New Kiwi ears Aether 15.3mm Planar Universal IEM

[Singaravelan]

Hype means two things that are opposite. One is overly promoted, beyond ability......and the other (slang definition) means excellent! I would say the later definition applies here?

I haven't heard em but dare say the ones who don't like seem to be the ones who don't prefer that balanced neutral detailed reference sound spectrum. Rest all seem to be raving.

 

[Aevum]

Considering its 135€, no big deal, its at the sweet spot, its not a KZ PRX at 50 bucks but nither is it a timeless II at 210. i was curious but i already have problems with big IEM´s, and the KZ PRX is keeping my Planar desires at bay,

I guess a direct comparison would be better then all the mejor reviewers going "this is the best thing since sliced bread" for 2 weeks and then 2-3 months later forget the IEM even existed.

 

[lairpost]

Hype means two things that are opposite. One is overly promoted, beyond ability......and the other (slang definition) means excellent! I would say the later definition applies here?

During my time with the Aether I enjoyed it's rendering of sound (mostly) but they simply didn't bring anything to the table in my collection, for my ears/brain, that warranted keeping them. My notes indicated I simply didn't enjoy them as much as several other sets I have. It's a difficult proposition with so much subjectiveness to sort through the motivation of reviewers and others that are simply sharing their experience with a particular IEM. Arguably, other than there being a L and a R and we all insert them into our ears, everything else is subjective...even the measurements are only applicable to the rig used to create them...

Random adjuncts:

I have one hard and fast rule: Only demo IEMs that can be returned for refund within 30 days. No exceptions. I've returned the vast majority of them.

Only time will tell if the 'hype' of a particular model was warranted. Name a few IEMs that released more than a year ago that still garner significant attention or remain on people top 5 list. That's a good list to start with but still may or may not work for you. So many new entries and so many forgotten so quickly. It's a viscous cycle but welcomed as tunings definitely improve for more and more to enjoy their own personal sound.

After many decades of many things audio, mostly 2 channel speaker setups, my IEM experience is limited to ~40 models. It's gone along way to informing me of what fits, what works, what doesn't - for me. There is no substitute for experience.

P.S. I wish my DAP 'knew' when I wanted to skip the track and when I wanted to simply pick it up...

 

[Redcarmoose]

During my time with the Aether I enjoyed it's rendering of sound (mostly) but they simply didn't bring anything to the table in my collection, for my ears/brain, that warranted keeping them. My notes indicated I simply didn't enjoy them as much as several other sets I have. It's a difficult proposition with so much subjectiveness to sort through the motivation of reviewers and others that are simply sharing their experience with a particular IEM. Arguably, other than there being a L and a R and we all insert them into our ears, everything else is subjective...even the measurements are only applicable to the rig used to create them...

Random adjuncts:

I have one hard and fast rule: Only demo IEMs that can be returned for refund within 30 days. No exceptions. I've returned the vast majority of them.

Only time will tell if the 'hype' of a particular model was warranted. Name a few IEMs that released more than a year ago that still garner significant attention or remain on people top 5 list. That's a good list to start with but still may or may not work for you. So many new entries and so many forgotten so quickly. It's a viscous cycle but welcomed as tunings definitely improve for more and more to enjoy their own personal sound.

After many decades of many things audio, mostly 2 channel speaker setups, my IEM experience is limited to ~40 models. It's gone along way to informing me of what fits, what works, what doesn't - for me. There is no substitute for experience.

Such a great post, and yes this game is subjective. The Aether is Ok from a phone but seems to scale with better equipment. Then of course there is the question of how it fits the individual, and the listeners sonic preferences. I’m only judging the Aether by my own experiences and the number of positive reviews by others. In my own experience it’s special and one of the best to come out this year? A watershed product.

 

[avishifi]

Kiwi Ears Aether Review – A well made V-Shape Planar IEM!

The Kiwi Ears Aether is hyped up, and in my opinion, for a good reason. The beautiful balance here is well made, the bass impact is good and satisfied my bass needs, the treble is open, airy and sparkly. It is just what I wanted an IEM to sound like. For me, it is an easy recommendation for everyone, I cannot see anyone who won't like it. It is not too bright, not too bassy, not boring, it just does everything right. I see many reviews and people say that this IEM is good but not special. I am not saying they are wrong, but I don't agree with them. The fact that it is not trying hard to be special, and it is just good because it is good, and has good price for what you get, is awesome. You get decent V-Shape tuning, great technical performance, what else do you need? So yeah, I think its hype is justified. If you have the money, you are getting here decent value. Good packaging, cable, ear tips, and IEM. It is hard not to love it, really.

Check out my full review here:
https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/kiwi-ears-aether.27951/review/37660/

Would love to hear you thoughts, and like and/or comment will be blessed

 

[newworld666]

I am still evaluating the Kiwi Ears Aether ..and I am now playing with some EQ to get a frequency response that suit my taste.. (My absolute reference is still the IER-Z1R).

I could find a good comfort and decent passive noise cancellation in my office with proper silicon tips for large nozzles..
I would say, I still can't find major defaults to the Aether other than it is a bit too bulky for my taste (the Sennheiser IE800s is still my target for comfort/sound quality available).
I really would like to be able to fall asleep with the Aether in my ears with such sound quality available.

 

[originalsnuffy]

Considering its 135€, no big deal, its at the sweet spot, its not a KZ PRX at 50 bucks but nither is it a timeless II at 210. i was curious but i already have problems with big IEM´s, and the KZ PRX is keeping my Planar desires at bay,

I guess a direct comparison would be better then all the mejor reviewers going "this is the best thing since sliced bread" for 2 weeks and then 2-3 months later forget the IEM even existed.

This is really my point. If the discussion had started with "this is a great IEM at the price" and it compares well with (you fill in the blanks, but probably Hidizs MP145 or Letshuoer S12 2024) I would have been all ears. But the initial wording of many comments was overboard and kinda scared me off. I have given in to Head-Fi hype trains in the past and usually regretted it for various reasons (BLON BL03, Simgot EA500LM come to mind).

 

[cplus44]

I got the Aether three days ago and three days later I can say in my opinion these iems are boring. My current 2 favourite iems are the Kz Castor Bass and the Kz zvx and the entire time listening to the Aether I was constantly thinking about them. Those are $20ish dollar iems, yes the Aether are better in terms of sound stage and what not but they're not fun. I was getting restless listing to them, I put on my zvx and breathed a sigh of relief. Anyway they're going to be returned. That's my experience with it.

 

[avishifi]

I got the Aether three days ago and three days later I can say in my opinion these iems are boring. My current 2 favourite iems are the Kz Castor Bass and the Kz zvx and the entire time listening to the Aether I was constantly thinking about them. Those are $20ish dollar iems, yes the Aether are better in terms of sound stage and what not but they're not fun. I was getting restless listing to them, I put on my zvx and breathed a sigh of relief. Anyway they're going to be returned. That's my experience with it.

broing?
hmm... I don't find them that way, I would recommend you trying chancing eartips for them, as far as I understood, it can affect the sound dramatically on them
Hope this could enhance your experience with them!

 

[Redcarmoose]

I got the Aether three days ago and three days later I can say in my opinion these iems are boring. My current 2 favourite iems are the Kz Castor Bass and the Kz zvx and the entire time listening to the Aether I was constantly thinking about them. Those are $20ish dollar iems, yes the Aether are better in terms of sound stage and what not but they're not fun. I was getting restless listing to them, I put on my zvx and breathed a sigh of relief. Anyway they're going to be returned. That's my experience with it.

What source are you using?

 

[cplus44]

Well after Avishifi mentioned tips I decided to give it another go this time I tried some foam tips instead of normal silicone and well my opinions completely changed it's actually pretty incredible. I'm guessing I wasn't getting a good seal with the other tips but yeah completely different opinion now.

 

[avishifi]

Well after Avishifi mentioned tips I decided to give it another go this time I tried some foam tips instead of normal silicone and well my opinions completely changed it's actually pretty incredible. I'm guessing I wasn't getting a good seal with the other tips but yeah completely different opinion now.

I am happy to hear that!!
I really like them for EDM, they are amazing
The problem with the Aether that some people don’t get good seal with them due to their nozzle and size.. that’s why it is important to tip roll with them

 

[GlenAppleton]

I just got these delivered on Friday after acquiring them on sale for about $130 USD, and so far I'm quite impressed. I generally stay in the low to mid tier pricing on IEMs so I can experience as many as possible on the (relative) cheap, and it's keeping up with or surpassing most of those in my current collection. To my ears, the details are very good, the imaging and soundstage are excellent, and they just sound very balanced in tonality and musicality.

So far, I'm very happy with this particular purchase, and just waiting for a new shipment of the Divinus Velvet tips and Tripowin Amber cable to see if I can tweak even more goodness out of them.

 

[daijobudes]

broing?
hmm... I don't find them that way, I would recommend you trying chancing eartips for them, as far as I understood, it can affect the sound dramatically on them
Hope this could enhance your experience with them!

I had best result with new JVC Spiral Dot Pro
https://a.co/d/az4Mx5X

 

[GlenAppleton]

So far, I'm very happy with this particular purchase, and just waiting for a new shipment of the Divinus Velvet tips and Tripowin Amber cable to see if I can tweak even more goodness out of them.

And the answer is yes, I can tweak a bit more goodness out of them. The tips made the biggest difference, but the cable (4.4mm balanced connector) seems to help a bit too. While you don't need much power to drive these, it does appear to my ears (might just be bias) that they do scale up with power very nicely.