Hardware

Published on July 4th, 2025 | by Scott De Lacy

Kiwi Ears Aventus Bluetooth Coaxial Driver DJ and Gaming Headphones Review

Kiwi Ears is a lesser known brand, but has already established a reputation based on quality and focus in the Pro-Audio space.

The Aventus is a Bluetooth enabled DJ and Gaming Headphone that uses Coaxial Drivers. For those whom love to geek out, you can read more about coaxial drivers vs component and the soundguys opinion on headphone drivers.

These headphones are designed for the audiophile DJ, budding recording artist and of course gamers who really love to feel immersed in their game of choice. At only $71.99 USD with free shipping direct from Kiwi Ears at the time of writing, it is well priced against Pro-Audio and Gamer alternatives.

Specs

For all the specifications, see the Aventus product page.

Unboxing & First Impressions

The box is well presented with a space / out of this world design.

Opening the box to find the contrast of the dark black void to the protective carry case, it was nice to see something that no other headset seems to provide – A carabiner! Not just a $2 flimsy import afterthought either, but a matching coloured, smooth, well-made carabiner. Sure, it’s not at all for climbing, and if it was relied upon – it would be best to upgrade it, but it’s perfect to clip onto a bag.

Note the included black carabiner, you cant go climbing with it, but it will support the Aventus!

Inside the case were Velcro secured netting which contains:

• USB-A to USB-C cable (small)
• USB-C to 3.5mm audio jack, coiled
• 3.5mm to 3.5mm audio cable, coiled

and also included is the obligatory paperwork, but something you don’t often see, additional pads that can help tune the speakers to taste, mainly by cutting out some bottom end.

Inside the envelope, two pads to alter the sound characteristics. This is what Kiwi Ears mean when they say “tune” the headset.

Note the locking mechanism on the 3.5mm jack

Right angle 3.5mm Jack for the PC/Sound system.

The case design is different to the standard headsets like Sony or AceZone or pretty much any other. Kiwi Ears have chosen to show off the bump like a proud expectant mother to be. This was unexpected and a bit surprising, as the overall foot print of the case is similar to others.

Upon first inspection of the folded headset, it seemed like a complicated fold/unfold, which yes it is but this later came to make sense with one aspect of the design – but what was apparent first up was the immediate comfort felt when putting them on.

Strong hinge design. Note the ear cups – baby bum smooth!

Appears to be good quality screws and stitching.

tactile buttons for + — | shown. (Read more about how these fair on actual usage though)

A recessed 3.5mm jack, with a special locking mechanism built in – to be used with the supplied cable.

The immediate reaction – These feel like studio monitor headphones. Wow.

The foam and pads were buttery to feel and so soft – baby bum soft, seriously. The headband is strong but pliable and the ear force feels about right, although can perhaps be softened with some stretching.

The headset had several buttons, with raised tactile indicators for their function.

Each side has Braille for the visually impaired, which also assists all wearers to find the correct orientation in the dark.  Yes, stainless steel band (outer) with plastic body (inner) for the headband.

The audio jack was recessed, at first this seemed odd, but upon closer inspection this is a very unique feature..

The cables themselves are fairly good quality (for the price) and being coiled, it adds that studio look and feel whilst also serving the (mostly) tangle-free purpose intended.

Design & Features

Folding design and weight

Apart from the drivers and battery, a large part of the headset bulk would seem to be in the folding and hinge component. Many other headset designers opt for less bulk in this area.

However the folding design has some benefits that Kiwi Ears seem to understand quite well. Leading us into discussing the comfort and fit, the weight distribution of this headset is quite possibly as close as possible to perfect.

The design of the outward curve at the hinges allows the wearer to immediately place their fingers and position the headset on perfectly the first time, and if needed, make any adjustment – just like wearing sunglasses.

Comfort and wear

The shape of the Ear Cups hold onto the ear no matter how the jaw or head is moved. Keeping the centre of the ear in line with the speaker and optimal playback position. No friction or scraping from cloth/weave and no movement around the ears to cause irritation.

So why is the fold and hinge superior here? The ear clamping force operates around the ‘head band’ muscle group of the head. Meaning with movements of the jaw, head tilt, leaning back or forward, and most importantly for DJ’s and animated gamers, shaking about will all be compensated and actioned through the hinged movements and inline with the head. Meaning that the wearer is not fighting the headset, the headset isn’t wearing the wearer!

If the clamp force feels too ‘tight’ the headband can be flexed a bit.

Headsets without this, will typically translate all movement through the head/jaw and shaking by either opening the ear cup to leak outside air, or cause travel through the headband and require the wearer to readjust.

These Kiwi Ears would absolutely handle a dancing DJ!

LED’s

The LED’s are simple, press a button to turn them on, press again to cycle through the presets. DJ’s may want this to be visible, gamers may want this to be recognised.

Using LED’s will shorten the battery life as with any other headset. Kiwi Ears are pushing the brand a bit with the LED’s, as the logo forms part of it. This is perhaps not to everyone’s taste, it would be nice if it was perhaps just a ring or strip, but why not embrace this brand with every flash? After all it isn’t a bad design or logo.

Playback Modes and ANC

ANC can be used in Bluetooth mode and when playing back through the 3.5mm audio cable.

The standard suite is here, ANC on, ANC Transparent, and Off.

The ANC is quite good, it is not as aggressive as perhaps a Sony ULT or Bose headsets, but it works well, it is reasonable and most importantly it does not appear to change the tonality of the audio playback at all.

Most importantly, this headset can be used when switched off and connected only via 3.5mm jack.

Audio Jack

This is by far one of the best features and its incomparable to think that no other brand has done this.

The audio jack is recessed and contains a locking mechanism which when used with the supplies cable, the wearer can lock in the audio cable with just a small twist.

Kiwi Ears are not being anti competitive either, as any standard 3.5mm cable will still connect – provided it fits – and most should.

The result of connecting and locking this cable is no more accidental disconnects at the headset, and the look and appearance is as though the cable is fixed – which is absolute quality. This is another feature the DJ’s will find useful, because finding a small headphone jack that dropped to the floor in a dark booth is not at all fun.

Testing & Performance

Pairing

Pairing worked instantly, and the negotiation was fast with the PC.

Once pairing is locked in, say for example with a phone, it did kind of hold tight on the one device and had to be gingerly coaxed to another device, but unlikely to be an issue for everyone, and unpairing/removing and adding the device again will work instantly.

Feature Validation

All of the features work as expected. Especially using the audio cable and seemingly being paired to a phone for example, seemed to also work.

Being able to turn the headset off and still hear audio was great. A slight pause in the audio can be detected when turning the headset on with audio playing through the cable.

One thing to note, is that the audio through the cable seems to take precedence, and in turn when the voice over for turning the headset on or cycling through ANC, the voice over can be completely overpowered by audio through the cable. Perhaps this is a good thing, and it really does make sense for a Pro-audio headset. So we would give this a thumbs up with that understanding.

Audio/Music Playback

The sound is great, it really does feel like studio monitors. There is a tremendous amount of punch in the audio and the tell-tale sign of the highs and lows having absolute equality of presence without overpowering each other is immediately noticed. However, that is true at 100% volume, but from a comfort perspective – that aforementioned punch is too much, particularly with the bass and ear-pressure/fatigue is likely at 100%.

The sweet spot is around 70-85% volume from a PC, but the top end rolls off under 80% and it is far too aggressive – in what felt like -3-6db on some of the higher frequencies at around 70-75%. Of course that is what the enclosed pad inserts are for and Kiwi Ears have provided their response curve to illustrate this.

The listener will need to identify the correct combination for their equipment, and or adjust the EQ. Given that this headset is perfectly suited to use with a cable into a mixer, but with Bluetooth on the PC, the playback may need to be tweaked to drop the bass just slightly, or the pads can be inserted to derive the same effect. It is also important to note that there may be some difference in the top end, perhaps even a roll off, when ANC is enabled, and that may alter perceptions, but it really depends upon the media being played and the wearers preference. With that said, very little (if any) difference was perceived during testing.

Source: kiwiears.com Aventus Product page

Extended Usage

After listening to a few albums that spanned the full frequency dynamic, it really did have a live presence feel and it was great. But, yes, it was fatiguing without the additional pads inserted. The comfortable listening level was around 80-85%, which reduced the sound pressure level for ear comfort and kept a superior tonal quality.

The clamp pressure of the headset was also becoming bothersome until flexed out a bit to relax it. That is because there is more pressure applied to the head-band area. In addition to that pressure, the weight is a bit more than a Corsair VOID II or other gaming headsets and certainly heavier than some lightweight Razer’s.

The tactile markings on the left side buttons unfortunately are too difficult to appreciate with fingers and simply don’t translate too well when finding the buttons. Although it can be done with concentration, there were too many times where either the volume down button was pressed instead of the centre button. Fingers/thumbs kept finding the space in between the two buttons and it was difficult to identify the boundaries. Once the long line was found, tracing up to the + symbol and then back tracking seemed to be somewhat reliable.

Despite all this, the Kiwi Ears Aventus is really something you would want to wear for a few hours once you have it set for playback and comfort.

Final Thoughts

This is an outstanding Pro-Audio grade headset that can cross the lines between gamers and DJ’s, and at the price point, is a reasonable entry in this space.

For some, the weight may be a reason to avoid, but the ANC may be a compelling reason to purchase rather than a bulky alternative with acoustic noise suppression.

The carry case is not flat-pack friendly and because the bump is on both sides, it cannot sit flat on the table. That is annoying, because the case feels out of place anywhere you leave it.

The clamping force and weight distribution acts about the headband area. That is not to suggest that any amount of undue pressure is applied, but rather to differentiate the Aventus from other headsets that apply the pressure higher or even from the top. A lot of people prefer this and often struggle to find a headset that ‘sits’ right. Others, including those with TMJ/CPS may have a preference for headsets with low clamping force or where the weight acts downwards on the top of the head. It should be noted, that it only takes a few stretches of the metal headband for this headset to be comfortable for anyone.

The good:

• Great frequency response and presence in bottom and top end
• Coaxial drivers
• ANC with corded connection
• Playback whilst off via corded connection
• 3.5mm jack locking
• Awesome baby-bum smooth ear cups
• Anti-tangle cables included
• Works out of the box, no fuss!
• Tactile markings/braille for visually impaired

The not so good:

• Carry case cannot sit flat on a table, and can be awkward
• Bit heavier than other cordless gaming headsets
• Weight distribution and clamping applied around the headband may be uncomfortable for people with TMJ/CPS issues unless adjusted first
• Very powerful drivers: Wearers need to be mindful of their setup and playback volume / or use supplied pad inserts*

If you are a gamer or DJ and you are looking for that something different, that isn’t just another reference design in a different casing, and you want something that other than insanely expensive studio monitor headphones, then this might just be the headset you are after.

About the Author

Scott De Lacy Scott has a professional IT background spanning over 18 years, is an hobbyist electronics designer, talented musician, holds qualifications as a trainer and experience in emergency and community services sectors. He reviews Movies, PC and XBOX One games, and hardware.

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