“A cold winter does not have to be a lonely time.”

– Unknown

PRICE: $239 (PHP. 13,000.)

PROS: 

• Good unboxing and inclusions
• Fantastic build quality and finish
• Warm, relaxing but technically capable sound
• Rich, meaty but well textured bass
• Articulate but engaging midrange
• Well extended and detailed treble
• Solid overall technical ability

CONS: 

• Subpar fitting
• No modular cable (nitpick for the price)
• Lacking subbass energy
• Midbass may come across too warm
• Midrange slightly colored due to midbass elevation
• Uneven treble that might be peaky for some
• Slight congestion in the midrange

WHO THIS UNIT IS FOR: 

• People who like an analogue-esque sound
• People who like a musical, warm playback
• People who are curious about different driver techs (bone conduction)
• People who like a very organic sounding midrange and vocal presentation

WHO THIS UNIT ISN’T FOR

• People who are skeptical of non-traditional driver setups
• People who want a more energetic sound
• People who want a more open technical chop
• People who want a snappy, quick decaying overall sound

RECOMMENDED GENRES:

• Rock (in general, but I loved prog rock on these)
• Metal (or any busy genres in general)
• Funk 
• R&B

SHORT REVIEW: 

The BQEYZ Winter marks the end of the seasons and a rather melancholy end to the series. A warm, inviting sound akin to a fireplace in the cold gives Winter an analogue-like replay with its soothing bass, intimate midrange and respectable treble. However, this definitely won’t cater for a more lively or analytical sound. The inclusion of a bone conductor at this price is definitely interesting. Regardless of driver setup, the Winter cements itself as one of the most unique IEMs in the price range, for better or worse.

RECCOMENDED WITH CAVEATS

FULL REVIEW

With most brands opting to jump in the trends such as planars and a familiar slight u-shaped or Harman-like tuning, it can become quite a borefest when almost everything just sounds the same. But one company strives to stay consistent with their sound while continuing to explore the different existing technologies that have been out in the market. This then begs the question, is resiliency enough to keep you in relevancy?

SOURCES USED: 

• BQEYZ Winter > VE Megatron > Foobar2000/Musicbee/Spotify
• BQEYZ Winter > Zishan U1 > Foobar2000/Musicbee/Spotify
• BQEYZ Winter > Not-by-VE Abigail > Foobar2000/Musicbee/Spotify

TRACKS USED:

A mixture of lossy, lossless and Hi-Res files will be used to give a general overview of the different formats in which the gear will be used. 

Docs file explaining each track and what to look for: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oMa7GPLaqtpnnoR9tixvWI4aK-7tXMyTEZCJAVkIZx0/edit

Spotify Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3O9IoiZqDL0IMhfkfVUN82?si=aa357ce8856d4e79

ACCESSORIES USED:

Tips: 

• Stock “Atmosphere” tips (S&M)
• Stock “Reference” tips (S&M)
• Stock basic tips (S&M)
• Newbees (S&M)
• KBear 07 (S&M)

Cable:

• Stock Cable in 3.5mm termination
• Hakugei Rubine in 4.4mm termination

NOTE: 

I found that using wider bore tips opens up not just the soundstage but also a cleaner overall presentation that also improves technicalities by a bit. Using the reference tips is the best pairing by far, but the fitting will definitely vary as I found it to be too shallow with the provided tips. Newbees, KBEar07 and Atmosphere tips paired the best in comfort but suffered slightly from the congestion more than the reference tips. Using 4.4mm termination with the Megatron also caused a very weird interference where there would be clicking sounds on top of the very audible noise floor whenever I squeezed the cable

BRAND BACKGROUND

BQEYZ Winter is the 4th and last entry into the seasons series of BQEYZ that features Spring (1 and 2), Summer, Autumn and finally, the Winter. The Winter, just like its predecessors, use a unique driver configuration that is unlike those that come before it. Today, we will check out whether the Winter leaves BQEYZ out in the cold or warms up the future of the brand.

DISCLAIMERS: This unit is part of a tour provided by Ms. Elle Zhou of BQEYZ and handled by Mr. Bradley Loo. I am eternally grateful for this opportunity, but this does not in any way, shape, or form affect the quality of my review. This review will be based entirely on my experience with the IEM itself and I was not paid or told to say anything regarding the IEM. Lastly, I am only one reviewer; this is my personal experience with the unit. Many variables come to play to make everyone’s experience different and your mileage will vary depending on the circumstance.

SPECIFICATION SHEET:

• Driver Size and Setup: 1 12mm Dynamic Driver PAR Diaphragm + 11.6mm PZT Bone Conduction
• Impedance: 38ohms
• Sensitivity: 113db
• Frequency Range: 5-40khz
• Build: CNC Aluminum Alloy 
• Cable Length: 1.2m
• Cable Material: Single Crystal Copper Plated Silver
• Termination: 2.5/3.5/4.4
• Interface: 2-pin 0.78mm

FULL INCLUSIONS AND ACCESSORIES:

• BQEYZ Winter drivers
• 4-strand Silver Plated Cable
• 1 Pleather Carrying Case
• 1 Cleaning Brush
• 1 Metal Tip Holder
• 1 Plastic Tip Holder
• 3 Pairs of “Atmosphere” Tips
• 3 Pairs of “Reference” Tips
• 1 Pair of Foam Tips

BUILD AND FIT:

Cable:

The cable included with the BQEYZ Winter is a gray, 4-strand, 49 core single crystal copper plated silver hand braided cable. 

It’s on the lighter side and is quite soft to the touch with each strand being sturdy to give confidence of the build and braid of the cable. I never found myself fumbling about with the cable as its thickness makes it quite tangle-free while soft enough to respond well to being rodey wrapped or stored easily. 

The jack is your standard gold plated 3.5mm jack housed in a basic metal housing with BQEYZs logo on it. You may also opt in for the 2.5 or 4.4 BAL termination. 

The Y-Split and chin cinch are of a similar material to the jack, but I will have to point out that the chin cinch is quite annoying as it keeps sliding down whenever I try to drag it up to my chin. It’s somewhat unusable to me personally, but your mileage my vary. 

The strands are soft which thankfully do not irritate my sensitive face. 

Moving up to the earhooks and interface, the earhooks are quite well implemented with a nice softness to mold around my ear but not too lose to drag down. The ligther cable also helps with the cable not dragging down unto my ear. The interface is 2-pin 0.78mm. 

There are no instances of microphonics even when a fan is blowing straight at the cable which makes it quite nice if you move around or just hate microphonics in general.

Overall, the cable is a very nice and good quality cable that doesn’t really stand out aesthetically but compliments the smooth and minimalist design of the Winter. It’s soft but durable while not feeling like you’re dragging chains around your ears constantly. The option of a balanced cable is definitely nice as you’ll see later that it scales very well with power, however I can’t help but feel like a modular cable should be mandatory for IEMs that are harder to drive than usual and cost $239. Regardless, a faultless cable that people would probably be happy enough to pair with their Winter

IEMs:

The IEMs are made from an aluminum material machined with CNC and uses sandblasting, anodize oxidation and highlight processing technology for its coating. They claimed that it makes the surface rich in color while bearing wear and corrosion resistant. 

Just like the seasons before it (minus Summer), its metal build instills confidence and quality in its build while remaining smooth, lightweight and understated. The smooth faceshape design was, according to BQEYZ, comes from [a] figure skating rink [where] it has been modified over 17 times to establish the smooth like aesthetic of Winter. 

The shape on the inside is also very similar in a sense that it still awkwardly fits into my ears, just like previous seasons. While the wings do help in keeping it snug in my ears so as to not make it fly out with the smallest movement, the nozzle and the space near its base definitely does not fit my ear as snug as I want to. It’s the best fitting seasons by far, but that’s not a very high bar. 

I will admit that when I can plug it snuggly, it’s quite comfortable and does not induce stress or pressure points around my ear. However, this affects seal as I found it to be too loose to have proper seal. The cable thankfully compliments the IEMs well as I never found myself fumbling about the earhooks just to get it to fit in my ear properly.

Sadly, and this is arguably the worst part of the Winter personally, there is driver flex. Not terrible thanks to its loose fitting, but it guarantees that when I do get a good fitting, I’ll be forced to use foams to even enjoy the Winter. 

Overall, amazingly built with a sleek and understated design that speaks confidence and premiumness that is unlike any IEMs that I’ve tried that are not of BQEYZ. However, it reminds you that it is from BQEYZ due to its awkward fitting and that driver flex is quite nasty but is saved by the double edged sword that is its seal and isolation. However, I have to give it to BQEYZ ending the seasons with a very tasteful build that the Winter is. 

SOUND: 

Sound Signature:

Neutral with a very slight boost in both the lower end and higher end but does not make it sound v-shaped or even u-shaped. 

Driving Power:

It’s quite difficult to drive as I found myself pumping up the volume all the way to 6 out of 100 on my Megatron and halfway on the U1. Having at least a dongle dac will definitely improve your experience with the Winter, but using a 4.4 termination and source will immensely improve dynamics of the Winter. 

Bass:

The overall presentation of the bass is on the leaner but still bodied and lush side. Subbass and midbass have equal emphasis and compliments each others presence well with a linearity that extends to the lower midrange. 

Starting with the subbass, it’s more subdued which gives the impression of a leaner presentation. But it still packs enough rumble when the track calls for it. I’d say it’s more quality over quantity type of subbass as the reverberations were satisfyingly immersive and tastefully hefty. It’s not a bassheads type of bass with insane rumble and power, but more than enough for those who want a cleanly done subbass

Moving to the midbass, this is where the Winter shines as it presents instruments and vocal nuance in such a soothing and relaxing manner while providing a decent amount of texture, detail and punch. It’s definitely on the warmer side than lean, so you should expect a lot of body in instruments and vocals. Despite this however, it never sounded muddy or bloated to my ears as the elevation is quite linear throughout the lower subbass and the higher lower mids. Texture is quite nicely done but note definition and overall detail leaves more to be desired. This in turn gives it a more lush midbass presentation where the bass doesn’t sound the most controlled but does not sound sloppy or slow. Dynamics are quite alright but I definitely found myself wanting more texture and clarity on the track “Bombtrack” by Rage Against the Machine where the bass guitar can often get blurry with the higher octave guitar and vocals join the mix. 

Overall though, it’s a lush but well textured bass presentation that I really wished had just better detail and clarity, but well presented in the end. 

Mids: 

The midrange of the BQEYZ Winter has, bar none, one of the best balance of tonality and technical ability. While I usually find my gripes over u-shaped or Harman-like IEMs in the midrange, the Winter perfected my preference in midrange almost to a T. 

Starting with the lower mids, there is a sense of warmth and body carried over from the midbass. This does not muddy or bleed into the mids more than it gives ample amount of warmth and lusciousness to the lower mids. Male vocals sound rich and bodied with instruments having a very satisfying amount of bite and texture. It’s definitely on the warmer side but not by a lot that it loses detail and clarity. There’s this intimate but immersive feel to instruments and vocals in this region that make it so relaxing to listen to. I never found myself feeling like the lower mids were ever underemphasized, dry or too lean sounding. The amount of detail and nuance can definitely still be put up a notch by giving them more clarity and texture, but I honestly think that the lusciousness presented is more than enough to make up for the very very slight loss in texture. Thanks to the quicker decay of the bass, the warmth is supplemented with a lot of nuance, especially when it comes to vocals where the likes of Jacob Collier in Time Alone With You where his (and Daniel Caesar too!) vocals just oozes with personality and detail. It feels as if they’re singing close to your ears like a smooth lullaby. 

Moving unto the upper mids, it’s quite naturally presented with ample forwardness in the vocals and instruments in this region without being to aggressive or harsh. Female vocals don’t have my preferred sparkle and edge, but instead, soothe the ears with a natural elevation and a lovely sense of body. Upper mids never sounded grainy even on tracks that are usually presented as such like in “You Should Head North” by Necry Talkie. On that note, the Winter passed the shout test with flying colors, as I expected it to do so. Instruments in this region are especially nice, particularly string instruments like pianos, violins and guitars, which sound soothing and relaxing while still being articulate and detailed. On that note, I was pleasantly surprised by how detailed and articulate the upper midrange of the Winter is for how lush it sounds. Usually, these kinds of warm tuning sacrifice the upper mids quite significantly (i.e. BQEYZ Topaz) but I did not find the same to be true in the Winter. Levels of clarity were high but it does not sound dry or harsh in any way. The Winter genuinely made me question my own preference in midrange whether I wanted something more aggressive or something like the Winter’s more enveloping upper mids. The Feeling by Sammy Rae & The Friends is a very energetic song with Sammy Rae’s vocals having a lot of nuance in its presentation while having a warm and enveloping presentation. I’ve gotten used to hearing Sammy Rae’s voice in the colder light but the warmth brought about the Winter gave me a completely different perspective on enjoying her vocals. 

Regardless, there’s very little to fault about the midrange of the Winter, with the lower mid-detail just being a bit blunted for my preference. But bar none, this is one of the best midrange presentations I’ve had the opportunity to spend a while with. 

Treble: 

Contrary to its name, I personally think that the treble is not that “cold” sounding as it’s smoother and more laid back in presentation. However, this does not mean that it’s not capable of crisp articulation and detail as it presents them in quite a soothing manner!

Starting with the lower treble, the Winter takes a calmer approach from the more forward upper mids as it’s on the darker side of things. Detail is still retained, however clarity somewhat took a hit as while I can still hear the nuances in vocals, they do sound a lot darker as compared to the upper mids. Instruments in this region still retained the naturalness of the upper mids however as I didn’t really hear any oddness in its timbre despite having a piezo driver. Instruments and vocals are well defined with good body and nuance. 

Moving unto the mid treble, detail in this region is crisp and detailed while still retaining a realistic overall presentation. A track like “Got to Get You In My Life” by Earth, Wind & Fire has a usually bright presentation with percussives having this dry and occasionally somewhat metallic sound is perfect on the Winter however as there were no oddness or harshness found in the track and even gave the brighter mixing of Earth, Wind & Fire the much needed warmth. 

Lastly, the upper treble is presented much tamer compared to the rest of the treble. The amount of air is sufficient, but personally lacking as there are instances where instruments sound choked or congested. The extension to vocals and instruments are realistic, but lacking personally as it does not have that lingering sparkle I look for in treble. It is, however, undoubtedly safe and well presented considering that it has a BC and Piezo dealing with the upper frequencies and I am quite experienced with the tendency of piezo to ring in your ears. 

Transient ability is very impressive as it’s able to be quite snappy without sounding dry or grainy. 

Overall, it’s a clean but articulate treble response that admittedly lacks a bit in the air department personally but is perfectly adequate and realistic in its extension.

Technicalities: 

Overall technicalities of the Winter is quite impressive albeit definitely not the most expansive, clear or accurate that I’ve tried

Starting with stage, there’s a good sense of width and height but somewhat lacking in depth. Instruments sound well expanded but more in a plane rather than in a room. Separation, imaging and layering are very impressive as it breezed by even more complex tracks without a problem, however it was not the cleanest presentation that I’ve heard. The warmth definitely made its overall ability to separate, layer and place instruments and vocals in the room a bit clouded. But again for how lush the overall sound of the Winter is, this is very impressive as you don’t really find warmer IEMs with technical chops this good

Overall, very impressive considering it’s tonality but it did slightly affect its performance due in part to its warmth. 

COMPARISONS:

Vs TangZu Heyday ($200)

• Build is more hefty on the Heyday but the Winter isn’t a fingerprint magnet and feels smoother and less scratch prone
• Cable is better on the Heyday and is also modular
• Fit is better on the Heyday but has more pressure points over time
• The Winter is a more neutral sound signature compared to the more energetic balanced sound signature of the Heyday
• Winter is slightly less harder to drive but still harder to drive than usual
• Bass is meatier but also less controlled on the Winter
• Midrange is warmer and luscious on the Winter
• Upper mids are more forward and energetic on Heyday but Winter sounds more natural
• Treble is more elevated and more extended on the Heyday but the Winter is smoother and natural sounding
• Technicalities is overall slightly better on the Heyday with much better headstage

Vs AFUL Performer 5 ($219)

• Build is better on the Winter but fit goes for Performer 5 
• Winter is more neutral while Performer 5 is more U-Shaped with bass emphasis
• Winter is harder to run than the Performer 5
• Bass is cleaner, better defined, more controlled and more textured in the Winter with the Performer 5 having a more defined subbass
• Mids are overall more correct sounding with better details on the Winter
• Treble is smoother on the Performer 5 but Winter has a better-defined treble presentation
• Technicalities is better on the Winter due to having better cohesion and cleanliness 

Vs SeeAudio Yume 2 ($200)

• Build is similar on both with Winter not being a fingerprint and scratch magnet
• Yume 2 has a slight u-shape sound signature with a bit of treble emphasis while Winter has a more neutral sound signature
• Yume 2 is easier to run compared to the Winter
• Bass is more bodied, more textured and more detailed on the Winter, but Yume 2 has more subbass presence
• Mids are more bodied, more detailed and more nuanced in the Winter
• Treble is much smoother on the Winter, but more extended and airier in the Yume 2
• Technicalities is better on the Winter overall minus headspace 

CONCLUSION: 

The BQEYZ Winter is a perfect closer to the seasons of BQEYZ with a warm, soothing but technically capable set of in-ears. It’s very well built with a considerable amount of inclusions, albeit lacking a modular cable which I’d argue it needs. It has a wonderful build quality akin to its seasonal brethren, along with the poor fitting but a cable that makes up for it just a little bit. It has a very natural sounding timbre with the entire frequency response, especially in the midrange being a love letter that honing ones house sound will refine it to near perfection. 

However, I can’t deny that along with the price of the Winter, it’s hard to suggest it to people who are used to something more U-shaped or Harman. It’s what people would call “quirky” tuning but I honestly think that this is an experience that anyone into audio should experience at least once. The amount of refinement they have made from the Spring 1 all the way to the Winter is insane with the mids being near perfect and the piezo zing being the least evident here. 

I think what BQEYZ is doing with their IEMs is wonderful. In a sea of what seems to be the same tuning with small adjustments, BQEYZ offers not only different driver configurations per release but also different but more refined sound. On that note, the Winter is also one of the most affordable IEMs with a bone conduction driver. Whether you believe that BC is a meme or it does something, it’s up to you. I personally don’t care about whatever driver an IEM uses, as long as they sound good and I will make some connections if need be. They are a completely unique but still technically capable and smooth-sounding IEM that no one should ever give the cold shoulder to. The Winter may mark the end of the seasons, but I believe it’s just the beginning to a beautiful future that BQEYZ has in store for those who adore their unique sound. 

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Have a nice day, and enjoy music!