Review - Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite

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TLDR version on YouTube: TDLR - Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite

The Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite have been sent to me by Linsoul in exchange for the publication of this review. As always, they have not made any requests or comments and I will do my best to be as sincere and unbiased as humanly possible. However, it is always good to consider that it has not cost me anything to try out these IEMs.

You can find the Orchestra Lite via Linsoul here: https://www.linsoul.com/products/kiwi-ears-orchestra-lite

As with all links that I share, this is a non-affiliate link, meaning I do not benefit from the link in any way.

To avoid being repetetive in my reviews, you can find all the info about how I create the reviews, equipment used, how I receive the products and how to interpret my reviews by visiting: About my reviews

Intro…

The original Kiwi Orchestra was a set of IEMs that got quite a bit of praise back in 2021, with Audio Discourse (more specifically Antdroid) saying that it was the best IEM under $500 at the time. I haven’t had a chance to listen to the original Orchestra but I usually find that my tastes align quite a bit with Antdroid's. The Orchestra (OG) featured 8 BA drivers (2 lows, 4 mids and 2 treble) and retailed for $499.

Fast forward to 2023 and Kiwi Ears brings us the Orchestra Lite, once again featuring 8 BA drivers in the same configuration (2 lows, 4 mids and 2 highs) but this time coming in at $249, half the price of the original.

Now, I obviously can’t compare the Lite to the Original as I haven’t heard the latter but I have heard a lot of good performing IEMs lately and straight off the bat, I can say that the Orchestra Lite is one of them.

Presentation…

The presentation is nothing extraordinary but is nothing to complain about either. Arriving in a simple box with an image of the IEMs on the front along with the logo, it opens to reveal the IEMs sitting in a foam cut out.

Below this we receive a Kiwi Ears branded semi-rigid transport/storage case which contains the cable and a large selection of tips (9 sets in total of three different types).

As I said, nothing out of the ordinary as far as presentation but well packaged and containing the necessary good to enjoy the IEMs out of the box.

Build and aesthetics…

The impression that the Orchestra Lite gives is that it is a very well made IEM, with attention paid to detail. It is a resin build featuring a coloured faceplate and a clear shell through which you can see the drivers, crossovers and even a Kiwi Ears logo on one of the BA drivers.

The IEMs are available in blue or green, in my case I received the blue, and I have to say that they are very good looking IEMs (even if aesthetics are very personal). The marble style swirled finish of the face plates looks great, combining different tones of blue and featuring the Kiwi Ears logo in silver.

As far as comfort, I decided on mid sized tips and found the Orchestra Lite to be very comfortable, even for longer listening sessions. These are on the larger size (think B2 Dusk) so ear size may come into play depending on your anatomy.

One issue to consider is that they are unvented which may cause pressure build up and could result in discomfort to those who are sensitive to this. I did have a few occasions when I felt the pressure build up but reseating the IEMs and making sure to release the pressure when inserting worked well for me personally.

Sound…

All tracks mentioned are clickable links that allow you to open the reference track in the streaming service of your choice (YouTube, Tidal, Qobuz, Spotify, etc.)

Let me start off by saying I used to have a bit of a bias against all BA IEMs (I still do to some extent) as I find that, in the majority of cases, the bass of all BA IEMs is a little lifeless. I don’t mean it is lacking in quantity, rather that it just doesn’t sound natural to me. I believe it is due to the amount of years I have spent listening to bass through dynamic driver speakers (both music and bass playing) and that has just become “normal” for me, so I tend to find that BA doesn’t quite cut it. That is until the Helios came along and threw that theory out of the window. So I am no longer someone who thinks that BA bass will automatically sound unnatural but I do still find that many IEMs do sound this way.

But anyway, enough rambling and lets get into the sound of the Orchestra Lite, fist looking at the graph comparing them to my usual preference target (as always, my target is just a reference, not a rule as to whether I will like something or not):

Starting off in the lowest regions, there is plenty of presence in the usual “Chameleon” test, presenting a low end rumble that is clean and detailed (as far as subbass detail goes of course). I have to say that the seal and fit of the Orchestra Lite is very important, well, it’s very important with any IEM but in the case of the OL, the smallest of issues with seal makes the subbass all but disappear.

The transition from the subbass into the midbass is a little on the warm side but I don’t find this to be a negative on the OL. Listening to something electronic like “Sun is Shining”, there is no sensation of bloat in the midbass at all, with everything sounding clean and balanced in the low end. If you are someone looking for a large bass boost then these IEMs are probably not going to fit your tastes, yet they work well for my tuning preferences in these ranges. For example, “Bury a Friend” has plenty of rumble in those low vibrations but without seeming to lose control or take over the sound signature at all.

If we take something more acoustical, without a subbass presence, the low end could come across as a little “polite” with things like acoustic guitars and basses. In my typical test using “Crazy”, the reverb in the low end of the guitar is present but is never overpowering, making it a very fatigue free listen for me.

In regards to what I said a moment ago about the BA bass not sounding natural (I don't want to use the infamous “BA timbre” reference), in the case of the Orchestra Lite it is far better than on other BA options I have heard. It is not quite on a level with the Helios (which is to be expected) but is closer to natural than artificial.

Moving into the mid range, the mids are again very clear and well balanced. They portray a good sensation of detail but could be a little on the cooler side, missing a little bit of warmth in the lower mids to round out that natural timbre a little on things like the bass guitar in “Elephants On Ice Skates”.

Vocals are quite forward, especially female vocals, which are clearly the center of the OL presentation. With vocals that are a little harsh in their presentation, such as Alicia Keys in “No One (Acoustic)” or Beth in "Don’t You Worry Child”, this can be a little overpowering on these IEMs due to how forward they are. They are certainly not the harshest of IEMs but that focus on upper mids and treble ranges can become fatiguing with some tracks that are not smooth in their recordings.

The upper ranges are possibly the least balanced out of the whole signature. Sibilance is actually not bad (with the usual “Code Cool” test) but it is noticeable on some parts of the track. There is a decent extension and the upper ranges do come across as detailed but things like cymbals can come across as a little uneven, sometimes seeming to fall behind the upper mids but with peaks appearing now and again.

Details are good in general, with good image placement and a soundstage that is also fairly good, at least above average in IEM terms. I did find that if a lot was going on in the upper ranges then the separation of layers could suffer but in more relaxed tracks it seemed to do a decent job.

One last thing to note is that the Orchestra Lite do reveal noisy sources quite a bit, with hissing (on things like the Go Blu with the balanced out) being more noticeable than on many other sets.

Conclusion…

Not too long ago I reviewed the Kiwi Ears Cadenza and it became one of my favourite budget sets of IEMs, one that I have absolutely no doubts about recommending to those who enjoy similar sound presentations to myself. In the case of the Orchestra Lite that comes in a 7 times the price, I feel that I am a bit more hesitant to do so.

It is not that the Orchestra Lite is a bad set of IEMs, far from it, in fact, I think they are a very good set of IEMs, yet they do have a few things that I can see not working for some people. The performance is good, they are amazingly built, look great and are, in general, something that I think will impress a lot of people. Yet on the negative side, the low ranges are still not 100% natural to my ears and the upper ranges could use some work.

If you are looking for a more analytical sound signature, something that is balanced and maybe leads to the colder side of neutral, then I think that you can expect a lot of enjoyment from the Ochestra Lite, yet if you are more on the warmer and fun side of things, then these will probably not fit your preferences.

Again, I feel that these are a great set of IEMs, just that they won’t be for everybody (well, no IEMs ever are!).