Kiwi Ears Astral In-Ear Monitors Review

It’s not often that a pair of in-ear monitors makes me do a triple take when using them. Not a double take, but a triple. Think of a time when you were trying out two separate items of the same type, but different brands. My triple take with the Kiwi Ears Astral occurred when I was using them for quite a while and then switching to another set of IEMs that I won’t name here. When I switched away from the Astrals, the same songs I was listening to sounded…hollow, cold, and inorganic. Switching back to the Astrals resulted in my music sounding fuller, detailed, and energetic.

Earlier this year, we reviewed a handful of headphones from the folks at Kiwi Ears – the Ardor and the Ellipse. I hadn’t yet tried out their IEMs, but I was quite impressed by the quality meets price of their products. Now that I have the Kiwi Ears Astral in hand (and have used them for quite a bit), I’m solidly convinced that the Astrals are one of the best ~$300-range IEMs I’ve tested in the past few years. Better yet, the more I used them (breaking them in), the better they sounded.

The Astral is a compelling set of hybrid in-ear monitors because of their driver configuration and sound profile. They feature a seven driver setup: one 10mm bioceramic dynamic driver (DD) for bass and six balanced armature drivers for mids and highs. Kiwi Ears position the Astral as a major contender in the mid-range audiophile market; with its configuration and sound profile, it packs quite the punch in a $300 package.

Check out the Kiwi Ears Astral on Linsoul’s website! (non-affiliated URL)

Let’s start with the juicy stuff – the sound profile. I was pleased to find the Astral to have a warm and well-balanced acoustic profile. Frequency ranges across the board are well represented, featuring an emphasis on the sub-bass, coupled with present mids and smooth, extended highs. In lay terms, this results in a lively and engaging listen, amplifying instruments and giving vocals space to breathe in the soundstage.

I especially loved the Astrals’ bass. I could feel the 10mm bioceramic driver putting in work here, giving my music a notable punchiness and tightness. Kiwi Ears claims that the driver powers 9dB of sub-bass, and it’s one of the first things I noticed when listening to DnB and EDM tracks. This sub-bass was notable in that it didn’t overshadow the mids or lows. When I listen to bass-heavy tracks, I want to feel the music while appreciating some of the finer details. The Astral allowed me to do so with ease.

The Astrals’ midrange feature a dense and full-bodied character. Vocals sound quite velvety, especially those from male vocalists. Natural vocals are important when evaluating IEMs, and the Astrals’ smooth mids ensured that vocalists sounds emotive and tonally accurate. Eric Clapton’s vocals in “Cocaine” sounded quite smooth and silky while the intricate guitarwork sounded ever so energetic.

Moving onto the treble, it’s clear that Kiwi Ears configured the Astral to feature spaciousness, airiness, and transparency. Cymbals, higher vocal notes, and sharper instrumentals sounded crystal clear without the harsh percussiveness that often come with attempting to reproduce their profile. It was only when I increased the volume when some of the treble reached unpolished territory, but those occasions were quite rare.

The Astral succeeded in reproducing natural audio thanks to its deep soundstage. There’s a clear separation of sound between foreground and background when listening to some tracks. In gaming contexts, this helped me identify footsteps, gunfire, and other minor audio details. I would recommend the Astral for someone who wants to play an FPS title and requires accurate audio.

The Astrals come in two colors: Black and Blue. I was sent the Blue version to review, and I couldn’t help but marvel at the glittery patterns inside the Astral’s resin capsules. Kiwi Ears has adopted a semi-custom design for the Astrals’ form factor. However, when wearing them for longer periods, they felt relatively heftier than I would prefer. I had some trouble getting them to fit just right and comfortable given their larger size. That said, there are several silicon ear tips that can help you find the perfect fit. These ear tips were just fine – not too soft, yet not too hard. They sealed quite well in my ears after some minor adjustments.

The rest of the box contained a pleather carrying case that wasn’t too difficult to open along with replacement nozzles and a nice thick cable. I especially loved the cable’s thickness, as I’ve tested several other IEMs in this price range that had a cable that felt too flimsy for me to feel comfortable using for the long term. My only concern about the plug was its modular system, allowing me to switch between a 4.4mm and 3.5mm jack. I personally don’t intend on switching jacks often, but be wary of switching the jacks as to keep the plug from becoming weak.

I honestly struggled to criticize much of the Kiwi Ears Astral. Its acoustic profile was fantastic for the price point. It’s not often that a set of $300 IEMs can produce a layered, natural, and enjoyable sound across multiple genres of music. In gaming, it reproduced accurate details that otherwise would have been muddled together. Its assortment of accessories in the box felt moderately durable, too, meaning that I didn’t feel the need to swap anything out with my personal set of eartips/cables/carrying cases. I’m sure you can get a more premium set of IEMs with a broader soundstage or bombastic bass, but that would most likely be a notable step up in price.

In sum, if you’re looking for a set of IEMs that feature a technical, versatile, detailed, yet smooth sound profile, look no further than the Kiwi Ears Astral. It’s one of the best pairs of mid-range IEMs on the market and allows you to enjoy music as you should.

Linsoul provided DigitalChumps with a pair of the Kiwi Ears Astral for the sole purpose of this DigitalChumps review.