Kiwi Ears Ellipse Headphone Review

Once upon a time in the early 2010s, I owned a pair of Sony MDR-XB500 headphones. I owned those headphones for nearly a decade, being my daily drivers because of their supreme comfort, excellent bass, and relatively wide soundstage for $70 (at the time). They were my favorite headphones because of their comfort – I wore them for hours while playing PS3, on my computer, and on my portable consoles (PSP, Nintendo DS, and more). When they finally bit the dust, I had become reserved to the reality that I would never find a pair of studio-quality headphones that comfortable ever again…until I put Kiwi Ears’ Ellipse headphones on my noggin.

We here at DigitalChumps have spent hundreds of hours testing headsets, IEMs, and microphones from the usual gaming suspects of Corsair, Turtle Beach, RIG, JBL, and Sony. We aren’t the most familiar with Kiwi Ears. After some preliminary research, it looks like they’re a relatively new company who has spent the past few years releasing high quality IEMs at multiple price points. One of their new midrange (think sub-$100) offerings is their Kiwi Ears Ellipse – a pair of wired studio-grade headphones that are comfier than all get out.

Check out the Kiwi Ears Ellipse on LINSOUL’s website! (Non-Affiliated URL)

For $79.99, the Kiwi Ears Ellipse is marketed as a studio-grade set of cans that offer hi-fi listening thanks to its premium 50mm dynamic driver, open-back, and a lightweight ergonomic design. It claims to be tuned to sound like a floorstanding speaker and includes detachable cables for durability, longevity, and compatibility with consumers’ existing and favorite cables.

The Kiwi Ears Ellipse are primarily constructed out of plastic along with a metal headband and a metal grill accent on the cups. While there is some plastic on the cups, there’s still a healthy blend of materials that doesn’t rely on rubberized coatings to hide from a plasticky budget physique. If anything, the Ellipse looks and feels more like a Beyerdynamic set of cans than anything – when I took them out of the box, my colleague and I thought that I had pulled out a pair of Beyerdynamic headphones. The pleather-coated metal headband doesn’t look nor feel like a traditional metal headband because of how it has padding on both sides. The earcups use the same pleather (vegan leather) material that is on the headband, too.

For what should be considered a budget headset, the Ellipse feels very durable. The mesh and design looks more like an 80s vinyl record – classic designs like this make me quite happy. I’m also  impressed with how light the headset is, though. Sub-$100 headsets tend to be hit-and-miss when it comes to their weight distribution when worn on the head. The weight of the headset is distributed well and lightly grips my head to the point of it staying put without being painful.

The Ellipse’s comfort, though, is astoundingly good. It’s out-of-this-world good, especially for the price. I know I keep reiterating the Ellipse’s price point, but I’m shocked at how comfy these headphones are despite being made of relatively cheaper materials. The earcups’ foam are not memory foam, so they retain their body while also fully surrounding my ears. They’re not large enough that they surround my big ears in their entirely, but they’re large and plush enough to feel like pillows on the side of my head. The headband’s cushiness helped, too – after wearing the headphones for hours listening to music, the top of my head did not hurt one bit.

The Ellipse’s divine comfortability is what led me to immediately compare it to the Sony MDR-XB500s, albeit a far lighter set of headphones with slightly smaller, yet equally cushy, headphones. I often prefer pleather just because it feels better on my ears at the expense of acoustics, so the Ellipse checked off all the right boxes.

Speaking of boxes, the Ellipse’s box contents were straightforward. When I opened the box, all that was inside was the headphones, the cables, and a quickstart guide. This is pretty standard for the price point, so I wouldn’t expect a carrying case, spare pair of cables, or alternate pair of earcups. I have seen some other users online mention swapping out the earcups with something else, but I didn’t want nor need to swap the cups out with an alternative pair.

As it relates to the cord, I was pleasantly surprised that the included detachable cord was solid and lacked the memory of being wrapped up in a box for a long period. While it’s not an outstanding set of cords, it’s a set I would use until they inevitably wear out from long-term use. You could definitely use a more durable braided cable that’s shorter (as the cable is insanely long – clearly designed for use on a computer or in a studio setting), but I was satisfied with the included cord. It did not feel as though Kiwi Ears cheaped out on the cord’s construction.

All right, now let’s talk sound quality – one of the most important elements of a headphone review. My top-level reaction is that the headphones sound far better than they look and far better than competitors at the price point, but I don’t think the bass is as punchy as Kiwi Ears describes on their website.

The Ellipse is a set of open-back headphones, meaning that I was expecting a slight degree of sound leakage that one would expect from other open-backs. Interestingly, they were able to isolate sounds better than some of the recent open-back gaming headsets I have reviewed. They unfortunately weren’t able to provide a wide soundstage, limiting the headphones’ range. Some of this could be explained by the pleather pads, but I wouldn’t say that the Ellipse is excelling in reproducing individual sounds to the point of picking them out.

With regard to the Ellipse’s audio presentation, I would best describe the Ellipse as producing a slightly warm, but neutral-skewing sound profile. The 50mm drivers do well in emphasizing the midrange and some of the bass, but I would not consider the Ellipse to have a punchy bass. Treble-heavy tracks sounded a smidge muffled and dull, but that is not a problem for this price point.

I tested the Ellipse over a wide variety of tracks, spanning EDM, orchestral, live jazz performances, alternative rock, and some house music. The Ellipse excelled on the orchestral and live side of things, but anything bass-heavy sounded off. Don’t get me wrong – the Ellipse can decently produce bass on songs like Vintage Culture & Fancy Inc.’s “Free” or Chris Lake & Aluna’s “More Baby,” but do not expect that it has the slight rumble you would get from a set of cans tuned to support a wider and spacious soundstage. Expect some muddled bass-heavy tracks and/or chiptune music that lacks the “oomph” one wants from the retro soundtracks. On the orchestral side of things, though, the Ellipse was outstanding. Listening to Super Piano 64’s “Awakening: Terra’s Theme” was delightful and reproduced the piano melody exceptionally well.

Most folks won’t bother making EQ adjustments out of the box, but I highly recommend that you do so you can boost the treble and reduce (not boost) the mid-bass. The sub-bass seems to be overshadowed, so I would consider boosting that a smidge just to feel the music a bit more.

It bears repeating, the Kiwi Ears Ellipse shocked me with how good they sounded and how great they felt. They’re currently my favorite budget headphones of this year. For the price, the Kiwi Ears Ellipse reigns supreme on comfort, studio-grade sound, and lightweight pads. I had to make some adjustments to improve the midbass and treble, but these headphones are my go-to pick for a set of entry-level Hi-Fi headphones.

A pair of the Kiwi Ears Ellipse was provided by LINSOUL for the sole purpose of this DigitalChumps review.