Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite Universal 8BA IEM

Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite Review​

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Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite​

Intro​

Hello friends, recently I was asked to take a look at one of Kiwi Ears mid-fi earphones, the Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite. The Orchestra Lite has been on the market for quite some time and this is certainly a post hype look at a set that was almost universally praised. There were some detractors. However, all things considered the Orchestra Lite has been a smashing success by almost all accounts. However, the only opinion that matters to me is my own. I want to thank Linsoul for providing the Orchestra Lite in exchange for an honest opinion of this set as well as a feature at Mobileaudiophile.com. Thank you very much, as without you I’d have zero idea just how special this iem really is.

Lite?​

The Orchestra Lite is named “Lite” for a very good reason. It is actually the little sibling to the more expensive and more premium Kiwi Ears Orchestra which was released in 2021. Of course there isn’t anything “Lite” about this set. However, I suppose it’s better than “Orchestra 2” or “Baby Orchestra”. It actually gets me thinking, how unbelievably good is the more expensive version? This is a valid question. At any rate, the Orchestra Lite is an 8 BA iem which comes in at the price of $249 made wholly of crystal-clear resin in different various faceplate colors and is unabashedly & audaciously beautiful, no matter what way you turn them or how the light hits them. I feel it’s one of the prettiest iem I’ve seen in quite some time.

I’m a believer​

Come to think of it, Kiwi Ears has many good-looking sets, and each is tuned very well. In fact, I reviewed the Kiwi Ear Cadenza last year and I felt it was a gorgeous resin iem at an extremely low price that was extremely well tuned. I also have the Kiwi Ears Melody (I was never able to review due to scheduling purposes) which is truly one of the best budget planars that money can buy and I rec that set to anyone wanting to try a planar for the 1st time. Scratch that, I rec that set to anyone who likes things which sound good. Basically, what I’m getting at is that Kiwi Ears isn’t here to play games. They make good products that are very competitive for your consumer dollar in every price point that they dare enter into. I’ll tell you all this, after I heard the Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite and spent actual quality time with it… I’m a Kiwi Ears believer.

I don’t want to run this intro too long as I’m ready to get into this review. However, before I begin, please know that I’ve had around three weeks listening daily to the Orchestra Lite and in that time, I’ve grown an attachment to this set. I say that to say this… this isn’t a hype review. Though it may sound that way. The truth is, I love this hobby with all my heart and when I hear something worth talking about, I desperately want to shout from the rooftops to all of you. So, this isn’t hype, this is joy. The Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite…

Non-Affiliated Purchasing Links ​

–Linsoul Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite
–Amazon (Linsoul) Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite

Disclaimer:​

I received the Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite from Linsoul in exchange for a full review and feature at Mobileaudiophile.com. I have not received any payment or any other form of compensation for this review. This set is a sample iem. Linsoul has not requested to pre-read any review and doesn’t have any control over “what” or “when” anything gets published to mobileaudiophile.com. All thoughts within this review are my own though please take note that I will always have my own biases. This is impossible to get around. I try to be as objective as my subjective self can be, but this is an opinion piece folks. Thank you to Linsoul and thanks for reading.

Gear used for testing​

–Ifi Go Blu
–Aful SnowyNight
–EPZ TP50
–Fiio Q15
–iBasso DX240 with Amp8 MK2
–Shanling M6 Ultra

Packaging / Accessories ​

Unboxing​

Upon first receiving the Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite, I was met at my front door with a smaller square box. The sleeve which covers the box is black with a picture of the Orchestra Lite on the front as well as the slick looking Kiwi Ears logo. Once you remove the sleeve, you’ll see a regular black box and logo again. Open the box and the gorgeous Orchestra Lite will be staring back at you with that seductive gaze while stuck snuggly into a cardboard covered foam cut-out. Lift off that layer and you’ll see the carrying case underneath. Inside the case is the cable and tips. Not a bad unboxing at all. Let’s look at the accessories…

Eartips​

Kiwi Ears provides nine pairs of tips in total from three different style tips. The first is a white silicone pair of semi-narrow bore tips (S, M, L). The flange is pretty relaxed and not as firm. The second pair is a dark gray colored silicone pair (S, M L) with a narrower bore and a bit firmer, better for sealing. The last set is a gray and orange set (S, M, L) of silicone eartips which have a semi-wide bore but are also a bit flimsier on the flange. I think these are decent tips, but I honestly didn’t use any of them as they simply arent firm enough at the flange for me. Instead, I actually went with a white pair of Tenmak Whirlwind shallow fit wide bore eartips. Using a wider bore eartip I found the completely open nozzle helped the entirety of the sound come out. I also used KBear 07 tips for a bit as well and those helped the bass impact as well as smoothed the upper mids a hair. However, the Whirlwind fitted my preference a bit better with the Orchestra Lite.

Carrying Case​

In the packaging Kiwi Ears also adds in a fabric covered case that opens and closes by way of a zipper. I don’t ever really sue cases but for those who do it is a nice addition. It is all black, covered in fabric with a white Kiwi Ears logo in the center. Pretty cool looking. Nothing crazy but… it’s something. Large enough for the Orchestra Lite, the cable and possible a small dongle dac. Not too bulky for pants pockets and perfect for throwing into a bag or backpack.

Cable​

The included cable is a nice-looking wire. Nothing that will blow your mind though. However, it is nice looking, and it is made out of very nice materials. To be exact the cable provided is a white, 2-pin, 3.5 single ended 4gcore 7N oxygen-free copper cable with a nice braid. I do like the fittings as they appear as though they used stainless steel or possible polished aluminum. Kiwi Ears states that this cable was crafted for a few reasons; because it looks nice, it has good materials which helps with the sonics of the Orchestra Lite and it was made particularly for stage use. They wanted to provide a cable that wouldn’t weight down on the Orchestra Lite. It isn’t the fattest cable, and it is pretty light on the ear.

Cable swap?​

The included cable pairs well aesthetically and the pairing is nice in the sound department as well. I actually use this cable often with this set. However, I have many sources with a 4.4 balanced port and so I did swap cables for these sources. I went with a KBear Chord 4.4 balanced cable which looks so tough together with the Orchestra Lite. Of course, there is no direct need to change cables as the included cable will work just fine.

Build / Design / Internals / Fit​

Build Quality​

The build quality is one of many areas that I feel Kiwi Ears excels in. Each set I’ve had from this brand has a particular look that is all their own and each is built exceptionally. The Orchestra Lite is no different. Built completely out of a very hard and very ornate looking and perfectly transparent resin. No bubbles, no deviations from perfect. At least the unit I have. I am so very impressed. The Orchestra Lite is not vented anywhere so do understand that some of you may have some vacuum issues or that suction feeling in your ears. I have never had this, but I’ve heard others complain about it. The shell and faceplates are 100% smooth with no sharp or hard angles. The nozzle is a hair longer than average and you can see the tubes leading from the drivers and out of three holes at the tip. I don’t really know how to quantify something like a good build quality, other than to simply say that the Orchestra Lite feels premium to me.

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Design​

The actual design and aesthetic of the Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite is the first thing that I was kind of blown away by when they got to my home and pulled them out. Ya know, I’ve seen many pictures of this set, and I can promise you that they do not do them justice. I really mean that. I tried like hell to capture this set as best I could when taking pictures and I was never happy with the result. None of them are good enough. Of course, I’m just a guy fiddling through trying to figure out how to take a nice shot and I’m certainly not a professional. Still, the Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite is somehow charismatic. I don’t know how an inanimate object can be charismatic but… I stand by it. Truly a looker from the front to the back. Whether it be the beautifully rendered faceplate area or the transparent housing which provides a crystal-clear look into the inner workings. I think the style and shape are very nice & ergonomic too. At the end of the day, the Orchestra Lite is very ornate and very handsome.

Looks​

The Orchestra Lite comes in five distinct colorways, each one is as gorgeous as the next. You can get clear, orange, purple, green, or my favorite… blue. Each one has the same white logo with white swooshes dancing around adding contrast to the colorway. Of course, clear is simply, well… clear with white swooshes, not really a contrast. Anyways, each has that swirling white which is bold against each of the colors. Also, each colored faceplate is still semitransparent. That leads me to the shells, each one is crystal clear which provides a somewhat distorted glass like view of the drivers, tubes, panels etc. It really is awesome. I’ve always been a fan of transparent housings. Also, I’m not alone in that as it’s a popular look. Like I said in the build section, the Orchestra Lite is smooth everywhere with rounded edges, sides, top, bottom, you name it… it’s smooth and clear and absolutely stunning.

Cool to have options​

I should also point out that at Linsoul you can also pick out different styles of design. Of course, you can purchase the default design and simply pick out any colorway. Or you can choose your own favorite colorways (+$50 extra) at the website by choosing the color of the housing (#12 colors in total) and then picking a faceplate design (#20 faceplate designs in total). How dope is that each of the designs looks rad folks. Check it out HERE. That’s not all, you can also choose to have a CIEM (custom fit) crafted to your exact ear shape, and you can still choose any of the color options (+$150 extra). Now, I actually wouldn’t change a thing over the actual default design, but it’s cool to have options.

Quality Control Checked, Warranty Covered
Each unit produced by Kiwi Ears undergoes two separate rounds of quality control inspection by the engineer, complete with left and right channel frequency matching to ensure that your monitor will perform at its best for the entire duration of its lifetime. Each unit is handcrafted by our engineers who have taken their time and effort to bring you the best IEM that we have to offer, and as such, we too hope that you will come to cherish them. Every Kiwi Ears IEM is covered by a year of warranty to make sure that your monitor is ready to perform whenever you are.
Kiwi Ears Promotional​

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Internals​

Kiwi Ears chose to go with the same number of balanced armature drivers as in its older and much more expensive sibling (OG Orchestra) with eight in total per earphone. Hence why they are a hint larger than most iems. Kiwi Ears speaks on these drivers saying that they are custom BA’s that were handpicked to provide the same tonal balance as the OG Orchestra as well as the same natural tonality, all the while being more efficient. I haven’t heard the OG Orchestra (boy do I want to) so I cannot speak on that, but I will say that the Orchestra Lite does provide a natural timbre across the board. They added two subwoofers for the lows, four midrange BA’s and two tweeters for the highs. Again, all custom balanced armatures. Really quick, I did read a HiFri Facebook post in which he had suggested the make and model of the BA’s like this: lows are Knowles 22955, midrange is covered by Belsing 11011/21, and the highs operate using E-Audio 31736 BA’s. Also, to reduce total harmonic distortion and develop a strategy for layering of sounds and separation of the three frequencies Kiwi Ears chose to use a three-way passive crossover. Obviously, a lot of time, expertise, and careful planning was conducted to properly mimic the sound of the OG all the while coming in at a much lower price. By all accounts… I’d say they did a nice job.

A Natural Sound – Tonal Balance
The most important factor of the Orchestra Lite was to preserve a natural and balanced tonal signature as its predecessor. The Orchestra Lite still had to perform at studio monitor-like calibers in order to be suitable for professional musicians and audio engineers. For this reason, the Orchestra Lite utilizes a three-way passive crossover strategy to achieve intricate layering and reduce total harmonic distortion. The bass has been restricted to sub-bass frequencies, with a peak of 8dB volume from 20Hz to 200Hz. The mids region is retained at neutral, with only a 1dB difference from 200Hz to 800Hz. The treble has been perfectly matched with the human ear’s pinna perception, with a 7dB peak at 2.5kHz and a slow natural decay towards 10kHz. This precise treble engineering allows every detail and nuisance to be heard, while remaining comfortable and free of any harshness. In short, the Orchestra Lite perfectly reflects the sound of professional studio monitors and is the perfect companion to stage musicians, audio engineers, and music enjoyers who want to listen to music as it was intended.
Kiwi Ears Promotional​

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Fit / Isolation ​

One thing which is so underappreciated when choosing an earphone is the actual ergonomics of a set. I don’t know how Kiwi Ears managed to literally create a perfect mold of my ear. I have no idea how well the Orchestra Lite is going to fit your ears, but they fit me perfectly. It’s a little crazy, friends. I’ve already said it but the Orchestra Lite does tend to have a vacuum or a suction when putting them in your ears for some people. Again, I’ve never had this issue, but they didn’t put any vents in this set to relieve some of the built-up pressure so again, be aware. That aside, the fit is very much ergonomic with a slightly longer nozzle than usual which really provides a fantastic seal. Isolation is one huge benefactor from this. I have no qualms stating that the Orchestra Lite is stage ready. I hear very good passive noise isolation. Obviously, they don’t have ANC but are very good at attenuating outside noises.

Drivability​

The Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite is actually a very easy set to drive to good volume and even give you decent to very good sonics & fidelity from even low powered sources. With an impedance of roughly 18 ohms and a sensitivity of 112 db’s the Orchestra Lite never gave me an issue. Whether I used the simple 3.5 port in my iPad or even extremely low powered dongle dacs, I really never had an issue. I still had plenty of headroom on everything I used. However, headroom isn’t the greatest indicator of how well a set can come across sonically. Obviously, with better and more powerful sources the Orchestra Lite responded with an even tighter and more refined way.

Mobile Listening​

Here at Mobileaudiophile.com we look almost entirely for mobile options for our audio. I used every dongle dac that I own, and I can promise that the Orchestra Lite sounded lovely on each. Cooler and more treble focused dongle dacs like the Fiio KA3 were a bit strident and harsh at times but that was the worst offender of any of my sources. I primarily used the IFi Go Blu, Aful SnowyNight, and the EPZ TP50. I used each with 4.4 balanced and 3.5 single ended. Without question the 4.4 balanced sounded better. There is an increase in dynamism that is easily apparent. Simply more evolved & refined with more energy while at the same time coming across with a tighter grip & control over the note structure. It’s cleaner with more power and the Orchestra Lite will most certainly mimic the tonality and timbre of your source device.

More juice​

I use three different listening devices interchangeably and in constant rotation. The iBasso DX240 (using Amp8 MK2), the Fiio Q15, and the Shanling M6 Ultra. I hate to give you a blanket statement like this, but I love the sound in each device. Usually, I can pick out what a set pairs best with as each of these has a slightly different take on timbre, tonality, dynamics, technicalities, the whole nine yards. This is why I kept the devices that I have, for different situations. The Orchestra Lite was slightly altered by each and each gave its own hue to the sound. Out of the three I seemed to gravitate to the Q15, but I really don’t have a favorite. I will say with certainty that it seems the balanced armature drivers Housed within the Orchestra Lite seem to really “wake-up” with more power. I feel like I didn’t get the most out of this set until I gave it at least medium gain. Having said that, in no way is the Orchestra Lite hard to drive. I am not saying that. I am saying… give em’ a lil juice and it’ll make for the best listening experience with the Orchestra Lite.

What you need​

I figure if you have the $250 to purchase the Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite then chances are you have a good source too. At which point, give this set some power and enjoy. Be reasonable though, I’m not saying a million watts. However, if all you can afford is something less expensive to drive the Orchestra Lite than you are perfectly fine. Just get yourself a low-cost dongle dac. You can find good devices under $60 anymore that’ll bring your listening to the next level. I actually love how this set sounds on my dongle dacs. You don’t need anything crazy folks.

Condensed Sound Impressions​

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What does it sound like​

Kiwi Ears set out to reproduce the apparent magic that they created with the original Kiwi Ears Orchestra within the new Orchestra Lite, just at a much more friendly price tag. Altogether the Orchestra Lite has a very nice dynamic balance across the mix with equal parts for each 3rd of the mix. I do detect a nice and punchy mid-bass which helps to give the Orchestra Lite a warmth that’s north of neutral. If I were to call this set anything I’d say it’s a slightly warm W-shaped sound signature.

Pint Sized Look Between the 20’s​

The low-end is much more elevated than I would’ve thought. Certainly not a basshead set but elevated and fun. What we have is a rounded and punchy bass that’s fantastic for a BA. Certainly, more emphasized in the mid-bass area. Slam is less rigid and textured but has a good impact that’s fast and satisfying with a convex and controlled boom.

The Orchestra Lite has a forward midrange that is very inviting and engaging. In fact, the midrange is the Orchestra Lite’s superpower if you ask me. I enjoy the tuning of the midrange as it may be one of the nicest in the price point. It’s lush, rich, wavelike and any other descriptor suggesting something smooth. Simply bewitching to my ears for the price of $249.

The Orchestra Lite has a non-offensive treble region which has just enough shimmer and openness with subtle hints of sparkle & shine too. The Orchestra Lite also has pretty good detail retrieval. However, it also isn’t quite as illuminated as some greater accentuated sets in its price range.

Additional quick thoughts about the sound​

The sound is smooth across the board. It’s lush in a sense, yet the sound has a cleanliness within each area of the mix. Not smooth like silk, but smooth like glass. If that makes any sense. It’s clean, resolution is very good, Imaging is spot on. I don’t hear any one frequency section masking over the rest to any detrimental degree. The sound is always milky in its approach which is utterly appealing. I hear good presence, but it isn’t the type which stands out as a resplendent texture. Not as vibrant as some may like. No sir. What we have is creamy all the way, yet at the same time the note structure isn’t flat and tamped down or too dull. Note weight is natural. It’s not thick, not thin… natural. To be honest, tonality and timbre are spot-on for me. Notes have density and an attractive natural weight to them that’s aided by a holographic display of the sound field. Transients aren’t too fast to lose the emotion in a track but are fast enough and pinpoint enough to dance around most genres with relative ease. I hear nothing even close to harsh as the pinna is at a comfortable rise. I hear no sibilance, sharpness or metallic type timbre either.

Musical​

To wrap up this condensed portion of my review I want to reiterate that the sound is very natural. Tone and timbre are lovely. Now, the Orchestra Lite doesn’t have the most vibrant and liveliest macro-dynamics and dynamic energy, but it also isn’t boring by any stretch of the imagination. There’s a good balance but that balance still has some pep to it with that forward sound midrange and nice mid-bass punch. What this equates to is a musical sound that is both fun and technical while never sounding too strident or sharp. At the end of the day, the Orchestra Lite is a very melodic set that is a joy to listen to. I’m actually trying to keep my word count down and trying to condense things a bit but I’m having a hard time doing so. I want to say much more in the pint-sized sound impressions, but I will do so in the next three sections…

Bass Region​

One thing I’m always worried about when listening to an iem with balanced armatures covering the lows, is how plasticky, weightless, hollow or pillowy it may possibly sound. Like fast pitter-patter, rather than a solid resonant and tangible boom like a DD. Usually, the decay is so instant that it sends all harmonics into the ether, kinda like “attack & done”. Okay, I’m being a little ridiculous in my exaggerated depiction of some BA bass, but the sentiment remains. There’s nothing like a good DD bass. I’ve yet to hear a balanced armature bass which carries the natural mass and timbre of a dynamic driver. I guess I’m saying all of this to include the Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite as one of the few all-BA iems which almost defies this well-known deficiency of this type of driver. Now, I’ve heard great BA bass before, please don’t get me wrong. I went a bit hard in the paint on balanced armatures right there, but I find the Orchestra Lite to have very solid bass. Okay it isn’t as tactile in its texture and the sub-bass is a bit less rumbly than I’d like, but the timbre is there. This is a naturally weighted and accurate bass that puts quality and refinement over the fun style thunder and boom. I suppose I could’ve said “quality over quantity”.

Sub-bass​

The lowest of the lows comes across slightly less guttural than I’d like. As I said, you don’t get the bass-boi DD-like “feel” like some folk’s desire. Of course I wouldn’t always expect that. However, I feel the amount, or quantity in the sub-bass is very nice and great for a BA. Obviously, stuff like kick drums won’t always reverb in my eyeballs and bass drops don’t tickle the backs of my ears. The truth is, I don’t always want that. I find that stuff like kick-drums sound very natural and beyond just adequate to my listening ears. Furthermore, the sub-bass on the Orchestra Lite does have some sonorous mass to it and a nicely compartmentalized from the mid-bass. It’s clean in its attack thru sustain. It’s also quick and tidy while remaining warm and relatively smooth in its approach. Certainly not flat and not anemic, there is some good rumbly fullness to the Orchestra Lite’s sub-bass.

Examples​

Listening to “Groove” by Ray Wylie Hubbard has a more natural sound to it while at the same time not coming across quite as growling and granite dense as some other sets with good dynamic drivers. Still satisfying to me and hardly a “con”. However, listening to “Move Along” by The All-American Rejects I have to say, take back everything I just said about kick-drums not reverbing in my eyeballs, because this set really accentuates the big hollow-boom of the successive drum beats wonderfully. Turning up the volume (preferred with his set) makes these drums some of the more satisfying I’ve heard. There is very nice presence in attack with fast moving transients that come across so punchy. I do feel that this is just because of the way this track was recorded but, it’s very nice to my ears.

Mid-bass ​

As I said before, the mid-bass does carry the most prominence within the low-end. I do hear a very nice slam and a punchy nature to the mid-bass. It’s also warm, softer on texture and not as crisply defined but somehow there is still good separation between sub & mid-bass along with a sense of openness. It certainly is not a congested mid-bass or a one-noted bass. I keep coming back to “clean & tidy” because that’s what I hear. Which is somewhat odd because at face value the Orchestra Lite doesn’t have that hard note outline. I do feel a slightly soft attack. Again, it’s warm, naturally weighted, resolute and separated well too, which I think would explain things. I love that the sound is ridiculously cohesive as the mid-bass is certainly smooth like the rest of the mix. There’s still good weight afforded to any instrument or bass drop. It’s nice folks.

Mid-bass cont… ​

I actually love the mid-bass on this set. Tracks like “Stylo” by the Gorillaz off their Plastic Beach album have this odd electric bass which has some weird distortions in the recording. This track also has solid fundamental note weight and needs a set which can replay such a thing well. I am overly satisfied with the way the Orchestra Lite is able to dance through this track having good BA authority. Or “Rich Off Pain” by Lil Baby & Lil Durk is another track which was fantastic on the clean & tidy Orchestra Lite. First off, most tracks I use in my testing aren’t always some of my favorite jams. I do enjoy this track though. It hits hard on the Orchestra Lite folks, yet not so much to distract from the melody or the lyrics they’re spittin’ in the mic. The melody of the song is well separated from the heavy bass. This track actually made me re-think my statement that the Orchestra Lite is softer on attack. It’s actually very solid at the crest of notes here. This is another case where us reviewers speak in absolutes so often! Yet so many individual tracks can defy our words so often too.

Downsides to the Bass Region​

Obviously, the main issue will be “for some folks” that the bass doesn’t exactly have that DD-like tonality, timbre, or organic boom. This is correct to a point, but the more I listened, the more I realized that… the bass fits the overall character of this tuning so very well. Anyways, this is a downside to some though. I’d also say that the Orchestra Lite may have too much bass presence for some folks as well. Another subjective issue some hobbyists may have is that the bass doesn’t really have that lingering atmospheric decay that some DD’s will have. Some bass notes are clipped a hint early. Granted, I could care less as I feel the bass is great for what the Orchestra Lite is but, I’m not everyone else. For all intents and purposes, I am very happy with the low-end here. Yes, I could use a hint more sub-bass and a bit more sonic boom type bass. However, I’d also say this; be careful what you wish for because even little changes can totally ruin the charm of this set.

Midrange​

Oh, the midrange, what a pleasant and gratifying area of the Orchestra Lite’s sound spectrum. Folks, please hear me, if you will, the Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite’s midrange is something to behold. It is the bread and butter of this set, and every area of the mix seems crafted and tuned simply to uphold this area of the mix. I wouldn’t even call it a vocal dream of a set, though vocals are nice. It’s a midrange specialist set with extremely good cohesion and balance across the entirety of the tuning. One thing which matters more than almost anything else is a good midrange… to this guy anyways. The bulk of our music is heard in this region. So naturally I am overjoyed (that’s a bit strong) over the midrange performance on the Orchestra Lite. The mids are what I would consider tonally accurate. Of course, we all have different ideas of what accurate tonality & timbre sounds like. I stand by my opinion though. It’s just a very melodic and musical midrange. They’re never harsh, they’re lean enough and fast enough to make a good “technical” showing, yet lush enough to sound realistic and so very musical.

There’s a slight warmth which embodies the midrange with a lean-lush note weight that isn’t burdened by encroaching bass. Instead, the slight push into the midrange from the low-end provides a natural hue, or an organic quality while at the same time remaining very clean with a highly resolute playback. The mids are also somewhat forward and not pushed back in the sound field with decent separation of instrumentation and voices.

Technical/Musical​

I think the most rewarding point about the midrange for me is how well Kiwi Ears tuned this set to melt musicality and technical proficiency in a manner that keeps the overall sound as natural as possible. They found the secret sauce folks. It’s all in the timbre. Vocals, both male and female, sing back at me with a very nice and mellifluous expression. Instruments are lively, yet not over-cooked, detailed very well yet never dry. I hear a smoothened sound, but that smoothness doesn’t tamp down the note definition resulting in a natural rendition of what instruments should sound like. Details aren’t the bread and butter of the Orchestra Lite, but yet good midrange details are what you get. Maybe not to the degree as a dry and analytical iem that is tuned for detail retrieval. But honestly, who wants dry? This set is budding with emotion and atmosphere as it flowers my mindscape in sublime musicality. It’s a great midrange, maybe the best in the price point. The funny thing is, the Orchestra Lite isn’t a midrange first set, this is a balanced set with a great midrange. Way to go Kiwi Ears and thank you so much to Linsoul for providing this set.

Lower-midrange​

The lower-mids come across effortlessly. They have this propped up presence that’s not overburdened with bass, but instead they sound all the better for it. You have an ever-so-slight warmth giving some authority to the neutral underbody. I hear some good weight with a lean form of density which sounds more organic than anything else. It’s smooth, just like the rest of the mix. Nothing different here. Now that I’ve said all of that good stuff, I should also add that the lower-midrange is also the most pensive or restrained, out of the midrange frequencies anyways. However, this is not an issue friends. The entire mix holds up this more subdued region to where it really isn’t subdued at all but instead is a great part to a fantastic whole. Never once did I feel that I needed more presence in males. Possibly a hair more authoritative dynamics but presence? No way subdued or not, males sound very well done. Instruments too. Instrumentation in this region is well detailed and even harmonics aren’t so cut off from transient swift ess that I feel I’m lacking anything. Which isn’t usual in BA sets.

Dripping​

“Patina” by Brent Cobb is a track that shows off Brent’s southern laid-back voice which sounds prominent and poised. Blanketed in this easy listening energy that still remains vibrant enough without sounding overbearing or edgy. The strumming guitar has this harmonious twinkle of tunefulness that is perfectly placed on the stage… it’s captivating. It’s all just so easy for the Orchestra Lite. Again, I have to ask… what is “LITE” about this set? This set is either a killer or a lover, I haven’t figured out which. “Someone You Loved” by Lewis Capaldi is another track that simply sounds better on the Orchestra Lite. I love how well the Orchestra Lite takes his voice and elevates it with perfect portions of smoothness and clean-lined resolution. The inflections to Lewis’s voice come to my ears with creamy vibrance, out in front but not overtaking the mix. With the Orchestra Lite his voice seems to never come across knife edged, like so many sets can come across. Never grainy and not fuzzy or pixelated. The Red Clay Strays sing “Wondering Why” and it is just wonderful. The vocals, the strumming guitar, the bass guitar. This track comes across dripping in musicality and emotion with the Orchestra Lite in my ears.

Upper-Midrange​

The upper-mids have the same effect on me. Really done well. Tonality and timbre are fantastic. The Orchestra Lite has roughly about a 7-8db pinna rise which is such a good number and it’s a very slow ascent into the lower treble. It’s very gradual. Nothing too steep or spiky and no huge peaks that will kill your ears in shout or glare. This is another area that’s smooth like porcelain. This helps females to sound so sweet and soft when they need to sound sweet and soft. All the same, the Orchestra Lite has all the tools to also sound resounding in a ballad and crisp when a track demands it. The Orchestra Lite is not a one trick pony folks. Just because it comes across smooth and creamy doesn’t mean it can’t produce glass-lined definition and crispness. We like to label a thing and speak in absolutes quite a lot in this hobby. Anyways, the Orchestra Lite seems to excel in many different areas, especially in dealing with vocalists and the timbre or realistic cadence to vocalists, of any sort. Instruments in this region are so well reproduced through the Orchestra Lite that I was having a hard time finding “overt cons” for the price of $249. If anything, some folks will likely hear some “subjective” issues. However, I am personally smitten. Taylor Swift sings “The 1” in her Folklore Long Pond Studio Sessions album. There is such a whisper sweet yet bold elegance to her voice listening with the Orchestra Lite and the presence in her voice is up front as though it is put on a pedestal. I have yet to find a female which doesn’t sound good listening with this set.

Downsides to the Midrange​

If I were to cook up some issues within the midrange, I just want to inform each and every one of you that I am reaching here. I don’t feel there are many drawbacks, but everything has some issues. I’d first say that while the Orchestra Lite is great at resolving midrange details, it could always be better. Crisper, more air between instruments, snappier, better separation too. It isn’t perfect in the technicality space, but the Orchestra Lite is pretty nice. There are some instances of shouty behavior in the right tracks and probably hooked to the right source too. Not a regular occurrence but should be noted. Those who enjoy a warm/dark sounding set with ultra thick and lush mids will likely want to look elsewhere as well. Nothing is for everyone friends, but I can tell you one thing for sure… the Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite is most certainly for me.

Treble Region ​

The treble region of the Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite is nicely lifted to fit within the framework of the Orchestra Lite’s overall tuning. I could probably sum the treble up with that. It fits the other frequencies very well and follows suit the bass and the midrange. I’ve told you the Orchestra Lite is non-offensive (as a whole), no fatigue or harshness, nothing sharp. Also, I’ve told you there isn’t anything sibilant or metallic. I’ve gone on and on about the smooth nature of the sound, the resolute playback etc. The treble fits these descriptions too. The point is the treble of the Orchestra Lite is emphasized to perfectly keep this overall dynamic and presentation. To fit within the framework. A good part of a magnificent whole! It isn’t overly boosted, just like the rest of the mix. It’s smooth and clean, like the rest of the mix. It’s musical yet doesn’t lose sight of the finer details, like the rest of the mix. I can keep doing this folks. The highs on this set are cohesive with the rest of the frequency. Like they’re measured and weighed to just… fit. And “fit” they do. There isn’t anyone defining characteristic that the treble region is a master of, yet here I am speaking glowing words over it. If you ask me, that kinda sounds like the rest of the mix too.

Smooth demeanor ​

Listening to the treble I find it is lifted just enough to bring up the overall tonal color, it lifts the spectrum adding some levity & slightly toned-down brilliance to the mix. Nothing is over emphasized, no forced resolution drawing out unnatural sounding details, no harshness, nothing oversaturated. However, the sound still has some semblance of air and openness. That said, some folks will certainly want more of that shining and sparkly brilliance up top. Some will desire more air, more treble bite, and more of a crisp attack snap at the leading edge of notes. This is not a glittery treble and it’s not boosted in a manner that’d suggest it’s the… “icing on the cake”. At least I don’t see it that way. There’s also some decent extension up top past 10k with plenty of info and not much missing to my ears. The treble has a smooth demeanor all the while keeping a clean profile and most importantly keeping the overall tonal balance in check. I am impressed. I find the treble clarity and resolution to be wonderful and really enjoy how well the treble helps the overall musicality of the Orchestra Lite.

Downsides to the Treble Region​

Without question, treble heads or even moderate fans of a brighter treble will not be impressed. This is not an ultra-snappy treble with tons of crisp bite. This isn’t the type of brilliant that makes your eyes squint. Detail retrieval is good, separation I’d pretty good too, but the real strength of this treble region is in its balance, cohesion, and timbre. Not the sparkliest treble I’ve ever heard, but also… I wouldn’t want it to be.

Technicalities​

Soundstage​

The soundstage is closer to the listener, so in that aspect it is more intimate. However, the stage has very nice width, height and even good depth to my ears. Really, it’s a nicely holographic sounding iem, in that it’s three dimensional in the way it comes across to the listener. I find layering of sounds (instruments, voices) very well accomplished on the Orchestra Lite. Without question there is great front to back information that is easily discernible. I really feel the stage is one of the best aspects of the Orchestra Lite. However, there will be those who don’t enjoy a stage that is closer to the listener as the Orchestra Lite’s soundstage doesn’t come across pushed back or distant, it isn’t a half circle in front of me basically. Everyone has different ideas about what is or isn’t good. To me this is excellent for the price when I figure in everything else the Orchestra Lite is talented at.

Separation / Imaging ​

Okay, this is an area where the Orchestra Lite is partially less proficient at. That is in its ability to separate and partition off instruments and vocals. Now, it certainly isn’t a “con” in my book and a solid trade-off. The smoother replay of the Orchestra Lite with its less defined note distinction somewhat blurs those lines when comparing to other sets with a drier playback, or a more analytical playback. I say that but honestly… it isn’t an issue folks. It simply isn’t razor sharp, but also… Why would I ever want to ruin the gorgeous sound character of this set to have “slightly” more distinct separation? I can answer that for me… Um, I wouldn’t want that. I like it just the way it is actually. I have my ultra defined iems and I like them too but there is so much they lack. Everything is a give and take in audio. However, one shining aspect of the Orchestra Lite’s replay is its ability to create a great and accurate image of the stage. The imaging is very well done. Whether left to right or front to back everything is placed very well, the stage is locked in, dialed in, and nicely situated. So, I’d say average in separation and above average imaging. I’ll take it.

Detail Retrieval​

Details are a funny thing folks. Sometimes I feel we put way too much emphasis on hearing miniscule, little fine details which most of the time add almost nothing to the experience of listening to music. That’s an opinion though. The truth is many folks really enjoy picking apart sounds and harmonics within their music. I’d say this, on less congested tracks the Orchestra Lite is a bonafide stud. Once the track gets a bit more complicated you will lose some of that definition. I say that but I also feel that details are above average across the board. Plenty of moments I was able to hear those finger slides, the sounds in the crowd in a live track, those necessary harmonics etc. I’m not missing many folks. That said, the Orchestra Lite wasn’t tuned to be a detail beast. That’s not exactly what Kiwi Ears was going for. At the end of the day, I think people within the hobby will be pretty impressed with Orchestra Lite’s level of detail and refinement in the sound while still coming across emotional, musical and melodic. Also… That timbre!

Ratings (0-10)​

Note: all ratings are based upon my subjective judgment. These ratings are garnered against either similarly priced sets or with similar driver implementations or styles with the unique parameters of my choosing. In the case of the Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite ratings below, that would be $200-$275 iems of any driver configuration. Please remember that “ratings” don’t tell the whole story. This leaves out nuance and a number of other qualities which make an iem what it is. A “5-6” is roughly average and please take into consideration the “lot” of iems these ratings are gathered against. $200-$275 US is not the largest scope of iems, and so seeing a 9 is reasonable depending on the set. My ratings are never the same and each set of ratings tells a different story. Each time you read one of my ratings will be unique to that review. Basically, I create a Rating that makes sense to me.

Aesthetic ​

–Build Quality: 9.0 Built very well.

–Look: 9.9 Is this the best looking iem in its price point?

–Accessories: 8.4 Decent for the price

–Overall: 9.1

Sound Rating ​

–Timbre: 9.8 Within the top class in timbre.

–Bass: 8.9 Quality over quantity.

–Midrange: 9.8 Very resolute, very smooth, very musical.

–Treble: 8.8 Sparkly yet extension could be better.

–Technicalities: 8.9 Technically a fine set.

–Musicality: 9.5 Fantastic musicality.

–Overall: 9.3

Ratings Summary:​

The ratings above are fairly easy to understand without needing too much explanation. I pitted the Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite against any and all iems within the price range of $200 to $275 that I’ve had the pleasure of listening to. I’ve heard a lot, however I haven’t heard em’ all. So, keep that in mind. Anyways, the Orchestra Lite scored extremely high for such a pool of iems. I could go down the list of sets that I rated against and it’s pretty extensive. Of course, that’s boring and uses too much digital ink, also, I don’t feel like it. Anyways, the Orchestra Lite is a tough set to rate for me. When doing so I don’t just consider my own subjective preferences. I really try to consider others to the extent that I’m able. Of course, even those are tainted by my own likes and dislikes so… grains of salt. However, if this review was from me and for me, the Orchestra Lite would rate much higher. That’s how well I think of this set. I scored a “9.3” and if I’m being honest to myself, that’s low.

Explain Yourself! ​

Not much to explain, but I’ll give it a shot. I gave the Orchestra Lite an outstanding score of “9.8” in the midrange. That is basically me saying that there isn’t a better midrange between $200 to $275. Or that it’s at least in the top three. It’s high. I could certainly see other folks’ rate that much lower. Those who enjoy a more cleanly defined midrange with even sharper details. I could see that, and I wouldn’t argue with those folks either. Actually, I get it. We are all different. I honestly don’t have another score I’d budge on. Also, yes, I put the “Timbre” score at a ridiculously high rating of “9.8” as well. Again, I wouldn’t budge on that. Yes, I think it’s that good. Maybe some folks would argue the bass at “8.9”. Especially people who yearn for bug dynamic driver bass, bass bois, or just folks who feel the quantity isn’t enough to warrant an “8.9”. To those people I say… okay. I’m sure I’ll hear from some of you and I’m always happy to further explain myself. Anyways, that’s about it. I feel the Orchestra Lite is certainly worth a “9.3” overall in sound.

Is it worth the asking price? ​

I want to make this simple… Yes! Yes, the Orchestra Lite is worth the $249 asking price. Not just yes, but absolutely! Friends there is too much that this set does right. Now, is it worth it to the person who cannot really afford the Orchestra Lite? Probably not. Lord knows I was there for most of my life. $249 is a ton of money for a hobby when you are trying to feed a family. However, for those who have the loot to spend and are perusing all the iems caked within its price point I say with absolute assurance that the Orchestra Lite is worth every penny. Of course this is spoken from my preferential bias. At the end of the day, I don’t see many sets matching what the Orchestra Lite can do as a whole for the asking price. Granted, there certainly are a few solid iems that are just a s good, heck maybe even better. Yet nothing which would provoke me to say that it isn’t worth $249.

The Why… ​

To begin, the build is fantastic, and the look is stunning. Look at this set people! This should get some kind of award. It’s beautiful, sick, dope, pristine and any other descriptor meaning something gorgeous. The comfort level is perfect for long sessions. The unboxing is pretty good too but the reason the Orchestra Lite is really worth the $249 that Kiwi Ears and Linsoul is asking for is because of the wonderful sound quality. The balance is so very good with a smooth replay that doesn’t skimp on details, Imaging, or soundstage. This set comes across 3D and is very realistic to my ears. Timbre is second to none, or at worst only a few. The Orchestra Lite is a very musical iem that adds emotion and an atmospheric feel to every track I listen to. Lastly, because I simply don’t see another set that is outright better. Yes, there are some I could debate that could outduel the Orchestra Lite, but really, I’d just be splitting hairs. Of course, the Orchestra Lite is worth the asking price.

Conclusion​

To conclude my full written review of the Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite I want to again thank the good people at Linsoul for providing this set in exchange for a feature at Mobileaudiophile.com. I’ve had a blast getting to know this wonderful all-BA iem. Without question I recommend the Orchestra Lite if anyone in the market for an iem around this price point.

Please check out other reviews of the Orchestra Lite. By now, there are more reviews than you can read covering this set and so you should have a very good idea if it will fit your listening preferences if you do a little homework. I really think it’s important because we are all very much different folks. Each and 3verhone of us may hear the same music, from the same set, using the same device…differently. There are so many variables into how each one of us perceive sound. On top of that we all can have different likes and dislikes, hearing abilities, music libraries, and we all haven’t been down the same journey through audio. A reviewer with less experience who’s not heard a set like the Orchestra Lite before and a seasoned person who has reviewed Kilo-Buck sets may have drastically different opinions. Take it all in, do yourself a favor. With that all said, I think I’m done. Please take good care of you and yours, stay safe as possible and always… God Bless!

Introduction!
Hello friends!
Today we’ll talk again about hybrid headphones from the KiwiEars company, called Orchestra Lite and their cost is $249 and this time they are positioned as monitor iems, which is doubly interesting.
They come in a nicely designed small box, there is the model name, the company logo and an image of the headphones themselves.

And here on the side the technical characteristics are indicated and a very powerful combination of 8 armature drivers is responsible for the sound, two are responsible for high frequencies, four for medium frequencies, and two more will reproduce low frequencies, and the sensitivity is 112dB and they received 16ohm impedance .

Let's take a look at what's included!
And the first thing that greets us here are headphones made of medical resin they have a blue front panel, as I wanted to match my channel design, and they really look very good, and of course, the company logo also has a place here on both headphones!

And they received a 2-pin connector that goes exactly in line with the body, and it is worth saying that they have absolutely no compensation holes on the body, and the inside is absolutely transparent and there are no problems here, you can see all the stuffing from the armature drivers and even on some drivers you can see markings indicating that it is Knowles and custom KiwiEars.

Well, the nozzle here is a little elongated and wide, but it’s anatomically made correctly, so these headphones generally sit in the ears perfectly the fit is as tight as possible, but due to the fact that there are no compensation holes with some ear pads, a small vacuum effect is created, so keep this in mind that you will have to carefully choose the appropriate nozzles for yourself.
Accessories!
Now we come to the accessories, which are in an excellent tight case with the inscription kiwi yars, we already saw it in the previous review of the Forteza basshead headphones, I advise you to look at it.

And this time there is an excellent 4-core cable that has a 3.5 jack plug, and 2 pin connectors with well-formed ear hooks, that is, you don’t even have to change it and use it without problems, it’s a pity, of course, that there is no option to choose a balanced version for 4.4, which would be absolutely great!
The ear tips here, of course, there are also exactly 3 sets of different tips for every taste and color!
How do these headphones sound?
Now let's talk about the sound of KiwiEars Orchestra Lite and I think for sure that lovers of a more neutral presentation, like me, will be pleased this time, since on the frequency response graph I think it’s immediately clear that we have a very neatly executed neutral model without excessive amplification of low frequencies so is the area of the upper middle, and the high ones at the very edge have been tidied up a little for us and in general I think it’s clear that they are very close to my target, I would even say as close as possible and this makes me happy, but let’s go in order!

Low Frequencies:
Low frequencies here have a gain of 5dB and if you are not a basshead, the amount of bass here should be enough for you, despite the fact that an armature driver is used here, I would not say that because of this it reproduces sub-bass notes worse than dynamic ones, but of course it differs from dynamic driver and already has its own character, but this is not as bad as it could be since there is excellent depth and volume,yes, and the reproduction of texture and neat punch on the mid bass is at a good level, but with control, of course, there are no problems here since the bass does not interfere with the mid frequencies at all and very neatly complements the quite significant lower mids, that is, it is designed correctly here, except that I would like to get a slightly clearer and more focused attack, but in this case then I would have to install a dynamic emitter since I still prefer it in most cases if we are talking about hybrids.
Mid Frequencies:
The mid frequencies in these headphones are very detailed in overtones with a well-defined attack of both instruments and drums and with a correct, albeit not very wide, construction of plans, and they sound quite emotional but a little dry with a clear emphasis on the image of the vocal part,the presentation to the ear is of course pleasant and very familiar to me, something similar I have already seen in other hybrids, only here a warmer and calmer tone is noticeable, that is, this area is transmitted in them without tiring vocals are reproduced here without any rustling or reinforcement overtones and sounds natural with good articulation and legibility, and what I liked is that it does not have any excessive brightness or loudness!
High Frequencies:
And at high frequencies, a good and correct approach to tuning is noticeable here, there is also obvious analytics and that very necessary control over literally everything, and this range is felt as a slightly warm and neat presentation that is pleasant to the ear, having good resolution in the cymbals but without their obvious excessive gain, which in my opinion is correct from the point of view of tuning, although I know someone likes a lighter and more highlighted high area, which seems to give a feeling of better technicality and airiness, but they didn’t do that here and they made a more natural and adult tuning without any additional coloring, which is generally correct from the point of view of monitor headphones, although if the very edge of the high frequencies had been tightened it would have been great.
Stage and stereo panorama:
And as for building a sound stage then everything is in perfect order here, the stage itself is wide and optimal, it has no artificial stretch, it is exactly right and at the same time has a quite good slope in depth, that is, the space and instruments do not feel flat, but on the contrary, they have good weight and volume, and that’s all the images are drawn in great detail and separately from each other.
My conclusion on these headphones:
KiwiEars Orchestra Lite turned out to be excellent headphones primarily for monitoring, and for lovers of a calm and very neutral, non-tiring sound with a good and correct amount of bass, neutral, not bright mids that are simply perfectly complemented by detailed and analytical highs!
Link where you can buy them!
Linsoul: https://www.linsoul.com/products/kiwi-ears-orchestra-lite
Aliexpress: https://aliexpress.ru/item/1005005264192787.html
I will be glad if you subscribe to my YouTube channel and watch this full review on KIWIEARS ORCHESTRA LITE!

Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite
8BA
$250

First, I want to thank Linsoul for sending the Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite in for this review.
Rest assured, this review is 100% my own personal opinion.

Just in case you're interested on getting the Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite for yourself, you can get it here :
https://www.linsoul.com/products/kiwi-ears-orchestra-lite

Unboxing

Build Quality
Is very good, the attention to detail here is superb, it has a perfect resin shell without any bubble at all, and it do feels very solid in hands.

Stock cable for its price is decent, nothing special but not bad either, though I do hope there is an option for 4.4mm connector.

Fitting
Is also very good and comfortable for me, BUT the Orchestra Lite is an unvented full BA design, so keep in mind that pressure might build up inside your ears while wearing the IEM and some people might dislike that feeling.

Sound

Tested using FIIO Q15, BTR15, Moondrop Line T Cable, Stock Cable, Stock Eartips
Music is mostly from Apple Music (J-POP, J-Rock, Anisong, EDM, Jazz, Metal, RAP)

Tonality in general : Bass Boosted Neutral

Bass : It has very good body and punch for a balanced armature unit, though it is still sounding like a BA bass for sure aka, lacks a bit of physicality.
Quantity is boosted, the bass shelf / bass boost is ranging from sub bass – 300hz. It has a very clean bass boost that did not color the midrange at all.
Decay of the bass is on the shorter side, transient response / attack is very good.
Speed of the bass is very suitable for genre such as metal, and is safe for all genre / allrounder.
Thanks to its dual woofer setup, the Orchestra Lite has a deep satisfying rumble.

Midrange : Midrange on the Orchestra Lite is star of the show here.
Tested on “Tranquility – nZk <MODv>” track, both vocal and violin sounds very sweet and rich.
It has a very good body, and very pleasing tone.
Positioning of the midrange here is a bit forward, and is the main focus of the sound.

Treble : Is very smooth, extended, has very good layering and micro details. Treble presentation here is a bit smoothed out and might be too safe for some and leaving them wanting more “zink” or sparkle.
Plus side, it is very safe for treble sensitive individuals.

Timbre of the Orchestra Lite is very good, even though it is a full BA unit, it does sounds somewhat natural and did not have that metallic BA sound at all, not only that, weight / body of the sound is very good, not thin nor too thick.

Technicalities
Stage : Average, not the widest though far from claustrophobic sounding. It has exact wall placement and stage shape is symmetrical in width and depth.

Imaging : Very good, It has good depth body information of the object and is holographic in presentation, though not the most holographical set of an IEM for sure.

Separation & Positioning : Very good, it has a very good separated but cohesive sound at the same time, positioning also very good and sharp. Tested on games such as Valorant, it is very easy to pinpoint where sound is coming from.

Detail Retrieval : Very good, even though sound presentation is on the smoother side, it has very good micro detailing, you just had to search and listen for it, since the presentation is not like “thrown into your face”.

Comparations

Moondrop Blessing 3 :
The Blessing 3 is more expensive compared to the Orchestra Lite, but tonal and technicality wise it is very close to each other.
The Orchestra Lite has more bass quantity compared to the Blessing 3, though Blessing 3 has more physicality thanks to its isobaric DD design.
Technicality wise, the Blessing 3 has superior stage size, while the Orchestra Lite has better imaging in my opinion.

Conclusion

Do I recommend the Orchestra Lite, well it depends on what you're looking for in an IEM.

If you're searching for a mid focused but still balanced overall presentation with smooth treble and very good technicality for the price, then the answer is YES I can recommend the Orchestra Lite for its asking price.
Though keep in mind, the Orchestra Lite is an unvented full BA design, so pressure might build up inside your ears, and some people might dislike that.

That's all from me for now,
thanks for reaching this far !

Just in case you understand Bahasa Indonesia or Indonesian, you can watch video version of this review here :

-littlenezt.

Overview:
Its a 8 BA iem with an impedance of 16ohms and 112db sensitivity.
It comes with:
3 sets of eartips, average
Case, cheap but gets the job done
3.5mm non modular ofc cable, good
Build and fit
The construction is solid, resin quality is quite good for the price. I personally love its looks. The shell is over all is big. Fit is secure but not the most comfortable specially for smaller ears. This has a non vented design so the seal is strong resulting in good passive isolation.
Sound:
Tonality: This is a fairly neutral sounding iem with a touch of warmth.

Bass performance is good, not as fast but has good enough texture to it. Although I prefer a bit more slam. Score 4.5/5

Mids is natural and soft. It sounds great almost in every genre. Score 4.5/5

Treble is smooth, a bit too smooth resulting in lack of energy. Score 4/5

Technicalities: Soundstage is average, imaging is good, overall resolution is lacking. Score 3.75/5
Conclusion:
If you like warm and relaxed sound, this can be a good option.
For me, this is one of my fav iems when I just wanna chill specially before sleeping.

Source used: ak sp1000m, questyle m15, fiio btr5

You can read the Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite review together with the usual disclaimers in my website.

The Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite price is $249 and you can buy them exclusively from Linsoul.



Build quality and fit

The Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite is made from a skin friendly resin compound with a semi-custom, anatomical shape and is available in two faceplate colors, green and blue.
The design is rather dull and uninspiring but it has a professional simplicity that doesn't call much attention.
The earshells are not very bulky and they fit very well, offering a long term, comfortable user experience.
The rather deep insertion adds great stability during head movement and excellent passive noise attenuation making the Orchestra Lite suitable for stage use.


Cable

The Orchestra Lite has been paired with a 4-core 7n oxygen-free copper cable to best enhance its sound.
The cable is intentionally designed to be light and comfortable for stage or portable use, and is fitted with a removable 2-pin connection for cable-swapping.
The cable is of good quality, it is soft and lightweight without microphonic noise but it ends in a fixed 3.5mm plug when most of the competition now comes with modular cables.



Accessories

Except for the cable, the package includes three different types of silicone ear-tips, in three sizes each, and a compact sized, hard carrying case.




Power requirements and associated gear

The Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite is rated at 16Ω/112dB so it is very easy to drive but you should use a dead silent source because the earphone is very sensitive to noise.
I have mostly used the Chord Mojo 2 and the FiiO M11S with an aftermarket balanced cable.
Per manufactures request, the earphone was burned for more than 100 hours before listening evaluation.



Listening impressions

True to the brand marketing literature, the Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite has an absolutely balanced tuning with a neutral frequency response that when combined with its excellent transparency result in mirror-like source fidelity.
Moreover the Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite doesn't sound like the usually boring and sterile monitoring earphones but it manages to stay very enjoyable and musical.
At first listen it might sound too exposing and revealing but give it a high quality source and it instantly transforms into addictive and involving, connecting the listener with the music by establishing a firm sentimental bond.
Nothing is perfect though, this is a full balanced armature earphone, without dynamic drivers, so better expect the typical balanced armature bass that is lacking in physical impact and body weight.
The texture is lean and rather dry but in exchange you get top class clarity and definition with prime layering.
Sub-bass extension is excellent, the earphone can easily reproduce the lowest of the tones without any artificial boost but you shouldn't expect rumbling and thundering bass.
Interestingly enough, the bass might be lacking in impact force and physical power but the macro dynamics are rendered with a stellar antithesis and contrast.
The rest of the bass is absolutely neutral up to the mid-range without a single trace of unnecessary coloring, masking or bleeding while it is lighting fast and well controlled.



With four balanced armature drivers for the mid-range alone it is not of a coincidence that this part of the region has the higher quality characteristics.
The mids are just a bit forward and present with a good overall tonal balance without too much of an upper mids prominence.
Clarity and transparency are of top class, the presentation is textured and finely articulated while resolution and detail retrieval are
Tonal accuracy is good, the timbre is mostly natural and all instruments sound lifelike.
Overtones are not as saturated and colorful as in some single dynamic driver earphones, the leaner texture doesn't help either, but still there is quite plenty of harmonic variety and not much artificiality in order to make the listening experience enjoyable and realistic enough.



The treble is extended, energetic and luminous but carefully tuned without sounding bright and irritating, at least with good quality recordings since the Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite is revealing and exposing so don't expect it to smooth out sibilance and harshness that might be present in your source.
The texture is still lean and on the dry side, time decay is little faster than the ideal so certain percussion instruments can sound thin and lifeless.
The timbre is mostly natural although not devoid of occasional artificiality, but the quantity is not enough to make the sound sterile and fake.
The Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite is a speedy earphone with fast transients, excellent detail retrieval and resolution while the lack of distortion makes for a refined listening that doesn't cause fatigue.



The soundstage is the typical of mid-tier balanced armature set-ups, it is wide and spacious with pinpoint imaging and plenty of airiness, it never sounds congested but it is mostly flat without any significant depth layering, relatively lacking in holography and grandness.
The Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite is excellent for all critical listening applications where tonal accuracy and transparency are desired but without compromising in musicality and enjoyment factor.



In the end

The Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite is a very interesting proposition as it manages to sound neutral, balanced and transparent, making it suitable for critical music listening and professional applications, but without sacrificing musicality and engagement.
All target groups will also appreciate the excellent passive noise attenuation and the comfortable fit while they will remain satisfied by the generous accessories pack and the build quality.
All things considered, the Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite offers a great price for performance ratio and it gets highly recommended.

Test playlist

Copyright - Petros Laskis 2023.

PACKAGING AND ACCESSORIES

IEM:
Built:3D-printed, UV-cured resin shells.
The nozzle has three holes for cover each frequency witb BA dampers inside(bass, mids, treble)

Drivers Configuration:
The Orchestra Lite has BA 8 drivers in per iem in a (2+4+2) configuration.
2 Large Knowles Balanced Armature Drivers playing the bass.
4 Custom Balanced Armature drivers playing the midrnage.
2 Custom Balanced Armature drivers playing the treble.

Cable: 7N OFC cable. Thicker than average 4-core cables with recessed 2-pin.

Eartips : 3*silicone tips (S/M/L) sizes





Sound Impression :
source: Dongle: xduoo link2 bal .
Desktop: ifi zen dac v2+ ifi zen can .

eartips rolling : using spinfit w1 , ZEOS Render Memory Foam Eartips.
these eartips gives very comfort preventing inside ear pressure .
I got the best result with ZEOS Render Memory Foam Eartips cause it elevated bass quantity.

Left one is spinfit w1 & right one is ZEOS Render Memory Foam Eartips.

[BASS]

For a BA iem, kiwiears orchesta lite bass is very impressive .
It extends quite low and has a lot of texture for a woofer without vents.
For a BA iem, speed and tightness are about average.
while the quantity won't please bassheads,the quality is quite impressive.

[MIDS]

The midrange of Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite has excellent resolution and detail, is relatively smooth in texture, and does not have any of the issues that the bass does.
They sound good most of the time and sometimes shout . To minimize slight or no shoutiness at high volumes using ZEOS render foam eartips helps a lot .
Vocals from both male and female singers are well-reproduced and equally enjoyable.

[TREBLE]

Treble is pleasant but not spectacular.
The bass tuning is a little too safe making it less exciting & engaging.
Riffs on the guitar lack vitality, and the cymbals and hi-hats sound overly muddy.
Resonances & decays are lost because the upper treble is also almost absent.

Technicalities:

soundstage average . if i use x-space on ifi zen can it widens that help me to have a holographic effect .
Imaging above average . Voices and instruments are clearly positioned, In fps game CSGO i can hear every footstep where they coming from with good height width .
instrument separation, which is one of the best I’ve heard around this price point.
Punch in the macrodynamics is severely lacking.
The abrupt bass drops are hollow. Microdynamics are not so obvious all things considered.


Rating:

Bass: 3.7/5
Mids: 4.7/5
Treble: 4.0/5
Imaging/Separation: 4.6/5
Staging: 3.8/5
Dynamics/Speed: 4.0/5

Good genres: Classical, OST, Vocal centric music .
Bad genres: Hip-hop , EDM , Bass heavy music .

Conclusion :
Final Thoughts The Orchestra Lite from Kiwi Ears was a complete surprise.
This IEM is an incredible value proposition due to its pleasant, slightly warm tonality, relaxed character, solid technical performance, and excellent build quality .
The Orchestra Lite is probably my favorite IEM in its price range & I highly recommend it.

Here is pic of kiwiear little family( kiwi ears orchestra lite with kiwi ears cadenza )

Kiwi Ears had one of the “underground hits” of recent years in the form of Kiwi Ears Orchestra: a multi-BA offering that offered a smooth tuning and promised performance akin to the kilobuck mainstays.

While I never heard the original, the Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite, the brand’s latest offering, landed at my doorstep recently. The paper specs are impressive, especially once you consider the price. The frequency response graph looks great on paper.

Let’s see how much of that paper spec translates into real world performance.

Note: the ratings given will be subjective to the price tier. Linsoul was kind enough to send me the Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite for evaluation.
This review originally appeared on Audioreviews.
Sources used: Questyle QP2R, iFi Go Blu.
Price, while reviewed: $250. Can be bought from Linsoul.

PACKAGING AND ACCESSORIES​

The packaging is minimal but has all the necessary accessories.



The stock cable is very good – flexible/pliable and doesn’t tangle easily. The flexible ear-hooks are much better than those stiff, hard to manipulate ones you often find. Unfortunately, the stock tips are useless. There are 3 different kinds supplied, 3 pairs of each. Unfortunately none of them would provide a good seal and comfort.



In the end, I used Spinfit CP-100+ tips. The carrying case is good enough if a bit bland in design. Overall, apart from the tips, good accessories.

BUILD QUALITY​

The 3D-printed, UV-cured resin shells of the Orchestra Lite have good consistency and give a dense feeling in the hand. There are some refractions inside the shells though some may consider them a design element. Nonetheless, overall shell quality is similar to Moondrop’s Blessing2, if not at a slightly higher level.



The backplate evokes a sense of depth, though the artwork itself is somewhat generic. There are no vents on the shell, making this a completely sealed design.

The nozzle has three bores, one for each frequency band (bass, mids, treble). More on this later. Unfortunately, the large size makes it difficult to fit some tips.



Finally, the recessed 2-pin ports complete the build tour. I think given the budget constraints, Kiwi Ears managed a good job here.

COMFORT, ISOLATION, AND FIT​

Comfort is average due to the large nozzle size. Moreover, the ventless design creates some pneumatic pressure in the ear canal, resulting in added awkwardness. I’d recommend trying out the Orchestra Lite in person before purchase if possible to see if they fit your ears.

SOURCE AND EARTIPS​

The Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite are very easy to power, and should be driven well by most dongles. I used Spinfit CP-100+ tips, as the stock tips had poor seal and were a challenge to put on the thick nozzle.

DRIVER SETUP​

Driver count on the Orchestra Lite is mighty impressive. A total of eight BA drivers are placed inside with triple crossover design. Two Knowles ‘sealed’ woofers with dampers in front take care of the bass, while four “custom BA” drivers take care of the mids, and two more of those take care of the highs.



Kiwi Ears went for a triple-tube design and all tubes have dampers in the sound path. You can also see the crossover board on the side. All in all, competent driver setup and the coherency should not be too big of an issue due to similar drivers being used across the board.

TONALITY AND TECHNICALITIES​

Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite have a smooth, relaxing “U”-shaped signature with somewhat darkened treble response.



The two Knowles woofers unfortunately do not sound that impressive. Bass lacks slam and authority. Bass notes almost feel “wooly”. Reverb is unusually slow (try Nariyeh Thanei by Siamese Youth to get a feel for that).

Mids, fortunately, fare much better. They sound good for the most part and avoid shout, even though at high volumes the shoutiness can creep through (as the bass does not have body and impact, upper mids become more prominent). String instruments have a slightly softer leading edge, which avoids some BA timbre at the cost of crispness.

Finally, we get to the treble which is inoffensive without being spectacular. The bass tuning is a bit too safe at times, lacking excitement and engagement. Guitar riffs lack energy, while cymbals and hi-hats sound over-dampened. Upper-treble is also almost absent, so resonances and decays are lost.

Soundstage is not spectacular but manages to sound fairly “open” without being congested. Imaging is good, falling slightly short of class leaders like the Blessing2 or Oxygen. Separation is also good and comparable to the best performers in this range.

Macrodynamic punch is severely lacking. Sudden bass drops feel hollow. Microdynamics are not so evident either.

SELECT COMPARISONS​

vs AFUL Performer5​

The AFUL Performer5 sport a hybrid design, with a single dynamic driver taking care of the lows and the mids and highs being handled by BA drivers.

I find the Performer5 to be more comfortable due to better pressure relief and less obtrusive nozzle design. The stock accessories are good on the Performer5 but I am not too keen on the stock cable. Your mileage may vary.

As for the sound, the Performer5 have slightly better bass response, though the dynamic driver is underwhelming in terms of slam and punch as well. Mids are similarly tuned on both but female vocals are more intimate and have better articulation on the Orchestra Lite.

The treble is where the Performer5 edge out the Orchestra Lite with better engagement and extension up top. However, staging and imaging are overall superior on the Orchestra Lite.

So in the end, the bass and treble performance are superior on the Performer5 and that alone should make the decision easier for many. However, those who need a more relaxing presentation with a better sense of atmosphere (due to superior staging and imaging) might find the Orchestra Lite more appealing. Just keep in mind that they would not excite you as much.

CONCLUDING REMARKS​

Overall, the Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite are not technical powerhouses. The bass definitely does not live up to expectations and might be the deal-breaker for some. Some EQ makes things better, but the fundamental issues (lack of slam and body) remains.

While the mids are tuned well and the sound has a certain calmness that might appeal to those who do not like infusion of energy, it might be too polite, too safe, and too smooth.

So, the Orchestra Lite are suitable for a niche audience with niche tuning preferences. I would highly recommend an audition to see if these fit your tastes before making a purchase since, for me, they are just bland, lacking in life and verve.

Ah well.

The Kiwi-Ears Orchestra lite
It comes in a smaller and responsible package. Inside one finds various tips, a beautiful cable, and a smaller but nice-looking case. The Orchestra lite is made extremely well and makes a good seal on my ears, giving both comfort and isolation way above average.

The Orchestra lite is a more budget friendly version of the renowned Kiwi-ears Orchestra. The lite comes in at nearly half the price and has similar features. There are eight BA drivers paired with a triple crossover and it definitely has good coherency.

Let's get to my opinions on the sound, I have used a variety of devices including but not limited to my ifi Gryphon, Tempotech V6, Dethonray SG1, TRI TK-2, Questyle M15, Aune S1X, SMSL SP200, and Hidizs XO. Music in formats from High MP3 to DSD.

Stating with the Bass, lower end has a decent and expected BA presence, the Bass is good there is a smoothed but notable impact, nothing like a nice DD but it is more noticeable than the similar Hidzs MD4. Sub-Bass has good impact but is not very speedy, in terms of quality it has a good weight and depth considering this is a BA. Mid-Bass has better speed and tone. Overall, I do like the smooth warm quality these BA bring to the table here.

Midrange:
The Mids are very good. The lower mids are warm and very well placed just as is the upper more natural Mids. They have details but are more relaxed and richer, giving them a very pleasant tonality.

Treble is Neutral and is more towards the polite side, though it is not lacking, its not super detailed or sparkling. It has more than enough details and energy to be enjoyed but too me it's safe and needs a little more energy.

Soundstage: The staging is not the widest but is far from intimate, still it works for me. imaging and accuracy is excellent.

Afterthoughts: This is my second Kiwi-ears and the theme here is the same. The company continues to produce a IEM I personally would use all day no problem. The Orchestra is a beautiful, and well-tuned, with distinct abilities that make it unique.

Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite Review​

INTRODUCTION AND DISCLAIMER:​

The Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite is an in-ear monitor (IEM) featuring eight balanced armature (BA) drivers per housing. The Orchestra Lite retails for $249.99 at Linsoul. Linsoul sent me the Orchestra Lite in exchange for my impressions.

SOURCES:​

I have used the Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite with the following sources:

• Qudelix 5K
• Truthear Shio
• Audirect Atom 3
• Hidizs S9
• Apple dongle

MUSIC:​

I tested these headphones with local FLAC and Spotify Premium. Visit my last.fm page to get an idea of what I listen to:

XenosBroodLord’s Library | Last.fm

PACKAGING AND ACCESSORIES:​

The Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite comes packaged in a black, rectangular cardboard box with a dark green slipcover. Inside the box, the IEMs are held in place in a black foam mounting sheet. The Orchestra Lite comes with nine pairs of generic silicone eartips (S, M, L) in three different colors. A black semi-rigid zippered carry case and a user manual are also included.

BUILD QUALITY AND DESIGN:​

The Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite has clear acrylic housing with teardrop-shaped colored faceplates. The faceplates feature the Kiwi Ears logo inlaid in silver. The housings are otherwise unadorned. The housings are unvented and the nozzles have three distinct sound tubes. The nozzles lack protective mesh filters or raised lips with which to secure eartips. The 2-pin ports are flush with the surface of the housings.

The Orchestra Lite includes an attractive 4-core 7n oxygen-free copper cable. The Y-split and 3.5mm jack hardware are polished aluminum, and the chin-adjustment choker is translucent plastic. There is strain relief above the straight 3.5mm jack but not above or below the Y-split. The cable has pre-formed plastic earguides. The plastic base of the right-side 2-pin connector is red, which is the sole directional indicator for the set. The included cable is not especially microphonic.

COMFORT, FIT, AND ISOLATION:​

The Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite should be worn cable up. The earpieces have a shallow-to-moderate insertion depth. The Orchestra Lite is comfortable but is not the most securely fitting IEM. The earpieces are on the larger side and tend to rotate backward out of their ideal orientation. The earpieces also extend past the surface of the ear when fully inserted, so the Orchestra Lite is not ideal if one plans to use them at night. Isolation is less than I would have expected for sealed all-BA IEM. However, there is no driver flex due to the absence of a dynamic driver.

MEASUREMENTS:​

My measurements of the Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite can be found on my expanding squig.link database:

Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite — Squiglink by Bedrock Reviews

SOUND:​

The Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite has a neutral tuning with a sub-bass lift below 200 Hz.

The Orchestra Lite has atypical bass for an all-BA IEM. From memory, it reminds me of the Softears RSV in that it delivers more textured and impactful but slower and less precise bass than one might expect given its driver configuration. The Orchestra Lite also fares better than one might expect in terms of dynamic contrast, although it does not compete at the level of the RSV. Despite the emphasis on an impactful and dynamic bass presentation, bass resolution and articulation remain adequate for the price point.

The Orchestra Lite has a distinct but restrained pinna gain region centered around 2.5 kHz. This is not ideal for my head-related transfer function and results in less separation between instrumentation and vocals than I would prefer. Instrument separation is variable. For example, there is better instrument separation between male vocals and analog percussion than there is between male vocals and distorted electric guitars. As a result, overall midrange clarity is average at best. The Kiwi Ears Cadenza’s more pronounced pinna gain hump, which is centered at 3 kHz, worked more consistently for me. The lower midrange has plenty of body and warmth despite the linear mid-bass response. Male and female vocals are roughly even in emphasis, though female vocals are more intelligible. Female vocals can occasionally sound strident but generally sound excellent. The Orchestra Lite has very natural-sounding timbre for an all-BA IEM.

The Orchestra Lite has a safe and relaxed treble response that conceals very good internal detail retrieval. The upper treble is less extended than I would like, and there is limited air. The Orchestra Lite does respond well to equalization in this region, but other IEMs in the same price range like the SeeAudio Bravery are going to have more up-front resolution. The soundstage is adequate but is less expansive than I would have expected given the number of BAs used per housing.

AMPLIFICATION REQUIREMENTS AND SOURCE PAIRING:​

The Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite can be powered by the Apple dongle. For me to reach my usual listening level with Spotify Normalization set to “Normal”, I had to set my Pixel 7’s volume to 20/25. Depending on your preferences, you may not have to adjust your volume as high. I experienced no hissing with any of my devices.

CLOSING WORDS:​

The Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite is a good IEM, but not necessarily the IEM one might expect from looking at its technical specifications. Given its particular strengths, it is perhaps best viewed as a budget Softears RSV as opposed to a budget Moondrop S8.

The Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite can be purchased below:
https://www.linsoul.com/products/kiwi-ears-orchestra-lite

Review OF The Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite​

Introduction​

The Kiwi Ears is an electroacoustic company that specialises in creating in-ear monitors for professionals. An unidentified designer who is credited with tuning many well-known Chi-Fi in-ear monitors founded the business in China. They launched their company with the introduction of their first IEM, the Orchestra, which quickly became well-known in the audiophile community for its musical quality. They finally produced a low-cost IEM named Cadenza a while back, and it was favourably accepted in the IEM market, particularly in a market where there is fierce rivalry. They have since updated the Orchestra and introduced the Orchestra lite, a new IEM that costs half as much as their flagship model. Today I'll be discussing the Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite, but first let's discuss a few points.

Disclaimer​

*Since this unit tour was organised by the kindly people at Linsoul, I am grateful to them. And as I've said in all of my evaluations, the same is true for this one: all of the concepts I've expressed below are entirely my own, original ideas that haven't been influenced by anyone else. If interested, go to this link.
*I am not associated with the connection, and I receive no financial assistance from anyone.
*For the remainder of the review, I will refer to these IEMs as "Orchestra."
*I am using different Ear-tips for convenience and better versatility.
*Finally, I will only evaluate the Orchestra based on their performance, even though I will explain how it feels and seems physically and aesthetically.

Specification​

With eight drivers on each side, the Orchestra has an all-balanced armature driver design. With the exception of the subwoofers, which are made by Knowles, each of these drivers is handmade by Kiwi Ears. For the treble, two ultra tweeters are used, four mid-range balance armature drivers are used, and two large subwoofer drivers are used. All of these drivers are connected via a three-way passive crossover, which is used to plan, achieve intricate layering, and lower total harmonic distortion. The name of the company is inscribed on the faceplate of the semi-custom resin shells, which are created. The faceplate has a beautiful flowing pattern over it, in my opinion. The size of the entire shell is a little on the large side, but it has no bearing on how comfortably it fits inside the ears. Since these don't have an air pressure release port on the shell, like most IEMs do, the only problem I had was with the seal, which prevented air pressure from building up inside the ear canal. Using JVC spiral tips, the possibility of this happening was eliminated. I was unable to test the IEMs using the stock eartips since they were unable to create a sufficient seal. Apart from that, the IEM's cable is a four-core 7n oxygen-free copper wire with a 2-pin design and a straight 3.5mm termination socket. In addition to the cable, the accessories come with nine pairs of eartips—three different types in small, medium, and large—and a carrying box. In terms of technical performance, the sensitivity is 112dB, and the impedance is 16 ohms. 20Hz to 20kHz is the range of the frequency response.

Sound​

The Orchestra has a powerful sound that brings closure to every element in a clear and wonderfully clean manner. Very peaceful and possessively posed, the feeling is. Every detail is crystal clear as it hits you, eliminating any chance that any of the sounds were quiet or sharp. The emphasis is primarily on the mid range, with the upper mid range in particular putting all of its power into the mix, even though the tuning is neutral with a sub bass boost and feels warm and balanced. The presentation is not particularly innovative, but it is the best available, especially for the price. Given that all of the drivers are balanced armature, I am amazed to see an IEM delivering such details with the least amount of BA timbre. I am in complete agreement that they might be this generation's "Blessing 2". The signature is unquestionably more appealing to my taste and whets my appetite. The treble is clean and smooth, with just the right amount of air and space to sound tidy and full of fine details. The singers and instruments sound their finest in the mid range, which is forward-sounding and keeps distortion at bay. Even if the bass is pronounced from a BA, it is really well regulated, punchy, and hefty. Whilst obviously not identical to a dynamic driver, the dynamics are extremely accurate. I adore how an all-BA system can generate such a wonderful sound in this price range; it almost seems to be the next best thing, the standard by which all others are measured. The planars sound wet, a little soft or sharp in their presentation, with an off-kilter timbre, whereas the dynamic drivers sounded very natural and thick. I've heard the planar drivers, dynamic drivers, or multi drivers, whether hybrid or the same drivers in a configuration, and while they've established their standard of what appeals to an audiophile and have a good hold on their status as well, I felt that they had a way of sounding somewhat odd. Of course, the orchestra doesn't sound particularly special or original, but they do provide sound that I wasn't anticipating from an all-BA set. I found myself getting stuck with it more and more as I listened. Let's dig deeper into the sound to learn more about what I'm attempting to say.

Treble​

Although I understand that would have faulted these ephemeral and finely arranged elements out of every note that rings my ears, the flow of every element in this area is so peaceful and fluid that I never feel the need of anything other than more air. I'm relieved to hear that there isn't any wispiness or irritating noise, and I can't hold Kiwi responsible for it given the makeup of the drivers they employ. With the best in class creating such minute details and preserving complete clarity, the treble is really well done. The upper treble is relaxed in that it doesn't lose the integrity of the notes or become dull, but it feels constrained. The details hit hard and clearly, but the airiness isn't as extended as one could hope for with such details. But, your preference will determine if you believe in the stage of an IEM or see them as detail producers, in which case headphones or speakers won't be sufficient for you in that regard. It also depends on how you want to listen to the treble region. Personally, I enjoy the stage, and I would not have loved this sensation, but after clutching over such a tone that feels very genuine with amazing details, I wondered how? I am aware that the signature should be interpreted as neutrally warm with a sub bass boost, which is why I detect a hint of warmth over the notes with good tonal balance and weight, confirming that they are not bright in sound. The vocals appear exquisite and appropriately placed; they are never felt to be in the way or to dissolve into a single note. The notes don't come around sharp or shimmery but keep the energy in check with proper saturation and characteristics that complement the vocals in the best way possible while being every bit approachable and not producing any conflicting results. The instruments have a nice shine over the notes, which feels calm and kind to ears. The lower treble has a lively presentation, and everything is kept in balance by the same level of smoothness throughout. The vocals have a more direct approach that acts out more while maintaining the accuracy of the details and locations. The instruments sound natural and have a pleasing approach in the mix, which gives the music a delicate, lovely sound. The treble is really well organised, and I enjoyed the smooth transition between the lower and upper treble. The treble area is presented in a seamless, thorough, and obvious manner overall.

Mid Range​

The moment I put the Orchestra into my ears, I realised how nicely oriented on the midrange they are, with corresponding bass and treble response. The mid range, in my opinion, defines the resolution between details and genuine timbre. The overall mix's mid-range reach is surprisingly strong in a positive way. Vocals and instruments both prefer to sound as natural as they can while providing such wonderful intricacies when the notes are in harmony. The voices and instruments are brought to a close by the upper mid range, which is very energising and forward sounding. No matter what I listen to, whether male or female vocals, everything just soothes my spirit and creates the most adoring sound one can hear. The vocals are great with such melodious and expressive features. Given how wonderfully they perform, whoever is listening will be able to fully appreciate every single detail and delve into it. The instruments don't sound abrasive or edgy, but rather precise and well resolved. The instruments sound upfront and approachable while supporting the vocals and maintaining the balance between the vocals and the instruments. Never before have I been able to appreciate such minute details that are presented in such a relaxing and unfatiguing manner without seeming offensive. Perhaps as a result of its rather warm approach, which gives the mix's flow a velvety smooth feel. I have never heard a note that degrades any instrument or vocal range, whether it is in the high or low octaves. Above the mid range, especially the higher mid range, I am quite well spent. To be honest, the lower midrange also contributes significantly to keeping the mix as clear and balanced as possible between dense and muddy. The lower mid range and how it is presented in the mix provide the framework on which the higher frequencies operate. Although maintaining the integrity of the qualities to make the presentation sound substantial, hefty, and meatier, the voices and instruments do not drown or sound bloated in any way in this area. The bass line has a strong, deep, and prominent tone. I shouldn't be shocked because BA bass frequently includes these qualities in the overall mix, and the same is true of the entire response. The warmth level, in my opinion, is exceptional because it dominates the details without interfering with the note weight and depth. Overall, the mid range is presented in the greatest possible way—it is calming, magnificent, and forward.

Bass​

I have never heard this kind of bass response from a balanced armature; by that I mean, I have heard either in such quantity or in such quality but not both together out of an all BA set as they typically have a tendency to give a vague representation of dynamic bass or the authority of it, making it sound more likely to resolve and support the entire response. Although I don't totally think that these are extraordinary, I have altered my perspective on the BA bass and now think that the quality and quantity of bass should be properly integrated into the mix. If I had to describe the bass, how would it sound? The bass response is, in my opinion, lively and enjoyable. Although the mid bass has enough presence to sound thick and hammering, the sub bass is the focus. As the texture and specifics of each note hitting sound refined, vibrant, and adequately pleasing like a dynamic driver bass, the control over the bass itself is impressive. The authority and submission of each sound emanating from the sub bass region is highly exact due to the sub bass's deep bass that reverberates throughout my ear canal. Big drops or gentle drops, everything seems incredibly comprehensible and friendly. It feels like the notes are hitting you differently yet simultaneously satisfy you since the bass has a wonderful sense of punch and hits you extremely well with the proper amount and details. Although radiating a deep and forceful bass, the bass's punchiness and rumbling sensation maintains it in check and prevents it from overflowing or being obtrusive. Contrarily, the mid-bass sounds different from what I'm used to hearing; while there is still a certain amount of boominess, the slams here feel more like hammering. Don't get me wrong; the bass lines slam well, but the feeling is more like pounding. I am aware that the slams are very aggressive and end quite rapidly. The bass is held in check and is tightly managed, which is the best part of such a response. Although not significantly, the bass has a weight to it and appears to be leaking into the lower midrange. Here, there is a particularly great tonal balance with excellent details. The bass section sounds deep, pounding, and authoritative overall while being extremely well regulated and resonant.

Technical Performance​

This IEM's technical performance attracts a narrow group of audiophiles who enjoy the presentation of such technicality. By this I mean that these individuals do not believe that their performance is lacking, but rather that the attention of such tuning is more focused on other qualities. The separation sounds a little obtrusive while the stage is immersive and close, demonstrating excellent layering and imaging. The Orchestra's resolution is its strongest point, and its details are generally smooth rather than angular or harsh. The pace at which notes resolve feels extremely quick. Nothing feels overambitious or under ambitious, and I must admit that these do a good job of demonstrating the best details currently available, especially for the price range. If I were to point out one uniqueness of the Orchestra, it would be that they understand tone and technicality the best. Let's learn more about the technological aspects.

Soundstage, Sound Imaging & Separation​

I have discovered that these IEMs may sound slightly different in terms of technicalities when using various types of eartips, which I will briefly address later. Overall, I think the stage is set up really nicely. The stage has a large depth, but the width feels somewhat congested and could make it difficult to separate the instruments. Naturally, listening to instrumental recordings has it sorted out, but after listening to a wide variety of music from various genres, I discovered that the imaging is incredibly vivid even if it isn't that sharp, and the separation may not sound that far away or clear. Even while it might be a little simpler to tell where each element's sound is coming from, I still experience a slight barrier to fully taking in a complex sounding track. The stage is most likely displayed in the greatest way in my opinion, but there isn't much expansion. The imaging also doesn't seem particularly sharp, edgy, or crisp to me, but it preserves the details with useful information, which makes up for it. I find the separation to be a little obstructive, but only if the song becomes quite intricate. In any case, based on what I've heard, I don't think the separation is a problem.

Speed & Resolution​

The detail retrieval is excellent as well, while it isn't as brightly vivid as one might anticipate from an all BA set, but the foundation of such a nice tonality more than makes up for it. This IEM's resolution with such an immersive and exposing front of details feels extremely impressive. When it comes to the attack or decay of notes, each note is dealt with swiftly while maintaining a firm composure that feels upscale and finest in class.

Sound Impressions​

Sources​

Tempotec V6 - The Orchestra sounds warmish neutral and has a lot of bass when used with the V6. The bass has a satisfying punch and a solid enough tone. The treble is exceptionally smooth with excellent detail exposure, while the mid range sounds forward and quite clear. The stage is not very broad, but the imaging is excellent with excellent resolution even though the detail retrieval and the separation are not this IEM's strong suits. Despite this, I still find the overall presentation to be relaxing and simple to present. This is the most ideal combo, in my opinion.

iFi Hipdac - The Orchestra sounds warmer with more bass in the middle when paired with the hipdac. While the mid range is more upfront in revealing information, the treble has a slightly peaky and cut-off tone. The bass sounds a little more genuine because it has a meatier, heavier quality to it. There has been an increase in overall response energy. Technically speaking, the stage appears to exhibit each part more broadly but with less depth. Although the imaging and resolution suffer, little else changes. The notes attack with the same sense of separation and speed. Although the overall presentation seems more entertaining, I wouldn't say that it impressed me; I actually didn't like it. But, as I already noted, the bass is really well-tuned and controlled. As a result, when I switched the hipdac's bass boost on, it turned into a bass-hailing monster. Listening to an electronic or bass-heavy track hasn't changed much, but the bass resonates so strongly with such a rumble that it can be felt plainly rattling your ear canal. I have never before heard such a strong bass response from an all BA set. But overall, I wouldn't doubt this IEM's capabilities if I had it set to listen to the aforementioned genres.

Eartips Used​

These IEMs are tip dependent, as I already indicated, and are based on my experience. I was able to hear the difference in the treble area and technical aspects thanks to the usage of several eartips. It didn't much alter the signature, but whatever eartips I choose to wear were comfortable for me. I utilised the three eartip types listed here.

JVC Spiral - I experienced the closure of the vocalists and instruments while wearing the spiral eartips, which I took to mean that the midrange and treble, particularly the upper midrange and lower treble, sounded more forward with lots of nuances and exposure. Across the entire area, the bass seemed to be the most in control and submissive. With the exception of the stage, resolution, and imaging, which felt narrower but deeper when using these eartips, the technical aspects remained largely unaltered. The resolution was the greatest of the three eartips I tried, and the imaging had a calming, smooth clarity across the sounds.

Azla SednaEarfit Light - The stage opened out while the imaging and resolution felt about the same after listening to Orchestra through these eartips. There was a trace of airiness and extension in the treble, along with a small amount of sibilance. While remaining in the same location, the mid range appeared slightly less forward. Instead of a punchier approach, the bass had a more poofy impact. Yet, using these eartips was a truly beautiful experience when listening to classical music or blues.

SpinFit 360 V1 - There wasn't much of a difference between the spiral eartips and spinfit when using them. The intensity of the bass was more noticeable, while the nuances in the midrange and treble were less defined and both had a more relaxed feel. Yet, overall, the sound was warmer and denser.

Tracks Used​

Earth, Wind & Fire - September
Earth, Wind & Fire - Let's Groove
Fleetwood Mac - Everywhere(Remastered)
Toto - Africa
The Police - Every Breath You Take
Daft Punk - Tron Legacy (End Titles)
GOJIRA - Amazonia
Fergie - Glamorous
50 Cent - In Da Club
Skrillex - XENA
Skrillex - Torture You
The Neighbourhood - Sweater Weather
Luna Haruna - Overfly
Blck Cobrv - Candy Shop
LMYM - 0 (zero)
Indila - Love Story
Marina Hoiuchi - Mizukagami no Sekai
Wayne - Not Enough

Conclusion​

After using all the different eartips and sources I could find, as well as spending so much time listening to Orchestra Lite, I can definitively say that these are Blessing 2 killers. I'm able to say this because I used to value Blessing 2 highly when I owned them. Nonetheless, those who want an IEM with a polished and smooth presentation and a warmish neutral sound should definitely give these IEM a try. They have my highest endorsement. Even if they don't suit your preferences, I still advise trying them.

A possible price-point leader:
The above is a big statement, and while the Kiwi ears Orchestra Lite is not perfect, it does some amazing tricks! Just how balanced the “Lite” is, and how great the soundstage is……it’s totally understandable how popular it has become since its release. I only have experience with one other Kiwi ears release, The Credenza, and while I thought it was simply “OK” the Credenza has nothing really to do with what’s going on here today with the Orchestra Lite. Coming out around September of 2021, the original Orchestra was met with favorable reviews, accepted for the $499.00 price point it represented. Yet this “Lite” version seems to be causing much more havoc, a market disruption really. And for good reason, the regular Orchestra (which I haven’t heard) had the same 8 BA build, and the talk of the town is the Lite is actually tuned even better!

While the elephant in the room is if the two Knowles CI-22955 can actually provide the bass levels to kick the Kiwi ears Orchestra Lite into standard music genre use? So? 2 bass drivers in each monitor, 4 BA bass drivers per pair. And to put it in prospective, there are really two kinds of listeners here. One that loves BA bass and fully understands what they are getting into when purchasing an all BA set. And….two, the listener who no matter what refuses to believe the idea of a BA bass producer will ever bring the bass dynamics and authority needed.

Me:
This review is written by someone who understands BAs. DD bass often has more authority, more reverberation and more kick. Such facts of life will never be argued about. But what does BA bass do, that DDs lack? It’s simply called detail. Yep, BA bass offers a window into the inside the bass note. Call it a more defined texture, there is a placement inside the stage that is unique to BAs, as well as a speed. This bass speed varies from bass BA installation to installation, but in general BAs across the entire frequency band will carry a faster attack. The issue is at times (really pretty much all the time) the decay is also faster. But I look at this as a plus due to creating a more provocative pace.

Summary:
To skip-to-the-chase here the Orchestra Lite provides wonderful separation of imaging into a price-point leading stage. Such attributes can come in handy for gaming or if you’re just into your music listening being portrayed this way. It’s safe to say the Lite holds a romantic level of ambiance due to this single feature. And while the treble isn’t totally bright, it is somewhat airy and spacious. The bass kicks hard for BA bass and adds togetherness.............being these are all BA drivers. Probably first noticed will be the midrange? The emphasis (in total) is the 2.5 kHz pinna gain area. This single bump is delineating the tone and personality of the entire Kiwi ears Orchestra Lite sound. Is it a good thing? It is, because the rest of the frequency supports such a stance, meaning everything is connected, and connected in a good way. What this does in the end is provide a very complete and subtle midrange focused IEM, while making the Lite well-rounded.

$249.00
https://www.linsoul.com/products/kiwi-ears-orchestra-lite?variant=43713163002073

Build:
There has been a number of folks who speculated as to the build here. Meaning some have proposed a vented area for the midrange to escape into a small chamber under the faceplate, others have speculated the bass BAs do such things? After spending sometime looking at the Kiwi ears Orchestra Lite, it looks as if there are no vented BAs at all. As well as if there is a chamber under the faceplate, it would in-fact be so small as to not really do anything. That’s my answer, until someone actually dissembles a pair to prove me wrong.

You can pretty much see the top of the BAs under the faceplate and you can see none of them are vented.

IEMs like the DUNU SA6 have a dramatic (open) area for the bass BAs to resonate into, also the TSMR-5 shows an area where the BAs are mounted, and another half open and not filled with resin, to give resonance to the sound waves.

In the Lite we have 2 custom made Kiwi ears tweeters, 4 custom Kiwi ears midrange BA drivers and 2 Knowles Bass BAs combined into three sound channels each with their own corresponding nozzle filter prior to exit area at the nozzle. Before that each channel is procured into an electronic passive three-way cross-over..............splitting the three bands into their desired group, before being allocated to each BA set. The 0.78 2pin upon closer inspection is perfectly flush with the side-walls. With this pair cable-rolls were incredibly easy. At 7 grams a piece on my kitchen scale the Kiwi ears Orchestra Lite were neither heavy nor low-weight but simply middle of the road. Such middle-ground I find absolutely perfect! When you combine the semi-custom shape and medical grade resin feel..............you arrive at really the best of places, offering all day listening! And while both cable guides or not seemed to work, I actually forgot to check which cables had cables guides as they were never needed for correct placement. Due to the solid resin construction (and semi-custom build) sound occlusion was optimal. You can choose either blue or green. The build offers kind of a double edge sword, in that they are super well made, but drop them and the entire shell can crack making them worthless. But as they are, no wire can cross, no tube can move out of place, yet also keep in mind they can never be worked-on either. Never opened-up and inspected, they simply are what they are. Some of the best built IEMs I have ever seen! Such a design chose to not included nozzle positioned BAs, as every BA is situated farther back.



Packaging:
Coming in a small box, you can start to tell really all the emphasis was on the IEMs themselves. And while the more and more IEM reviews I do, the box-opening experience becomes even more important. Do the IEMs themselves seem to be protected in route? Is the box holding all that’s looked for with such a purchase? Does the warranty, user manual seem complete? How are the ear-tips packaged? Whats the case like? A first here at Redcarmoose Labs was the fact that the IEMs themselves were exactly at the level seen in the photograph, as repositioning for photos was not needed. And while the case is slightly cheap feeling, the original case that the first shipment came with was more substantial. I guess that during that first shipment Kiwi ears realized that the success of this product didn’t depend on which-ever case you supplied with the IEMs……a seemingly (by the pictures) nicer case or the minimal case we have going forward. Truly I’m particularly focused on all items included, but for the money of $249.00 this is still an incredible package, with the IEMs themselves truly being the gift here. These are the level of IEM that I easily see myself spending $550 to $650 for, so to splurge for an extra case, only because I love them so could be do-able. This in-fact is one of the few IEMs that I would actually get a second set of, fearing for the mortality of the first set. Nothing to do with quality of construction or anything, but I would be sick if I lost them. I have actually purchased back-ups for one headphone and two other IEMs in the past, as it’s better to be safe than sorry!



Cable rolls, DAP rolls:
While the included 4 core/7N oxygen-free cable offered incredible manageability it was only 3.5mm, so that in-and-of-itself asked for 4.4mm balanced attempts. Really anything to improve staging and tone was tried and tested. In summary different cable metallurgies and 4.4mm balanced brought about subtle changes in tone, yet (maybe) the Lite being so balanced in demeanor, every attempt met with listable sound replay. So to sum this up, yes a different DAP or cable did make subtle differences in replay, but none of the examples were really that different. Meaning there were never any sonic fires to put out, nothing ever to correct or diminish. It’s like whatever street we went down was the correct avenue!

In so many ways the Kiwi ears Orchestral Lite proved to be stead-fast in its personality, and it could simply be a question of taste if you choose to upgrade your cable, or amp.

Sony WM1A:
This was by far the biggest soundstage. Adding stage to stage, here we are maximizing the sonic attributes and arriving in a broad world of itemizations. Slightly faster becomes the bass than the Sony WM1Z, and slightly rolled-off is the treble. But all and all this style of maximum midrange was great. Often it is said, you can’t have to many mids, and this was that phenomena in a nut-shell.

Sony WM1Z:
Guessing would have you want what the Sony WM1Z does naturally to enhance the user experience of the Kiwi ears Orchestra Lite. And sure enough the thought of sonic boosts inside the Sony WM1Z sound signature added realism and contrasts from what was heard with the Sony WM1A previously. Now the treble was boosted, not only boosted but spread-out into its very own personal treble “bubble” into the upper playback. This style of response was also met with the heaviest bass found. Yep here the DAP goes ahead to deliver the goods and tailor the sound by boosting the lower frequencies. But the question is how does the “Lite” respond to all this added contrast? Well, you may already know from the introduction to this section. Once again while the bass was clearer and more dramatic, and the treble was brighter, really the “Lite” went along with its daily routine and seemed very much un-phased by such tonal changes. Is this a good or bad thing? I’m putting this section near the start of the review because it simply goes to out-line what we have. A firm tone that is very even, complete and correct………..so much so that adding a different DAP or cable for that matter, didn’t ever add correction because nothing was ever wrong, nothing needed correction in the first place. So some IEMs need “fixes” to align the tone to what you want to hear, the “Lite” on the other hand was consistent and dependable, offering a style of easy going balance that went ahead and played-back all genres of music and went along with all devices.

The PAC480 cable 4.4mm:
After trying the bottom four cables (in this list) I got my curiosity-up, wondering. Wondering if adding the smooth copper adds of this cable would do the trick? And while there have been other (IEM) examples of re-alignment and found success with golden-light this cable produces, nothing that much was changed. I mean yes, I heard the PAC480 personality right off, but other that smoothing out the upper replay and adding a slight warmth down below? It was way less “active” than previously guessed. So much so that I would say there was a difference but nothing to write home about.

The Obsidian cable 4.4mm:
OK, OK I will admit that this was the single cable change-out I was most looking forward to. Why? Really the Obsidian and the Leo Plus were the two cable favorites in use with my 10BA Noble Audio Encore Universal. Why? Because they actually cleaned-up an already clean bass, adding texture and blackness of background. Both cables seemed to expand out the midrange and itemize the attributes into fully focused spectacles of instruments or vocals. This simply made what IEMs I connected to them more vivid and real sounding. And sure enough, here was the case too, only the Obsidian (somehow) was even better than the Leo Plus? More vivid owning-up a perfect example of how BAs can be affected to the better direction, by reducing (what sounds like) distortion and improving clarity?

The Leo Plus cable 4.4mm:
Really same as the Obsidian cable but to a lesser existent. Though the magic here was the actual cable feel and texture. Meaning I was almost swayed over simply by such heavenly ergonomics the Leo Plus held? Such a cable uses silver-gold and palladium to infuse sonic personalities into the IEM. And while yes, there were small differences, I’m not sure in this case if the price to performance is warranted. Meaning most of the time the Leo Plus changes everything for the better in my experience, as it’s actually one of the single best $249.00 cables out there…..but in this situation and for the added cost, it’s not really mandatory. But…..but….if you find value in the reality of a small percentage of change using the Obsidian or Leo Plus, by all means use them.

The G4 cable 4.4mm:
Once again any results were small and not of any giant consequence. I’m not saying this is a bad thing, if anything the way the Kiwi Orchestra Lite positions itself, there is never any need for concern. Meaning many times a cable and ear-tips is needed to do something……..you know to try and align the tonal response into something correct, from bad, or sometimes wrong. Here just like all the above we are met with a style of cemented-in musicality and smoothness. A form of non-wavering audiophile treats which can’t be swayed one-way or another.

Now to end this DAP/Cable change out section. Really such changes make small real differences, but maybe even less differences that ear-tip changes? And while of course there is pay-dirt to be found in cable and DAP rolling.......it was never a question of me not ever liking the IEM response. Typically an enthusiast would try to over-come some attribute which he or she thought was lacking………maybe either the treble emphasis or bass emphasis could be questioned here? And of course the “Lite” responded to such changes, but in the end 90% of the way the “Lite” was, was perfectly fine………and stubbornly (it) refused to vary from the stance it held!

The included 4 core/7N oxygen-free cable:

Ear-tips:
Nine different sets of ear-tips are included. While they are totally usable and nice, truly a choice of tips, yet I was looking for a wider ear-tip. And while these “ultra-wide” ear-tips I use could run the danger of diminishing the bass, that’s the chance I take for seeking the widest stage possible. Such enhancements affect the width, the thickness and the up-and-down placements of the perceived sound particles. Where often I will re-coil and use the included ear-tips, often there is a specific reason such tips have been included in the packaging, but here no. Meaning I tried the included tips and felt my choice of an ultra-wide silicone “donut” shaped tips was the way to go. Due to the superior shape and size of the Kiwi ears Orchestra Lite.......really I had a variety of tip choices as never was a certain tip needed to get fit.

Specifications:
Frequency response: 20Hz to 20kHz
Impedance: 16Ω
Sensitivity: 112dB
Cable connector: 0.78mm 2pin

Features:

• 8 BA semi-custom design ​
• 3 way passive crossover ​
• 2 CI-22955 Knowles BA woofers ​
• 4 Customized midrange BA drivers ​
• 2 Customized BA tweeters​

Sound Design:

Bass:
There is this all-together-ness. Now when I say that.......part of it is tune, but of course the other part comes from all the drivers being BA drivers. Now that may be obvious but I need to point out that while BA/DD/EST or BA/DD hybrids are my favored way to go, all BA IEMs take second place above Planar drivers or even single full-range DDs. All BA IEMs have a sound, a character, and most all of them are really BA brothers and sisters…..doing often the same style of replay. Where the question is if they are able to get enough bass or not. There is a thickness that can be found regardless of all of them sounding in-a-way the same. And that my friends is one of the most important things that separates them. As here the bass is not a focus in reply...and not an afterthought either. The bass is an integral part of the experience, but a slight cable roll, DAP roll or tip-rolls may still be crucial for your full emersion into the sound field, regardless of what I said about evenness and correctness earlier! If you look at the graph (and disregard any sales talk) you will see there is a start in roll-off from 50Hz back to 20Hz. And that thick-ness all the way up to the start of the midrange is how I hear them. Meaning they sound like the graph posted here. While the bass is sculpted, it’s also thick in the upper region, which goes to add to this “extra” warmth. Such a warmth goes to make the “Lite” easily accessible to really any style of music! In fact (contrary to what you may guess) there is just enough push in the bass for both heavy bass music like Rock or EDM. When in-fact this was my main concern after seeing graphs (before the Orchestra Lites arrived) that this style of bass can be either hit-or-miss. As it seems to really be dependent on over-all balance and not critical of the amount of bass dBs offered.

Midrange:
These are midrange IEMs…….you can take that to the bank. What does that mean for you the listener? For starters it means vocals are super nice…….and not like Vocal specialist IEMs, but really perfectly balanced IEMs that do it all. It means that while listening to female vocals or male vocals you can start to appreciate the pinna gain. That somehow the vocals are positioned exactly right. Now while not perfect, there is almost nothing perfect, but there are perfect (individual) items in replay. Here we are given well done vocals in relation to price-point. But it’s the over-all whole package that makes the value start to shine. What I’m trying to say is it is when you find vocals more than adequate, but then switch to Orchestra music and find the midrange to be spacial and provocative........you then, and only then truly get a hand hold on what you have here. There is this nice set of reverberations that only BAs do, and that’s part of the ambiance that’s taking place. Timbre……none of this would matter if the timbre wasn’t close to correct. Yes, while there is a slight amount of BA timbre, it’s really played down, maybe it’s the tuning that plays it down………I probably would call it this slight sheen which blankets everything……there is no real way to avoid this……but there are ways to deal with it. The best way is to simply spend time with the IEMs to somehow acclimate to this rendition of color? Because really it all comes down to one single thing. Are the IEMs musical and can I listen to music with them in my ears? And the answer for me is yes, they work. They are complete and correct even and correct. Though you may read of reviewers liking them better for gaming than listening to music, and that is a blanket statement right there, I don’t game, so I can’t say.

Treble:
Rolled-off and not at all noticeable, but at the same time not noticeable for leaving anything out either! Here we are not “wowed” by the tactile snow-flake sparkles positioning and re-positioning themselves. They (the trebles) are simply there and of the utmost utilitarian-workable amount, yet not showing. Not showing or even positioning themselves for examination. Is that bad? It really it goes to reinforce the fact that the midrange (when done right) can almost do it all. If there is enough support with-in the bass balance and treble inclusions……then the midrange starts to flourish and give soul. That my friends is what these are all about. They are not for treble heads, but present for you the best midrange for the money, if that meant that the treble is allocated to second position, well then so be it. When we speak of a balance and a creativity in tune…the trebles are factored in there somewhere, it is just not in the limelight.

Music examples:
The more I do this the more I realize, that to choose a couple songs to describe how playback is, is the ultimate description of IEM character. Here I will chose the first song to truly showcase what the “Lite” does almost perfect, and the second song to make pointers as to how the “Lite” is almost complete and enjoyable…..musical really, but not perfect and why. These two songs in essence provide enough (musical) experience the same as 10 song descriptions. Why, because they are at the extreme of good playback and showing the ultimate challenge in DUB bass. All the rest of music I found almost stayed somewhat in the middle. Really the Kiwi ears Orchestra Lite is a well rounded do-all style of IEM.



Ghost
“EP Hunter’s Moon”
44.1kHz - 24bit

First off the most striking thing is just how vivid the upper treble guitar introduction is. This being my (perfect) song for the “Lite” will showcase this guitar effect in being not only harmonically rich, but expanded out into the stage and showing correct timbre. This strummed guitar comes in starting at 00:00. At 00:04 the vocals come in, and while I have heard slightly more involved examples of this vocal passage, I’m not sure I ever heard $249.00 sound this good? Prior to the vocals there is a down-beat at 00:03 that has emphasis in both the bass and drums, showing an opening to the song…….kind of a sonic introduction. But that’s also the rhythm in full effect. Probably the first thing we notice is the bass is tight and secure, found in the pocket, yet fast and clean, without much reverb or baggage. There is nothing wrong with this, it’s just (with other IEMs) I have heard the bass more thick and beefed-up before. Neither way is right or wrong, but simply an alternate way to approach the number. From the 00:09 to the 00:12 mark we are gifted with the most gorgeous drum accent which is not only spread out into the stage, but holds correct tone. Actually these drum effects are profoundly BA paradise due to their quick attack and decay! The piano keys at 00:22 to 00:23 are both bright and sparkly………hence their purpose here. I could go on except really the song is repetitious in a way, reintroducing the same predictable sonic charms. Hence the description about the “Lite’s” personality holds true and un-wavering. Yet at the 01:50 mark we are gifted with splash cymbals……and as such we start to hear both a competent replay showing them for what they are, except in a non-emphasized way. Again nothing wrong here, it’s just that imaging wise and separation wise they (the cymbals) stay close to home. A lead guitar shows up at 01:58 and is both a style of climax for the song and a test of our Lite’s ability to add contrast into the song structure………and once more I will proclaim that I have heard this slightly other ways, but I’m not sure I’ve ever heard $249.00 become so complete?



KMFDM
“In Dub We Trust”
Hyena
44.1kHz - 24bit

Here we already know what the Kiwi ears Orchestra Lite does well, now let’s challenge it. I want to view it in the worst way possible. Seriously why choose payback to gift it an easy task, I want to cause trouble now! In-fact I chose my mid-centric Sony WM1A and 4.4mm Obsidian cable, along with super-wide-bore tips, we are asking for trouble here. But once again the “Lite” showcases a balance and in-a-way is conservative in replay. The vocals are a tad bright (thin) and not showing the best note-weight, yet that can be forgiven, as it’s not what the song is about. The DUB bass is what we want to experience, as it is pushing this style of playback. Surly we wouldn't choose this particular song for the Lite. The truth is the DUB bass is not authoritative, the Lite is simply not heavy enough. Yet truth to be told this is not a DUB album (only this song is).The whole rest of the album is totally great with the Kiwi ears Orchestra Lite! And….if you are wondering why I didn’t try and address the issues with maybe a more bass-centric DAP, or a narrower nozzle-bore set of ear-tips, it’s because they really would have not made that big of a difference anyway!


Side-by-sides:
DUNU SA6 $549.99
You could imagine this comparison coming-up! Using the same two songs as above, it was surprising how much I liked the DUNU SA6, and I forgive myself for saying the Kiwi ears Orchestra Lite was a DUNU SA6 killer, because it’s not, at least with this music it’s not. The SA6 not as bright, with a pushed back pinna that simply doesn’t offer such contrasts. More flat and even almost, and I can’t believe I’m saying this about the SA6 in comparison to what is perceived as the Lite being smooth and flat? The Lite is way bigger, like a third bigger in size. But yes, the vocals are more forward with the Lite, though bass is very much even between to two. The Lite’s soundstage is slightly more involved where the SA6 is more separated and warmer to a point. Remember there are two more BAs in the Lite and you can hear them. Where the stage is more right to left with the SA6..........now there is an added element of imaging, if it’s good or not it’s up to the listener. In the end the SA6 offered-up a slightly warmer tone, which still holds (the) value in being a careful “realistic” rendition of our music. If the SA6 is worth over 2X the money I can’t say?

Fearless Audio S6 Rui $479
People may wonder why I’m using IEMs that are double the price of our “Lite”? Truth to be told this is the arena that I hold the Kiwi ears to be in. In fact before my test here today, I was guessing that possibly the S6 Rui may be put to shame? Let’s find out!

The S6 Rui into place:
Wow, somehow the Obsidian cable is making the (remembered) BA timbre issues lesser. Also I was guessing the bass and treble to be way better with the Lite, but no this playback is amazing? Hunter’s Moon is really the song for the S6 Rui! Especially how the separation is occurring? Probably the biggest difference here is the treble imaging. Yep the itemization out into the S6 Rui stage, of both treble and upper midrange….the fact that its hands down better than the Kiwi ears Orchestra Lite. The only thing though is the Fearless S6 Rui is great in short term listening with all these fireworks, where for long-runs in playback the Lite finds itself way more forgiving!

More ramblings:
While seemingly reserved and critically positioned in replay……………..the Kiwi ears Orchestra Lite is anything but lite.

Finding the “Lite” version to be all inclusive and vivid for what it attempts to do……........call me surprised. The beginning of the surprise started before I even heard the “Lite”.........with just seeing all those (pictures) of the BA drivers positioned behind those filters! Such details started to arouse curiosity. Graphically the Kiwi ears Orchestra Lite seemed like maybe it should be called the Orchestra Plus? Yet graphs only show partial frequency response, a regular FR graph doesn’t even go so far as to show note timbre or note decays.

If the bass is not kicking, then what’s it all worth? And in-fact besides how great I viewed the FR to be......found as correct, complete and even……still I had fear about the bass.

And surprisingly those fears are still the main focus of this review. As yes, to me there is enough, but I can’t guarantee the bass will be the quality you’re looking for? Why? Because in a way it’s called unique.

Unique bass:
That's a word just a way to optimize a deficit right? You know when something is not quite complete you go ahead a call it unique. Like the polite way your Grandmother used to call stuff “different”. You remember those times, right? Different was a way of describing things that weren’t exactly correct……..so they were different. But everyone knew what she meant, she didn’t have to say anything more. With the above said, really it’s far more. The bass is unique, unique in that it’s correct but not as physical as found with modern DDs. Sure there is a reason why everyone and his brother put out a DD. And in some ways this particular IEMs represents the past.

From a simpler time when BAs ruled the world. But more than that, at times the bass sounds sub-bass focused then at times it’s more mid-bass focused. And frankly, it’s not a bad thing, but it makes you take note. Both times the actual bass itself is still behind the scenes. Part of sub-bass shows-up in a song and is introduced as hidden bass. What that means is the BA has ability to reproduce such bass artifacts, yet chooses to introduce such them at an unexpected time. This results in a surprise….and in-fact the term for this is called surprise bass or hidden bass. If you have never heard such thing, it may be one of the most desirable feature the “Lite” has, besides the midrange?

Because there are two reasons for taking note of a sound quality in playback. One is faulty replay, where stuff doesn’t sound natural, the other is a new twist on a playback you know...........inside of that twist is a surprise. The surprise is that a tone is new and different. Different because you never heard it exactly that way before, but it is acceptable due to it being correct! Part of the very reason we even want new IEMs is to experience our music library in a new and different way, a new and “other” correct way of listening to the same songs.

Should you get an all BA set if you haven’t heard one before?
Full BAs sets are their own thing. To really like them you kinda have to climb-on-board with their character. And the character they present is unique…..especially in the bass. But for the money here is 8BAs all tuned and sculpted for success. Really this style of tune does not do much wrong, and does a number of things right. Probably the main feature is that its got great mids and a sumptuous soundstage........and a lot of sound for the money.

Fastness:
BAs are the fastest way to hear your music. Due to their very methodology they can provide a new and different tone. Yet with-in this tone is a faster take-off and a faster note fall-off. BAs always have a slight metallic “tone-color” which is simply a make-up of how they produce music, there is no avoiding it. What is accomplished nowadays is better tone-color. They do this maybe a few different ways, one is that this tone color is a single greatest concern in making new BA drivers…..they know this is something they need to work on to push the new inventions of balanced armatures forward. The second way they maybe do it is through tuning, which means that the FR is distributed to such an extant as the metallic sheen is diminished before it even gets started. So you will kind-of hear the way they get it diminished by playing the treble more subdued. Often the case will be with Hybrids is they will blend the treble and almost bury the metallic tone. Here though the over-all tone is really good, it has to be because it’s out-in-the-open…..so to speak.

Imaging:
Imaging is another thing that BAs have no problem accomplishing. Simply speaking transient response is connected to imaging and normally the faster the transient response, the clearer the imaging into the stage takes place. And that in-fact is exactly what we have here. Precise and vivid imaging into the stage, though what takes the cake is the extra effect of outsider images which populate the exterior of the stage.



Conclusion:
The Kiwi ears Orchestra Lite is quite the IEM. I mean where else can you find such a thing? It’s original in that it has a total of 8BAs a side, all that gear inside, plus they are relatively big, bigger than the DUNU SA6 and way bigger than the Fearless Audio S6 Rui. My tests were surprising as I kinda thought BA timbre would be more noticeable with the S6 Rui? These tests are simply the way testing goes, where it can go either way, whatever it is it’s the reality perceived at the time of testing. Often an IEM in you ears has you emotionally downgrade that IEM is sitting on a shelf from 5 years ago. That my friends is called the new toy phenomena, and it’s real. But this in-a-way isn’t about side-by-sides because your not probably looking to spend $479.00 or $549.99. For half that price you are a lot closer than you would guess. Me (using sound memory) even thought the Lite was better than those other two pricier IEMs! But truth to be told it was almost equal, and that’s where we are in the market today in 2023. It took some time, but truly this is a watershed event in sonic offerings. It’s just that the Lite is actually, careful and conservative, well thought-out and orchestrated, if you’ll forgive the term here. The Kiwi ears Orchestra Lite is a grower, a slowly understood tune, that doesn’t come off showy or full of fireworks upon meeting. The affinity comes slowly to appreciate the subtle nuances provided, and lucky for us, those nuances show-up on their own schedule and at their own pace. It’s common for reviewers to get a second opinion on the Lite the day after the day after they first laid hands on it. If you want to get a pair I’ve done all I can to provide you with clues as to its demeanor. I have done all I can to prepare you for knowing what the build and sound are fully about. I could have done more side-by-sides and more music examples, but in the end the results would have been a variation of the same……..as there is something about the Kiwi ears Orchestra Lite that is incredibly consistent? It will get its message across much the same way using different cables and different DAPs. Even ear-tips only make so much difference. So for that quality actually I adore the Lite, being stubborn to deliver the same qualities no-matter what you feed it.

$249.00
https://www.linsoul.com/products/kiwi-ears-orchestra-lite?variant=43713163002073

Linsoul website: https://www.linsoul.com/
Linsoul Aliexpress Store: https://ddaudio.aliexpress.com/store/2894006
Linsoul USA Amazon Store link: https://www.amazon.com/s?i=merchant-items&me=A267P2DT104U3C

Disclaimer:
I want to thank Kareena of Linsoul for the love and the Kiwi ears Orchestra Lite review sample.

Disclaimer:
These are one persons ideas and concepts, your results may vary.

Equipment Used:
Sony WM1Z Walkman DAP MrWalkman Firmware 3.5mm and 4.4mm
Sony WM1A Walkman DAP MrWalkman Firmware 3.5mm and 4.4mm
Sony TA-ZH1ES DAC/AMP Firmware 1.03
Electra Glide Audio Reference Glide-Reference Standard "Fatboy" Power Cord
Sony Walkman Cradle BCR-NWH10
AudioQuest Carbon USB
UA3 Dongle DAC/Amplifier 3.5mm and 4.4mm
Samsung Android Smartphone 3.5mm output