BQEYZ Autumn IEM Review
BQEYZ Autumn IEM Review
Introduction:
BQEYZ is a Chinese brand that is well known in the Chi-Fi scene with their affordable and pretty well tuned In-Ear Monitors.
The BQEYZ Autumn is the Brand New Single DD IEM of the company. It utilizes a large 13mm Diameter Dynamic Driver with Dual Cavity Design that is equipped with a 6µ Thin Diaphragm. The Autumn comes with a pretty unique Replaceable Magnetic Tuning Filters system, a 4 core High Purity Copper + Silver Plate Copper wire Cable and 5-Axis Engraved Stylish Metal Shell.
Disclaimer:
I would like to thank BQEYZ for providing me the Autumn IEM sample for review purposes. I am not affiliated with BQEYZ beyond this review and these words reflect my true and unaltered opinions about the product.
Price & Availability:
The actual price of the BQEYZ Autumn is about 199,00 US$. More information’s can be found under the links below;
Package and Accessories:
The BQEYZ Autumn came in a stylish looking rectangular black box the BQEYZ brand logo and Autumn brandings on the top and with some technical details at the rear side.
Inside the box of the BQEYZ Autumn are the following contents/accessories;
- 1 pair x BQEYZ Autumn In-Ear Monitor
- 1 pcs x 4core Detachable Cable with 0.78mm 2-Pin Connector
- 3 pairs x Black Silicone Ear Tips (S, M & L)
- 3 pairs x Grey Silicone Ear Tips (S, M & L)
- 3 sets x Replaceable Magnetic Sound Tuning Filters (Bass, Normal, Treble)
- 3 pcs x Magnetic Filter Replacement Tool
- 1 pcs x PU Protective Case with Zipper
- 1 pcs x Cleaning Brush
- 1 pcs x Print Material (Quick Start Guide, Warranty Card, etc.)
The BQEYZ Autumn came with 6 pairs of silicone ear tips are stored in to a foam layer. 3 pairs are in black color that do have a small opening, while the other 3 pairs in grey color do have a wider opening.
The Autumn comes with a unique Replaceable Magnetic Sound Filter System that are carefully installed to a metal plate with description of each filter. The Normal filter came pre-installed, which can be replaced with the Bass and Treble filter through a Tool with a Magnetic surface on the top.
The zipper case is made of PU leather and is in black color with BQEYZ brand logo on the top.
The Autumn came with a nice looking Hybrid Cable with a 4 cores Litz Braided Design made of High purity Copper + Silver Plated Copper (SPC) wire, which features 224 Stands in Total.
The cable utilizes a soft TPU coating with very low microphonic effect.
The 0.78mmdiamter 2-Pin male connectors do fit pretty tight and securely to the female connectors located on both monitor sides. Each of this connectors are protected with a metal housings in black color that do sport Left & Right markings.
Near the connectors are transparent heat-shrink ear guides for extra comfort on the go.
This cable features also a stylish metal y-splitter with BQEYZ branding and a chin slider in the black color.
This cable can be ordered with 3 different headphone plugs, which are 3.5mm (TRS), 2.5mm (TRRS) balanced and 4.4mm (TRRRS) balanced variants.
The metal housing is also in black color and has a strait profile with the BQEYZ brand logo on the top. This headphone jack features a semitransparent plastic train relief for extra durability.
Design & Build Quality:
The BQEYZ Autumn is a stylish looking In-Ear Monitor with a relative small shell design that is made of 5-Axis Machined Metal Material with a sand blasted surface that is available in two different color options, which are Ash Green and Benzo Blue like my review sample.
The faceplate of both monitor features the same unique pattern that do have a form, which do look like waves.
Inner surface of each monitor shell sports a slightly angled sound nozzle in shiny silver/metallic color, 3 vents for the 13mm Diameter Large Dynamic Driver and has L (Left) & R (Right) markings.
This surface features also BQEYZ’s unique “Sound Tuning Ports” with a magnetic Surface.
The sound nozzle has a metal filter with many small holes on the top to prevent the insertion of particles such like dust or earwax.
On the top of the monitor housing is the 0.78mm diameter 2-Pin female connector that offers a fairly tight connection.
The back side of the Left monitor sports the Autumn branding, while the Right monitor has the BQEYZ brand logo.
The build quality of both the monitors and the 0.78mm diameter 2-Pin connectors is very robust like any other BQEYZ product that I have reviewed before.
Fit, Comfort & Passive Isolation:
The BQEYZ Autumn in an In-Ear Monitor with a relative small size and pretty ergonomic shape that fits comfortable to my ears with an average ear concha. It doesn’t hurt my ears even after longer listening periods, which makes it ideal for longer listening periods, especially on the go.
The passive noise isolation of the Autumn is on an average level. However, the passive noise isolations is fairly enough for the use in environments such like a bus, metro r train.
Drivability:
The BQEYZ Autumn has an impedance of 46 Ω and a sensitivity of 110 dB, which makes it to a relative easy to handle IEM. Sources with relative weak amplification such as Mobile Phones, regular Headphone Adaptors and Tablets are able to power the Autumn to fairly high volume levels.
However the Truly shines if you pair it with more powerful sources such like DAP’s (HiBy RS6, iBasso DX160), USB DAC/Amplifier Dongles (Lotoo PWA S1).
Some Technical Specifications:
- Model : Autumn
- Driver : 13mm Dynamic Driver with Dual Cavity Design & 6µ Thin Diaphragm
- Freq. range : 7 Hz – 40 kHz
- Impedance : 46Ω
- Sensitivity : 110dB
- Connector : 0.78mm 2-Pin
- Cable Specs : 4 Core Hybrid Wire Cable (Silver Plated Copper + High Purity Copper)
- Cable length : about 120cm
Equipment’s used for this review:
- IEM’s : BQEYZ Autumn, Final Audio B2, Meze Audio RAI Solo
- DAP&DAC’s : HiBy RS6, Lotoo PAW S1, iBasso DX160
Albums & tracks used for this review:
- Adele – My Little Love (Spotify)
- Randy Crawford – On Day I Will Fly Away (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Mariah Carrey – Without You (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Hayley Westenra – Odyssey Album (Dezzer HiFi)
- Sarah McLachlan – Angel (Flac 24bit/48kHz)
- Sertap Erener – Aşk (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Edith Piaf – Non Je Ne Regrette Rien (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Diana Krall – So Wonderful (DSF)
- Aretha Franklin – I Say A Little Payer (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
- David Bowie – Heroes (Flac 24bit/192kHz)
- Elton John – Rocket Man ((Flac 24bit/96kHz)
- Barry White – Just The Way You Are (Flac 24bit/48kHz)
- Isaac Hayes – Walk On By (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Sting – Englishman in New York – (Flac 24bit/48kHz)
- Eric Clapton – Wonderful Tonight (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
- B.B. King – Riding With The King (Tidal Hi-Fi)
- Dave Gahan – Kingdom (Tidal Hi-Fi)
- U2 – Sunday Bloody Sunday (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Bro Safari, UFO! – Drama (Deezer HiFi)
- Armin Van Buuren – Vini Vici (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Really Slow Motion – Deadwood (Deezer HiFi)
- Jo Blankenburg – Meraki (Spotify)
- Lorde – Royal (Flac 24bit/48kHz)
- Toutant – Rebirth (Deezer HiFi)
- Gogo Penguin – Raven (Flac 24bit/192kHz)
- GoGo Penguin – Fanfares (Flac 24bit/192kHz)
- Portishead – It Could Be Sweet (Spotify)
- Charly Antolini – Duwadjuwandadu (Flac 24bit/192kHz)
- Michael Jackson – Billie Jean (Flac 24bit/192kHz)
- Ferit Odman – Look, Stop & Listen (Flac 24bit/192kHz)
- Chopin – Nocturn No. 20 In C-Sharp Minor (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Fazıl Say – Nazım Oratoryosu (Live) (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Vivaldi – Le QuarttroStagioni “The Four Season” (Deezer HiFi)
- Otto Liebert& Luna Negra – The River (Flac 24bit/192kHz)
- Lunatic Soul – The Passage (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Deftones – My Own Summer (Shove it) (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Photek – The Hiden Camera (Spotify)
- Muse – Hysteria (Flac 24bit/48kHz)
- Metallica – Sad but True (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
- Opeth – Windowpane (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Megadeth – Sweating Bullets (Tidal Hi-Fi)
- Rush – YYZ (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Rush – Leave That Thing Alone (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Slayer – Angel of Death (Spotify)s
- Liquid Tension Experiment 2 – Acid Rain (Spotify)
- Yosi Horikawa – Bubbles (Spotify)
The Sound:
The BQEYZ Autumn is a very lively and spacious sounding In-Ear Monitor with a tad warmer than neutral tonality. The bass of the Autumn with the Normal (Reference) Filter installed shows a pretty fast response and linear character. The midrange is very transparent, airy and detailed, while the treble range is able to produce a decent sense of brightness, sparkle and extension, especially with the treble filters.
Please note that I have written the BQEYZ Autumn review after a burn-in period of 80 hours. My impressions below are mainly based to the Autumn paired with the “Normal Filter”. I have used the stock Cable and Stock Black Silicone Ear Tips that are part of the standard packaging.
Bass:
The BQEYZ Autumn offers a pretty linear and detailed bass response with moderate level of subbass depth and extension when use it with the Normal (Reference) Magnetic Filter. However, If you install the Bass Filter, subbass gains depth and rumble, while it still sound pretty controlled and detailed in its presentation.
The midbass area on the other hand sounds in fairly thigh and show a nicely tuned natural intensity, depth and decay, along with a decent level of speed and clarity when used with the “Normal Filter”. If you switch to the “Bass Filter”, the midbass gains more weight, body and a better sense of impact when I do listen to electronic songs like Jo Blankenburg’s “Meraki” or songs with complex passages such like Gogo Penguin’s Raven.
Instruments such like a bass guitar, a contrabass or viola do have in general a natural and sufficient sense of body and depth.
What I really like about BQEYZ’s unique filters system is that the bass remains controlled and pretty detailed even when I switch to the Bass Filter, that doesn’t affects the overall clarity and resolution in this area.
Midrange:
The BQEYZ Autumn shows a highly transparent, lively and spacious midrange presentation that will sound even more impress over time. The offers a good level of clarity and resolution, especially with the “Normal & Treble Filter”, while the tonality in this region is a tad warmer than neutral.
The lower midrange shows a moderate level of depth and intensity, when I do listen to male vocals like Sting, Elton John or Isaac Hayes and to instruments such like an acoustic guitar, viola or trumpet when paired with the Normal & Treble Filter, which gains an audible level of depth and body when I quickly switch to the Bass Filter.
The BQEYZ Autumn offers a nicely transparent and fairly detailed female vocal presentation thanks to the well-pronounced upper midrange character. Female voices from Hayley Westenra to Sertap Erener or instruments like flutes, pianos and strings are reproduced with a decent level of extension and solid sense of liveliness.
Treble:
The BQEYZ Autumn shows a treble tuning with a fairly bright tonality that offers an above average clarity and definition. The transitions from the upper midrange towards the lower treble (presence) area are in general pretty controlled, which shows an audible peak around the 5 kHz region.
The lower treble range of the Autumn is more highlighted, which makes this area more energetic and detailed compared to the upper treble region (Brilliance) that can be slightly increased with the Treble Filter that I don’t prefer to use since it can lead to some over-sharpness, especially when I do listen to poor recorded songs or to soprano voices.
The treble extension, detail and speed of the BQEYZ Autumn shows an pretty impressive performance when I do listen to instruments such like hi-hats, ride or a crash cymbals in genres like metal music. Instruments in jazz music such like a piano do sound nicely clean and detailed, with above average extension.
The “Treble Filter” adds slightly more airiness, clarity and sparkle to the this area, while it makes the general treble presentation less forgiving and a bit unnatural, which is the reason I don’t recommend to use it, unlike you are a real treble-head.
Soundstage & Imaging:
The BQEYZ Autumn offers a spacious and airy soundstage atmosphere, which increases that ability to create a stage that is quite ideal for a precise separation and positioning of both instruments and vocals. The Autumn has an above average soundstage wideness, along with a decent sense of depth for an In-Ear Monitor at this price level.
Comparisons:
BQEYZ Autumn versus Final Audio B2:
The Final Audio B2 has in general a warmer tonality and smoother presentation in direct comparison to the BQEYZ Autumn, which shows a livelier and spacious atmospheres with closer o neutral tonality (Normal & Treble Filter).
The lower frequency region of both In-Ear Monitors shows a fairly linear tuning, when I use the Autumn with the “Normal & Treble Filter”. However, the Autumn has its “Bass Filter” that helps to create a better level of subbass depth and extension. This filter generates also a better sense of intensity and impact for the Autumn in the midbass region, without to lose its advantage when it comes to the resolution and layering in this area.
The midrange of the Final Audio B2 sounds slightly more forward and emotional, while the BQEYZ Autumn is superior in terms of transparency and detail retrieval. The lower midrange of the Autumn shows a better grade of clarity and resolution, while the Final Audio B2 has the slightly edge in terms of depth and body in this region when I listen to male vocals and instruments like trumpets and cellos.
Upper midrange and treble region of the BQEYZ Autumn is slightly more successful in terms extension, intensity and airiness. The Final Audio B2 shows a smoother and more controlled upper midrange and lower treble response, while the BQEYZ Autumn has the upper hand when it comes to the resolution and dynamism that is created in this area, especially in the upper treble register.
The BQEYZ Autumn offers a much more expansive and airy soundstage atmosphere compared to the Final Audio B2, with better sense of wideness and depth. The BQEZY Autumn has the upper hand in terms of both soundstage depth and wideness.
BQEYZ Autumn versus Meze Audio RAI Solo:
The Meze Audio RAI Solo shows a slightly warmer tonality compared to BQEYZ Autumn that has a tad more neutral and bright presentation especially with the Normal & Treble Filter.
The bass of both IEM’s shows a pretty close character when I listen to the BQEYZ Autumn with the Normal & Treble Filter. The main difference is that the Autumn offers a slightly better level of authority and resolution. However, the Bass Filters adds the BQEYZ Autumn a better sense of subbass depth and rumble, while the midbass region gains a more intensity and ability of impact.
The midrange of the Meze Audio RAI Solo shows a moderate level of clarity and airiness, compared to the BQEYZ Autumn, which offers a slightly more vivid and airy midrange atmosphere with better sense of dynamism and clarity. Both IEM’s do have an average level of lower midrange depth and intensity when I do listen to male vocals and instruments such as acoustic guitars, violas or cellos. However, the Autumn has again the advantage to switch to the “Bass Filter”, which adds extra depth and body to this area without to decrease the clarity and resolution.
The BEQYZ Autumn is superior in terms of detail, clarity and extension of female vocals and instrument such like guitars, violins and pianos, due to the better grade of clarity and airiness that is produced in the upper midrange and lower treble area.
The treble range of the Meze Audio RAI Solo shows an audible roll-off in the treble register, which is the reason that it sounds a bit hot and veiled in this area. The BQEYZ Autumn has two audible peaks one around the 5kHz region that gives it a better sense of clarity, and another peak in the upper treble area which adds a better level of airiness and sparkle.
Both IEM’s are pretty successful in terms of separation and placement of instruments and vocals. However, the BQEYZ Autumn offers a more airy soundstage atmosphere, with better sense of depth and wideness.
Conclusion:
The Autumn is another decent looking and sounding In-Ear Monitor from BQEYZ that is equipped with a very capable 13mm Single Dynamic Driver and a unique Magnetic Sound Tuning Filter System, which is pretty effective compared to other sound tuning implementations. It offers an impressive sound performance with its very transparent and open sound atmosphere and is in my opinion the best sounding IEM of the company that I can highly recommend.
Pros & Cons:
- + Fast, Clean and Controlled Bass Response
- + Airy and Transparent Midrange Tuning
- + Treble Range with good level of Extension and Sparkle
- + Massive Soundstage with Good Sense of Imaging
- + Robust Build Quality
- + Comfortable Monitor Shape
- + Good Cable & Effective Sound Tuning Implementation
- – The Upper Midrange and Treble area sounds a bit too energetic with the “Treble Filter”
- – Not the most neutral overall sound tuning
- – The Bass may won’t satisfy those who do want more impact & coloration in this area
Thank you for the Read!
