We here at Audiomonsta have covered plenty of Kiwi Ears products and were thoroughly impressed by the value and performance they bring to the table. So far none of their products has disappointed us and that includes their headphones products like the Altruva and the Ardor, which are bluetooth headphones. Today we got the chance to take a look at the Aventus which is the sibling of Ardor who bring neutrality in their sound and the Aventus here aimed for gaming and DJ purposes, they are also well suited for mainstream users. Coming in at only circa 70 USD or RM300, they might be another steal of a product in the bluetooth headphones segment.
First of all, a shout-out to the team of Kiwi Ears for the opportunities they have given us. So, how will the Aventus perform? We shall find out here.
Functions & Specifications
Before we start the review, here are the specifications and features of Kiwi Ears Aventus;
● Bluetooth: 5.4
● Drivers: Dynamic 40mm + 10mm (Coaxial)
● Noise Cancellation: Hybrid ANC technology, Noise reduction depth -32dB±3dB
● Battery Capacity: 1000mAh
● Playback Time; 18hrs (ANC + RGB on), 45hrs (ANC on), 82hrs (ANC off)
● Fast Charging: 10 mins = 4 hours playback
● Impedance: 16Ω±10% @1K Hz
● Sensitivity: 102±3dB @1KHz 1mW
● Frequency Response: 20Hz ~ 40KHz
● Connectivity: Can connect with two devices simultaneously
● Ear Cup Design: Foldable and rotatable
● RGB Lighting: With RGB light + plastic decorated pad
The Kiwi Ears Altruva can be purchased at their website as well as other platforms globally.
Packaging & Accessories
Packaging here is pretty standard with a large paper box with their professional style of package design and they are simple. Inside we will be welcomed with a beautiful, gray hard case with the headphones encased within. The accessories included are a short USB C to A cable for charging purposes, a coiled 3.5mm cable, a USB C DSP coiled cable, a pair of tuning foam and some paperworks. Straight to the point packaging with minimal wastage and the inclusion of the high quality case and an extra USB C DSP cable is indeed welcomed.
Design
The design of the is a more mainstream design similar to the Audio Technicas and they are made with plastics with vegan headband and earpads and metal hinges. Build is good with a well thought design for comfort and their collapsible design is perfect for portability. The plastic parts do feel a little cheap and the RGB lights are too bright but it can be turned off with a single click. The comfort here is really good and even with the ANC turned off, the isolation is still great. The headphones is a circum-aural type of headphones that covers the whole ear snugly.
The Aventus is a closed back headphones and they are driven with a unique 2 dynamic drivers which is actually a staple configuration of Kiwi Ears. The 40mm driver is in charge of the highs, mids and lows while the 10mm coaxial driver is meant for producing extra clarity and width in soundstage which is similar to the Ardor but they have a more intimate, punchy tuning.
The Aventus also came with an extra tuning foams that has a denser density and can be replaced with the stock foams or no foams can be applied to give a wider selection of sound. Basically the denser the foam, the less treble intensity and the deeper the bass but it has less clarity with higher density. Users will need to remove the earpads by twisting it and replace the foams placing it inside the earpads.
The Aventus is equipped with an array of 5 microphones to pick up noise and cancel them out, giving a superb -35db of noise reduction when the ANC is on and even without the ANC, the Aventus is capable of giving a good passive isolation. The ANC here is average at best, not as good as the Ardor but they still work for travels and loud crowds suiting DJ usage. They also have no transparency mode or any other mode but that’s ok as I personally don’t use the other modes as much including the ANC. The English language used has a Chinese accent on them but is still easily understood.
The battery is rated at 1000 mAh and has 84 hours of playback with ANC off, 45 hours with ANC on and 18 hours with ANC and RGB on which is more than adequate, beating out most of the brands out there by a mile. The charging takes around 45 minutes to complete and they have a fast charging feature that boasts a 10 minute charge for 4 hours of playtime. They do have the latest bluetooth 5.4 but only supports SBC and AAC without APT-X or LDAC support.
Besides bluetooth, the Aventus has the ability to be played via cable and they sound even better with cable mode. Kiwi Ears has included 2 coiled cables where 1 is standard 3.5mm and another has a USB C DSP termination.
These headphones used a clicking button which I much prefer than a gesture motion sensor which is prone to accidental click. The volume button and play/pause which also doubles as the on/off button is on the left side with the 3.5mm input situated below and they have a locking mechanism. The left side has the ANC button where a single click will turn it on or off while the RGB lights button is situated above the ANC button. The RGB button needed a long press to activate and has 2 modes where 1 is blinking and the other is just normal RGB lights.
Gears Used for Comparisons
FiiO Q7
Hiby FC6
Moondrop MIAD01
Kiwi Ears Ardor
Sony WH1000XM5
Sennheiser HD800s
Dunu Luna
Letshuoer S15
Blur daBass custom earbud
Toneking TO600
Songs list
Tone and Presentation
The sound presentation of the Aventus is a V shaped sound that has a boosted lows and high range alongside a slightly recessed midrange. The overall sound has superb energy and they are a fun, musical pair of headphones that is highly enjoyable, suitable for mainstream, casual usage. They aren’t a clinical, dead neutral pair of headphones that is suitable for critical listening, instead they are an immersive headphones that are tuned towards intimacy and punchy type of sound signature. Technicalities here are good and they have great overall clarity with a wide frequency range and they are an accurate pair of headphones that sounds natural without any major alterations on the music.
Soundstage
The soundstage here is average at best due to their closed back design but they do possess adequate width and height with a touch of air. The soundstage here is more towards an intimate soundstage that has good accuracy that has great 3D spatial awareness that is capable to pinpoint sound direction as they were meant for gaming usage. Immersion here is superb and they are a great pair of headphones for movies as well. Headroom here is decent and they have a good amount of space with no boxiness issues that will be claustrophobic.
Separation and Timbre
Separation of the Aventus is satisfactory and they are able to have a great left to right separation with no crosstalk issues and possessing a wide frequency range with great extensions. Separation can be improved with wired mode and gives a wider sound overall alongside better overall clarity with no compression. Cohesion here is actually great for a dual dynamic driver as they are well tuned with no gaps or hollowness present. Timbre here is sharp, rich, warm and they are an organically musical pair of headphones.
Drivability
Bluetooth headphones aren’t known for being loud but these Aventus are really capable to sound loud in volume without any clipping nor distortion which is great. Personally the loudest I can go with these headphones is at 80% on my smartphone and same goes with wired as they are easily driven via cable. They do perform better on wired and with proper amping they do possess some scalability but only marginal. Sound quality on ANC doesn’t degrade nor improve much and they mostly sound the same but on loud scenarios, the ANC does have an edge of being clearer. Balanced connection is not possible with the Aventus as they have a shared ground on the headphones side.
The Bass (Low)
Bass here is the dominant and probably the best part of the Aventus as they are meaty, authoritative and punchy. They are tuned south of neutral with a good amount of boost that possess a good mid bass lift producing a tight slam with a great amount of energy. Bass texture is decent and they are capable of keeping up with busy tracks like EDM or even metal. Details here are good with a clean low that has great layering and the clarity here is superb, possessing no bloat nor bleed. Bass is highly resolving with a vivid, clean and clear bass while transparency is acceptable although being north of neutral. The sub-bass amount is big but isn’t overpowering and it matches well with the mid bass lift producing a full, immersive bass that rumbles deep and clean. The bass here suits bassheads that want a strong bass without sacrificing the other frequencies but isn’t suited for neutral, clinical users.
The Mids
The midrange here is a neutral mids with a slightly recessed, almost flat sound presentation and they have a decent amount of thickness in their body while possessing a warm sound signature. Tonal balance here is great with a slightly bright presentation that isn’t too aggressively bright. Details here are average but competent in their price range with a focus more towards the macro region with mediocre micro details. Clarity here is actually great as they are capable of sounding clean without being muffled by the big bass amount and they have a great transparent sound that sounds rather accurate. Resolution here is vivid with some colouration present to give music a sweeter tone while still being accurately acceptable. Vocals do sound a tad distant but aren’t dull but the amount of space here is good and they do have good sound placements in their mids. Vocal balance here is good as male vocals have great depth while female vocals have a good amount of brilliance.
The Highs
The high frequency is neutral with a strong peak at the 8 to 10 kHz that gives a good bite and energy to the overall presentation of the Aventus. Details here are superb and they are able to reproduce the highs with a clean, sparkly and a mild crisp highs. The highs are actually a little strong for some users but it can be remediated by changing the tuning foams to the denser ones. Extension on the highs are good with a slightly slow roll off that gives the highs a good presence without being dull. Sibilant are in control with minimal harshness and they manage to play within the lines of being too piercing. The highs have a good transparent sound that has a natural high range with good timbre free of any weird metallic timbre. Treble here has a mild intensity that gives the overall sound some energy with good clarity. The treble here isn’t for those who seek a laid-back sound, instead for those who love a slightly aggressive sound that has the energy without being too offensive.
Comparisons
VS Kiwi Ears Ardor
The sibling of the Aventus from the same manufacturer and they are priced mostly the same with the same dual driver setup. Design on the Ardor does feel and look more classy and they have a slightly better build but no RGB lights present. The Ardor is clearly for those who want neutrality in their music with a more balanced sound signature instead of the more mainstream, V shaped sound of the Aventus. Both are accessorized the same with high quality cases and have the superb battery life albeit Ardor does have slightly longer battery life. Ardor has more modes like transparency, movies and music mode.
The high region on the Aventus has a bigger amount with a livelier sound versus the neutral smooth yet accurate highs on the Ardor. Details and clarity here are similar but the quality is better on the Ardor with a cleaner, accurate high range. The extension on both is decent and the Aventus does have a higher amount of energy and bite.
Midrange on the Ardor is slightly thicker and warmer with a more forward sound that has no recessed mids and they have better transparency and accuracy. Details on both are similar but clarity and spaciousness sounds a tad better on the Aventus. The Ardor has better vocal reproduction as they are more balanced and neutral.
Bass amount on the Aventus has the bigger amount with more mid-bass lift that is visceral and authoritative. Details on the Ardor bass are better and they are able to give a more textured bass with a cleaner overall bass. Sub-bass amounts on both are similar but the Aventus dives deeper with a more evident slam.
The soundstage on the Ardor is slightly wider, taller and airier.
My pick: Ardor for their neutrality and accuracy
Sony WH1000xm5
The forerunner of the bluetooth headphones segment, Sony WH1000XM5. Priced more than 3 times the asking price of the Aventus but they have a better build, design and have one of the best ANC in the market. Both have a similar V shaped sound but the Aventus does have a bigger bass and treble boost in a small margin.
Bass on the XM5 is more organic with less mid-bass lift and they have an airer bass. Details on both are similar here but clarity does sound clearer on the XM5 in a small margin. Bass slam on the Aventus has a bigger, tighter slam that has better authority but sub-bass seems to be similar.
Midrange on the XM5 isn’t as recessed but the clarity is better on the Aventus with a similar amount of details. The XM5 has a touch more warmth and they are more intimate versus the slightly pushed back mids that have more space. Coloration on the XM5 is more evident that gives a sweeter, lusher sound but the Aventus sounds more transparent.
Highs on both are very similar in the presentation with neutral flat, slightly boosted highs that have great presence but the treble amount is bigger on the Aventus. Sparkle on the Aventus is livelier and crisper. Extension on the XM5 is better and they are airier.
Soundstage width and height are similar but the airiness on XM5 is better.
My pick: Aventus for their value with similar performance
Synergy
Not much can be said for bluetooth’s synergy but genre matching can be important for the Aventus. I personally do find the Aventus matches well with modern music such as EDM, pop, rock and some acoustics but not so much for harsh music like metal, Jpop and classicals as their mids are a tad pushed back. With cable mode, they do scale a little even with simple dongle DACs and sources that have a forward midrange will make the Aventus more balanced.
Who Is It For?
The Kiwi Ears Aventus is a recommended product for mainstream users suiting gamers, DJs and even for casual usage as they have good technical aspects with an immersive, V shaped sound that is highly energetic. Their pricing is surely fair and although the looks might be a little generic, they are well built headphones that have good comfort and build well. The Aventus is also a recommended product for workouts as they are lightweight. Their good immersion does justice to movies as well. These aren’t for those who want a balanced, accurate sound for critical listening or purists but for those who want a bold and fun sound signature.
Final words
The Kiwi Ears Aventus is a product variation that gives their catalogue suiting a wider range of users as the tuning here isn’t their usual tuning but has the pedigree of Kiwi Ears tuning prowess as they are a matured, well tuned V shaped sound that is highly competitive. The Aventus is a capable bluetooth headphones with good ANC and they play even better with wired mode. Though the ANC and design isn’t as good as the competitors, the price of these headphones is without a doubt fair and reachable. One for the gamer’s spirit.
I would rate this product 4 stars over 5.
Pros
- Decent build with superb battery life
- Lightweight with great comfort with good passive isolation
- Ability to go loud
- Well tuned V shaped
- Good timbre and cohesion
- Highly musical and immersive
- Wide frequency range that has great air
- Good tonal balance
- Decent technicalities with great clarity and details
- Decent resolution
- Strong, meaty, authoritative bass suiting bassheads
- Clear, spacious midrange
- Energetic, sparkly, crisp high range
- Decent soundstage
- Locking mechanism on cable
- Amazing value with extra USB C cable and high quality hard case
- Tuning pads included that works
Cons
- No LDAC or lossless bluetooth
- Not for treble sensitive users and purists
- Recessed mids
- ANC mode not as good as it’s sibling Ardor
- Transparency isn’t the best
- Highs can be fatiguing with stock tuning pads
- Generic design (subjective)
- Not for monitoring
- RGB redundant and too bright (subjective)
- Plastic parts feels low in quality