Disclaimer: This IEM was given to me directly from
BGVP, they are not paying me for this review, and all the opinions and impressions about the set are on my own.
My bias/tuning preferences:
My target is something including the IEF 2025 preference target with a sub-bass and mid-bass boost, so is something like a neutral (JM-1 or new meta) tuning with a bass boost. I like some sub/bass and not so much mid bass, but plenty to feel the bass thump and kick. Is nice to have some wide and depth to enjoy live recordings and a holographic capability in the soundstage and resolution to ubicate all the instruments and enjoy the microdetails included in music, so yeah, I dig a natural timbre with some coloring in the bass but enjoy technical capabilities.
My usual music genres to go is Rock (Indie, Alt, Hard, Classic, Progressive, and other sub genres), Metal (Alt, Prog, Extreme, Death, Melodic, Core, Deathcore, etc), Hip Hop, sometimes Pop, Salsa, Classic music, and dig some other genres as well.
I don’t believe in audiophile myths like burn-in, or differences in copper and silver cables and so on, I’m using IEMs OOTB (Out of the box) and enjoying them as it is, I believe and can confirm eartips and sources can change the overall experience you can have with an IEM, so a nice synergy between your transducer, your tastes in music and your sources is a must to fully enjoy an IEM IMHO.
Introduction:
The
BGVP Feather is the new mid-fi
hybrid model by
BGVP, with a
10 mm double sided carbon nano-diaphragm dynamic driver +
4 Knowles (American made) Balanced Armature configuration, with the objective of delivering a premium, mature and musical experience with a natural timbre, a crisp and well extended treble, with a nice bass dynamics and impact and above average technicalities for an affordable price.
The
BGVP Feather is a set of IEMs launched by
BGVP recently, with a more than impressive
1 DD + 4 branded BAs config, delivering a perfect balance for a quality bass and mids retrieval, with an incredible lower and higher frequencies extension and an impressive technical yet musical delivery of sound, accompanied with a premium packaging to giving a mature but fun and engaging experience into the HiFi world, punching way above its level and making a revolution of sound for a modest and fair price.
The
Feather is priced at a
MSRP of 109.00 USD, and you can get it directly from
BGVP’s AliExpress official store (non-affiliated link):
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005008014131828.html, and other online retailers and stores.
Sources used:
Tanchjim Stargate II, Dunu DTC480 and DTC800 (my main sources), Venture Electronics ODO, Tanchjim Space lite, TRN TE dongle, Shanling UA mini, a cheap vacuum tubes preamplifier connected to my old Panasonic turntable, Fosi K7 Desktop DAC/Amp and my phone, an old Xiaomi Mi Note 10 pro with an internal DAC/Amp from ESS Sabre.
Services used:
My local files (FLAC, ALAC, M4A, MP3 320 kbps, and other formats), Tidal, YouTube music, Spotify. My Panasonic Turntable with a vacuum tubes’ preamplifier. No equalization was used in the testing of the IEM.
Here's a breakdown of its technical specifications:
-
Driver Configuration:
- 1x 10mm Carbon Nano-Diaphragm Dynamic Driver.
- 1 Knowles RAF series BA + 1 BGVP (Custom) BA (Mids and highs)
- 2x Phoenix (Custom) high frequency BAs (Ultra highs)
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Impedance: 18Ω.
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Sensitivity: 107dB SPL/mW.
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Distortion Rate: ≤2% (1kHz)
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Channel Difference: ≤1dB.
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Frequency Response: 20Hz-40kHz.
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Cavity Material: Resin.
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Cable Material: 4-Core Single-crystal Copper Silver-plated.
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Cable Length: 125cm ± 10 mm.
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Connector Type: 0.78 mm 2 pin.
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Termination Options: 3.5mm TRS and 4.4mm TRRS.
Eartips and cable used for test:
I used the included wide bore eartips (M size) and the M size “bass” eartips. I used the stock cable with both 4.4mm balanced and 3.5mm single ended jacks for giving the power and feeling of my different sources this IEM needed.
What’s in the package of the BGVP Feather:
- A white case in fake leather, very spacey and well-built, with more than enough space for the IEMs with accessories and such.
- 8 pairs of eartips:
- 1 set of wide bore SML sizes for bass
- 1 set of narrow bore SML sizes for vocals
- 1 pair of wide bore M size installed on the IEMs
- 1 pair of Foam M size
- The cable which is 4 core braided single-crystal copper, silver plated, with 0.78 mm 2pin connection and a modular plug with the 3.5 mm single ended and 4.4 mm balanced plug included, gorgeous, well-build, without microphonics and not prone to tangling, it looks and feel premium.
- A nice booklet with the instructions and warranty.
- The IEMs themselves, made of resin with a gorgeous faceplate with the phoenix feathers or dragon scales, I’m not sure but I can keep looking it, anyway, it looks very premium and well-built, not prone to scratches, with a not so large nozzle which is approximately 6 mm of diameter, so if you have small ears beware of its size to see if it fits you, in my experience it fits so well in my mid-sized ears, and the ergonomic design of the shells are very comfortable to use it in long sessions.
How the BGVP Feather sounds:
The
BGVP Feather got a perfect combination of a neutral bright tuning with a noticeable and quality bass boost, providing a natural, very clean and technical sound who satisfies the more advanced of audiophiles who craves for a delivery of sound to critical listening, but musical enough to enjoy the music no matter its genre, is an all-rounder who impresses with its quality, technicality and attention to the details with an remarkable as well wow and engaging factor, one of the best set in its price segment, punching way above its weight. Let’s talk not only of what the graph shows but also what I’m hearing (Thanks for the Souncheck39 channel who measured this IEM and provides me with this graph to analyze).
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Bass: Focused on and well-defined sub-bass thumping with plenty of mid-bass kick, resolving, clean, fast, well extended, with a lot of note weight and presence, without messing with the other frequencies, with a noticeable bleed into the lower mids but giving a naturality in the instruments like the bass guitar and male vocals. In songs like
"Hey now" by
Kendrick Lamar you can feel the subbass drops with zero muddiness and enough potency, attack and a very nice decay, in
"Roads" by
Portishead shows an excellent bass extension, while highlights the drum kick and bass drops with zero bloat, is a conjunction with the other frequencies a naturality an enjoyment to music who melts my heart, really.
-
Mids: The focus of this
Feather is here and in the highs, in this region let’s talk first about the lower mids, in which as I mention before, the mid-bass bleeds into this region, but the male vocals and instruments located in this region are forwarded, clean, crisp, with a nice potency, at approximately 600 Hz the curve begins to elevate into a more than good tuned pinna gain offering cleanliness, presence, definition and a very technical but natural approach, it extends into the upper mids offering a smooth elevation for female vocals and instruments, with a peak at the 2.5 kHz region, and another peak at the 5kHz area with a nice dip into the 7.5 kHz section into the lower treble, the Knowles BAs are showing how the
Feather differentiates from other competitors in the same price segment who uses no branded BAs and it is everything but sibilant, you can use this IEM at mid to high volumes without worrying for the usual fatigue expected in hybrids like this. In songs like
“Song Within a Song” by
Camel, hearing the plates and cymbals in conjunction with the flutes and keyboards is a delight, in
“It’s Voodoo” by
Still Corners, you can hear the voice of the vocalists and all those details in the instruments with an impressive quality and naturality.
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Highs: Clean, extended, natural, and crisp highs, providing a remarkable treble extension, resolution, and technical performance, airy and not sibilant, a nice lower and upper treble presentation, a delight who punches above its range. Songs like
"Looking for Somebody to Love" by
The 1975 are sounding almost perfect to me, the
Feather handles the sibilance so well, this is a
wow factor I can’t praise enough, in
“Sandbox Love” by
Alanis Morissette, her voice and instruments are clean, with zero sibilance, you can hear the song at mid to highs volumes without fatigue or the need to lowering the volume.
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Technicalities: This excellent hybrid IEM justifies its value with enough air, a very wide and depth soundstage, creating a
holographic and immersive experience suitable for gaming, movies and the full enjoyment and pleasure of the music. The imaging and resolution in the
Feather are very noticeable and a delight for those technical-heads like me. In complex and busy tracks like
“Cafo” by
Animals as Leaders you can keep finding all the macro and microdetails of the song with zero congestion, in
“First Light (Live 1982)” by
Tito Puente there’s the sensation of being in the scenario with all his band playing the song.
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Note weight and Timbre: Delightful note weight with an appealing natural timbre and a presentation of music who fits a lot into my tastes. Suitable for music, movies, podcasts, and gaming.
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Source Dependency: The
BGVP Feather is
not source-dependent. Is easy to drive with a humble DAC/AMP (~30 mW power output) for enjoyable volume levels, but scales pretty nice with plenty of power, I personally prefer to use it with the balanced output on my
DUNU DTC480 and DTC800 dongles, but I get a feeling of plenitude with the
Tanchjim Stargate II and its ~75 mW power output.
-
Premium IEM: The
BGVP Feather stands apart from other models in the same price range and even more expensive offering in the market, making it an excellent choice in the price range and maybe
a must have for pop, rock, metal and classical music listeners.
Final score: 4.5/5 (Why the score?):
The
BGVP Feather is an electrifying, fun, resolving and a best in class tuning with a fair price who punches way above its range, is such a good product by
BGVP making by them another banger of an IEM who satisfies both new hobbyist and the most seasoned of audiophiles, granting for newcomers and
BGVP fans into a wholesome experience into the world of HiFi. I’m putting my seal of quality and recommendation for it.
Thanks again to
BGVP for this opportunity, I'm glad to try this gorgeous and technical-head but all-rounder pleasure of an IEM and adding it to my collection.