Enjoy em, brother. Take good care of my 2nd child, I’m trusting your baby sitting skills! 
Again - obligatory thank you 
to @MMag05 and the still to this day anonymous king who put up the cash for allowing it to happen. I wish I had more Audio friends in the area, everyone deserves to hear the DM at least once if they’re an Audiophile.
Hold on, does this mean that people actually have to be in the Boston area to get on the OG DM review tour list? Isn’t that like discrimination or something?!?! 
Seriously though, that’s crazy cool that someone gifted the DMs to you! I owned them for a short time (couldn’t get a good fit) and I can say that they’re definitely a unique and special IEM. In fact, the DMs are basically reaponsible for the current higher end single DD hunt I’m on. They are one of the IEMs that showed me how crazy special a single DD done right can be.
It’s also cool to see you loaning your new shinies to another hobbyist to share the magic. Clearly whoever chose to send the DMs to you, chose the right custodian.
Edit: BTW as of yesterday, I have the Zen Pros and the Twilights here already. The Moondrop Illuminations should be here tomorrow or Tuesday at the latest according to the tracking from Audio 64. I decided not to listen to any of them until I have them all and I’m ready to start doing the shootout (I’m only keeping one of them) with them so I’m really looking forward to it. HBB asked me to post some thoughts on his thread when I’ve had some time with them (he helped with recs) and if folks on this thread are interested I’ll make sure to crosspost in one way or another.
Double co-signed
Ahhh hahah I had a really horrible experience when I was younger, I shipped out a really valuable pair of shoes in the hopes of getting another pair sent back to me, a trade so to speak. Unfortunately - I was cheated out of my pair. Never heard from the kid again. That provided some much needed PTSD - not to trust anyone on the internet again when it comes to their word
To be fair - since joining this forum, I have gotten rid of this aversion to shipping things out. I trust you guys. I speak to you guys every day and I may not know everyone when it comes to their faces or first names, but there’s a brother-hood here on this site and I feel it. The only thing I absolutely cannot get over (I hope to one day) is trusting the carriers. If a package were to break or be damaged, I’d be screwed. Sure, maybe I’m over thinking it - but I am acknowledging my problem and I want to get over that fear so I can start sending out my sets to my friends I’ve made on here.
Now speaking on the DMs, I too have a problem with the fit - the shell is so tiny and the nozzle is so short, my elephants ears have an issue keeping them in - even with large size tips. My right ear is particularly picky when it comes to fit. I definitely benefit from longer nozzles and the DMs have super short ones. Radius Deep mounts did the trick however - so I was thankful. My tip rolling session when I first received them was filled with anxiety and regret at the thought of not getting a good seal and fit with them. I was relieved to say the least!
I’m definitely looking forward to your TOTL single DD shoot out, man. The Twilights are such an interesting piece of kit and you’re just the right person to demo them. Your track record is stellar and I’d love to get your opinion on the Twilights Vs. other Kilobuck and above tribrids and even the Supermoons!
Dude, I really didn’t mean to make you feel bad for not lending stuff out through shipping. I swear I was just messin’ around. Now I feel like a bit of a jerk…
You goddamn right I will take care of your babies. I could not have this (or Mags’ Rikubud collection) on my conscience if something happened to them. Plus they are stellar. One thing though off the top about the fit; It’s times like these that make me wonder if I have pornstar earholes or something. Big chonky sets are manageable for me, and tiny ones that don’t stay in place are not a problem for me with good tip rolling. I feel like I’m abnormal 
Dude NO! No way - don’t feel bad! Haha I know you’re way of speaking by now and I definitely understood you were just yanking my chain!
God damned internet - I’m so bad at writing my thoughts and making sure my inflections come across properly ….
Do not feel bad, I totally understood you were joking. It’s all love my dude! 
I trust you, my dude!
Plus …
I know where you live now 
enjoy em! And I hope you can get that fit sorted!
Sorted? My first thought when I opened the case was “I’m not fucking around with this. I’m putting deep mounts on or else”
Medium in my left ear, large in my right. Fit like they were made for me
Let’s goooooo!!!
I’ll be waiting for the complete write up, my friend
My thoughts on the KiwiEars Cadenza worthy of the hype - fellow non believers rejoice!
Audio Review - 2022 Best Buy Award Goes To - KiwiEars Cadenza
Hello all: Thanks for reading my feedback.
I share my impressions as I hear them with my ears.
As all our ears are different shapes & sizes so what I hear as bright or bassy -you might hear as dull and Vise-Versa; just something to be mindful of.
What makes my ears happy as a sound signature is slightly more aggressive U shape. I love my Bass Sub and Mid Bass love it all actually; and in quantity. With the Bass I prefer a faster decay the faster the better as to not bleed into the mids.
I prefer the fast speedy bass of the Nano Carbon Driver of my LetShuoer EJ07M and GS AUDIO SE12 ( Love my Sonion 38D’S BA Sub Bass. ) Of course there are exceptions in the market - as I also find the bass of the Bio Diaphragm used in the Yanyin Canon special - has some special sauce like a 8" subwoofer that feels like a 12" Has the slam and some serious sub bass! And the super cool Copper Alloy Shell IKKO Obsidian OH10 - Only IEM I never considered selling!
That dripple being said:
And as such here is my take on the: KIWIEARS Cadenza (I Paid for my 2 sets $35 USD ea.)
Sources: E1DA SG3, Shanling UP5, Geshelli JNOG J2 with AKM4493 chip.
DAP/TRASPORT: From Lenovo Laptop with Amazon Unlimited ULTRA HD, Hiby R6 2020,Samsung S22 Ultra with DSD Files.
Amps: LoxjiP20 tube amp and Topping A90D
Tips Used for Best Result and subjective: BGVP W01 - my new favorite tip. Love these tips and again fairly cheap. $2.00
Cable Used: JIALAI J2 Silver Plated OFCC $18 USD
PRO’S:
- $35 Killer Price!
- Looks & Feels Solid
- On the smaller side so should fit almost all and with correct tips get a great seal and noise isolation.
- Decent Cable - No Immediate Need to replace.
- Bass and texture quantity and still manages fast transience response!
- No Hint of Sibilance but still manages to balance out the Highs & Bass with enough sparkle to not fault it to much.
- Vocals both Male & Female fantastic
- Can listen to endlessly with a smile.
- That Nozzle Lip keeps a Death Grip on any Tip!
- Sounds like my BELOVED IKKO Obsidian OH10 92% with less sparkle and less forward presentation .
- Can be driven off anything from phone output to high end amps.
CON’S:
- No Cable termination option.
- Red Color looks like Pink
- Tip Selection Sucks - This IEM Screams wide bore to open stage and give the Cadenza a nice stage and upper presence. ( My Rec’s - AZLA Crystal, BGVP W01, Moondrop Spring Tips ) W01 was my favorite #1
- That Nozzle Lip keeps a Death Grip on any Tip!
NOTHING ELSE TO COMPLAIN ABOUT FOR $35! - No Case who cares , Tips Suck - Needed to buy a real Wide Bore Tip Anyway. Cable Upgrade helps but not needed.
My Cable take as a generalization; is this - as I detest cable shillers: I can hear a difference not so much in cable to cable but in the materials used. For this I think cables are first and foremost #1 EYE CANDY and #2 distant second If I can hone the sound signature a tad then great. IEM/SOURCE MATERIAL/TIPS/FLOWER STRAIN/DAC-SOURCE/AMP/CABLE that’s my order of importance to what I think makes the most difference.
It has been observed the Pure OFCC Copper gives a nice bottom end and seems to not enhance the high frequencies.
Silver Or SPC seems to enhance the highs. The Golden element seems to make the sound a bit warmer. Palladium, Rhodium and Frozen Litz - Ummm this BS smells a lot like Psychoacoustics kind of funny.
EVALUATION SCORE FOR SOUND IMPRESSIONS: 1-10 ( 1 Lowest - Poor 10 Highest - Mind Blown )
OVERALL SCORE: Out of possible 130 Points : 112.3 / 130 86% Old School Grade A+
BUILD QUALITY: 10 Light & Flawless - My 2 Pairs were immaculate.
SUB - BASS Quantity: 8.5
SUB - BASS Quality: 9.0
MID - BASS Quality: 8.5
MID - HIGH Quality: 7
TREBBLE: 8.5
EXTENTION: 6
STAGE: 7.3
- WIDTH: 8
- HEIGHT: 7
- DEPTH: 7
COHERIENCY (Drivers Blend in together) : 10
MICRO DYNAMICS: 9
- (How well does the IEM convey a emotional and skillful use of change of volume in the musical piece your listening to make it interesting and bring a tear to your eye.)
MICRO DYNAMICS: 8.5
- Elements of good Micro-Dynamics (Drums have the snap and impact your feel in your chest and this was observed to be best achieved with a slower attack on the bass notes to add weight and blend the proper attack relative of the rest of the mix; Also how does the IEM express its ability to replay the song mix in a way you can enjoy the dynamics in different volumes not only with the various different instruments ; but as well as give you a sense of space of whether or not your listening to a live recording or a large , medium, small recording studio.
- (How well does the IEM give you the sense of emotion in the overall relay: Does the emotion of the entire song change tone with verses having various rises? Did the engineer make the choruses feel more powerful?)
SOURCE & RECORDING PLAYBACK QUALITY MAKES A MASSIVE DIFFERECE. AND ONLY GOOD IEM’S CAN GET HIGH MARKS ON ABOVE!
MY VALUE SCORE: 20 100% I AGAIN BASE THIS ON MY PRECIEVED - PRICING / VALUE EQUASION
1-20 ( 1 Nobody Should Buy This - 10 Good Value as over-all package this IEM will appeal to some who will love It - 20 ( SOUND/WALLET/EMOTION/FIT/COMFORT )
- ( My score purely subjective to current selling price and competition at time of review)
SUMMARY FOR : Kiwi Ears Cadenza,
This next part is undoubtedly a well-deserved SHILLING!
I HAVE SPENT MANY HOURS WITH SOME MINDFULL THOUGHT ABOUT THIS QUESTION:
Not sure If I am the only one who wondered why anyone would buy a cheap IEM when we have or something closer to our TOTL collection already? - I MEAN IT’S CHEAP HOW GOOD COULD IT BE?
ANSWER : CADNEZA and MANY OTHER IEM’S that came out in 2022 broke the mold really; the sound you can get vs the cost keeps resetting weekly.
All the way up the scale for the sheer joy you can get for so little money without to many faults: Makes you ponder the diminishing return scale and where the bar is now set to!
“Hard to believe how far the market has come for the Value / $ Equation” I have heard continuously by many; in all the forums it has been noted many times by many different people.
- I have a TinHiFI C3 Incoming and from I have observed with its pricier fare and very similar sound the KiwiEars it won't DE throw the King.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
I have read more than a few comments in the last week prior to writing my thoughts from unbelievers.
Really? Have you bought one? Heard One? - and gave it some love? Come on its $35 and far from perfect but damn I can now sleep better as I have answered my own question and that brings me some peace.
The KIWIEARS CADENZA , played my , Rock, Pop , EDM , House, Jazz, Vocals, Classical and Reggae with enough special sauce to make me reach for them first! Over the EJ07M, The GS12 , Canon , OH10 and Shimin Li this last few weeks. I did lots of A/B listening as I feel I have a good level of different IEM's and Driver Builds to appreciate each one In the own special way.
It would take a lot to change my mind about the Cadenza to dethrone it for me to crown it - THE DEAF MONK 2022 BEST BUY IEM AWARD!
I can’t speak to those others but if liked the DM you may like the Vortex. Their FRs are very similar plus with the smaller shell you may have a better fit.
If you are in the states I can send them out your way to try
Wow! That would be fantastic, but I am about to be heading out on tour so can I take a rain check and perhaps try them out when I’ll be more stationary?
I really do appreciate the offer and now that you’ve said the Vortex has some similarities to the DMs, I’m even more curious about them.
Spent the weekend alternating between the Penon Vortex and the Kiwi Ears Cadenza. Enjoyed the single DDs for both setups…so much so that when I went back to my OG Teas tonight…something felt off about them. Vocals on the Teas sounded a bit more honky than I remembered them to be. Subbass slam is great but I can’t get over the change to my ears. Anyone know why this may be? Nothing in the setup has changed.
Yeah of course! Just lmk when your in one spot for a while and I’ll send them out
I’ve never heard the teas so I can’t comment but it could be BA timbre? I would bet after listening to the teas for a couple days straight you will stop noticing it
Sorry to diverge from the current discussion- i just wanted to let you fine gentleman know that I picked up this wonderful cable off Amazon for dirt cheap.
$15. I didn’t have high hopes as I just bought an open heart cable for about $30 with similar aesthetics and it didn’t work out. It was stiff, too lightweight (felt cheap) and the ear hooks were far too aggressive. Not to mention it did alter the sound but I’ll redact that statement to not offend the non-cable believers.
[FAAEAL Cable](FAAEAL Upgrade Cable, with 2 pins 0.78mm Connector for BL03 ES4 ZST ZSN ZS10 C16 ZSX ZS10 PRO AS16 ZS7 ZSR TRN V80 V90 BA5 KB KS1 KS2 KINERA Seed Earphones1.5m/4.9ft(4.4mm Jack) https://a.co/d/65GC9e9)
I also took some photos with the Monarch’s modeling. Don’t mind me, just having a bit of fun!
For the price of admission, plus 2 day shipping - I couldn’t be happier. Really solid cable. I also picked up the Tri Clarion tips and while I’m still in the first impression phase, I can confirm they are solid tips. Shallow stem type fit, very wide opening. Stage seems to open up a hair, mid bass feels a touch looser. But nothing too deal breaking!
Anyways. Rant over. Thanks for viewing!
Absolutely! That’s super cool of you. Feel free to check out my gear list and if there’s something you’d like to demo at the same time keep it in mind and we can arrange a two-way loan.
Ah. That must be what the BA timbre that I’ve been reading about sounds like. Thank you.
I started my short journey with IEMs with hybrids (Fiio FH7) and then moved to tribids (Variations) before settling on the OG Teas and EJ07s. This weekend was my first full immersion with pure DDs. Interesting that it becomes quite apparent after spending a few days a different design.
I don’t have this cable, but I have a couple different FAAEAL cables that I used to use with various pairs of AKGs before I made my own and they’re pretty dang nice for the money for sure.
