I had the pleasure of being able to listen to these before their official release in return for my honest opinion. A big thanks to Linsoul for providing me with the Halcyon, everything written here is based on listening with my two ears, culminating in my own thoughts and opinions with no AI used for better or worse.
The Kiwi Ears Halcyon come in the small Kiwi Ears packaging and you get the stunning (in my opinion) looking IEM’s, a decent cable with 3.5mm and 4.4mm termination options, two pairs of silicone tips, one narrow and one wide bore, a small case, and some filters (I assume these are to tune the treble if you find it too harsh). The shells look quite stunning to me for the price, and I got a great fit with the included wide bore silicone tips.
The shells are made from aluminium, containing 1 DD, 3 BAs, and a MEMS driver. I’ve had a little experience with MEMS, but only one that came with a energizer unit to power them. I was very keen to see what Kiwi Ears could do with a MEMS driver, and one that didn’t require an energizer unit to go along with it.
I drove these from a few different sources over my time with them, the thoughts here are based on what they sound like directly from my MacBook Air. I listened to a lot of different music over approximately two weeks, from some lo-fi indie rock (on a Neutral Milk Hotel binge), to TOOL, Green Day, Taylor Swift, then on to some classical. They handled everything really well and they highlight how far the IEM market has come in recent years to get a sound like this out of a $199 set! They were the only IEM’s I listened to during the review period to see what it would be like to live with them as a daily driver, with approximately two weeks worth of listening (being somewhere around 50 hours all up).
On to the sound impressions!
Bass:
The first thing that I noticed about the Halcyon was the punchiness in the bass, it grabbed it from the start and was always there through my listening time. A song like ‘I Will Not Break’ by Disturbed is a great showcase for the bass on this IEM. The drums are present from the start, and it also highlights how well this IEM does imaging. You can pick out the position of the different parts of the drum kit, along with having the lovely punch on each beat. Tracks that have more sub-bass deliver a decent rumble into your ears, where you can physically feel the bass.
I’ve been mulling over where I would place the bass, it’s not a bass cannon but it has more than enough to keep most people happy.
Mids:
The mids here are done well, perhaps a little further back in the mix than I would generally like, but it works in with the overall sound that Kiwi Ears are going for. With the way the mids are presented it allows the bass and treble to really come through. When you have a mid focussed track it comes across quite lovely, listening to Noah Kahan’s new album his voice is presented with all the emotion that you’d expect, plus you have the great beat coming through in the background. Switching to Stick Seasons the guitar accompanies his vocals perfectly, with them both taking centre stage. His vocals come across with a great amount of detail but don’t sound clinical. Moving over to Taylor Swift for a female vocalist I popped on ‘All Too Well (10 minute version)’, I find it to be a great test track as you get the full range of her voice with some amazing instrumental parts which can be easily missed/missing on poor headphones. Once again, you get a wonderful balance between the instruments on the track and her voice, Taylor’s voice comes across clearly, with vocals articulated extremely well. What I did really appreciate is the ability to pick out some of the background instruments and follow what they are playing, but again never leaning into an overly clinical sound.
For something a little older, Celine Dion’s ‘It’s All Coming Back To Me Now’ lacks a little bit of the emotion that I get on some other sets, but there is a level of detail to her voice and the instruments on the track which I really enjoy.
In summary, you get a great amount of detail in the mids here, male vocals were the standout for me with an articulate, emotional presentation; female vocals have a good amount of detail however lack a little emotion compared to some other sets. Instruments sound wonderful coming across very clearly in the mix. At this price point they’re great!
Treble:
With the MEMS driver, and my previous experience with MEMS, I was expecting a spicy treble. I was pleasantly surprised with what they’ve done here – it has a little bit of bite but it’s done in a nice way. There is plenty of detail and air on these, with the treble hitting fast and sounding ‘right’. I really enjoyed listening to my treble test tracks, with them all sounding great, never piercing my ears which I was a little worried might have happened. I find the treble at this price point is often a problem, or if not a problem not something to write home about. Here I think it’s done extremely well giving you a very realistic sounding experience, I can’t recall anything else sounding this pleasing at this price point. Very well done and implemented.
Technicalities:
I found the imaging on these to be impressive, I could pinpoint instruments without issue within the stage, the layering is decent although when you have multiple instruments I did find that it could start to blend a little. The stage is standard with nothing crazy happening there. Detail retrieval is top notch for $199 and a standout for me. All up, very happy.
Subjective thoughts:
I really enjoyed my time with Halcyon. They do bass and treble really well, with them both being a standout for different reasons. The punchy bass always put a smile on my face and I loved listening to my treble test tracks on these, the MEMS drive is working well in these and you get a wonderful experience for the price. The mids are great overall but I do listen to a lot of female vocalists and I missed some of the emotion with these as my only IEM for two weeks. These will stay in my rotation, and will be a point of reference for bass and treble.
Overall:
Kiwi Ears have done a great job here with their first MEMS IEM. You’re getting a bass and treble experience that, I believe, is worth significantly more than the asking price and a great all round IEM.
You can buy the Halcyon here if you’d like your own set!
Scorecard at $199:
| Category | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Bass | 4.5/5 | Wonderful punchy bass. It was the first thing I noticed and always puts a smile on my face. |
| Mids | 3.8/5 | Works well with the tuning, detailed sound. Vocals are articulate. Female vocals lacking some emotion. |
| Treble | 5/5 | At $199 I think the Treble here is fantastic. I was expecting something spicy but the more I listened the more I came to realise that it just sounds right. |
| Technicalities | 4/5 | Imaging is great, staging OK, and a detailed presentation. |
| Build/Design | 4/5 | The shells are lovely, accessories for the price are decent. |
| Value | 5/5 | I think these are great value for money, the bass or the treble alone would be worth the price of admission. |
| Overall | 4.4/5 | A wonderful IEM for the price |
Aussie Audiophile 
Leave a comment