Kiwi Ears, long celebrated for their impressive lineup of IEMs that punch above their weight in every price bracket, have decided to crash the over-ear party with not one, but five fresh full-size headphones in rapid succession. Leading the charge is the Ellipse, an open-back contender priced at an almost suspiciously low $75.99. In a market crowded with budget-friendly options from brands like Audio-Technica, Koss, and 1More, it’s fair to wonder: can Kiwi Ears deliver more than just hype and a pretty name?
Or is this just another pair destined to gather dust in the bargain bin? Let’s find out if the Kiwi Ears Ellipse is the entry-level hero audiophiles deserve—or the punchline to the budget headphone joke.
Tech Specs: Breaking Down the Ellipse’s Surprising Yet Basic Engineering
The Ellipse’s tech might look like the usual budget headphone checklist on paper, but don’t be fooled — Kiwi Ears slipped in some surprisingly decent components where it counts. Each ear cup houses custom 50mm drivers made from a curious combo of polyurethane for flexibility and polyetherketone for muscle, a rare treat in sub-$100 territory.
Add a CCAW High-Tension voice coil and N42 neodymium magnets, and you’ve got the kind of hardware that promises precision diaphragm control — which, if you believe the marketing spiel, should deliver a “stereo speaker-like listening experience” with deep bass and airy highs. The real question: does the Ellipse live up to this tech talk, or is it all just smoke and mirrors? Stick around for the listening notes to find out.
Design & Comfort: Lightweight, Metal Reinforced, and Surprisingly Practical for Under $100
The Kiwi Ears Ellipse comes in simple packaging with just the essentials: the headphones, a fabric-sheathed cable with dual 3.5mm connectors and a 3.5mm plug, a quarter-inch adapter, and a user manual. No extras, but everything you need.
For a budget pair, the Ellipse impresses with a surprising amount of metal in key areas like the yokes, grilles, and cup attachment screws, which should help with durability. Weighing just 280 grams, these headphones feel very light and comfortable on the head.
Comfort is a strong point here — the low clamp force combined with plush vegan leather on the ear pads and headband made six-hour listening sessions easy, with no discomfort. The cups are also large enough to accommodate bigger ears comfortably.
The design is reminiscent of Beyerdynamic’s DT series, though the Ellipse lacks full swivel in the horizontal plane, allowing about ten degrees of movement each way. This means you can’t lay the headphones flat on a desk or comfortably rest them around your neck.
One notable difference from Beyerdynamic headphones is the detachable cable, which is a big plus at this price. The included cable is three meters long, a bit much for casual use but understandable for studio or desktop setups. Being fabric-sheathed, it resists tangling and doesn’t retain odd shapes. Overall, the design and comfort are impressive for the price point.
Listening: Neutral-ish Sound with Some Coloration, but No Off-Putting Surprises
For these listening impressions, I tested the Ellipse with a range of sources: the Burson Conductor GT4 DAC/Amp, JDS Labs Element IV DAC/Amp, and the iBasso DX340 DAP. I also plugged them directly into my laptop’s headphone jack to check drivability.
The DAC/amps connected via USB handled a mix of Spotify streams and hi-res FLAC files, providing a good variety of content for evaluation.
The Kiwi Ears Ellipse delivers a generally neutral frequency response, though it’s not without some noticeable colorations. These slight shifts in tonality might bother listeners chasing absolute accuracy, but nothing felt overly artificial or fatiguing. The sound remains approachable and natural enough for everyday enjoyment.
Bass: Surprising Subbass Reach and Punchy Midbass for a Lively Listen
The Kiwi Ears Ellipse delivers unexpectedly strong subbass extension, with only a minor roll-off at the very bottom. Tracks like “Why So Serious?” by Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard revealed a deep rumble that many budget headphones—and even some higher-end models like the Beyerdynamic DT880 Edition 600 Ohm—fail to reproduce convincingly.
The real star in the low end, however, is the midbass. It’s noticeably elevated above neutral, giving kicks and basslines a pronounced punch. Fortunately, it mostly avoids bleeding into the midrange, maintaining a respectable level of clarity. This tuning adds warmth to brass instruments and a satisfying thump to drums and bass guitars, resulting in a sound that feels energetic and engaging rather than clinical.
Midrange: Rich Lower Mids Shine, But Upper Mid Dip Holds Back Female Vocals
The Ellipse delivers a warm and full-bodied midrange, with a clear emphasis on the lower mids. This gives male vocals and instruments a strong presence — Geoff Castellucci’s deep tones in “Jack’s Lament” sounded especially commanding, even outperforming the Philips Fidelio X2HR in this regard.
However, the upper mids tell a different story. A noticeable dip between 1kHz and 5kHz causes female vocals to recede in the mix. On “Set Fire to the Rain,” Adele’s vocals felt subdued, often overshadowed by the track’s more dominant low-end elements. It’s a trade-off that favors warmth and heft but slightly sacrifices vocal clarity and forwardness for higher-pitched voices.
Treble: Masked Lower Treble, Sharp Peaks, and Limited Air Up Top
The treble performance on the Kiwi Ears Ellipse is a bit of a mixed bag. The emphasis in the lower mids tends to mask some of the lower treble detail, as heard in Imogen Heap’s “Hide and Seek,” where her ethereal vocals felt slightly veiled by the underlying electronic bass.
Mid-treble fares better in terms of presence but can come off a bit sharp. In “La lune” by L’Impératrice, the triangle hits came across as slightly piercing—enough to draw attention away from the mix rather than enhance it.
As expected for headphones in this price bracket, upper treble extension drops off above 15kHz, which limits air and shimmer. While not unexpected at under $100, the Ellipse’s treble tuning lacks a bit of polish and smoothness, especially compared to its more even-handed bass and midrange.
Imaging & Soundstage: Average Width, but Impressive Instrument Placement
While the Kiwi Ears Ellipse doesn’t offer the widest soundstage among budget headphones, it makes up for it with commendable imaging performance. For a sub-$100 pair, the ability to place instruments with precision is genuinely impressive.
Each element in the mix has its own space, and positional cues are well rendered. On TOOL’s “Chocolate Chip Trip,” a track dense with swirling percussive layers, the Ellipse handled separation with ease. Instruments stayed distinct without smearing into one another, providing a clear sense of spatial layout even if the overall stage doesn’t stretch dramatically wide.
Drivability: Plug-and-Play Simplicity with No Need for Fancy Gear
With a rated impedance of 32 Ohms and a sensitivity of roughly 98dB/mW, the Kiwi Ears Ellipse is effortlessly easy to drive. Even plugged into a standard laptop headphone jack, it reached uncomfortably loud volumes without breaking a sweat.
More importantly, the sound quality remained consistent across sources. Whether driven by a basic laptop or a high-end setup like the Burson Conductor GT4, the Ellipse delivered its best without needing extra power. For anyone eyeing these as their first pair of open-back headphones, rest easy—no external DAC/amp is required to get the most out of them.
The Bottom Line: A Solid Entry-Level Open-Back with a Few Rough Edges
The Kiwi Ears Ellipse brings a lot to the table for under $100—punchy bass, impressive imaging, and excellent comfort make it a compelling option for casual listening and those stepping into the audiophile world. Its lightweight build and easy drivability only add to its appeal.
However, it’s not without flaws. The recessed upper mids and slightly sharp treble may bother those seeking a more balanced or studio-accurate sound, and the limited soundstage width might leave some wanting more.
Still, for the price, the Ellipse delivers more than it should. If you can live with a few tonal quirks, this is a fun, capable headphone that punches confidently in the budget arena.
Pros:
- Unmatched subbass extension for sub-$100 dynamic headphones
- Very comfortable to wear for long periods of time
- Elevated midbass provides a punchy, engaging listening experience
- Can be easily driven without a dedicated DAC/Amp
- Superb imaging capability
Cons:
- Wonky treble performance
- Bass elevation may put some listeners off
Where to buy:
Related Reading:
- Beyerdynamic DT 1770 Pro MKII Review: Refined And Affordable For Studio Work
- Stax SR-X1 Earspeaker Review: Can A $535 Electrostatic Headphone Convince The Naysayers?
- Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro MKII Open-Back Studio Headphones Review
- FiiO FT1 Pro Open-Back Headphones Review: Shaking Up The Entry-Level Category For $200
Anton Hellman
June 10, 2025 at 5:01 pm
Just read both reviews and am slightly shocked by the disparity between this model which is under $100 and more expensive model that the reviewer generally hated. It’s not hard to read between the lines here. Overly ambitious model drops the ball before it gets anywhere near the end zone; while the entry-level model over delivers and is a better buy.
I suspect this is the case with a lot of these brands.
Ian White
June 10, 2025 at 8:58 pm
Anton,
So you raise an interesting point. At one point are you experiencing diminishing returns and does it make sense to buy the top model if the middle model delivers 90% of the performance for 1/2 the price?
I was a tad surprised by James’ second review but I take pride that we have reviewers who won’t sugar-coat a review.
IW