Review by Andrew Barlow
Ok – some housekeeping first up – Linsoul have kindly sent the Kiwi Ears Halcyon iems out for an honest and genuine review and that’s exactly what they’re getting.
I listen with my sonic side-flaps, my gear and my love of music, not yours. Your mileage may very well vary……..
For the review I will be using my Hiby R6 Pro II 2025 Dap.
https://www.linsoul.com/products/kiwi-ears-halcyon
The Halcyon is excitingly released today on Kickstarter, with an introductory price of $199 USD. RRP after the KS campaign will be known after 30/4/26. I write this 2 days before.
Now this little beastie is a little different from the rest of the pack. Kiwi Ears have developed the world’s first tribrid iem configuration, utilising 1DD + 1 USound MEMS + 3 BA (2 DEK custom balanced armature drivers + 1 WBFK custom balanced armature driver). MEMS (Micro‑Electro‑Mechanical Systems) speakers—also called solid‑state or piezo MEMS drivers—are produced strictly for ultra‑compact audio devices such as earbuds, hearing aids, AR/VR glasses, and now high‑end IEMs.
Key characteristics explicitly stated by USound and independent publications, that its drivers feature:
- Extremely fast transient response (very quick start/stop)
- Very wide frequency bandwidth
- Ultra‑small size
- Low power consumption
- No magnetic interference (MRI‑safe, EMI‑safe)
- High manufacturing consistency due to semiconductor fabrication
The Halcyon is rated at 29 ohms impedance and has a sensitivity of 109 dB.
But Andy, what does all that jargon mean?????
Well, I’m glad you asked dear reader!!
Let’s start with unboxing and accessories. The box is black and white (and bordering on Sepia), like an old, worn photograph. Understated but it sends a message. Halcyon means a time passed that was happy, successful and peaceful. I LOVE the name.
Inside the box, it’s a simple affair. A small hardcase, a nice modular (Thanks Kiwi Ears!!!!) cable with 3.5 and 4.4mm, 2 sets of tips (one of them wide bore), nozzle protectors (2 sets) and a small packet of Silica lemon lollies (YUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!). I wouldn’t recommend eating them!! I was sick for hours!
A small nitpick again regarding the cable – I believe the industry standard should be L + R written on them or red and black, to distinguish the iem connection ends.
Anyway, now the iems themselves. I really like the look and feel, Machined CNC alluminium, very smart with an understated pattern on the faceplate. They’re small (I compared them to the recently reviewed Ziigaat Arete 2 – it made them look a baby hobbit!!!!!).
They fit well but have fat nozzles (I imagine that’s a good thing!!) and are hard to tip-roll for my chunky fingers. The wide-bore tips fit well after some manipulating/moving around and the initial fit in my sonic side flaps was like wrestling one of those baby hobbits!!!! I lost…..
So Andy, HOW do they sound?????
As I just mentioned, to begin with, I didn’t gel with them. I just couldn’t seem to get bass impact. I took them off, swapped them for some other tips I had and they seemed to fit better and brought the low-end rumble with them.
I listened for a while and we became friends pretty quickly. I switched back to the included wide-bores, wrestled with that hobbit again and finally I beat it (nazty hobbitses!!). I needed to push them up and left in my ear canal, and once I had the fit, I smiled…..
Ok, I won’t list the playlist because I have listened to about 2 days worth of songs haha!!!
I have listened to old and new, metal, hard rock, electronic, EDM and classical.
On Ava Max’s Out Of Your Mind, detail and resolution is just superb! No sibilance or crispness. The bass goes relatively deep and pumps its fist in the air!! It’s clean and solid, without bleed into the mids. Speaking of mids, Ava’s vocals are powerful, clean, have great texture and weight and she is positioned right in the middle, not behind the drummer or in my face.
On Lady Gaga, Doechii’s Runway, soundstage is quite wide. It also has depth and even some height - quite immersive. And positioning within that staging is all around my head. Instruments and vocals are all separated well and easily pin pointable.
Echoes by SAGES, Olafur Arnalds, Loreen is simply an instrumental piece with rain and piano and some tapping (on wood?). It’s quite mysterious and almost haunting. But it is SUPER-detailed and separated beautifully. It continues on like this for the entire track and it sounds like I’m standing inside the front door, watching it pour rain outside and someone is playing piano in the room beside me……..it’s quite beautiful!! The tapping is literally all around me – left to right and behind.
Die Living-Back Road Version by ILLENUM, Dustin Lynch, David Guetta is a Country/Dance song, uber melodic and fun. It’s very vocal-centric, and Dustin Lynch’s vocals sound full, natural and powerful, very well balanced in the mix. The detail up top and in the mid-range is simply excellent (and no, I don’t mean “for the price”), and notes have a clean leading edge. Transients are strong and dynamic. This is some of the cleanest, resolving midrange and treble I have heard, and all the while, sending it all out around me and separating everything beautifully.
Bass is there still and backs everything up nicely, but it’s not dominating. These aren’t bass canons but they do have a nice low rumble, nonetheless. I haven’t spoken much about it as the detail up top and midrange, as well as staging/placement have been the stars of this show!!
Onto some rock/metal now and a new track and band for me – Finito by Gunshine. Fabulous Hard Rock guitar driven with some raspy style vocals. Sounds great!!!! Detailed, well separated and the dude’s vocals are anthemic!
Metallica’s One for true staging tests. Yes, it passes. It’s not the widest I’ve heard but it sneaks around the back of my head nicely. Lar’s cymbals are clean and snappy but not crisp or harsh. Detail is just extraordinary, while retaining a naturalism, not in any way digital. I’m guessing this is the MEMS driver, handling the treble. Whatever it is, it’s working!!
I was SERIOUSLY hoping this wasn’t going to be just another positive review – I have a bit of a reputation for always being an optimist. I agree with that 100% but I will ALWAYS point out things about the products I am reviewing that I’m not fond of too. I’m not scared of backlash, I just have a positive demeanour, I guess.
A final track - Seven Seas by a favourite Norwegian Hair Metal band from the ‘80s. There’s a powerful bass guitar run on this song, which is separated nicely from the mids. The Halcyons showcase it very well in my opinion. It isn’t ocean-floor deep but its presence is very obvious. It has weight and body and is quite full. Tony Harnell’s vocals famously had a 4 octave range, and he could sing as high as B Flat 5, which if you aren’t familiar with vocal range, is literally unachievable for most vocalists, even most professionals. To explain, it’s the upper 5th octave, JUST below High C – now that’s Eunuch territory folks!!!!!
Anyway, suffice to say, his voice can be sibilant, crisp and piercing on some head gear. Was it on the Halcyons? Of course not! It was extremely high, but damn resolving and detailed. The entire song was reproduced very well by the Halcyons – leading edges of notes, resolution and body throughout the frequencies is simply excellent.
But can you compare them Andy?????
Well of course I can but it won’t be apples for apples unfortunately. With the unique tribrid driver setup with the MEMS handling the treble, it will more likely be apples for elephants…….
I recently reviewed the Ziigaat X Fresh Reviews Arete 2 and I really loved them. They used dual Knowles tweeters for the top end grunt and had a huge, punchy bass slap. And THEN there was the bass switch. Different strokes for different folks but I will concentrate on the midrange of both, the treble detail and resolution, and also the staging and imaging.
On Seven Seas, the Halcyons sound clean with powerful vocals, non-fatiguing treble and a decent bass punch.
The Aerete II have the bass in the bag, even with the bass switch turned off. Powerful, commanding and full. But the treble can get a tiny bit crisp on this track. I prefer the Halycon with it’s well controlled highs and mids have a fraction more weight too. But, oh that bass on the Arete IIs is soooo addictive!!!!!
On One, the choppers on the Arete IIs are out reasonably wide, behind both ears, but on a number of AB tests, the Halcyons have a slightly (ever so) wider staging and a tad more 3d as well (behind my head). One can get a bit sibilant on some gear. It didn’t at all on the Arete IIs, not even slightly. And of course, it didn’t on the Halcyons either.
Due to the huge bass, the Arete IIs seemed to have a bit more of a fuller sound overall, maybe meatier, but the Halcyons seem to have more of a natural and present-in-the-moment sound. Not in any way boosted.
Finally on Die Living, I went back and forth a lot. These are two completely different iems, for two very different audiences. And both have a tuning that suits me very well.
The Arete IIs have more power down below, a richer and fuller presentation into the midrange and more oomph overall,
The Halcyons still have body and weight, and a cleaner leading edge with slightly more dynamic transients. Treble is effortless.
Neither iem is any less engaging or fun, both have many strengths and hardly any weaknesses in my opinion.
How do you wrap up then big fella?
What Kiwi Ears have done with MEMS drivers and overall tuning is a credit to the designers and engineers.
A couple of niggles with the cable (yes, I’m picky with my cables) but the overall sonic presentation is right up my alley – clean, dynamic treble, rounded while still retaining natural, weighty mids and a bass that doesn’t take over, bleed or bloat. There’s an effortless in their presentation that allows you to sink into the music, while listening loud.
And imaging and staging have to be also commended here.
A high recommendation from me and a solid 9/10 overall.
These are not just for newbies either. These will fit right in to many iem enthusiasts’ collections.
