BQEYZ Spring 1 IEM Review

 

Introduction:

BQEYZ is a Chinese brand that is a relative new but well know in the Chi-Fi scene with their affordable and pretty well tuned In-Ear Monitors.

The BQEYZ Spring 1 is the flagship IEM of the company that features pretty interesting “Triple Hybrid Driver” configuration with 1 BA + 1 Piezoelectric + 1 Dynamic Driver.

The dynamic driver has a diameter of 13mm and is responsible for the lows, while the 7-layer piezoelectric driver is producing the highs (upper and lower treble) and the balanced armature driver the midrange/upper midrange frequencies.

 

Disclaimer:

I would like to thank BQEYZ for providing me this sample via Penon Audio for review purposes. I am not affiliated with BQEYZ and Penon Audio beyond this review and these words reflect my true and unaltered opinions about the product.

   

Price:

The MSRP price for the BQEYZ Spring 1 is 139,00 USD and can be purchased from the links below;

Purchase Link: https://penonaudio.com/bqeyz-spring-1.html       

 

  

 

Package and Accessories:

The BQEYZ Spring 1 came in a small box in black color with a nice textured surface that features the BQEYZ® brand logo in silver color.

This box is wrapped with cardboard in black color that shows the visuals of the Spring 1.

Inside the box are the following contents/accessories;

• 1 pair x BQEYZ Spring 1 In-Ear Monitor
• 1 pcs x Detachable Cable with 0.78mm 2-Pin Connector
• 3 pairs x Silicone Atmosphere Ear Tips
• 3 pairs x Silicone Reference Ear Tips
• 1 pair x Foam Ear Tips
• 1 pcs x PU Protective Case with Zipper

The BQEYZ Spring 1 came with a fairly rich silicone types collection that has a nice metal ear tips organizer that shows the description of each ear tips variant.

The PU leather protective case with zipper is in black color and has the BQEYZ brand logo on the top.

 

 

 

Design, Fit and Build Quality:

The monitor shells of the BQEYZ Spring 1 are made of a 5-Axis CNC engraved aluminum material that is available in black and blue color options. My review sample came in blue color which looks pretty nice.

The shape and size of the monitors is pretty small and comfortable to wear, while the isolation is on an average level.

On the front of the monitor shell the so called faceplate are the product brandings, BQEYZ on the left earpiece and Spring 1 on the right earpiece.

The edges of the faceplates have small cutouts and that with a gold anodized surface which looks quite esthetical like the rest of the monitor shell.

At the backside of the each monitor is a slightly angled metal sound nozzle in gold color, 3 bass vents (small holes) and the L (Left) & R (Right) markings.

The sound nozzle has a fine woven metal mesh on the top to prevent the insertion of ear-wax, dust, etc.

On the top of the monitor housing is the 0.78mm diameter 2-Pin female connector that offers a fairly tight connection.

The overall build quality of the BQEYZ Spring 1 is rock solid thanks to the well made metal housing.

 

 

 

The Cable:

The BQEYZ Spring 1 came with a detachable cable that has 0.78mmdiamter 2-Pin male connectors. The cable is made of 8 cores of silver plated copper wire material.

The cable itself has a twisted design and features soft plastic insulation in black color.

The 0.78mm 2-Pin connectors of the cable have a dark grey metal housing with a solid appearance. Each connector has Left (L) & Right (R) markings and red / black color indicators as well. The cable features also heat shrink ear-guides on both sides.

This cable features also a stylish metal y-splitter with BQEYZ branding and a chin slider in the same dark grey color like the connector housings.

The cable of the Spring 1 has a gold plated 3.5mm (TRS) strait profiled headphone jack. The metal housing has the same dark grey color like the rest of the metal parts that we have seen on the cable and sports the BQEYZ brand logo. This headphone jack features also a plastic train relief in black color for extra durability.

 

 

Technical Specifications:

• Model              : Spring 1
• Driver              : 1 x BA + 1 x Piezoelectric Driver (7 Layers) + 1 x 13mm Dia. Dynamic Driver
• Impedance     : 43Ω
• Freq. range     : 7 Hz – 40 kHz
• Sensitivity       : 108dB ±3dB
• Connector       : 0.78mm 2-Pin
• Cable Specs   : 8 Core Silver Plated Copper Wire (0.06mm x 25 Shares)
• Cable length   : 1.2m

 

Drivability:

The BQEYZ Spring 1 shows on paper an impedance of 43ohm and sensitivity of approx 113db. Despite these technical values, the Spring 1 is driven as well with my Samsung Galaxy S9+ Smartphone. But to hear the true potential of the Spring 1, I would recommend you to use it with a small portable amplifier or Digital Audio Player (DAP) which will have a better amplification.

 

 

Equipment’s used for this review:

IEM’s              : BQEYZ Spring 1, Auglamour RT-3, Ikko OH1
DAP&DAC’s  : iBasso DX220, QLS QA361, FiiO M11 Pro

 

Albums & tracks used for this review:

• Gogo Penguin – Raven (Flac 24bit/192kHz)
• Otto Liebert& Luna Negra – The River (DSF) – Binaural Recording
• Vivaldi – Le QuarttroStagioni “The Four Season” (Wav 24bit/88kHz)
• Michael Jackson – Billie Jean (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
• Elton John – Your Song (Flac 24bit/192kHz)
• David Bowie – Black Star (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
• Dave Gahan – Kingdom (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
• Eric Clapton – Unplugged Album (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
• B.B. King – Riding With The King (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
• First Aid Kit – My Silver Lining (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
• London Grammar – Interlude (Live) (Flac 24bit/88kHz)
• Aretha Franklin – I Say a Little Prayer (Wav 16bit/44.1kHz)
• Diana Krall – So Wonderful (DSF)
• Laura Pergolizzi – Lost On You “Live at Harvard and Stone” (Wav 16bit/44.1kHz)
• No Doubt – Hella Gut (Spotify)
• Rush’s – Leave That Thing Alone (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
• Liquid Tension Experiment 2 – Acid Rain (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
• Twerl – Lishu (Spotify)
• U2 – Sunday Bloody Sunday (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
• Opeth – Windowpane (Wav 16bit/44kHz)
• Metallica – Sad but True (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
• Megadeth – Sweating Bullets (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
• Slayer – Angel of Death (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
• Armin Van Buuren – Vini Vici (Spotify)
• Lorde – Royal (Flac 24bit/48kHz)
• Photek – The Hidden Camera (Spotify)
• Tom Player – Resonace Theory (16bit/44.1kHz)
• Massive Attack – Angel (Flac 24bit/192kHz)
• Portishead – It Could Be Sweet (MP3 320kbps)

 

 

 

The Sound:

The BQEYZ Spring1 has a slightly V shaped sound signature with a tad warmer than neutral tonality, which shows a fast and deep bass response, soft and transparent midrange and energetic but controlled treble presentation.

PS: I have written this review after a burn-in period of approx 100 Hours and have used Stock Reference Silicone ear tips which are included to the package. Please note that the sound performance of the Spring 1 depends strongly to the ear tips you will use! 

 

Bass:

The BQEYZ Spring 1 is an In-Ear Monitor that offers a good subbass depth, with an average intensity and extension.  The general subbass rumble is on a sufficient level and was fairly successful in songs with good bass depth like Massive Attack’s “Angel” and Portishead’s “It Could Be Sweet”.

The traceability and clarity of this frequency region is on a pretty good. The subbass has a warm tonality and doesn’t stand out in the general presentation which could cause to negative situations muddiness.

The midbass of BQEYZ Spring 1 is slightly more pronounced compared to the subbass region and shows a good level of slam effect which should be sufficient for most users except basshead in terms of quantity and intensity.

The midbass hass a warmish in tonality and pretty controlled. The reaction/response of the midbass from percussion instruments to drums and guitars are very fast. The fact that the bass is so fast, tight and controlled for a dynamic driver is remarkable plus point for the Spring 1.

The overall bass character can be located two units lower of the basshead level and one unit above the reference and neutral bass description.

 

Midrange:

The BQEYZ Spring 1 has a clear, balanced and airy midrange presentation that shows a slightly warmer/mildly warmish tonality. The midrange is slightly / lightly recessed do to the V shaped tuning. The Spring 1 is a very successful IEM in terms of midrange detail and separation/space between instruments and vocals.

 

Vocals:

The BQEYZ Spring 1 has a good lower midrange depth and the fact that this region is not thin and to dry is an advantage for male vocals.  Male vocals do sound slightly warm, moderately thick, musical and pretty soft, while the overall clarity levels is quite impressive for a IEM in this price range.

BQEYZ Spring 1 has a good well tuned upper midrange that is detailed and pretty pronounced. Female vocals do sound more intimate and detailed than male and have a smooth and natural tonality. Female vocals presentation of the Spring 1 is also highly transparent, sweet and soulful. Only Soprano female vocals can do sound a little bit sibilant and harsh from time to time while listening in higher volume level.

 

Instruments:

The Spring 1 impressed me with its pretty accurate instrument placement and separation. The instruments are well placed on the stage and there are no negative situations like muddiness or mixings. The instrument presentation of the Spring 1 is full bodied presentation. For example the tonality of the acoustic guitar is slightly bassy, warm and lush, which makes it pleasant to listen to, while violas are warm, emotional and natural.  Other instruments like pianos are a tad bright, while violins are soft and sweat in tonality without to show any remarkable harshness.

 

Upper Midrange & Treble:

The upper midrange of the BQEYZ Spring 1 is pronounced and slightly warmish in its tonality. The upper midrange extension is pretty good for an IEM at this price range. Everything from female vocals up to instruments such like the violins do sound vivid/lively, transparent and fairly detailed.

The treble range on the other hand is accented, and strong in its presentation. The general tonality is slightly warm, bright and musical. Instruments like hi-hats are pronounced and it is clearly to count the hits in pretty complex metal music tracks. Other instruments like crash and ride cymbals are quite controlled and fast tanks to the 7-layer piezoelectric driver that performs pretty well.

The treble range of the BQEYZ Spring 1 doesn’t shows negative situations such like mixings in jazz music when the piano accelerates, the sound are clear and pretty accented.

The level of airiness in the treble range is quite high, while the lower treble range is more highlighted than the upper treble region. The intensity and detail retrieval decreases towards the upper treble area in a controlled manner. The general tonality of the treble range is more neutral compared to rest of the sound spectrum, but is otherwise quite lively and energetic.

 

The Soundstage:

The BQEYZ Spring 1 shows a good performance in terms of instrument separation and placement. The separation between instruments and vocals is also very good. The stage of the Spring 1 is quite expansive and wide for an In-Ear Monitor, especially for its price, while the performance in terms of soundstage depth is on a moderate level.

 

 

 

Some Comparisons:

 

 

BQEYZ Spring 1 versus Auglamour RT-3:

The Auglamour RT-3 has a slightly warmish tonality with a close to natural, pretty smooth and balanced presentation. The midrange and treble is quite detailed, the bass is fast and shows average depth and quantity.

The subbass of the BQEYZ Spring 1 has the upper hand in terms of depth. The general bass presentation of the RT-3 is more linear compared to those of the Spring 1. The bass of the Spring 1 shows more intensity and quantity, while the RT-3 is faster in this frequency region.

The midrange of the Auglamour RT-3 is more neutral and forward oriented compared to those of then BQEYZ Spring 1 which shows a slightly warmer and more musical presentation. The Spring 1 has the upper hand for male vocals due to the tuning of its lower midrange depth, while the RT-3 is slightly more successful with female vocals. The treble range of the RT-3 has a thinner and more neutral tonality, while the Spring 1 sounds more natural and energetic. The Spring 1 is more successful in terms of treble extension.

Both In-Ear Monitors do show a pretty expansive soundstage presentation, while the BQEYZ Spring 1 is slightly better in terms of soundstage width and depth.

 

 

BQEYZ Spring 1 versus Ikko OH1:

The Ikko OH1 has a fairly warm tonality with a full bodied and entertaining presentation. The subass is deep and pronounced while the midbass is more balanced. The Midrange and treble presentation is smooth, forgiving and pretty musical.

The Ikko OH1 has the upper hand in terms of subbass quantity and extension, while the BQEYZ Spring 1 is superior in when it comes to the midbass quantity, speed and impact.

The midrange of the OH1 has a warmer tonality and slightly fuller presentation. The Spring 1 on the other hand is slightly more detailed thanks to the higher level of transparency. The Ikko OH1 has a slightly advantage in terms of male vocals due to the warmer and fuller presentation, while the BQEYZ Spring 1 is more successful with female vocals with the more accented upper midrange and overall midrange clarity.

The upper midrange and treble region of the BQEYZ Spring 1 is more pronounced and shows a better level of extension and detail retrieval.

The soundstage of both the Ikko OH1 and the BQEYZ Spring 1 is quite successful in terms of instrument placement and separation. The main difference is that the Spring 1 is superior when it comes to the soundstage width and airiness, while the OH1 has a slightly advantage in terms of soundstage depth.

 

 

Conclusion:

BQEYZ offers with the Spring 1, a very well tuned “Triple Hybrid Driver” configuration that shows a very airy and pretty detailed overall presentation. The fast & deep bass response, soft and transparent midrange and the energetic but pretty controlled treble presentation are some hallmarks of the Spring 1 beside its very esthetic metal shell which makes it to one of my favorite IEM’s in this price range.

 

 

Pros & Cons:

• + Overall clarity and detail retrieval
• + Deep and fast bass response
• + Wide / expansive soundstage presentation
• + Beautiful, robust & comfortable monitor housing
• + Great price to performance ratio

• – A tad more subbass quantity would be welcome
• – Tips dependent sound performance