Page 2 - Physical Look - Hardware
Out of the box, the Kiwi Ears Altruva is a noticeably big pair of headphones. This size is seen in the large ears and the metal headband. We have their gray variant, and this is seen primarily with the rim around the outer cups. In between, there is a black metal mesh and a Kiwi Ears logo behind. There is no solid backing here, which is unsurprising given the open-back design. The rest of the headphones are black with a curved metal frame that connects the two sides. There is a large hole at the top of the headband that splits the metal into two thinner pieces. The metal does not seem to have a finish on it, which means handling marks are easily visible. For those who want a bit more of a contrast in appearance, there is also a brown version with a wood-like finish on the ears, but the rest of the construction is the same.
In terms of its size, the Kiwi Ears Altruva has maximum dimensions of 22.6cm length, 19.3cm width, and 10.5cm depth. As you can see, it uses a suspending headband, so this size does not change regardless of the wearer's head size. Everything fits well together, and feels secure. There are no creaks or noises when flexing or stretching the Altruva, which shows the excellent build quality. The materials here include the PVD-coated stainless steel head band, metal side grate, as well as the plastic enclosure for each ear. The rigid plastic does not feel cheap by any measure either. Given its budget focus, I am quite impressed with the quality of its construction.
The ears of the Kiwi Ears Altruva are large with thick cups on both sides. Out of the box, we have vegan leather ear cups filled with a thick layer of foam. However, I quickly swapped these out for the velour earpads that are included in the box. These over-ear headphones are designed to sit around your ears rather than on or in them. The earcups are circular on the outside but are more elliptical inside to fit the profile of most ears, unless you are Mickey Mouse. A thin layer of porous fabric lines the inner portion to prevent any contact between your ears and the harder surface underneath. I found both cups sufficiently thick, as my ears never touched the inner area. This will vary based on how much your ears protrude.
Behind the earcups, the Kiwi Ears Altruva houses 50mm dynamic drivers with a thin and flexible diaphragm. The drivers have a frequency response of 20Hz to 40kHz, which exceeds the standard human hearing range on the higher end. The rated sensitivity is 98dB. Its impedance of 32Ω means the Kiwi Ears Altruva are easy to drive. At the bottom of each cup is a 3.5mm audio jack to connect the Altruva to a computer or a mobile device.
At the top of the Kiwi Ears Altruva, there is a suspended headband that contacts the wearer's head. It is wrapped in vegan leather for a softer feel. This headband does not need to be padded much either due to its suspended design. Each side is marked with L or R on the inside for easy orientation.
As for comfort, I found the Kiwi Ears Altruva to be comfortable with a few drawbacks. On the positive side, the suspended headband does enough to not feel the weight of the overall design. Its generous size combined with a heavier 311g weight without the cable is notable, but I found the overall headphones to be easy to wear over longer periods. I did not experience any fatigue, especially once I changed to the velour pads. The clamping pressure is a bit light, but I never found myself needing to readjust. If you shake your head while listening to music, you may break the seal of your headphones, but I could never shake them off my head. On the other hand, the primary design downside is that the Kiwi Ears Altruva lacks rotating earcups. Given that human heads are all different, a bit of pivoting would have been beneficial to better align the earcups with the ears, regardless of head shape. I personally did not need to adjust too much, but some flexibility would still be nice.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Hardware
3. Subjective Audio Analysis
4. Conclusion
