So much more than just a bass cannon!
Design & Build Quality
Bullet. Fixed cable. Short nozzle. Aluminum… That’s about as short as I can make it.
BIE is a bullet-style IEM that features a single 10mm dynamic driver which uses N52 neodymium magnets. The shells are made of high-quality aluminum that is of a pale gold color. It’s easy to mistake the color for silver, especially in online photos, but in reality it’s a very beautiful and subtle pale gold finish.
The shells consist of two parts, and the seam is visible. At the back of the shell, there is a single vent. The nozzle is considerably shorter than usual, which is something I noticed only later down the line. It has a notch, but I didn’t find it to be as functional as it should be. Most ear-tips I tried easily come off, but the ones that are tighter seem to have no problem staying on.
Even though BIE has a vent, I still experienced driver flex when inserting the IEMs, but also when taking them out. This forced me to be more gentle.
As it’s usually the case with fixed cables, there’s nothing really to compliment here. It's not the most flexible cable and it's microphonic.
Comfort
BIE is perhaps the most ear-tip sensitive IEM I’ve come across. I had to go through just about every ear-tip I own, only to settle down with the size M tips that come with the Samsung EO-IG955BSEGW earphones. With these tips, I am able to get a secure and tight fit, but also a deep insertion.
As already mentioned, the BIE is extremely tip sensitive, so, depending on which tips you use, the sound performance will significantly differ. For example, the stock tips provide MASSIVE bass, extreme levels of bass quantity, and the tips I decided to use (from the EO-IG955BSEGW) tone down the quantity, and instead increase the quality. With this out of the way, be aware that my review is mostly based on BIE’s performance with 3rd party tips.
Sound Performance
Lows
Before switching out the tips, this is what I wrote:
“Did I mention that these are bass cannons yet? No? In that case, yes, these are bass cannons. If you are a basshead, you will almost certainly love these.
When I say they rumble, I mean it. If you can picture being in a club, that’s exactly how I’d describe BIE’s bass performance — you feel it.”
I take that back, because that’s only the case with the stock tips. These IEMs have so much more to offer! Switching out the tips makes them a completely different IEM.
Quality-wise, BIE doesn’t have the most defined bass, but it packs a serious punch while maintaining surprisingly decent speed qualities. In MOON’s “Hydrogen”, it’s apparent that the bassline is rich in quantity, has very good decay response, and has a softer/slower attack. It’s not overly slow to the point that the bass sound sloppy or loose, but it’s not fast enough to make it sound snappy and punchy. It’s not tight, I am trying to say. In “Smoking Mirrors” by Lee Curtiss, the bassline is more refined. The body is more defined, but at the same time there is more depth. The same qualities I noticed in “Hydrogen” are also present here, the speed is not so fast to the point it’s snappy, but it’s also not so slow to the point it’s sloppy.
Sub-bass, on the other hand, isn’t as emphasized. Well, with the 3rd party tips, that is. With the stock tips, the sub-bass has “too” much quantity. By “too much”, I mean that the quality suffers so much that it’s nothing more than a great volume of sub-bass hitting you. There’s not a lot of definition. However, when I switched out the tips to my preferred 3rd party ones, the quality was significantly better.
In Hans Zimmer’s “Why So Serious?”, the sub-bass drop occurring at the 3:27 minute mark shows these qualities. The sub-bass is pulsating, and is more subtle than present. It’s not overwhelming like it is with the stock tips.
The track that made me go nuts is Arctic Monkey’s “Do I Wanna Know?”. Mind you, when I took these out of the box, I didn’t fiddle with different ear-tips. When I listened to this track with the stock tips, I was like “Yep. These are for bassheads. This is insane.”. With my preferred 3rd party tips, the introduction of this tracks still sound above average, but with the stock tips… it’s a whole different story. The drum kicks have such thump, such density. This is the second IEM ever to have such a special performance in this track. The only other IEM being TRI’s original i3 (not the new i3 Pro).
Mids
Since the BIE is generally a V-shaped IEM, the mids aren’t the star of the show. I will say though, I was surprised to hear how much of a difference the tips make here. At least in my eyes, the difference in performance in the lower frequency range was expected to be significant, but in the mid-range, not so much.
The stock tips have a greater upper mid-range extension, while my preferred 3rd party ones have a greater lower mid-range extension. As you can imagine, which one sounds better is differs from track to track. The two track I quickly went over to notice these differences are “Speak Softly, Love” and “One More Time” by Yao Si Ting. I’d say the mids aren’t perfect on neither the stock pads nor the 3rd party ones.
One thing I will say is that there is significant amount of mid-bass bleed when using the stock tips. It’s audible in several tracks, of which I wouldn’t set apart any particular ones. It’s apparent that the mid-bass bleeds into the mids, and it can be noticed in just about every track where there are elements in both the lower frequency range and in the mid frequency range. If those two elements are playing at the same time, you will very easily hear it… It doesn’t take a trained ear.
When it comes to acoustic stringed instruments, I prefer the tonality and the sound of the 3rd party tips. Piano sounds fuller and weightier on the stock tips, and that’s largely because of the greater lower end extension.
Highs
Once again, depending on which tips you use, the amount of high end extension will differ. As I expected, there is a greater top end extension when using the stock tips (which are more focused/concentrated due to the narrower opening). My preferred Samsung tips give a more relaxed and smooth upper end.
In fact, the lower treble is so smooth with the Samsung tips that I consider it as warm. On the other hand, the upper treble has a great extension. And when I say “great”, I am referring to quality-wise, not quantity-wise. It’s not overly emphasized, it’s not piercing or fatiguing, it’s just a very good V-shaped treble extension. For example, Dire Straits’ “Money For Nothing” is a track where I would expect crisp and pronounced percussion, but on the BIE that’s not the case. However, when it comes to peaks from, e.g. vocals, instruments, they are
out there. This is what I mean when I say that the upper treble has a great extension while the lower treble is
warm.
Speaking of peaks, “Stop Trying to Be God” by Travis Scott is a reference track of mine for brightness. In particular, it’s Stevie Wonder’s mouth harmonica at the very end of this track that I’m listening to (from 4:43 – 5:38). BIE’s sound performance in this track had audible qualities of near-sparkle levels of treble. When I talk about sparkle qualities, this is how I sort them in terms of quantity:
piercing>sparkle>shine>sheen>warm
Soundstage, Imaging & Separation
How much did you say these cost again? Nope. The price simply doesn’t make sense. The soundstage, imo, is on-par with IEM 15 times its price. The soundstage is roughly 10-15 centimeters outside the IEMs themselves. It may not sound like a lot, but when it comes to IEMs, it is. Although I wouldn’t say BIE has anything outstanding to offer in terms of staging and separation, the soundstage is above average when it comes to its size.
Conclusion
Believe it or not, I had zero expectation for the BIE. All I knew is that it was perceived to be a bass cannon and that it had Venture Electronics’ house sound.
On one hand, what people were talking about turned out to be true — BIE is a bass cannon. Behaving like a sub-woofer in your ears, it can produce the physical sensation of rumble. On the other hand, when you switch out the stock tips, you get a completely different experience. It’s a two-way street. You are not stuck with the bass-focused sound signature. Not only can you alter its sound signature significantly with tips, but also with your source. I first started listening to the BIE with the DX300 + AMP11Mk1 amp module, and that's the combo that gives the ultimate bass-focused performance. When paired with the DX300 MAX, the sound perforamnce is more refined and tame.
This is why I titled this review “So much more than just a bass cannon”.
With the stock tips, it’s a very fun IEM. Like very, very fun. I would definitely use it for casual listening and when I’m trying to get hit in the face with bass. However, if I want a more refined listening experience, I will throw my Samsung tips on and get just that.
Price-wise… yeah, this is not a $20 sounding IEM. I know people want to hear names and not just “it sounds 15x the price”, but to stay on the safe side, let’s just say that it doesn’t sound anywhere near 20 bucks. I, as someone with limited IEM experience, cannot say it sounds better than something I’ve never heard, but when my friend who owns the MMR Thummim tried the BIE out, he was blown away. That says enough by itself.
I think Lee wanted to give the world a “trial” of the Grand Duke. Like “Here’s a little taste, and if you want the full package, it exists
”
But there’s a catch: BIE on its own is a package that is of such an extreme value that it successfully exists as a standalone product.
Setup:
Source: iBasso DX300 MAX (Gain: Low | DAC Volume: 90 | Ultimate Mode: ON | OS: Android)
Ear-tips: Samsung EO-IG955BSEGW (M), Stock SM tips
Early photo when I paired the BIE (stock tips) with the DX300 + AMP11Mk1