Kiwi Ears Belle vs Cadenza II vs Orchestra II IEM Review: Which One Should You Buy?

Pick #2 of 7 in our Best IEMs guide.

Kiwi Ears makes an in-ear monitor at almost every price point, so what actually changes as you climb the ladder? To find out, I lined up three of them: the Belle at $29.99, the Cadenza II at $49.99, and the Orchestra II at $349. That is an entry-level single-dynamic, a slightly fancier single-dynamic at nearly double the price, and a ten-driver flagship that costs roughly seven times the Cadenza II. Where is the best value, which one sounds best, and which one is right for you? Let's go through them one at a time and then put them head-to-head.

The $29.99 Belle is the only one with a microphone

The Belle is only $29.99, and for that money you get a genuinely nice little IEM with a 2-core silver-plated copper cable, two sets of ear tips, and a microphone. The two tip sets are there to shape the sound: the transparent ones have a softer core, which leans the tuning warmer, while the black ones have a harder core for a more transparent, detailed presentation. You can feel the difference just by pinching each tip between your fingers - the hard ones give themselves away immediately.

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I do have one real complaint, though, and it is the ear tips. It took me a solid ten minutes just to swap them to my size - they simply would not seat on the nozzle. I ended up using a cotton swab with a drop of olive oil and then pressing hard while twisting to get them on. It was frustrating, and it is something Kiwi Ears should fix, especially because the Cadenza II and the Orchestra II were completely painless by comparison - five seconds and two seconds, respectively.

Under the metal faceplate sits a 10mm diamond-like-carbon (DLC) dynamic driver. At 1kHz the Belle measures 32 ohms of impedance with a sensitivity of 103dB, and the frequency response is rated across the full 20Hz to 20kHz span. Each earpiece weighs just 3.5g, so they all but disappear in the ear. The standout extra is that microphone - neither the Cadenza II nor the Orchestra II has one - which makes the Belle the obvious pick if you take calls on your IEMs.

The Cadenza II adds KARS 2.0, loses the mic

The Cadenza II comes in at $49.99, almost double the Belle. You get a nice single-crystal copper cable and a set of ear tips in different sizes that are easy to remove and change - but there is only the one set, so you cannot play with tip density to voice the sound the way you can on the Belle.

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Inside is a 10mm titanium-coated diaphragm dynamic driver with what Kiwi Ears calls KARS 2.0 - the Kiwi Acoustic Resonance System. It uses a labyrinth tube structure to manage airflow and control the low frequencies, with the goal of a more balanced, natural sound and an improved midrange. The key numbers are an impedance of 18 ohms at 1kHz and a sensitivity of 106dB, with a frequency range that reaches lower and higher than the Belle's, from 10Hz all the way up to 29kHz. Each earpiece weighs about 4.5g, still very light, though a gram heavier than the Belle.

So the Cadenza II costs nearly twice as much, drops the microphone, gives you only one set of tips, and adds a gram of weight. The obvious question is whether it sounds better to make up for all that - and I'll get to that below.

The Orchestra II packs ten armatures a side

The Orchestra II is the flagship of this group at $349, and it comes loaded. Instead of a single dynamic driver it uses ten balanced armatures per side, split across a 4-way crossover: two for the lows, four for the mids, two for the highs, and two for the ultra-highs. The aim is to cover the whole 20Hz to 20kHz range in a linear fashion, and this is squarely an IEM built with audio professionals in mind.

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The accessories match the ambition. The cable is a lovely 4-core single-crystal copper design with a silver plating, and it ships with two terminations - a 3.5mm single-ended plug and a balanced 4.4mm plug. There is no microphone, but you do get four sets of ear tips in different densities so you can fine-tune the sound, plus a very nice carrying case.

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There is a catch to all this, and it is weight. Each earpiece is about 7g - twice the Belle - and combined with the larger, heavier cable, the Orchestra II starts to make itself felt on the ears. It is fine for walking around town or sitting on a train, but I would not go jogging in them; they are too heavy and would work loose. The impedance sits between 15 and 30 ohms with a sensitivity of 109 to 112dB, and the shells are non-vented, which improves isolation. The medical-grade resin body also helps limit vibration, which is good for the sound.

They sound best with a dongle and a deep fit

Before the verdicts, a quick word on method. For all three I used the hardest ear tips on offer, aiming for the most transparent, detailed presentation. I listened straight out of an Android phone and a MacBook M1 Max, then through a dongle - the iFi Go Link Max, which goes for around $79 - and finally through my reference amplifier, the Billy Amp Mk II from Evan11, a Class D amp with a tube preamp fed over Toslink. Source material came from Qobuz Hi-Res: Patricia Barber for jazz, Thievery Corporation for electronic, simple Mozart sonatas for classical, a spread of rap from Lorde to Harry Mack, and some reggae from Proto G.

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A few things held true across all three. The Belle was the hardest to drive, the Cadenza II a little easier, and the Orchestra II the most sensitive of the lot. With every one of them I had to seat the tips deep in the ear canal to get the bass to show up properly. And the bonus there is that a deep fit also tightens the isolation, which made them all fine for the street or the subway.

More importantly, straight out of a phone the low bass and the high treble roll off on every model; they sound a bit closed-in. The moment I added a dongle with a real DAC and amp, the bass and the top end came alive. I genuinely would not buy any of these without budgeting for something like that ~$79 dongle - it is the difference between "fine" and "very good."

The Belle: A Clear V That Punches Above $30

For the money, the Belle sounds really good. It has a clear V-shape, so the bass and treble are pushed up a little, which suits electronic music and hip-hop nicely. Add in the microphone and it is the easy choice if you want a budget IEM with good sound that you can also take calls on. With a dongle behind it, the Belle punches well above $30 - it is a tremendous value and hard to beat at the price.

The Cadenza II: A More Elegant V-Shape

Is the Cadenza II worth nearly double the Belle? Yes. The driver is clearly a step up in quality and it is a touch easier to drive. The bass is a little less exaggerated but more dynamic and agile, and the treble is more detailed. It is still a V-shaped signature, just a more elegant one. Comfort is great and it stays light, which makes it a good pick if you are a runner. In short, it beats the Belle in every respect except the missing microphone. If your priority is music rather than calls, the small extra outlay is worth it - and, again, a dongle takes it to another level.

The Orchestra II: Linear, but Feed It Properly

The Orchestra II is the most detailed and most linear of the three. Out of a phone, though, the gap over the Cadenza II is subtle - so subtle that I redid my listening just to be sure. Then I plugged it into the dongle and it blossomed: clear low bass and fine treble detail with no loss of midrange, the kind of separation that justifies the flagship label.

The non-vented resin body keeps vibration in check, and the real party trick is the linearity - you hear detail at every frequency, with no audible overlap between the ten drivers and no obvious dips. It is coherent in a way that is genuinely impressive. But you only really hear that price difference over the Cadenza II once a dongle is involved, and the 4.4mm balanced connection takes it further still, adding presence, detail, and articulation. Make sure whatever dongle you choose has that balanced output.

Which Kiwi Ears model should you buy?

All three are very good value, but they are not for the same person. If your budget is small and the plan is to use these with your phone for music and calls, the Belle is a tremendous value and hard to beat - the microphone seals it. If you mostly want them for music, pay the little extra for the Cadenza II: it has no microphone, but it is sonically superior across the board, and it stays light enough for running. Step up to the Orchestra II only if you can also afford a balanced dongle in the ~$79 class - without one, you will not hear its full potential and the price jump is hard to justify. Pair it with that dongle and a 4.4mm balanced cable, though, and its linearity is the most impressive thing here. The Belle is for everyday phone use, the Cadenza II for music lovers and runners, and the Orchestra II for serious listeners and pros who are ready to feed it properly.