Kiwi Ears Cadenza II

The Kiwi Ears Cadenza II has some big boots to fill as the original Cadenza built a strong reputation for offering surprisingly good sound at a sensible price, so a follow up has plenty to live up to. Thankfully, this is not a case of fixing something that wasn’t broken. Instead, Kiwi Ears has refined the formula and made an earphone that feels more capable, whilst still coming in at an affordable price.

The hybrid driver setup combines a large dynamic driver for bass and lower frequencies with balanced armature drivers that deliver the mids and treble. The Candenza II is built with 10mm titanium dynamic driver with the revolutionary KARS 2.0. This gives the earphones a sound that’s energetic without becoming too much. Bass has plenty of punch and depth, enough to satisfy pop, rock, and electronic music fans, but it avoids the bloated, one note character that can be an issue in budget earphones. The vocals are particularly good with warmth and clarity, making podcasts, acoustic recordings, and vocal heavy tracks particularly enjoyable.

The soundstage is surprisingly spacious for an in-ear design, it’s not going to fool anyone into thinking they are listening to a full-size pair of open backed headphones, but there is a genuine sense of space here. The build quality is good, the shells feel solid, the detachable cable adds flexibility for upgrades or replacements, and the lightweight design remains comfortable for long listening sessions.

However, for this price you will have to sacrifice some specs, detail retrieval does not quite match the more expensive models, and the tuning occasionally favours musical enjoyment over ruthless accuracy. For most listeners, however, that is likely to be a benefit rather than a criticism.

The Cadenza II offers an impressive package, it sounds good, feels well made, and delivers way above its price tag. For anyone looking for an affordable pair of IEMs for proper hi-fi listening, it is an easy recommendation. RRP $44.99

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