BQEYZ KC2 2 BA + 2 DD Earphone

At a Glance:


Category: C (20-100 USD Bracket) Acquired at 26$, MSRP 40$

Overall Rating (S+ to D-): A B+


Overview:

When I first got these I disliked them, and you probably will too. Coming directly from my BQEYZ Summers, these sounded congested, unresolving and had weird staging, but as I later found, these are lovely IEMs, but they give up something for something at every step of the way. They can be picky at every single step of the way, but treat them well, and they will reward you with their sound. I think these are IEMs best suited for certain tracks, certain sources, cables and tips, but with those all done well, these reward you with a sound that punches well above their mid-fi price bracket.



Build: A

These are amazingly well-crafted IEMs, and beautiful to touch and see. The material looks to be an anodized aluminum and not the cheaper painted finish that flakes and chips like crazy (*ahem* Moondrop take some lessons from BQYEZ here). Unfortunately, this is also where the tradeoffs start. For one, these have big shells, very big. I’m not sure if it’s because there are 2 dynamic drivers, or for increased isolation or if it was a tuning decision etc, but what must be noted is that these can be uncomfortable for those with smaller ears. Another thing to note is the nozzle, which doesn’t have a ridge to hold tips in place (had some issues with the first tips I tried, reversed starlines), and while reasonably long, still doesn’t reach into your ears very deep. A final gripe, and yet another tradeoff is how recessed the 2 pin connectors on these are. A lot of cables will have fit issues, though the ones that fit properly will be rewarded in the durability aspect since most of the stress will be on the housings instead of the pins themselves.



Sound:



Tested on the ff:

Deezer HiFi and Foobar 2000

KGUSS BH-3

JCALLY JM20

CX-PRO



General Comments:

These are a 2+2 Dynamic + Balanced Armature setup, and once again BQEYZ shows me why they’re the masters of multi driver tuning. I don’t know what they did with those BAs, but as I’ll write about later, they’re pretty damn good. These are skewed to a neutral-cold tonality, but instrument timbre is still very organic and faithful and there is next to no artificial metallic twinge added (looking at you again KZ). As a package, these are very deliberately tuned for a specific result, and I think that BQEYZ definitely hit the mark here.



Bass: A

This is undoubtedly the weakest part of this IEM in my opinion, BUT, it’s neither bad, nor does it need to excel. It simply does it’s job the way it was tuned to, staying out of the way with regards to the mids and treble. Bass is lean and this IEM rarely adds character to the bass with regards to instrument timbre, it simply follows along with the track’s timbre and doesn’t stray from that. The lack of focus in tuning does mean that the bass occasionally becomes unpleasant or a weak link. Depending on the track, it can almost entirely disappear into the background behind a veil formed by the mids, it’s occasionally boomy and uncontrolled with certain tracks, and can’t muster up crisp toms and snares in the upper bass.



Mids: S

Love these. Silky, silky smooth, amazing texture and reproduction and quite forward. Vocal forward songs will leave you in awe with this IEM and you’ll find yourself tuning out the mediocre bass in favor of the vocals. Texture and reproduction on even similar sounding songs by the same singer will sound distinct and separate. However, if I listen to these critically I do occasionally hear a lack of support and body in some of the upper mids of female tracks and brittleness in the tones that shouldn’t be there. Male vocals don’t tend to have this issue but do occasionally suffer from a lack of warmth in their timbre, with voices sounding full-bodied, but with the occasional line sounding like it was mixed with a female second voice singing a note that doesn’t exist in the track. Let it be said that I am critiquing the mids harshly, and I would still only consider these mild gripes- put these on with a Celine Dion power ballad and feel the music in your soul LOL.



Treble: A+

Once again, I like these, but they're VERY weird. Some serious oddities with peaking and valleying in odd places and a roll-off. Fairly forward even as a person relatively insensitive to treble I can definitely always feel it whenever it is there. Most divide up treble into “airy” and “crisp”, I think these are decently good at both, treble textural reproduction is really good and it sounds like how I’d imagine the “correct” treble sounds. Combined with finite imaging, and good layering these IEMs execute treble about as good as anything in the 20-30$ price category. Detail reproduction is there, but thankfully these are not incisive and painful in any of the tracks I’ve put them on, an amazing feat for IEMs this cheap: treble is not “falsely detailed either, it’s all stuff that is there that this IEM simply brings out of the track rather than create from thin air. That being said, there are just What moments where I have no idea why the treble sounds that way.



Technicalities: A

I have to say, these have slightly odd soundstage and spatial positioning. Bass usually sounds like it’s slightly behind you, which can sometimes result in it being veiled. Mids are also unusual, on some tracks it’s staged high on your head, or around your forehead, which is something that you *mentally* need to burn in/get used to with these IEMs. Treble is the only one that sounds “typical”, it’s just off to the sides in a “pill-shape”. I would say these have narrowish-average soundstage, but very, very good imaging and layering which can give the illusion of a wide stage since instruments are well and distinct from each other. The pin-point levels of left and right finite imaging lend themselves really well to any instruments staged within those areas, but I need to caveat that by saying that these are quite narrow in terms of front-back stage depth, so it can sound flat, indistinct, or simply be difficult to pinpoint if something is staged in that area. A quick note on transient harshness (I am extremely sensitive to it) these IEMs deal with that incredibly well, even on some tracks that SHOULD have it, these smooth it over while retaining the original sound. All things said, very, very good for the price.



Summary:

Why are these only a mistress despite how good they are? Well, I believe your waifu IEM should be more balanced and versatile (mostly just have better and more forward bass really, and less treble wonk), so I think these are more of a specialist IEM than anything, amazing for vocals and treble, with reasonably good technicalities but faltering just a little on the bass aspect. These are still a “fun” IEM, just not in the typical way where bass is boosted to earth-shaking levels and mids are slaughtered and treble is nonexistent. No these are fun in a way that just makes you want to kick back and chill, savouring the sweetness of perfect vocals.

Introduction:
BQEYZ is a Chinese company that produces in-ear monitors. They specialize in the hybrid driver configuration of IEMs and the KC2, which was released in 2018, was one of the many IEMs they released in a short span of time. The KC2 currently retails for 55 USD, and was provided to me at a discounted price by BQEYZ in exchange for this review.

International purchase link

Specifications:
Driver units: 2 dynamic (10 mm and 6 mm) + 2 balanced armature
Impedance: 15 ohms
Sensitivity: 105 dB
Frequency response range: 7 Hz - 40 kHz

Source:
Poco X3 paired with iBasso DC03 and Shanling UA1

Test tracks:
Africano - Earth Wind and Fire
Dark Necessities - Red Hot Chili Peppers
Gurenge - Lisa
The Chain - Fleetwood Mac
Monsters - All Time Low
Ours - Taylor Swift
Stay - Mayday Parade
Snuff - Slipknot
Yesterday Once More - Carpenters
So Slow - Freestyle
Aurora Sunrise - Franco
Attention - Pentatonix
Blue Bird - Ikimono-gakari
You're Still The One - Shania Twain
Anyone Who Knows What Love Is(Will Understand) - Irma Thomas
Salamin - Slapshock
AOV - Slipknot
Hey Jude - The Beatles
The Way You Make Me Feel - Michael Jackson
...and a lot more.

Unboxing and Accessories:
The KC2 come in a very small and compact black glittered box. It can be noticed right away that the box doesn't tell you that much about what's inside. There is no model name, no picture or drawing of the IEM, or the driver configuration, which are usually seen immediately on the box. The only thing you will know right away is the brand, that it's an IEM that uses hybrid drivers, and the specifications.

Upon opening the box you will see the KC2 with the cable and medium eartips already attached. You will also find the small and large eartips, a quality control pass certificate, and an instruction manual. The instruction manual, same with the box, doesn't say that much about the KC2. Instead, all information can be found in the product page of online stores where the KC2 is available.

Build:
The shells are made of metal. It is on the larger side, perhaps necessary to house the uncommon driver configuration which is 2 BA + 2DD. The faceplates have this design that resemble gills.

Near the female 2 pin port there are left and right side indicators, which I think is redundant because first, it's impossible to switch the sides accidentally due to the shape of the shells, and second, the male pins on the cable have indicators as well.

On the rear side of the shell there are 3 vents, 2 of which are larger than the other. The nozzle here is also made of metal which doesn't have a lip unlike most IEMs, but eartips don't have any problems staying in place because the nozzle has an above average diameter.

The cable is a standard 4 core twisted, but the material used was not specified. If I had to guess, this is most probably copper. The male 2 pin is made of plastic, and I noticed that BQEYZ replaced it with an angled one. If you're going to look at the product page of the KC2 anywhere, the pictures will show that they used a straight design at first.

The splitter is made of metal, with a plastic chin slider. The L-type 3.5mm gold plated plug is made of metal as well.

Now let's get to the sound.

Lows:
The lows are presented in a lightweight manner. It is slightly recessed and the least highlighted among the three major frequency division. Subbass has an adequate reach with a moderate decay, while the midbass sound a bit soft and has a below average thickness to it.

Overall, despite the lows having some recession and lightness to it, the KC2 was still able to reproduce bass that has ample weight. Bass heavy tracks doesn't sound as heavy, but the presence was just sufficient to stay enjoyable.

Mids:
The mids are placed a bit upfront. Vocals here have enough substance but somewhat leans on the thin side. Female vocals are slightly more forward than the male vocals and occasionally, there is a very slight hint of aggressiveness and harshness in the upper mids.

Overall, the mids can rarely get uncomfortable depending on the track. Although it has good resolution. I recommend experimenting with different types of eartips to turn the upper mids down a notch.

Highs:
The highs have a forward presentation with an above average level of shimmer. The reach is above average with a moderate length of decay. The highs may sound aggressive sometimes just like the upper mids, and there are points where there is minor sibilance on some tracks.

Overall, the highs provide the fun factor in the KC2's listening experience. It has good energy and shine to it. There is some aggressiveness that needs to be considered but it's not that extreme and it's fairly manageable.

Soundstage and Imaging:
The stage has a slightly above average expansion. There is a lot more focus on the width than the height, although the height has good expansion as well. Imaging has great accuracy and clarity. Layering and instrument separation are above average with some little hints of congestion on complex tracks.

Conclusion:
The KC2 has a rather unusual driver configuration; rocking a 2 DD + 2 BA setup which is pretty rare. The only IEM I found to have this setup is the TRN V80. The KC2 was released 3 years ago and there were a lot of IEMs released in the same price range from that point until today, but the KC2 still remains a great choice. And that, is a testament to its overall technical performance.

INTRO:

I think it is safe to start this review with a background about me. This is my FIRST EVER review and it is worth mentioning Eiji Zerstorer Romero for pushing me to do this. He is a reputable reviewer and his personal blog on this IEM made me take a leap of faith. and oh boy, up till now, I'm in love with what i'm hearing. Carrying on..

I'm a pianist, sax player, musical director (sometimes) / arranger. I have loved music since 7 years old, and i grew up with my dad, who constantly play music through HiFi equipments. I can't remember the brand names but you can say, i have a sense of what sounds good. I listen mostly to jazz, fusion, rock alternative, pop, retro, reggae, bossanova, latin, ethnic, gospel and this is because as a pro musician, we should be versatile/flexible on genres we listen to. So i will be reviewing this from a musician's perspective. Moving on...

THE KC2 IN A NUTSHELL:

This IEM is truly what they say it is. It is not hyped as other IEM and actually often underrated. Owners of KC2's call it "The Gatekeeper" for it keeps you from side grading, and falling down the "rabbit hole". Many had removed many IEM's from their electronic carts when they heard KC2 and didn't waste anymore time on other IEM on this level. Though KC2's sound signature is somewhat appreciated by a particular range of listeners, it has made it's way on par with its rivals up to 100$ and above.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS:

I just got these 2 days ago, and i have been listening to it almost all day. and here are my impressions so far.

-- well built shells. unlike my KZ ES4's which are made of plastic. These are light metal and can handle falls
-- Detailed sound. Balanced.
-- not boomy, so clearly not for bass heads. but bass presence is there.
-- I was a bit concerned on the cables because they are thin in someway compare to some IEM's i have used before.
-- Sound signature is warm, neutralish,
-- easy to drive
-- soundstage, imaging, and instrument separation are amazing

This review will not be very technical but rather aims to give you a testimonial as a musician. This review will be very helpful if you are a singer, intrumentalist, musician, recording artist and anyone who makes or produce music for a living. Don't worry, i will not tell you to stop reading if you are not one of the things i mentioned above. Pls do join me as you read along.

This review will be mainly divided into 3 parts from here on out.
SOUND
FITTING
BUILD


Let's talk about the BASS.

If you are a bass head, this will not probably for you. i'm not saying that KC2 suffers from lack of bass, definitely the rumble and presence of bass is there, it's just bass here is PUNCHY and has more ATTACK. As an analytical listener, too much bass that bleeds to mids and trebles is a turn off. I like my bass to be present and felt. Actually I do love bass. I even play bass on my keyboard on times a bass player is not available. I just don't like too much of it that it brings down the details. So bass is here guys, and it is here to stay. And it punches.

On to TREBLES.

Before i had these, i was coming from a bright neutral HP (headphones). Namely the Samson SR850. I bought those for mixing my self made tracks that i make for my wife. She is a singer btw. And to be honest, it is sometimes fatiguing to listen to because those cans has a Treble boost. It sounds so thin sometimes that it pierces my hearing. Even my wife complained about it when she put them on. the KC2 has a treble roll off, but to my surprise, that roll off doesn't take any details off. I'm here to tell you, if you're a guitar player, piano, horns, or just want to hear the instruments that are in the 4k-10k frequencies, they are present here. You have the details here in a NOT fatiguing way.

I saved the best for last. MIDS

I will tell you now upfront, if you love vocals, or if you are a singer by profession, and need to analyze vocals critically, this is the best part of KC2's. These babies are mid centric. I guess this is the reason that even though we have a treble roll off, the details was maintained. I'm still in awe how a mid centric sound signature managed not to sound BOXY or HONKY TONKY. I can't more emphasize how good the mids are in these IEM. If you have tried a Shure IEM and loved it, I'm pretty SHURE you will love the mids here. (see what i did there hahahaha)

on to FITTING

So far, KC2's fitting is ok with me. I can't say its perfect for my ears, but as long as they don't fall off my ears while i'm on the move, i'm fine. but if you are going to use this for jogging, there are other IEM's out there for that purpose. KC2 are not it. I did changed to small tips though. But many users, are strongly suggesting to get tip upgrades for this. Some to tips to look out for are Spiraldots, Tanchjim, and Final Type E. Personally, i'm thinking of upgrading tips soon.

how about the BUILD?

The shell itself is well built. It is metallic, and will endure falls. My ES4 opened like an oyster after a few falls, and now only a tape is holding it and extending its life. The build of the cables specially near the drivers, concerns me. it feels they will snap anytime. Again, a cable upgrade is STRONGLY recommended here. 8 core will suffice.

CONCLUSION/VERDICT

At the time i was buying this, the BLON03 was hyped on fire! I was gonna settle for BLON coz it's cheaper, but i did not like the fact that i purchased something out of hype. And I have no regrets here, though i don't own a BLON, i'm truly madly in love with my KC2's right now. If you are an analytical listener, love details, and vocals, there in none on par with KC2 at this price range. If you are concern bass won't be enough for you, well that depends on how bass hungry you are. IF you don'y have a dac/amp, you don't need one for these baby. They are very easy to drive. I totally recommend this to a fellow musician, whatever genre he/she listens to. You have my word for it. For bass heads, there are more options out there, but KC2 is not deprived of bass.

Here are the gears i used to test KC2:

DAP: iphone 7 plus with Apple dongle
Music Source: Apple music, Deezer HIFI, offline ALAC files, (converted from flac), courtesy of Eiji Romero.

TRACKS:

When You Say Nothing At All - Allison Krauss (deezer hifi)
Plastic Love - Friday Night Plans and Mariya Takeuchi
In the Air Tonight - Phil Collins - flac converted to ALAC
How You Remind Me - Nickelback - flac converted to ALAC
All the Things You are - Ella Fizgerald - flac converted to ALAC