[Redcarmoose]

Kiwi ears Melody first impressions
An example of music they do super well.


So still burning-in the Kiwi ears Melody arrives as a 12mm pure Planar Driver. Stage, separation and imaging are nice…..it has that special Planar bass where it offers texture and detail far exceeding the price-point. Bass it firm, somewhat deep, detailed and delineated from the mix. Also Kiwi ears, while not offering the world inside their included packaging, is spending the money to hire world class IEM tuners, which is more important in my book. And while there is a tinge of off timbre, it is not deal breaking, though let’s see how burn-in goes? If you’re strictly into electronic music, really you can’t go wrong with this style of purchase, except the bass is not all that plentiful, as these are in no way bass monsters. So? It’s more about fast transients and imaging into the mix?

What you have here is great bass detail as oppose to massive bass quantity, and I’m OK with that. Switching from my mid-centric Sony 1A to the bass laden and round darker toned Sony WM1Z is really what these ask for. Even switching back from cable rolling and sticking with the included 3.5mm is some nice quality, though they truly are on the harder level of drivability? You can almost max out the volume on high gain with the Sony DAPs, due to lower DAP power output.

Doom Eternal (game) OST
Phobos Space
Mick Gordon and Chad Mossholder
Phobos Space
48 kHz - 24 bit

Really responding well to the warmer V shape Sony WM1Z response. The bass it totally delineated and clean yet powerful. Probably the beat part here is the separation, that and how everything falls into the mix. You know how Planar IEMs are only a single driver so there is that cohesiveness. Somehow………..really any thoughts of timbre (planar timbre) seem to be a thing of the past, especially with the music we have here? Just big fun washes of air effects, fast 03:17 (actual OST not YouTube) distorted big washes of synth overload…..perfectly separated and replayed here! Though there is also an intenseness about them, where in no way are they laid-back?

 

[Redcarmoose]

 

[Redcarmoose]

Quick......fast and dirty comparisons to the S12Pro.

Nov 16, 2023 at 12:16 PMPost #88,943 of 88,944

 

[cqtek]

A good planar set for under $100. From the description I thought the bass was going to be higher. But they are enjoyable. Of course, for me who likes bass.

 

[Redcarmoose]

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/kiwi-ears-melody.26754/reviews#review-32218
Review, and showdown.

 

[Eiffel]

Quick......fast and dirty comparisons to the S12Pro.

Nov 16, 2023 at 12:16 PMPost #88,943 of 88,944

I got my Melody more than a month ago. I already had the S12.
First impression was that they sound the same, but it was that song only.

Melody has sibilance S12Pro doesn't.
S12Pro has better and deeper bass, faster and more layered. Melody has a strange extended bass - like a DD, more mid-bass oriented, and somehow diffuse.
Overall I have the impression when listening to Melody that there is a veil between the sound and me. They doesn't sound as clean and clear than S12Pro.

I'll buy again with closed eyes the S12pro, but not the Melody.

 

[Redcarmoose]

Everyone hears differently, yet a times Head-Fi is the place for parallel comparisons.

I got my Melody more than a month ago. I already had the S12.
First impression was that they sound the same, but it was that song only.

Melody has sibilance S12Pro doesn't.
S12Pro has better and deeper bass, faster and more layered. Melody has a strange extended bass - like a DD, more mid-bass oriented, and somehow diffuse.
Overall I have the impression when listening to Melody that there is a veil between the sound and me. They doesn't sound as clean and clear than S12Pro.

I'll buy again with closed eyes the S12pro, but not the Melody.