Over the last few years I’ve found myself drifting around different hobbies. Some, like messing with PC components, have become extremely expensive, with the AI industry sucking whatever fun there was to be had out of them. The rising cost of PC components and diminishing returns of actually upgrading PCs with new hardware drove me back towards an old friend. Audio. There’s a lot to audio, but for some reason I was drawn towards the hyper specific realm of inner ear monitors (IEMs).
True me, I know this is a departure from what I’d usually post on here. I get it. You’re here for books and whatever. Or are you here for me? Because here’s what I’m doing.
The older, more mature brother to earbuds and cousin to the old flatheads, IEMs were largely used for professionals in broadcasting, recording and live performances. Then, the drivers got better, the tech got cheaper, and Chinese manufacturers did the most logical thing ever: they professionally tuned inexpensive audio gear to higher quality reference targets and blew the doors off to the industry.
Of course, the most important part is music, and music has played a pivotal role in my life since I was old enough to care about it. That’s remained, but I didn’t realize how much of a bottleneck the headphones and earbuds I was using for years were for my enjoyment of music. Thus, this shift in interests.
Let’s talk Kiwi Ears Cadenza. My first ‘serious’ set of IEMs were the Kiwi Ears Cadenza. There’s a whole story how I ended up there, but I did. This video helped play a part in that. They were $35 and sounded incredible to someone who’d had sets of wireless earbuds and various over ear studio monitors over the years. Just blew my mind. Really helped set off whatever latent passion existed for audio and helped me get back into listening to music all the time with intent, instead of having it on as background noise. Essentially, that $35 purchase helped me rediscover my love for music and gave me endless enjoyment.
So, when the Kiwi Ears Cadenza 2 were announced, I said sure, why not. I don’t need another set of budget single DD IEMs, but they’ve got a gimmick. That gimmick is Kiwi Ears’s KARS 2.0 bass tubing (Kiwi Acoustic Resonance System or something like that). The idea is that most IEMs feature extremely small vents (more like holes) that help to let some of the bass leak out, almost like an open back headphone would. It also helps with pressure, as IEMs seal in your ears, and without those vents, they’d just be pushing air into your ears without anywhere else for it to go. The idea is there are tubes for the single dynamic driver in this IEM to help direct and vent for the bass response, and I’m not sure why.
The original Cadenza had bass.
They were, if anything, considered a ‘warmer’ take on the Harman v-shaped IEM. People like bass, myself included. The Cadenza 2 feels much less like an iteration of the original Cadenza, and more like an attempt to predict the future much like the original Cadenza did. The original Cadenza remains inexpensive, has a quality dynamic driver, is built well, comes with a decent cable and functional ear tips. Then there’s the sound, with an extremely friendly sound signature of extended bass, warm lower mids, neutral mids, and smooth treble response.
The Kiwi Ears Cadenza they were the ultimate budget all-arounder. With a beryllium coated single dynamic driver they were able to carve out smooth bass and mids, while not sacrificing the treble region. A lot of single dynamic driver IEMs will be made with competent drivers, but fall apart in the upper treble region, while these do not. It takes a lot of engineering to get a single DD IEM’s treble to remain smooth, basically.
The Cadenza 2 then, isn’t trying to be a better version of the Cadenza, but to kick off 2026 by predicting that this tuning of “neutral” is in, and warmth is out. I’m not sure I agree with that, but I suppose we’ll see soon enough.
Whatever the KARS 2.0 tubing is doing, I’ll say this, the bass sounds fuller than it graphs. The treble sounds mostly fine, if not a bit crowded and less ‘spacious’ in places. It sounds… fine. Just fine.
It includes a version of the Kiwi Ears Terras cable, which is a very nice cable for the price range, and the shells feel more premium in build quality than the previous Cadenza. Kiwi Ears continues to include bare minimum of accessories in their budget sets, and the problem is that the Cadenza 2 is starting to push past the “budget” realm and into the serious contenders of the sub-$100 range, where including two sets of tips (one wide bore and one normal), a solid cable and that’s it, feels anemic. OEM cases that “nicer” sets include sell on AliExpress for anywhere between $1 and $3 and add value. Kiwi Ears themselves sell competent, if not good aftermarket tips (the Kiwi Ears Flex, for example, are great). While the original Cadenza included a less impressive cable and three sets of tips, it was also a $35 set with an incredible value for the price. It didn’t feel weird to not include a case or better tips. At this price range you’ve got the Kefine Klean with a solid cable, swappable filters, a case and decent ear tips with arguably better tuning in both the Klean and Klean SV. Or the Truthear Zero Red, with a carry pouch, a good (if not tangle-prone) cable, filters and two sets of narrow and wide bore tips, as well as a set of foam tips. Once you go up to $100 you end up in the realm of the Aful Explorer, Juzear Defiant, Truthear Pure, Simgot EA500 LM, and well, you get what I’m saying.
Hell, if anything, this price range makes no sense. The sub-$40 range is where the value is. To this day my recommendations for anyone getting into IEMs has stayed the same. The 7Hz x Crinacle Zero:2, Moondrop Chu II, Kiwi Ears Cadenza, Truthear Gate, Tangzu Wan’er SG 2, and the GK Kunten. None of these sets cost more than $35.
See how the original Cadenza is in there? See how the Cadenza 2 isn’t there? Both because it is no longer a value set, and because the sound signature is much different and less broadly appealing.
Any of these sets (with the Kunten going for anywhere from $5-15 USD but having the dirt worst, if not unusable cables and tips) are amazing for the price. Do most of them need a better cable? Sure. A Kbear ST12 will set you back $12. Do they need tips? Maybe. I slap Dunu S&S tips on most of my sets now because they’re the most comfortable to me and $10 for three sets. I’d still recommend any of these earphones, even with needing to buy peripherals, over the Cadenza 2.
… that is, unless you’re willing to EQ.
EQ is the shadowy end boss that looms in the distance with IEMs. Those with stereo setups know the value of buying what’s within your budget and using Room EQ Wizard (or if you have a WiiM or whatever use their room EQ) to get the most out of their setups. Headphone users sometimes know the value in buying nicer open backs and EQ’ing them. IEM users are… not quite there yet. Maybe it’s the whole consumerist aspect of it, and the endless, astroturfed hype cycles led by YouTube influencers and paid bots on Reddit. Maybe it’s the waifus on the boxes. I don’t really know. In truth, most people could buy a cheap, single DD set, alongside a decent dongle DAC, learn some simple EQ for their sets, and have themselves an incredible experience. The same goes for the nicer, more expensive sets with more exotic driver configurations. My favorite set right now is the Aful Performer 5+2, with seven drivers crammed into each earpiece (two dynamic drivers, four balanced armatures and a micro-planar tweeter), spread across the full spectrum of frequency response. They sound great. I loved them stock for a long time, then I started EQ’ing them and they’re even better.
Is that pull to buy a nicer set still there? Yes. It’ll always be there.
Would I love a Xenns Top Pro? Of course I would. Or a kilobuck set like the Unique Melody MEST mkII? You bet your ass I would. Hell, even something like the Sennheiser IE600s. Just to be able to mess around with them and explore what I could do with them. But instead, I sat down and forced myself to get better at EQ’ing. To run obnoxious sine sweeps to see which treble frequencies bothered me. To see which sets I already own that sound off and could use work. Never mind my own understanding of my tastes shifts and changes, if not evolves with time. Originally the Truthear Hexa was all I needed. Then I started EQ’ing and realized they were too sibilant for me and lacking in bass for my tastes. I wasn’t a ‘neutral bright’ guy, even though I thought I was. But I can still use them now, and you know why? I EQ them.
My point here is that the Kiwi Ears Cadenza 2 are like ANY IEM; they’re fine stock and will be good to someone’s ears, but to mine they aren’t great. With some work and EQ, though, they cross that line from fine into good. Just good. Worth $50? I don’t know. The value proposition of this gear has always been the price-to-performance ratio. Don’t get lost in all of the audiophile terminology people bog down discussions with. Are the Kiwi Ear Cadenza 2s warm? No. Are they bright? Not really. Do they have a wide sound stage? No. Are they vocal forward? Also no. Do they have superior imaging and instrument separation? Not really. Does any of that actually matter? If you use the stock tuning it matters. Also, maybe your ears perceive them differently than I do. I’m sensitive to a few different ranges in the treble (2.5k, 5.5k and 8k), but all of those above terms are just frequency response. Let me repeat that.
They’re just frequency response.
These are a relaxed set on all fronts, inoffensive to the point of me not knowing who they’re for. A quality set like the Zero 2 has more bass and a wider sound stage thanks to its treble response. The Kiwi Ears Belle has more bass, fuller mids, more upper mids for the vocal forwardness and rolls off the higher treble. It’s much closer in frequency response to the Truthear Gate, a sub-$18 IEM with a decent cable, two full sets of tips and a carry pouch for under half the price of the Cadenza 2. Do the shells feel cheaper? Much cheaper. The Cadenza 2 features a titanium-coated driver and polycarbonite shells with a CNC’d aluminum faceplate. They’re gonna feel more premium.
You want a wider soundstage? Increase upper mids and a few strategic treble frequencies. You want warmth? Make a lower mid rise into the bass. You want vocal forward? Crank up the upper treble. You want superior separation? 3K and maybe 8k (note: all of this is approximate and depends on your own ears). You see what I’m saying?
If you bought these, or any other IEM, they’re yours, and software EQ is free on just about any platform. If you buy a TV, do you just leave it stock, or do you go into the settings and adjust the brightness, turn off motion smoothing and other stuff? Sites like Squig.link or AutoEQ.app exist to help you snag EQ profiles easily and get you started. Then you can adjust accordingly while growing more comfortable. No, a budget single DD set isn’t going to sound exactly like a $300 multi-driver set. Just like the same way a stereo setup with two bookshelf speakers isn’t going to sound the same as two tower speakers and a subwoofer will. But you can still tune it to your personal taste and make anything with a decent driver sound incredible. This set has a great driver and is competently tuned, meaning it can serve as an EQ playground if you’re willing to work at it.
The last few weeks my listening has been all over the place, much like normal. I have “test tracks” that I use to run through things. 2049 from the Blade Runner 2049 soundtrack for sub-bass, bad guy and Xanny by Billie Eilish for bass, High Hopes by Pink Floyd for bass and upper mids, most of Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories for just… everything. This week I rediscovered listening to Tool, something I haven’t done in at least 15 years, and Maynard’s vocals and Adam Jones’s cheese grater guitar tones are giving the upper mids and treble a workout. I ripped a few of the CDs I had in my garage and rediscovered old metal albums from Amorphis and Vintersorg. I’m always listening to Ghost (Japan) and Boris. Toss in some Halsey, The Church and some Dire Straits and honestly, the idea that IEMs are custom fit for music tastes is not something I ascribe to. Bass isn’t just for hip hop or EDM. Airy treble isn’t just for pop divas. Upper mids isn’t just for male vocals. We all have unique ears, needs, and tastes, which evolve over time.
Would I recommend this set? Probably not. A budget set is a better starting point, and if you’ve already bought a starter set and want a logical next step, there’s plenty of IEMs in the $100 range that will serve you better if you can save up.
My name is Dave Walsh, and I’m probably OK at EQ and always trying to get better. You should be, too. You should buy one of my books while you’re at it, also, if you want to send me a Xenns Tea Pro, you are well within your rights to do that.
If you want to check out the Kiwi Ears Cadenza 2 for yourself, check them out here (this is an affiliate link, as are others in the post).
Test Equipment used:
HiBy R4
Moondrop Dawn Pro DAC/Amp
Fiio K11 R2R Desktop DAC/Amp
Here’s my custom EQ for the Cadenza 2 that I’ve been fine-tuning. Toss this into a TXT file and into your favorite EQ software and let me know what you think. Elevated bass, smoothed out mids and adjusting the big treble dip. Care was taken to make sure any increase didn’t ruin anything else.
On Windows, use Equalizer APO with Peace EQ. On Linux I use EasyEffects. On Android I use USB Audio Player Pro’s EQ. My HiBy R4 has built-in parametric EQ.
Preamp: -5.0 dB
Filter 1: ON LSC Fc 120 Hz Gain 2.5 dB Q 0.500
Filter 2: ON PK Fc 180 Hz Gain -1.0 dB Q 2.000
Filter 3: ON PK Fc 700 Hz Gain 2.0 dB Q 1.000
Filter 4: ON PK Fc 1000 Hz Gain -1.0 dB Q 0.500
Filter 5: ON PK Fc 9000 Hz Gain 2.0 dB Q 2.00
Filter 6: ON PK Fc 10000 Hz Gain 5.0 dB Q 5.000