BGVP Zero

536129

Head-Fier
Darth Vader’s iem
Pros: Excellent Mids
Cons: Rolled sub bass and treble
BGVP ZERO review 😈🎧👽

7mm EST plus 10mm dynamic

Darkish sound 🌘🔥

Lush mids, very detailed

Warm bass that’s heavy at times

Detailed but rolled off treble

Not bass shy at all but sub bass rolls off

No harsh or shouty

Great for heavy metal and 80s rock

Great sound quality

Different sounding than any iem I’ve tried

Very good value / only 79.99

Needs amp to shine or lg like phone

Good tips and included

cable/accessories

Awesome build quality
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Reactions: innovated

iceperry

New Head-Fier
Pros: Build quality and fit, Quality cable, Smooth and rich mids, Layering of instrumentals/vocals, Silky Vocals, Drums punchy and energetic
Cons: A little too dark sounding, Coloured timbre while enjoyable, is not the most accurate, Roll-off in subbass and treble
For more reviews like these and more, do check out our site at: www.perrivanaudio.com

BGVP Zero | Overall Score: 7.8/10

Intro

Disclaimer: This review set was graciously lent to me by a friend and the review is written of my own accord.

This is a review for the BGVP Zero, a hybrid IEM. It packs a 10mm carbon nanotube dynamic driver and a 7mm electret electrostatic driver in a sleek matte black aluminium shell. Electrostatic drivers started gaining traction since the Shuoer Tapes debuted to much fanfare. This release from BGVP, however, has been relatively low key and under the radar. Without further ado, let's take a look at these and how they fare.

Packaging and Accessories (Score: 8.5/10)

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The packaging looks really premium and things look promising from the get-go. Opening the packaging reveals a display of an array of tips, one set for vocals, and one set for bass, together with the IEMs and a hard case.

Build Quality and Fit (Score: 8.5/10)

Build quality definitely impresses, especially at the asking price. BGVP has definitely become talented IEM designers even if their tuning hasn’t exactly been the most consistent. My praise for these extends towards the fit as well. It sits almost flush and owing to its elegant curves, the earpieces nest comfortably in my ears.

BGVP also didn’t cheap out on the included cable, with a 6N OCC silver-plated upgrade cable which not only looks gorgeous but feels super soft and supple in the hands.

All this just displays well-thought-out design and where everything just makes sense.

Sound (Score: 7.5/10)

BGVP Zero.png


Sources used
  • Schiit Modi 3/Schiit Vali
  • Fiio Q1 MkII
  • Shanling M3s

Music and Albums listened to
  • NEEDTOBREATHE Acoustic Live Vol. 1
  • Mozart Clarinet Concerto in A
  • Grease Official Soundtrack
  • Boney M. Gold – 20 Super Hits
  • Andy Gibb – The Very Best Of
  • Capital Cities – In a Tidal Wave of Mystery
  • Greenday – American Idiot (Deluxe)
Bass (Score: 7.5/10)

There is quite a bit of midbass emphasis. However, the subbass extension is nothing to write home about. However, the layering in the bass is very impressive and it never ever really gets muddy with complicated basslines.

On “Rivers of Babylon” by Boney M, the different layers (bassline/drums/instruments) are well separated and articulated, coming together very musically. Kickdrums, snares, and toms all have a very nice attack and punch to them.

Mids (Score: 8.5/10)

I especially love the mids on the BGVP Zero and it has to be the star of the show on this IEM. On top of being silky smooth, they're just so luscious and thick. Admittedly, it is not the most natural or accurate sounding but it certainly is indulgent.

Plugging the Zeros into an amplifier, the mids become noticeably more energetic as compared to weaker sources. The energy in the electric guitar in Andy Gibb’s “Shadow Dancing” was deliciously addictive. This, on top of the punchy and articulate bass guitar, was like an “ear Jacuzzi”.

Vocals were extremely enjoyable as well, on NEEDTOBREATHE’s “Stand by Me” and “White Fences”, there was very pleasant layering and textured male vocals which I thoroughly enjoyed. Instruments like Clarinets and Saxophones have a really warm, full-bodied sound that brings life to instrumentals.

Treble (Score:7/10)

The treble response on the Zero does not really impress and is pretty lackluster overall. The Zero has a very safe tuning and never gets sibilant. However, the treble extension is not very good and on more revealing tracks, it’s lack of detail retrieval in the highs become apparent.

On tracks like Greenday’s “Holiday”, crash and ride cymbals often lack definition and sparkle. They don’t sound unnatural but are noticeably muted and lifeless. On Sha Na Na’s “Born to Hand Jive”, treble tonality in areas such as the Hi Hats, is very mediocre and sounds a little thin.

Overall

The Zero is a very dark sounding earphone and I would say it is a little too dark at many times, and I can't help but take a few points off for its incoherent tonality.

Although the Zeros are not hard to drive, they seem to benefit from the use of an amplifier. Also, pairing can have quite a big impact on sound and I would classify the Zeros as a very coloured IEM.

The Zero would benefit from a more neutral source or amp due to its already very dark and warm nature. Having a warm source may skew the overall tonality a little too much.

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Conclusion

The Zero has a lot of potential but does have its Achilles heel - poor extension in bass and treble, coupled with its tonality flaw. It loses the tonal accuracy and some tracks can sound a little overly unnatural.

If you are looking for a pair of earphones that are tonally accurate then the Zeros would not be your cup of tea. Nevertheless, I really did enjoy my time with the Zero and there is just something really addictive about the mids that keep me coming back for more. It is something that you could listen to for hours on end and get lost in the luscious mids without ever feeling any fatigue.

It’s quite astonishing to see BGVP push out a quality electrostat IEM for an asking price of just $120. Although far from perfect, I would say the Zeros are a huge step in the right direction by BGVP and a positive indication of more promising releases from them.

DallaPo

New Head-Fier
Turn the light of
Pros: good technical characteristics
relaxed IEM with basically detailed, full and soft mids, relaxed highs and a spatial stage
Cons: too warm and dark
rather intimate
Rating: 7.7
Sound: 7.5

Intro
I'm not sure if BGVP has already produced a single driver IEM, apart from their ear buds, so with all the mostly very successful multi-drivers and hybrids of the company, this is a welcome change, which at the same time raises expectations. This is not "simply" a dynamic driver, but even an electrostatic one.

I have to admit that sometimes I can do more, sometimes less with the ZERO. What is certain is that it has a very unique signature, which makes it recommendable to a limited extent, depending on the music you want to be sprinkled with.


Handling
I have reviewed a few BGVP IEMs so far and have never been disappointed with the scope of delivery, even if this is the least I care about.
I have also never seen an IEM which I could not attest a good seat and ergonomics.

the ZERO is no exception. Good 4-core cable with MMCX, 3 kinds of silicone and a pair of foamtips, which are some of my favourites. In addition an attractive packaging, which can be opened like a book.

The ZERO is made of metal, compact and very well processed with a noble, but simple and timeless design. It has an air grid on the faceplate, which makes it more open in sound, compared to a completely closed design, but reduces the isolation a bit, similar to the BGVP DMS. However, this is more disturbing to the outside world than to yourself.

Sound
The ZERO sometimes leaves me a bit perplexed. Warm, soft, quite dark compared to other BGVP models and yet detailed and transparent when the music and source are right. Sometimes intimate and oppressive, sometimes clearer and separated. An IEM with two sides. Brighter players are definitely welcome!

The ZERO is surprisingly bass-heavy, which I wouldn't have expected from the driver choice. Sometimes I find it a bit overwhelming, especially with rock music, as the mid and high frequencies rarely manage to provide clarity. The bass tends to booming a bit and is not the fastest on the market. Spongy is the wrong word, but the bass of the ZERO definitely likes it softer and more organic than hard and punchy. That might work better in genres like jazz, or partly classical music, but I would like to see more facts here than to flush everything soft.

From the bass on it goes up, also concerning the rating. If the bass is not too much in demand, the mids can unfold and convince me with their voluminous and smooth nature. However, for me they are anything but natural, as the bass gives them too much warmth. Here, I feel a bit reminded of the BGVP EST12's "sugary" mids, but they are much clearer and more transparent. You get used to the signature of the ZERO, but still I always have the wish for more clarity and brightness. Voices are quite intimate and fade into the background. With acoustic music, this creates a cosy atmosphere, but can also cause narrowness and loss of naturalness. Basically the mids are quite unique and certainly not bad, but I don't like this presentation much.

With the highs I experience a similar play as with the mids. Partly I'm really taken with it because of the good resolution and the details, on the other hand I'm sometimes afraid to fall into a dark hole when listening. Again, the ZERO clearly benefits from brighter sources and although the driver is easy to drive, it also benefits from more powerful DACs. What the ZERO has to be credited with is its absolute freedom from sibilants and peaks. On the other hand, there is a fast roll-off in the high frequency range and you usually have to concentrate on the musical content if you don't want to miss anything. Certainly suitable for relaxed listening, but nothing for analytical purposes.

The ZERO is a rather intimate IEM, due to its warm and darker tuning. This is of course also reflected in the stage. However, the stage is surprisingly three-dimensional and also offers enough space to separate instruments well from each other. A clear strength of the ZERO within its possibilities. Still a bit unusual and not consistent.

Outro
Even though the ZERO sounds sometimes make me sweat, I don't really get warm with it. It certainly has quite good technical characteristics, but the sound is a bit too warm and dark for me.I have to admit that I've rarely heard this kind of presentation and that certainly makes the ZERO unique, but that doesn't mean that I like it. Maybe I'm a bit biased by my listening habits, even though I always try to approach an IEM with an open mind and get something out of many signatures, but that's what makes a personal opinion.
If you are looking for a warm and relaxed IEM with basically detailed, full and soft mids, relaxed highs and a spatial stage, you might find your luck here.

Thanks to OARDIO for the review unit.
https://www.oardio.com/bgvp-zero-electrostatic-iem-earphones.html

BGVP ZERO.jpg
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Wiljen

Headphoneus Supremus
BGVP Zero - come to the dark side!
Pros: build quality, warm, slightly dark signature, good tonality
Cons: needs more power than phone or tablet will provide, limited kit, some thickening in mid-bass
BGVP-Zero-pair2-scaled.jpg


disclaimer: I purchased the BGVP DMs and Zero at a reduced price for purposes of review. BGVP offered a discount for the purchase, but no other incentives or remuneration were provided for this review. If you have an interest in BGVP products, check out their Facebook page, or AliExpress store.

Unboxing / Packaging:
The Zero comes packed in a white slipcover with the name and earpieces displayed on the front and the specs and FR graph on the reverse. Slipping the cover off reveals a subdued black box with BGVP in silver on the center. Lifting the top reveals a premium style inner packaging. Tips of three different varieties are displayed along with the earpieces and the soft case. The cable, another type of tip, and a shirt clip are hiding inside the case and warranty cards are beneath it. While the Zero is one of the lower priced models in the BGVP line, the unboxing experience doesn’t reflect that as it has the same attention to detail as their more expensive models.



Build/Fit:
The Shells on the Zero are CNC machined aluminum specifically designed to complement the driver and reduce reflection and resonance per BGVP. I would describe the shell as bean shaped with the design placing the long edge against the rear of the ear. Its hard to call it a faceplate as it is more truly the outer half of the shell and careful inspection shows the mmcx connector is almost entirely contained in the outer shell (an unusual arrangement). The face has a single large vent with a silver metal screen contrasting the black anodized finish on the exterior. The inner shell and nozzle are a single piece and share the same flat black anodizing as the outer shell and are well color matched. Nozzles have a very slight forward rake and a lip to aid in tip retention. While the Zero is average in length and width, it is thin and sits completely in the ear rather than hanging over the exterior as many do. For me, this was a comfortable arrangement but did require some tip rolling to find a good fit. The combination of being lightweight and being designed for tip-up wear meant I had no problem wearing them for extended listening sessions with little or no physical fatigue.



Internals:
The Zero is a hybrid utilizing a 10mm dynamic driver with a carbon nano-tube diaphragm for improved rigidity and a 7mm electret driver coaxially mounted for the highs. The case is designed around the driver with BGVP describing it as a professionally developed acoustic cavity using a polygonal acoustic cavity architecture. The goal of this is to reduce resonance and reflections inside the shell and improve sound quality. Nominal impedance is listed as 19Ω with a sensitivity of 109 dB/mW. I found the Zero was usable from a phone, but did improve considerably with more power as the bass tightens a bit and cleans up. I did find more qualitative improvements with better sources along with the quantitative improvement from more power so recommend this if you are using a DAP or amp with good power output and not for use straight from a tablet or phone.




Cable:
The provided cable is 6N OCC-silver plated copper in a clear casing. Starting at the south end, the jack is a straight 3.5mm with a flat black metal casing that matches the earpieces well. The cable has a short strain relief and is a 4 wire braid up to the black metal barrel shaped splitter. A small clear rubber chin slider sits atop the splitter and works well. From the splitter north wires are 2 strand twists. The northern end terminates with earhooks and mmcx connectors in matching black metal housings. There is no red coloration on the right hand connector but L/R are marked in white on the exterior of the housings for easy indexing. Matching L/R identifiers on the inside of the earpieces should make it near impossible to get wrong.



Sound:


Bass:
Mid-bass is the star here with a big boost in the low end at about 200Hz and a tapering off below 50Hz so emphasis is more on mid-bass than sub-bass. Sub-bass is present and has good rumble when called upon, but can at times become masked by the mid-bass emphasis. Bass speed is average with slightly slower decay than attack. Attack is slightly blunted and gives the Zero a warm, thick presentation in the lower ranges and contributes to an overall warm and slightly dark signature. There is some mid-bass bleed as well that also contributes to warmth, but may mean a few details are lost in the lower mids as a result.

Mids:
I love good mids, and for me the tuning of the Zero is refreshing with more emphasis on lower and true mids and a bit less on the upper-mids. This is the exact opposite of many on the market in the budget bracket today and is a nice change of pace. I find it has a bit more natural tone to it as a result of the lack of emphasis in the upper-mids. The only drawback here is that vocals do not cut through the other instrumentation and instead stand alongside them. Most of the time I really like this, but occasionally you lose a bit of vocal clarity as it gets stepped on by other instruments. Guitar growl is satisfying with good weight and enough edge to sound realistic. Strings are a little thickened and upper strings need a bit more energy to be really lifelike. These are better with Rock and small ensemble pieces than orchestral works as a result. At $80 US, there are very few that reproduce strings realistically so while the Zero isn’t perfect, it still gets high marks considering the price point.

Treble:
Here is where I expected the Zero to come apart as the few electrostats I have heard in this price range have all been shouty to some degree with a few being outright howlers. Thankfully, this is not the case here. While there is a boost to match the mid-bass emphasis in the lower treble, it isn’t over-done and brings enough life to feel open but not fatiguing or strident. True treble is well managed, fast, clean, and not overstated as it drops back from the lower emphasis, but still maintains solid presence in the mix. Snare rattle is reasonably good but a bit blunted. Its quite obvious that BGVP opted for a smooth delivery and some rough edges were lost as a result. Cymbals have a little less energy than needed to really shimmer, but again, this was a tuning decision. Roll-off is above the limit of my hearing at the top end putting it somewhere above 14kHz.

Soundstage / Imaging:
Some will disagree with this part of my assessment and it will be because of differences in amplification. Without a proper amplifier, the stage suffers and is wide and shallow. With a better amp, stage opens up and has good dimensions with slightly better depth than width and even a good sense of height to it. This can be both one of the strongest and one of the weakest points of the Zero depending on your use case. Again with proper amping, seating the orchestra is straight forward with good instrument separation and no glaring errors. Movement around the stage is easily identified and spatial cues are easily isolated and tightly defined. There is some compression in the dynamic driver as tracks get complex and the thickening the lower end is not a welcome addition since it already is a bit thick to begin with. Again, not unexpected at the price point, but worth noting.

Thoughts / Conclusion:
I went into this review with a decidedly negative attitude based on previous experience with budget electret driver models. I was wrong. The Zero makes great use of the electrostatic element without making it the sole focal point of the signature as so many others have. The more tried and true dynamic turns out to the be the lesser of the two drivers as it suffers from below average attack speed and a bit of thickening as a result. The Zero comes across as mildly dark (something like Sennheiser) and loses a touch of detail as a result of the decay speed. Those looking for a warmer, darker offering than the standard budget V generally provides will appreciate the Zero as it definitely is not your standard big V. I found it did well with most popular genres, with large complex orchestral works being the most likely to find its faults. I found the Zero to be an engaging listen with good tonality, little fatigue, and good detail for the spend. With what at times seems like a never ending parade of the same bright V signature, the Zero is refreshingly different.

BGVP Zero

Headphones and Coffee

Previously known as Wretched Stare
BGVP Zero
Pros: Build quality is excellent, a large amount of accessories, a comfortable shape IMO
Nice sound signature has some warmth to it and details.
Cons: Shape is different and may not fit everyone, MMCX was difficult to insert for my big hands. The Zero can be dark at times but with the proper power input its nice.
The Zero is built out of metal and has a very unique jelly bean almost seed like shape. It is comfortable and flatter shaped than other IEMs in its class. The BGVP comes in a very nice box with a nice amount of accessories the case is a nice addition and well made.

Build: Is solid , comfortable and the cable is decent with a nice rubberized coating that is soft, my large fingers had a little bit of a hard time putting on the MMCX connectors because of the seed shape and small size but I eventually got them on without a problem. The hard case has plenty of room inside for a small DAP or MP3 player. The Zero is a EST Dynamic hybrid similar to the tape but does a much better job IMO.

Sound:

Bass: Is tight and refined with some noted sub bass but is not the focus here its more neutral.

Mids: are forward and vocals have a nice intimacy to them and are so detailed and natural with the right amount of warmth to them.

Treble is detailed and smooth with a nice but not over emphasized sparkle.

Soundstage: is wide and deep and there is some excellent imaging here and a great openness to the sound presentation.

Conclusion:

The BGVP stands out of the pack of new and unique tuned IEMs with its own take on it and is a pleasurable detailed and open sounding IEM with warmth and good musicality, it can be enjoyed for long listening sessions without any fatigue or discomfort, its good looking and solidly built with every accessory included to enjoy right out of the box.

https://www.oardio.com/

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