BQEYZ Spring 1

BQEYZ Spring 1 Review (1DD + 1BA +1PD) - 𝐒𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡!


Disclaimer: This unit was lent to me in exchange for my honest opinion about this IEM. Only the earpiece was provided to me so I can't make any feedback about unboxing experience and its sound at stock form. So like what I did with the **** DT9 Review, I will be stating what cable and ear tips I'll be using with the BQEYZ Spring 1. And lastly, your mileage may vary.


𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
- First I would like to thank my dear friend for lending me this IEM for review.

This is the first time that I've listened to a BQEYZ IEM, but I have heard a lot of good things about the Spring 2 and Summer. And what I have here is BQEYZ's very first tri-brid that has a dynamic driver, balanced armature driver, and a piezoelectric driver, the BQEYZ Spring 1. Now I don't have access to the newer IEMs of BQEYZ, so I can't make any comparisons between the three. Now let us begin.


𝐆𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝:
Source - ZiShan U1 ESS Version
Cable - TRI 8 Core SPC Cable, KBEAR 4 Core Copper Cable
Ear tips - JVC Spiral Dots


𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲
- As I only have the Earpiece with me, then I'll be only commenting about the earpieces alone. The build quality of the Spring 1 is really good. It has a metal build with a powder-like finishing, making it not susceptible to scratches like shiny metal shelled IEMs. I also like the gold accent that they did with this variant, very elegant looking I would say. Despite it being metal, the IEM itself is lightweight, so you wont have to worry about having weights on your ears.


𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲

𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐬
- The Spring 1 delivers a deep bass, with more emphasis and quantity on sub-bass. This gives the Spring 1 a nice low end rumble, but not overdone. Mid-bass on the other hand is average. I find the bass to be focused more on the sub bass than the mid bass. The bass presentation is smooth and its decay and details is average. Bass texture is smooth and pleasant to listen to. Not for bassheads as the bass of the Spring 1 has a mid bass that doesn't have expansive sound that surrounds one's head.

𝐌𝐢𝐝𝐬
- I find the mids of the Spring 1 a bit recessed and thin sounding. Nevertheless the mids still sounds very lively and engaging. And has elevated upper mids that is bright and wide, but sibilance and harshness is present at time specially with K-pop or J-pop tracks. Overall very enjoyable mids even if they're on the thin side, sibilance and harshness is something that you'll encounter with tracks that are prone to them.

𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐛𝐥𝐞
- For me, the star of the Spring one is the sparkly treble. The treble presentation is smooth, detailed, natural sounding, and is well extended. All I can say is the the treble is simply amazing. I just wish that it was a bit brighter.

𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠
- Soundstage is above average, and the imaging and instrument separation is very good.


𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧
- The BQEYZ Spring 1 is a very good introductory IEM to what IEMs with Piezoelectric driver can offer, especially with its treble. The only gripe I have is that I wish that the bass are tighter, but some people may prefer a slower decay in the bass region. And that the occasional harshness in the upper mid and sibilance to be completely eliminated. Overall I think that the Spring 1 is a must buy at this price segment, as it will also introduce you to the wonders of piezo.

At a Glance:

Overall Rating: A+ (S+ to C-)

Category: B (100-300), MSRP: 139 USD, Acquired at: 0 USD (Tour Unit)



Diclaimer:
This unit was provided to me in a tour organized by another HiFi enthusiast (@Raymond Roque). I have not been paid any money to make this review, though BQEYZ and Elle Zhou were responsible for providing the units for review. Rest assured that no external factors outside of my personal opinions on this unit will affect the content of this review. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.



Overview:

The Spring 1 is BQEYZ’s previous IEM flagship from their “Seasons Series”. It features tri-brid driver setup containing a single 13mm Dynamic Driver, BQEYZ’s own patented 7-layer Piezoelectric driver and a single nozzle mounted Balanced Armature driver all encased in a custom-made CNC milled aluminum housing.



Inclusions: N/A

This unit was provided as part of a review tour, and I only received the IEM drivers. As such, this entire review will be done without anything stock. I should note that the cable used is similar to the actual stock cable, as are the tips used as they are the ones that were included with my BQEYZ Summer.





Build: S-

The Spring 1’s are built entirely out of a CNC machined aluminum that BQEYZ manufactures in-house. The tooling expertise here is quite clear, with incredibly tight seam tolerances for the two halves of the shell and the piece for the nozzle (which is a different, silver finish). Speaking of the nozzle this IEM, unlike the cheaper K line and like the rest of the Seasons IEMs thankfully has a lip on the nozzle to hold on to eartips, which is especially beneficial for the wider bore tips that this IEM seems to work well with. The nozzle is also rather wide, which suggests that narrow bore tips may not play so well. The driver housings are vented with 3 small vents on the inside face of the IEM. The 2-pin connectors are slightly recessed, but not to the point where it becomes tricky to fit cables.





The finish on my unit seems to be a matte anodized finish, which feels great in the hand and has been incredibly durable in the other BQEYZ IEMs I’ve used. Much better than Moondrop’s painted finish that much is for certain. Comfort is fantastic with the right tips. Despite the all-metal build, the aluminum used is still quite light, and the size of the shells combined with BQEYZ’s signature leaf-shaped design mean that thiey practically disappear on the ear. However, the size of the shells and the fact that they do not rest on your ear or hook onto the concha with a fin mean that comfort it mainly dependent on the tips you use rather than the actual shape of your ear.

Overall, the build is very good, with essentially no quibbles with durability, comfort and practicality being all hits here.





Sound Review Conditions:

• BQEYZ 8-Core SPC Upgrade Cable (in Silver) was used
• Beenoise Wide Bore Eartips, AZLA SednaEarFit and BQEYZ Wide Bore tips (from Summer)
• Deezer HiFi, Foobar 2000, Signalyst HQ Player

Sound:



Note:

This IEM comes with the usual cheese grater filter that BQEYZ uses. However, removing it in this case was a more marginal improvement in the soundstage likely due to the fact that this IEMs more balanced signature is less crowded. As such, I decided to carry out this review with the stock filter in place.

With a 43ohm impedance rating and only 108dB of sensitivity, these perhaps may require slightly more power than the average IEM, though in my experience they got loud fairly easily out of even cheaper dongles like the JCALLY JM20 with a CS43131.



Bass: A

Bass on this IEM can be described as rather neutral or balanced across the entirety of the region, which leads to a rather clean bass presentation, without a hint of the bloat that plagues some other IEMs. The relatively lean presentation means that depending on the track this IEM does feel bass-shy, even as a non basshead. However, thanks to good bass extension, this IEM is able to provide weight and impact in tracks that required that extension. Nevertheless, the lacking midbass (which is surprisingly bleedy despite there not being much of it), combined with the rather laggy driver speed mean that the bass region can end up feeling a little bit lacking in transient impact even if note weight is satisfactory in addition to being wooly and undefined Bass texture is alright, thanks to extension and linearity it does reproduce the full range quite well but separation and speed leave some performance to be desired with the speed in particular being a con in busier tracks. Overall bass performance is just a little bit above decent in this price point, being alright tonally but a bit behind in terms of quality.



Mids: A+

Midrange performance on this IEM is somewhat neutral in isolation but skewed to a colder more technical approach overall. Thanks to a relatively balanced presentation in the bass there is no veil but a dip in the lower mids combined with the lack of midbass warmth means that male vocals sound too cold tonally and they lack some of the thickness and warmth that make them sound correct. On the other hand, the combination of a colder tonality and treble excellence mean that the upper mids, female vocals and strings like acoustic guitar sound fantastic, with great control over the transient bite and better tonal quality than the lower mids. Overall midrange performance is good but it could use more body in the lower mids.



Treble: S

Overall treble performance is quite balanced and neutral. This is where this IEM and the unique piezo driver really seem to shine, the treble is fantastically well controlled and extends all the way up to the presence region. Lower treble is present giving good snap to cymbals and bright impact to other notes. As you get higher there seems to be a peak at around 8k giving this a good sense of detail presented but the control and appropriation of the quantity do mean that this IEM dodges being a source of sibilance. Going even higher up above 10kHz the treble seems to extend all the way up, giving this IEM a great sense of sparkle, shimmer and air with instruments that present it. Despite the quality of the treble though, I find that the treble is tuned quite safely, with too little in some parts. I would’ve preferred just a couple more dB of treble in some parts though that would’ve likely pushed this into a bright signature rather than being a more balanced neutral one. Overall treble quality is excellent and truly a remarkable contribution from the piezo driver.



Technicalities: A+

Technical performance is good but nothing to rave about on this IEM. The soundstage is decently wide though par for the course at this price range, it has reasonably good depth and some front and back width though still mostly oblong. Imaging is actually quite good, fairly accurate and convincing in presentation. Detail retrieval is also quite good even through what could be considered as some false detail from the treble region. Coherency is usually a strong point of BQEYZ and it’s no different here, maybe just a little bit of BA timbre at the upper mids to lower treble if anything at all. Overall, the technicalities are quite good with no overt flaws either.



Conclusion:

This IEM is a bit of an older one. It sits as a superseded unit in BQEYZ’s own lineup, overshadowed by the Spring II and Summer that are around the same price point with similar characteristics but newer. That makes it sit at a bit of an awkward position in terms of value at retail price especially when some of the budget K series IEMs are close to this in terms of sound quality. Nonetheless, it’s still a great package for an IEM with just a few flaws. If you can pick it up for cheap (I’ve seen these go for as low as 40 USD locally) they’re definitely a solid buy. Recommended with reservations.

Source Used During Review: Hiby R5 Saber, ShanlingUA1
Tips Used During Review: Stock Atmosphere Tips, Final E-Tips
Cable Used During Review: Stock Spring 1 Cable

Disclaimer: Although this review unit has been loaned to me by Gears for Ears, it will be returned to them upon the completion of this review. All thoughts & opinions shared here will be my own, 100% honest and bias-free. This review of course is completely subjective.



Introduction: Let me start off by saying that I know I am little bit late to the party in reviewing this IEM, Spring 1 has been out for a while & there are already plenty of reviews out on it already. But since I was given the opportunity to review this IEM by Gears For Ears BD, I did not want to pass on this opportunity. This is my 1st review of a BQEYZ product so let me give some background info abut the company, quoted by Miss Elle Zhou herself: “Our factory has over 20 years of experience in the earphone and headphone industry. We can offer OEM and ODM. From 2018, we released our first brand BQEYZ, it means Best Quality for You! We want to offer audio products that are cost-effective. The design is simple and fashionable, sound is neutral, no biased, no inclined. “

Now that you have some idea about who BQEYZ is & what they stand for, let’s talk a bit about the specs & price of the Spring 1. BQEYZ spring 1 is tri-brid IEM with a 7-layer piezoelectric driver for the highs, a balanced armature (BA) driver for the mids & a 13mm dynamic driver for the lows. It has an impedance of 43Ω & sensitivity of 108dB which means it requires some power to shine. For such an intriguing setup, Spring 1 is price quite reasonably well at $139.



Packaging & Accessories: Looking at the price & specs of the product one would assume it’s only natural for the manufacturer to skimp out on the accessories, but that is not the case here at all. The standard retail box contains:

- 6 pairs of silicone ear tips

- 3 pairs for “Atmosphere”: With smaller bore to enhance the bass performance

- 3 pairs for “Reference”: With wider bore to produce a more neutral sound signature

- A pair of foam ear tips

- 8 core 0.78mm 2-pin 3.5mm unbalanced silver-plated copper (SPC) cable

- A black semi-hard carrying case

I would like to use this part of the review to appreciate how nice the stock cable of the Spring 1 is! It’s not only soft & extremely comfortable to use, but the black & gunmetal color scheme really makes it stand out from the rest of the crowd.



Build & Fit (4.3/5): Unlike other brands from China who more or less use the same design pattern for their shells, BQEYZ is going for something bold & unique. The shell of the Spring 1 is fully made out of an aluminum frame, although I wouldn’t say its light weight but it has a very ergonomic design. The nozzle is made of aluminum too & there are three vents on the inner side of the shell to reduce driver flex. I am happy to report than unlike the TRI Starsea, BQEYZ Spring 1 does not suffer from any driver flex or BA pressure build up issues. Luckily there is also a 2-pin connector on top of the shell, which makes using any 3rd party cables hassle-free.



Drivability: As mentioned earlier in the review the Spring 1 requires quite a bit of power to shine properly. Playing it from a phone’s 3.5 jack is out of the question, even using a mid-level dongle like Shanling UA1 or Fiio BTR5 (connected via desktop PC) fails to make that piezo driver sing & bass has barely any presence. I was able to get optimal results only with my Hiby R5 Saber DAP, highs were bright, vibrant & there was a good quantity of sub & mid bass.

Sound

Tonality: The Spring 1 has a W-Shaped tuning, which means its identical to a V-shaped sound with dips in the mid bass and upper mids. The sound of the Spring 1 is more on the analytical & bright side rather than warm & smooth. But there is still a good quantity of bass present, keeping things fun rather than boring. The BA timbre for instruments is pretty natural and sounds accurate.

Highs (4.5/5): The highs are the highlight of the Spring 1, they are airy, crisp, have a quite a bit of sparkle to them & pretty well extended. The detail retrieval is class leading at this price point, the quantity of micro details is abundant due to the more analytical nature of the sound. Highs are pretty energetic and I did not notice any sibilance or fatigue during long listening sessions.

Soundstage, Imaging & Separation (4/5): The soundstage of the Spring 1 is above average, with a good width and It extends in depth, height. Overall soundstage is good but not attention grabbing worthy. Imaging on the Spring 1 is top-class, it manages to pinpoint most interments & vocal cues with excellent precession. Resolution is pretty great too, which means the Spring 1 is more forgiving of the poorly recorded/mastered tracks.

Mids (4.2/5): The BA driver handles the midrange like a champ, with plenty a warm tonality & plenty of details. Vocals sounds thick & forward with a boost in the upper-midrange. Even with that peak in the upper midrange vocals maintain a good amount of transparency & no shouty-ness can be detected even at louder volumes. Both male & female vocals sound excellent and really grabs your attention in acoustic tracks. Mids are definitely a strong point of the Spring 1’s after Highs.

Lows (4.1/5): When amped properly I found the Spring 1 to have plenty of sub-bass rumble, while mid-bass punch is missing. Bass has a good texture but it lacks in speed which is especially noticeable in faster paced songs & genres like metal. Still not a bad performance at all, it’s just that bass heads will have to look elsewhere. On a more positive note, IEM’s with great mids usually come with under-whelming bass, which is not the case here. While the bass of the Spring 1 might lack some punch & speed, you will definitely notice & feel its presence in genres like Pop & Hip-hop.

Conclusion: Due to its more analytical & less fun sound nature not everyone will appreciate what Spring 1 brings to the table. While those looking for a bright sound with plenty of details will be pleasantly surprised. Personally, I think Spring 1 hits the sweet spot between a warm, rounded & bright, analytical sound, due its emphasis on the upper mids and sub-bass quantity. Is the Spring 1 an all-rounder? Not really, but its pretty close to being one.



Comparisons: ??? Right now, I am in the middle of reviewing BQEYZ Spring 1, 2 & Summer along with Fiio FH3, Tri Starsea so I felt it appropriate to review them individually first and then do a massive $100 to $150 range IEM battle, to see who takes the lead! So please stay tuned, like & follow my page The Audio Bloke for future updates if you liked this review. Thanks!

Introduction
BQEYZ audio is the Chinese company, the company started to manufacture the IEM under the name BQEYZ since 2018, The Spring 1 lunched back in 2019, it is familiar with its special configuration of driver. The price of Spring 1 are $139USD. The configuration are 1DD+1 7 layers Piezoelectric+1BA.



Disclaimer
I would like to thanks Elle Zhou from BQEYZ audio for given this opportunity, and the review will be based on my honest opinion through the music I listen to.


Package & Accessories
The package is compact and well presented, it come with small box. The brand name and model name are on the front cover, specifications at the side, and the driver structure information at the rear side. Remove the cover, the box is flip to open design, the IEM are well present in the box, with ear tips and cable content in the carry case.






Accessories list:
1 pair x BQEYZ Spring 1
1 piece x Detachable Cable with 0.78 2 pin Connector
3 pairs x Reference Ear tips (S/M/L)
3 pairs x Atmosphere Ear tips (S/M/L)
1 pairs x Foam tips
1 piece x Zipper case



The accessories it come with are reasonable for its price range, the zipper carry case it content allow user to store pair of IEM. The carry case is made by rubber-ish material, with fluffy finished inside.





It provide two different sound signature ear tips, the reference ear tips and atmosphere ear tips, also include one pair of additional foam tips.



It come with 8 core silver-plated copper cable, feature the 0.78mm 2 pin connector. The cable has 3.5 mm straight connector in silver metal shell, the Y-spitter and cable slider are both in silver metal shell as well. The 0.78mm 2 pin connector has L&R indicators on each side finished in metal silver finish.The cable is overall solid cable in black finish.




Design & Build & Comfort
The Spring1 has blue metal shell in matte finish, with silver glossy finish ring around. The BQEYZ logo is on the edge of right earpiece, whereas the model name locate at edge the left earpiece. The L and R are indicate on inner layer of shell. There are totally three vents in each side of the IEM on inner surface.





The build quality on Spring1 is really good for this price range. The shell are made by aluminum and constructed by 5-Asix CNC machines, the result are really well smooth and rounded finished shell, there are not gap or any sharp edges on the Spring1. It has the metal nozzle and metal filter, give the additional durability also prevent from ear dust. The 0.78 2 pin connector are tight, and do not have sign of wear and tear after I swapped few times of cable.





The fit on Spring 1 are average for me, it has slightly ergonomics design, but I find out it is too thick and nozzle is too short for it to stay in my ear well, the weight is also the reason cause the average fit. The isolation is just average as well.






Technical specifications:
Drivers: 13mm dynamic driver + 7-layers piezoelectric & balanced armature
Frequency: 7-40kHz
Impedance: 43ohm
Sensitivity: 108±3dB


Sound

Paring
I use the atmosphere tips, as the other one doesn’t fit me well. I use the stock 3.5mm cable run through my music library on Fiio M11.




Overall tonality
The Spring 1 has mildly U shape sounding, it is well balanced presented in slightly warm and smooth manner.

Bass
The bass is well controlled and defined, with moderate amount of sub bass, it has moderate extension and decay speed. The bass has moderate impact, rumble and punch. It has average detail and clarity. The bass has above average speed and control, The bass has slightly warm tonality and presented in smooth manner.

Mids
The mids is slighty warm and clean. The low mids has good amount of bodies with good levels of depth presented in slightly lush manner, the upper mids has average transparency level, presented in clean and slightly forward manner. The mid range sound smooth and lively. It has above average detail, with average transparency and airiness.

Treble
The treble has moderate extended presented in harshness and smooth manner. The treble has above average detail and clarity, it also has good amount of sparkle and airy, the piezoelectric driver do such a amazing jobs, this is definitely the best treble for its price range, well extended and detail yet smooth.

Soundstage and Imaging
It has average depth and width.
The imaging and separation are really good, probably the best for its price tag.



Comparison
Final audio E4000 ($149 USD)

Bass
The sub bass has slightly more quantity on E4000, the quality are both pretty well, but the Spring1 has slightly better extension and decay. The bass has more amount on the E4000, the Spring1 has better impact and punch, both has good amount of rumble. The Spring1 does slightly better jobs on clarity and speed, both of them has good speed and well control.

Mids
The mid range are both smooth and well balanced. The lower mids has more bodies and slightly more depth on E4000, both of them presented it in clean and natural manner, while the E4000 are lusher and fuller in comparison. The upper mids on Spring1 sound more forward and lively, while the E4000 sound smoother and more relax. The Spring1 has better clarity and transparency. Both have good level of detail.

Treble
The treble on E4000 are warmer and smoother, whereas the Spring1 are clearer and brighter. The treble has good extension on both, but Spring 1 did tad better. The Spring1 offer better clarity, airiness, and transparency in treble. The detail are better on Spring1. Spring1 has more sparkle in the treble as well.

Soundstage and imaging
The sound stage are tad better on Spring1.
The imaging are better on Spring1.


IKKO OH1 ($139USD)

Bass
The OH1 has slightly more sub bass quantity, the OH10 also offer the better sub bass extension and quicker decay. The bass has more quantity and feel more weight on the Spring1, the bass has better punch, speed and control on the Spring1, whereas the OH1 has more rumble and airiness in the bass. Both has pretty good clarity and detail.

Mids
The midrange are more recessed on the OH1. Both has slightly warm tonality, but the OH1 are warmer and fuller. The lower midrange has more bodies and lusher on the OH1, while the Spring1 take a cleaner notes. The upper midrange has great emphasis on both, both of them have lively presentation, but the Spring1 has more clarity. The Spring1 did the better jobs in term of clarity and transparency, while both of them has good amount of detail.

Treble
The treble slightly brighter and extended further on Spring1, while the OH1 has crisper and lower treble focus presentation. The treble sound more fuller on the Spring1, whereas the treble slightly dryer on OH1. The OH1 provide the relatively less fatiguing tonality. The Spring1 has more airness and detail in treble.

Soundstage and imaging
The OH1 has wider and deeper soundstage, while the Spring1 own slightly better imaging.


Dunu SA3 ($139USD)

Bass
The are more sub bass and bass on Spring1. The sub bass has better extension on Spring1, the SA3 has quicker decay speed. The bass has more punch and rumble on the Spring1. Where as SA3 has better speed and control. The bass are fuller on Spring 1, while the SA3 are smoother. The bass on both have similar amount of detail retrieval and clarity.

Mids
The midrange both smooth, but the SA3 has fuller and more natural timbre. The lower midrange has more bodies on SA3, whereas the Spring1 has more clarity. The upper midrange on both are push forward, but the SA3 has fuller and more vividly presentation. The detail retrieval are better on the SA3. The clarity are better on Spring1.

Treble
The treble are brighter on Spring1 and extended further, while the SA3 are more smoother and fuller. The upper midrange on both has good amount of airiness and sparkle. The treble on both have good detail retrieval. Both have good levels of clarity.

Soundstage and imaging
The soundstage are wider on Spring1, where as SA3 has depth.
The imaging on both are similar.




Conclusion
The BQEYZ Spring1 are build in high quality aluminum shell, the shell finish in really attractive looking. It has well balanced and musical tonality presented n slightly smooth and lush manner. The treble speed and detail has impressed me a lot, especially for IEM in this price range, if it can fuller the midrange timbre a little bit ,then it is definitely going to be on my top list in $100-150 price range. Really looking forward for the Spring2. Thank you for reading, HAPPY LISTENING

BQEYZ Aliexpress official store: https://www.aliexpress.com/store/4997112?spm=2114.12057483.0.0.38d87847OSesID
BQEYZ Spring 1 product page:https://www.aliexpress.com/i/4000122244534.html

Rating: 8.4
Sound: 8.2



Intro
BQEYZ drew attention in 2018, where they were able to cover several different musical preferences with the K(C)2, BQ3, or even KB1, thus building a solid foundation in the CHI-FI world.
With the SPRING 1 they dared to take the step to the tribrid in 2019, which consists of a dynamic, BA and piezo driver. Here, each driver should cover its own frequency range and thus concentrate on its strengths, while minimizing the technical weaknesses.

The SPRING 1 is definitely a very successful IEM. Although it does not provide completely new insights in an extremely competitive price segment, it is very well positioned and will certainly appear in many current recommendations.



Handling
SPRING 1 = SPRING 2

BQEYZ has always been a bit minimalist with the scope of delivery and now, at a price of over 100 €, wants to offer the buyer something more.
More is indeed available, but this is by no means enough to match the sumptuous offer of a REECHO SPRING/SUMMER, which is similarly priced.
Included in the attractive folding case: Silicone tips with narrow ("Atmosphere" - S/M/L) and wide opening ("Reference" - S/M/L), foam tips, a cleaning tool and a storage case.
Although this is a manageable assortment of supplements, it is completely sufficient and with the good 4-core cable (2-pin) also quite valuable. In addition, the workmanship is without complaint.

The case is made of metal and impresses with a fresh design, with slightly curved lines and roundings. The fit is very good and the wearing comfort is also positive in the long run.

However, the isolation is not convincing. If you have people around you, they can even sing along to some extent and don't even have to be sure of their text, as enough of it can get out. This "openness" is probably created by the three vents on the inside and can be quite annoying for the environment, but can give the owner a more open stage.



Sound
The use of three different driver concepts requires a lot of know-how to implement them correctly and to coordinate them with each other so that the positive characteristics of the drivers pay off.

DD - In principle, the driver distribution can be quickly derived logically. The bass is taken over by the dynamic driver, which acts powerfully but is not always the most precise. Sometimes it should like to have a little less presence in the mid and upper bass and offer a larger extension in the sub range. Nevertheless, it offers a lavish range of details and can easily hold its own in any genre. Sometimes it can happen that he means it a bit too well and colours and thickens the signature a bit, but basically he stays mostly under control and the fun doesn't come too short.

BA - The mids are smooth and have a good resolution and tonality especially in the upper range. Due to the bass they are not quite as fresh at the bottom and could be a bit tighter and crisper. Vocals sound mostly realistic, but I miss a bit of presence and clarity. Especially when there is a lot of information to process, they can be pushed a bit into the background and it becomes more confusing. Here you notice the influence of the bass especially, which provides some compression and suffers the liveliness.

PIEZO - I have to say that the high tone of the SPRING 1 suits me best, even if the slight sibilant emphasis bothers me. Although the bass and mids can be perfomed just as well, the driver weaknesses can't be completely eliminated, making the bass appear booming here and there and the BA timbre shining through every now and then. The high frequency response of the piezo is remarkable, even if it leaves some grains in the higher regions and certainly doesn't satisfy absolute high frequency enthusiasts. Nevertheless, the richness of detail and transparency is certainly worth mentioning and the driver manages to give the sometimes somewhat cumbersome SPRING 1 a bit of liveliness and airiness and keeps the musicality high.

The stage is certainly one of the strengths of SPRING 1, even though I think it is sometimes a bit fragile. This means that the 3D image can vary in its dimensions depending on how much musical content has to be processed. In itself, however, it is above average in its width and also very well positioned in its depth, probably also due to the somewhat softer and slower bass response.



Outro
The SPRING 1 convinces me with good technical features, some balanced and equally fun signature, which can be sometimes more, sometimes less exciting.
Basically, the SPRING 1 performs very well in all areas, but without being able to stand out from the competition with one detail in particular.
Here, perhaps the comparison to the TRI i3 is obvious, which I would describe as a little more mature and gentle, but the SPRING 1 is the more powerful of the two and in total acts on a very similar level.
In addition it has enormous potential regarding detail reproduction, but sometimes lacks clarity.
So the SPRING 1 is a strong Tribrid representative and so far the best and most balanced IEM from BQEYZ, which can be worth its money.


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Disclaimer : This was a personal unit purchased at retail price

INTRO
Another chifi IEM has entered the game and this time it's the Spring 1 by BQEYZ. I have only read about this brand through other review sites but hadn't had the opportunity to try them out until now. After reading other reviews online, I decided to purchase this earphone for myself as it was also on sale during Black Friday on Aliexpress. Let's dive into the details of this IEM!




QUICK SUMMARY
Sound : Balanced


Driver : 1 Piezoelectric driver, 1 BA driver, 1 13mm Dynamic driver
Socket : 2-pin (0.78mm)
Price : 139 USD
Where to buy : Aliexpress

Suitable genres :
- All-rounder

WHAT'S IN THE BOX



The earphones come packaged in a neat and compact box, greeting you with the brand and earphone model upon opening it. Digging deeper into the box, you can find the following items :


1 x Semi-hard case
1 pair of foam tips
1 set of "Atmosphere" and "Reference" ear tips (Small, Medium, Large)
1 x 0.78mm, 2-pin 8 core silver-plated cable with 3.5mm jack (standard headphone jack)

Given its value, I feel that the accessories provided are sufficient for most people and that the 8 core cable is a nice add on. The case is good enough to protect the earphone and has a little compartment in it for you to keep the ear tips on hand. The cable does not feel heavy at all and the build quality of it is good too. However, maybe a cleaning tool would have been nice, though you can easily clean off any dirt on the wax guard of the nozzle.

BUILD QUALITY
The Spring 1 is made of a sturdy aluminium frame and this attributes to the weight of the earphone, making it light and easy on the ears when wearing them. I must say, I am a sucker for matte finishing products as it makes everything feel more premium and this does not disappoint. Also, one advantage of matte finishing products is that it's not a fingerprint magnet and that's already a great plus point for me.




It feels great, looks great and it's also light weight, though some may argue that a heavier IEM feels more premium, which I agree to a certain extent. The wax guard of the earphone isn't your typical mesh, but a metal plate with holes in them. Though it may be slightly more prone to small ear wax getting stuck inside the holes, I feel that it's easier to clean it as you can simply wipe the earwax off of it.

Overall, the aluminium frame of the earphone is of good build quality and does not disappoint in build quality.

COMFORT AND ISOLATION
Earphone is on the smaller side and though it is thicker than most earphones, it would still fit in most people's ears. Wearing the earphones for several hours has not provided any discomfort towards my ears does not seem like it would fall off any time.

Isolation however, leaves more to be desired for. The ear tips provided (both the "Atmosphere" and "Reference") do not insert deep into my ears and always feels like there's a gap, resulting in sound interference from the outside and sound leakage from the earphones. Due to the wide nozzle of the earphones, insertion into the ear is not deep, but changing to the Acoustune AET-07 eartips helped a lot. Upon changing ear tips, I get a better seal though it still does not insert as deep.

In summary, the earphone feels comfortable to wear but the ear tips provided out of the box does not provide very good isolation. I would recommend that you change the ear tips to find one that provides a better seal.

SOUND
This earphone has a balanced sound when I first heard it, everything is of equal levels with nothing overpowering the other. It does not compromise in any aspect, it reveals the music as it is and shows it to you at face value. Also, it is not an earphone that sounds boring but on the contrary, engages the listener and gets them into the groove of the music.

For this testing, I would be using the earphones with the stock cables and my Cayin N6ii (T01 module) as player. My sources would include both lossless files and Spotify but I would only state the general characteristics of the earphone that I can perceive.

Highs
Treble is slightly laid back with a nice sparkle to it that does not overwhelm the listener despite it being fitted with a piezoelectric driver. For most songs, it shines in the background, adding that groove to it and giving it that extra added clarity. Highs definitely have a nice slow roll-off to it, so if you like your music to have a surreal feel to it, give this a shot.

On slower paced songs such as with Anthony Neely's "The Last Embrace", cymbals in the background give the song that much needed feels and as the song ends, I heard chimes that were only made more revealing in this pair of earphones. As with Diana Krall's "The Look of Love", the shakers feel very spacious, it does not sound congested, reiterating my point of it giving the music a surreal and spacious feel. The shakers also sound very detailed, almost as if you can hear how the shakers are being played.

On faster tracks such as with UNISON SQUARE GARDEN's "Sugar Song to Bitter Step", cymbals are fast and snappy. Highs are very precise but as it is laid back, it could be hard to listen out for on such rock songs where all the instruments are coming together. Listening to Frederic's "Hello Goodbye" reveals the acoustic guitar in the background in detail that I was desperately trying to figure out when learning this song. I really enjoyed listening to the highs on this!

Highs on this would be enjoyable by both treble sensitive people and treble heads : Treble sensitive people would not find this too overpowering, only showing when needed, and treble heads would enjoy the accuracy and detail that this earphone reveals. Simply amazing!

Mids
The mids on this earphone are rather balanced, usually sounding closer than the highs and the lows. Vocals tend to be more intimate to the listener, sounding closer to the listener than other instruments in the mid range such as the electric guitar or drums.

Listening to slower paced tracks such as David Choi's "Uneasy" allows you to hear the nuances in his voice albeit it being slightly overshadowed by the bass and guitar layers. Testing it with Jay Chou's "不该" clearly shows you how separation is done right. AMei and Jay Chou's voice have a very clear distinction here, allowing you to easily tell how the harmonizing was done with the vocals while maintaining the feeling of the song.

Moving on to faster paced songs, BRADIO's "Super Wonderful" sounds, well, super wonderful! It sustains that nice rhythm maintained by the kick drum and the funky guitar rhythm, allowing one to tell apart every strum and chuck of the guitar. "Darwin Derby" by Vulfpeck further confirms the points made above, revealing each strum of Cory Wong's rhythmic strumming pattern, immersing you in this funky song.

In essence, mids generally take center stage here, but never being too "in your face" and the insane level of detail retrieval here clearly shows what it's capable of.

Lows
(Note : Impressions of bass is before the 100 hours of burn-in on the dynamic drivers. Will update again if there are any changes to the bass)
Bass quantity on this unit is adequate on most songs, it is definitely there and does not overpower the other aspects of the music. I love deep rumbling bass and this earphone does not disappoint. No matter the song, you can always hear and feel the bass, adding a nice weight and depth to the music.

With slower tracks, such as Khalil Fong's "四人游", bass does not disappoint, rumbling at the points where the bass is meant to shine and gives that weighty feel to the overall mood of the song. Going slightly further back into the past, the bass guitar in "Plastic Love" by Maria Takeuchi retains that rhythmic vibe to it. However, I wished that it had a slightly deeper extension as some songs could sound better with a bit of a deeper bass.

As with faster songs, bass in "Silent Libre Mirage" by UNISON SQUARE GARDEN has a great presence, adding to the rhythmic vibe of the song. There are no signs of any bass bleed, where the bass extends to the mids of the song. Listening to "Flamingo" by Yonezu Kenshi shows that the music could better benefit with a deeper bass extension as this song is mostly dominated by the bass though it still kicks and rumbles when its supposed to (but not quite enough).

Overall, bass feels adequate enough in almost every song I listen to and does not overpower the other layers of a music. However, I sometimes wish that the bass has slightly more extension to give some songs that extra weight and feel especially in jazz tracks.

OTHER NOTES
For a 139 USD earphone, I have to commend it for having an INSANE amount of detail retrieval that most earphones lack. I have yet to hear anything at this price range that has the same amount of detail retrieval. I was very surprised at the amount of details it could pick up. It revealed every nuance in a song so smoothly and with such ease, never once struggling even with heavy metal songs. In Jupiter's "ARCADIA", you can easily tell apart the rhythm and lead guitar on the left and right channels, while never compromising on bass nor the cymbals of the drums.

The highs, mids and lows sound balanced to me on this earphone and everything was done just right. Given its value, I really don't have much bad things to say about it except that bass could use a bit of an extension to give it that extra oomph (but this is before the 100 hour burn in, will update if needed).
I also noticed that I kept mentioning how everything is adequate. This is because yes, everything is just enough. However if you'd like more of a certain aspect, you could always tweak it slightly by changing the cable. I have found that pairing this with Effect Audio's Virtuoso cable gives it an extra kick in the mid range that sounds great with funk and rock songs though it would sound duller.

After comparing it against the Moondrop KXXS, I noticed that Spring 1 may sound a bit "boring" against it. However, this is probably due to the analytical nature of the Spring 1. It lays it to you bare, revealing everything and not trying to color nor distort the sound as much as possible. The KXXS on the other hand, seems to jump at you with more life in its music, giving the song a weightier feeling with deeper bass and with airier, brighter highs. That is not to say that Spring 1 isn't enjoyable at all, it's just that Spring 1 is much more surgical in its sound and people who aren't used to this kind of sound should spend more time with such an earphone to identify if they can tolerate such a tone for long hours.

CONCLUSION
I really enjoyed listening to this earphone a lot, it is well-balanced, has insane amount of details and does everything just right. At its price point, it is hard to find anything that is remotely close to this. I would highly recommend this earphone to anyone looking for a balanced sound with insane levels of details, you will not regret it!

Introduction –

Though BQEYZ doesn’t quite roll off the tongue, the company is another ChiFi hit who I somewhat remiss not involving myself with sooner. The company is new, but not at all inexperienced and similar to other now prominent players such as Kinera, they’ve been working as an earphone and headphone OEM for over 20-years. The Spring 1 showcases their experience and prowess, possessing a peculiar tribrid driver setup not dissimilar to much more expensive IEMs. Alongside a custom 13mm dynamic driver, the BQEYZ has a custom-tuned balanced armature driver handling mids and highs with an additional 7-layer piezoelectric super tweeter. No sir, this is no generic earphone and, at a modest $139 USD, it’s no surprise that it’s become such a staple. You can read more about the BQEYZ and treat yourself to one on BQEYZ’s Aliexpress page and on HiFiGO.



Disclaimer –

I would like to thank Elle from BQEYZ very much for her quick communication and for providing me with the Spring 1 for the purpose of review. All words are my own and there is no monetary incentive for a positive review. Despite receiving the earphones free of cost, I will attempt to be as objective as possible in my evaluation.



Specs –

Driver unit: 1 Coaxial dynamic driver+7 Layers piezoelectric+1 Balanced armature
Impedance: 43Ω
Sensitivity: 108dB
Frequency: 7-40KHz
Cable Length: 1.2m
Pin Type: 0.78mm 2 Pin
Plug Type: 3.5mm jack adapter
Cable Length: 120cm
Whether with Mic: No



The Pitch –

Custom-tuned drivers

With their manufacturing processes developed over their 20 years of experience, BQEYZ is able to custom tune and manufacture all of their drivers in-house. This grants them great control over both the tuning and quality of the sound in addition to minimising the cost of more sophisticated driver setups as observed on the Spring 1.

Ceramic super-tweeter

Those watching the high-end IEM space might have seen Sonion’s new EST drivers pop up in a few models to much elation and critique. Electrostatic drivers provide much lower distortion and greater high-frequency extension than BA drivers, however, as they can only be driven at high-voltages, they require a transformer making them highly inefficient. This is compounded upon by their inability to reproduce low frequencies, necessitating the addition of dynamic or balanced armature drivers with much higher sensitivity. In addition to their exorbitant cost, you can already see just how difficult the tuning process becomes.


Source: BQEYZ Aliexpress product page

Ceramic tweeters are functionally similar to EST drivers but substitute a charged mylar film with ceramic. They are considerably cheaper and easier to pair with other driver types while bringing similar characteristics with regards to extension and distortion, if to a lesser extent. The Piezo driver has its own problem, a ceramic resonance at 10KHz which made first-generation ceramic earphones sound thin and sharp. By implementing a multi-layer design and optimising the sound cavity, a few later designs from high-end manufacturers like Noble and Hyla successfully shifted this resonance into more palatable ranges. Though the ceramic implementation is not nearly as refined, the Spring 1 implements the same design and takes cost-efficiency one step further with a unibody dynamic + ceramic design that represents the same key qualities at a significantly lower price.



Accessories –


The Spring 1 has a pleasing unboxing experience and has a comprehensive accessory set. Inside the box, users will be greeted by a leatherette zippered carrying case, the earphones themselves alongside a silver-plated removable cable. There’s a lovely metal tip selector that sits comfortably within the case with 2 sets of tips featuring reference and atmospheric sound profiles. A pair of foam tips are also included to bolster isolation.



Design –

I was impressed to hear that BQEYZ have their own CNC workshop that specialises in IEM production. It should then come as no surprise that the Spring 1 has an entirely metal enclosure. Though the design is simple, the finish is on par with a pricier model. Its seams are imperceptible by touch while edges are rounded and perfect. The black model has gorgeous dark gold accents that complement their shape and form. They are of quite a unique shape; however, they are reasonably sized and ergonomically contoured.


The cable utilises 0.78mm 2-pin connectors. It’s a beefy 8-core unit with silver-plated conductors and smooth plastic insulation. The cable is supple with zero memory, coiling easily for storage. It produces minimal microphonic noise in culmination with an over-ear fit and feels very beefy and built to last. Gunmetal BQEYZ inscribed terminations provide a premium impression alongside the case-friendly 3.5mm plug and ample strain relief. The cable has pre-moulded ear guides that weren’t perfectly suited to my ear shape but provided comfortable wear, nonetheless.



Fit & Isolation –


As the housings are reasonably compact, I didn’t find them to contact much of the outer ear nor form hotspots over extended listening. The nozzles are on the longer side and angled to position them neutrally, aiding wearing comfort. Meanwhile, the crescent-housings follow the natural curves of the outer ear, providing good stability if not the same locked-in sensation of faux custom earphones. Numerous vents are clearly visible on the inner face of the earphones, making them quite open and without vacuum-like seal. As they’re on the inner face, wind noise isn’t prevalent when wearing the earphones outdoors, however, isolation is only mediocre which may limit appeal for commute yet alone travel. Due to the large nozzles, fit depth is on the shallower side and I was unable to increase this by sizing down tips.



Sound –


Testing Methodology: Arta via IEC 711 coupler to Startech external sound card. Note that 7-8KHz peaks are artefacts of my measurement setup. Measurements besides channel balance are volume matched at 1K.



Tonality –

The Spring 1 has what I would describe as a high-end IEM tuning, that being W-shaped, vocal-forward but boosted at the extremities. This is not to say that it performs like a high-end IEM, but it does provide an engaging listen with great contrast while maintaining tri-frequency balance. There’s really solid sub-bass body alongside enhanced mid and upper-bass warmth mitigated by a clean vocal push through the centre midrange. Lower-treble has been attenuated in order to combat sibilance, sharpness and thinness before a reasonable middle-treble peak as I’ve been told, is quite a common resonant point for ceramic drivers. The unique combination of drivers certainly does produce similarly intriguing qualities in real-world listening. This earphone isn’t linear and doesn’t trace any conventional curve but remains a fun and insightful listen.



Tip Selection –

The Spring 1 comes with a delightful metal tip selector with three tuning choices, reference for human voices, atmosphere for bass and foam for max isolation. In listening, I found the reference tips most desirable to my ear, both of the options from BQEYZ and third party. They provided the most balanced sound while the atmosphere tips provided a more bass focussed sound with even thinner treble and more laid-back vocals. Take my measurements above with a grain of salt, in reality, the tips also affect the fit depth and seal which can have a profound impact on the sound perceived by the listener. The foam tips were an acceptable compromise but overly attenuated the highs for my liking. The following comments will be using the reference tips.



Bass –

Colour me impressed, if you’re looking for power, depth and definition, the low end on the Spring 1 delivers – it’s clear this isn’t a generic dynamic driver implantation and the company has considered the acoustics around it. The low-end is on the more diffuse over coherent side due to a notable sub-bass focus and comparatively reduced mid-bass body. Regardless, this is for good reason as sub-bass has terrific extension, tightness and pressure, delivering visceral slam and defined rumble. Meanwhile, mid and upper-bass are both moderately enhanced just to a lesser degree, and demonstrate good linearity, producing a low-end with thick, bold notes while avoiding excessive warmth or tubbiness.

Driver quality is a high point for the Spring 1, with excellent driver control, keen attack and natural decay providing a handsome balance between pace and dynamics. The earphone’s driver control, in particular, goes far to rein in its bold notes, minimising the smearing of fine details and upholding as much separation as one would hope for given this level of fullness. This isn’t a hyper-fast BA low-end nor a perfectly linear and natural one, and it doesn’t retrieve detail as such with heavier and slightly more lingering notes. The Spring 1 rather delivers a powerful, rumbling bass with good technical ability and great dynamics for engagement over accuracy.



Mids –

In accordance with their W-shaped tuning, vocals are clean, clear and slightly smooth in presentation. They hold precedence over instruments within the midrange due to a lower-midrange dip that mitigates bass spill followed by wideband centre midrange emphasis. As there is no upper-midrange bias, vocals are brought forward but retain a reasonably natural tone. Instead, emphasis sustains linearly from 2KHz all the way through to 4KHz. The midrange, therefore, isn’t especially dense nor is it full-bodied, but provides excellent vocal extension in addition to high clarity while sibilance, thinness and sharpness are mitigated by a sharp trough in the lower-treble.


Vocals are, therefore, smoothly articulated with ample body derived from the midrange itself and a hint of euphonic warmth permeating from the upper-bass. Though a slightly more linear transition into the midrange would have yielded a more accurate timbre and note body, these traits work well in harmony; with bolstered vocal body and warmth counterbalancing enhanced vocal size and intimacy. Again, timbre isn’t nearly perfect and note resolution leaves to be desired. However, there are no immediate flaws in its presentation which cannot be said for a lot of budget hybrids. Simply put, the Spring 1’s midrange is well-balanced between male and female in addition to being layered, defined and natural in tone.



Highs –

Though we have a very small number of ceramic tweeter earphones, they all have a distinct sound, being emphasized around the middle-treble region, and providing thin but immaculately clean transients. Though the lowest cost-implementation I’ve heard, many of the same qualities can be observed here. Actually, I was relieved to see a laid-back lower-treble which may smooth off attack but also takes the sharpness and sibilance out of its presentation. To redeem clarity and crispness, there’s a modest peak around 7-8KHz that bolsters both air and detail presence. The background remains fairly clean nonetheless, as quantity diminishes quickly after. As this is a narrow peak, note body is thin though instruments such as cymbals retain nice texture if with somewhat truncated shimmer, while lacking hard-edged percussion due to the earphone’s lower-treble tuning.

What the ceramic driver provides here is immense cleanliness and agility within the foreground which translates to a focussed and resolving presentation. There’s also a touch of warmth in the treble which, in conjunction with excellent detail retrieval, makes this earphone a great choice for acoustic. They also suit rock where their clean transients control any brittle or splashy character. There’s a pleasing amount of air but little upper-treble sparkle and extension so the immaculate and resolving character of high-end ceramic IEMs is not present here. Nonetheless, micro-details are impressively abundant and the background is reasonably well-defined. Though not the most aggressive earphone, the ceramic driver retains a crisp, well-detailed image despite their smoother attack at the expense of distinctly thin note body.



Soundstage –

The Spring 1 provides a reasonably large stage that extends just beyond the head in terms of width and, despite its vocal presentation, is able to project pleasing depth too. As such, it presents a nicely rounded sound. Imaging is sharp if not perfectly coherent or accurate to my ears. Quick, clean treble transients permit sharp directional cues and strong directionality if not perfect precision to panning and transitions. Meanwhile, vocals maintain a strong centre image providing defined and distinct layering. The earphones possess strong separation on behalf of their controlled bass and W-shaped signature that heightens the distinction between each core frequency band in addition to high driver control and note body that generally errs on the slightly thinner side of neutral.



Driveability –

With a higher 43ohm impedance paired with a similarly high 108dB sensitivity, the Spring 1 is reasonably efficient in addition to being impressively agnostic to output impedance. In fact, comparing between my desktop JDS Atom setup with the 10-ohm Hiby R6 yielded very minimal differences to signature beyond the tone of the sources themselves. The Hiby has a touch warmer and smoother up top most notably due to a small difference within the upper-midrange; the Atom being a touch more forward, the Hiby more laid-back. The Spring 1 scales well with a bit of power, especially within the bass where control is noticeably improved alongside associated qualities of definition, detail retrieval and separation. Still, the Spring 1 is very forgiving of the source and a great choice for smartphone listeners due to its efficiency and stable signature.



Comparisons –


Moondrop Starfield ($109): The Moondrop is a legend in its price class, I haven’t seen such unanimous praise for a long time. By comparison, it is more linear and less dynamic with a generally smoother and more coherent voicing. Its low end lacks the same pressure but extends similarly well. The Spring 1 has more bass presence, especially sub-bass, and higher driver control with a lot more bass note definition and separation. The midrange is forward on both, more upper-midrange biased on the Starfield but also denser and more linear in transition from the bass. The Starfield has a slightly more natural voicing and a more accurate timbre as a result, possessing better balance between body, tone and density.

Contrarily, the Spring 1 has more vocal definition but is also less coherent with lower note resolution. The Starfield has a more linear top-end too, the Spring 1 has cleaner transients, more extension and resolution with superior detail retrieval. Meanwhile, the Starfield sounds more natural, its instruments have more body and texture alongside more coherent positioning within its stage. Both have similar soundstage expansion, the Spring 1 has a touch more width and better separation while the Starfield possesses more accurate imaging.

Final Audio E4000 ($140): The E4000 is a more L-shaped earphone with more bass emphasis and a laid-back top-end. The E4000 has more bass quantity overall, it has similar extension but less sub-bass bias, being more linear. As it has more mid and upper-bass presence, it is warmer and slightly fuller where the Spring 1 is cleaner in tone but also less natural sounding. Both have excellent driver control, the Spring 1’s cleaner tuning results in greater separation and definition, it has slightly sharper attack where the E4000 is smoother. The E4000 has more substantial vocals, with greater body and slightly more warmth.

It has similar definition but higher note resolution and better coherence. The E4000 sounds more natural and accurate in timbre while the Spring 1 has better separation and more defined layers. The Spring 1 has a crisper, thinner treble with a cleaner tone and sharper note attack. The E4000 has a warmer treble with a lot more body and greater texture. The E4000 has a darker background while the Spring 1 has better extension with more background detail retrieval and resolution. The E4000 has a slightly larger soundstage with more accurate imaging while the Spring 1 has a lot more separation.

Shozy CP ($170): The CP is another well-balanced offering around this price range, sporting an all BA setup. It has less substantial bass, the Spring 1 has a more quantity and extension, delivering a weightier, fuller presentation. The CP is much quicker decaying with tighter, punchier notes and more definition while the Spring 1 has bolder more naturally decaying notes with greater dynamics. Both have strong vocal presence, the CP is slightly more neutral where the Spring 1 is a touch forward. The CP also transitions more linearly into the midrange, so alongside greater upper-midrange bias, it has more clarity and similar body.

The CP is also a touch warmer from its upper-bass and sounds slightly more natural to my ear. Meanwhile, the Spring 1 has slightly higher vocal definition and separation, I also hear more defined layers especially due to its more resolving top-end. The CP has a small lower treble peak for clarity and energy, it has a crisper and sharper treble. Meanwhile, the Spring 1 is cleaner in its presentation, being less aggressive in the foreground but offering greater extension and slightly better resolution. The Spring 1 has a larger soundstage while the imaging is a bit more stable on the CP.

Hyla CE-5 ($940): Obviously no comparison is to be had regarding price, however, as one of the pioneers of piezoelectric tribrids, I felt it apt. The CE-5 offers slightly less bass quantity with better extension linearity between sub and mid-bass. It has higher driver control with more texture and detail retrieval, the CE-5 has better dynamics and a more natural note presentation. The CE-5 has a more forward midrange with greater upper-midrange bias. Neither are dense actually, the Spring 1 is a bit more natural here while the CE-5 has quite a sharp lower-midrange attenuation that can make it sound a bit thin and dry at times.

The Spring 1 has more body and isn’t quite as forward sounding, both are quite smooth due to lower-treble attenuation. Up top, the CE-5 has a crisper presentation with more aggressive attack. It is brighter overall but also a lot more detailed with higher resolution and stronger extension, even a good amount of sparkle. The Spring 1 has slightly more treble warmth and body, being smoother and more balanced but lacking the same transient cleanliness. The CE-5 provides a larger soundstage, neither have perfectly coherent imaging but the CE-5 has stronger directionality due to its keener treble transients.



Verdict –


To my ears, the hallmark of nailing an outstanding budget earphone is to make the listener forget that they’re listening to a budget earphone, not to convince the listener that they’re listening to a high-end one. In that sense, the market has come far, I’m seeing substantially more natural tonalities and less treble peakiness than before. I also have an ever-increasing repertoire of models where the former comment applies, as seen in my comparisons. The Spring 1 is a curious offering as it treads a fine line down the middle of the two. In terms of technical ability, the Spring 1 will likely fool many listeners, especially with regards to its stringently controlled bass and clean, resolving treble, there’s some proper design going on there. The tuning is also relatively balanced and quite mature if not especially linear or conventional. This earphone, therefore, isn’t for those wanting huge engagement and doesn’t suit those valuing timbre either. Rather, the Spring 1 excels in its careful modulation of both, delivering strong tri-frequency contrast balanced by a tasteful tone and natural midrange voicing.

The Spring 1 is available from on Aliexpress and HiFiGO (International) for $139 USD at the time of writing. I am not affiliated with BQEYZ, Aliexpress or HiFiGO and receive no earnings from purchases through this link.

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed my review, please see my website for more just like it!

Track List –

88rising – NIKI Acoustic Sessions

Eagles – Hell Freezes Over

Father John Misty – Pure Comedy

Jeremy Zucker – comethru

Joji – Sanctuary

Lauv – I met you when I was 18

Michael Jackson – XSCAPE

Post Malone – beerbongs & Bentleys

Rich Brian – The Sailor

Sun Rai – Pocket music

The Mamas & Papas – If You Can Believe Your Eyes & Ears

TALA – nothing personal

Yosi Horikawa – Wandering

Disclaimer: BQEYZ has graciously provided us with this sample unit in exchange for an honest review. The views discussed below are a reflection of Project A3's thoughts surrounding the product. The sample has been run-in for at least 50 hours prior to reviewing in order to achieve an accurate representation of the product.










Introduction:

BQEYZ is a relatively new start-up from Guangdong, ready to sink their hands into an already-expansive earphone market saturated with a multitude of all things porta-audio. Despite being “relatively” green, BQEYZ’s latest IEM, the Spring 1, has established its own loyal fanbase, as demonstrated by its glowing reviews on Head-fi.

Featuring a 3-driver structure, using a single piezo-electric driver, alongside a single dynamic driver and balanced armature on each side, the BQEYZ’s design utilizes all the drivers that are currently implemented in traditional IEM engineering; a showcase of the big three. The adoption of an assemblage of distinct drivers splits the entire audible spectrum amongst them, allowing the Spring 1 to accurately recreate music, just like how the artist intended for it to sound (In theory, at least).
But how does the Spring 1 fare against stiff competition? Available at Shenzhen Audio.


Specification:
● Triple Hybrid Driver- 13mm Dynamic driver, 1 Balanced Armature (ba) driver, 1 Piezoelectric driver
● Frequency: 7-40kHz
● Impedance: 43 ohms
● Cable Length: 1.2m
● Pin Type: 0.78mm 2-pin
● Pluge Type: 3.5mm

Gear Used & Tracklist:
Onkyo DP-X1 | Sony NW-A105 | Aune X1S | Periodic Audio Nickel (Ni) |



Unboxing:

The Spring 1 comes in a cardboard box with a black sleeve on the outside. Under the front lid, the Spring 1’s sits snugly on the top half of the box. The case is hidden from plain sight, hidden under a cardboard insert. The 2-pin detachable, 8-braided silver-plated copper cable and various silicon ear tips (with differing “signatures”) and a pair of foam tips.

While it doesn’t stray too far from a conventional package, the items provided in the box covers all the standard bases that we’ve come to expect from similarly priced offerings. Overall, a well-equipped offering by BQEYZ.

Scalability:

The Spring 1 is notoriously difficult to drive, no thanks to its piezo-electric driver which requires ample power for it to reveal its full potential. However, the Spring 1 sounds pleasant with most sources. The Spring 1 starts to open up, with a tauter bass response and cleaner midrange when driven by a powerful source, such as the Aune X1s.
On digital sources, such as the Sony Walkman NWZ-A15, I found myself increasing the volume substantially, at around 30+ extra steps to reach listenable levels. However, the bass sounds looser and more cavernous on weaker sources. Its dynamic range is limited by a lack of amplification.

Take note. The Spring 1 is a difficult earphone to drive. But when paired properly, this earphone a powerhouse.

It is also worth noting that I tested the Spring 1’s with the assortment of eartips provided in the package. The “Atmosphere” or “Reference” tips do little to change the sound-signature to my ears. But your mileage may vary.



Fit:

The Spring 1 is shaped like a leaf or tear drop. Despite its odd form factor, the aluminium shells sit well on my outer ear canal, with shallow to medium insertion depth. It is light weight and rests easy on the ears for long listening sessions. The satin-finish on the shells are uniform, with zero sharp-edges or noticeable blemishes.

The 8-braid cable is surprisingly supple and malleable, with little to no memory. It bends freely and is incredibly flexible, conforming well to the outer earlobe when worn.

Unfortunately, the Spring 1 does not seal well, failing to block out unwanted environmental noise in the surrounding area. The three pinhole-sized vents near the nozzle contravenes on its ability to passively isolate ambient noise. The constant hum emanating from a train engine easily overpowers the Spring 1.

If you’re looking for an earphone that shuts out the modern world, these are not well-suited for use in the outside world. Ambient noise is its downfall.

As discussed earlier in the "TLDR introduction", this earphone is not tailored to "reference heads" or people chasing the "Harman Response Curve". Warmth is the name of the game, and the Spring 1 does not shy away from what it set out to achieve. Natalia Lafourcade, juxtaposed by classical guitars sound intimate and "down to earth" on the Spring 1; a match made in heaven.







There isn't much to be said here, but if the Spring 1 wants to stand out further from the competition, it needs to have more headroom and space between instruments. However, the Spring 1 still displays great staging properties.



While it would be disingenuous to compare the Spring 1 to its much more expensive counterparts, the Spring 1 surprisingly sounds well-separated, with an excellent imaging prowess, considering its affordable price point. What’s more impressive, is its ability to sound coherent as well.

On Santa Esmeralda’s Don’t let me be misunderstood, the onslaught of instruments, ranging from electric guitars with hyper-modulated effects and blaring trumpets, each instrument still rings clear enough so as to be identified. Granted, it still requires a state of focus, but it is quite a feat for an earphone priced so affordably.



The Spring 1 is an “harmless earphone” that avoids triggering our delicate sensibilities. As a result, it is a “jack of all trades, but a master of none”.

However, I would say that songs soaked in reverb during production are perfectly complementary to the listening experience on the Spring 1. From 80’s new wave to late 2000’s dream pop, the Spring 1 is the “people’s earphone”, one that should satisfy most discerning listeners.

First these are built like tank with smooth finish. Nozzle is slightly larger in diameter so you really need Right tips to get the best out of these! It consists of 3 drivers 1 dynamic, 1 patented piezoelectric driver, 1 inhouse BA by BQEYZ.



Previously I have used many IEM's the worthy ones are Kanas Pro, Tequila 1, Fiio FH1, Blon, KZ AS10, TinT2, Tin T3, BQEYZ KB100 etc.. (My views are limited to these)

Paired with LG G7 and Tidal for music. These are 43ohm IEMs so you need better smart phone to power these to their actual potential. LG powers them quite well.

Tips : The default tips did not fit my ears! None of them. You need proper tips to get the bass and lower frequencies with this IEM. Finally Blon eartips came to the rescue. Spinfit CP100 has similar isolation but better comfort.

With the right tips, these sound incredible!



Bass :- These are not for bass heads who like Boat earphones or similar. For audiophiles, these go low (like 30hz) without muddying midrange. Bass is fast, quick like a closed bookshelf speakers with 8 inch well tuned woofer. (Kanas are like ported subwoofer). Bass is one of the finest i have heard after Tequila. Better than Tequila in fact! these don't over do mid bass. Attack is smooth, not hard like Tequila. Simply to put out bass comes when required and then it vanishes.

Mids :- Lush and very slightly laid back in a perfect way. Giving the required space for instruments to get separated from vocals. I have heard someone humming along with singer in many songs that i have never heard before with any other IEM's i have used! Vocals are perfect. Not too thick or not too thin. very rightly tuned! Vocals go just the same volume with instruments but separated !

Treble :- Very detailed, very fast, right amount with no sibilance. extends really well giving the air it needs! Kanas sounds little harsh compared to these. These are very smooth and soothing kind of treble with richness.

Soundstage :- These sound like open headphones! (I have DT990 Pro). Wide soundstage like you are in a open field surrounded with music instruments and singer right in front of you but along with instruments where artist placed them. It extends in depth, height like a holographic stage. Almost similar to Kanas but way better tuned because of treble. Blon sounds like music playing in a room. So you will get the wide signature but is limited to the room. Spring are like you are sitting in open field and sometimes music comes from places you wouldn't expect may be from next field no pun intended

Imaging :- These image like crazy! There are instances where i was listening to music and felt the singer is singing slight left to the center stage and I went to my monitors to check if this has balance issue but hell no! Actual voice has offset even in studio monitors !

Timbre : Very rich! My grand mother plays Veena, I have heard it in person so I know the timbre of actual instrument
these replicate it perfectly ! Its hard to get it in IEM atleast in the ones I've used!

These are very lush, rich, detailed, open, wide i have ever heard in IEMs i have used!

You can hear the anatomy of sound.. I have heard guitar plucks after song completes that i have never heard before! Its like you sit right next to the guitar player with ear next to the instrument! Same richness of instrument.

All three drivers are perfectly crossed at their frequencies.

well BQEYZ did it again ! With Spring 1

Hello everyone,

Here is my very short review of the BQEYZ Spring 1. Lots has been said about this IEM already. What follows is my 2 cents about these beautiful looking in-ears.

I bought my pair on AE for USD 115.- during the Black Friday. I think that the MSRP is around USD 139.-. I have no affiliation with BQEYZ.

I will pass on the technical aspects of this tribrid IEM, it has been covered more than once before. I solely will focus on the sound and comfort.

The Spring 1 are coming in a classic yet solid package, with seven pairs of tips, including 1x pair of foam. First thing I noticed is the flexible and solid cable. Then, looking at the IEMs themselves, I was positively surprised by the premium built quality. They look and feel great in reality. Pictures don't give them justice I think.






The stock tips weren't for me. I cannot get a firm seal with any of the provided "Atmosphere" or "Reference" tips. I choose the Final E-tips "clear", which allowed me to get a comfortable seal. The nozzle is pretty long and this IEM really is tips dependent.

Still, in terms of comfort and insertion, they are better option on the market, at any price point. It's not bad, but it certainly needs some fine tuning in order to sound good.

I listened to the Spring 1 with my DAP/amp combo Dethonray DTR1/HA-2. A powerful combo that easily drives the BQEYZ flagship.

My music genres are ranging from pop, ambient, classic rock, OST, electronic, dub, trip-hop, vocals. No classic or country. I like a slight darkish/warmish sound signature with enough details and air in the treble, nonetheless. I get that with the aforementioned source and my Final E5000 and Fibae Black. Even the Blon BL-03 sounds amazing with the Dethonray's stack.

It also makes a good pairing with the Spring 1. Bass is firm, with good impact. It's not basshead's levels, but it will be plenty sufficient for a lot of people liking a pounding bass with their Electronic or Hip-Hop. We are in presence of a slight U-shape sound signature, as the bass and the treble are elevated to the detriment of the mids, which are quite recessed and sometimes thin sounding with vocal tracks, especially with female vocalists. For example, listening to Kate Bush, Melody Gardot, Alison Goldfrapp, Agnes Obel or Tracy Chapman, just to name a few that comes in mind, I am missing some textures and richness in the mids. I like mine fuller and more forward than the ones offered by the Spring 1. The mids might be light, they remain clear and clean. No issue in that specific aspect. So, the mids are not bad per se, but I would have liked a more balanced or slight L-shape sound signature for that IEM.

The Spring 1 excels with Rock, Hip-Hop and Electronic of all kinds (Techno, Trance, IDM, Drone). The bass and the sparkly treble give you an impression of speed and immediacy that is really enjoyable with modern music genres.

The treble also can be smooth and the detail retrieval is impressive on the Spring 1. Treble is not harsh, but pronounced anyway. This is where people might disagree, maybe even more than with the mids. They remind a bit of my now sold Fearless S8F. I almost could call the Spring 1 a "baby" S8F, with a tad more bass and thinner mids.

Still, beware recordings that have been averagely recorded or poorly mastered. The sibilance is never far away and can even appear depending on the source you are using. For example, Elbow's "The Takeoff And Landing Of Everything" album is not a easy listen. Guy Garvey pushes the "Sssss" on some tracks a bit to much on this album and it is quite painful to hear it with the Spring 1. I don't experience that with such amplitude with my others IEMs. Julianna Barwick's "Magic Place" also represents a challenging listen at times. She has an angel voice and is able to go very high. The recording's quality is okay, but the high tones can get quite hot, when Julianna pushes her voice.



End words

The BQEYZ Spring 1 represents an interesting offering below USD 150.-. Cable is great, built quality is fantastic, but comfort could be better and needs to be improved with the tips available in the box.

Soundwise, I recommend this set to people who like a V-shape or U-shape sound signature, listening to modern music genres, where a potent bass and sparkly treble make the music shine. Amateur of male, but especially female vocalists, you might want to look elsewhere if you are into full, forward an/or emotional mids like I am.

I was hesitating to give them a 4.5 note, but the Chi-Fi game will be taken to the next level in 2020. A 4.25 would have been accurate, though.

The BQEYZ Spring 1 represent a good alternative and a nice addition to my small IEM collection. I will keep them for that and like them for what they are.

Thanks for reading.

A paper sleeved bookcase box. Contains a nice leatherette case, a good quality 8 core 3.5mm 2 pin 0.78mm cable (I think it is silver-plated copper), a metal carded selection of “atmosphere” and “reference” silicone tips and a pair of wide bore foam tips. An exercise in economic yet luxurious packaging.





The earpieces themselves are rather slippery matt black powdered aluminium. The styling is tasteful and restrained with gold detailing. The 2 pin sockets are flush. There are 2 vents on the medial surface. The tribrid design (single piezoelectric, BA and dynamic drivers) is harder than some to drive (43 Ohm) thus some smartphones may struggle to get the best out of these. I burnt them in for 100 hours and definitely heard a difference. I started with my trusty biflange CP240 Spinfits but found that the bass was attenuated, along with some mid-bass bleed and sharpening of the treble. Generic wide bore foams worked a treat and allowed the Spring 1 to shine. The earpieces fit my ears well and are not heavy or uncomfortable.


iBasso DX220, AMP1Mk2, AMP8, High gain, filter 3, Mango OS
Effect Audio Ares 8W, Electro Acousti Cu/AgAu 8W, Fearless Audio 7N SPC 8W, NiceHCK 16-3, Noble 8W OCC.
The Spring 1, all hardware and cabling are my own.




The best all-round cable was copper – balanced or unbalanced (apart from the Ares, see below). The sub-bass is controlled and full, with no mid-bass bleed. The mids are natural and neutral. Both female and male vocals have body and a great timbre. The treble is a treat – clear but never shrill or sibilant. A real joy to listen to – non-fatiguing, musical and lively. I found that the Ares was drier in tone, with less sub-bass but crucially the vocals felt a little nasal. The highs were crystal clear with beautiful separation and definition though. I suppose the Ares was partway between a copper and SPC cable in nature. This has been the case with most other IEMs I have tried (with the exception of the Empire Ears Studio Reference). The Fearless imparted neutrality with a little bass kick but overall a flatter, more reference sound. The stock SPC was tonally similar to the Fearless but with less definition and control. The hybrid widened the soundstage but overaccentuated the sub-bass to a point where it became loose and flabby. The mids and highs were sweetened and perhaps a little over soft.




AMP8 has a wide soundstage and an energetic nature. Using the Ares and NiceHCK the mid-bass and vocals become more controlled and detailed but remain natural with the mids staying fairly neutral. Paradoxically there is a thickness to the sub-bass. The overall timbre is a little leaner and there is a crispness to the treble that is bordering on sizzly for some tracks. The Noble 8W has a remarkably natural timbre across the sound spectrum; there is body and power to the bass, slightly warm mids and vocals with sweetened but detailed highs. The hybrid works really well here, promoting a full and lush bass, juicy, detailed mids and vocals and transparent highs. The Fearless made the bass sturdy but far too boomy. The mids were hollowed and vocals felt a little thin. Overall a darker sound than pure copper but……




I carefully removed the grill and baffle material with a needle and replaced it with a standard 5mm self-adhesive mesh grill. Immediately I noticed an improvement in the sound across all cables and AMP modules – clearer, more defined bass, mids and vocals were brought forward into balance, highs were tonally correct but were edging towards piercing with the exception of the Fearless with AMP1. This is a simple but effective adjustment that is crucial to unlocking the Spring 1s full capabilities.

The Ares was not a harmonious member of this particular triumvirate: too analytical and lean to be enjoyable in the long term.
AMP1: Without grill mod: Non-Ares copper. With grill mod: SPC (Fearless > stock)
AMP8: Without grill mod: Non-Ares copper or hybrid. With grill mod: hybrid.
A warmer source / cable is likely to favour the Spring 1.



The Spring 1 is a good earpiece at this price point and I feel that it has the technical ability and quality to punch above its weight. However, it is a shame that the stock grill/baffle muffles the bass and removing it makes the treble borderline shrill. Somewhere in-between would be ideal. I hope BQEYZ spend a little more time tuning the next tribrid because what they have done here shows real promise. Careful partnering, tip choice and grill modification are required for the Spring 1 to realise its potential: it falls just shy of greatness.

BQEYZ Spring 1 Review - Affordable sensation

I'm sure most of the budget audiophiles are already aware that BQEYZ is the rising sun in the IEM market. Their affordable yet high-quality IEMs have been leading a good amount of audiophiles to share good impressions about it. Yet in the beginning, I wasn't so confident about the brand. Its somewhat odd naming made me repulsive along with a thought that this would be one of those many Aliexpress IEMs that are mediocre on its max. Though in the end, I have got to have Spring 1 as my first BQEYZ experience and realized my sloppy guesses were wrong. Let us now get into details and see how this one really is.

Packaging

Spring 1 comes in with neat packaging and quality accessories. The outer cover is nicely designed containing specs on the sides and back. The inner box could have used more design elements or creativity, but no big deal. Other than the earpieces, the package includes a stock cable, 3 pairs of "atmosphere" eartips, 3 pairs of "reference" eartips, a metal tray (for organizing the eartips), a pair of foam tips, a cable tie, a carrying case, and some paperwork.

These two types of eartips present a consistent yet with a slight difference, the "atmosphere" eartips having more clarity and focus to the sound while the "reference" eartips sound more opened and less intensive. The included case is made of hard leather and feels sturdy. Overall, I am impressed with the choice of accessories.





Earpieces

Spring 1 is exceptionally interesting due to its tribrid driver setup. It sports a large 13mm dynamic driver for the lows, a customized single balanced armature for the mid/highs, and a 7 layer piezoelectric super tweeter for the ultra highs. We don't get to see a tribrid setup on a sub $100 price tag so often, but all that matters is the sound and let's get that checked later down below on the part for the sound impression. The earpieces are terminated in 0.78mm CIEM 2pin sockets. The fitting is very nice with a moderate weight and insertion depth, so the chances are low for having any fitting issues with these.

The earpieces are fully made of CNC'd aluminum, finished with a highly refined black coating, and gold anodizing on the edge of the faceplates to give that diamond-cut design. Having matte black as the base color and a touch of golds on the faceplates and nozzles give quite a stylish look. I'd like to point out how the surface coating process has been well done - the textures are refined and smooth without any grainy bits or inconsistency. The manufacturing process sure seems to be at a higher level than other metal housing IEMs with similar price tags.





Cable

The included cable is a nice one, made of 8-braided silver-plated copper and works out nicely with the IEM's sound. All parts from the plug to the 2pin sockets are all made of metal with tightly twisted wires without any loosen wires or messed-up braidings. Although the 2pin sockets on the earpieces are half-recessed, the 2pin connectors on the cable are designed to fit fully-recessed sockets as well which is nice.





Sound impression - Ultra lows, upper lows

Spring 1 presents a w-shaped signature with mids pulled closer to the ears. Bass has a firm and speedy thud with decent depth. Ultra lows aren't particularly highlighted in quantity or reverb, though it has a vivid presence and dark enough in color. So no, the lower ends don't feel empty or lacking in extension but rather have a stout yet very clear background while keeping the bass reasonably flat. Upper lows show more bass quantity, similar to typical mildly v-shaped IEMs. There's a more generous amount of reverbs available here, but only to the point where the atmosphere doesn't get muddy.

Thanks to the large 13mm dynamic driver, the bass generates quite a large and wide imaging. The density is thick and the upper lows dive deep enough with good liveliness. I'm mildly amazed to see such a large dynamic driver bring out sufficient liveliness and density without an additional amplifier. The weight of the bass is centered on the lower side, staying well condensed and also prevents the upper lows from going honky or superficial. Overall, Spring 1 keeps the bass controlled with an appropriate amount of reverbs and quantity, without losing depth or power.





Sound impression - Mids

Mids are clear and forward, pulled close to the ears. Its splendid and vibrant vocals are one of the highlights from Spring 1. Lots of colors are getting presented on the vocals with much air throughout the mid-range. It has an elevated presentation which is the weight of the vocals being centered slightly on the upper side.

Despite that, the mids are densely packed with fine texture and feels thick all the way from the lowest mids to the upper mids. Vocals continue a dense, creamy tone until the upper mids where the brightness gradually and mildly increases with stronger transparency and a crunchier texture. This adds a cool breeze to the sound with a bit of an open-field experience. Other than the small peak on the upper mids, the vocals stay reasonably stable throughout the frequency.





Sound impression - Overall / sonic characteristics

There are many things that could be messed up from an IEM containing different types of drivers - such as coherence, imaging, tone, and so on. Let's first talk about coherency. Mids here sounds impressively coherent considering the tribrid setup and its price. Each driver is actively taking roles in the sound without breaking down or spreading out everywhere.

Next is imaging. Spring 1 presents that fun, energized 3D-presentation we usually get from hybrid/tribrid IEMs. The layerings are visibly boosted, highlighting the distance and depth between each layer. Though this happens within the boundaries where the positional accuracy wouldn't get harmed. It's not an IEM with the most razor-sharp accuracy, but the majority of users who have good experience with hybrid IEMs would, in fact, find this sound signature pleasing.

Lastly, the tone. The tone has some coloration due to its vivid nature, however just as mentioned above, nothing to the point where it's considered excessive. The coloration is applied to give a delightful taste and style, not to distort the music itself. I am quite sensitive when it comes to coloration and tonality, yet Spring 1 was able to reason with me quite nicely.





Sound impression - Highs, etc.

Unlike electrostatic (EST) tweeters, piezoelectric tweeters have a huge advantage in two ways. First, the price is uncomparably cheap. Second, it doesn't require as much power as EST. The energetic and shiny attitude from the upper mids nicely continues to the highs but with a more organic and softer manner. It's a cute, feminine type of treble where it sports a slimmer thickness and pays attention to all sorts of little tingles and rattles. However, note that this is just the tendency that Spring 1 shows and doesn't mean trebles lack power or hardness, as it would do its job when a song requires to play in a tough and punchy manner.

Highs possess a good amount of air and stretch up towards the ultra highs stably and easily. The headroom is quite on the larger side. The large dynamic driver creates a generously wide and deep background with spatial mids and well-stretching highs. Separation is outstanding for the price, having very small detail analyzed and distinguished.





Eartips Cable matching

While Spring 1 produces a fair amount of bass, those who need powerful punchy bass may be better to seek for different eartips and cables. Spring 1's stock cable is SPC, which I found to be contributing to its rather flat and elevated sound signature. Pairing with either a pure copper cable or a GPC cable would most likely provide you enough bass quantity and reverbs to fill up the lower ends even more. I wouldn't recommend pure silver cables as the upper frequencies could easily get overpowered. SPC cables could be a mixed bag of beans, as some would certainly bring a better match while others could get the sound too overpowered.

Stock eartips are in fact very nice, with the narrow one having a slightly more solid and clearer focus to the sound while the other one creating a more wide, relaxed, and open-air presentation. Though my favorite eartip selection was JVC Spiral Dots as it brought out the bass with both depth and wideness, as well as having that open-air presentation on both mids and highs.





Verdicts

I'm surprised by BQEYZ. Lacking company background info and having a tribrid setup for such price gave me lots of doubts about the quality, yet Spring 1 thoroughly lives up to the expectations and should also do for the majorities. If you're into those fun, spacious, and 3D presentation that often comes from hybrid IEMs and want to step up the game, Spring 1 is going to be a rock-solid choice in a long term. I'd gladly keep my eyes on this brand and look forward to powerful yet affordable products they'll present us in the future.

Specifications

• Driver units: 13mm coaxial dynamic driver + 7 Layers piezoelectric + balanced armature
• Impedance: 43Ω
• Sensitivity: 108dB
• Frequency: 7 Hz - 40 KHz
• Cable Length: 1.2m
• Pin Type: 0.78mm 2 Pin
• Plug Type: 3.5mm

Price: U$ 139.

Available in Black or Blue colors

Purchased directly from BQEYZ official store.

Spring 1 store product page.


Design

The Spring 1 combines very good build quality, ergonomics and aesthetics. The shells are all made of aluminum and look sturdy enough. They consist of three parts, two on the main shell and extra one for the nozzle, everything well attached with an excellent smooth finish. The metallic light blue color does look nice too, though the all black cable does not match that well. ‘BQEYZ’ and ‘Spring 1’ are printed on right and left sides, respectively. In the inner side of the shells there appear to be like three vents but even so there is a little of driver flex noise that can be heard when adjusting the earphones.

The shells have a good ergonomic and compact shape on them and fit comfortable enough, and the aluminum material is very light to be noticed. The shape is very similar to the iBasso IT01/IT01s, but the Spring 1 are just a little heavier. The included ear tips are not good and make very difficult to achieve a proper sea, reducing the sound quality noticeable. Isolation is below average with the stock tips, but extra tips can improve fit and isolation; the nozzle is of standard width and holds the tips properly so tip rolling is not a problem.
Cable is very nice, an 8-core setup, all braided from the 3.5mm plug up to the right and left sides. The pins are standard 0.78 2-pin type what makes it more universal and versatile if you want to try different cables or get the IEMs driven by a balanced output. The cable is soft, though with the eight strands it becomes rather thick and a touch heavy. All the plugs and y-split are well covered by metal parts, as well as the cable slider. Overall, it looks more like an ‘upgrade’ cable than a stock one.
Sound Quality

Sources: iBasso DX220/160, HiBy R5/R6 Pro, FiiO M6/M5.

The Spring 1 is the current flagship from BQEYZ, and while their sub $100 budget models were set in a typical hybrid configuration of dynamic and balanced armatures, this new product takes a new setup of three type of drivers of one single dynamic, one balanced armature and a new piezoelectric driver which is supposedly arranged in a new hybrid format along with the dynamic driver. Not sure which driver is in charge for what frequency range, but regardless, the quality and final tuning are very good.

The presentation is very balanced and well weighted and also very detailed for the price, matching even more expensive earphones. Accuracy and high control are also very present, though some fun factor and musicality are missing. Interestingly, despite what the impedance rate of ~40 ohm may suggest, the Spring 1 is not particularly difficult to drive. Moreover, it proves to be very little source dependent in terms of signature, much less than many other hybrid IEMs I’ve tried regardless their price range.

The sound is presented in a very slight v-shaped way. The elevation in both lows and highs is small but noticed, and more on the midrange which is not more than just neutral at most. Bass balances quantity and quality very well, definitely north of neutral yet nothing too warm or thick. It is punchy, effortless, quick and very nicely layered. Sub-bass is a shier next to the mid-bass but still does not have too much of impact or rumble, though very well defined. Dynamics are impressive, and bass depth is as good; just missing in the lowest notes extension and texture, but otherwise a well achieved bass response.

The midrange is very clean, airy and free of bass bleed. Practically neutral, and maybe too neutral not having enough warmth or fullness on notes. It is not too dry but liquid and more cool in tonality, crispy and airy without any emphasis on low or upper mids. Instruments are sharply separated and accurately positioned. Vocals are less impressive; surely very detailed, but lack the fullness and sweet texture. There is a slight tilt towards the upper midrange not to throw the balance off but does give a bit of sharper and not completely smooth, sibilance free midrange.

The treble is more forward than the midrange and even a little bit more than the bass. The frequencies’ balance is well kept and the Spring 1 is anything but dull or off sounding. Treble is energetic, sparkly and very clear. While it may follow a bright signature it is nothing overwhelming or tiring kind of treble. Control is very high and presents a good sense of air, though can be a bit sharp.

Detail retrieval is excellent on the Spring 1 and fortunately it does not have that too analytical character. The presentation is fairly spacious and the stage dimensions scale well accordingly to the source used. For instance, the sound is pretty wide and open with the iBasso DX220 (Amp1 Mk2), even just out of the standard 3.5mm end.


Comparisons

iBasso IT01s

On the IT01s, the sound is smoother, less lively and less sharp than the Spring 1. Bass quantities are similar but the IT01s is thicker and less tight. Speed attack is on par; more decay on the IT01s and more depth on the Spring. Midrange is more bodied, sweeter and more forward on the IT01s, while the Spring being leaner and more neutral shows more accuracy and micro detail. Vocals are very enjoyable on the IT01s but instruments are airier and sharper on the Spring 1. Treble is bright on both; though the IT01s is a bit more low-treble focused and still more forgiving, whereas the Spring is more linear, better layered and sharper. With a leaner, less forward midrange the Spring 1 can sound more spacious, when the IT01s is just more musical.


Final E5000

The E5000 may have just a single and, rather small, dynamic driver and yet manages to impress with a powerful and large sound presentation. With the relatively low sensitivity for an IEM, the E5000 needs extra driving power to sound best, but then it manages to impress, nonetheless. The low-end is forward, powerful and large; control is just right and nicely layered. Midrange is not as forward but yet full and very engaging, with smooth and still sparkly energetic treble. The Spring 1 has a sharper v-shaped sound and less broad stage. It is nothing as thick as the E5000 and it is quicker and accurate. Sub-bass falls short in extension or rumble. Midrange is thinner and drier, but also cleaner. Treble is brighter and less forgiving, and micro details are more forward.


FLC 8n

The FLC 8n sound strongly depends on the filter used, so it is difficult to compare both earphones in their signature. However, these are two IEMs that are very capable in their sonic technical abilities that perform very high within each price range and above, be it in detail, control and precision of the sound. The FLC 8n does sound better and more ‘correct’ than the Spring 1 with better imaging and treble extension, though the bass quality is not too far from the FLC’s.


Akoustyx R-210

The R-210 is a more traditional IEM with just an updated TWFK dual BA from Knowles. As such, the R-210 is bass shy and limited, but has a forward, flat to bright and too liquid midrange. Treble is simply much brighter, very aggressive with a bit ‘hot’ lower treble peak that while very detailed it is more tiring to listen. The Spring 1 may still be bright but certainly more forgiving. Soundstage is better rounded on the Spring 1 too, has more depth and space, while the R-210 is airier and effortless.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The BQEYZ is well-resolving, largely neutralish 3-driver hybrid with a slightly boosted and slow low end that competes with a wonderfully lively and accurate midrange and a pleasant treble.


SPECIFICATIONS

• Impedance: 43 Ω
• Sensitivity: 108 dB
• Cable Length: 1.2m (no mic included)
• Pin Type: 0.78mm-2 Pin
• Driver units: 13mm Coaxial dynamic driver+7 Layers piezo electric+Balanced armature
• Tested at: $139

PHYSICAL THINGS AND USABILITY

The earpieces are small despite their 3 drivers and are ergonomically pleasing. Fit it great, they were comfortable for hours, but the seal is only soso (I tested them on the airplane between Houston and Rio de Janeiro). Haptic is great, the earpieces are made of metal with a matte coating and feel pleasant between my fingers. Build quality is as good as it could be and the included storage case is sturdy and roomy. The cable is the typical but good $10-15 fare, it is pliable and therefore does not have to be “upgraded”. The nicely presented included tips turned out to be useless for me: the narrow bores produced an overly muffled sound and the wide bores a flat, bassless sound. I blame the combination of my monster ears and the thin silicon membranes for this. A set of low-cut wide bores that came with the NiceHCK M6 solved the problem. Because of their high resistance, the Spring 1 need some juice but can still be driven with an iPhone SE. I occasionally used it with the Audioquest Dragonfly das/amp but this added quite a bit of bass that helped congest the lower end.




TONALITY AND TECHNICALITIES

The bad first: the bass, the bass, the bass: it is mostly slow and wooly and not very articulate. It can be like a “hardening mousse” when the music is naturally bassy (or when using a bassy source such as the Audioquest Dragonfly dac/amp connected to my iPhone). And, once again, in this case, 70 hours to “break-in” made no difference. The extension into the sub-bass is ok, but the upper bass can bleed into and congest the lower midrange, and it reduces the image’s clarity. Although the extension could be better, the sub bass is fairly well focused. Others may achieve different low-end perception with different tips/ear canals. The robust low end, however, can be trained by using the right equipment. My ears got used to it after a while.


FR response by Durwood. The 8 kHZ peak is forced by the insertion depth into the coupler.

Midrange is the star: clear and clean with a good weight, and more so when no strong bass is present in the music, e.g. when a guy plays the piano. Vocals, male and female, are dense, intimate, and wonderfully sculptured. And — the upper midrange is tastefully dosed, high piano notes are focused, crisp, and clean…and not shrill, shouty, or piercing. Good tuning in the midrange, where my money typically is. As a downside of the well-behaved upper midrange, the bass appears borderline overbearing and boomy, as our ears hear the whole frequency spectrum in context.

Treble is also a bit dialled back, the piezos are quite moderate…cymbals have a reasonably natural attack and decay but can be a bit behind…which does not bother me. The BQEYZ Spring 1 is certainly not a treble forward iem.

To the technicalities: dynamics/speed (“the punch”) are quite natural (and not overdone), and timbre is ok (considering there are BAs involved). Imaging is great, too: spatial cues and definition (except in the bass) are exceptional. Soundstage has good width, height, and depth, with a healthy breath of air.

What you really should take with you from the above description is that the Spring 1 is a well resolving and neutralish iem from the midrange up, but could do with a bit of a more refined low end…which is somewhat a matter of taste. Some may actually really like it as it is.


CONCLUDING REMARKS

First, I didn’t like the BQEYZ Spring 1 at all for its thick low end. But when discovering its other qualities such as the great midrange, definition, and imaging, and its physical advantages such as its comfort and fit owing in part to the small size of the earpieces, I got somewhat attracted to it. I was on a business trip to Rio de Janeiro when I wrote much this review and thank my Brazilian friends for their inspiration.


DISCLAIMER

I had asked BQEYZ for a review unit after reading the reviews of others and thank them for it.

INTRO:-
All of us who are interested in budget chi-fi earphones must have heard about BQEYZ, pronounced BQ eyes, they are one of the most popular chi-fi brands in the market. With earphones like KB100, KC2 and K2 they have a very good reputation among budget audiophiles. Most of their earphones hover in the range of $30 to $70 with a hybrid setup inside them, delivering good amount of bass, nice details and hell lot of value for money.

With the Spring1 they have ventured into a considerably more expensive price bracket where none of its competing value for money brands dares to trade in. The Spring1 houses a 13mm dynamic driver along with a 7 Layers piezoelectric driver and a Balanced Armature driver. They haven't specified the crossover of drivers or which driver is for which part of the spectrum though.

The Spring 1 come in two color schemes, Black gold and Blue gold and is priced at $139. Being the Flagship IEM of BQEYZ the Spring 1 faces tough competition from Moondrop KXXS, TSMR 2 and even the last generation earphone like Brainwavz B400 and simgot EN700 pro are giving it tough times.



Specifications:

1. Item：Spring 1

2. Dynamic Driver: 13mm

3. Impedance: 43Ω

4. Sensitivity: 108dB

5. Frequency: 7-40KHz

6. Cable Length: 1.2m

7. Pin Type: 0.78mm-2 Pin

8. Plug Type: 3.5mm

9. Driver units: 13mm Coaxial dynamic driver+7 Layers piezo electric+Balanced armature

9. Mic: Without

You can get one for yourself from this link:-

https://www.aliexpress.com/i/4000122244534.html

Let's run through the Spring1 and its contemporaries and see how they stand against each other.

WHAT YOU GET OUT OF THE BOX:-

The Spring1 comes in a tidy looking retail box and a simple packaging style. All the accessories including the cable are placed inside the bigger than average carry case. It has plenty of space for to carry the earphone around.

Even when it is priced considerably more than their best selling earphones the Spring1 doesn't ship with a lot of tips. There is a set of two types of tips in S/M/L sizes. The atmosphere tips favor bass and reference set of tips are self explanatory. There is one pair of foam tip in M size but it doesn't fit my ear sadly, I would have liked a large size Foam tip, just for versatility.

The informative leaflet and a cable tie complete the list of accessories.











HOW IS THE CABLE :-

The cheaper earphones from BQEYZ come with a generic cable used by many chi-fi brands but the Spring1 ships with an eight core upgrade cable. It is one of the best cables that ships with earphones under $150. The build quality seems very strong and feels good in hand. There is some heft to it but it is not bothering at all.

The quality of the cores is good. There is a nice layer of rubber on them, it is supple and doesn't have much microphinics too. The braiding is tight, not as tight as the Penon OS849 but is slightly tighter than the BGVP VG4 stock cable.

The Spring1's stock cable compliments it nicely, giving it a premium feel. It is one of the good cables that ships with earphones under $300, earphone priced at $1000+ like InEar StageDiver SD5 too ship with an inferior cable, there are barely anything better in its own price bracket.



HOW IS THE BUILD and COMFORT:-

Just like every other BQEYZ earphone, the build quality of the Spring1 is very good. Where most of the earphones in this price range ship with plastic or resin shells the Spring1 ships with metal shell. Made out of solid pieces of aluminum it is slightly on the heavier side of the spectrum but the slight heft is not bothering and don't fall out of the ear easily. Thanks to the metal build it is one of the strongest earphones in this price range, it can take a lot of beating without incurring any damage to it.

It doesn't have a very ergonomical design to it, most of the earphones in this price range don't have this either but a bit of an inner wing design would have made is a even more comfortable. The size of the ear-piece is not very large and easily fits inside the ear and will fit most of the users without any problem.

The design is slightly different than what we see with most of the earphones, the nozzle of the Spring1 has a different angle compared to what the industry follows. This does help in getting a slightly better fit inside ear.

The nozzle itself is deep enough and gives a nice and secure feeling inside the ear. One will find three vents on the inside of the earphone shell, I don't know why three (one for dynamic driver, one for piezoelectric driver). You can use T400 and T500 size tips on the nozzle.

The Spring1 doesn't out do its price range when it comes to comfort but still makes things better than others.







HOW DOES THIS SOUND:-

The Spring1 houses 3 type of drivers. I can make it out that the dynamic driver is for bass as usual but cannot put my finger what the BA and Piezoelectric drivers are responsible for. It seems that it has an open chamber design and the BA driver is placed in the nozzle.

The triple hybrid earphone has a very interesting sound output which is barely seen in this price range. The bass is very deep with good amount of sub-bass and manages itself to keep away from being over powering or a bit dull. The mid range takes the back seat with a less forward presentation and the treble region delivers a very good amount of energy and spark. What makes the Spring1 stand out of the competition is its sound stage which is bigger than anything in this price range.

The overall sound signature of the Spring1 is neutral with a bit of warmth with the bass. The tonality could have been a bit more accurate though, especially vocals could have been more accurate.

Burned for more than 100hrs, I am using my Plenue R with Creative Sound Blaster and stock tips for this review.



TECHNICALITY AND MATCHABILITY:-

The Spring1 has an Impedance rating of 43ohm and the sensitivity of 108 makes it ask for good amount of power. Most of the mobile phones will struggle to drive it to listenable volumes without reaching more than 80% volume. Driving it out of a mobile device makes it loose a good chunk of details and treble stage get very clumsy. It is not advised to use the Spring1 out of a mobile phone, 99% of them are unable to provide it with good amount of power. Unless driven properly the Spring1 exhibits good amount of sibilance, feed it or it will bite.

Using DAPs even like Sony A35 will extract good amount of details out of it.

The Spring1 responds pretty well to EQs, if you think you need a bit more oomph, just tunes it to your liking.

BASS:-

The 13mm dynamic driver responsible for the lower section does a fantastic job. I would have been very happy with this type of lower end even from a $300 earphone. It has very good amount of details and texture to it. The lower end is more forwardness when compared to the mid range, giving the Spring1 its V shaped signature.

The 13mm driver moves very good amount of air and the slam is very punchy. The impact is very pleasing and makes the note enjoyable. Coming from BA based earphones, I am really liking this thump. The sub-bass extension is fantastic, it has very good amount of rumble to it and the size of it is very good. Mid bass is bigger than the sub-bass giving the lower end a fuller feeling. Upper treble has very good amount of energy and details to it. The overall size of the lower end is not huge but is nicely rounded.

Decay speed of the 13mm driver is aptly paced. It is not very fast like the BA earphones and is not very loose like BGVP DMG either. Even with the big 13mm dynamic driver the level of control shown by the Spring1 is very good. It doesn't let the notes get out of their character while maintaining very good amount of details and texture.

Changing the Atmosphere tips or say bass tips to reference tips does bring the bass to a more leveled situation with the mid range. Only the quantity and slam size is affected, effecting with slightly faster decay with everything else being more or less the same.

MID RANGE:-

BQEYZ hasn't specified which driver is doing what but looking at the tonality and lack to forwardness intrigues me to say that it is the piezoelectric driver but I will not like to make it a statement on it. Whatever driver is responsible for the mid range, it manages to deliver good amount of details along with a bigger than average stage size.

Even when the energy gradually decreases from the upper mid range to lower mid range the transition section feels fairly smooth and has maintained good amount of details and energy.

As I have stated earlier, the vocal section is not very accurate with tonality. My last review subject, the Inear SD5 is a prolific performer when it comes to vocals accuracy and clarity but is placed at $1000+. Even when compared to TSMR 2 and BGVP VG4 the Spring1 sounds slightly metallic and a bit splashy, hisses feel very vivid. George Barnett - Reflection does induce some peaks here. In general the male vocals have marginally sharper notes body but have good amount of texture and details to them. Female vocals on the other hand doesn't have that type of extra sharpness to it, they more accurate tonality and notes body. The overall vocal section is good, but could have been more refined.

Like the male vocals, instruments too have some over attack to them. The shine with a peaky end to them makes it uncomfortable for those who are sensitive to hot notes. Surprisingly the upper mid range is not hot, it maintains good amount of balance and doesn't have more peaks or attack than the rest of the mid range. The level of micro details and transparency is good in its place but not as good as something like the TSMR 2.

What really good is the stage size. It feels really spacious and there is very good amount of air between instruments. It feels very open. Sonic abilities of the Spring1 are fantastic, far better than BA based earphones in this price range. Thanks to this layering and separation is very good.

Changing the tips to reference tips make the mid a bit more forward with little to no changes to it anything else.

HIGHS:-

Just like the upper bass to lower mid transaction, the transition from upper mid range to lower treble region is very good. There is good amount of energy and fairly less disturbing elements compared to the mid range.

The treble region has very good amount of spark to it. The extension is fantastic too, there is very good amount of energy until the end. The level of transparency could have been marginally better, it lacks uniformity too, some notes have more bite than others. It has good amount of details but the level of micro details leaves a bit more to be desired.

There are occasions of sibilance here. After a long long time I am seeing this type of peaks. Treble heads!! Assemble!! Thanks to the big stage size, layering and separation is very good with good amount of air between instruments.

Even though the highs are good with energy and spark to them, they could have been more uniform with imaging.

( P.S. :- To shed some sharpness, use the reference tip)

COMPARISONS:-

VS Mee MX4 pro:- ($199)

The Mee audio MX4 pro is priced considerably more than the Spring1 but shares a few things with it. First of them is the sound signature and tonality.

The dynamic driver of the MX4 delivers a very similar type of bass, plenty of sub-bass but lacks a bit of body. The mid range is a bit similar but has better tonality and has no sibilance of any type. Stage size is good but is more in the head. Treble feels a bit dull with a bit of lack of extension it is not really up to the Spring1.

Both the earphones have similar amount of details, but the MX4 pro has more uniform transparency and has no peaks at all.









VS Simgot EN700 pro:- ($169)

The EN700 pro houses a single dynamic driver and is fairly similar to the Spring1 with its signature.

It deliver more or less similar sub-bass rumble but has bigger size. The mid bass is slightly more forward than the Spring1 and feels more fuller. Mid range has better control and notes have slightly better tonality. Vocals don't have sharpness. No vocal sibilance here. Extension of the treble region is slightly lacking and has slightly less energy too. Stage size is slightly smaller than the Spring1.

Level of details is similar but the Spring1 does better with micro details and transparency.

VS Brainwavz B400 :- ($169)

The 4BA earphone has been one of the best earphones for under $200.

It has considerably smaller bass impact and is thinner in comparison. The extension too is a bit lacking. Decay speed is better. Mid range has no peaks what so ever, it sounds cleaner and clearer with more appropriate notes depth. Vocals are similar with tonality but has no unnecessary sharpness to them. Treble is marginally dull. Stage size is considerably smaller.

Overall level of details is similar.

CONCLUSION:-

The Spring1 is a very capable earphone, the sound quality is very good, it has good amount of details, an impressive stage size and very good treble extension. It is one of the most detailed earphones in this price range of under $150. The Spring1 is a fantastic choice for those who like shining notes, good amount of bite and are not afraid of peaks.

For the rest, the extra bit of sharpness can be a bit uncomfortable. The evenness of notes depth has to be addressed too.

If they can do that, the Spring1 will be the Best earphone one can but for under $150. It is a good earphone even without those changes but it does leave a bit to be desired specially with notes sharpness.

I hope you guys had a nice time.

Cheers!!

Hi everyone!

Finally, After burn in these gems and have many sessions I have decided to write my review about this Spring 1.
BQEYZ are like the dark horse from chifi world, they may not as famous as other familiar chinese IEM makers but their line up are great.
Seriously from my opinion they deserved more attention, their product sounds mature and smooth.
The BQEYZ Spring 1 are built with triple hybrid drivers per side, with 13mm DD for low end, a BA for midrange and more hi-tech 7 layers piezo electric drivers to handle upper end.
This little beauty is sold at $139 as suggested retail price but I got a special discount from BQEYZ that time. The early adopter discount has ended by now but you may
ask for a little bit discount to them.

BQEYZ official website/shop : https://bqeyz.aliexpress.com/store/4997112?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.33644c4d1QLqQE



ABOUT ME :
Im just a 36 years old fan of this ocean of audiophile hobbyist, not an audio job professional person,
starting this hobby since around 15 years ago, heard and had many iems, have been settled with Sony IER M7 currently but still getting chifis as a hobby like you do.
I'm writing this review just to share with this community, I dont have any affiliate with any certain brands, nor the BQEYZ itself.
I'm not good with fancy words and sorry in advance for my bad english, but trying my best to give an honest, non-biased review, putting
aside "new toy effect" as could as possible. Please do remember that every person can have different opinion, different taste, and different preferences, and one for sure I could be wrong to in terms of hearing, perception, or personal taste.
My favorites music genres are pop-jazz, vocal, classics, pop-rock, pop, jazz, big band, j-pop, blues, soul but sometimes also listening to other variety genres too.
My current humble sources are LG V40, Fiio M6, Shanling M2s, TRN BT20 (older one - non S version) Samsung Galaxy Note 8, with Tempotec Sonata HD, Tempotec Sonata iDSD playing some FLACs, compressed and stream from Spotify Premium.

BQEYZ SPRING 1 SPECIFICATIONS :
Driver units: 13mm Coaxial dynamic driver+7 Layers piezo electric+Balanced armature and 1 BA (triple hybrid configuration)
Impedance: 43Ω
Sensitivity: 108dB
Frequency: 7-40KHz
Cable Length: 1.2m
Pin Type: 0.78mm-2 Pin
Plug Type: 3.5mm


PACKAGING AND ACCESSORIES :

Package Contents:
Spring 1 IEM x 1 set
8 Core Upgrade Silver-Plated Cable x 1
Manual x 1
Silicone Ear tips(S/M/L) x 6 Pairs
Foam Ear tips x 1 Pair
Carrying Case x 1



The Spring 1 came with Medium Box, not small enough to grab it with 1 palm, but also not too big at 132x117x55mm measured. Bigger than previous BQEYZ boxes.
A simple black colored box with BQEYZ debossed logo on top left, covered by cardboard box sleeve with Spring 1 picture and name on front and specifications on sides.
Opened it up, we got The Spring 1 themselves, cardboard on bottom part to cover the BQEYZ case (yes we got case this time! simple thing that BQEYZ finally catching up),
cable, manual, and 2 set of different eartips which are "reference" with wide bore and "Atmosphere" with medium bore dome shaped, both set in S,M,L sizes. An extra smooth foam bonus
but only came in medium size also included. The eartips set were nicely attached to brushed steel placement, the one that wowed me when unboxing this.
The cable provided with Spring 1 is great quality. A silver plated 8 core braided cable, seems like high quality one. The only downside for the cable is a rather stiff type than soft,
though they don't easily got tangled, and the preformed plastic ear guide also a bit stiff and made the cable out of ear while using. Not big issue though.

BUILD AND FIT :
Took them out from box, this full metal aluminium alloy CNC built IEM has beautiful black matte finish (also available in soft blue color option) with combination of shiny anodized gold stripe around them like Fiio flagship FH7. Very simple yet elegant, and I fell in love with their look.
The nozzle took out my attention, It is long enough and I was starting to wonder about its fit right away. Shell itself isn't big nor too small with 3 vent holes on inner side.
As usual for me with my large ear canals, founding a great fit with tips was not so easy no differences with this one. I took my box of eartips and ready with large eartips.
Before take the aftermarket tips, I did try their reference and atmosphere eartips.
So short story, I've rolling with my eartips collection, and got several tips that can fit my ears attached to the Spring 1 not only with fit, but with sound synergy between IEM and eartips, I'll write on SOUND section more about eartips.



SOUND :
Out of the box Spring 1 were up to my expectation about their smooth house signature, they are very smooth and OMG details are exceptional even out of the box, straight away without comparing, I was able
to differentiate them to their competitors on the same price bracket or even slightly higher price tag. But there is 1 thing that was bugging me, I expected more from the 13mm big driver. They just gave me
a wooly, boomy, muddy bass sound, like you're hearing a subwoofer, big with power from the next room. I hoped they will be better after burn in (I'm believer for DD, not for BAs).
After reaching 100+ hours in the next 2 weeks, I started to play with eartips rolling. And with 43 ohm impedance, they are a bit harder to drive than usual chifi.

Eartips Rolling
I have bunch collection of eartips, starting from cheapo chinese eartips, free gifts, until quite pricey like spiral dot++, regular spiral dot, azla sedna, acoustune AET07, AET08, until unusual eartips like radius deep mount, etc.
and from my tips rolling experience with Spring 1, they seems to have good pairing with wide bore - short nozzle neck eartips. The "reference" tips that comes with Spring 1 is good example because of their characteristic of big bass (yes they have big amount of bass) so the narrow bore eartips isn't best pairing with Spring 1. Sony MH eartips, final audio type E eartips despite have a good fit to my ears, they made bass more boomy even more. While wide bore do better, I have to note that spiral dot (regular and ++) also made the highs very dull and lifeless because they are already very very smooth, even too smooth. Pairing with spiral dots which have ability to smoothen sound edges, made overall signature sounded very dull and flat (Even myself that like neutral, very balanced sound signature). Im settled between Acoustune AET07 or AZLA sedna short light, although they are not the best to reducing big bass the AET07 bring out details more and clarity moreover on midrange section and the Azla Sedna Short give me the best fit among all my eartips collections.


Simple Modify
This play a very important part of the Spring 1. Don't get me wrong at the first place that the Spring 1 already a very capable IEM by their default. They have crazy good details and smooth, very very smooth presentation
with almost to none harshness. Bass section also have very good texture and fast decay by default.
So what this simple mods about? To bring the Spring 1 to another level, fully to their potential. For picky me, the bass sounded wooly and boomy (even though few user are happy with default one), But I heard like there are
so much power that can't be unleashed at the same time, so like they are bounced back inside made a boomy voices inside. I spent days to figure them out with changing eartips, and at some point I looked at the nozzle grill,
could this is be the culprit? because of too small holes on the grill? so I opened the nozzle grill (user @bui hai anh did before me) and turned out there is a cloth mesh covering the whole nozzle from the back side of the grill.
I think they are too dense that hold much of the air and sounds, blocking much of the flow from drivers. So what I did is just take out that mesh cloth, or you can change the entire grill with spare grill you could buy online (very cheap). With this hassle free mods (I'm not a handy man, you all can do this easily) the differences is like day and night. Air and sound flow from giant 13mm driver no longer blocked, they are more fully articulated and clear, texture can heard clearly, no longer boomy and wooly sounds. Mids section become very much clearer with no edgy (they still have damper on BA's opening) and highs that more to shy before become more lively.
Soundstage and imaging are still the same, but timbre and tonality become much better and much more natural, no more "underwater effect, larger than life effect, or fake surround effect".
If you're too scared for sibilance and harshness, you can put a very little cut of foam and put inside the nozzle like I did. In fact they are only a little bit shouty on high mids when I put them in very loud volume, above my comfort and usual volume level and only using silver plated cable (including the default one). When I was using copper cable and BT20 module, there are no shouty or sibilance at all even without added foams.
So I will write my review based on simple grill mods from here, and I put little comparison with default one.


Overall Signature
I will put the Spring 1 on balanced signature that good for all rounder with touch of bass. Treble slightly roll off, they are warm IEM with so much details. They are smooth all across frequency and sounded relax. Carrying their own house signature of course.
They are very airy, with great soundstage and transparency. These are not neutral or flat or monitoring signature, but balanced with a slight additional fun touch.



Bass
Low end always my nitpick area because I always craving about great quality bass, I'm not basshead but I just like to hear a very quality bass. The Spring 1 bass are come from big 13mm dynamic driver, a little bit bigger than usual hybrid IEM that normally put 9mm-11mm DDs. From written specs, I was excited but yet concern about bass decay, a bad implentation of big driver can be slow but not the case with Spring 1, They are very agile with quick bass decay. For DD category and from 13mm DD they are considered very fast, much faster than Kanas Pro, similar to TFZ no 3 & BLON BL-03 in terms of speed. They are digging to the low end until out of my hearing, definitely lower than 30hz with a very good texture and articulation.
Shape of the bass note are rendered very well, together with their speed, you will never miss a single bass note. Mid bass while a bit bigger than sub bass, they are very well controlled, there is no disturbing bleed to the mids, only touch of warmness.
Well, their bass is the part that they don't excell very well for me because of the tune that mid bass slightly bigger than sub bass. Its more to preferences actually and my nitpick concern. If I could, I would like to have sub bass bigger than midbass.
Some may describe this as sub bass slight roll off, but the sub bass is definitely there. For a jazz, rumble bass with slow rumbles, the sub bass more easily heard. But for complex bass with bass note, kick bass and other instrument slamming together, the mid bass section is the first one i heard. Kick drums feels complete and thick again with more higher bass part from mid bass to upper bass. The 80-120hz is slightly dominant here but they are very well controlled. Some maybe prefer this tuning of bass, but for me I prefer with more sub bass emphasize. But they are not bad at all, the sub bass - mid bass proportion is better than previous KB100 or BQ3 with sub bass in Spring 1 is already bigger in quantity. And for bass quality regarding texture, timbre, agility, articulation is already considered really good in this price range, again just my nitpick bad habbit about low end section.
The quantity of the low end is quiet big, not to the basshead level but quite north of neutral, listening on low or medium volume will make they are sounded like a bit bass heavy but in high volume they are much more balance. That's why i recommend to not using bass-adding tips or small nozzle tips.
With original default nozzle grill, the texture, articulation and clarity of the bass is not as good as after the simple grill mods. They will sounded boomy, wooly, as they are covered too tight like I said before, the most improvement I heard is on low end area. They are already better than those any budget IEM's bass
but if you are willing to do that simple mods, the bass quality is marginally much better.


Mids
Coming to the mids section, they aren't recessed as they have balanced presentation, with a little forwarded mids, but nicely sits on the mixed, not leaving other frequencies left behind. Mids sounded thick with good weight shaping a bodied mids without
too sounding dark. Mids never sounded thin at all times. They are warm and sweet and buttery smooth even with cloth mesh taken out. Mids are supposedly handled by their BA which I saw have dedicated damper for it. Details on mids are very amazing. Hopefully
not too biased or hyperbole, I want to say they are catching to TOTL level IEM in mids details, 1 of Spring 1 strong point here. High mids seems to be a bit emphasized with little 2 khz boost but with dip on 3khz to avoid shouty voices. But their boost are not
as much as Harman target references, not the typical Chi-fi we got like in previous years. I have no complain at all in mids section, I guess these are the area where I like the most from Spring 1. Like its name, there is Spring all the year here with trees and
many kind of flowers everywhere, nicely presents with smoothness, open space, very beautiful. Even on higher volume level I never smirk as reaction to shouty female voices like I did on many chifi, including Kanas Pro.
Instruments that can be heard on 400hz until 2khz sounded very mature, timbre is very good even though coming from BA driver, very detail and separated from one to another instruments with a little spatial cues, very good but their spatial cues isn't very special, which
are expected from this price range of IEM. Great spatial cues for me only appears on $500 IEM and above.
With original default nozzle grill, they also already have that detail but smooth presentation of mids, only with grill mods, they are more open with clarity on another level.

Trebles
Placing 7 layer piezo electric driver with new configuration (coaxial with DD driver according to BQEYZ marketing specification) to take responbility of highs made trebles sounded very smooth and details. Treble have slightly roll of but with very good extension to higher ends
Just that they aren't aggressive type of trebles. Rather relaxing sparkles with smooth presentation than energetic. Putting spiral dot tips made this highs sounded dull because they are already very smooth. With opened cloth mesh on the grill they are more lively but still far from aggressive.
There is no boost at usual 6khz or 8khz, just smooth balance treble. For treblehead maybe they will craving for more energetic highs here. Its not bad thing, again is more to the preferences. For me I like this way of trebles, very relaxing non tiring trebles yet
holding so much details with little bit of sparkles and shimmer. If they are tuned with a little bit 8khz boost I will be happier but there is no complain at all on highs from me.
Before nozzle grill mods, I found them to be very treble shy, but very smooth one and while sometimes can be a little bit tizzy.


EQing
BQEYZ Spring 1 responds very well with EQ, sensitive and very noticeable differences. I was an EQ guy but recently I didn't touch EQ at all to my IEMs, leave them naturally like how they are sounded.
If you want to play with EQ, boosting sub bass on 20-40khz will made them into deep punchy IEM, I did try and results were good, but I don't like pre amp effect, that made overall volume reduced.

Soundstage
Soundstage WOW on Spring 1, well its like Spring season on the park, smooth, beautiful, warm and airy. Spring 1 have great width, very large with more width rather than depth, with quite height also, very noticable height. They are very airy and open and natural after grill mods, before the grill mods, they also have same width but sonically they aren't as natural as after grill mods. Do you ever heard fake surround effect from stereo system? That's how I would describe the slightly artificial soundstage before grill mods. But after grill mods, the magic is here. Very wide and open airy, 1 of the best I've ever heard in this entry level midfi.

Detail Retrieval
The best part to be told of. If I were asked to mention Spring 1 in just 2 words, my asnwer would be "Detail" and "Smooth". The strongest point that they are offering is their Detail retrieval, combined with high resolution, I was blown away even straight out of the box, after did the mods everything are even better. They are very detail and can pick up even hardest detail tasks, or something unheard before. Finger scratching on guitar strings are easy effortless for Spring 1, singer lips when opened mouth, her breathing voice also
an easy job for them. They are much more capable than that, rythm guitars, keyboards, orchestra you can heard them all easily. They really crush their competitors in terms of details, really catching up to the TOTL. In fact they are not far behind my Sony IER M7 for details.
And all the details come together in very musical way and they are mature sounded, not harsh details, but very smooth on the edge so even they are very details, on the same time they are also forgiving.

Timbre
I will give the timbre as quiet natural, with nice coherence between different types of drivers, not the best timbre I ever heard but I can rate them as very good. I also quite picky about timbre usually.
One note though, before nozzle grill mods, timbre is a bit weird like I described earlier in this review. I guess again that cloth mesh made overall sound a bit weird.

Clarity
After grill mods, the clarity become superb, Not the default one sounds veiled, just with the grill mods, clarity become much better. Very transparent and lifelike, articulations are pronounced clearly.
Hand clapping, finger snapping rendered nicely with nice extension before they are gone by the wind, so clear that almost sounded real in front of me.

Separation & Imaging
Instrument Separation on Spring 1 real good, and imaging is precise like their predecessors but a little bit better, pin pointing can be easy with this IEM. On complex tracks, they handle and separate instruments nicely.
They can be described as holographic imaging with 1 instrument position will be locked precisely, not blurry, very sharp imaging.


Isolation
With having 3 vent holes I wouldn't surprised if Spring 1 quite weak on isolation. Price to be paid for having many vents for airy signature. But this can be preference base on individual also. I don't mind to have a bit leaking sound and actually
with my point of view, I sometimes prefer IEM that can be use while keep aware of my surrounding environment. But if you're going to use it in busy and noisy area, you will need to put this aspect into consideration.




COMPARISONS :
with Moondrop Kanas Pro
I choose the Kanas Pro as comparison because they are sitting on same $100-200 bracket and a lot of people have this popular Kanas Pro. The DLC coating DD are become more popular recently, Kanas Pro and regular Kanas were being the first batch of hyped this
Driver. Kanas Pro priced on $170 (currently replaced by KXXS) with Spring 1 retail price is $139. Fit wise both of them have long nozzles, so their fit isn't my best preferences but I can managed to have great fit with tips rolling. Build quality wise they are on par, built like a tank, solid aluminium metal, only I prefer finishing of Spring 1 because fingerprint magnet of the KP. Sub bass on KP rumbles more, with digging down deep but they are slow in decay compared to Spring 1. KP mid bass is really low in quantity, causing overall lower mids sounded a bit on thin side, and kick drums wont feel complete. I prefer bigger sub bass rather than mid bass but on KP they are too low on mid bass, there are no punch. While in Spring 1, I'm craving for more sub bass and bit lower of mid bass if possible, decay speed on Spring 1 is faster, attack and gone nicely, texture and articulation of the bass also better in Spring 1 with bass notes sounded with more body and shape and more details. To be frank neither have satisfied me on bass section but if I had to choose, I still prefer the Spring 1 bass more because of the texture and speed decay. Mids area are most interesting part as 2 of these IEMs are shining in mids. KP have super clarity and smooth mids, but more emphasized in high mids. I think clarity wise KP have win by slice only but overall Spring 1 mids are more balance. Details on mids the Spring 1 trumps KP, micro detail and retrieval and overall resolution on Spring 1 are hard to beat here, every articulation, every instrument details that hard to pick up on KP were much easier to be heard with Spring 1.
Highs also Spring 1 have more details without sibilances, KP are quite smooth, but Spring 1 are smoother. Soundstage wise, Spring 1 also have larger soundstage with better imaging and separation. Personally, I will choose Spring 1 over KP.

with TFZ no 3
Same reason with KP above, I put TFZ no 3 here because they are priced similarly, with No 3 being a little bit cheaper at $109 again with DLC coating DD like KP. Built quality definitely an advantage for Spring 1 being metal built IEM, with no 3 using plastic/resin.
Fit wise I prefer the no 3 for just nice shape and nozzle length to my ears, they are comfy! Bass wise the no 3 are famous for their punchy bass, tight and fast. the sub bass slam and mid bass punch together are nice for basshead, but for me they are a bit too much, particularly on mid bass section.
Decay speed on bass almost the same with Spring 1 and No. 3. Texture wise, Spring 1 have slighty better texture here. Mids area on TFZ no 3 sounded very recessed compared to Spring 1, No 3 have great resolution but Spring 1 is more than that. Clarity, details No 3 can't stand against Spring 1.
They have same treble rolled off only No 3 have boosted 8khz for sparkles, Spring 1 more smooth here but at the same time they are more detailed. Soundstage and imaging Spring 1 have bigger and better imaging by quite large margin since No.3 soundstage is just average.
Separation wise also Spring 1 clearly better here. For me, 1 goes first after 3 definitely.

with KZ ZSX
Why I put this here? Because KZ always been a benchmark and almost everyone in chifi world have at least 1 KZ. I was going to put ZS10 Pro here, but since ZSX came in just in right time and for me they are better than ZS10 Pro so I just using ZSX as comparison. ZSX technicalities is very good, their separation and
soundstage is great. Build quality, Spring 1 is better with aluminium shell once again, fit i guess both are not perfect but also not too bad. Bass section in Spring 1 much textured, faster decay and tighter, while ZSX sounded a bit uncontrolled when compared to Spring 1, Mids on SPring 1 much more detailed, ZSX sounded veiled
when compared, and Spring 1 sounded much more mature and smooth while KZ sounds edgy, harsh (they are great for budget section but Spring 1 really on different class here). Separation is better in Spring 1, soundstage while ZSX considered large, in Spring 1 they are a bit larger with extra naturalness here. Timbre is much better
in Spring 1. In other words, ZSX can't touch the Spring 1, they really sounded on different level. So what's the point? I know the feeling when I was hesitate to buy another IEM that more pricier, I was worried about how if the cheaper 1 is better. When $37 ZSX sounds like over $100 IEM yes, bad hundreds IEM or overpriced ones. But
don't forget there are IEMs that sits on $100-200 that sounded like much more above them too, and same case on upper class. So overall Spring 1 is better technicalities than ZSX, when you are ready to upgrade, you won't dissapointed.


with BLON-BL03
Exceptional $27 hyped BLON BL03 is in the house. I love how this BL03 was tuned. Kudos to the tuner and BLON for this. Compared to Spring 1, like ZSX the BLON can't touch the technicalities of Spring 1, Separation Spring 1 crush the BLON, Spring 1 have much better clarity and resolution, Spring 1 sounded more mature, Soundstage is larger in Spring 1 with better imaging also. Timbre is the aspect where Spring 1 have to give to BL03, even not by much. I like the sub bass of BL03 even a little bit too much for my taste, but mid bass section, BL03 have bigger mid bass here. Mids area are a bit forwarder in Spring 1 with much details that BLON can't catch up. Highs BL03 have boosted 8khz that made sparkles more bright, while in Spring 1 they are more smooth. They are very different IEM by nature, but Spring 1 again is on another level than highly praised BL03


with BQEYZ KB100
I was so in love with this KB100 from the first I got them, very balanced and mature and smooth sound accross all frequencies. They are ashtonising on imaging and mids and smoothness. The Spring 1 have overall similar signature like KB100. a little bit bigger mid bass than sub bass (KB100 sub bass more rolled off compared to Spring 1), forwarded mids, relaxed trebles, great imaging and airy feeling. Only in Spring 1, they are upgraded in every section. Bass more textured, sub bass extension is better, faster speed decay on lows, more clarity, more separation, much more details, larger soundstage with great imaging. They are really like a very much better reincarnation of the KB100. If you like KB100, you will like the Spring 1, they are sharing same DNA. are they worth to upgrade from $50 KB100? for me Yes, details and resolution and clarity are main aspects to be expect, with everything else as bonuses.


PERSONAL CONCLUSIONS :

BQEYZ came out with new black horse that fight with more familiar brands on entry level midfi and they are nailed it. Spring 1 really delivers a high resolution IEM, with a lot of details but retaining their smooth signature. Using triple hybrid drivers, they successfully made the sound pretty coherence and balance overall but they can be better. The Spring 1 really have a very good potential. Technicalities are very great also. They still have improvement room for the lower end, to made cleaner bass with adding sub bass while reducing mid bass a little bit. Honestly their bass isn't that bad, just they don't excell on low frequencies like mids and their highs. For price that they are offering, I think Spring really hold much value as entry level midfi. They punch above their price range and beat their competitors on same league.




Best regards,
Dynamic Ears

BQEYZ SPRING1 REVIEW :


SOUND: 9.5/10
CONSTRUCTION: 9/10
DESIGN: 8.5/10
ACCESSORIES: 9/10
VALUE: 10/10

It’s rare that I find some ‘’chi-fi’’ company to be underated, because lot of them like KZ and TRN are in fact overhyped.

BQEYZ is the exception and its a shame they do not get as much attention as other bigger chinese companies because they really stand appart in term of quality of sound AND construction. This company really take their time to design and tune the iem they make and unlike other mass production company like KZ, they do not use conterfeit housing design or cheap balanced armature make by other. Nope, they create they own audio drivers wich explain why the creation of SPRING1 take more than a year to achieve.

Apart from the Spring1, I own the 2DD+3BA’s hybrid BQ3 (68$) and the 2DD+1BA hybrid KB100 (50$) wich sound both excellent for the price and have unique personalities. With both of them, I did not encounter serious tuning problem like peaky upper mids or highs, or sloppy bass, or grainy artificial timbre, in fact, for once I can say it was professionally tuned and offer balanced musicality. As well, the superb construction stand appart from the sub-100$ iem market. This admiration for their previous models put the bar very high for the expectation I have about their flagship model that sell for 140$.




BQEYZ patent their own special driver for the Spring1, its a unibody dynamic drivers with a 7 layers piezo, all put in one piece so the transient response sound natural. That alone is a little audio revolution, and offer way better audio performance than the cheap piezoelectric drivers used independantly for treble response. Yes, its fromanother league than the NiceHCK NX7 or **** **** in term of cohesive tuning and treble richness. If you were afraid that the Spring1 sound metallic, artificial or trebly, you can be reassure that they offer an high definition natural sound. As well, the customize balanced armature created by BQEYZ have nothing to envy to great BA like the Knowles, in fact, the region it cover is splendid to listen and way better than bellsin or sonion BA’s.

Yes, BQEYZ deserve more respect and recognition, they are serious audiophile earphones company with talented audio engineer that have a refined unique vision about sound rendering. With the Spring1, I think they try to make the sound as much revealing as comfortable to listen to, wich is a very hard task. How can we make an earphones sound lively, exciting, very revealing and offer a lush musicality that will not sound too agressive or unbalanced?? Let’s see in this review if its possible to achieve such a fascinating musicality.

You can buy the Spring1 directly from BQEYZ Ali express store HERE

DISCLAIMER: Some audio company sincerly fascinate me, BQEYZ is one of them, so I follow closely the creation of the Spring1 since the first day. I ask so much question that I finally got the chance to have a review sample wich I accept with humility. I wanna thanks BQEYZ to not put pressure on reviewing and letting my objectivity being intact of any expectation. This review is as honnest as it can be.



INFO&SPECS :

1. Item：Spring 1

2. Dynamic Driver: 13mm

3. Impedance: 43Ω

4. Sensitivity: 108dB

5. Frequency: 7-40KHz

6. Cable Length: 1.2m

7. Pin Type: 0.78mm-2 Pin

8. Plug Type: 3.5mm

9. Driver units: 13mm Coaxial dynamic driver+7 Layers piezo electric+Balanced armature

9. Mic: Without

10. Color: Black / Blue (Optional)




ACCESSORIES, CONSTRUCTION & DESIGN :



ACCESSORIES included are well presented in a very enjoyable unboxing experience, wich is the more serious presentation of BQEYZ line up. Yes, we are in flagship territory, and one thing that proof it is the excellent 8 cores Silver plated cable that is included. Its thick, super sturdy and very beautifull. This type of cable alone should be priced between 30-50$ and is a very welcome addition to the excellently built 2pin earphones. As well, we have a generous amount of eartips, wich include 6pairs of silicone eartips and a pair of memory foam tips. If it wasn’t enough, we have too a nice sturdy protective case. Can we ask for more? Nope, not at this price.



CONSTRUCTION is excellent, metal used is so light yet thick and well polished that some will think its half plastic with back metal plate. Nope, just hit the housing togheter, the noise will reassure you : this is all metal housing. As well, the nozzle is metal too, and quite long. All in all, the SPRING1 promise long durability and have excellent craftmanship with great attention to details.



The 8cores silver plated cable is sumptuous too, and extremely sturdy. After 2 months of use i did not encounter any quality check issue like i do with IKKO or Tinaudio T3 cable were the 2pin or mmcx metal cover unglue suddenly. This cable is a keeper and I use it with multiple earphones including the Spring1.



DESIGN of housing is quite chunky, with an oval near triangular shape and a thick long nozzle similar to the KZ ZS10PRO. I did struggle a little to find the right fit because if I use too long eartips even medium size became too big to be push enough deep in my ears. I finally use wide bore eartips included with the Spring1. Even if i can wear these very long, i don’t consider them as the most comfortable iem I own due to quite chunky body.

ISOLATION is excellent and do great work for passive noise cancelation, as well, due tothe venting hole being in front of housing, the noise leakage is very minimal and will not be a problem in silent environment.



DRIVEABILITY isn’t the most easy at 43ohm impendance and 108db sensitivity, very powerfull DAP like the Ibasso DX90 will drive them properly, but other loess powerfull one like Xduoo X3 will lack power and affect soundstage and dynamic attack. I suggest using either a seriously powerfull DAP or portable AMP with the Spring1, otherwise you will not hear their full potential.



SOUND :



SUBJECTIVE SOUND APPRECIATION is sincerly overwhelmingly positive and that, since the very first day -once I find the right fit- with Spring1. This is grand sounding iem that can’t let indifferent anybody. It have a unique W shape soundsignature thats polished on top. The mid range blow my mind with its thick textured timbre and superb imaging. Bass is fast, thick and very authoritative. Treble never sound artificial. Whatever I throw to the Spring1 gain in lushness and attack, as if it can ressurect musicality of lifeless track by extracting extra textured and presence from 1khz to 10khz. This iem is extremely versatile because it have it all : bass, mids, highs. If I crave my head for a music style that will sound not as much spectacular than other it will be trap rap where sub kick need more rumble and transparency….but I don’t really listen to this style. For me, the Spring1 is surely the very best sub-150$ iem money can buy in term of versatility, definition and rich musicality.

SOUNDSTAGE is sincerly something special with the Spring1, extremely wide and quite tall and deep until bass stole some deepness to it. It have an intense outof your head spaciality, with holographic feel I rarely if ever encounter with any other iem. This really is the type of earphones that have the magic of a full size headphones.

IMAGING is incredibly accurate and sharp, space between instrument is wide and clear, again, only big bass line can stole some spot on definition because it will cover the black background. With well mastered music with lot of spacial acoustic phenomenon, the Spring1 give me spectacular accuracy in disposition of sounds layers I rarely if ever live, this was extremely immersive presentation with panoramic 3D like feel. This type of grand magnificated imaging isn’t expected in sub-200$ price range.

CLARITY is from another league here, and have sharp emphasis in midrange and treble, delivering effortless details up to upper highs. Bass being less transparent than mid and highs, it can stole some lower mids attack definition, but never to the point we feel its completely veiled, in fact, this type of thick opaque bass stay in the back of all this super clear mids and highs, so, it only stole some space and air to natural instrument decay. We aren’t in cold analytical or metallic clarity here, more so in lush hyper realist one.

TIMBRE is thick, textured, and well rounded. It sound at the same time natural and super colorfull, and have a mix of opaque bass, transparent mid range and crisp treble. Slightly bright, but carefully polished.

LOWER BASS is quite thick and opaque, slightly dry and very weighty. To my ears, its the only part of audio spectrum that do not sound natural and effortless. Its very present and benifit from extra clarity in music with lot of instruments ,so we can hear sub bass line perfectly, but the extra energy in 50-100hz section make it roaring instead of rumbling, as if it struggle to move air but compensate it with extra thickness in timbre and attack. Still, as said, its tigh and controled and very clear, just that the natural extension up to 20hz isn’t feel and lack transparence.

MID BASS is fast, weighty, natural and well textured, the punch is full and juicy with good impact that do not feel too fowarded or forced. Unlike lower bass, transient response is more accurate and let the soundwaves move naturally. Transition to lower mid range is organic and add extra thickness to overall timbre. Cello sound marvellously bodied and lower piano note have good weight and impact.

MID RANGE is something precious with the Spring1, its so revealing and fully covered with high level of subtle details one would think its overly bright, analytical or cold, but no, its lushly natural sounding too and exempt from any harsh peaks or sibilance. Whatever the type of music I play, it will show me all instrument textures with magnified singularities, no instrument will fight against each other for presence but instead they will have their own lush presence in wide accurate imaging and play togheter in rich harmony. Vocal are as thick and detailed as violin or piano, keeping their natural presence. It’s among the best vocal I heard even if they aren’t pushed foward, the timbre is so well rendered I ‘’believe’’ their life like rendition, most of all, male and female vocal will sound as good and full bodied. Electric guitar too will be gently crunchy and textured, never thin or artificial sounding even if they keep a minimal amount of transparency like all other instruments.

TREBLE is another miracle with the Spring1 and could only be achieve with this special dual piezo dynamic driver patented by BQEYZ. Unlike other piezo electric iem I try, their no metallic highs, grainy texture or trebly peak with those, its near organic in fact, but lush and ultra detailed in lower-mid treble too. This type of treble remind me the one of Final Audio E serie, but to a next level in term of clarity and texture. Acoustic guitar sound incredible with the Spring1, it have extra brilliance and rich sharpness but not alot of decay, just enough so the attack can be fast and accurate to permit other instrument sounding clear as well. Percussions stay in the back, wich is how I like it if they are super clear and realist, wich is exactly what the Spring1 deliver.


SUB BASS : 7.5/10
MID BASS : 8.5/10
MID RANGE : 9/10
TREBLE : 9/10
TIMBRE : 8.5/10
CLARITY : 9/10
SOUNDSTAGE : 9.5/10
IMAGING : 9/10


RANDOM TRACKS TESTING :


DOMINIC MILLER ‘’Absinthe’’


The languid accordeon solo in the begining have very appealing clarity that emphase nicely the texture, tonal accuracy is outstanding and micro details of finger pressing the keys is delicately rendered. After, the acoustic guitar came, again with high level of clarity, beautifull crispness and control decay, until all instruments come togheter naturally, effortlessly, in a super wide coherent spaciality that take full advantage of crystal clear mid range imaging. Bass line are perfectly articulate, thick and opaque in the back, while accordeon keep a beautifull floating transparency and guitar in the center play its line sharply. Kick drum and percussions are well separeted like all other instrument, kick staying at your left while percussions move from left to right corner. Texture of brush drumming is superbly rendered, sweetly textured, again very natural and life like. Now, a synth line is add to this fourtet, its light, transparent, as if a new wooly layers was insert between guitar and drum. The guitar have as much presence than accordeon and do not sound too metallic or decayed, level of balance in sound is extremely refined and tend to benifit from clarity as anything mix togheter. Attack of all instrument is energic yet never shouty or artificial, it give push to liveliness and presence in a flat way.

MACHINEFABRIEK ‘’III (with Peter broderick)


Wow, what an audio experience! The soundstage is just gigantic and ultra holographic with this track, background is perfectly black too, big sub kick hit very hard, thick, opaque, super weighty and thigh with fast rumble. Layers of female and males voices have extremely accurate spacial placement and this is quite a psychadelic experience! Clarity of imaging is jaw dropping, we have a mix of layers transparency and specific spaciality that never fail to sound as if you wear very big full-size open headphones (but with closed back bass when it occur). Even at the end of the track when we have an overwhelming amount of very textured male and female voices line, the Spring1 keep its layerings definition detailed and transparent.

COMPARAISONS :

VS IKKO OH1 (140$) :



The OH1 is an excellent 1DD+1 knowles BA hybrid earphones and the audiophile do not overhype them because they deserve the praise they have. Construction is more eye appealing than the Spring1, but both share thick metal housing. OH1 is notably larger while Spring1 is thicker, offering about both same level of comfort, but as the nozzle is less long and tichk than Spring1, i can use long silicone eartips with the OH1.
SOUNDSTAGE is wider, taller and more holographic with the Spring1 while the OH1 have a little more deepnest to it.
IMAGING is more intimate and minimalist with the OH1, as if the bass and highs are better separated and mid range is opaque and lack space between instrument, here the Spring1 have near the opposite imaging approach, where whole mid range is extremely well articulated and separeted and the bass and highs stay layered in the back.
BASS is more emphased with the OH1 and have better separated sub bass wich is thick, clear and very well define but make the mid bass punch a little shadowed and can warm lower mid range, the Spring1 have less rumble in sub bass, wich is thick, dry and opaque but quite fast, the mid bass have more weight and better definition.
MID RANGE is brighter, thinner and less textured with the OH1, this is really where the sword hit, because Spring1 mid range is richer and more accurate, it cover full 1khz-8khz range without notable dip and offer better instrument separation too. OH1 can be hot in upper mids, wich the Spring1 do not encounter, but the biggest difference is in timbre and weight, as we can hear with piano.
TREBLE is similar with those too, but again, i find the Spring1 more natural and fuller sounding, percussions have more weight while the OH1 is more about cripsness but struggle to dig as much details than Spring1.
All in all, the OH1 is like a more bassy Spring1 with more agressive mids and less rich timbre.


VS BRAINWAVZ B400 (150$) :


Now, let’s see how a 4 balanced armature can compare to the Spring1.
Construction of B400 is ridiculous and quite fragile, but as its smaller and lighter it is more comfortable than Spring1.
SOUNDSTAGE is way wider with the Spring1, and about the same deep. IMAGING is from another league with the Spring1, while the B400 have an intimate layerings that feel stock in your head the Spring1 have wide holographic spaciality with clearer separation.
BASS is notably rolled off after 50hz with the B400, its warm, soft in slam and rapid in mid bass attack that lack weight and body, Spring1 have more thumping bass, wich dig lower and have more texture to it.
MID RANGE is warmer, thiner and lack in attack and weight compared to more textured, detailed and energic one of Spring1. Even if B400 are mid centric, it sound dark compared to Spring1 here, the vocal have perhaps more emphasis but they lack texture in timbre.
TREBLE is again more rolled off with B400, with all its emphasis in lower treble, wich can make the sound feel unbalanced compared to more linear frequency response of Spring1 that offer crisper and more controled highs.
All in all, B400 sound less balanced, darker, lifeless and less refined than the excellent Spring1.

CONCLUSION :



BQEYZ Spring1 is an exceptional earphones with a grand musicality that never stop to impress me with its versatile accuracy. The richness of timbre is mesmerizing for its price as well as high level of details up to 12khz. To produce a sound with such weight in attack that keep its layering clean of congestion is really a tuning miracle wich is surely due to the incredible piezo-dynamic driver used with the balanced armature.



I can’t find any fault with this iem, should it be in construction, design or sound, it really make alive whole frequencies range without making it feel forced or sound artificial.



If you only listen to electronic with lot of sub bass rumble, perhaps this will impress you in a less overwhelming way than me, but for all other music style like jazz, classical, pop, rock, IDM, R&B, folk, metal etc, the Spring1 will make your ears see in the dark.



I can’t recommend those iem enough, and consider them the very best sub-200$ iem I ever try.

The unit is done elegantly in all black aluminum with a gold trim, comes with every accessorizes you could possibly need and in such nice box you automatically know its going to be something special inside.

Specifications: 13mm Bass dynamic driver + ultra-high frequency 7-layers piezoelectric & custom mid-high frequency balanced armature, Frequency: 7-40kHz , Impedance: 43ohm, Sensitivity: 108±3dB

Package Contents: Spring 1 earphone, 8 Core Silver-Plated Cable , Manual six pairs of silicone Ear tips (S/M/L) , foam Ear tips and hard leatherette carrying Case.

This IEM (earphone) is truthfully the first Flagship I’ve owned not the first I’ve heard but the very first in my collection. The sound is incredibly detailed with vocals being rich and perfectly centered, mids are definitely well done here. The Bass and Sub-Bass is accurate and speedy with a presence. The treble is superb having a great quality and yet reaching that exact point I find pleasant. Instrument separation and a accurate sound-stage are but a few of the Spring-1’s best features of this unit. Overall this is a well built, great looking and sounding IEM that offers up a pleasant listening experience with any type of music for a exceptional price of $139.

disclaimer: I have reviewed pretty much the entire BQEYZ product line and with the exception of having a few issues with the bluetooth cable, all have been exceptional values catering to those who like several different signatures. If you love EDM, the BQ3 is a great option, if you want a neutral iem, the KB100 is hard to top at its price point. So, when Elle on Facebook asked if I was interested in trying out their new model, I wasted no time saying "yes, please". I was told this new model was to stray into new territory both driver wise and price wise and when I asked about comparing it to KB100, I was told "way better". This made waiting for it to arrive almost unbearable. It finally arrived 8/29 and I've put about 100 hours on it for this review since. Should you want to purchase a Spring1, they can be purchased directly from BQEYZ.



Unboxing / Packaging:

The outer box on the Spring1 shows a picture of the earpieces along with the model name on the front, and an exploded diagram of the same on the reverse. Specs are on the side of the box. Once the outside box is removed the inner package is a book-fold style. The earpieces sit in a foam tray at the upper end of the box with an envelope with the manuals hiding the soft-sided case underneath. The case has a metal card with 6 sets of Silicone eartips (3 balanced and 3 bass enhancing), a small clear plastic box with a pair of foams, and the cable completes the kit. No shirt clip is provided, but otherwise a fairly complete kit. The addition of a 2.5mm balanced cable with a 4.4mm adapter would be a welcome one but the included cable is a large step above those that came with other BQEYZ models to date.




Build/Fit:

The earpieces are 3 part shells with the body being machined from aluminum and the nozzles of brass. The seam between faceplate and body is roughly 3mm from the lead edge and is well mated with no gaps, and on my particular pair it is easiest to find by feel with a fingernail as it blends very well visually. By feel, the faceplate is just ever so slightly smaller than the body. Bi-pin connectors have a raised frame around them that is machined into the faceplate and the body rather than making it from a single piece and is extremely well mated as visually the lines formed by the mating of parts show no separation or misalignment. The shells are finished in matte black with a gold ring around the perimeter of the faceplate and a gold colored nozzle accenting the package. L and R are stamped on the inside of the earpieces with a small vent below the lettering with a white filter? beneath and two larger vents nestled in a slot cut in the space immediately behind the lettering. I include the question mark as I cannot tell what the material is, only that there is something white and non-descript over the single vent while the two other vents appear to lead directly to the internals without any such filter.

Size is about average and is roughly comparable to the Fiio F9 or the TFZ series 2 albeit slightly thicker than either of those. I found the Spring1 to be comfortable for long wear with very little weight felt in the ear. I did find that while I liked the sound better with the Foam tips, I did fatigue more quickly from them than I did some of the silicone styles. Because of the thickness of the earpieces, the Spring1 sits a bit further out and is likely to be level with the surface of the ear or just slightly raised above it. Overall, I would give the Spring1 average to slightly above average marks for comfort depending on the tip style chosen.

The only thing I found odd about the aesthetics is the cable hardware is all brushed gunmetal gray while the earpieces are matte black. This is most notable at the junction of the bi-pin connectors where the two colors sit within a millimeter or two of each other.





Internals:

This is where the Spring1 gets interesting. Drivers in the Spring 1 are a dual diaphragm 13mm dynamic with a 7 layer piezo element built into the same housing and a single balanced armature driver. The Dynamic provides the low end grunt, the BA supplies the mid-range, and the piezo elements are responsible for upper end duties. Per BQEYZ, all are custom tuned in-house specifically for the Spring1. Nominal impedance is listed as 43Ω with a sensitivity of 108 dB/mW. I found the Spring1 could be used with a cellphone but sounded better, more coherent, and had better bass weight when combined with a more potent source. The LG phone was capable of driving the Spring1 well if forced into high output mode, but lacked the power to do the same when in normal output mode. I found the Xduoo Xp-2, the iFi xCAN both provided plenty of power to run the Spring1 to their full potential.





Cable:

The cable is a marked step up from those previously bundled with BQEYZ in-ears. The cable is an 8 core silver-plated oxygen free copper in black casing braided up to the splitter and 4 wire braids above the splitter. Hardware is all brushed aluminum in gunmetal gray with a straight 3.5mm TRS jack, a barrel shaped splitter, chin slider, and .78mm bi-pin connectors. At the north end, the cable has clear plastic earhooks that are considerably looser than those of previous models. The cable is well marked with Both L and R on the connectors and red on the right connector housing as well. A velcro cable tie is also provided for use when in storage. I found the cable supple enough to resist microphonics and solid enough to resist tangles. When coiled and stored, then pulled back out for use the cable shows no memory and no tendency to kink.





Tips:

The Spring1 comes with 7 sets of tips. There are two styles of silicone tips one for Atmosphere (Bass) and one for Reference (more linear signature) in sizes small, medium, and large, stored on a metal card about the size of a credit card. The card itself tucks neatly into the carrying case should you decide to take extra sets of tips with you on the go. A single set of large foam tips is also provided as well. I found tips were quite effective at altering the signature so those who want to alter the default should probably start there before moving on to more costly items like the cable. I have included several FR graphs with different tips to show how they alter the signature and personally find the Comply round f0ams from the comfort series. They balance out the lows and bring everything into nearly perfect linearity for me.






Sound:

Reference tip (Size L) used:






Bass:

One of the few knocks on earlier BQEYZ models is that sub-bass rolls-0ff a bit higher than some would like. The good news is that is not an issue on the Spring1. Roll-off only becomes noteworthy in the 30Hz range and even then is not pronounced. Sub-bass is not only good in quantity, it is very good quality as well and is extremely textured and detailed compared to most at the price point. Mid-bass is also well defined, tight, well textured, and has good speed so transients are not lost in the mix. Again textures are good and bass comes off feeling well weighted but not overly forward and I think the FR over-states the bass as It does not seem as forward as my FR would indicate. Overall, the bass manages to walk a line between having good weight and thickness without sounding slow, heavy, or boomy. Well done. Mid-bass bleed is very slight and does add a touch of warmth but lets the mids shine through.



Mids:

Again the keywords are textured and detailed. Mids are the star here with vocal presence at once seeming to jump to the front while at the same time feeling perfectly proportioned and in-line with the instrumentation. For lovers of classical music, the Spring1 is one of the best at rendering strings I have heard at below $500. Violin and Viola are spot on in both timbre and transients which is a hard thing to pull off. I was told that the Mids are mostly the product of the balanced armature that is tuned in-house by BQEYZ and I have to give them props as it seems they have chosen and tuned extremely well. Upper-mids do have a slight push which allows vocals to cut through but not so much as to make higher vocals appear to jump in front of lower register vocals.



Treble:

Treble is well extended and linear without any big spikes or dips to ruin the party. Lower treble is mildly forward and then tapers off a bit before rolling-off significantly at slightly above 13kHz. Detail is again quite good with cymbals being well done and snare having a good realistic snap. The treble feels effortless, it delivers enough energy to feel lively without ever crossing the line into strident or harsh. I kept expecting some fatigue as a result of the tuning, but it does a masterful job of walking the line between providing enough energy to have good air and sparkle without going past the line.



Soundstage / Imaging:

Soundstage is well shaped with good depth, width and a good sense of height. Overall, width is the largest of the dimensions. I would equate the stage size to being seated in a smaller theater as it is not as cavernous as the kings (HD800) but is well shaped and gives a good feeling of space and movement. Instrument separation is a special case here. Instruments seem to line up with little space between them, and yet are very precisely placed and show little or no overlap. Seating the orchestra seem like child's play as everything drops into its exact space with no overlaps or anomalies but the result is more compact than some which is probably more technically correct than those that make the orchestra seem spread out left to right more than normal. Movement around the stage is immediately evident and very trackable again with good precision. Even when fed fast complex tracks, I was unable to get the Spring1 to sound congested or compressed.





Comparisons:

Comparisons will be done in two different ways. First a comparison of the Spring1 vs other offerings at roughly the same price point, and second, a comparison of the Spring1 vs the KB100, the previous BQEYZ champion.

Moondrop KXXS - Here we have a battle royale. The Single dynamic pitted against the hybrid. Both have build quality that is impeccable, the cable on both is solid although I prefer that of the Spring1, I could live with either. Signatures are both similar with movement away from neutral only where it adds life and air. Detail is good on both but texture goes to the Spring1 as it just manages to pack in that last little bit that somehow feels lost on the KXXS when directly A/B testing the two. This one is going to come down to personal preference as well as both are great, but target slightly different endpoints.



Ikko OH-10 - These two are different animals and while I really like both, they suit different purposes. The OH-10 is a good bit more V-shaped than the Spring1 and I would class the Spring1 as much more of a reference signature (albeit with life) than the OH-10 which is more of a guilty pleasure for listening to popular genres. Both are great efforts and I can take nothing from either in build or sound, but they are different enough sounding that personal preference is going to decide the winner. I'd advise auditioning both.



Brainwavz B400 - The B400 has been the sub-$200 king of the neutrals for quite awhile and the Spring1 probably wont unseat them as the Spring1 is not quite as linear as the b400. Having said that, the b400 can come across as a bit dull and well boring at times. The spring1 shows no such tendency. Kit on the b400 is larger, but build on the Spring1 is a quantum leap ahead. For my dollar, the Spring1 is the better call.



Kinboofi Mx3 - These two have similar signatures and vary mostly as a matter of degrees. The Mx3 rolls off sooner at the low end, and pushes the upper-mids/lower treble further forward than the Spring1 by comparison. Detail is better on the Spring1 and tonality seems a bit more natural as well. Overall again both solid efforts but the Sping1 just edges it out in detail and resolution for the win.



BQEYZ KB100 - I did the FR comparison on these two and I think it helps to show how little we can really learn from them. If you look at the chart below you'd expect the KB100 to be more linear in the bass with a bit of a drop-out in the treble region. To date, I have not read anyone saying the KB100 had poor treble, I also think one could reasonably conclude that with the exception of that treble dip, the two should sound similar. They don't. No ifs, ands, or buts, these are not the same in-ear. The Timbre is better, more textured, more detailed, and as a result the Spring1 has a much more engaging tonality than the KB100. (Which is not to take anything away from the KB100 which is superb for a sub-$50 model). The differences in detail level between these two are like equating what can be seen using a magnifying glass vs breaking out an electron microscope.







Thoughts / Conclusion:

These are great in-ears and belong in your collection unless you are deaf. That simple - go buy them! Honestly, there were a lot of questions circling when BQEYZ announced a price-point of $139 for the Spring1 because it was such a jump from previous models. The biggest of those questions was "Do these still represent good value like the other models, or are they going to be an also-ran because of the change in price?" I can say unequivocally, the Spring1 still represents the value we have come to expect from BQEYZ and while I'd like to see a balanced cable in the mix, I can't fault much about them. A stellar effort by a rising star in Chi-fi.