BGVP DM9

TONALITY: 8/10
TECHNICALITIES: 9.2/10
TIMBRE: 7.5/10
SOUNDSTAGE: 8.2/10
IMAGING: 9/10
CONSTRUCTION: 9/10
ACCESSORIES: 9/10
SOUND VALUE: 8.5/10

INTRO

BGVP has been around for a long time, they are a China based IEMs company specializing in hybrid and tribrid. Back then, their dual DD+4BAs tribrid get a solid fan base, then the DM8 solidify their reputation but since then, BGVP rather stay in shadow.
Today I will review their latest flagship Tribrid, the BGVP DM9.
Priced 629$, the DM9 use 1 silicone DD for bass, 2 Knowles BAs for mids, 2 sonion BA for treble and 4 EST for upper and ultra highs.

BGVP promise high clarity and details as well as clean and accurate sound reproduction for the DM9.

Let see in this review if they achieve that as well as a sound performance that is on par with its mid tier price range.

CONSTRUCTION-PACKAGING-ACCESSORIES



The DM9 are real lookers and really comfortable too. The housing is made of high grade resin plasticthat feel very durable and underneat it have stabilized wood with very appealing aesthetic.
My pair have a mix of purple and blue woodden color with intricating texture and pattern.

For a tribrid with 9 drivers, the housing is quite small. It's very soft and smooth to the hands as well as light. The shape is organic and ergonomic with enough long nozzle for deep inserting which will provide excellent isolation if you use provided memory foams ear tips.

Personally, I prefer high quality UIEM with medical grade resin plastic for smoother fit and near 100% scratch free durability (unless you use a knife, good luck to scratch those).

The connector used is MMCX, this is a change from more common 2pin, but in this case it permit greater fit freedom, in the sens the housing can swivel for better positioning of housing with the ear hook. I don't encounter any loose connection or sound cutting and the MMCX connector is solidly embeded in housing, it's high grade quality and it seem it's gold plated to avoid oxydation.



The included cable is a very nice surprise and perhaps among the best modular cable I own now. It's a high-purity 4-strand 6N OCC Silver-Plated Graphene mixed hybrid. The strands are thick and sturdy, the plug are a bit big but heavy and again extremely sturdy. It include 3.5mm and 4.4mm plug, so if I can nitpicksomething it would be: why not adding 2.5mm balanced plug too?



Then the packaging is very well done and quite genrous in accessories. Begining with nice cable I just tell about. Then you have great variety of ear tips model, 10 pairs which is compose of 3 different silicone eartips model in 3 sizes and one pair of memory foams eartips. The carrying case is elegant and of very good quality too.

All in all, the quality of accessories is great, built is great and packaging is great.



SOUND IMPRESSIONS



The BGVP DM9 is a pumped up technical tribrid beast with it's 1DD, 4BAs and 4EST. It's in fact the most vivid and detailed sounding tribrid i've heard after the GSaudio SE12.

First and foremost, the DM9 is an analitycal sounding earphone, it's near vividly neutral if it wasn't this mid bass boost, so we can call them bright analytical W shape with very extended and full treble.

Treble head rejoice because DM9 main focus is whole highs frequency range up to 20khz. These arent mid centric, nor lush or warm sounding even if there slight bass warmth going into lower mid range.

Then it's the pounding bass, and as expected mid range is leaner here, with boosted presence and open stage.

The BGVP DM9 might be bright, but it's dynamic too, mid bass, upper mids and upper treble are sharp and lively, they want to extract details with there fast layering capacity. The 4 EST driver aren't understated or over tamed like some other tribrid have try, which include Penon 10th and Kinera Urd, both using 2EST and not 4, but even the Letshuoer EJ07M using 4EST isnt as snappy and brilliant on top, it's less spiky pass 10khz than DM9.

As noted, those are the brightest EST tribrid i have heard after the GSaudio SE12, think about a Kinera Norn with 4 extra EST and your not far from exact tonality these deliver. But it's not screamy, it's no treble mess here, yet, i would be hard pressed to suggest those to treble sensitive people too.
It's a musicality that suck you in with immediacy, sens of attack speed is magnify, imaging is jumping at you, bass hit hard and fast so it feel part of same time space and not detached, which is a big plus for coherency, then the timbre might be an issue for some, we have some BA timbre going on, some definition edge damping too, but nothing that goes plain wonky.

The DM9 aren't for:
people that like warm, dark or lush tone, nor for those seeking thick and smooth timbre, nor for those that need big basshead rumble and slam, nor for those seeking smooth organic one color balance, nor for mid range lover unless all about presence like all Moondrop fans, so in that regard it might be my subjective appreciation of mid range fullness that influence this.

The DM9 are made for :
treble lover, for people that like lively energic musicality, for high resolution seeker, for fast snappy attack from low to high lover, for clean sparkle and brilliance lover, for those seeking a monitor meet bass punch, for people that listen at low volume and want boosted resolution and vivid dynamic, for those that tend to favor technical performance over round tonality balance.



The Bass surprise me in a very positive way, I wasn't expecting much in that department and was wrong because it's among best tribrid with EST bass quality, speed and well rounded thight punch I've heard yet.
I can't say it will be enough boost for pure basshead, but bass quality and quantity is there, it's just not tunderhous or dominating whole frequencies range.
It's more about fast thumping that wide slam with boosted rumble and sub bass, in fact, it offer clean punch with lean extension, and bass line presence is brighten enough for proper layered sitting under the kick drum, we don't have warmed mid bass here, in fact, presence of kick drum is highlight even more than bass line and this is a unique mature meet enough minimal punch take of bass tuning.
For testing purpose, i try both low and high volume listening, and kick punch was never anemic, its texture in defintion, it doesn't rumble or induce headbanging yet it's hard hitting in a non excited way, it's not a mellow lifeless boom or pillowy punch, the attack edge is here and physical separation is well felt.
Simply put, the bass isn't really colored with warmth or vibrant boost, some might find it a bit dry, but i'm not one of them. I find it clean, realist, well resolved and punchy enough, in fact, i'm the kind of audiophile considering sligth bass boost as needed for proper neutrality where nothing is left in oblivion and this is what we get. The speed and control is there, kick drum definition is perfect, cello tone is monitor like in it's rendering but not lacking air density of it's instrument which don't mix with kick or double bass line. This double bass is very well controled with lean and clean extension and proper attack articulation so we can follow each note without warmth that will makeit sound one pitch tuned.

The mids have a technical rendering, it's gently bright and open, very transparent and highly resolved but light in note weight, centered in presence and uncolored with lower harmonic that stay in the back.
Piano is my main instrument toi judge mid range fullness and here the presentation is light but fast and precise in attack, timbre is very realist but a bit thin, we have this natural piano resonance so we know when the decay pedal is press by pianist, lead attack while light is still felt with proper sustain stop and release, transparency is there and i don't struggle to follow fast playing even if softed in attack hit edge. Did it mean i enjoy what I here? No, i find it distant, and it feel like monitoring the pianist, it's not very fowards, a bit recessed in fact even when listening to solo piano track.
This underline that most of timbre meat and tone presence are to be found in upper mids region.
Female vocal are more fowards than male vocal, but both are boosted in presence and never lacking in definition clarity. Yet they lack lower harmonic fundamental for prroper fullness and female vocal can enter boderline shouty zone especially at hight volume. We have extra breathy brrightness going on as well, which is inherent to BA timbre. I really don't think the DM9 is for vocal lover, yet intelligibility is good enough.
Saxophone and woodinw have similar rendering, it feel compressed in presence energy and not freely open and dense with air as it should naturally be.
Then violin has an edgy and speedy rendering, which benefit fast player but do not favor naturalness and fullness of tone.
Simply put: the mid range is analytical sounding and offer high end monitor level of resolution and accuracy.
The treble is center of the show here, and in fact can stole it with percussions heavy track often find in jazz trio, here it will be a pro or con depending of how vividly engaging you want your music. Sure, the audio source will inflict on final result, but a clean sharp DAP like Xduoo X20 or Tempotec V6 will certainly blown your mind with infinite sound info and snappy sharp highs.
The DM9 doesn't use shy ESTs, and this permit to achieve urgent micro details rendering in a clean open top, with tremendous amount of ultra realistic brilliance and fully blossom sparkle.
I do think DM9 can even be consider as niche drummer monitor IEM since whole drum section is sharply resolved with edgy definition and ultra fast and controlled attac. Kick drum is round, well textured and present as noted in bass section, then snare is crunchy and loud and percussions is even more upfront, not half cook, each section is clean in micro dynamic and cymbals has among most realist, transparent and extended crash rendering without any splashyness, it's in fact delicate in sustain-release with air vibrancy texture so highly resolve it feel like you listening with a microscope.
In fact, percussions are even more upfront than acoustic guitar, which underline that hitted instrument sound more dynamic than pulled or stroked one in term of attack lead, sice acoustic guitar has sligth scoop in string pulled resolution and attack-release. This is some next level nit picking here but it made acoustic guitar sound more recessed and lean than percussions in ''System One'' album from Sebastian Noelle.
The treble here favor micro dynamic crispness over extra highs texture density, and this permit a multi layering in upper register sounds. As well, it tend to extract clicking noise in a super speedy snappy way, for ex with electronic music using lot of sharp micro details that are part of rythm, like Alva Noto or Beatrice Dillon tracks, the highs can deliver mesmerizing performance, clean in layering, insanely fast and controlled in attack, with hyper realist clarity and limpid readibility of it's macro dynamic lively rendering.
If you love snap and click, you'll sure be in for a fest!

When it come to acoustic to clavichord and harp, we have fully resolved instrument with excellent micro details of texture subtilities, natural decay of instrument, all in slightly limited presence openess, centered and accurately positioned in center stage, with a delicate dynamic heft.

All in all, the treble is fabulously crisp and the star of the show is the 4 EST, level of fine details is excellent, the speed is snappy and catchy and we don't lack air on top.


The soundstage is average wide and tall but has great deeptness as well as an holographic and intimate presentation.

The imaging is one of highlight of the DM9, it's sharp, precise and accurate with excellent sound layering in Y axis as well as crisply define separation in X axis.




SIDE NOTES

With an impedance of 30ohmand sensitivity of 112db, the DM9 don't need crazy amount of power but still merit at least 100mW@32ohm to deliver a lively dynamic as well as waken up it's EST for proper treble response. This is the thing with EST in general, they need power but clean one, so the DM9 will scale up with high end source that has black noise floor and low impedance output, the Questyle QP2R is a good example.

Another aspect to achieve best sound quality is the ear tips, the nozzle have 4 holes in it that shouldn't be blocked or too compressed with ear tips, if so, the soundstage will sound in your head. I suggest wide bore eartips included or short wide bore with larger nozzle hole (best result for me).


COMPARISONS



VS PENON 10th Anniversaty (2DD+2BA+2EST-500$)

The DM9 is notably brighter and more technical sounding, while 10th is warmer, bassier and more mid centric, with darker but a hint crunchier yet less crisp treble.
By crunchier, it's about the acoustic guitar, they feel more upfront, but not as brilliant with metallic strings. Nor as clean and transparent.
The bass is notably more hefty and wide in slam, it's chunkier and rumblier, sub extension is more vibrant and full but mid bass and kick drum is warmer, yet, thicker and we have more lower mids embracement that will make male vocal sound more bodied and natural, while more monitor like and brighten in presence with DM9.
Mids are notably thicker, warmer and lusher with 10th, both male and female vocal are smoother yet fuller and wider in presence, making DM9 instrument feel a bit compressed though the mids are more open and crisp and level of details is higher with DM9. Let say DM9 favor presence and clarity while 10th favor tone color and fullness.
Treble is notably brighter, more spiky and analytical with DM9, it's cleaner and more airy too in the sens the air let brilliance flow more clearly in soundscape. The EST are less understated with DM9 which make ultra highs more extended and more generous in micro details and sound info but to the cost of a less organic and natural balance, i'm not concern about treble sensitive people for 10th, while I am for DM9.
Then the soundstage is slightly wider, but notably taller and deeper with 10th.
Imaging is superior with DM9 due to better transparency, sharper instrument separation definition and cleaner air betwen those instrument in both X and Y axis. 10th is more holographic and 3D sounding but in an hazy way.

All in all, tonality is better balanced and more musical with the 10th but it's evident technical performance are superior with DM9.

VS LETSHUOER EJ07M (1DD+4BA+4EST-640$)

Ok, here the tuning is a bit more similar but the EJ07M is more U shape to neutral, and smoother in balance as well as slightly fuller and more fowards in mid range.
The Bass is less punchy but have deeper rumble and extension with EJ07M, kick isn't as well define and textured but lower mids are cleaner-thinner.
The mids are smoother with EJ07, even more open and clean, vocal are less prompt to shoutyness or sibilance than brighter DM9, presence of instrument is wider too and timbre a notch thinner but more transparent and organic, less grainy in texture than DM9.
The treble ios both more crunchy and sparkly with the edgier brighter DM9, percussions are more fowards and brilliance is more boosted. We have a pinch more micro details but overall cohesion isn't as balanced and non spiky as EJ07M. Treble is a bit thinner with DM9, more amplify on presence details so it can go overwhelming more easily with condensation of sound info.
Soundstage is very similar but a notch wider and taller with DM9, while about same depth.
Imaging is slightly superior with the EJ07M, especially for mid range and center stage instrument positioning accuracy, this solidify the monitor purpose of these IEM.

All in all, i find more exciting the listening of DM9 but not as smoothless balanced and coherent as the EJ07M, I wish EJ have the mid bass and ultra high of DM9, while the DM9 has the upper mids and mid treble of EJ07M. Can't choose a clear winner here. Technical performance are on par.


CONCLUSION




The BGVP DM9 are mid-tier tribrid that offer excellent technical performance as wel as an engaging and highly resolved musicality.

The sens of speed immediacy is magnify with those and you will not miss any percussions snap in the mix with their precise and vivid attack.


If you like your bass punchy, your mids clean and crisp and most of all, your treble effortlessly analytical and snappy, the DM9 will certainly impress you.


Highly Recommended.


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PS: I want to thank BGVP for sending me this review sample. As always, those are my independant minded subjective impressions and opinions.


You can order the DM9 for 629$ directly from official store here:
https://www.aliexpress.us/item/1005005187039475.html

Intro

It’s IEMs like the $629 BGVP DM9 that make listening enjoyable and ruin the lower tier IEMs. BGVP came to prominence with their DM6 and DMG back in the day and made their forum victory laps for a while until new toys came out. There have been several iterations of the DMx family, although they were above my typical shopping price range, a quick survey says they have been well liked.

The BGVP DM9 is a nine driver hybrid with famed balanced armatures from the market leaders Sonion and Knowles, and the newer technology of EST. The BGVP DM9 bathes you in uber detail and resolution, with a lively energetic treble while not pounding you to pulp with overblown bass in a wavy Harman plus tune.

DESIGN

With a 4 way electronic filter circuit, the BGVP DM9 separates the bands starting with a 9.2mm liquid silicone dynamic for bass, Knowles BA RAD, Sonion 2300 for the midrange, Sonion E50 series for the treble, and finally the Sonion EST65QB02 extending that final octave at the top.

BGVP does not stop there, some of the sound tubes use a resistive filter to smooth out the resonances and act as further filtering. The tubes ensure the sound is controlled all the way to the exit and reduces interference inside the shell.

COMFORT / ISOLATION

The BGVP DM9 comes in a custom painted wooden shell in two colors, green or blue/purple. The latter is definitely more eye-catching, but I opted for the less boisterous but still beautiful green. The shell is on the larger side, and does not fit as snugly as the Moondrop Blessing 2 Dusk. For longer periods of time I found the top of the shell has a slight edge that creates unwanted pressure on my ear. YMMV.

BGVP DM9 isolation is above average, however fitment creates some cavities that tend to amplify wind caught at the wrong angle. The BGVP DM9 did stay firmly planted during walking, so that is always appreciated. I trade minor discomfort for constant readjustment any day of the week.

PACKAGE CONTENTS

The leather carrying case of the BGVP DM9 is plenty roomy and the ease of opening and closing was strangely satisfying to my wife. It is on the larger size, so bag and coat packet friendly, but side-eye glances will ensue if stuffing it down your pants pocket. There is also a handy cleaning tool with a loop for scooping out the gross gunk and the other end is equipped with a brush and small magnet.

Three full sets of different eartips are included, plus a bonus set of U shaped medium sized eartips guaranteed to increase the midbass region and almost forgotten- a singular set of foamies. Two of the sets are labeled “Bass” and the third set are ”Vocal” type. Of the “Bass” sets, the clear stemmed ones are less firm, have a shorter stem for closer placement to your eardrum, and a larger opening. I had to ask BVGP if these were meant to be called reference, atmosphere or balanced, but alas they said no they were definitely “Bass” tips.

The other bass set has a longer stem, firmer, a smaller opening and worked better for sealing in my experience.

The vocal set of ear-tips were a combination of the two bass sets. They were basic level of firmness, short stem, and a smaller opening.

The set of foam eartips are useful for taming the upper treble if too bright. It tilts the plateau of treble in a downward trajectory to make them more appealing for a more traditional tune.

BGVP DM9 comes with a detachable MMCX 6N OCC braided cable with swap-able 3.5mm single-ended and 4.4mm balanced connectors. The connection is not as tight as the Kinera Golden 2.0, but is not so loose it falls off. It will disconnect at that connection point before the 3.5mm/4.4mm plug if pulled on. I have not paid much attention to cable technology these days, but BGVP managed to combine graphene in the strands as well. No way to test this, so just take their word for it.


SOUND

Tested with the LG G8, HIDIZS AP80 Pro-X, Shanling UA2+, and SMSL DO100/HO100.

The BGVP DM9 does so many things well, but I wanted to start at the top. It drenches you in so much splashy upper treble that is hard to find in lesser capable sets. The detail is quite exquisite, and controlled, maybe at times slightly overdamped if I had to nitpick. While this might sound like too much treble, it is well spread out evenly with some strategically placed dips to average it out.

Compared to the 7Hz Timeless which also plays fast and loose with the treble, the Timeless sounds more concentrated in a smaller band of frequencies.The BGVP DM9 on the other hand is like looking through a microscope at the level of detail across the entirety. Acoustic guitars really pop due to a peak at 5Khz, it gives rock music a very live concert feel.

Listening to some of the only classical I enjoy from US pop culture, Back to the Future Overture washes a whole orchestra across your face.. Other sets sound very flat, the BGVP dimensionally layers the different parts of the orchestra to sound very dare I say the cliche life-like. The price of admission comes at the cost of sitting in the front row for the symphony.

Paramore’s original hit Misery Business has new ife as if it would ever go out of style. Lesser qualified IEMs will just reproduce as another pop song sounding busy and crowded. The BGVP DM9 loafs through, allowing all parts to shine and feel effortless which is ironic for a punk rock band where raw grit is the goal. Pink Panther by Henry Mancini is another song that just sounds light and airy as cymbals and chimes traverse gently through.

Vocals are pleasant and not recessed, sounds balanced and never strained. The middle band of the frequency response never really catches my attention, but bookended by such wonderful treble and excellent controlled articulate bass, it does not ever feel lacking.

The BGVP DM9 pushes authoritative bass with a purpose that knows what it wants to be. Well damped in the mid bass with a nice rounding out of lower registers, haptic is light. The boost is well centered, pianos sound percussive and full without sounding bloated. Purists will probably think there is a sprinkle of too much warmth, much like arguing over a heating setting of 70F/21C vs 68F/20C.

Bass guitar slaps and bass plucks are well defined, and not just lost in the resonation of it all. I did find a hiccup in the set sent to me so only a sampling size of one. Channel imbalance in the bass by ~2.5db. I can feel it pull a little, this is near the threshold of detection. Probably a minor blockage in the shell vent on the inside, unfortunately I have no way to determine which channel has the tuning level BGVP was aiming for, or if other sets will have this anomaly.

UPDATE: BGVP was concerned about the channel imbalance so they sent a new set. The second set had better channel matching, with only a 1dB channel difference in the bass which is undetectable when listening. This is a company that honesty cares about their product and takes criticism seriously. See the graphs below to compare first set to the second set. The purple blue color is also very striking and eye catching.

FURTHER TECHNICAL

In the name of detail sometimes it can be too much depending on the recording. It would be unfair to label it as too much of a good thing, instead what it does is expand the gap between good and bad recordings. Sometimes a set of earphones will really uplift everything without drawing too much attention to what might be wrong in a recording.

The BGVP DM9 is the friend you want to give it to you straight. The House is Rockin’ by Brian Setzer Orchestra gets a little hairy. I would give it a trim and tighten it up. The triangle sounds garbled and overdamped in Mountains O’Things by Tracy Chapman, but on Pink Panther by Henry Mancini it rings true. This is an example of really accentuating the aspects of the recordings. Listening further to Pink Panther and some Chesky drum improvisations the resolution and detail of cymbals is ear tingly excellent.

There were a couple of tracks that sounded so realistic I startled myself during a walk thinking something was actually nearby. These would make excellent gaming headphones where you might want to hear in extreme detail with wide positional aspects. They do have excellent depth with layering, but run overall forward with peaks around 2K and 5K anchoring staging close.

The BGVP DM9 can deliver micro-dynamics with sheer ease, so much so that I can hear hidden details in songs (cliche), but also hidden noise in electronics. In casual Spotify listening, I was either hearing some electronic noise from my external DAC or from the Spotify itself during song transitions.

Jumping back and forth between different gear and sources, the LG G8 can sound more bassy while the SMSL DO100/HO100 sounded more even keeled. It’s wonderful yet troublesome to have at your disposal something with greater resolution. Some of these nuances can be picked out for better or worse.

COMPARISONS



BGVP DM9 ($629) vs Moondrop Blessing 2 Dusk ($329)

Sorry not exactly swimming in flagships, the BGVP DM9 against the Moondrop Blessing 2 Dusk is the best I can do. The Moondrop is highly regarded, and lacks the airness the BGVP DM9 puts forth. Even the tuner himself Crinacle admits this is perhaps the only missing piece of the Dusk for cost reasons. Crinacle also prefers a thinner sounding lower midrange, so the BGVP DM9 sounds fuller and warmer with extra bass guitar and piano percussion.

Just like the HIDIZS MS5 comparison, the DM9 has a more forward stage compared to the Moondrop Dusk. Resolution and clarity are equals, but the DM9 is going to extract more zing from metallic instruments that need room to really activate the harmonics. As we get older this information might be lost on us. I am not there yet, so I fully appreciate it.

HIDIZS MS5 ($399) vs BGVP DM9 ($629)

Bass is thicker and fuller still on the HIDZS MS5 and more haptic rumble (graph below), the BGVP DM9 is faster sounding by a toe in a foot race. Midrange sounds a notch more mature with the DM9, however the treble sounds more even with the MS5.

Where the BGVP comes out on tops again is that extra harmonics and air in the final octave, the MS5 has a subduction past 10Khz, but then pops again at the threshold of where our hearing drops off, the BGVP DM9 keeps the party going until 4am with that sweet treble extension. It’s like having a ribbon super tweeter. MS5 is warm and thick, BGVP is analytical and energetic.

I am not sure if these are equals, if you are shopping for $400 earphones, is $600+ also something worth considering? I feel like people shopping for the MS5 have budgets in the $300-500 range, and the BGVP DM9 is sitting with folks shopping for $600-1000.

These are arbitrary price ranges, but I feel like this is how they might stack up for prospective buyers. At this price you can find heavily used, uncomfortably shaped Campfire Andromeda. It has been a few years since I last heard a set. This would be a fun comparison, I specifically remember snare drums really standing out.

OUTRO

BGVP DM9 is highly detailed, resolving throughout, and tuned to deliver a healthy dose of treble with enough bass and midrange to not be forgotten earning its flagship moniker. It follows the spirit of Harman tuning but with some ripples in the treble, and additional super tweeter air added with the Sonion EST’s adds just enough.

If you prefer a diffuse field tuning that portrays a stage pushed further away like the Moondrop Blessing Dusk 2, the BGVP DM9 might have too much energy in the 5kHz region making for a uneven stage. I enjoy being drenched in microscopic dynamics so it is an extremely fun and lively listen.

Build quality is excellent from the outside, but I am bothered by the bass channel imbalance. At this price I expect that to be caught during End -Of-Line testing, but perhaps the cost is in the parts and design and not necessarily in further QC activities.

It’s not a deal breaker for me because they are still exceptional at what they do, but it is in the realm of differential threshold audibility. The super tweeter ESTs ratchet up the price for value to take a hit, but then again there are plenty of kilo-buck IEMs to also keep it in perspective.

UPDATE: BGVP was concerned about the channel imbalance so they sent a new set. The second set had better channel matching, with only a 1dB channel difference in the bass which is undetectable when listening. This is a company that honesty cares about their product and takes criticism seriously. Graphs below showing the two sets. The purple blue color is also very striking and eye catching.

Disclaimer: I accepted these free from BGVP thinking they were sending a set of NS10’s.





Second Set Graphs, Channel matching within 1db in the bass region.



Set 1 (Green Brown) vs Set 2 (Red Blue)-Set 1 shifted so they are not overlapping with set 2.

BGVP DM9 - Quick impressions​

Thanks to Bgvp Acoustics for the review unit of the BGVP DM9. This is part of a worldwide tour by BGVP.
As usual, there was no compensation in cash or kind (not even shipping charges) was offered or taken for the review. It is completely my unbiased opinion.

I have been using the BGVP flagships for a long time, including the DM6, DM8, NS9 etc. I will compare between the DM6, DM8 and DM9 as part of this review. The DM6 and DM8 are my own units and previous flagships of BGVP.

PACKAGE AND BUILD​

The package of the DM9 is a slightly smaller box than the DM8, however with similar contents. It came in a nice box with the iems nestled in a foam board. The cables are a thick mmcx iem (similar to the DM8 cables), thick but supple.
No microphonics carried through the cables, whatsoever.

The iems are a beautiful shade of purple and blue, similar to the stabilized wood from the DM8 series. The cable is modular and came with a 3.5mm and 4.4mm terminations.

The carry case of the DM9 is a fairly large oval white box that can house the cables and iems, along with a selection of tips. An iem cleaning brush also came as a part of the standard kit.

The iems carry 9 drivers, as opposed to the 6 BAs of the DM6 and 8 BA drivers of the DM8. However, the 9 drivers are a combination of one liquid silicone DD, 4 BA and 4 low voltage EST drivers. The iems also came with a 4 way crossover for frequency division and 3d printed acoustic tube structure.

FIT AND COMFORT​

The DM9 is a lightweight iem, however when paired with the stock cables, there is a bit of added weight. An aftermarket cable like the Smoky Litz will reduce weight and increase wearing comfort significantly.

The biggest gripe I have with the BGVP iems are the nozzle size. As with the other models. the DM9 has a chonky nozzle that can hurt small ear canals. So if you do have smallish ear canals, try before buy is a must. The nozzle size is similar to that of the CA Solaris.

SOUND IMPRESSIONS​

From an overall tuning perspective, the DM_ series has been mostly neutral balanced with very good detail retrieval. The DM9 changes this a little bit with a little more presence in the lower end with the DD driver prodiving for thick and palpable thump and rumble in the bass section.


The mids are slightly recessed in comparison, while the treble have good details and energy without being sibilant.

The bass is thick and reverby, which makes it sound fun. There is a lot of thump and impact in the mid bass and sub bass regions, making you want to listen to fun sounding tracks. This will be ideal for R&B genre more than tight bass decay requirements of EDM.

The mids are a slight bit recessed, but provide sufficient support for male and female vocals alike. However, vocals are a touch back in comparison to the surrounding bass and treble sections.

Treble performance is very good, with the EST drivers playing their part in good detail retreval and imaging.
Stage depth is average with a decent amount of layering of the instruments.

Driveability is decent, middling between very easy to drive single DDs and hard to drive yesteryear planars like the Tin P1.

COMPARISONS

BGVP DM6
The DM6 from one of the earliest batches manufactured have a very balanced sound, easy driveability and package. The DM6 are easier to driver, but are more neutral in comparison to the DM9. The DM9 have a lot more bass impact thanks to the DD included.
The size and fit is very similar to the DM9.

BGVP DM8
The DM8 is very similar in terms of package and presentation. The stabilized wood shells make them look excellent and this is a similar case with the DM9 again. The fit is identical and the iems are just a touch more heavier than the DM9.
Soundwise, the DM9 has more lowend, while requiring similar drive current as the DM8.

CONCLUSIONS​

The DM9 carries forward the design language of the DM_ flagship series, while offering a bit more fun signature, when compared to the more neutral/balanced sounding DM8 and DM6.

Intro
One sunny morning I got a PM from BGVP on Facebook asking me if I’d like to review their new offering, the DM9 - a nine-driver, four-way configuration, hybrid design IEM, that goes for 629 USD with free shipping from the official BGVP store on Aliexpress. Hybrid design means BGVP is using four types of drivers including BA super tweeter and mids, EST for treble and dynamic driver for the bass. Needless to say, I jumped on this opportunity!

Disclaimer
As I stated before, the DM9 was sent out to me by BGVP and I do get to keep it after the review for further use. BGVP doesn’t pay me anything to say about this product, good or bad. All that’s written here is based on my own personal experience with the DM9 and brought to you after about a month of using this IEM.



Aesthetics and Looks
The DM9 comes in two colors - green and purple. The shell is made from stabilized wood, which is a timber that has had an acrylic polymer dissolved into a solvent, and then forced into the wood through a mix of vacuum and pressure cycles. The wood grain gives this IEM a classy look. In fact, even though looks are an absolutely subjective matter, I must state that I find the DM9 absolutely mesmerizing in its beauty, so much so that I feel hard-pressed to find a single photo that gives it justice.



Build Quality and Comfort
I find the build quality of the DM9 to be very solid. It feels good in hand and the texture is completely smooth to the touch. The MMCX connectors are very tight, which allows the cable to stay in place without twisting and turning and gives it a consistent fit every time I put them on.

At first sight, the IEM seemed very large to me. I found it only logical, given it incorporates nine drivers. Having tiny ears, I was intimidated by it, only to find my fears unfounded, being able to wear the DM9 for hours on end, without feeling any discomfort.

Accessories
The DM9 kit includes a hard case, cable with a cable tie and interchangeable plugs for different types of connections, a variety of tips, and a cleaning brush. The accessories form a pretty complete bundle that covers most use cases. Though, adding one or two little items would create a totally holistic solution without compelling users to purchase any complementary items.

The case is large and roomy, which makes IEM storage a bliss, without a need for finding an intricate way to wrap the cable. In fact, the case is big enough for storing most of the kit, and surely, the items needed on a daily basis, including a dongle, if required. The case is made of artificial leather with an interior texture reminiscent of Alcantara. Though the case fits the DM9 aesthetics and doesn’t give me doubts about providing sufficient protection for its content, I prefer polycarbonate cases, Pelican, and the like. I had cases like the one that comes with DM9 before and all of them ended up scuffed from nothing but regular use.



The cable is really great! It comes with a 3.5 and 4.4 Pentaconn plug to accommodate a variety of source equipment outputs. It’s the perfect balance of thickness and weight. The weave has no flaws and the cable itself is really smooth and nice to the touch. The cable isn’t flashy but looks really good and completely lacks microphonics. I wish that BGVP would add the 2.5 plug to the kit and apply some kind of locking mechanism to the plugs instead of a simple push-in 4-pin terminal.



Tips and Tuning
The IEM arrived with neutral (pink) ear tips attached to its nozzles. For some reason, they come only in one size, which was unfortunately too big for my ear canals. There are many more types of ear tips bundled with DM9 - balanced, bass, and vocal, with three sizes for each category and a single pair of foam tips. As the tip names imply, they are used for tuning the IEMs. After an hour or so of tip rolling, I finally settled for the medium-sized bass tips. The reason for that being is that the selected tips have the widest nozzle of all the tips which in my case contributed to improved resolution and a larger soundstage.





Isolation and Sensitivity
The isolation is nothing short of amazing! It’s like inserting actual earplugs into my ears. A top-notch passive noise canceling.

An impedance of 30Ω and sensitivity greater than 110db SPL/mW makes it unnecessary to run it with a balanced output of pretty much anything. Running it on a balanced output of DUNU DTC500 gave me one usable volume step connected to my Android phone. I guess using a dongle with volume independent of the phone’s operating system can be the solution to that problem.

Sound
I can characterize the DM9’s sound signature as balanced. The IEM is fairly laid-back and inoffensive. In fact, in about a month of very extensive use of those phones, I can count the times I encountered sibilance on the fingers of one hand. I still consider this IEM to be very detailed without sounding harsh. In addition to the great resolution, the imaging of those IEMs is pinpoint accurate. Though all listening was done with medium-sized bass tips, the bass was in no way bloated or undefined and never lost its punchiness and layering.

Conclusion
It's been a long time since I utilized an IEM so extensively. IEMs for me were a convenient way of listening to music on the go. Since then, ANC and Bluetooth revolutionized the headphones we’ll consider taking with us on commutes, and provide a convenient solution when critical listening is not required. It seems that wired IEMs are also evolving into something more than just a portable trade-off for full-sized cans and offer a viable alternative for audiophile music listening. From now on, I won’t be limiting myself to full-sized cans when just sitting in my listening room, enjoying the music. Especially when I know how natural and pleasant a pair of IEMs as the DM9 can be.