Jeff Helmes

5 de abril de 2023

Endgame IEM

The Orchestra Lites gave me nearly the same feels as the 1st time I put Focal Clears on my head after a borderline psychotic rabbit hole dive that had me buying every set of hyped cans from SHP9500, X2HR, HD58X, Sundara, AD700, AD700X, AD900X, K701, K702, DT990, DT900X, HD560S, to R70x (still my fav for FPS gaming) & more, including some IEMs, such as KZ ZSN, 1MORE Triple, VR3000, Crin Zero, IE200... I liked the Zero's enough to hang on to them at $50, but wasn't impressed with the soundstage and thus disappointed for gaming, as with any IEM before it. I had given up on gaming with IEMs until Fresh Reviews waxed poetic about the Kiwi O Lite. And I can't thank him enough!The Orchestra Lites are blowing me away with their incredibly big stage (for an IEM) and imaging, as well as detailed, clean, natural sound. They are nearly Clear Lites! One test I like to use is Lithium by Evanescence (Synthesis album version) starting at 2:45 where Amy Lee's voice is extra emotional and goes high up into her prodigious register... Many cans & buds can't handle this passage, making her sound pitchy and distorted. Only two of the dozens of 'phones I've heard has done Amy Lee justice: Focal Clear and Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite.One of my favorite soundstage tests is Crossing by Yosi Horikawa... With the O Lites, the passing moped in the very beginning appears off in the distance to your left, drives right through your head, and fades INCREDIBLY far beyond your right shoulder. Most IEMs and even many cans place this mostly inside your head, perhaps out to your shoulders. Meanwhile the O Lites do a wonderful job of placing you right in that environment. Not surprising wide open cans like Clear & R70x can do that. Stunning when an IEM does it.Another test I enjoy is Chocolate Chip Trip by Tool. Again Kiwi O Lites do an amazing job of circling the bells, percussion, and then synth around and around your head OUTSIDE your ears. And though I'm no bass-head and the Lites are technically a tad light in bass (sub bass really) when Daniel Carey starts hitting the double bass drum around 3 minutes in, it's clean and accurate with PLENTY of slam.Every popular test track, from Thriller, Nil Lofgren's Live performance of Keith Don't Go, Hotel California Live, The Holy Men, Sentenza Del Cuoro, Bubbles by Horikawa, Good Morning Little Schoolgirl, Limehouse Blues, Mombasa, etc. sounds excellent on the O Lites and checks every box, be it stage, imaging, bass, midrange, treble, dynamic range, detail, etc. I like to sprinkle "Binaural Recording (Test Only)" by myNoise in a few random places on my list just to see if the door knocks startle me or even make me 2nd guess if someone is really at the door... The O Lites get me EVERY time. You swear someone is actually knocking at the door because the sound comes from the walls of your room. No other IEM has done this for me before. I do like the Crin Zeros for overall sound quality, esp for $50, but they can't put sound outside my head like O Lites somehow can.I should mention that initially I had a problem with the supplied gray tips, getting horribly weak bass (I may have not installed them properly over the large O-Lite nozzles) but found the stock white tips to be comfortable and sound great. However based on many suggestions online to upgrade Kiwi's tips, I tried SpinFit W1 and the uniquely shaped Dunu S&S tips (which fortunately fit my ear canals very well.) My choice is easily the S&S which open up the soundstage even wider, as well as improve bass over both the stock & W1 tips.Now for gaming, I honestly still do prefer open backs, especially the R70x. But honestly this is partly because I don't like my voice coming from inside my head, even with mic monitoring and partly so I can hear my girlfriend when she asks me a question while gaming... But these are the first IEMs I've ever been impressed with for either situational awareness in a shooter or immersion in an RPG. I bounce back & forth between these & the R70x when solo in multiplayer COD... The R70x clearly has the bigger stage and a better sense of distance and verticality. The O Lites give you slightly better "tinglers" when footsteps are near or gunfire is in the distance. However both are excellent overall. The O Lites have the advantage of being able to plug directly into your controller and still being able to get loud enough for anyone plus with no loss in dynamics. Meanwhile the 470Ω impedance R70x's will need a good amp to fully open up its massive soundstage potential as well as get loud enough for most tastes. Lately I've been playing God of War: Ragnarök quite a lot. Plugging directly into PS5 controller, I go with either Focal Clear or the O Lites. Both sound beautiful & convincingly place me in the environment along with PS5's superb 3D Audio. It's hard to pick a favorite here, which is a huge testament to $250 O Lites being comparable to near kilobuck (& originally $1500) Focal Clears!Just as the Clears finally put a stop to my headphone rabbit hole insanity, I feel the Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite is the easy and logical stopping point for IEMs (at least for anyone who cashes a paycheck and doesn't have a trust fund.) As obsessive as I can be chasing something better, I can hardly imagine what little diminishing returns that are left being be worth another $100, let alone $1000 or more. Sorry Jeff, I'm done buying IEMs. Found my endgame at last!Ver más

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Flankzy

20 de octubre de 2024

Best IEM's

Kiwi Ears Orchestra LiteAfter owning every pair of studio headphones from Sennheiser I wanted to try IEM's. I will say these didn't disappoint.Quality: Very well built. Well made. even the cable that came with them is well made for the audio people in mind.Sound: These I would like to call "fun" sounding. Which is what i look for when it comes to headphones or earbuds really anything when it comes to audio. They are not flat there is bass present but its not over powering. They are more natural sounding. separating sound you can hear everything going on. the sound stage is so good you feel like you are right there hearing in person. These are closed off. You wont hear anything that's going on in your house or the outside world. some might not like that or not want it which is understandable. These will handle whatever you throw at it. I have listen to metal, pop, jazz, R&B, dubstep ect.. and they just sound amazing and fun. If you give these a shot I know you will love them. right out of the box and to putting them on listening to that first song i was blown away how powerful and sounding they are.Fit: okay so they will take a bit to get use too. Knowing they go in the ear having the right ear tips is a must. The ones they come with are good but not great so with these i ordered Comply Premium Tips. They are memory foam tips and they form to your inner ear. which they come in 3 different sizes. I would recommend buying these with the lites. otherwise these fit perfect in the ear after a few days of use i don't really know they're in my ear.Packaging: Outstanding well padded and comes with extra ear tips and a cable and case to hold everything. The box they came in is well made and gives you a peace of mind that everything is safe.Overall: If you love audio, Music, Gaming the Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite will handle. These are now my daily drivers for everything i do on a daily. YES! I finally hang up my HD 800 and HD58X headphones which been both my dailys for years. The Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite just do everything better. The sound is just to good to give up. I don't get ear fatigue while wearing these the more i use them i don't really know they're in. If your looking for a pair of IEM's or wanna try them, look no further. they are worth every penny $$ I cant say anymore good things about these without sounding like a computer or bot. But really they will not disappoint. these do go on sale you could wait for a prime day or sale and get them then. All in All i very happy owning these and I'll never own a different pair of IEM's other then these. I do want to order another pair because they purple color looks AMAZING!!! I got the blues which is just as good.JUST BUY THEM! AND SEE WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT!!!!!

nicholas

30 de noviembre de 2023

very natural and correct sounding.

If you are looking for a pair of items that sound natural with a good mix of all the frequencies you can't go wrong with this iem. The bass is pretty good, even if it's not the focus of this set, could be stronger but when it is needed it sounds good and strong enough. It's some of the most natural sounding bass I've heard. Vocals are what this set excels at, especially watching YouTube and listening to podcasts or YouTube figures talking in general. In songs and movies they sound very natural and correct, it can even sound like they are talking to you in person If the recording is good enough. Treble is also very tasteful but I'd say that's where these are not the main focus of, it has very nice and realistic sounding treble for cymbals and all that, but would probably disappoint a treble head, but I personally love it, it comes out when needed and doesn't overstay it's welcome bascially. These shine a lot more on a proper dac/amp using these straight through my laptop 3.5 plug they sound good, but are noticably less detailed and the bass is worse, so test these on an dac/amp not just though a weak laptop plugin, they like some power to really impress.I'd say the one major flaw these has is the comfort, they are not vented and if you are not careful they will create a painful suction to the inside of your ear, the stock tips are honestly the best when it comes to not doing this, but that's cause they take practice to get a decent seal. But they sound good with a good seal and I'd they don't create too much suction I'm your ear. Don't let people tell you "oh different tips will fix them" they don't usually it's the opposite they create more suction and would be extremely painful, so stay with stock tips or be careful with your tip rolling. Other than that these are some of the best you can buy, and worth it even with the comfort issue (just be careful with putting them in and out of your ears)Ver más

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Adam B

25 de febrero de 2026

3.8+ Star Sound, 4.8 Star Fit

Audio Quality:I test each IEM I get against NPR's "How Well Can You Hear Audio Quality" page, because to me the ability to identify whether a sound is being reproduced with high quality or not is the gold standard for sound. My brief synopsis on this set is that they are tough to do well on this test with versus IEMs that include dynamic drivers or planars because you can't do the "easy" thing and identify high quality sound by listening for deep bass or very high frequencies. However, these are fantastic at reproducing the midrange -- particularly higher-frequency mids (e.g. female vocals). Once I clocked that I could pick the WAV version of Suzanne Vega's "Tom’s Diner" in just a few words (there's a "happy" intonation you can listen for that you don't get out of the MP3 versions).If you want the deep bass or very high treble, this isn't the pair for you. It just doesn't go as low without a dynamic driver for bass, or as high without a planar driver - though the loss is more noticeable on the low end than the high end.But it is GREAT if you like vocal-forward music (which I do).The Cable:It's... OK. Maybe a bit stiff. I ended up replacing it because I use 4.4mm balanced connectors, but I probably would have left it alone otherwise.The Fit:This is where the Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite absolutely sparkle. The sound tube is at a slight angle to the body so the over-the-ear cable can hit the nook between your skull and your ear, making the fit feel comfortable. Even better, the "bump out" opposite to the sound tube is quite pronounced; the result is a total lack of torque being applied to (my) ear, which lets me wear these for HOURS without discomfort.The only thing that I would change about the fit (0.2 star deduction) is the lack of an escapement hole to allow the air pressure in your ear canal to normalize. This is solved with a simple tug on the top of your ear once after you start playing music the first time, but it could have been avoided in the first place.Ver más

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Alex P.

11 de febrero de 2025

Great for studio, voice over and gaming through the IEM, just fantastic for the price too

First day with my kiwi ears orchestra lites. The first thing I noticed was the package was shrink wrapped. I bought purple and the tag had purple selected.First, I had to figure out which was right and left. The doc says I should see an imprint but my eyes, even with a magnifyhing glass, do not. It is definitely due to my age and deteriorating eyesight. If someone can show me where to find the right/left imprint please help and leave a reply.From looking around at photos red cord is right and clear is left so I went with that. And from the photos I guessed at the corresponding earpiece. I think I got it because wow...The first thing I played was Beethoven's 9th symphony. Then King Crimson "Neal and Jack and me", and then a few other classic 60s and 70s songs. For someone that worked as keyboard studio musician in the past the sound was amazing. And for the cost and size? Insanely good.But the true test came to PUBG. I have struggled with different headsets/bluetooth ear pieces to be able to hear where my enemy was coming from. I can say for the first time in over 6 years I found the IEM that works. Today not only did I track my pursuers, but I even nailed a few of them! The directional sound is just out of this world. What would have ended up with me just getting killed, I had a fighting chance to shoot at them and try and kill them. I've not been able to do that up until now.Cord length could be a little longer for me but I can probably buy an extension cord. The medium sized red core with gray shell was the first bud I tried and I've stuck with them. In ear fit is perfect for me.Is this IEM worth it? It is for me. I can use it for both gaming and in my music studio on my keyboards and my voice over work.Ver más

9 personas la encontraron útil

VegasDiva

19 de julio de 2026