Article: Inexpensive IEM Roundup

[davide256]

Hi Josh, ordered the Kiwi cadenza's, thanks for your review. Hard part I find for IEM's is fit -do they stay put and comfort -they can hurt if the nozzle/tip

is in a bad spot for your ear. But that passive isolation is so much better than noise canceling tech  "digititus" at moderate to loud background noise levels.

[davide256]

Hi Josh,

  got the Kiwi Cadenza's, they are pretty nice. Out of the box kind of forward for treble but a few hours break in was all that was needed.

Kind of falls into a Meze 99 like sound with a little less density and smoothness. but a bit more treble extension. Heck of a bargain at $35

 

Wondering if you have an aftermarket IEM cable that you recommend to improve on the Cadenza  stock cable ?

[davide256]

2 hours ago, JoshM said:

Yes, they have just a touch of glare in the lower treble. Beyond let them break in, the iFi IEMatch is a good tool to have. Even on IEMs that don’t need it for hiss purposes, I find that the IEMatch seems to tame treble just a bit subjectively. 
 

Most decent replacement cables will come close to the cost of the Cadenza itself. But I’ve had good luck with Tripowin cables for a budget option. The cheapest stock 2-pin model (“Zonie”) is $20, and the version with the termination adapters (“Amber”) is $30. 

Thanks! Glad you responded, had ordered a cable already only to realize from the Amber options it had wrong ends (CMX?) vs 2 pin 0.78.  iSine  cables also work,

using that at the moment as a sonic improvement over the stock cable and looking forward to the Amber cable and Spin Fit tips when they arrive.