You're correct bro! I was living in Nashville working as an engineer, it was the late 80s , early nineties when we started using iems for artists. The only things available to the public were the earbuds and headphones available with the Walkman, etc. Iems were not available to the public for 16-20 years? For the first 5-10 years artists couldn't buy them either. We had to rent them along with a rack of transmitters and an engineer. They were incredibly expensive and when cos did come out with them( Shure, Sennheiser,etc) they were still too expensive for most club bands and regular working musicians. most cover bands still use conventional monitors. I live in Tennessee in the Bristol area. Bristol is the birthplace of country music in the states, and there are bands in every club and on every street corner in Bristol, so I see it and work with it constantly..When the Ch-Fi market opened up they brought price x value to the masses. I still think the legacy cos are way overpriced while not being as good as Ch-Fi sets hundreds of dollars cheaper. These legacy cos could learn a lot from cos like Kiwi Ears. Have a great weekend, Sonny T
I like how planars are getting more and more acessible as time goes on. It's also a good marketing point that you get to introduce novel ideas to more of your audience.
I got a set from the first shipment. I really enjoy them, pure enjoyment for casual music listening. Very laid back, lotta rumble, no shortage of detail but no sibilance. Stage perception is a bit intimate but imaging is solid.
Sounds good. I had already ordered one this morning. To me the planar decay is very noticeable. It is like there is a little axe in there that cuts each note off right after the fundamental, so the harmonics don’t propagate forward in time…leaving the fundamental somehow exposed and a bit naked. :) Yep. I will use that in my review. Either the Melody will have the axe or not.
It's interesting to see how planar IEM pricing is slowly coming down more and more. This seems damn good for 90 bucks. Fairly easy to drive as well, which seemed to be a bit of an issue for PR2 which really shined when provided with adequate power. Looking forward to your Timeless 2 review
@@profound369 You definitely won't need an amp. A dongle DAC such as an apple dongle is plenty to power the Melody which is rated 18 ohm 102dB. When we're talking about IEM's such as PR2 I've mentioned which is rated 15 ohm 94dB, that's where you'll need a more powerful DAC or an amp to power it properly
@@muhammadali.8170 like I could tell the volume was OK, definitely quieter than the HBB set with their sensitivity of 115, but also I could feel the dynamics of the songs weren't as pronounced either
Funny thing: I was listening to this video through my Penon Fan2 and when you were talking about the "scene" being a illusion you had leaned on your chair, it squiked and I've heard it behind my head :) I fkn love my fan 2
Your teaser got me interested, so I’m glad there weren’t any surprises with the full review. I’m glad someone has finally decided to get playful with planar bass; they can handle it. I’d usually wait around for a while on new sets, but this is right down my alley, and $90 is too good to pass up. Thanks for the review. Looking forward to the new collab announcement (even though I just received Kailua this week), too; they’re always well-done.
Kiwi is just releasing gem after gem. I’ve passed on most of them as I’ve just had good competitors in their price range, but sounds like this might be the one to buy if you want a budget planar. Might have to give these a shot.
I only been in the hobby for a couple of years starting with the tin t2, ikko oh10. When your planar wars started I was late on 7hz and went to Raptgo and s12. I was really impressed with the quintet and a with what kiwi is doing with their line being so affordable, I’m picking up this one for sure. Great vid as always . A lot of your recs are in by box.
The OH10 was incredibly amazing at the time when I first got them when I was in my first year in the hobby. My first "expensive" IEM. As time passes by I prefer the RINKO over OH10 in the bass department
@kyoroshidest1865 also purchased rinks. I've been seeing amazing sets at such low price points that I've stopped buying more expensive sets. My monarch MKII is collecting dust.
i really would like to even try planar, because the way people describe them with accurate, good bass and a bit of a metallic sound is probably right up my alley!
A nice contender for one of the best budget IEM's out there. So far the only planar I've tried was your collaboration PR2 and I really liked it, looking forward to see your review on the new Timeless II.
Thank you for the review. I am excited about the Kiwi Ears. By the way, I love your iem, QKZ x HBB, but unfortunately, the 2 pin connector on my set was broken.
Interestingly enough, I've found that the audiophile application of IEMs is becoming more complicated and nuanced than the on-stage IEMs for musicians. The key thing for musicians is fit and sound isolation, so most will spend money on customs over more drivers in a different universal model, if money is tight. Most musicians I've talked to aren't as particular with bass extension, soundstage, detail, etc. compared to audiophiles. I used Shure SE215s for years on stage before falling into the chi-fi rabbit hole!
well yeah its same like studio headphones where as long as its neutral and technically accurate and you can hear what you're doing that's what counts, whereas audiophile and casual listening is for pleasure and more subjective with more room for different presentations
Planar wars is back bay-bayyy! I love these in headphones and iems, but just like cars they may look good but sometimes they don’t sound right. Thanks for the video H-Bee-Bee! Have a great weekend🤘🏻
you got a new collab comming?Congratz! love your tuning Wondering if the timeless 2 will jump to the next price range or just murder the planars on this range
I personally like the colorfulness of the Kiwi Ears Cadenza, but the design of the Melody does look very slick while being a good planar at the sub $100 range.
Really looking forward to the Timeless 2. Audio Levels review has it as outstanding, so I can't wait for your take on it. It would take a special set to get me to raid my wallet, due to my purchasing the Quintet which has become my daily set.
Nice job, thanks for explaining the planar … This is a set that maybe I could try a true planar out … I wonder there’ll be a big difference with this a the Gumiho that I own 🤔
"Planar War 2" is on! Now let's see if someone will pull out the "big guns"- - - let's see if someone will come out with a 2 Planar Magnetic Driver model. By the way, HBB, the way you explain acoustic principles and all the other technical stuff and lay it out in such a way that is so understandable(& not make it dry and boring) even for an average "layman" hobbyist; now that ability/talent/skill Sir, is something really special. i hope you realize that NOT EVERYONE can do that. 🔥🔥🔥
been looking forward to this review, and i would really like to hear how this does against the timeless2. sorry, all, no avatar seen yet. I will keep watching!
I think Chris (HBB) either forgot to place the avatar or it's one of those super artsy ones that blends in with his decor. I watched the video through three times to make sure I'm not the winner and I didn't see myself. Or anyone else for that matter.
Planar Wars is back 🙌 I hope someone get the ARTTI T10 on squig, so it's part of Planar Wars, 14.2mm planar for ≈$50 and from I have seen very much like the S12
I am already in the pre-order for the Timeless 2. Considering the price point of these, I am gonna have to jump in the pre-order here as well. Planar Wars 2023!
happy Saturday here now, happy saturday for kay & his mom too... i like when a product stuff a many as it can all the tech available & it sound still good or better 😊, double dd for bass, ba for mids, electrostatic & plannar for high & super high, piezoelectric for bone conducting, what else? and the maker is sure goes through hell to tune it coherent 😂
Love your videos, and your musical taste match mines, been looking for a new iem recently, was going to purchase the heydays, but waiting your new collab to go live. Hopefully would be under 200$ 😅. Peace out👊
