Thanks for the Linsoul for the opportunity to listen to the Astral. All thoughts are my own as always. I do these reviews in the hopes that it helps someone find an IEM that they love. I have many IEMs and Headphones (collectively nearly 250 now), and have had the opportunity to try many more. I write this with all of my listening experience taken into account, but they are opinions based on my ears so may vary for you. With that out of the way!
The IEM market is very interesting, ranging from dirt cheap sets through to tens of thousands of dollars. There is a sweet spot somewhere in there, where performance and price cross over. To me, this used to be around $1,000 USD, until the Astral came along…
Kiwi Ears have a lot of great IEM’s in their line up, I have nearly all of them ,and was eager to try our Astral when I was given the opportunity. Coming to us with one DD, and six BA’s, it isn’t the craziest setup to grace our ears, but it is done extremely well and as given away by my opening paragraph, it’s punching well above its price point.
It has standard Kiwi Ears packaging, the two standouts to me on the packaging front are the improved eartips over their cheaper offerings, and the modular cable. The new cable, which shares the same modular capability as the Septet (which I also have and will be sharing my thoughts on soon) is extremely well done and allows you to switch between SE 3.5mm and Balanced 4.4mm. The cable also has a great feel to it which I really like. Great job Kiwi Ears!
The shells also look lovely, something I’d be happy with at any price point. They fit my ears fine so no issues.
I listened to these over multiple setups, and they performed extremely well on all, my main setup for these impressions was my Luxury and Precision E7, for the first few days with the original card and then later on with the AD1955 card when it arrived. For more mid-fi sets I usually go with one of my cheaper DAPS, but this set scales as well as some kilobucks, so it’s deserving of a nicer DAP. Just know that it also works extremely well on dongles and cheaper DAPS.
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I first put these on but what I was greeted with made me stop for a minute and check the price of these. These present one of the best tuning’s I’ve heard, with detail, imaging, soundstage that rivals kilobuck and up sets. They sound big, they sound full, they have a lot of micro detail, vocals sound amazing. Layering is done well, they’re musical, engaging, get my toes tapping, and seemingly don’t really have any downside. On to some more detailed information:
Bass:
The Astral delivers a well-controlled bass response. Sub-bass extension is present but not overpowering, providing a subtle rumble when the track calls for it. Mid-bass is tight and punchy, offering good impact without bleeding into the mids. It’s not a bass head set but does have a decent bass shelf to not leave you wanting anything, unless you want a bass head set then you should look elsewhere.
Mids:
Midrange frequencies are clear and natural, with vocals and instruments rendered with accuracy. Both male and female vocals come through with clarity, and there’s a pleasant warmth that adds a touch of musicality without veering into coloration. All up, the mids are done really well, nothing sounds out of place. They’re a great reference IEM to my ears, not as musical as some, not as clinical as some, just nicely in the middle.
Treble:
The treble is done really well on these, again walking that middle line to my ears between what you might get with other sets. Everything sounds good, I didn’t get any fatigue with these, plenty of detail. There is also a decent amount of air/space in the treble so nothing sounds congested.
Technicalities:
The Astral presents a moderately wide soundstage, with a sense of space that extends just beyond the ears. Imaging is precise, allowing for easy placement of instruments and vocals within the soundscape. While not the most expansive, the stage feels natural and coherent. Once again, it takes a measured, middle road approach. I have the Septet here which I’m reviewing too, and that has a wider stage (it is an open back), but I didn’t feel like this was congested when I switched between the two, the stage here is just nice and normal.
Detail retrieval, which I touched on already a little, is great at this price point and good at any. It handled busy tracks very well, never falling over itself. It does layering really well, when listening to something that has a lot happening you can easily focus on one piece of the track and pay attention to that or take a figurative step back and take in the beauty of what’s being delivered by the artist.
Subjective thoughts:
If it wasn’t clear, I love these. For an all-rounder I think that they’re unmatched at this price point and would be a contender up at the kilobuck tier. They scale well and take on the characteristics of your source. The E7 with its default card is a little bright, and this came through, with the AD1955 it has an old school, analog, neutral feel, and that’s what comes through. Switching to warmer sources, these also become warmer. A chameleon of sorts. At this price point sets often don’t scale up well but these do, with my better sources lifting these up higher. I’d take these over some of the many kilobuck sets that I’ve tried over the years in a heartbeat.
Overall:
My number one recommendation at this price point as of today for an all-rounder. Well done, Kiwi Ears!
| Category | Score (/5) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Bass | 4.8 | Controlled and tight, with subtle sub-bass presence. |
| Mids | 4.8 | Clear and natural. |
| Treble | 4.8 | Crisp and detailed without harshness. |
| Soundstage | 4.5 | Moderately wide, with precise imaging. |
| Imaging | 4.5 | Accurate placement of instruments and vocals. |
| Build & Fit | 5.0 | Comfortable design with solid construction. |
| Value | 5.0 | Offers a balanced sound signature, the best at this price point. |
Overall Rating: 4.8 / 5
Aussie Audiophile 
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