In-Ear MonitorOverreview

Kiwi Ears Orchestra II

Ten armatures, one sealed shell. Reviewers agree on the mids and the isolation — and split on the bass, the treble and the fit.

78/ 100
Review score
23 sourcesUpdated
$349Typical US price

Score aggregates reviewer opinions across topics.

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Kiwi Ears Orchestra II

The short version

What to know.

An all-balanced-armature IEM with a natural, clear midrange, excellent imaging and layering, very strong isolation and an unusually good stock cable — those points draw near-universal agreement. It measures with a sub-bass-focused shelf and a strong pinna peak near 3 kHz. Opinion splits three ways: on whether the bass is impressively deep for armatures or still short of real slam, on whether the treble reads as smooth and safe or as bright with an artificial shine, and on comfort, where the large, completely unvented shell leaves a sizeable group reporting pressure build-up in the canal.

About this product

The $349 ten-BA Orchestra II in its stock universal shell. Not the eight-BA Orchestra Lite ($249) or the original Orchestra ($499, 2021).

Kiwi Ears, the in-house IEM label of the distributor Linsoul, built its name on the Orchestra line: the $499 original in 2021, then the eight-armature Orchestra Lite at $249. The Orchestra II lands between them at $349 with ten custom balanced armatures per side, a four-way crossover and a transparent shell that puts the whole driver array on show.

It arrives as most of the bracket has moved to hybrids and tribrids, which makes it something of a statement: an all-armature set asked to do sub-bass, air and all-day comfort without a dynamic driver or a vent. Reviewers have been broadly generous. What they argue about is exactly the parts an all-BA, fully sealed design makes hardest.

A good fit for

  • Vocal, acoustic, jazz and classical listeners who prize timbre and layering
  • Anyone who needs strong passive isolation — commuting, stage, travel
  • Listeners tired of V-shaped tunings who still want a little sub-bass
  • People who want a good modular balanced cable in the box

Think twice if

  • You are sensitive to canal pressure — the shell has no vent, and it is the most common complaint
  • You have small ears or narrow canals; both the shell and the nozzle run large
  • You want dynamic-driver slam; even its fans say armature bass is different
  • You are treble-sensitive and cannot audition first — a real share of reviewers hear it as bright

The reviewer consensus

Agreement &
disagreement.

3 / 12topics divide opinion
imagingdetailisolationbuildmidstonalitysoundstagedynamicsvaluebasstreblecomfort
4 Strong agreement5 Mostly agree3 Divided opinions

Common ground7

  • The midrange is its core strength — natural, clear vocals and convincing acoustic timbre
  • Imaging, layering and separation are excellent and hold up in dense mixes
  • Detail is high for the price and comes across as effortless rather than etched

Points of contention3

  • Bass: remarkably deep and clean for armatures, or still short of weight and slam
  • Treble: smooth and fatigue-free, or bright with a slightly artificial shine — tips and source move it
  • Comfort: fine for hours, or a sealed shell that builds canal pressure (plus a wide nozzle)

A closer listen.

12 topics · 3 divided
Left: criticalRight: positiveTighter lines: more agreement

Bass

Leans positiveDivided opinions
Reviewer sentiment12 supporting sources
CriticalNeutralPositive

Band: opinion spread · Dot: weighted average

Sources split. Most say it is the best armature bass they have heard — deep, clean and fast. A smaller group hears the familiar all-BA limit: sub-bass that is present but lacks weight, rumble and physical slam. Nearly everyone on both sides adds that a dynamic driver still hits harder.

Measured

All four rigs show a sub-bass-led shelf: +8.2 to +9.6 dB over 500 Hz at 20 Hz, easing to +4.4 to +6.1 dB by 100 Hz. Measured on the same rigs, that is roughly 4 dB more sub-bass than the Orchestra Lite.

vs. listeners — Quantity isn't the argument — the graph shows a generous, sub-bass-weighted shelf. The split is about delivery: the same fast, short-decay armature bass reads as clean and deep to one camp and as lacking physical weight to the other. Several reviewers also note the bass thins out without a full seal, so tips move it more than usual.

Where it splits
deep, clean and surprisingly hard-hitting for armatures64%

“Bass drops hit with authority and control, providing a surprisingly engaging low-end experience that defies typical BA bass limitations.”

Meldrick, Headfonics
adequate, but short on weight, rumble and slam36%

“It is not a bass-heavy presentation, and quality of bass is average, but it does enough to support the rest of the tuning.”

Unheard Lab
Link to this topic

The hardware

Specifications.

Checked

Design

Type
In-ear monitor
Drivers
10 × balanced armature (Custom Balanced Armatures, 4-way crossover)10BA
Housing
transparent acrylic

Electrical

Impedance
15 Ω
Sensitivity
110 dB/mW≈ 128.2 dB/V
Frequency response
20 Hz – 20 kHz

Connection

Cable
Detachable, 1.22 m
Connector
0.78 mm 2-pin
Plugs supplied
3.5 mm, 4.4 mm balancedmodular

Manufacturer-published figures, not measurements · from kiwiears.com, linsoul.com.

Follow the evidence

Sources 23

1–6 of 23 sources

Read with context

Limitations & method.

As of

What to keep in mind 5

  1. A read of where the reviews land as of September 2026, about ten months after launch — the field around $350 keeps moving.

  2. Nearly all the published reviews used units lent or sent by the distributor or a review tour. That doesn't make them wrong, but it thins out the critical end.

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