Overall rating: 3.5/5
Aesthetic:
Build Quality: 3.5/5
Design: 4/5
Accessories: 3.5/5
Sound Rating:
Timbre: 4/5
Bass: 4/5
Midrange: 3/5
Treble: 3/5
Technicalities: 2.5/5
DISCLAIMER
- This unit is purchased with my own money. All opinions remain original ideas, thus there is zero influence from any 3rd party or external opinions.
- No EQ or filter presets were used during the entire review period.
- Sound evaluations are kept neutral and does not include 3rd party accessories (ie; eartips, cable, reversible mods).
- Burn-in was done for 80 hours prior to review.
Introduction:
In this review, we will take a look on the EPZ Q1, one of EPZ (Ear Pageantry Zeal) budget offerings. As EPZ company just established their brand on 2019, the budget IEM market is already quite competitive. So instead of competing with other companies to stand out, the founder embraces his ideology to share his audio passion by polishing the build quality and his preferred tuning. Therefore, the EPZ Q1 is their celebration of audio and art.
Unboxing and Accessories:
The box is rather small and printed with a big “Q1” in front of the packaging. There is a pull tab on the bottom of the box. Slide open the box, you can see the IEM itself and several size of ear tips underneath the Q1. What’s in the box?
- EPZ Q1
- Soft storage pouch
- 3 pairs of double flange silicone ear tips (S, M, L)
- 3 pairs of generic silicone ear tips (S, M, L)
- 5N 4 core Single Crystal Copper cable with Microphone
- User Manual guide
Although I said that the storage pouch is not hard enough to protect the IEM, but honestly the price it offered is considered quite good.
Build Quality and Design:
EPZ Q1 is made of 3D printed resin, and it is polished to remove any sharp edges. The surface is glossy, and it is a fingerprint magnet. I like the faceplate design as it has black and gold accent which has a brushed texture when it nears any light source. It is well designed on both product aesthetic and ergonomic shape. It sits snugly in my small ears to get a good seal, even with their pre-included ear tips.
Specification:
Drive unit: 13mm dual cavity composite dynamic driver
Diaphragm: Polymer titanium-coated composite diaphragm
Frequency Response: 20Hz-40KHz
Sensitivity: ≥115dB
Rated impedance: 32Q
Cable: 0.78mm 2-pin Oxygen Free Copper (OFC) Silver Plated
Drivability:
The EPZ Q1 is easy to drive, and no amplification is needed. A small dongle like VE Avani will do the job flawlessly.
My music (don’t judge me xD) :
- Yoasobi - idol (24bit/96khz)
- Joji Nectar Album (24bit/96 kHz)
- Kamado Tanjiro no Uta (16bit/44.1 kHz)
- ReoNa - Human, Alive, Seimeisen, till the end (24/96 khz)
- Taylor Swift - We are never ever getting back together (DSD 5644kbps/ 2.8MHz)
- Radwimps - Suzume (24bit/96 kHz)
- And whole album of Kessoku Band
- G.E.M – GLORIA (24bit/96 kHz)
- Martin Garrix – In the Name of Love (24bit/44.1kHz)
- Jacky Cheung – Kiss goodbye (24bit/96kHz)
- Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra - "Kimetsu no Yaiba" Orchestra concert -Kimetsu no Kanade- (24bit/96 kHz)
- Taylor Swift “1989” album (24bit/48 kHZ)
Source used:
- Fiio K11 plugged into PC
- Aune Yuki plugged into iPad Air
- Aune S9C Pro plugged into PC
- Fiio KB3 plugged into PC
- Astell & Kern SR25 Dap
- Ibasso DX300 Dap (Impression soon)
Sonic Impression:
EPZ Q1 is a Harman-balanced tuned IEM with lush and meaty bass, slightly forward midrange, and inoffensive treble bite. This should work with pop, rock, R&B and movie soundtrack genre lovers.
Bass:
The Q1 is mid-bass focused, and its slower speed and decay makes the bass sound meaty and rumbly. It is dark and at the same time has musical traits. The bass quantity on this set is promising due to the 14mm dynamic driver, making it quite a standout from its competitors in this price range. Borderline bass-head approved!
Lower range extension is controlled, but the balance between quantity and quality is decent. You can listen to warm bass but at the same time you can hear some of the bass notes in the background. Drum kicks are a bit soft with adequate attack. Bass guitar has more presence, and it sounds natural with their single dynamic driver.
Midrange:
The midrange is the main spotlight of the show. It sounded warm but at the same time engaging. The upper mids are lifted, in a good way. Female vocals sound slightly elevated from the background to allow some space for the instrument to render. Q1 has natural tonality, I can hear near accurate instruments and vocal notes. There is no sibilant heard and the transients allow the midrange to sound lively. J-rock like Bocchi the Rock tracks are quite fast with complicated notes, and the Q1 can capture it without harshness or muddiness.
Both male and female vocals have thick note weights and liveliness, but transparency take a toll due to the warmer tuning. Lower mids sounds has more body, making it sounds a bit muddy. Brass instruments and piano sounds lifelike with orchestra tracks, without metallic timbres to be heard.
Treble:
Dark treble with controlled upper extension. Q1 steered towards relaxed listening, and this has to do with the laid-back presentation of drum snares and cymbals. Even though the treble does not stand out, it is still sounded balanced with enough major notes. Treble decay hits the right spot to make sure the tracks does not sound too fast and tame the upper mids from being shouty.
Soundstage and Technicalities:
Q1 spreads its soundstage with good amount of width but average with its depth. This affected the layering in the sound spectrum a bit, but it is compensated by its good imaging and separation. Detail retrievals and sound dynamics are not its thing but at least the musicality of this set explained why. It sounds immersive with orchestra music and movie soundtracks.
Comparison:
QOA Gimlet
I must go head-to-head with my daily driver, the QOA Gimlet. It is one of my favorite warm and organic tuned IEM to date. Both set offers good warmth and lush vocals, with good enough details to be rendered. The Q1 has better vocals energy in my opinion, while Gimlet has better tonality with that analogue-ish approach.
Technicalities wise, both sounds more or less the same. Gimlet has a tad better height and depth perception but Q1 has better width extension into the sound realm.
Conclusion:
The EPZ Q1 is a unique set as it sounds warmer than being just balanced. I found the EPZ Q1 sounds musical and at the same time retains vocal energy and did well with sound separations. Do I recommend it? I am saying yes for the audiophiles who want to have warm and engaging vocals.