), Green, Purple, Red

Source – Amazon.com

When I first got into ChiFi a few years ago we had offerings like the BL03 and KZ ZSX, these days they are flanked by offerings like the Simgot EW200, Truth Ear Zeros, and the IEM I’m reviewing today the Kiwi Ears Cadenza. It is honestly difficult to go wrong with any of these offerings as they all deliver tremendous value for money so the deciding factor ends up being down to fit and tuning preference. For those who aren’t sure of what they want the Cadenza are an incredibly safe choice that pairs well with virtually any use case at a mere $35 USD.

Packaging and Accessories

The Kiwi Ear Cadenza come with the bare essentials; three sets of silicon tips, a basic 0.78mm cable, and of course the earphones themselves. Given how briefly I will interact with the packaging I really like seeing this type of minimalist packaging. The only other thing I’d want is a carrying case but at this price point I understand it’s quite the difficult ask.

The cable in the box does not have microphone functionality so you will need to purchase something like the $15 USD Tripowin Grace if you’re frequently taking calls. The only difference between the stock cable and the Grace seems to be the inclusion of the mic which is clear but picks up background noise easily. It is best reserved for uses in quieter or more private environments if you do not wish to wrap your hand around the mic to act as a muffler.

Build and Fit

As the Cadenza have the same 10mm diameter nozzle tips that fit the BL03 can be reused here. The included rubber tips maintain a decent seal but I find that they don’t sound quite as good as foam alternatives. The wider bore of something like the Comply T-500 seems to bring out a better sounding experience overall.

Coming from a BL03 I feel like these are a direct upgrade in build quality simply because the Cadenza use a single plastic mold unlike the BL03 which uses glue to hold two pieces of the shell together. As such it is impossible for my earphone to randomly come apart if I turn my head the wrong way when playing games or looking at a secondary display. The size of the shell is also larger so it has far less trouble not only achieving but maintaining its ideal positioning.

Sound

Songs used:

• Above & Beyond – Thing Called Love Acoustic
• Avishai Cohen – Structure in Motion
• 에일리(AILEE) – 눈의 꽃” Music Clip (Mini Room Ver.)
• Dabin & RUNN – Alive (Acoustic)
• EBEN & Zack Gray – Love Story
• [LIVE] HYOLYN(효린) – ‘윙윙 (Wing Wing)’
• IU – Eight Acoustic Live version
• Luna Sea – Rosier
• MY FIRST STORY -虚言NEUROSE-【Official Video】
• P.T. Adamczyk & Jacek Paciorkowski – Hardest to Be
• P. T. Adamczyk & Olga Jankowska – Never Fade Away (SAMURAI Cover)
• SLANDER & Said the Sky – Potions ft. JT Roach (Acoustic)
• Tommy Emmanuel – Angelina

Equipment used:

• Ugreen Type-C to 3.5mm dongle
• Apple Type-C to 3.5mm dongle (EU variant with lower max volume)
• Meizu HiFi USB DAC
• JDS Elements (1st gen)
• Included rubber tips, Comply TX500

Despite using a dynamic driver the Cadenza are not a bass heavy earphone. Tuned to be neutral with slightly elevated bass the low end notes consistently hit cleanly and crisply, so much so that things can occasionally sound a tad flat for those accustomed to more low end emphasis. This characteristic is most easily spotted with electronic and hip hop music where lots of lower notes are used to anchor the beat, you just wish there was that little bit extra power there. It’s a simple fix either by tweaking the equalizer slightly or by pairing the Cadenza with an output device that elevates bass slightly.

The quirks I experienced in the low end are easily compensated by the delivery of the mid range though, male vocals in particular sound amazing on the Cadenza as they’re pushed to the forefront. The reverb is also incredible as you can hear the gradual tapering of voices with studio recordings whether it’s an artist performing or a group of people chatting on a podcast. Male voices in particular sound absolutely divine and I am so glad I had these on hand when playing through Cyberpunk 2077 and listening to Hardest to Be playing during the story sequences. It genuinely brought back the same feeling of awe that I experienced when I first listened to Bones by Low Roar playing at the beginning of Death Stranding.

Instruments are also easy to pick apart even though soundstage is mostly average. Nothing sounds cramped but you do not experience the same feeling of open air that you would with something like the older Audio Technica IM03. It is likely due to the fact that the treble feels reined in to help maintain that relaxed and comfortable presentation. The lower ceiling in the higher octaves means that artists that frequent those high notes will feel like they are being held back from unleashing their true potential, a fair compromise to prevent the earphones from ever feeling shrill or sibilant.

Overall

The Kiwi Ear Cadenza are not perfect but they do so many different things well enough that it’s really hard not to like them in some way. With their affordable cost, comfortable fit, and very safe tuning style they serve as a fantastic entry point into the world of higher end audio and I’d easily recommend them as a blind purchase.