Short answer: a tie on sound quality. Both are rated 3.7/5 (#636 and #661 of 1291 in-ear headphones) at nearly the same price ($129 vs $129.80), so choose on features and fit.
What the Kiwi Ears Airoso does well: A warm, even tuning measured by 23 people with a 2.0 dB spread: bass sits about 2.6 dB above target with clean extension, mids stay close to neutral, and upper air lifts about 3 dB. The catch: Presence dips about 3.5 dB with a 6.6 dB low point near 5.6 kHz, softening vocal edge, and a 3.9 dB peak near 12 kHz adds some brightness.
The case for the TRN Kirin: A 14.5mm planar IEM with swappable tuning nozzles. The catch: Treble sits about 2.9 dB below target, a dark, relaxed balance.
Buy the Kiwi Ears Airoso or the TRN Kirin on features: they are rated the same for sound quality at close to the same price.
Looking for alternatives? See the complete Headphones rankings.
A warm, even tuning measured by 23 people with a 2.0 dB spread: bass sits about 2.6 dB above target with clean extension, mids stay close to neutral, and upper air lifts about 3 dB.
Amazon $129.00 eBay
A 14.5mm planar IEM with swappable tuning nozzles.
Shenzhenaudio $129.80 eBayPrices on this page were last checked October 16, 2026 at 5:46 PM UTC. Product prices and availability are accurate as of that date/time and are subject to change; the price and availability shown on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
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Specifications Side By Side
| Kiwi Ears Airoso | TRN Kirin | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $129.00 | $129.80 |
| Ranked | #636 of 1291 in In-Ear Headphones | #661 of 1291 in In-Ear Headphones |
| Form Factor | In-ear | In-ear |
| Back | Closed | Closed |
| Connection | Wired | Wired |
| Driver Type | Hybrid | Planar Magnetic |
| Drivers | 1 x dynamic + 4 x balanced armature | 1 x 14.5mm planar |
| Impedance | 18 ohms | 32 ohms |
| Sensitivity | 110 dB/mW | 106 dB |
| Frequency Response | 20Hz - 20kHz (Manufacturer specified) | - |
| Weight | 0 lbs (12 g) per earpiece | - |
| Harman Preference Score | 70 (median of 23 squig.link measurements, calibrated to AutoEQ) | 70 (median of 6 squig.link measurements, calibrated to AutoEQ) |
| Deviation From Target | 2.00 dB standard deviation | 2.23 dB standard deviation |
| Tonal Tilt | -0.75 (negative is warmer, positive brighter) | -0.45 (negative is warmer, positive brighter) |
| Sub-bass Extension | Within 6 dB of target down to 20 Hz (+0.4 dB at 30 Hz) | Within 6 dB of target down to 20 Hz (-1.2 dB at 30 Hz) |
Frequency Response Compared
Both headphones’ measurements overlaid on the Harman target. Above the target sounds louder in that range, below it quieter. Each curve is the median of several independent measurements, shifted so its 500 Hz to 2 kHz average sits at 0 dB, so only the tuning is compared.
Measurement data: the Kiwi Ears Airoso from aden, aftersound, atechreviews, avishai, awsmdanny, bassaudio, cqtek, ducbloke, gadgetrytech, hbb, iemworld, jaytiss, joshtbvo, joycesreview, koi, kuping-sensi, pw, silicagel, soundcheck39, soundignity, timmyv, tonedeafmonk and vortexreviews; the TRN Kirin from aftersound, hbb, ianfann, musicafe, pw and timmyv, all via squig.link.
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