Kiwi Ears Astral

Another impeccable tuned Hybrid IEM from Kiwi Ears

So, after a few weeks with the Astral, it made me realize something that I really like that Kiwi Ears IEM’s. The quality midrange ones in their range all are designed to fill slightly different sound niches, where each seems to have a purpose with their expanding range.

So, rather than a ‘house sound’ that some companies target, like Moondrop Lab’s ‘VDSF target’ where many of their IEMs end up sounding the same, KiwiEars have carefully tuned each IEM. For example, the Orchestra Lite’s is still one of the best midrange focused IEMs, and last years KE4 is still an excellent value with its ‘New Meta’ JM1 tuning.

So now onto the Astral:

So does the Astral follow this tradition? If you spotted my rating above, you will probably already know the answer.

But before I delve into the details of the Astral, I spotted this fascinating video on Youtube of a factory tour of the Kiwi Ears factory showing the full process to make an IEMs. It is well worth watching to get an appreciation of the many people involved in the process of making these IEMs. I do love seeing the technical aspects of how things are put together, and this Video does a nice job showing the various steps required:

But now let’s get onto the unboxing experience:

Unboxing and Build Quality

The Kiwi Ears Astral comes in nicely designed packaging, very typical of most Kiwi Ears IEMs:

Back of the box:

Removing the outer sleeve reveals the inner box:

Opening this reveals the Astral:

The side of the box has the various specifications:

The back of the box has the specifications:

Opening the box reveals the IEMs nestled securely inside with a typical Kiwi Ears carry case:

Removing the carry case, you see a small manual:

And inside the carry case you find:

• A 2-pin connector cable with 2 adapters for both 3.5mm and 4.4mm
• A small selection of silicone ear tips in various sizes
• a selection of replacement nozzles (a nice touch)

I think given the price, it is a pity that Kiwi Ears did not provide a larger ear tip selection.

Nice cable

But the included cable is particularly nice. It’s well-constructed, doesn’t tangle and has a quality feel, and I especially like the fact that it has adapters for both 3.5mm and 4.4mm:

The 2-pin connectors are nicely constructed:

Note: I thought it was interesting that the cable supports recessed 2-pin connections, but the Astral doesn’t have a recess connection, which makes me think this nice cable will be seen in many more Kiwi Ears IEMs, which I think is a good thing as it is a nice and useful cable.

Here is how you swap connectors:

Once connected, you hardly notice you have a cable with alterative adapters:

Astral itself

The faceplate design is attractive and gives the Astral a premium appearance, there are 2 shell designs a blue and a yellow. I got the blue design and it is nice:

The build quality of the Astral shells is impressive:

Fit and Comfort

The Kiwi Ears Astral features a shell design very similar to the KE4, which is excellent news for comfort.

The ergonomic opinionated shape contours well to my ear, but it might be a little large for those with smaller ears.

But like the KE4, I found this design was extremely comfortable allowing for extended listening sessions without any fatigue.

The nozzle size and angle are well-designed for a secure fit and proper seal:

Again, it is a very similar-sized nozzle to the KE4. Anyone who already appreciates the comfort of the KE4 will find the Astral provides essentially the same excellent wearing experience.

Sound Quality

The Kiwi Ears Astral delivers an exceptional sound experience that balances musicality with technical performance. Its V-shaped Harman-inspired tuning with a slightly relaxed pinna presence region (more similar to the JM1 target in that region) creates a signature that works wonderfully across a wide range of music genres.

Bass

The bass response on the Astral is deep, tactile, and tastefully elevated—striking an excellent balance between fun and fidelity. On Björk’s “Hunter”, the sub-bass growl is palpable, delivering that satisfying atmospheric rumble without bleeding into the mids. The kick drums in Trentemøller’s “Moan” land with precision, showcasing the Astral’s ability to resolve transients cleanly while preserving texture.

What sets the Astral apart from typical V-shaped IEMs is how its bass retains control and articulation even during complex passages. Each bass note has a defined attack and natural decay, avoiding the bloated, one-note feel that often plagues less refined tunings in this category.

Midrange

Despite its V-shaped curve, the Astral’s midrange is still nuanced. The tuning choice to soften the pinna gain—somewhere between classic Harman and the more recent JM1 target—pays off in spades when listening to vocal-centric tracks. Norah Jones’ “Don’t Know Why” comes through with a gentle warmth and clarity, where her voice retains intimacy without any trace of sibilance or nasality.

Instruments such as acoustic guitars in Eagles’ “Hotel California (Hell Freezes Over - Live)” sound lively yet natural, with a good sense of body and string texture. The relaxed upper mids prevent shoutiness, making Astral ideal for longer sessions where vocal fatigue might otherwise be a concern.

Treble

Treble is also excellent refined with just enough airiness but never fatiguing. On Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams,” the cymbals shimmer with realistic decay, adding a sense of openness and polish. The Astral excels at rendering micro-details like the subtle brush strokes on snare drums in Miles Davis’ “So What”, without sounding analytical or etched.

The upper treble has enough extension to provide “air” and layering without becoming piercing, making the Astral easy to enjoy even with bright recordings. It walks a careful line between sparkle and smoothness.

Soundstage and Imaging

While not class-leading in sheer expansiveness, the Astral delivers a convincingly wide stage for an IEM, with good depth and layering. Listening to Daft Punk’s “Contact”, instrument placement is impressively accurate, with sounds moving cleanly across the stereo field.

Imaging is sharp, making it easy to follow individual elements within a dense mix—such as in Radiohead’s “Everything in Its Right Place”—where the Astral keeps each synth line and vocal echo distinct and well-separated.

Comparisons

vs. Kiwi Ears KE4

The KE4 represents Kiwi ears’ take on the “new meta” tuning (JM1-inspired), offering a more neutral, reference-like presentation compared to the Astral’s V-shaped signature. While the Astral has more pronounced bass and treble emphasis, the KE4 provides a more linear response across the frequency spectrum.

The KE4 excels at accuracy and technical performance, making it ideal for critical listening and those who prefer a more neutral sound. The Astral, with its V-shaped tuning, delivers a more engaging and fun presentation that works exceptionally well for casual listening and genres that benefit from enhanced bass and treble.

Both share similar excellent build quality and comfort, so the choice between them comes down primarily to sound signature preference. The Astral’s slightly relaxed pinna presence region (similar to the KE4’s JM1-inspired tuning in that specific area) makes it a bit of a hybrid between traditional V-shaped and newer reference tunings.

vs. Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite

The Orchestra Lite offers a more balanced, slightly warm presentation compared to the Astral’s V-shaped signature. With its all-BA (Balanced Armature) configuration, the Orchestra Lite delivers exceptional midrange clarity and detail, making it particularly well-suited for vocal-centric music and acoustic performances.

The Astral, with its dynamic driver, provides more natural bass impact and decay characteristics compared to the Orchestra Lite’s BA bass. While the Orchestra Lite excels in midrange presence and detail, the Astral offers more subbass extension and more pronounced treble sparkle.

In terms of technical performance, both are excellent, with the Orchestra Lite perhaps having a slight edge in resolution and the Astral offering a more dynamic and engaging presentation. The choice between them would depend on whether you prefer the Orchestra Lite’s more balanced, midrange-focused presentation or the Astral’s more energetic V-shaped signature.

vs. Meze Alba

The Meze Alba shares some similarities with the Astral in terms of its slightly V-shaped tuning, but the Alba has a warmer overall character with a more organic midrange presentation. The Astral offers more sub-bass extension and treble energy compared to the Alba’s more relaxed approach.

Build quality is excellent on both, though they take different aesthetic approaches – the Alba with its distinctive Meze design language and the Astral with its transparent shell revealing the internal components. Both are comfortable for extended listening, though their shell shapes differ somewhat.

The Astral tends to present a more technically precise sound with better detail retrieval, while the Alba offers a smoother, more forgiving presentation that works well with a wide variety of recordings. The choice between them would come down to whether you prefer the Astral’s more energetic, detailed presentation or the Alba’s warmer, more relaxed character.

Specifications and Measurements

• Driver Configuration: Dynamic Driver
• Frequency Response: 20Hz-20kHz
• Impedance: 32Ω
• Sensitivity: 110dB/mW
• Cable: Detachable with 2-pin connector

Frequency Response

The frequency response measurements show the Astral’s V-shaped signature with enhanced bass and treble regions, along with the slightly relaxed pinna presence region that makes it more comfortable for extended listening:

Note: I don’t think I have seen better channel matching in an IEM measurement

Since I had a comparison with a few IEM’s above, I thought it might be useful to do a detailed FR comparison and highlight a few things:

1. The Orchestra Lite has the weakest sub-bass but the Astral and KE4 tie with deep bass.
2. The KE4 has that JM-1 upper bass emphasis - just enough to be interesting but not bloated, the Astral provides that classic Harman ’tuck’ clearly separateing the bass from the midrange. I think this is what makes me like the bass better on the Astral than the KE4. The Alba has a slightly warming mid-bass.
3. The Orchestra Lite pushes that midrange slightly forward for its interesting tuning the other follow a more classic tuning in this area.
4. The Alba is the only one to follow a more traditional Harman in the presence region; the others have that recessed tuning here which is very popular in JM-1 like tunings. The Astral is more JM-1 here than Harman.
5. Finally, the Astral has a decent upper treble possible too safe for some, but I think this is a good choice as you can see with recent IEM’s like the Truthear Blue 2 that too much energy in that region can be bad.

I thought as a quick experiment, I would try a few different eartips (including a double flange and a triple flange) to see the change in a treble region, as I thought people might want to fill in that presence region:

But in my experience while the 711 Clone coupler show this change with eartip, your own ears will probably be affected differently as our ear canals are all various lengths. So it is always worth experimenting.

Distortion Measurements

The distortion measurements for the Astral show excellent performance, with very low distortion across the frequency spectrum:

Showing the distortion as a percentage, we can see that it remains well below audible thresholds:

Rating

The Kiwi Ears Astral earns a 5-star pragmatic rating based on its exceptional performance:

1. Sound Quality: Excellent V-shaped tuning with a slightly relaxed pinna presence region that balances engagement with listening comfort
2. Build Quality: Solid construction with comfortable fit for long listening sessions
3. Accessories: Great cable with adapter support, though I would have liked more eartips
4. Value: While slightly more expensive than the KE4, it is still a good value in this price range.

As mentioned earlier, Kiwi Ears does an exceptional job of offering a range of excellently tuned IEMs with various sound signatures.

Conclusion

The Astral stands out as one of the best-tuned IEMs reviewed in recent months, completing IMO a “triple play” of quality IEMs alongside the Orchestra Lite and the KE4.

By incorporating a slightly relaxed pinna presence region (more similar to the JM1 target in that area), the Astral delivers an engaging, detailed sound while maintaining excellent listening comfort.

The build quality, comfort, and included cable especially, further enhance the value proposition, making the Astral an easy recommendation for anyone seeking a high-quality IEM with a fun yet refined sound signature.